From creative carvings to ghoulish trees people all across the country start decking their yards this time of year for Halloween .

Whether you prefer just a pumkin perfectly placed on your step or a goblin in your grass to scare all who pass  you can appreciate this time of year.

There really are no restrictions with decorating your exterior, but remember it is something people will see as they drive by so what you want to say is up to you, but your neighbors may not invite you to the car pool if you have too many zombies, so just keep that in mind

I say go for it, what ever floats your boat. For me I love country warmth so I try to extend that into the front yard as much as I can. Others go for ghoul & that’s cool too!

I swear I stepped away for a few seconds today,when I returned my two year old had used a permanent marker on several surfaces in my front room, & down the hall!

Of course his little art project stretched the span of several different types of surfaces, all requiring a separate method of marker removal. I have been searching the Internetto find any ideas on how to remove the marker & am now so confused that I think I better just paint over it, thorow out the fabric & revarnish the tables! However I cannot afford to do all that & I have company coming in a week

I think the basis is alcohol to all the remedies so I am going to start there & I will let you know how it works, but please if you have any advise other than hide the sharpies from now on. I would really appreciate it.

I did find these step by steps so I’ll start here!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://z.hubpages.com/u/390146_f520.jpg&imgrefurl=http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Remove-Permanent-Marker-from-a-Painted-Wall&usg=__003Tapk_J9_qTupcRxUMhGWG69U=&h=346&w=520&sz=24&hl=en&start=15&tbnid=s7UWCMBS8EaUqM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=131&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpermanet%2Bmarker%2Bon%2Bwall%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

-Frustrated home owner with unwanted abstract art on her country walls

Ever wondered past an amazing yard & thought -”I want that” well I have! And for the past few years my husband & I have been trying to achieve our perfect yard a little at a time. 

We have done a bit here & a little bit there, we have made great headway, but there is just a little piece of our landscape that is a major thorn in my side. We have been using it as a dog kennel for lack of time & resources, but it is really useless space that is always stinky & bare.

So when I got the call that my husband had scored just enough FREE sod to complete the yard & go from drab to fab I was so excited! As exstatic as I was there was a lot to be done & if you know sod you know the clock starts as soon as it’s cut, and by the time I got the call it had already been about 10 hours

This little project entailed the ripping out of a fence, moving of a ton of rock that had been there for five years, an extension of our sprinkler system, ground prep, carrying the sod from the street , & finally laying it! There was only two of us & the bulk of the work had to be done by me since my husband was at work! Did I mention I have two small kids & a cold!

We settled in for a long days work, and I do mean long…..  This one just about killed me! My hubby & I busted it out but it was a total time crunch & everything else got put on hold! So now we have a beautiful yard that my husband & I are very proud of & tired from, and a messy kitchen that has not been touched in two days!

If you get free sod you just have to sacrifice your time, energy, & life until it is done! It is worth it though