A Housewifes Diary

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21181, 31 October 1938, Page 14

A Housewifes Diary

Hints About The Home Baby. Protect baby’s head from the sun, when sitting up, with shady hat with brim of silk or linen; green-lined canopy, with fringe, for protection when lying down. Warts. Removal can be effected by applying, three or four times daily, small piece of absorbent cotton-wool dipped in castor oil. Biliousness. After an attack and before taking any food, take white of an egg beaten well with a little sugar. This soothes stomach. Front Door. Wiping over with furniture cream and afterwards polishing with a duster keeps front door spick and span. Fruit Bottles. If screw tops of fruit bottles or jars are greased inside with butter before fastening down, they will always open easily. Pewter. For a good polish, first clean with duster, then rub with flannel dipped in olive oil, finally polish with soft duster. Toe-Nails. They can be softened by being covered with thick starch, applied when it is sufficiently cool, and tied up all night. Vaseline is also good for softening nails as well as corns. VZashable Belt. Talking of belts, an observer saw a dainty looking one adorning a black afternoon frock the other day. It seemed at first glance to be made of stiff white lace three or four inches wide, but closer inspection revealed that it was made of a composition that could be cleaned by sponging it with warm soapy water. Butterfly and bow motifs for trimming purposes were in the same sort of composition.

Brighter Doors. Stately homes, as well as the quaint little flat, the country cottage and the seaside bungalow, are adopting the brighter door fashion. Yellow picked out with black, red. green and even a bright blue are chosen for doors that give a cheerful splash of colour to the front of the house. They save work, too, for instead of polished brass fittings, the gaily coloured door looks smart with metal fittings painted black. If you do not want’s so much colour in evidence, black front doors with knockers and letter-boxes painted in bright green or red are permissible according to modern ideas. Front Doors. If you like brass door fittings best, here is a tip to keep them from tarnishing quickly. It is also good, of course, for any indoor brassware you may cherish. After polishing in the usual way, rub over the surface with a spot of white furniture cream. The brass will then want repolishing only about half as often. Picnic Bags. Picnic cases with their gay fitments in unbreakable ware are fascinating but a drawback is that unless the picnic is a car expedition, the case is rather heavy to carry. For the average picnicker who is travelling on foot, there is a practical picnic set in a neat canvas bag that is strong, because its sides and buttonover flap top are bound with American cloth, and very light 'o carry. You can obtain the bag in single or double size with vacuum flask, sandwich boxes, cups and screw top milk bottle. Paper “Glasses.” “Glasses" that can _>e thrown away after use are an asset not only on picnics, but also for any outdoor entertaining, such as a tennis * party. Cardboard “tumblers” have been used for some time, but now you can have waterproof “glasses” in a transparent material that looks very much like the real thing. For Holiday Packing. There are now so many uses to which transparent paper can be put that one wonders how we managed to get along without it not so very many years ago. A special kind of durable transparent paper is used for large envelopes that have been helping people to pack their holiday cases tidily. The envelopes are bound with cotton and have cotton side gussets to give them strength. Money Envelope. Another aid to traveller’s ease is a suede belt to which is attached a suede envelope bag for money, tickets and other necessities for the journey. It leaves the hands free for carrying luggage and there is no fear of mislaying this bag en route ... a fate that all too often overtakes a handbag. “Kiss” Stitchery. There is an Edwardian touch in these new hat veils that is matched by “elegant” gloves that are beginning to appeal. Some of the gloves have embroidered backs. “Kiss” stitchery is shown up the backs of the gloves, so called because the motif is a line of simple crosses such aS children make at the end of their letters.