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.
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.
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? 😉
When little Zeb arrived, he went straight for this cute little armchair 😂.
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 custom-made durable iron swing in my garden.
Previous wooden swing replaced by a new swing in which the structure was made of durable iron for my little Zeb to use and many years to come.
It supposed to be Little Zeb's swing but ended up being a family swing 🤭because everyone in family starts taking turn to sit on it including myself😅
Fabric Hammock swing with cushion.
As for my worn out DIY swing, I used it as trellis for my bitter gourd plants. Waste nothing!😊
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 and decided to use it as my title for this story😂.
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 HDB but now, they are using trolleys to transport those unwanted items from each floor to their lorry. In UK, they shouted, " Rango! Rango " something like that, while in Malaysia, around my garden home area, you can hear the lorry driver shouting," Besi buruk! Besi buruk"! meaning old metal. They will drive around hunting for unwanted or useful discarded items for recycle purpose.
Anyway my topic here is actually a DIY outdoor stove. To make one, I just need to buy Styrofoam and a utensil stand. The rest of the ingredients are available as leftover items from my previous project. I decided to use a steamer rack as the fire place(where woods or charcoal are placed)
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 if there is a change of location for cooking.
Among all the DIY stove in the YouTube, I like this☝
So on the 3rd Nov, 2021, I started my stove making experiment using the above model as a guideline to create an outdoor stove.😂
Items required
Steamer rack ( I have a few so I can afford to use one of them😁 )
Wire mesh which I cut a piece from my previous chicken coop
Then cut the wire mesh into this shape, as shown in the Video shown earlier. This wire mesh will be buried together with the cement mixture.
Styrofoam
I bought it for less than Rm20 and then cut it into 4 round pieces and then stick them together with the satay bamboo stick. The purpose of this shape 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.
This only cost Rm11.50 from the shop
Empty drinking bottle
Instead of throwing away the bottles, it can be used as a mold to create my outdoor stove,
Cut the top part of the bottle as shown
Mix cement and sand. Ratio 1:1
Method:
I put some sand at the bottom of this bottle to make the base level even.
Mixed sand and cement with water, bit by bit
Put in the Styrofoam on top of the sand as shown
Filled in the space with cement mixture, leaving the big square or the middle visible or untouched.
Place in the steamer rack tightly against the cement mixture
Getting ready to create the tunnel/chimney with the prepared Styrofoam
like this☝
Surround the Styrofoam with wire mesh as shown
Fill up the space with cement
Place the stove stand on top and apply a bit of pressure to turn round slightly to form a mold, then remove
That's all for now
Leave aside and let it dry overnight 😜
I was so excited that I was thinking about it all night.
Morning comes.....
What do you think? 😅
It's ugly but serves the purpose, i.e. a stove made by me! 😁.
If this stove lasts, there is a chance my stove story will be passed on to my younger generations when I rest in peace 😇. "Grandma or Great Grandma'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. It reminds me of those days how our grand parents and parents used to cook soup like this. Actually the taste is 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 those soup before, is a privilege.😍
My 1st trial with my of my self made stove began by starting the fire using twigs and trash papers.
Making French Toastwith my camping pan😂 This is how my mom did it . very simply. Those who wants a proper recipe canfollow here.
A simple French Toast which my late mom used to do when we were kids- Eggs, sugar, bread. Nowadays, it's easy to find any recipe you like in google and U-tube.
A simple French Toast with a cup of tea for breakfast
I copied this recipe from Allrecipes. Those who loves chocolate can give it a try.
Steam boat for lunch
Since children and grandkids came for lunch, I decided a Steam boat menu. Easy peasy, put everything inside the pot and they could dish out what they like to eat with rice or noodles.
My aluminum old fashioned, charcoal steam pot.
Have anyone seen this before in your life? If you are in the same era as me, then you sure have.😆
I bought this pot in 1982 about 4 decades away when it was on offer price of 50% discount in a supermarket called Cash and Carry in Segama which doesn't exist any more.
I had tried and compared the 2 pots - a stainless steel and my "ancient" aluminum one.
As expected the stainless steel one, cooks faster but the soup in the aluminum one, taste better. What is your opinion? The aluminum type cooked like the slow cooker we had in this modern days. The meat is so soft and tear easily.
That's my short story trials😂😁For this work I gave myself 6/7 out of 10.
What do you think?
Before I end my story, I would like to share some more of those trash to my treasure experiences. 🤭😅
Discarded garden stand
One of my former schoolmates wanted to throw away this broken garden stand but I suggested to give to me for my experimental creative works
I picked the unbroken pieces and recreated it into a single flower stand.
Then painted it with the leftover white paint. The stand looks strong enough to hold a 10 to 12 inches diameter pot.
And it looks so pretty and neat with a pot of plant on it☺️.
Discarded Rattan Basket
After I chopped down my overgrown blue peas flower plants, I replanted it's baby plant into this discarded basket so I could keep it's prolific growth under control😊.
While in another basket, I planted Bok Choi in it.
Rustic style planting!😂
Thanks to all the trash that eventually became my treasure for my garden 😁🙏
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