Patrick’s Playground
It all started with a sandpit. A simple old second hand sandpit that I was going to paint and fill for Patrick’s 1st birthday present. Then when I decided that I wanted it undercover, I kept adding more and more and the new play area was created.
It was such a joy to create and bring my idea to life. I had the vision of using a pallet to create a wall as not only protection from the wind, but as a activity area of some kind. Then when the ball holes came to my head there no stopping me.
There were many firsts when building this. Probably the biggest one was using the drop cutter saw thing (I probably should know the name!) I used that to cut the wood and build the yellow paper hanger for the roll of butchers paper. I also learnt how to cut on the angle and was able to cut all the edging around the blackboard and drawing area.
I should say, I didn’t do it all on my own and I directed hubby on a few things that I couldn’t do myself.
The biggest reward has been Patrick and other children spending time playing out there. I also find myself laying on the grass and throwing the balls at the holes or just looking out at the garden and daydreaming. I look forward to capturing many more memories out there in the years ahead.
The frame of the sandpit and the empty deck space prior to the work starting.
The pallet was then laid out and the plumbing pipes cut out.
After the plywood had the holes cut, it was attached to the pallet.
Patrick was very eager to help in this process and I had him testing out the supplies to ensure it was all acceptable. I then decided to try and draw a red car for behind the steering wheel. Although the camera doesn’t capture it well, those are actually round mirrors on each side.
Wanting to protect the sandpit when it wasn’t in use, I asked my mother in law to make a cover for me. The best way to describe to her what I wanted was ‘like a shower cap’. And a shower cap is exactly what she made and it is perfect. The elastic around it makes it easy to put on and off and it protects the sand from the neighbours cats at night.
