Appreciate everyone's input and suggestions. Very kind of you all to offer guidance. Really liked the idea of using existing structures with a playset- amazing picture DD! Also appreciate the lighting suggestion. Never even considered adding lighting. Assuming I could dig down 9-12" and regrade the area by reducing the high side by 12" and building up the low areas. This is something I am now considering. Just need to figure out how to frame out the area for the mulch. I have a tree expert coming tomorrow to assess the area and get a quote on plantings and grading. Our township denied my application for a fence permit since one side of the proposed fence falls within an easement area. They did approve planting of trees to stabilize the bank but now denied the fence. So I will just add some type of plantings and regrade without adding a fence. Will look to add a fence later when I have the energy to argue with the township. I am starting to think Michelle's suggestion for purchasing a playset that can accommodate a slope would be the easiest solution. Only playset company I found that could be altered for slopes was Rainbow sets-I still have to level out area for the clubhouse but that is only a 5x5 patch. We still want to fix the sloped side of the yard to make a more useful play area. Will let everyone know what the landscape contractor / tree expert proposes.

Insulate, insulate, insulate. Out of all the insulations available and that we have tried, I sill like the Corning fiberglass batts the best. We have been trying out a European style climate control system called a Ductless mini split system in our barn. It cools and heats like a charm and is about 50% more efficient than a standard common air conditioner/heating system. This is what I will use in my shed, and we are seriously considering these for our house. When we built our barn, we had a nice concrete floor poured, and it was built using standard pole barn construction. We used high quality metal to skin it and the roof. My husband insulated an office area, and rather than use sheetrock, he finished the walls with the same white metal roofing material. The result has impressed me. It is clean, nicely finished, inexpensive, and will never need to be painted. Works great for him. (I, however, want a more "feminine" finish in my space). Moccasin I had a good laugh about being as happy as a pig in mud....until I remembered what the wild hogs have recently done to my pond area. They tore the h....out of it and ate all my frogs! What a mess! I am so mad. They even uprooted some trees I planted. We're putting some nasty barbed wire fencing up around our whole property as we speak, but we'll see if it actually stops them. enigmaquandry, the more we all keep letting the government get away with telling us how to use our property, the more they will take more and more of our freedoms away. Frankly, in my opinion, it is absolutely NONE of their business what someone does on their own property as long as it harms no one. If you build a shed and want to use it for something, tell them it's a tack room. Or a potting shed. And then politely invite them to leave. Legally all they can do is measure the outside dimensions for tax purposes. Sandy

I wonder how many of those who reported heavy use of their swing sets are in the ....ah.....'older' crowd? We used ours all the time when we were growing up in the 50's and 60's but we were also outside all the time - playing all those kids games that no one seems to play now. Anyone remember Hide and Seek, Red Light, Green Light, Stop - Mother May I, Hop Scotch, Red Rover, Hula Hoops, roller skates (with keys), jump rope,........... Families tended to be larger and TV didn't dominate our lives. We played basketball, rode bikes and played Peter Pan in the woods. If we were inside we played board games, cards or pulled our our coloring books. With all those wonderful memories of our own childhood DH built an oversize swing set for our kids using double 2x12s for the overhead ladder and supports. It was fairly simple - 2 swings, a rope swing, a ladder on both sides and across the top, and a huge tarp to turn it into a fort or cave or den or tent. . Our kids used it - and so did the neighbor kids since it was nice and large, plus we had a sandbox and a tree that was easy to climb. We limited TV and it probably also helped that this was before everyone was connected to the internet 24/7. My kids are in their 30's so I never had to deal with kids walking around with iPads. We bought a computer when they were in grad school - it was an Apple 1C or 1E - and they liked playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego or the Oregon Trail. Now we have 2 new families near us with beautiful wooden swing sets with climbing boards and tents and they were used while the kids were preschool, but now are seldom used unless they have a play date. Around here kids don't roam the neighborhood the way I did or as my own kids did in the 80's. Maire

I guess I'll never have what I had always considered a 'grown up house'. In my head, when I had a house that did not need any major remodeling or repairing (new floors, whole house of popcorn ceilings, dysfunctional kitchen, etc), I would officially be a grown up haha. You know, the kind of house that when the doorbell rings, you don't glance around to survey the chaos and then consider not answering the door. I lived in our 'starter home' for 24 years. I purchased this house because there is a small house in the back that was remodeled for my father. I'm able to care for him without us living together in the same house. My son moved back in while he hopefully finishes his degree. I feed and do my best for a colony of feral cats. I can't remember the last time there were no Chewy or Amazon boxes to break down and recycle. I can't remember the last time there were not kittens underfoot that are being socialized for good, indoor homes and grouchy old cats dodging them and hissing. But.....that's ok. Because what I have is lively and fulfilling. My home serves our needs like a champ, popcorn ceilings and all. But one of these days, when I am feeling very, very brave, I am going to be asking for help from all of you decorating geniuses!