Buying a Play Set, Part II: What Are You Made Of?

Now that you've made the decision to fork over some cash and land to install a play set, the next logical question is, which one?

Another multi-step process, my dear reader. You see, you don't have just one choice--a metal swingset--that we had when we were kids. Now there are play sets in metal, plastic, various kinds of wood, and combinations of those. There's a huge range of price points for these materials, and durability is also a big issue.

Here's a quick primer to the main types of materials that you'll be finding on the market, as well as my own evaluation of their looks, durability, and environmental friendliness.

Metal
Durability: *** Maintenance: * Environmental Aspects: *
The entry level of many swing sets is the metal category. This also tends to be the least costly of your pre-fabricated choices,* and least versatile. Sets are available at Toys "R" Us for around $200. (*There are also inexpensive kits that require consumers to purchase their own lumber, but the kits supply all of the anchors and joinings to create the playset.)

The main complaint about metal swing sets is the rust factor: The rain and snow really do a number on them. Most home fix-it stores carry rust abatement products, and repainting your swing set on occasion will be necessary. Add these products into the mix and you reduce the environmental friendliness factor considerably. Another important consideration in a yard without much shade is the heat factor of the sun beating down on a metal slide or bars on the set. Many community playgrounds and manufactured playsets now offer plastic slides because they do not heat up as much as their metal counterparts. Manufacturers also offer galvanized metal swing sets, which are less prone to rusting and heating problems. These types of sets are more commonly found on commercial playgrounds. Residential galvanized metal sets are available, but shop carefully.

Plastic
Durability: ** Maintenance: *** Environmental Aspects: *
Plastic products, such as sets made by Little Tikes, are worthy competitors for a child's attention outdoors. Brightly beckoning to little kids with their tunnels, slides, and interchangeable components, plastic sets are an affordable and somewhat durable option for the backyard.

However, the most significant drawbacks of plastic sets are hard to ignore. They're generally sized for younger kids, so playtime will be limited after age 5 or 6. The sets don't weather well, so after a couple of years in the sun and snow, they will fade and possibly crack. If plastic playsets are not taken apart and reassembled, they maintain their integrity all right, but it is not a good idea to purchase a previously used plastic playset for your yard. And the environmental unfriendliness of the manufacturing process using a petroleum-based product is hard to ignore, especially in these times of higher oil costs.

Pine
Durability: *-**** Maintenance: *-*** Environmental Aspects: **

Pine is the workhouse of less expensive wood playsets. Most self-assemble sets, such as those found in the savings club-type venues, use pine. Pine is a soft wood that does not repel insects like cedar or redwood, but pressure-treated pine is also augmented with chemicals to preserve the wood from insect damage and overall decay. Pine's range of durability primarily hinges on the manufacturer's treatment of the wood and the width of the play set support pieces. Researching what the manufacturer does to the pine and customer satisfaction with their play sets are very important to understanding whether you are purchasing a quality pine set.

With pine, you get a lower-cost option that is attractive, but will require backyard maintenance. Weather extremes will expand and shrink the wood, so tightening the fasteners will be required. Wood should be inspected regularly, and structures may require a sealant treatment annually either as-needed or for the entire set. Cracks may appear in pine playsets, but some of these are expected. Relying on an experienced play set installer to walk you through the structure's inspections once or twice would be an excellent investment to preserve your playset and your children's safety.

Cedar/Redwood
Durability: **** Maintenance: **** Environmental Aspects: ***-****

In this case, the consumer's best choices for playset construction are also the most costly options of all. Cedar and redwood are durable, repel insects, and are the strongest materials that you can find on the market to handle the climbing, jumping, swinging, and other antics from your kids and their friends. Redwood is even a somewhat sustainable wood, due to the fast growth of those trees. However, manufacturers know this well and make consumers pay the price--sets in these wood typically cost $2,000 and up.

Cedar and redwood are excellent investments for the homeowner who doesn't want to dicker with a lot of maintenance, though annual inspections are still important. Many manufacturers who use these woods include generous warranties because of the overall durability. Cedar and redwood weather nicely too, and these sets can be relocated to another home without compromising the structure's sturdiness.

And finally, a note on what you'll put on the ground around the playset, so that your kids aren't playing in and around a pit of dirt and dead grass:

Mulch
There are generally two kinds of mulch for backyard playsets that you can purchase from local landscaping or mulch supply companies: wood chips and playground "carpet." Wood chips are, well, chipped wood pieces spread under the playset to a depth of 6-9", depending on the height of the playset. These can be found on many community playgrounds as well, and do the job just fine of absorbing impact. These can also be a good choice if very young children will be on the ground because it's harder to eat, though crawling will be more uncomfortable for them.

Playground "carpet" is hardwood mulch that is cleaned of dirt, and compacts more on the ground to absorb impact better. Naturally, because it works really well, it's more expensive than wood chips.

Whatever you choose, do NOT buy regular old hardwood mulch for your backyard, or you will have a HUGE mess to clean up every time the kids come back in the house.

Other Materials
Other shock-absorbing materials are available to put under your backyard playset, such as rubber mulch, pea gravel, and sand. However, the annoyance factor and/or expense of installing these groundcovers do not make them friendly options for most consumers.

Sources:
Creative Playgrounds for Small Spaces: http://www.mygreathome.com/outdoors/playgrounds.htm
How Safe is Your Home Playground Equipment? Part 2: http://www.backyardcity.com/articles/Playing-It-Safe-Part2.htm
Playground Services Inc. FAQ: http://www.qualityplaysets.com/FAQs.asp
Playset Buyers Guide: http://www.childrensplaysets.com/playset_buyers_guide
Swing Sets Blog: http://www.outdoorkidsadventures.com/2009/06/hello-world/
Swing Sets Depot: http://www.swingsetsdepot.com/swing-sets-backyard-safety.cfm

How to Buy a Swing Set, Part I (of many)

This weekend we embarked on the most dastardly and feared of buying tasks for the young family: Purchasing a swing set.

Except these days, it's not the rusty, metal swing set with the striped poles and concrete anchors that our parents suffered through assembling. Today, it's play sets, with wooden forts built atop rock walls and roped ramps, picnic areas underneath, and the "accessory" swing beam fluttering off at the side. It's the treehouse you never had, accessible only through physical effort mimicking Marine basic training. It's a home-away-from-home that can cost as much as your own monthly mortgage payment (if not more).

However, this daunting purchase must be made in a vacuum, as there are no comprehensive articles, how-tos, or review sites that allow you to make comparisons across manufacturing lines or among dealers. What you're left with is a vague recollection of the kickin' play set that President Obama purchased his daughters (made by Rainbow), and that Toys 'R' Us still sells those rust-filled metal sets to somebody.

Hereon, I embark upon the impossible: A series of posts documenting our research and ensuing purchase to help others navigate this task. But where to start?

Part I: Deciding on the purchase

After all, purchasing a swing set (yes, I'll still call it that) is not for everyone. Here are some factors that you can consider as you start setting up your priorities and budget for the purchase.

• Do you already live close to neighborhood parks or playgrounds? If so, it's time to assess whether you can get by using those communal resources and putting your savings toward another kid investment, like that other popular playplace--college.
• Do you have ample incentive/motivation to bring your kids to the park as long as they can't go by themselves? If not, a swing set may be a good purchase since it's in your own yard. Be honest with yourself on this one.
• Do you have a neighbor with a play set? If so, you might go down the path of buying a different play component in your backyard, and you can share the yards.
• Do you have the square footage in a yard with little to no slope? Although some play sets come with a smaller footprint, you'll need at least 15' in each direction to install a play set with swings, along with another 6' of buffer on each side as recommended by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for safe play. If your yard slopes steeply (sloping 6" or more between the outside posts of your play set), installation may not be advisable.
• Do you have the money? Play sets come in a huge variety of styles, material types, and customizations. Purchases can range from $200 (a metal swing set or a small plastic play set) to $12,000. Many of the under-$2000 sets require assembly, while most over that price point come with installation and/or delivery. So in cost considerations, you have to decide whether you have not only money in the bank for the equipment, but also the means for assembling it (either your own talent, borrowed brawn, or the cash to buy installation).

Still want to purchase a swing set? Next, we'll explore some of the soul-searching and decision-making you'll need to make even after you've committed to cough up the cash for a magnificent tribute to steel/wood/plastic in your very own yard.

End of an Error

As I sit here (finally) burning our CD collection to go on the iPod, I'm struck by the one key way that buying songs through iTunes or other vendors will change our approach to music: Not being able to make amends for a particularly egregious music purchasing error.

You know what I'm talking about. You had those albums, tapes, or CDs in your collection--and you swiftly donated them to a needy friend, neighbor, or Goodwill. My sisters bought me a Menudo album when I was 9, and I was mortified upon receiving it. I knew better, even then. I even feared even putting it in the garbage, lest a neighbor my age see it on trash day and suspect wrongly my musical inclinations.

If you didn't live in the Baltimore area between the ages of 14-25 in the 1980s and 1990s, then you were deprived of Record & Tape Traders, which dealt in all sorts of music genres across the main mediums of vinyl, tape, and CD. It was here that you could make amends for those musical transgressions that plagued your collection. They would take from you the Yoko Ono, Gary Numan, or Hooked on Classics albums that you preferred to anonymously purge from your life. In turn, they would give you a little walk-about money that you used to atone for those sins with other musical selections that soothed your soul.

During college in the early 1990s, it was clear that most everyone agreed on the transgressions that were particularly in need of forgiveness: Aerosmith's "Pump," Hootie and the Blowfish, and the Spin Doctors all spring to mind as music you could buy by the bushel. (At some point, even R&TT had to cut off their buyback for these albums.) What always made me curious was how I managed to score most of my Beatles collection, a Robert Johnson 2-CD set, and some other terrific jazz from Record & Tape's generous bins. Who could possibly resell these treasures? Someone with terrible taste? A music lover down on his luck who couldn't make rent that month? Some teen punk ripping off his parents' CD collection to get money for booze for the weekend? I still wonder.

As we move toward using online sources for our sole music acquisition, music lovers certainly lose out on the comaraderie and banter that could be found while making selections in the music store. Even the songs played in-store occasionally inspired purchases (Cat Empire, Fugazi, and Chemical Brothers), and we don't get that incidental/accidental exposure to music if we're browsing the genres and artists that we already know. One can certainly argue that, at 99 cents a pop, it's easy to try on new artists and song styles, even if they turn out to be poor choices in the end. But what of the redemption that once came with selling back your music in order to buy appeasement from the music gods, so they would turn you on to Patsy Cline, Kings of Leon, and the Staple Singers? Hitting the "delete" key isn't the same remedy, nor the same satisfaction, as you seek to create your musical identity. The communal experience influences how you spend your time and money on music. Though online libraries make it convenient and more environmentally friendly to participate in music commerce, no number of chat boards or Hot 100 lists will replace the accessible, friendly, soul-saving role of the used music vendor.

Make more with mango

I've always struggled to get the hang of mango. A ripe mango is a mess: it's juicy, it's stringy, it's impossible to separate smoothly from the pit. I know that some folks recommend dicing mango on the peel and then using a spoon to remove the yellow flesh from the skin. However, that has backfired on me several times, resulting in small dice mango that I have to cut free of its green/red/yellow outer layer.

I just hit upon the best way to render small-dice mango: Use the freezer. I pit and quartered a mango, then froze the peeled pieces on wax paper before putting the fruit into a freezer bag. For today's mango salsa recipe, I took out the mango I needed, let it thaw for 15 minutes on the counter, then cut the mostly-frozen mango with a heavy knife. It worked beautifully, and I've finally conquered the stringy mess of mango.

PS: Avocado also freezes nicely, and it doesn't brown! Freeze slices or quarters and take out as much as you need for your recipes.

Worth a rewind

The gals over at Celebritology gave us some food for thought on movies that we can't help but watch over and over again. Here's my list:

The Princess Bride -- Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Pride and Prejudice (1940) -- Sir Laurence Olivier makes a delicious Mr. Darcy.
It's a Wonderful Life -- But I've got to stop falling asleep at 10pm ET, when Uncle Billy has just lost the money.
When Harry Met Sally -- What's the wagon wheel coffee table in your life?
The Philadelphia Story -- Grant, Hepburn, and Stewart make comedy magic together.
Dirty Dancing -- Fun movie, great soundtrack.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- Twist and shout, baby.
Top Hat -- Astaire and Rogers mesmerize with their dancing.
Cinema Paradiso -- I cry my eyes out at the end.
Shawshank Redemption- -- What a beautiful movie about doing good for others, no matter the hardship.
The Sound of Music -- I've committed that soundtrack to memory.
Ocean's Eleven -- Eye candy with lots of plot twists and goofy personalities. Love it.

Homemade baby food: The fast and slow of it

I've trawled numerous sources for information on how to make your own baby food. Making your own food is inexpensive and not too difficult, if you're willing to invest a couple of hours into batch cooking every so often. If you don't have a ton of time to stand around cooking baby food, this list should help you portion out your time and effort while still giving your kid some delicious, homemade goodness. My weapon of choice is a Cuisinart stick blender, which I use in the stainless steel pot or mixing bowl to puree the food to the desired consistency. A food mill is truly overkill, and who wants to clean the entire blender?

Some foods are a lot easier to prepare/freeze than others. Prep times suggested below reflect the total time to create one batch of the food (approx. one ice cube tray worth of stuff), not including stove time. What works most easily:

- Banana. The king of baby foods, a ripe banana is easily transported, prepared, and served. Either mash with a fork or dice into pea-size bits for the baby to pick up. Don't even bother freezing. PREP TIME: 2 minutes or less.
- Mango. Halve it, pit it, scrape the flesh from the peel, and slice the flesh into baby portions. Freeze on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or plastic wrap, and store in a freezer bag. To serve, simple remove the amount of mango you want, pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds at a time until softened. Mash with fork and serve. PREP TIME: 5 minutes or less.
- Avocado. Again, halve, pit, scrape, slice, and freeze--just like the mango. To serve, let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes, or defrost in the microwave for 8-10 seconds at a time (avocado defrosts quickly). Little known fact: If frozen right after slicing, the avocado remains green. You can easily freeze slices to pull out for your own delicious and attractive salad accompaniment. PREP TIME: 5 minutes or less.
- Apples/pears: Of the cooked foods, these are easiest to puree and freeze since they break down so well when cooking. Peel & slice several apples or pears, then bring to a boil in 1/2 C. water. Simmer 10 minutes or until fruit yields easily to a fork or knife stab. Let cool a little, then either mash or puree to desired consistency. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Pop the cubes out of the trays and store in freezer bags. PREP TIME: 20 minutes or less (divided)

Most annoying to make yourself, in descending order of irritation:
- Green beans. The outside of a green bean doesn't puree well, so it's hard to get the right consistency for the youngest eaters. Add water to make the consistency and blending better for baby. PREP TIME: 25 minutes, mostly spent trying to ram those last bits under the blender blade.
- Winter squash. This isn't dead-last because they can be cooked in the microwave with a minimum of nutrient loss, but squash take a long time and babysitting to get them cooked right. After you heave out a cleaver to open them up, of course. PREP TIME: 30 minutes, or longer if the flesh sticks too much onto the peel.
- Sweet potatoes. Yes, the kids love them. No, you'll hate making them: Forcibly peeling an awkwardly-shaped spud, and then cutting it up with my largest available knife, is not in my workout regimen. At least make the cutting a little easier for yourself by choosing longer, thinner potatoes over shorter, rounder ones. PREP TIME: 30 minutes or so, depending on the cratered terrain of the potato.

The other foods roughly fall in the middle of the cost/benefit spectrum: peas, peaches, carrots, broccoli, etc.

Bon appetit.

How to peel a pineapple/a butternut squash

The processes of removing the hard outside of a pineapple and the tough outer peel of a butternut squash are remarkably similar. I've seen so much bad advice for both out there that I will provide the authoritative method for both items of produce:

- Choose a pineapple that is sweet to the smell and already yellowy-brown on the outside. For a butternut squash, find one that has a mostly even, regular shape throughout (less bell-shaped, more hourglass).
- Remove both the top and bottom. Discard.
- With a very sharp knife and steely nerves, slice the peel off going from top to bottom. (On an irregularly-shaped squash, you may have to cut the squash into two pieces first.) I cannot stress enough the importance of a heavy, sharp knife for this. Dull or weak knives will chop up the peel/flesh and make the job interminably long.

**Don't be afraid of losing some of the edible flesh as you remove the peel--this will happen, and cutting too closely will only result in a sloppy chop job that you'll have to repair with many mini-slices later on. Using strong, authoritative cuts down the length of the item will produce the best result at a minimum of time and effort.**

- Halve the produce.
- For the squash, scoop out the seeds and cut into desired pieces. For the pineapple, cut the halves in half, then remove the core of the pineapple that is too tough to eat. Cut the remaining fruit as desired.

See? You don't have to pre-steam the squash or try to remove the pineapple rind off of too-small pieces. Both items of produce are delicious and deserve to be enjoyed with minimal effort, and it's far more economical for both items to buy them whole and peel them yourself. Get your knives out and get going.