MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 July 1936, Page 4

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

CARPET CARE.

FAMILY WEAR AND TEAR

With all the care and the best intentions in the world it is impossible in the winter months to keep a certain amount of mud from being tramped into the house, especially if there are youngsters in the family (states tne Melbourne “Age”). It is the carpets that suffer, of course, for though muddy boots will make the work of keeping linos, and polished floors clean all the heavier, the remedy is a simple one. But every now and then in the winter mouths the carpets should be given an extra-special cleaning if they are to keep their colour and freshness. After all. carpets do notice tremendously, even if they are underfoot.

A thorough cleaning with the vacuum cleaner, excellent treatment as it is, is not all that the carpets need if they are to be kept in good order. A wash now and then with a good reliable brand of carpet soap will improve the appearance of a carpet—particularly a lightish-coloured one—enormously. Be careful though, to rinse the carpet thoroughly after wards by rubbing it over with a clean cloth wrung out in warm water. Rubbing with a clean, dry towel will hasten the drying process, anti a. good plan when washing over the carpet is to do a small • section at a tirqe, rinsing it and drying it as much as you can before moving on to the next section.

If the colours in your carpets seem dull and in need of brightening up, try working over tire carpet with a leather wrung out in warm water to which a few drops of vinegar and a little borax (dissolved in boiling wateri have been added. This treatment will work wonders in reviving the colours, but it is important to use a leather, as a soft flannel or something of that kind will only leave fluff or hairs in the carpet, and prove not nearly so efficacious. And those stains which find their unwelcome way on to the carpets in the best-regulated of households and which usually cannot be accounted for? . An application of fuller’s earth will nearly always do the trick. Mix .some fuller’s earth to a paste with boiling water, and spread it thickly over the stains, leaving on for twentyfour hours if possible. Then brush with a, clean, stiff brush. If the stains prove unusually obstinate and linger still after this treatment, mix a few teaspoonfuls of powdered magnesia with the fuller’s earth, spread it on tho stains and leave for a day. This simple method is excellent for oil stains of all kinds, while another good reineuy for known stains is to leave them covered for a. day or so with djy French chalk. Pure alcohol also will be found effective in removing oil and grease stains, but it should be applied as soon as possible after the mark has been made. INK STAINS AND SOOT. With children of school age in the family, ink stains will probably make their appearance on the carpet sooner or later, if you have the good fortune to be oji the spot at the time, soak the ink up with blotting paper to stop it from sinking right in to the pile of the carpet, and then saturate the stained part with milk. Use skimmed milk, though, for the unskimmed may leave 'an unpleasant greasy mark. Wipe the milk away as soon as it becomes discoloured and apply a fresh, lot, rubbing the carpet till the stain is gone. And finally, -wash the carpet with luke-warm water and rub with a clean cloth to dry it.

Winter storms often send soot tumbling down the. chimney and spilling out on to the hearth rug, and unless immediate action is taken a very ugly stain will result. First of all, sprinkle dry salt on the soot, and try to mix it lightly with the soot. Then brush it off witli a stiff brush, and quickly rub the part with a clean cloth wrung out in warm water to which a little ammonia has been added. If a smudgy mark still remains, leave the carpet to dry thoroughly, and then wash it in the ordinary way with a good carpet soap, rinsing the soap out well afterwards. “FUNCTIONAL FURNITURE.” IF YOU WANT HOME COMFORT. Whether you live in a big house or little house, a castle or a cottage, you will want to be comfortable. Therefore, you will require domestic possessions that, really Uo their duty, writes the “Sydney Morning Herald’s” London correspondent. The chairs should be good to sit on, the beds easy to lie on. the tables handy to put things on. These apparently normal actions are described as “functional.” This somewhat technical and overworked term has been applied freely and indiscriminately, and is often used to condone some of the unhappily misconceived “modernisms."

Tho temptation to magnify the functional accomplishments is all the greater as the knowledge of technical processes is highly advanced. In the days when the question, “When is a door not a door?” was a joke, things were simpler. Now our furniture is expected to carry out intricate and manifold A table that acted formerly simply -as a “landing-place” for sundry objects, can and will, hy special request, exert itself as sideboard, cocktail, cupboard, card table, and so on. The same table may be asked to change its character entirely, and, by turning a knob or pressing a button, a quick transformation is neatly accomplished. The advantage of functional furniture is obvious, and it will soon be considered as a matter of course that our things should be planned primarily lor Hie efficient doing of their jobs. Even greater concentration on the details of design in relation to its task will add to its efficiency. This will nut mean, however, a parade of parlour tricks, for the harmonious proportions and pleasant lines of the pieces themselves will conceal the subtle working of the mechanical side within.

DO YOU BLUSH?

CAUSES AND REMEDIES. Isn’t it embarrassing to know that every time you are going to meet <i certain person, your face will flush? You may have spent much time on make-up which has made you feel cool and immaculate, and then this horrid flushing has spoilt the whole of your evening.

Blushing is the result of a nervous contraction of the blood vessels, and is mostly noticeable hi self-conscious people. In fact, it can be said that it is a sign of acute sensitiveness, says an Australian writer.

Therefore, if your type of flushing is caused by nerves, the first step in corrective treatment is to practise an exercise of will-power. Make yourself go about and meet people. Force yourself to engage in activities, in which normally you are afraid to partake. Make new friends, so that you may become accustomed to, and will feel more at ease when conversing with strangers. Learn to forget yourself. Do not imagine that your cheeks are beginning to burn—or they will. Forget all about it; console yourself with the fact that, even if they do flush, it can sometimes enhance your appearance. More so if you carefully select the colour of your dress. Avoid all red and mauve shades, and for night wear use a green face powder. Refrain from drinking with meals, as this will have a tendency to affect the blood pressure. Sleep is one of the best nerve cures, and the position in bed must be most comfortable and conducive to complete relaxation. It will generally be found that lying on the right side is most, suitable, as that places' the weight of the liver on the bed and not on the heart.

Nine out of ten cases of flushing are caused through nerves, but there are also those which are caused by indigestion. Indigestion will cause the face to flush most noticeably directly after a meal, and in time the nose will become permanently red. If your flushing—it. can hardly be called blushing—is caused by indigestion, you can acquire great relief by drinking a pint of warm water the very first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. The water should be heated to blood warm temperature. Meat should only be eaten once a day, and you should never drink with your meals. These few simple precautions will soon relieve mild digestive troubles, and this in turn will prevent embarrassing flushes. In fact, you will be amazed at the difference this simple treatment will make. If you are going to a very important dance, and you wish, to keep a fresh cool face, which is delicately tinged on the cheeks, you will find that the following soothing lotion is most effective: Procure an ordinary sized cucumber and peel and cut it into small pieces. Soak these tiny cubes in six ounces of rosewater. Allow to stand for two or three hours, then strain and squeeze out all the juice. While you are doing this allow 10 grains of boracic acid to be dissolving in another twq ounces of rosewater. Then add to the cucumber liquid, and to the whole add one drachm of tincture of benzoin. Bottle the liquid and shake well before using. When applying, first bathe the face in warm water, dry and then, using a piece of cotton wool for the purpose, dab the face with the cucumber lotion. The face should not be washed in hot water, as this will have a tendency to dilate the blood vessels and make the redness more noticeable. SETTING THE HAIrT" AMATEUR EFFORTS. Hair-setting escapes the stiff and corrugated appearance much better if it is done at home with any skill at ail, states the “Manchester Guardian.” In the first stages of a permanent wave, at least, this is not difficult, at least if certain precautions are observed. Setting is, of course, done by pinching up a row of waved hair between the sides of the hands and pushing one hand in one direction and one in the other. If the hands are squeezed to-gether during this process a ridge ensues. In England this ridge is often fixed with a comb, but in France it is held in place with hairpins, which keep it close to the head and have a much neater result than that of the combs. No setting is really successful unless the hair is properly cut. And the cutting must he such that it does not suggest cutting. That is to say, a lock of hair must be lilted from the rest and cut with a sliding motion from the roots to the ends. This tapers each lock and the whole is as though it were uncut hair which had never grown beyond the required Ibngth. Naturally grown hair never has thick, blunt ends, but tapers away of its own accord. Tapering can be done in several ways and can be done by oneself. A pair of pointed, mod-erate-sized scissors can be used. Some people use a well-sharpened razor. Easiest of all are the scissors which are made like a comb with short, widc-apart teeth. These usually have to be obtained through trade means. The haircutter can cut away with these without detaching big chunks of hair, and so get the tapered effect easily.

Hair should be set dripping, and tho softer the water the easier the process. When the ridges are made the tapered ends, which should be mere nothings, can be curled up round the finger and fastened down flat with a. hairpin or two. The little irregularities of home hair-setting add greatb' to the effect of naturalness. A MODEST BRIDE. Mr John Richards and Mrs Eliza Jane Kain, both of Tipton, Staffordshire, were married at Dudley. Worcestershire. recently (states an exchange). They were very nervous about it —nervous in spite of the fact that they had both been married before; nervous although each has had) some experience of the world.

In fact, they are both eighty-three years old. They walked to the register office, expecting a quiet wedding. But when they came out arm in arm they were, faced by a battery of cameras. The bride hesitated, covered her face with her hands —and ran.