还没真正搞清楚何谓 zakka。但是能感觉到，如果再用“手工”二字，就是意图给自己贴上老土的标签。在淘宝，当当或胡乱search一下，“手工”条目所列，几乎都是一些无精打采的玩意儿。输入“手作”，“杂货”，却是另一番令人振奋，富有个性的创意作品。
嘿嘿，尽管落后了几年，亡羊补牢的工作还是是要地。就算不能成为什么手作杂货达人，也可以学学一些应时的潮流新语。在纪伊国屋书店买了夏米的《初学橡皮章的12堂课》和小间敬子的《橡皮章生活杂货》，芷遥也挑了一本《用纸粘土做超可爱娃娃屋》，回来后上网查了一下，发现实在是付了许多冤枉钱。算了，要我等上3个星期后回北京再上当当订购，我打死忍不住。先忍痛解解馋，稍后再回北京扫货。
手作－生活，随兴，情趣，创意。
真的是超可爱。
最后买了一本《乌龟饲养方法》，准备回北京后，好好为家里两只可怜的小乌龟打造一给优质的生活环境，希望它们能长命百岁。
Met my three most talkative aunties (I have a total of seven aunties, all very chatty) at my father’s place last night. They were surprised that I am still breastfeeding the kid as she is turning 10mth soon. The usual concern, “Your milk enough meh? Baby got eat porridge or not?” But luckily the three of them are big TV fans and watches TV all the times, so they must have watched all the parenting programmes that praised the goodness of breastmilk. They all agreed that mama’s milk is more nutritious, but then, must train the baby to take formula also…well, the strong marketing strategies of formula milk is so powderful, it has already became a norm to take formula, while breastfeeding becomes the uncommon practice.
Then my sixth aunt begun advising me to eat more tonics, because the baby is drinking my milk, and milk is blood! She will be sucking away all my nutrients. I was laughing it off, and then my second aunt showed me a very serious face and told me, “Really, milk is blood, or else why you don’t menstruate when you are breastfeeding.” I have come across this old wives tale before in the Asia Parent Mailing List, and managed to dig out the relevant information to dispell this myth.
It was giving pomegranate leaves bath months ago to ward off evil spirit. Now I present to you my latest exorcising gadget: the silver anklet.
Everyone said the little fella has been badly frightened, because she has a greenish tint at the end of her nose bridge, between her eyes. The older folks even blamed the nurse for frightening the poor girl; some said the nurses must have handled her roughly, and some said the nurses probably bathed her in a very ungentle manner. Hmm…Maybe the gynea made a monkey face at her while removing her from my tummy which scared her badly! Anyway, the nurses, paediatricians and lactation consultants offered me more professional reason, the veins at that area are more prominent because the skin is thinner there. It will probably fade away later.
The greenish tint is still visible, which leads to the suggestion from my mother-in-law to let yauyau wear a silver anklet. According to the old wives belief, kids with greenish tint there tend to be more timid, easily frightened and startled. Since children are pure and innocent, they are able to see the extraordinary beings around. Therefore, to prevent my timid little one from getting a bad fright, she shall wear the anti evil, spirit warding silver anklet. With the invincible anklet, the evil spirit will not get near her and she will not see them. And it has to be pure silver; else the exsorsing power will not be strong!
Anyway, I am letting her wear the anklet irregardless whether it will protect her or not. I have one with lots of bells and hearts thingy hanging all over the chain. Too complicated and too noisy. Worse, what if she tries to eat the bells or pull one of them out and stuff them into her nose! I have chosen another one with a very simple design, just a chain with a tiny piglet dangling in the middle. I think it looks quite pretty and dainty on her little ankles. Ohh, she is slowly turning into my Barbie doll.
It look gross to some people. Some think it is plain silly to keep the dried umbilical cord stump, but that was the life line that connected the baby to me when she was still swimming inside me. Maybe it is a traditional practice, I notice that many mothers here keep their child’s umbilical cord stump.
I still have mine kept in a plastic jewelery box (the very traditional kind) at my father’s place. My mom used to say that keeping the children’s cord stump will ensure them to excel in studies, ie : intelligent! But according to my mother-in-law, the practice is slightly different. She told me to sew a little red triangle pouch, put the stump inside, and pin it to the baby’’s clothes. Suppose to bless the child, keep her healthy, protect her from harm. I thought keeping it in a little glass bottle, complete with a pretty golden ribbon is a more attractive idea, and provides more viewing pleasure. So here it is, that little stump finally settle itself in its new found bottle home, cushioned by cotton after 8 months of pathetic life in a dirty little plastic ziploc bag.
I am going to start a collection on old wives wisdom. Have been getting all these “well intended” advices from all sort of people, not necessary the old aunties only, some came from well educated, knowledgeable friends. Most of the advices are more like “warnings” to prevent misfortunes, some are silly, ignorant, incomprehensible and even dangerous. They scared me and make me paranoid. But of course, there are those which are really useful and clever.
They roughly fall into a few categories: pregnancy, confinement, breastfeeding, raising kids.
Here goes the first one which my mother-in-law advices on today:
#1: Do not offer your food to the baby.
The rational behind: If you always offer the food you are eating to your baby, it will slowly becomes a habit and the kid will habitually ask for the food the parents are eating. I kind of agrees with her. I definitely won’t want my daughter to become “tham jia” or “pai kuan” (I cracked my head and couldn’t find a suitable english word for this behaviour). I have encountered children and adults like that, irritating!
