Starving is not just for the artists any more, though I am one by trade, and every extra penny I find lying abandoned in the street is cherished and is debated over by a panel of delegates in my head before leaving my hands again…needless to say, I am frugal. But no Scrooge am I. My discipline to preserve may take a great amount of will power and determination… and, to be honest, even more humility. But no such inflation can or will cause any recession in my stock of smiles.

I wanted to fix up my back yard, now that I have one. Well, it’s not totally mine. I’m renting it. Not, just the yard. I’m renting a house from one of my oldest friends, and the house has a wonderful front and back yard. But in the back there are a few spots in the yard that simply will not grow grass. And it is right in the middle of the entrance to what is quasi my domain. So, basically, one can either walk all the way around the perimeter to enjoy the yard, or commit to a mud bath…and though always fun, mud baths are not always ideal for entertaining guests, nor do they allot for those ritualistic moments of reflection to either prepare for or reflect on the day…

Referring to what I have previously described as living on a budget, I find my self in a frustratingly endless cycle of dissatisfaction in regards to my yard. EVERYTHING costs something. Even my time. I could spend ten dollars here and twenty dollars there and do all the work myself. But, that is thirty dollars I need to be using to pay my gas for this week’s worth of commuting. Plus, even if I dedicate my entire weekend to the project, come Monday, I’ve just spent a whole weeks worth of rest and am busted for the week to come! So, the question is not, what can I get for free, but rather, how can I get the most of what I need/ want for as little as possible. And that is not to cheat anyone out of anything, but it is to make the most of what I either already have, or what I can have.

Well, believe it or not folks! Today, it happened. I have completely satisfied my goal with spending no more than the gas it takes me to get home and the energy I would have spend on my workout at the end of the day. How did I do it? First off, it came to me… What did I do? I Recognized it. Basically, I saw something not as it was, but as it could be. I have no idea where the lightning bolt came from, but it hit me and I was able to see clearly.

For my back yard I already concluded that cultivating grass was not an option to remedy my qualms. Besides the fact that grass was having trouble growing naturally in the designated areas, the increased expense on my water bill would bust my budget to nurture sprouting seeds, should I try to self-impose a successful ecosystem. Switching gears I ceased wanting for a fertile lawn, and instead focused on how to “designate” the area. I felt that if, at the very least, I outlined a particular space in my yard to a designated “sitting area” it would feel purposeful and thus complete.

I thought about mapping out a 10’ X 10’ square using plant pots and resting our lounge chairs within that perimeter. It sounds simple enough; but, alas, each pot costs $15 dollars. Even if I only bought four pots (one for each “corner”), I am still at a $60 expense that is already allotted to my electric bill, and I will still be sitting in the mud. So I moved on to artificial surfaces. A deck perhaps? OK, I know building an entire deck is not only out of my price range, as well as my time frame, but, even more so, it highly supersedes my engineering skills and tool supply. OK, then let’s forget the engineering and maybe I could just lay some 2” x 4” in the ground, directly? I could make a cool pattern out of them… Or what about whole sheets of plywood? No, those will just warp and become hotels for sluggish snails and night crawlers… I realize these materials would add up but I felt I was on to something… think Think think… what CAN I do…

Just as this very conversation passed through my head while driving home from work, I saw the answer waiting patiently by the side of a dumpster. It was waiting to be taken away and I volunteered to do the dirty work. There were shipping creates stacked one on top of the other, and I ever so carefully, so as to not get any splinters, unstacked them one by one right into the back seat of my convertible, top down, of course. These were not just shipping creates anymore. These were the components to my new venue for hosting sunset cocktails and grilling swarres…my brand new deck.

Granted, some pieces fit better than others and there are still some spaces to fill, but with the basics laid down I have enough to keep my guests and myself out of the mud for the time being!