by Jon Coe

Created on: April 07, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Well if you are like me and live in a neighborhood that has been on the decline for the past ten years, then it doesn't really matter how you expand your living space into the your yard.

I've been so tired of looking at that pile of tires next door for the past four years and on the other side of me, that teenager, he's in jail now; He's been rebuilding that Ford Mustang for so long, the grass is growing through the exhaust pipe.

So here is what I am going to do this spring, it will be cheap, so listen up!

I have a sofa and love seat in my living room. The kids are long gone and the cats have left many a mark on them. So, this Sunday, I'm gonna drag them outside. I'll put the love seat on the front porch and the sofa out back.

Then I'm gonna get that old satellite dish that hasn't been working for about five years, and I'm gonna cover it in canvas and position it behind the sofa, just like a very large umbrella. I'll wedge it between the fridge and the beer keg.

At this point I haven't spent a single dime! I already had the canvas.

Outside electrics are a challenge, especially when you don't have a hook up. Well, now I do. It is called an extension cord. There is nothing like watching your favorite Soaps in the back yard!

The clothes line is your best friend. Always run it from your house to the bushes, that way, you can not only dry your clothes faster next to the barbecue, but you can pull on it once in while to scare the birds out, sort of entertainment, and makes good target practice.

When I first moved into my neighborhood, if you left the lights on in your car, it wouldn't be long before some neighbor comes a knocking at your door to tell you about it. Now, if you leave your lights on, everybody waits til the morning and charges you twenty bucks for a jump start.

Another good thing to do, and it is good for the environment, is to take them old tires from you garage. Cut them all around the middle, pop them inside out, paint 'em what ever color you like and plant flowers in them. My Pansies and Petunias are doing great.

Well this is all I have for right now. Maybe we'll check in next week and I'll tell you what kind of table looks good on the lawn.

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