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Carseats for children

I have never driven a car in My country ,firstly as there is no lane discipline and secondly but more importantly ,car seats for children are not mandatory. So who will hold my 2 year old at the back of the car when I drive?

Being in Newzealand ,my daughter is always in her carseat and I drive everywhere ,even long distance ,just the two of us. The children get very well adjusted to the carseat after the initial hiccup .
I am always at peace while driving knowing that my daughter is secure behind.
The government now wants to increase the age limit ,making it mandatory for children upto the age of 7 to be in booster seats. They believe that until a child is 148 cm tall, he is not secure with an adult seat belt.

Many of us drive cars in India ,however Why is the government not bringing the carseat rule in ? All developed countries follow this rule . It would take care of so many precious and young lives.

In New Zealand we have 'Plunket' , which is the largest provider of free support services for the development of children under five in NZ. This organisation has a rental scheme for carseats. People can rent out a carseat for a fixed term at a fee and return it when the child no longer needs it. This scheme encourages people who are not able to buy a carseat outright ,to use one.
Enforcing a rule is very easy, but the government has taken steps to make it easier for the common man to abide by this rule .
Any community rule cannot be successful without the Government's help. This is an important lesson and must be learnt by all the developing nations.


Plunket

Kiwi courtesy

Living in New Zealand has provided an opportunity to live in a different culture . It is a multicultural community and people from all around the world reside here. But a true Kiwi stands out like a moon between the stars.
Whenever u pass a Kiwi on a footpath , they will always greet u or at least flash a smile and a nod.

If they are walking in front of you on the footpath they will immediately move to the side to give way.
By the way ,they carry a plastic bag to clear away dog poop while walking their dog.

If they meet you at an entrance ,they will always allow you to enter first. If they have entered first they will hold the door open for you.

If you are with young children ,a kiwi will stop the car and let you cross.

If you are moving your parked car into the traffic, a kiwi will stop his car to give you way.

A kiwi will wait for you to get your child out of the carseat and only then will he park his car in the adjacent parking space.

The majority of the Kiwis have lovely manners and sometimes it just makes your day.

Jewellery kit home made

School holidays are on and I have to come up with new ideas to keep my 8 yr old daughter busy . There are a lot of craft and activity kits in the market ,however they are expensive, one time use ones .I dont see any value of money there.

So I gave my daughter a empty oats carton and told her to use her creativity.

1. She cut the carton from the sides to make an opening .

2. Then stuck a pink card paper on the lid

3. Took a piece from a broken hairband and stuck it on the card paper with glue.




4. Stuck some butterfly beads around

5. Drew some shapes and coloured them

6.Added a plastic flower

7. Made compartments using cardboard

8. Stored all her jewellery inside

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The white pearl by Kate furnivall - my thoughts

Atmosphere atmosphere atmosphere!! The book takes you straight to the tropical weather of Malaya.The atmosphere is weaved into the sentences she writes. Connie , an expat from England enters a new life in Malaya, her husband being a rubber plantation owner.She has been living in Malaya for years when the story begins ,however she is not yet used to the hot and humid weather of the country. The introduction of the native girl 'Maya' in the story is so strong that for a time I wondered as to who was the real heroine. Maya belongs to the poor section of the society and her thoughts are always on the mundane things of life.
 "What would you like for your future"? Connie asks.
 Maya replies "plenty of food and a bicycle"
Maya is always analysing what the white people speak and what is going on in their minds. She doesn't trust them.

The war where the Japanese attacked Malaya in 1941 ,when it was under the British rule, is the highlight of the book. The author has done good research and the history is authentic.

Connie's relation with her husband and son as well as Maya , brings out her kind and compassionate nature. And her connection with the Japanese is well embedded in the story.

'Madoc' and 'kitty' are characters whose story runs parallel to the main characters and one knows that they have to meet with the central character somewhere in the story.

Connie's escape from Malaya on a boat ( the white pearl), along with her family and friends, is full of adventure,complete with war planes, hidden islands and death.

The author makes use of lot of similes throughout the story.
"Humidity was something solid, like running into a brick wall"

She gives the readers an olfactory perception of the  atmosphere .
"Smell of rotting vegetation, suffocating, smelled strongly of wood smoke"

I love books which have a backdrop of history and where one can learn about different cultures and countries. If you have the same interests this book is a good read .
Kate furnivall's websit

Sabudana vada to satiate hunger pangs

Fasting on specific days is a way of devotion in Hinduism.

Fasting means eating only certain foods and excluding others.We eat only sattvic ( pure ) food on these days. Sattvic foods are those foods which keep the body temperature and pressure under control and a stable body is then fit to fix the mind on God.
Many people partake fruits and milk while fasting. We are also allowed to eat sago seeds otherwise known as tapioca pearls and we call it sabudana in our local language.

We need to first soak these seeds in water.My mom's techniques is to soak them in just enough water to immerse the seeds. In about an hour all the water will be soaked up and u will get well soaked but well  separated seeds.

I have soaked about 1 cup of seeds .My  cup measures about 200 ml water.
Ingredients
Sago seeds - 1 cup
Potato ( boiled ) - 1
Cumin seeds ( jeera) - 2 tsps
Garlic- 2 inch
Green chilli - 2
Salt
Oil
Make a paste of green chillies, and ginger.
Now mix together sago seeds, potato and the ginger- chilli paste.also add the cumin seeds and salt to taste. Make round flat balls of this mixture.
Heat oil .Fry these balls on a medium heat .
Serve them with green Green chutney. Sabudana keeps u full and one doesn't think of food the rest of the day while fasting. And they taste yum.
I would love to hear about other kind of foods eaten during fasting .
Do share your ideas. Happy fasting with happy thoughts