再利用 Reuse

爸臥床時用過的洗頭盆，現在成了媽的洗碗槽，得以繼續發揮功用。洗碗水經排水管流入水桶收集，可用來沖馬桶。

The shampoo basin previously used for my bedridden dad has been repurposed as my mom’s dishwashing sink, remaining useful. The used dishwater drains into a bucket for collection and can then be used to flush the toilet.

即使沒有那洗頭盆，洗手水和洗碗水仍可由水桶收集來沖馬桶。洗碗時，可在水桶上放一個籃子，讓洗碗水從籃子的孔洞漏到水桶。洗手或洗碗時可深蹲或半蹲，順便鍛練腿部肌肉。若偏好站姿，可將籃子架高。

Even without that shampoo basin, water from washing hands and dishes can still be collected in a bucket and reused to flush the toilet.

When washing dishes, a basket can be placed on top of the bucket to serve as a sink, allowing the used water to leak through the basket's holes and collect in the bucket.

We can do deep squats or half squats while washing hands or dishes, training our leg muscles at the same time. If a standing posture is preferred, the basket can be raised.

媒人的梅 The Matchmaker's Mei

鄭秀梅女士是爸媽的媒人，也是以前祖母帶年幼的我到臺南時會拜訪的親友之一。祖母稱呼她「阿梅」。

因為阿梅和我爸家及我媽家有不同的輩分關係，我稱呼她「姨婆姑」。她曾送給爸媽一套餐桌椅。

日前我接手了這張餐桌。在清潔餐桌時，我在它內部的結構上看到一個原子筆寫的「梅」字。這是一個額外的緣分。

Ms. Hsiu-Mei Cheng was my parents’ matchmaker and one of the relatives my grandma would visit when we traveled to Tainan during my childhood. My grandma called her A-Mei.

Because of her different generational connections to my dad’s family and my mom’s family, I called her grandaunt-aunt. She once gave my parents a dining table with matching chairs.

I recently inherited the table. While I was cleaning it, I discovered a ballpoint pen-written character—"Mei"—on its inner structure. It was an unexpected connection to her.