Borneo Lady: 2021

When I was a young girl, I loved swings. Being in Borneo, I remember our home was surrounded by a jungle in the 50's. Beside our wooden house, there was a river with thick tropical trees. I don't know how old the trees were, but I presumed they must be many years because they were so big, old and thick with long woody vines. Sometimes after school, I would join the regular group of children who were my neighboring friends and classmates to climb these trees and use one of it's woody vines to swing around like monkeys around the trees as seen in the movie " Tarzan", then, dropping ourselves into the river. It was dangerous but in those days the word "Safety" never registered in our mind. All we knew was fun and laughter. Now our world has changed. Children are more knowledgeable and less likely to repeat what we did. They are now taught in school from a young age that safety must come first. They have their fun times too, such as computer games etc. The only difference is they are not in contact with nature any more unless it's necessary and there isn't any old trees like we used to have in our time. Even the place where I used to live, became a residential area of the city. Swings nowadays are made commercially, and they are checked before being used, ie safety comes first. In America, I learn that a license is needed to have swings installed by reputable company in the schools! Yeah, safety comes first is the motive.

I have a 2 yrs old grandson who is hyperactive and will wrecked my organized garden home in minutes!

So I started to put up a kid's police bus tent outdoor for him to play, going in and out of the tent. It helps any child to channel all their energy into such activities. Children at this age tend to be very curious and any new things are an excitement to them so, parent's always keep an eye on them to prevent accidents or the child getting hurt.

I have a portable pool which he likes so much.

Look at my grandson!😂

He's so excited splashing the water himself and screaming with happiness 🤣🤣

It's lovely to watch little children playing excitedly, full of fun and showing happy faces . Their innocent funny behavior and laughter makes us smile. These types of fun activities will give him lovely childhood memories.

So I added another outdoor activity to keep him fully occupied. A simple swing.

I watched so many on Youtube with creative ideas in making one.

I liked one channel saying... "using materials lying around the house".

I bought some wood, wood glue, appropriate screws and a quality rope. The rest was " using materials lying around the house" such as a measuring tape, tape, and some left over colorful paints.

I saw these 2 samples from google and felt that this is the easiest I can try to make. I am only interested in the frame, not the seat.😁

So I opted for the "X" style frame for the sides then a bar on top of it and supports here and there. Looked simple enough.

Daring to try, takes guts and "Trying" is most important.

On 17th Nov 2021, I went to a nearby timber shop to get some wood. They helped to cut/saw the wood according to my required size.

Main wood pieces and some "Support" pieces.

Lay out the pieces to make the "X" frame at the top of the wood.

Attached the pieces using wood glue and screws.

To provide further support, another piece of wood was attached to form an "A" shape frame and an "X" at the top.

Add further support to the back and sides of the frame.

So it's easier to stand the frame. Lastly add the top bar, I tightened it using Japanese square knots. Lastly support the bar with yet another bar on top of the 1st one.

The top main bar was slightly longer but I have no problem with that because I can use it for another activity such as rope ladder.

Since my grandson is only 2 yrs old, I added just 4 steps as rope ladder, enough for him to get amused and climb a bit because he loves climbing. This will help.

I supported the extension of the bar with a wooden stand on the right end of the bar as shown in this picture.

Swing can help develop his grip strength, hand, arm, fingers coordination while climbing helps a child's motor skill development. If you are interested to know what swinging and climbing activity can do to your child, have a look at this web site .

When the frame was completed, the next to do is the rope tie. I did some research from many authors about roping and which knots are appropriate to secure a swing and rope ladder such as the one I am building.

The 1st I did was the Swing Hitch Knot.

How to tie a Swing Hitch Knot.

This video by why knot is very useful when you need to tie the rope over the bar.

This type of knot stays stationary during swinging and does not rub against the bar. Watch the Video linked here and you will understand what I mean. It's easy to follow.

After the Swing Hitch knot is done, I next moved on to do the Braided knot tie for the seat.

This knot is extremely secure and can stand a large amount of pressure. Because of this, it's ideal for the seat of the swing.

Basic Swing Rope for the seat.

Found this method from Utube by Mark, the braider.

I like the way this man described in a clear voice, "over one, under one". It was so easy to follow and resulted in beautifully braided knots.

This method is also very secure. No matter how much pressure, the rope will not come apart.

I won't go into detail here of how I did it because the video by Mark, the braider. which is linked here shows it very clearly step by step instructions. You won't go wrong😊.

Finish the 3 ends with the simple crown knots as shown in the same video

Toy swing for my grandson😂

Nowadays nothing is impossible anymore. With Google and YouTube, learning takes place every day. Unlike in my day, we learnt from schools and libraries. and if we miss a class or not paying attention, we are done! as we cant catch up any more and then lost interest to continue. Now in this modern era with internet, we can continue to learn anytime in our leisure.

When the Swing was completed, I moved on to make the Rope Ladder.

I found an old unwanted remaining curtain rod.

But, I only managed to make 3 rods out of it, so I substituted by adding another from the left over wood.

Cut the wood to 11.5 inches long

Drill 1 hole on each side of the rod/wood

Paint the rods and wood with different attractive colours

When the rods were dried and ready, I started with a pair of Hitch knot on the bar.

Insert a rope into the right hole of a rod. Create stopper knot after the hole of desired length. A simple overhand knot is good enough but I did an extra knot on each of the holes to be more secure, as I don't want any risk of the knots slipping out when my grandson was using it. I did the same on the left side of the rod. Continue until the 4th rod and end the knot.

The rope ladder was not perfect but good enough to amuse a 2 yrs old boy😁.

Awaiting for final touch, that's... Painting😂.

Hooray! My colourful DIY swing is done!

It's just a mickey mouse swing, meant for a light weighted 2 yrs old boy like my grandson. But it's only a temporary swing because kids grew up very fast.

My grandson came to test swing the next day.

I put out his usual pool as well. My hubby and I put a $10 bet on which he will go to first.

Many of my friends think he will go for the swing, What's your bet? 😉

The day came and he went for this cute little armchair first😂.

I guessed he doesn't want any of us to win😅. Clever boy! Better to stay neutral!😁

Then only he went for the rope ladder.

Next the swing and then lastly the pool!

He was so worn out after his hyperactive energy spent at the outdoor activities but happy😂.

It was indeed Little Zeb's Day 😅!

Time passes very quickly and in year 2023, he is already 4 yrs old. Much taller and heavier so his daddy bought him a proper swing at my garden.

A proper heavy duty swing for my little Zeb and many years to come.

It supposed to be Little Zeb's swing but ended up being a family swing instead 🤭because everyone in family starts taking turn to sit on it including myself😅

As for my worn out DIY swing, I used it as trellis for my bitter gourd plants.
Waste nothing! 😊

References:

How to tie a swing Hitch Knot

Basic rope swing

Homemade, mini kids swing

Benefit of swinging

I was chatting with a friend about my outdoor stove and told her I was going to write a short story about it. I jokingly created a few funny titles and then she suddenly said "Your waste, my treasure". Wow, I like that title! 😂 So I asked her if she doesn't mind, I will use that title, she said that's fine😂.

In Singapore, there are people going round looking for items you want to throw or bin, they will shout "karang guni !karang guni ! meaning gunny sack which the men would haul the heavy sacks on their backs to do the collections from door to door at the housing flat, now they have trolley to do the job 😂. In UK, they shouted, " Rango! Rango " something like that. And here, Malaysia, around my garden home area, a lorry will drive round shouting, Besi buruk! Besi buruk! meaning old metal, to collect unwanted metal or anything they can find useful to recycle into something else.

Anyway my topic here is actually a DIY outdoor stove. Because I have created something using most of the stuff/items I considered as extras or "waste". To make this DIY outdoor stove, I only had to buy the Styrofoam and a stove stand, that's all. The rest of the ingredients used are left overs from my previous works, such as cement and sand, even the wire mesh was from my previous chicken coop. I decided to use a steamer rack as the fire place(where woods or charcoal are placed) since I have a few from my kitchen. It saved time and the hassle of measuring and cutting metal rods.

On 23th July 2019, I had written an almost similar story about an outdoor stove using bricks, calling it "Rocket stove". Comparing to these two different stoves, I prefer this current one, because it's easier to move around with it. As for the rocket stove, you need to dismantle the whole stove for a change of location in cooking.

Among all the DIY stove in the YouTube, I liked to watched this👆and used the method with some modifications.

So on the 3rd Nov, 2021, I began my "experiment" using the above model as a guideline to create my DIY outdoor stove.😂

Items required

Steamer rack ( I have a few so I could afford to use one of them😁 )

Wire mesh - I cut a piece from my previous chicken coop

Then further cut into this shape, as shown in YouTube which will be buried with the cement mixture.

Styrofoam - I bought it for less than Rm20 and then cut it into 4 round pieces and stuck them together with the bamboo stick. This is to create a tunnel/ chimney in the stove.

Stove/pot stand to allow the pot or wok to stand securely on top of the stove. Bought it for Rm11.50

Empty drinking bottle- instead of throwing away the bottles, I used it as a mold for my outdoor stove,

Cut the upper part of the bottle as shown

Cement and sand . I used ratio 1:1

Method:

I put some sand at the bottom of this bottle because the base was not even.

I mixed sand and cement with water, bit by bit

Put the prepared Styrofoam on top of the sand as shown

I filled the space with cement mixture, leaving the middle untouched.

If possible , don't cover the Styrofoam like mine. I put too much😅, but no worries, can remove easily later.

Place in the steamer rack tightly against the cement mixture

Get ready to create the tunnel/chimney with the prepared Styrofoam

like this

surround the wire mesh as seen

Fill up the space with cement

place the stove stand on top and turn round slightly to form a mold, then remove

That's all for now, I let it dry overnight 😜

I was so excited when I woke up in the morning because I wanted to see how it turned out.

Morning comes.....

What do you think? 😅 It's ugly but serves the purpose, i.e. a stove made by me 😁. If this stove lasts, at least there is a story to tell to my younger generations when I leave 😇. "Grandma or Great Grand ma's silly ideas!😅😂

Fire place for charcoal or firewood or twigs to start the fire😂

Before letting it out to sun and dry further, I did a bit of touch up to complete the work.

short video - Bottom view of stove

Short Video - Top view of the stove

Firewood is mainly for stir frying or boiling water but with charcoal as fuel, it's like a slow cooker to cook soup in a clay pot. Reminds me of those days when our grand parents and parents did the same. Actually the taste is still better than the slow cooker we have nowadays. The outcome of the soup with this kind of stove was so delicious that words cannot describe. Those who had tasted such soup before, is a privilege.😍

1st trial of my outdoor stove began......😬

Open ceremony with my DIY stove by starting the 1st fire.

French Toast - bread, sugar and egg. This is how my mom did it . very simply. Those who wants a proper recipe can follow here.

French Toast for breakfast

Waffles for tea

I found the above recipe at inspiredtaste.net Do give a try. It really work and it's crispy👍

Chocolate waffle with Neopolitan ice cream - Mmm....Yummy

I copied this recipe from Allrecipes. Those who crazy for chocolate can give it a try.

Steam boat

Steam boat for lunch

Children and grand children came for a visit, so steam boat is ideal.

My aluminum old fashioned, charcoal steam pot. Have anyone seen this before in your life?

Bought it around 1982. It was on offer 50% discount price in a supermarket about 4 decades away😄

I tried and compared the 2 pots - a stainless steel and my "ancient" aluminum pot. As expected the stainless steel one cooks faster but the soup in the aluminum one taste better. What is your opinion? The aluminum type cook like the slow cooker we had in our modern day. The meat is so soft , can melt in your mouth. Is that how people describe it?

That's my short story trials😂😁

For this work I gave myself 6/7 out of 10. What do you think? 🤔

Reference