A card table covered with a blanket to make a fort, or a wooden swing set under the willow trees, I have always liked that feeling of privacy even as a child. When we constructed our deck a few years ago, we were suddenly “exposed” to at least twelve homes that semi-circled around our back yard. With my need to feel sheltered, we bought a steel gazebo. That gave us some privacy to enjoy our deck for a couple of years, but the canopy was not well-made, and had numerous tears develop. We replaced it once, and patched the second one with needle and thread, but it was not holding up to the elements. This year we decided to take it down, and install a retractable awning instead. Even Martha likes it.
