What season is your house?

 

What season is your home?  Funny question, I know.  It's just that my last house was a summer house.  True, we lived there year round but our best times were summer.  The back deck was an extension of our favorite rooms inside just with a better view.  The pool and the outdoor kitchen were the centerpiece of all entertaining.  This home is an autumn house.  Spring is too wet and nasty. Summer is too hot and mosquito filled.  Winter is cold and dead.  But autumn, just right. 

This year we plan to take more time outdoors with our friends.  I am envisioning the field filled with families on blankets and lawn chairs sharing in a family movie night.  I plan to send out an invitiation with my movie listings.  I figure we will have one showing of a different movie at least twice a month until it gets too cold, or I run out of movies.  Whichever comes first.  I will provide the concessions.  I'm thinking candy and popcorn.  The friends are encouraged to bring drinks which will go in the giant galvanized horse trough I have purchased just for such occasions. If they all bring their own chairs or blankets I will provide the movie and setting.

 

I also thought it would be great to have special features for food.  Think hot dogs one night, nachos another.  Maybe a chili bar when it gets cooler.  Simple, inexpensive snacks that keep the fun going week after week.  I will set a viewing time like any theater but you don't have to smuggle in your own goodies.  I'm going to a big box store to buy the little paper baskets for my snacks and stocking up on candy during the holiday sales.

Although my yard is larger than most this idea can be done on a more intimate scale.  Check out how you can make your own movie screen for some backyard magic of your own.  Try it out, it could become an annual event.  Bringing the community together or just your family is worth the little bit of work.  So, what season is your house?

 

How To Create a Backyard Movie Screen

Setting Up Your Outdoor Screen
What you need:
2 thick, white queen–size ironed flat sheets
Top pole 1.5" diameter x 10' long
Bottom pole 3" diameter x 10' long
Rope — 2 different thicknesses
Step 1. Start with two queen–size ironed flat sheets. Sew them together with white thread so the long sides are joined creating a tube.
Step 2. Insert the 1.5–inch diameter pole and let the fabric hang down.
Step 3. Attach thicker rope to the ends of the top pole so that it can be attached to a tree.
Step 4. Once attached to a tree, slide the thicker pole through the tube created by the sewn sheets so that it creates a weight at the bottom of the screen.
Step 5. Attach thinner rope to the ends of the bottom pole.
Step 6. Insert two tent stakes directly beneath the bottom corners of the screen, tie the thinner rope to both of the tent stakes and pull taught. This will insure that the screen doesn't sway in the wind.

Once your screen is set up, create a casual, comfortable seating arrangement using plush cushions covered in fade–proof fabrics and soft, moisture–resistant pillows. Lanterns strung overhead and several groups of flameless candles set a laid–back mood, and a fun banner hung over the screen adds a celebratory feel.