Man o man! What an assortment of responses! Thanks to all of you who have responded (even the sarcastic ones). I have to admit it was a lot easier to read the sympathetic responses than the sarcastic ones, but I did ask for it, remember, so I feel I should "take it". In the middle of it all, I really enjoyed reading about how folks grew up in neighborhoods, where kids ran around all day long. I was one of those too. Winning a 6-hour hula hoop contest (because that was how long the playground stayed open!!!) I was much skinnier then! Snow Cones and making pot holders and other stuff you tried to sell door to door. You could sell it too! Everyone knew who you were and would give you 50 cents or something for your "work". Roller skating down the middle of the street with skates that clung tightly to your shoes -- you used a skate key that hung around your neck on a string to tighten and release. So, your stories brought me to some really nice remembrances of my own. Thanks so much for that! Amazing how much you can enjoy memories once roused. That buried stuffed chicken tickled me to no end! Bad Dog! As to my problem with the neighbors. It hasn't gone away and in fact, is a little worse now because they've decided to stop mowing the lawn in front of their house closest to our property -- you would need to scythe it now it's so tall. However, maybe all of your stories and your support and your sarcasm, yes that too, has helped to make a decision. I've decided that you just can't have it all. I'm going to bite the bullet. I've had a long time of quiet and this is the new period of noise. At least in the winter, the windows are closed! It wouldn't kill me to try to be friendly and think of how nice it is that our neighborhood is diverse instead of how untidy the back yard is. (Although I cannot understand why they don't at least put their lawn mower away.) I guess I'm talking about a grin and bear it attitude. At least I'm not afraid of them..... (yet!) I felt so sorry for seeyouatmidnight when she relayed her tough situation. But she displayed a very good attitude, and she is positive. If she can have one, I can do it too. Everytime it gets noisy over there, I should go for a long walk. I could stand to lose a little weight!!!!! I think the idea of sharing my tomatoes is a good one. If you don't like home grown tomatoes you're simply not human. That might go a long way towards softening my heart towards my neighbors..... You gotta like who you give your precious tomatoes to! This web site is a truly amazing place. I feel like I can just about say anything here (within reason) and get some serious comments. The people who took the time to respond are all wonderful. Sheez, aren't we lucky to have this resource! It's funny but I think just airing this problem of mine and hearing all the possible solutions helped! It helped to hear that just about everyone has some sort of problem with their neighbor, or their's neighbor's dog, yadda yadda. I guess I don't feel as sorry for myself anymore. Thanks so much for pointing this out to me. I recognized lots of monikers of the responders and appreciate the sound wisdom that I got to experience. This does kinda feel like my home and you guys are all my neighbors. This is where I come to get my attitude adjusted. Kinda like happy hour without the two-for-one beverage specials. Thanks so much for writing and for trying to understand! Debra

Speaking from the experience of having a basement that used to flood, the former owners had a concrete patio under a deck on the side of the house where the ground sloped toward the house. The concrete patio also sloped toward the house which is a violation of building codes and common sense. There is a formula for a certain amount of slope going away from the foundation of the house. Your original side yard probably was very good for drainage, and changing it will make water pressure against your basement. I spent a lot of time creating ditches rather like your original one to protect our basement from future flooding. The low part in the middle could have a brick or concrete walkway, and the sloping sides could be planted with a variety of perennials for a nice green look. Then you wouldn't have needed a retaining wall in that area, but I would have wanted to install a retaining wall on your bigger slope past the deck to make a level terrace that would be a good place for some trees. So before everything is set in stone, I would advise that you find out what the code is for slope away from a foundation and follow it. BTW, your photos and diagrams are excellent!

My parents were both very good skaters and they used to take us roller skating. It was one thing my father would actually do with us--he didn't like sports, concerts, or camping. We had the clip-on skates for the neighborhood sidewalks, but rented skates at the rink. I was thrilled when my feet grew big enough that I could use my mom's white leather skates. My kids started skating early, with the little plastic toddler skates, then we bought them their own skates and eventually roller blades. I just bought skates for both of my grandsons. The local rink where my kids skated was recently sold and turned into a Dollar Tree. I hadn't been there to skate in many years, and I wouldn't even try it now.

Hmm not a kid friendly back yard for sure. Running a jack hammer is really not all that impossible and given your concrete is chunked with all the lines I see you could easily start near the grass and see how much you want to break up /remove. You are lucky you will have defined places to stop with no weird chopped edges given the blocking I see. What do you want for your child? I see all these super expensive play sets--and given the lifestyles of most families very little time at home to play on it is available. Back in the day we got away with a LARGE sand box, a swing under a raised deck (sand box was under the deck) and a Little Tyke's large climbing/slide apparatus. The wait a year and see is tough as kids grow fast and they need what they need NOW. If we are talking toddler #1 right now I would be hitting the garage sales and buying every riding toy I could find. We had a fleet of those things and quite a race way in our unfinished basement!! All that cement is premium rolling space. A kiddie pool will fit in one of your grassed areas...optimize what you have!!