The plan: create a Mediterranean courtyard.

These are three views of the space I plan to renovate/recreate. The first picture is from the parking area, some fifty feet or so from the garage. The second is from the front of the entrance, a footbridge taking you into the house. And the third, is the view of the house from the street.

The goal is to "enclose" the parking area with arbors,  and turn this area into outdoor living room, with benches and tables and cobbled/tiled/concrete slabs/river rocks driveway and turnabouts. The area would be connected to the back of the house, fourth picture, where the lake and the docks are,  and all these parts will work together seamlessly.

Besides getting a courtyard that is integrated with the house and the backyards/lake, I wanted to continue gardening in place. So, I needed ways to get around if I ended up in a wheelchair.

In my old life, I would have had this thought and filed it away in some notebook.
In my new life, I set a budget, and called a professional landscape contractor to have a look, design and install all these elements in an integrated approach.

In my old life, Hubby would attempt the work, get injured or exhausted, and then scrap the entire project.
In my new life, my husband will become the general contractor, take bids for different parts of the job, and work with the designer in finalizing the plan and coordinating the work.

I know, this is extravagant!
I could spend my money in so many other ways!