There are so many things that we can do to fill our time. Through the years my hobbies have changed based on what stage in life I am in. When I was in high school I loved to sew. I made many of the clothes that I wore and I also sewed some clothing for my friends. I made many gifts using my mother's sewing machine. When I was in college I did not have the time or the space to sew. I started playing racquetball to fill what spare time I had. As I got older and had a family I did not have the time or the energy for racquetball any more. At that point in my life I was lucky to get everything done that needed to get done so I did not have a great deal of free time.

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Now my children have grown and I have extra time. I found during the years that they were growing up I neglected my house and garden. Decorating and gardening have always been things that I have been interested in but have not taken the time to do. I started my getting a house and garden magazine. I looked at different decorating ideas for the house and also some great plans for extending your living space into the outdoor area of your home. My husband thought that some of the ideas looked quite complicated and that we should hire a gardener to complete the projects. I told him that this would defeat the purpose of me getting involved in putting time in the house and garden.

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I went to the large do it yourself home improvement store with my house and garden magazine in tow. I found a helpful knowledgeable clerk and showed them the picture of what I wanted to create in the backyard. He showed me where all the supplies were that I would need to create the fountain area and path that were shown in the picture. He made some suggestions of alternative materials I could use that would hold up better for our climate.

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I was able to get all the supplies in the truck with one trip. My next-door neighbor is retired and loves working in the yard. He helped me unload the supplies and also to stack the area for the path. Within two days we completed the project and it looked even better than the picture in the magazine. I have taken great pride in the accomplishment and look forward to tackling a new garden project next spring. Now I am going to try some of the indoor decorating ideas for our living room area.