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My Backyard Ice Rink Ezine #13 - Easy ice resurfacing, Sid Crosby update, and more. December 23, 2011 |
mybackyardicerink.com Issue # 13 - December 2011NHL ReportAfter 320 days and 61 regular season games absent from the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins are no doubt overjoyed to have Sid the Kid back in the line-up! "Who's got it better than us?"A grateful heart and the ability to sell the bright side are gifts that Jack Harbaugh, football coach for 43 years, possessed and passed on to his children, John, Jim and Joani. "Who's got it better than us?" was a family motto regardless of their financial situation. The answer to that question was invariably - "Nooo-body."Through cold Ohio winters, football dreams gave way to ice hockey dreams in the imaginations of the young Harbaugh boys. There was at least one winter when the brothers built something "unspeakably cool" according to their sister Joani - a backyard ice rink. It wasn't fancy. They simply hauled out the hose and flooded a depression in the yard during sub-zero weather. Joani commented, "We would seriously say, ‘Who does have it better than you when you have an ice rink in your backyard? Nobody’s got it better than you. You have an ice rink in your backyard.’" No-brainer. I guess it was inevitable that brothers Jim and John followed their famous Dad's footsteps into the NFL. Both are now head coaches, John in Baltimore and Jim in San Francisco. Memories and mottos have come with them. Jim's talks to the team frequently end with the question: "Who's got it better than us?!" And of course, the guys respond, and more importantly believe, "Nooo-body!" Read the blog article here Ice Resurfacing your Backyard Ice RinkA pristine, glass-smooth ice surface is a joy to behold. It takes some doing to achieve, and just one gloriously raucous game of shinny to scar it all up with skate blades.And then an overnight snowfall may threaten the strength of the ice. It may seem a bit counter-intuitive, but snow on the ice can insulate the ice from the ambient temperature, resulting in slushiness on the surface of the ice rink. Prevent this by ice resurfacing. Shovel the snow from the ice as needed, or morning and evening if required. Need or want to restore the 'sheet-of-glass' ice surface? Once most of the snow has been removed, use a skater's rake to evenly distribute a film of water over the ice. It will freeze in minutes. Voila! If you'd like to keep your ice beautifully resurfaced, and save yourself time and beaucoup frustration, visit our mybackyardicerink.com Store and purchase a skater's rake for your own backyard ice rink. Learn much more about ice resurfacing here. Enhancing Your Ice RinkIt is indeed "unspeakably cool" to have an ice rink in your backyard.But what if that ice rink also had hockey boards, a goal net at each end, overhead lighting, and perimeter netting? What if you painted lines on the ice before the last few layers of ice went down? How cool would that be? How fun would it be to roast s'mores or hot dogs on a nearby campfire-style barbecue pit in between face-offs? You build the rink, and winter may become "your thing." Your kids and their friends may spend literally hours on your backyard ice rink each week, while the unhealthful TV languishes, forgotten, except for Hockey Night in Canada, of course. See how a backyard ice rink has enhanced the lives of three families in Massachusetts. The story even includes a favorite skater-warming recipe - steaming bowls of salmon chowder. "Who's got it better than you?" After a fun-packed and chowder-filled evening on or near your backyard ice rink, your own family and friends will be admitting... Nobody. Lots of rink-enhancements can be purchased at our mybackyardicerink.com Store. Rockefeller Center Ice Skating, NYC
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