Let’s Go Gossiping

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3783, 17 July 1936, Page 4

Let’s Go Gossiping

KOMEN'S INTERESTS: THE HOME.

(By 1

Miss Mary Tallis.

—Special Service to The WWpa Post.)

JHIAAJTIY. STUDYING YOUR HEELS. There are quite a number of women who declare they cannot wear low heels; even when in the, country, they say, they have to wear high heels or else suffer agonies. Probably they believe this, but as a matter of fact there is only a very email grain of truth in their reasoning. Whlat causes the temporary discomforts is the fact that continually wearing high heels has shortened the tendons at the back of the leg, and weakened the long outer muscles that run down to the heels. Very likely it has also flattened out the little arch under your toes that is supposed to give spring to the front of your foot. And the remedy? Exercise will help, of course. But the real secret lies in the building up of the arches of the shoes. If the height is properly maintained, and the shoe fits you snugly, the lowering of the heel will not cause the slightest discomfort. That awful tendency, which we all know so well, the slip forward in the shoe is eliminated, and one becomes as unconscious of one’s feet as of one’s hands, because the support is adequate and the toes are absolutely free. The great thing is not to go to extremes. It’s asking a great deal of feet to expect them to totter round on stilts sit night and then get right down to earth, during the day. BUt it is equally bad to expect them always to maintain that same high leveL So the wisest course, especially for those of us who cannot afford extravagant fancies, is to wear, say, a square-shaped one-and-a-half inch high heel during the day, and a one-and-three-quarter-inch heel at night. Many of you may think this sounds dull, but it is not Designers have at last really got down to their job, and shoes to-day do not bear the slightest resemblance to the middleaged, low-heeled shoes of past generations. They are jaunty, they are sometimes frivolous, they have all sorts of engaging tricks. The modern designer thinks nothing troublesome that will add to a woman’s charm and comfort. So they study every line and every tiny detail, giving them a curve here, an acute angle here, a curve, so that feet shall look smaller than nature made them. THE HOME. IDEAS IN CURTAINS. Windows are the eyes of the house. Just as the eyes are the most expressive single feature in the human face, so are windows and their draperies to your home. Therefore, if you want a change without going to a great deal of trouble and expense, you can make most difference, perhans, By altering the curtains. Many new ideas—or notions old enough to be new—have been introduced in the last two or three years, and it is. a pity to stick to the same style of window dressing, year after year, when the later styles are usually better suited to modern conditions of living. Two quite different tendencies are to the fore. In the first place, there is this generation’s insistence on the heed for the maximum of fresh air and especially noticeable in the suburbs and country. In the second place, the great spread of flatlife has sent many town-dwellers back to Victorian ideas of screening, rather than merely framing, the windows. In many houses where fresh air and abundance of sunshine are the chief aim, the windows are not overlooked, curtains are seldom, if ever drawn at night, especially in nurseries, where free ventilation is so important, in kitchens, bathrooms and the minor hall and staircase windows. Here the American “centre frill” plan saves sewing, material and trouble in

putting up. Make la pair of short curtains, reaching just to the sill. They may have less width than usual, as they will not need to draw across, and this gives an opportunity, if liked, to use a material ordinarily too nagrow. Finish the top of the curtains with a deep casing that will go over the window rod, and make a full frill of suitable depth, also finished with a deep, casing. W,hen putting up the curtains, run the first on the rod, then run on the frill, then the second curtain. This has a quaintly charming effect, especially when a bordered material is used, and as the frill nowhere overlaps the curtains less stuff is required than in the ordinary way. If the fabric is not bordered, it may be bound with a contrasting material or bias binding. For a wider, more noticeable edge, use a right-side facing instead of a bind. Iron the centre crease out of tihe bias binding. Lay it to the curtain edge, with, the right side of the binding to the wrong side of the curtain, and seam. Press the whole width of binding over flat to the right side of the curtain, and stitch down the turned-in inner edge from the right side. This right-side facing is also used for edging the bathroom curtains of thin rubber. These curtains are always a problem, as so few materials stand up to the constant steam. This rubber material is‘sold very cheaply in a few pale colours, can be sponged over when soiled and wears for a very long time before perishing. The edges can be left raw, as they do not fray, but a bright patterned or plain bias binding adds gaiety to the pale self-colour. Most sewing machines will take the rubber. Don’t be alarmed by the white dust its excludes when being stitched. Cover your table with paper and brush out your machine well after. HEALTH. DISINFECTANTS. In the case of metal instruments, glassware and other articles used in the sick room, boiling is effective. Obviously, this means cannot be taken fog skin or other living tissue and reliance has to be placed on chemicals. The difficulty lies in the fact that while germs are readily killed by many substances, the skin is likely to be irritated and the vitality of the body cells lowered. In the case of boils, carbuncles, and infected wounds one of the most effective dressings is a, paste made of equal parts of Epsom salts and glycerine. This acts by causing a flow of lymph, which carries the germs to the surface. ISurgeons have tried to discover a substance that will actually kill germs circulating in the blood in septicaemia. This has proved a difficult problem as the greatest care has to be exercised regarding what substances ar,e injected into the blood. The idea is to discover something that is harmless to the body generally, but which is capable, even when mixed with the blood, of killing the germs present in it. This ideal germicide has not yet been achieved, but some wonderful cures have been obtained by the injection of various analine dyes. So far, however, the system is still far from perfect. COOKING. SUCCESSFUL CAKE MAKING. Cake making is a branch of cookery which appeals to most housewives, but unfortunately sufficient care is not always taken to ensure good results. The housewife whn can make cakes that turn out satisfactorily every time is to be envied. The beginner must bear in mind that practice is needed in the making and

especially the baking before perfection can be obtained, and when she is sure of her results she will take a pride in providing excellent cakes foff| her family at a reasonable cost. Here are a few hints which are worth considering before making cakes:— (1) Use the best ingredients you can afford. (2) Flour should be sifted before being added to the mixture. This frees it from any lumps. (3) Fruit should be carefully washed and dried; damp fruit sinks to ■the bottom of the cake. It is a good plan to sprinkle a little flour on the fruit before adding to the mixture, and in making the cake the fruit should be well stirred and blended with the mixture, but not beaten in. All the beating should be done before the fruit is added.

(4) Baking is where the beginner finds a difficulty and a good rule to follow is this: Light the oven fifteen minutes before required and keep the gas full on for the fifteen minutes, then lower the gas until the flame is about half-an-inch in width. The cake will rise in a hot oven and as the heat gradually decreases the inside of the cake is cooked. It is essential to have the oven thoroughly heated before putting in the cake. , The cake should be placed on an asbestos stovei-mat on a shelf about the middle of the oven. After it has been cooking for about 30 minutes, cover it with paper to prevent the top from becoming too brown; if there is a browning sheet, removei this. (5) There is one other important detail which also helps with the baking, and that is the preparing of the cake tin. No one likes to see the sides of a cake burnt, and a little extra care in preparing the tin will prevent this and also, together with care in the baking, will help the cake to rise evenly.

Warm and grease the cake tin. If several tins are to be prepared, melt a little lard in a cup and brush this evenly all over the tins. Cut two rounds of grease-proof paper the size of the tin and a double strip 2in wider than the depth of the tin. Turn in lin and snip this along. Place the strip in the tin with the folded edge neatly fitting on the bottom, and fix in the rounds. Fold a strip of newspaper in four the width of the tin, and tie this round the outside. This prevents the sides from browning and cooking too quickly, and so helps the cake to rise more evenly. (6) When making the cakes, have everything ready before beating up the' mixture: for example, prepare the cake tin, and the fruit, and break the eggs. It is worth while when using pickled eggs to break these separately, as if the last one is stale it will spoil the rest. When everything is ready and only the ingredients required are on the table, then begin mixing. You will find that the actual making of the cake is much quicker than the preparation. (7) After baking, turn the cake on to a sieve or wire cake tray, and when cool keep in a tin with a closefitting lid.

HOUSEKEEPING. CARPET HINTS. Every woman who takes a pride in her home realises that the condition of the carpet has an important effect upon its appearance, and a little time and trouble expended on them is amply repaid. Bright coloured carpets are liable to fade and become threadbare after long service. Tha pattern can be restored by applying coloured inks to resemble the original pattern. Holes should be darned with wools of appropriate colours, but with a multicoloured design use white wool and paint as required with water colours. Use fine coloured string for binding worn edges. When it is desired to join two pieces of carpet together, match them as carefully as possible, then reverse, and button-hole each edge very firmly with strong linen thread of the same Colom* as the groundwork of the carpet. If a certain section of the carpet is subject to heavy wear, lay a strip of matting over that particular part. When* sweeping a carpet sprinkle damp bran or sawdust over the surface in preference to tea leaves, for the former method is just as effec-

tual without any risk of staining. To clean a carpet add three-quar-ters of a pint of ox-gall to a bucket of water, and with a soft brush rub it well in until a thick lather is formed. When wash off with fresh cold water and dry with a clean cloth. GENERAL. WHEN MOVING HOUSE. Many people, on deciding to change house, consider selling their present furniture and obtaining new in their future district. I think it would be a pity to get rid of furniture which often has a real sentimental value, if only from association with early married life. Also, it is an expensive method, because the best price obtainable for second-hand furniture is always far less than the cost of buying new. So far as moving a considerable distance is concerned, my advice is that readers in this position should consult their state railway authorities. If they apply to the local stationmaster, he will take the matter up at once. Obtain estimates from two or three reputable firms of removers, if the removal is to be made in the same or an adjoining district, and accept the one which offers the best terms, fixing on the date of the removal at the time. Notification should be given to the authorities as to the supply of water, gas and electricity of both houses. Furniture and pictures should be thoroughly cleaned before the move, and drawers should be used for the packing of clothes. Floor coverings in the new home should be laid in advance, if possible!, and large sheets of brown paper put down over which the removal men may walk. Furniture from the ground floor of the old home should go into the van first, so that the bedroom things come out first at the other end. HINTS. ■An egg that, appears hopelessly cracked can be boiled perfectly by wrapping it up tightly in a piece of silk paper found on the better-class fruits. i