The Lost Art Of Knitting

One of my acquaintances recently talked about her undying love for knitting. She is presently knitting a bright red colored sweater with lovely motifs on it. This conversation made me go into my reverie once again. A common sight of yester years (a lady sitting serenely and knitting) is a rare phenomenon these days. My own late grandmother was an expert on knitting and my mom followed in her footsteps. But unfortunately, I did not hold on to this love for knitting. I just know the nitty-gritty of it; not enough to teach or demonstrate this art to my daughter.

This is how things change from generation to generation. This is how history is made from time to time. These simple things show how life flows on like a river, meandering along its course through the passage of time, taking some sediment with it, and leaving some behind.

Wanna be Size Zero??

Many of us dream of having a perfect hour-glass figure and what all we try to do in order to fulfill that desire!! After all ‘Looks do matter’! We all want to look good and be appreciated and of course be desired!! But that perfection seems to be so much out of reach for many of us well-endowed mortals….what to do?

We diet and stay hungry and deprive ourselves of all the mouth-watering goodies that surround us just because we want to fit into that old pair of jeans or to hide those bulges which pop out the moment we try to squeeze ourselves into an itsy-bitsy number! We tend to ask-- Oh God….why me?

But the cravings one gets while dieting strictly is worrisome. It makes us unhappy and often irritable. Our mind tends to be pre-occupied with the thoughts of food, because food is what we have to avoid! As a result we think more about it while dieting!! After all, how long can you deviate from your normal lifestyle. Add to this the fact of binging on food and piling on fat once the diet is over --it all somehow comes back with a vengeance!!

So how does one comply with the fad of being Size Zero! I have personally reached a conclusion to this problem…one needs to look good, no matter what size, after all ‘Looks do matter, but size does not!’. The mantra for this is to stay fit, eat moderately (eat everything to avoid any cravings), but avoid overeating, exercise regularly, dress well and move around with dignity. One needs to understand what suits us best and choose clothes accordingly. How one carries the clothes makes a lot of difference and above that one needs to have SELF-ESTEEM. Others will perceive you as you portray yourself so move on with Élan and let others be pre-occupied with sizes!! Be happy, rest all will follow....

Teaching Geography

Is your kid having difficulty remembering places on map? Then try the following geography game- "My Kingdoms". Get a large sized map or you can also use the atlas. Start the game by naming a country. Give your kid 2 minutes to look for it on map. If he/she is able to find the given country in the stipulated time, then that country will 'belong' to him. Alternatively that country will come under your Kingdom. Take turns for finding the countries and winning them into your kingdoms. In the end, the winner will be person who has more number of countries in his/her Kingdom.

This is a very simple and non stressful way to make kids learn the political maps. Let them have the thrill of 'discovering' new countries on map! Encourage your child to play such interactive educational games. They are not only enjoyable but also stimulate kids' intellect.

"The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, the great teacher inspires" - William Arthur