Let’s Go Gossiping

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 52, Issue 3750, 1 May 1936, Page 4

Let’s Go Gossiping

WOMEN’S INTERESTS: THE HOME,

(By

Miss Mary

—SpecisJ Service to The W*ips Post.)

FASHIONS. KNITTED DRESSES. After seeing one or two of the collections from Paris this season it Is obvious that a woman .who is clever with her knitting needles can dress herself really smartly on almost nothing else than the cost of her wool. Evening dresses,, hand knitted, are the most elegant things, especially when a gold thread, very thin, is used in conjunction with silk and wool. These dresses never crease, never seem to lose their shape, and are the perfect companion of the Inveterate traveller. The same thing, of course, applies to day dresses. A beautiful model from Ardanse is knitted in almost a lace stitch, in light purple, and the inset sleeves are so fashioned that they have a slight puff without an extra cuff being added. The belt, which is also an important fashion point, is a stranght piece of knitting, twisted, and with the ends falling down each lise, rather like pockets. The dress buttons down the back from the neck line to the wiast, and has a wrap over effect in the skirt. There is nothing quite so flattering, so fragile looking and so glamorous as velvet. This is especially so in the daytime—for it has a magic quality of bringing out ths lights in one’s hair, the sparkle in one’s eyes, and the sa.iny glow in one’s skin. The designers in Paris know this well, but the practical stream in their natures has made them hesitate before they brought out a creation in velvet. That was before the uncrushable, non-spot type was invented. Velvet dresses will soon be all the rage. BEAUTY. DEFAULTING NOSES. What to do to bring wayward noses back to normal is a problem; it is solved here as simply as possible. Large noses have an unfortunate eiflnity towards receding ehins—they are often found together on the same face, and the only way to level things up is to coax the chin out and put the nose in the last row of the chorus. Use a dark shade of powder on the nose only and a pale one on the chin. The darker shade should be used on the neck and underneath the chin, too. Don’t be vivid about your lips—far better play up to your eyes. Well defined brows, long lashes, and, in the evening, quite a generous amount of eye shadow and mascara, will draw attention away from the too large nose. Your nose may shine because it is too greasy, too dry, or just temperamental! This is the way to cure it. Greasy noses usually suffer from enlarged pores and blackheads, and to cure these wash the skin with a special pore cleaner in place of soap. Work it in with a toothbrush so that blood rushes to the surface and carries away impurities. After a few minutes rinse and dab on an astringent ointment You can make this lotion yourself of three-quarters witch hazel, and one quarter rose water. Or, buy a lotion which, besides being astringent braces up the muscles, combats the greasiness and does a few other good jobs at the same time. If your nose shines because It is too dry, give the skin nourishment and all will be well. Try this. Mix together equal parts of almond oil and lemon juice and massage it into the skin after your usual cleansing. Use only a teaspoonful at a time andit will almost disappear into the skin, leaving just enough moisture to hold the powder. In addition, give a dose of skin food every night. A red nose isn’t a delight at any time, and the sooner it is toned down the better. Get to the root of the trouble—bad circulation, indigestion caused through constipation, broken veins—and cure whatever it is in your case. If it’s circulation, get as much exercise as possible in the fresh air and breathe deeply and forcibly. Everyone has different remedies for constipation and indigestion. Practise your pet one until you are working properly inside, then go in for external measures. At night, cleanse the skin with cream, remove gently with tissues and spread on a layer of a bracing, but nourishing cream. In the morning cleanse again and apply a relining lotion. Keep up this routine for at least three weeks. If you feel you must use water to wash have prepared almond meal instead of soap for the next few weeks. Afterwards choose a soothing, cold cream soap. HOUSEKEEPING. CARPET CLEANING. Before anything can be done to a carpet all dust must be removed, either by beating or by using a vacuum cleaner on it. The next thing to do is to find and remove any stains. As ink is the most likely one to appear, we will tackle this first. First “loosen” by dabbing with a spongeful of warm, clear water. After this try a

little boiled tomato juice. Leave it on for a short time, then sponge off with clear warm water. If this is not effective, spread the stain with salt, cover with lemon juice and leave on until the mark can be sponged away with clean water. If the stain is an old one, it may be necessary to try this method two or three times. Grease stains should be treated with a paste of fuller’s earth and ox gall (which is obtainable from the butcher). Spread this on the stain and leave overnight, then, the next morning, brush off with a stiff brush. Candle grease will not respond to this treatment, however, but should be removed with blotting paper and a hot iron.

Another cause of ugly marks on a carpet is soot from the chimney. These should be sprinkled with salt and brushed with a stiff brush until the marks disappear.

Having attended to the worst of the marks, the whole of the carpet can now be freshened up in the following way: Take half a pint of ox gall and put into half a pailful of hot water. Into this shred a cake of soap and place the pa-1 on the gas until the soap is dissolved. Now treat the carpet, a piece at. a time, scrub this solution into it. Wash off with clear, cold water containing a little borax, then rub as dry as possible with a soft cloth.

This treatment ought to bring up your carpet like new, but if your room catches the direct rays of the sun in summer time, it may also show up the faded patches. These, however, can be dyed back to their original state, unless the carpet is of the long piled variety, in which case it would be far better to leave it alone.

First, purchase packets of ordinary dyes and prepare a bowlful of each colour to be used, but make a much stronger solution than for ordinary material. One-third of the usual quantity of water is ample. Now, doing each colour in turn, ond allowing one to dry thoroughly before applying the next, brush in the hot dye with a stiff bristled paint brush. This is a tedious job, but not difficult, and there is no doubt'that it is worth the trouble for the difference it makes.

When re-laying your carpet, do not forget to turn it round (if it is one which allows for that); so that each part has an equal amount of wear.

COOKING. CAKES FROM SCOTLAND. Dundee cake: 12 ozs self raising flour, J lb butter, J lb brown sugar, } lb sultanas, J lb currants, J lb mixed peel, 6 ozs raisins, 1 oz mixed spice, 2 ozs ground almonds, 4 eggs. Cream the butter and sugar, beat the eggs and add, sift the flour and spice together and mix in the prepared fruits. Add to the sugar, butter and eggs. Put the mixture into a tin lined with greased paper. Bake in a moderate oven for 2S to 3 hours. If preferred, the top may be covered with almonds. This is a good cake and keeps well. * Oatmeal pancakes: 1 pint milk, 1 breakfast cup fine oatmeal, 4 tea cup milk, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, a grating of nutmeg and lemon rind, a pinch of salt, butter for frying. Mix the meal with the cold (teacup) of milk, then stir in the boiling (pint) milk. When the mixture is thick let it stand aside to cool. Beat up the eggs with the sugar, nutmeg, grated lemon rind and salt; stir and beat together. Have a little butter made hot in a frying pan and put in the batter in spoonfuls. Serve oaten pancakes very hot with butter, orange juice and sugar. Drop scones: |lb flour, 2 table spoons sugar, a spare teaspoon carbonate soda, a spare teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 egg, not quite 1 pint milk. Put the ingredients into a basin and sift together thoroughly. Add gradually the beaten egg, .then the milk, and beat well for a few minutes with the back of a wooden spoon. Have heavy a girdle or thick frying pan, greased and made het. Drop on the tatter in spoonfuls. When the scones are covered with bubbles on the top and show a golden brown colour, slip a knife under them, turn, and brown the other side. Turn only once. Lay them on a clean cloth and keep them covered until cool. Serve with butter or jam, or both. Oatmeal sandwiches: Bake half a 'cup of coarse oatmeal in the oven for a few minutes and while it is still quite hot stir in a tablespoon of honey, or if you like it richer, mix a tablespoon of oatmeal and a tablespoon of honey then, with a hot knife spread the mixture between pieces of buttered bread. If the bread is fresh wholemeal, so much the better. A variation of this for lunch sandwiches is: Mix oatmeal with a little thick cream, season with pepper and salt, end serve with slices of cheese between bread and butter.

HEALTH. HEADACHES. A medical book lying on my desk gives sixty different causes of headaches. Roughly speaking, headaches may be due to organic disease, disease of the brain or skull, eye trouble, ear trouble or adenoids —bad air, alcohol, nicotine, or the poison of some constitutional disease, such as diabetes, or a fever. Lastly, it may be due to a variety of things which we might call irritants. This gives us three main types of headache: organic disease, poisonous and irritant. A headache due to organic disease is generally there all the time and is often worse at night, preventing sleep. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer from this kind of headache you should go to your doctor without delay. It is not the headache which wants treatment so much as the cause.

The “poisonous” and “irritant” headaches nearly always get better when you lie down in a quiet room. This is an easy test which you can carry out yourself and which may reassure you. But, although it cheers you up to find that you have not got serious brain, eye or ear trouble, don’t give up trying to get to the bottom of

A throbbing headache, that prevents you from walking, because every footstep jars through your temples, a headache that makes you clutch your head in both hands and squeeze hard to get some relief, may be due to high blood pressure, or a bad tooth, but is usually, and prosaically, due to constipation. It is wonderful how a dose of Epsom salts cures it—better than aspirin. If you are in doubt about your blood pressure, your doctor will test it for you, painlessly, m five minutes.

A headache in the evening is generally due to eyestrain or overwork. A headache in the morning may be due to a stuffy bedroom, or to worrying. Taking your troubles to bed with you is a fruitful source of morning headache. There is a kind of headache which may be described as a bow-string drawn tight round the skull and a nail being hammered in on the top. This is an anxiety headache" and attacks people who are always anxious and worried. The best treatment for this headache is to practise relaxation deliberately; to massage the forehead outwards with the tips of the fingers and to adopt the slogan, "Don’t worry.” Then there is the migraine, the true “tick headache.” The pain generally confines itself to one side of the head.

It is often accompanied by difficulties in vision, or lights in front of the eyes, and the patient vomits. The only thing to do is to lie down in a dark room with a wet towel round the head, and. pray for it' to stop. HINTS. For japanned ware: Rub a little olive oil into japanned trays to bring up their laquer well.

Varnish your suitcase: If your suitcase is made of fibre and becoming shabby, try rubbing it over with a damp cloth and then giving it a coat of varnish when dry. Marks on furniture: Any bad marks on furniture which won’t yield to furniture cream should be rubbed with some more furniture cream to which a little methylated spirits has been added.

To soften blacking: If shoe blacking has become dry and hard, mix it with a little vinegar and it will give an excellent polish to your shoes.

Cleaning baize: Do you know how to clean a card table covered with blue or green baize? Mix together some powdered chalk and salt, and warm slightly before sprinkling thickly all over the baize. Leave overnight and brush off In the morning. If there are any particularly dirty marks on the baize, clean them off first with a little hot ammonia. Dingy walls: Use old net curtains to rub down walls when they begin to be dingy. The rough surface of the net removes all the soot and dust in a marvellous manner. By the way, used damp, old curtains also make line scouring cloths. When you move: As you pack things away in drawers or trunks make a list and slip it on top of the packed articles. This way you can find anything you want without having to hunt for It.