SUMMER STAINS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21558, 22 January 1940, Page 10

SUMMER STAINS

HOLIDAY TREATMENTS Fruit, beverage, ice cream, and grass stains are all aftermaths of the holiday season, which the housewife has to deal with. The stains are more easily removed if dealt with promptly, but as this is not always possible, some suggestions for delayed treatment will be useful. Grass stains yield as a rule to washing with warm soapsuds. If this is not successful, a little commercial alcohol (obtained from the chemist) should remove the mark. To remove fruit or beverage stains hold the stained portion of the frock or tablecloth taut over a basin, then get someone to pour boiling water through it. If the material is silk, this treatment should not be used. In this case sponge the marks with warm w'ater in which a good pinch of borax has been dissolved. Scorch stains on white silk may be removed by mixing bicarbonate of soda to a paste with cold water, spreading it over the mark, and leaving it to dry, when it may be brushed or beaten out.

WHEN YOU CANNOT SLEEP Counting sheep was formerly considered an unfailing cure for sleeplessness, and there was sound reason behind the idea. The monotonous train of thought with its setting of rural calm soothed until finally the mind became a blank and the patient dropped off to sleep. Many of us are afraid of wakeful hours once we have retired to bed. A heavy supper or an exciting evening may have stimulated the mind to abnormal activity and our thoughts race on. Finally the body becomes restless, too; we begin to toss and turn, and out of all this disturbance the ugly bogy of insomnia thrusts its head. We dread that this experience should become a habit with us, and the more we worry the more wakeful we become, unti at last Nature steps in and we fall asleep. Nature then takes her revenge for our excesses by making us late for the day’s work the next morning! The person who is going to cure himself of sleeplessness quickly is the person who makes up his mind to ignore and not give it undue importance. He does not feel like sleeping, so he switches on the light and finds a light, quiet book to occupy his thoughts; knitting or a jigsaw puzzle will serve just as well. The great point is to refuse to let the mind dwell on any worrying or exciting subject by offering something else as a substiute. Few people can sleep if their feet are cold, so don’t be ashamed of wearing a loose pair of bedsocks or of asking for a hot water bottle in the middle of summer.