OK Wendy (from Candy Hearts) and Deanna (from Jaxson's D-Tour) you asked for it ... pictures and the making of the rink,
A Sign From God? |
| Articles - Diabetes Articles | |||
| Friday, 24 December 2010 05:52 | |||
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OK Wendy (from Candy Hearts) and Deanna (from Jaxson's D-Tour) you asked for it ... pictures and the making of the rink, BETA BUDDY style! I hope I don't go to hell for this one. I had the verses of Away In A Manger changed, tweaked, contorted into a rink-building story. I had been making it up, singing it in my head, while I was lying in bed in the early morning hours for the past couple of nights. But, there was a part of me wondering if it was "acceptable" to be messing with a religiousy-y song. Then...this morning, after I took Oscar out to "do his business", as I entered the house from the garage door this vision, in the mudroom none-the-less, caught my eye: I knew it was a sign from God or the Hockey Gods that it is "OK". God is cool with Hockey. So, maybe he'd be OK with my version of the holy song as a pathetic intro for my silly "Happy Holidays" blog about building our backyard ice rink. Here goes... Away in Vermont Away in Vermont with no rink for his blades Thy little boy Joseph could only ride sleighs His mom pushed his dad to build ice for play His dad and mom worked on it for days The wood framing, The rebar stakes The little boy Joseph, no complaining he makes He loves Thee, Ice Rink Your smooth surface by And please stay frozen every morning through nigh-t Be near him...in his backyard I ask thee to stay Close by Joe forever And hold him and his blades The Making of the Maher Rink: We start setting up for the rink in early November. It is easiest on our fingers to string lights and get the frame laid out before it becomes too cold. The rugs are placed down where ever we will enter or leave the rink with our skates on. You don't want your blades to become ding-ed and dulled by walking on cement...and absolutely no dirt in the rink. It will lower the freezing point of the the surrounding ice if it makes it's way onto the surface. The frame Is all laid out. It is made of pressure treated 8X10s laid up against rebar. Another reason to do this project in November is to pound rebar into giving soil. Once the ground is frozen, the task takes on a new level of difficulty. No soccer is allowed in the backyard after this point. I am so scared that Bridget, Joe, or their friends will impale themselves by falling on the rebar that is sticking up from the ground. Once the temperatures are peaking out at the low to mid-20s and there is NO SNOW forcasted, it is time to line and fill the rink. You can find large tarps at Home Depot or Lowes. We bought a 6 mil 40 X 100 foot tarp and line the rink with it. Our rink's dimensions are 16 feet by 48 feet...so there are no seams to worry about in the liner. Filling the rink takes about 8 to 10 hours. It is always interesting to see how unflat your perceived flat area is. We have one corner that is flooded with 12 inches of water while other areas of the rink are only flooded with 4 inches. The pressure of the water/ice holds the boards up against the rebar. At this point the risk of someone getting impaled is non-existent. Phew! Once it is flooded, you have to hope for cold temps and NO SNOW as the ice forms. Snow and an almost frozen surface don't mix. I spent 2 hours a week ago shoveling slush (water-logged-snow) out of our rink. A thaw and then a snow did us in. No worries, after the shovel-fest and then a good hour and a half re-flood by hand...and some cold temps ... we were back in business. Skating in the evening with the children is magical as the colorful lights illuminate the rink-side, as the big, light and puffy snow flakes fall lightly from the skies...Christmas tunes playing in the background... It is special. I feel wholesome. A rarity. Happy Holidays to you and yours and wishing you all a wonderful 2011! A day-in-the-life of making the "magic" happen!
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