Thanks- Kathy I did place it outside in one of my beds. I painted this inside ( the night before the craft fare ) , once outside it was a bit too "bright" - I sealed the colors and once the sealer weathers a bit I will probably tone it down. It started to be purple, then I sponged on various colors. I have another one I made that is still outside - un painted. It may be a winter project.

I'm glad you guys like this idea! When no one answered for awhile, I was afraid it was a bad idea! I'm thinking the hop ball is more durable outside than the exercise balls. My dilemma is I don't know what size to get. I have a "65" size exercise ball, but I'm thinking I need a smaller one for outside. You want it big enough so you don't stress your knees while sitting on it, but you want it small enough to roll easily to reach the ground. Wish there was a place that had samples of the different sizes. Since you can sort of sit on the side of them, I'm thinking it would be best to err on the side of bigger. When I first went to the physical therapist last year for my legs, I couldn't believe how useful these balls can be for all sorts of exercises and stretching. Anyhow.....lets report back here, if we do get a hop ball and share if it helps us outside. If its anything like the exercise ball, it will make weeding/planting, so much easier! Good luck! P.S. mikeandbarb.........to answer your question about loss of balance.......I'm thinking that if you plant your feet well enough apart, you can be pretty stable on the ball. And like you said.......its not far to fall to the ground!

got it :-) Lucy

Thanks for the good information. I will use it when necessary, but I think that I'll just keep going to my massage therapist once a week and let her worry with my back! HA! I use two different massage therapists that used to work together, so if I can't get into one, I go to the other one. Nineteen years ago I was skiing and broke my sacrum, the pelvis bone next to it and three pelvis bones in the front. My doctor told me that the front break actually caused for a floating pelvis break. I was on crutches for 3 months, and my back has never been the same since. Sometimes when I down doing weeding, planting, etc., I have to find something to pull myself up with, and I'm only 55 years old, but I look like I'm 85 years old when my back goes into spasms. People like you, i.e. massage therapist are great for being able to make us feel better. Thanks.