YAY!! JUST in time our shade sail has arrived and been installed!

Our house is passive solar. Which means HOT in the summer. We end up having to draw all the blinds and shut windows to keep the heat out. The patio BAKES and holds the heat. Our little table umbrella just wasn't doing it for us and we often would not hang out there if it was really sunny. How sad was that, it is our most lovely summer spot!! For years we discussed a retractable awning. They are EXPENSIVE and would not have covered all that much area as they only extend so far. 

Benefit to the retractable? It retracts. And rain doesn't come through it. Instead, we got a shade sail!!! It is mesh so air flows through it, but so does rain. Not a huge deal, but removing the cushions is always a hassle. I may get a cover for the chaise and see if I can just pack them all under that. For now I make two trips to the basement.

However, as much as that is a pain we LOVE our new shade sail. Always anxious about such a thing if we will like it or be disappointed or whatever. So far, I can only say it is PERFECT!!! I was worried it would cut out too much light on a cloudy day from the kitchen, but it doesn't. Yesterday morning we had lots of clouds and plenty of light still in the kitchen. We have SO many southern windows it didn't matter at all.

 We even had a major thunderstorm last night and it didn't rip off the house. Another concern. We get some HIGH winds here. Our umbrella table has blown over several times even with the umbrella rolled up! :D We have no trees around our house and are up on a tiny knoll, so the wind whips through here. I'll be curious how it flaps in the wind during the night and if that wakes me. No wind over night last night, so I never heard anything.

 It also looks nice. Nicer than an retractable awning, I think. Those are ugly. This is sort of cool and unique!!!

 The view from the kitchen. The sun was out, so the inside looks so dark only because the outside is so light. The kitchen still has plenty of light. I just wanted to show another thing that concerned us........would it block our view of the field/marsh. Nope, the only thing we can't see are the tree tops and sky, but all we have to do is walk to the living room and look out those windows if we need to check the sky.

We LOVE it!!!! It feels very cozy and protected and COOLER. Before I so often felt like I was going to BAKE out there on a sunny day. We would hover together on one side of the patio table in the only spot shaded by the umbrella. Now we can enjoy lots of shaded areas!!!! Whoooooooooohooooooooooo!!! Poorly sighted Colby is learning to navigate the rearranged furniture, but we are keeping her "runway" clear. Straight ahead from the steps will always be clear for her.