Blog| Yummy Mummy |
| Lies, lies, lies... |
| 26.05.2010 20:41:24 | |
|
There are a number of reasons we might tell our children lies. First off, we might just be twisting the truth a little; maybe the bare facts would be too hard for a 4-yr old to handle - like the time my mum told me Fido went to live on a farm after she bit a child in the park. Living on a farm would be better for her, she explained. It wasn't until I was 24 that I overheard her telling a friend about the time she had to take Fido to be put down as she had bitten said child in the park. She had not gone to live on a farm at all. And I guess the rabbits, Salt and Pepper, did not go to live in the woods "with their friends" either, did they mum? Larger lies might include tales of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. My children are yet to find out that these magical creatures of the night, bringing presents, chocolate and money, are in fact a load of bull. Sometimes we lie to make our children behave better. Example, "I have Santa's phone number right here on my mobile, and if you continue to pummel your sister, I will call him and tell him to make sure all you get for Christmas this year is socks..." And then of course, there's the eyes-in-the-back-of-my-head lie. Whoever came up with that one was a genius. And the amazing thing is, our children believe it! My friend told me a wonderful story the other day. She was in her car driving along, when her 5-yr old in the back was trying to show her something in the book she was reading. Of course Mummy said she couldn't look round now, as she was concentrating on the road, it would be dangerous, blah, blah, blah... At this point, her daughter said, "But Mummy, why don't you use the eyes in the... oh, of course, the head rest is in the way." And that's a true story. No word of a lie... Tags: |
We are all guilty of telling our children lies. Some are small white ones, some are larger and some are positively monumental.| Patricia Hutton |
| Dogs on Chairs |
| 20.05.2010 20:12:08 | |
|
My first thought was – yuck – wonder how the next person to sit down on that chair would feel if they knew? The problem of dogs on chairs is getting to the point of ridiculous these days. No matter where you sit down outdoors, you’re likely to turn sideways and find yourself face to face with a slobbering animal head. Some people even have their dogs sitting up, like a little kid, paws on the table, licking from a plate. I know FEHD would not be pleased to see that but even if they don’t, I sure don’t want to eat off a restaurant plate that’s been used by a dog, or any other animal. Especially considering the washing techniques of many restaurants – just check out the women with gigantic washing bowls at the back side of the restaurant.
The same goes for walking around – 4 legs, it walks, gets to sniff around the grass and other dogs’ poo – 2 tiny baby legs, it goes in the push chair. And let’s forget about those shoulder carry bags so little poochie can fit safely under your armpit – it’s not all that nice an environment when it’s hot. |
A sunny afternoon in Sai Kung. A dog on a chair. A BIG dog on a chair. Nice dog, but... Then, walking by a place on the waterfront, there were 5 dogs on chairs. One owner had a chair for each of her 2 tiny – oh, so cute! –pooches.
I think a simple rule is needed here – 4 legs, on the ground, 2 legs, on the chair.
| Yummy Mummy |
| Doing It Yourself - or not? |
| 05.05.2010 22:38:23 | |
|
When I was in the UK, my husband and I would spend weekend after weekend re-grouting the bathroom, re-painting the spare-room, sanding down wooden window sills and even de-mossing our own pathway! But not here. I don't even make my own bed here. I don't buy the groceries, I don't polish the kids' shoes, nor so I sew on buttons that have gone astray! Nope, I just pay someone else to do it for me! I'm fairly certain, however, that I am not the only mum who pays other people to do their dirty work. How can I be so sure? Well, my elder daughter came home from Beavers one afternoon with about 5 (gazillion) badges to sew on her shirt. I studied them carefully in search of the iron-on webbing on the back, but there was none. Lordy! These badges needed a proper, good old-fashioned, needle and thread - and thread that matched of course... Ok, ok, no problem. I'll just nip down to the lovely Emily, in the old town, and pay her to do it for me. Of course I was feeling slightly ashamed, so I looked about me before entering to make sure no-one saw me. How embarrassing would that be? Check her out, Yummy Mummy can't even sew on her daughter's Beavers' badges!!! Relief flooded over me when I showed Emily the shirt. "Ah yes," she confirmed, "easy for me." She laid out the shirt, laid all the badges in the correct places and announced, "All the mums bring these in for me to do..." Tags: |
Doing It Yourself in Hong Kong is not something we generally like to do. The D.I.Y. megastore, B&Q, failed in Hong Kong after a very short existence here. Even Spotlight eventually went down the pan - much to the grievance of a small minority of people who like to crochet their own greetings cards. On the whole, in Hong Kong, it's far easier and certainly cheap enough to pay someone else to do the hard graft for you.| Yummy Mummy |
| The Things We Wore... |
| 21.04.2010 19:29:15 | |
|
I had to do it yesterday in preparation for a big family reunion coming up. Oh my life! I was utterly shocked at what I came across. The clothes, the hair, the make-up - what was I thinking?! Even as a nine-year old, all dressed up to go to the local Saturday afternoon disco, I was horrified to see ruffled shirt, corduruoy pedal pushers, grey tights and purple lace up brogues! I didn't even look sweet - I just looked plain horrible! And then there was the photos of me at the disco - teeny-bopping to within an inch of my life to "Hey Mickey" - you could just tell it was Hey Mickey from the photos! And as for the boy haircuts from age 10 through to 14, they clearly seemed like a good idea at the time - honestly! I daren't even mention the corkscrew perms at 16! But it wasn't just the ghastly 80's fashions that befell us 1971 babies, it was the garb and get-up in my 20's that I'm even more shocked about. I found pictures of me on a holiday with my husband in Corsica, where we met a fabulous group of people who we are still in touch with now. I said to him last night, "I can't believe they actually talked to me, looking like that!" I've a good mind to sue the hairdresser for post traumatic stress - which I'm going through right now... Personally, I blame my mother - she was quite liberated when I was growing up and gave us 'freedom of expression', if you like. She never once said, "Good grief girl, you are not leaving this house looking like that..." like most sensible parents and therefore I did leave the house looking like that, and only now I am I living to severely regret it! Tags: |
If you're ever tempted to dig out old photos of your childhood, teenhood and your 20-somethings, let me give you one word of advice... Don't!| Judy Love-Eastham |
| Living with Mother Nature |
| 10.12.2009 06:44:53 | |
|
Cinnamon was a golden retriever who lived life to the full. Even rainy days were adventures to her and she considered every creature a potential play-mate. In many aspects she was a quick learner – proud to wait for a treat until she heard the command to “take it” or carefully bringing the paper or mail to me each morning with nary a tear. However, despite two previous attacks, she just wasn’t smart enough to realize that snakes were not her friends. She finally succumbed to what we believe was a pit viper – one obviously not in the mood for a game of tag. My first reaction (after copious tears) was to put our house up for sale and move from the Country Park immediately. How could I stay in an environment in which my eight year old companion was murdered? However – I’ve mellowed since then. Still sick with sadness, I realize that we cannot run away from Mother Nature – we must accept her fierce cruelty as well as her beauty and gentleness. But…how I wish that my sweet Cinnamon had been able to judge a creature’s character before attempting to befriend it. Tags: Mother Nature | nature | dogs | snakes | clash | Sai Kung Country Park |
We recently lost a member of our family. She was a sweet, loving character who wouldn't hurt a fly (unless she inadvertently smothered it with a "kiss"). An outdoor-lover, she enjoyed toying with the frogs and, contrary to the nature of her more savvy 'sister', even seemed to prefer to play with the rats than to kill them.| George Woodman |
| Wind farm matters |
| 14.10.2009 04:58:43 | |
|
It seems the gloves are off concerning CLP’s proposed wind farm near the Ninepins off Clearwater Bay. The Sai Kung District Council has recently come out against the proposal, to join those concerned about the effects of the wind farm on application for Geopark status for the area and others who are simply concerned about the visual impact.
Tags: Sustainability | Students | Sai Kung |
| Judy Love-Eastham |
| Hiram Would Have Hated Them Too! |
| 27.09.2009 23:06:43 | |
|
The width of the highway wouldn't be a problem if those buses were made to stop at bus turn-ins only and people got a bit more exercise and walked those extra steps. Then there's the problem of the number of 101 minibuses that ply that road (often flying by would be passengers) and the more energy efficient 792 is almost empty. But....another day, another rant! |
Minibuses - and those #$%^& people who can't walk half a block to catch a bus. Why on earth do they allow the buses to stop anywhere they please (or their customers please) in the middle of a block and....sometimes....just around a corner. | Judy Love-Eastham |
| Chain Store Rip-Off |
| 20.09.2009 23:14:26 | |
 I think good, friendly service is more important than anything else. I know, I know...everyone tells me I go overboard because I often consider giving good service more important than making money (and that's not the way to keep a business afloat). But I do believe that service and the 'perks' you can give customers that cost little and mean so much should be practiced by every business whereever possible.
You all know which shops and restaurants "have it" in Sai Kung and which don't. Consider which ones have been around a long time and which ones come and go. This morning my octopus didn't work properly at a meter so I popped into 7-Eleven to check it. Well....they told me I had to pay $3 just to check whether it worked there or not!! Come on....how much does it cost them to let me just put my octopus on that little screen?? Sadly....7-Eleven will be around a long time :( A very frustrating exception to the rule. Tags: Local Business | 7-Eleven | Octopus |
| Judy Love-Eastham |
| Students DO Care |
| 20.09.2009 23:11:01 | |
|
A few years ago I was approached by a professor from HKUST who taught a garduate class in Sustainable Development. He wondered if some of his students could come and ask some questions about Sai Kung. The class was to study various issues relating to development of Sai Kung and one group in particular, had chosen expats in the area. I was thrilled - it showed that at least some at our "local" university were interested in the community in which they were located. I had always felt that they did not care too much to become involved in the community. More university students have come through our doors since and it now seems that even younger students are interested in their community. In the Spring, one young student at Shatin College contacted us and asked for information on the Sai Kung area for a project he was doing. Over the summer there seemed to be quite a number of high school students, from schools on the Island and in Kowloon (but residing in this district) sending emails or coming to the shop asking for everything from very specific to quite general information. For instance, an Island School student recently asked for help with his study of the history and development of small villages in the area. One of those villages sent me scurrying to a map. While we are merely helping them by giving them specific articles in our four year collection of Explore SK Magazine and pointing the way to resources to which we have access (we're not doing the work for them!) we find it gratifying to see that students are taking such an interest in their local environment. Hopefully they'll be the village reps and politicians of the future! Tags: Sustainability | Students |
