Jeannette Lam of Calgary, Alta.

My husband Thanh and I have always talked about building a skating rink since we moved to our acreage just outside of Calgary. It has been five years, but this year, our talk finally turned into action.

Thanh and his brothers built the rink panels in our garage over several evenings. The straight panels were 5/8" plywood stapled onto a 42"x96" 2x4 frames. The corners panels were made by bending two layers of ¼" plywood over a curved frame. There are 30 panels altogether including a panel with a door.

Once the panels were prefabricated, we invited family, friends and neighbours for a rink-building party. Between the snowball fights, hot chocolate, fire roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, the gang pieced together an entire garage full of rink board panels like an IKEA coffee table. We even left a panel removable for a "zamboni" (the neighbour's tractor-mounted snow blower).

Thanh flooded the rink over several days and installed 6 halogen lights. Our previous winters were spent anxiously waiting for winter and the cold to be over. Now that we have the rink, you can typically find us outside in the rink skating and playing hockey with family, friends and neighbours.

We have an "open rink" policy and everyone is invited. Usually the rink is filled with kids like our two sons, nieces, nephews and their friends, and the neighbours' kids and their friends. The rink has certainly brought our family and friends closer.

Amazing what some lumber and frozen water can do!!

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