Women and the Home

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17527, 2 May 1925, Page 18

Women and the Home

ROSEMARY REFLECTS. ON ANNOYING PEOPLE. We all have our crosses in life. Most of them are provided by othei people. There is. for example, the woman—usually a relative—who insists on ‘managing’ you. She otters you advice on the most trivial personal matters, and is offended if you do not take it. “Dou you mean to say you haven't been shingled yet?” she says, ‘‘now I thought a woman like you would have been one of the first. My dear, it is quite conspicuous not to be!” Vainly you protest that it wouldn’t suit you; that you can’t afford it; that the back of your head is too flat to be exposed to the general Anew — all the excuses usually put forth by the unshingled. But all the time you have had a cold feeling in your heart that she is going to rush you' to the hair-’ dresser almost by force. “But surely you lock up your bureau when you go out?” she says next. “So unsafe not to; maids read everything.” Perhaps they do; you den t care. If they are interested in other people's bills and love letters you are only too glad to afford them some alleviation to the deadly round of then* daily toil. Personally, I think every girl over the age of twenty-five ought to be allowed to “shed” her relatives, and go forth into the world immune front their interference. “TEMPKRAMEN TAL. I Then there is the person Avith a 'temperament' ; she who prides herself on her extreme sensibility. HaA*ing been rude one moment, and effusive the next, and sulky and pensi\ r e and hilarious. all in the course of a single hour, she excuses herself with an indulgent smile, ou see. T. cm such a creature of moods! ” Her tone implies that you are a poor creature of a coarse fibre, who can scarce!;, be said to have a temperament at all. ON THE TOO CAPABLE. There is the woman who might be described as the “complete shopper.” She has always performed marvels in the shopping line; she buys food cheaper and better than anyone e’se; she picks up” the most astounding bargains at the sales. If you have bought a gown which you know you can’t afford, she is always ready to tell you wheie you could haA-e got the same model “at half the pri re.” She is usually “clever with her fingers' too, and can fabricate a dinner gown oat of two yards of chiffon, an old underskirt, and ! a wreath oMowe s tha t had been fabulously “reduced.” All this you could bear wi»h, since you are not a monster of envy and uncharitableness; but she never, for moment, allows you to forpe'. her capabilities. She flaunts them before you; she even, good-navu-ed l ;/, offers to help you to go and do likewise. How you hate hsr! YOUR NECKLINE, Unquestionably a becoming neck line has more to do with the success of a froc .< than almost any other single feature. Its choice should be the object of particular attention, and should be viewed first from the standpoint of what is becoming, than in re T at;on to ' the general design of the frock; It would be advisable, therefore, to study your individual style. auc« to be gOA*erned by Avhat is mo-r be miring to yumr face, necl: and figure a> well, before taking up the relation c2 trie neck hne to the design of vorr gown, as thtwo may be. combined to create II derirabk ensemble. With all new materials, this is simply a matter of decision, bat “making over "is more a matter or cucting the neck line according to the cloth, if you have a line which is unbecoming, fits* poorly, or which you have merely tired o, and long to have freshened perhaps |by a touch of white. Many are the i ways and \-arious the means to accom- | plish this rejuvenation of a neck line by | using a little ingenuity, helped by some ] imagination, should discouragement I o\'ertake you. To make more up to the minute cr bateau line, t?ek along the line of the neck, either a twu-and-a-hafr-inch bias fold, Avhich lias been doubled through the centre to for ma sort roll. . or a narrow scarf tie. Loop the ends over one another loosely, and l*»t them hang over the left shoulder. Again the boat line may be varied by cutting the front into a wide, but not deep, V. The re\ r erses formed in th's Avay . are faced \vi + h a fabric of contrasting co’ou-, of which a narrow scarf is fashioned as well. The scarf is stitched ao-ors the shoulders in the back, and o.ie end may be wound around the neck, or both ends brought across the . shoulders and allowed to hang down f the front. AWAY WITH MAKE UP ! ! There is a r/umou- that the fair Par- \ is.’au has th oaa’ji away her rouge pot, | her lip s+ick, and—most incredible of ! all -be- powder puff! She 's appearing : her “orduiary” face, shiny nose and f ail! I wonder it‘ the fashion will spread f S "o .OT3 of our own pa’nted damsels? i ‘ I live ma doots! Not in this A\*eathsr, [ j anyway- it would be far too cold to * { discard so thick a covering lust at the beginning of winter!

SMALL SERMONICS. When you are talking scandal about others, do not forget that your tongue is a terrible give r-away—of yourself. BeAvare of that Veiy common human habit of setting up a very high standard of judgment when you are examining the conduct of other people, and a very low one when you are casting a casual eye over your own. If you have anything to do with little children, remember they are like echoes. They bring back to vou not only the sound of your OA’n \ r oice, but all that you say. Many of us gi .-e willingly enough out of our plenty. Should we as willing y share our last crust? That is-the question we should put to our consciences before we begin to preen ourselves on our generosity. ANOTHER USE FOR “ CHUBBY.” Remarkable how quickly short skirts, ve.y shorj skirts, have descended —or rather ascended —amongst us. i heard on a train the other day a dreamy inventor, who is always thinking up new ideas rnd .ushing to get them patented, seriously discussing the formation of a new "dip” which would keep sk’rcs in position when naughty bieszes blow. He was probably urged to the idea by the spectacle of a damsel on the tram dummy having a battle of wits with her skirt and the Avlnd. Eventually, I offered her my umbrella, and she accepted it with a gasp oi gratitude. I can see A’isions in the future —say a season or so hence, when skirts haA-e climbed higher again—of little “chubbies” (those very’ short stout I umbrellettes) of the shopping-bag size to be used in moments of rashness on the part of passing breezes. UNBORN TO-MORROW AND DEAD YESTERDAY. Why is it, I wonder, that folk think you must be "settled” and uniomantic because you have, been married ten We quarrelled this morning. John and I. Just one of those stupid little everyday quarrels that happen sometimes over breakfast. He told me not to be such a little fool, and f snapped back at him, not because I wasn’t a litle fool, but because it hurt so to j think he would say it—now. I And as the front door slammed, I j rushed up to our little box-room attic j for a good childish mope—that small room Avhere all the lost dreams of my life seemed locked away. There was a packet of love-letters from John, with their faded blue ribbon binding, written—so long ago. He Avouldn’t have called me a little fool in those days! A cluster of rose-buds from that little white frock I wore when we first met. How young and fresh our love was then. Ana my orange-blossom and Avedding veil. Oh, it’s the most depressing thing you can do—dAvelling on past memories, when you’re feeling miserable. Of course 1 was happy in those days of the past, but so I am now, really—how happy I shall only know when the present has gone and I am looking back on it from the future, seeing it all in its right perspective. Unborn to-morrow and dead yesterday ! You must lea\-c them both alone and live in the present. It is no good Avaiting longingly for what “Unborn To-morrow” is going to bring you, or looking backwards regretfully on the I beauty of “Dead Yesterday”—which, after ail, has only acted as so many stepping-stones to the dear, solid, everyday Present. And though you have had to leave rosebud sentiment behind you as a cherished memory of the past, you have left that desperate soul-loneliness of youth behind you, too, with its heartaches and bitter disappointments. Rosebud sentiment is bound to leave you some time, anyhow’—but it is wonderful to haA r e a man like my John “for keeps.” And—he was quite right to call me a little fqol. I was. “John, dear.” I shall say as soon as his key turns in the lock to-night, “let’s go to the pictures!” By DAPHNE LEE.

THE MODERN WEDDING GIFT. (By MRS HAMILTON.) From America comes the idea of the modern bride providing her friends with particulars of the colour schemes She has seated for her new home. InI stead of giving them a list of acceptable gifts, she now hands them a de60- ip cion of each room—its colourings and Us furnishings—which serves as a practical guide to those who Avish to | bestow really acceptable wedding I gifts. • When her friends know that the I drawing-room is to have pink Avails and fawn rugs, they realise that a petunia cushion or a pale lilac pouffe will look well in it; and no one will proffer a cushion or a peuffo in claret-red or orangel Knowing the bedroom to be decorated in lemon yellow, few will run the risk of contributing a coverlet in crimson or a toilet set in painted Avooi that might kid its delicate charms. A pewter grey dining-room, with a paint of moss green flecked with silver, immediately suggests a lampshade in oxidised metal, or a sofa bolster in green trimmed with pewter galon. In this way the bride finds herself equipped with a home in which there is no clashing note to be eliminated before it is habitable. Modei'n ideas in furnishing demand that eA’erything must harmonise. Under the new regime, china and glass, ornaments and brie a-brac. have a greater prospect of being in harmony, and waste of expenditure is. therefore, ruled out as far as is humanly possible. CARROT COOKERY. Carrots are very good just now, and, being a very wholesome vegetable, should be used more frequently in this country as a second vegetable than is generally the case. To prepare carrots, wash AA-ell. scrubbing them with a brush, then scrape from the bottom upwards. If old. they are sometimes peeled. Remove any discoloured portions and either cut, them in quarters, slices or dice and boil in salted water until tender. If cut into small dice, the carrots cook more quickly than if cut in quarters, and when cooked they should be drained and pressed into a cup and turned out on to a hot vegetable dish. Carrots and turnips cub into dice may be boiled separately and mixed together before pressing them into a cup or basin. Thev look much more appetising when served in this manner, and may be surrounded with Avhite sauce,’ if liked, or served plain. Carrots a L’lndienne.—Required : 21b of carrots, 1 tablespoonful of curry powder, salt, loz of dripping or margarine, half pint of stock or gravy, one onion, loz of flour, one sour apple, one gill of coconut water. Melt the dripping or margarine in a pan. Peel and minc-e the onion and fry pale brown in the fat. Add the flour and curry powder and fry a little, stirring all the time Avith a wooden spoon, then gradually add the stock. Stir until boiling, pub in the apple, peeled, cored and chopped, and the coconut water, and simmer for ten minutes. Add salt to taste and the carrots and make hot. Serve in the centre of a border of boiled rice. If liked, three or four hard-boiled eggs, cut in halves or quarters, may be added to this, Avhen it will make a substantial luncheon dish. To make the coconut water, pour one gill of boiling “’rater over 2oz of dessicated coconut. Let it stand for twenty minutes, then -strain into the curry sauce. A cold in the head may be relieved by putting a few pieces of camphor m a jug or hot water and inhaling the fumes. Rich Pancakes.—Mix four ounces of flour with four ounces of potinded sugar, two ounces of cake crumbs, a dessertspoonful of orange flavour water, four eggs, a pint of milk, two ounces of butter (previouslv melted), and a pinch of salt. Pour a little melted butter in the frying pan before throwing in the batter ; fry the pancakes on both sides till a litzht brown colour. j sprinkle with a little lemon juice and 3 pounded sugar, and serye immediately.

HELPFUL OR OFFICIOUS. There is a world of difference oetween the two, and yet the border' line can be very thin if we are not; careful. What a vast difference there is between the meanings of these two words—“helpful” and “officious”—and yet how easy it is, in one’s efforts to be the former, to become the latter. We all know the officious person. She always knows other people’s business so much better than they do themselves, and is ready to instruct them as to lioav it should be conducted. Take a girl 1 know, for example. I’m sure, in her heart of hearts, she means to be most awfully kind and' helpful, but in actual fact she is, more often than nob. merely officious. And the difficult part is that it’s almost impossible to squash her. She’s .so sure of herself and quite convinced that without her the world would go absolutely to pieces. One of her chief activities is in tlio matchmaking line. No doubt her motive is an excellent one —to bring two lonely people together—but in her l zeal to manage their affairs for them' she never stops to consider if they are really suited to each other, or anything of that sort. The result in most of these cases is that while one of the two may' really have fallen in lot-e the other l has not, and consequently sooner oP later tlio engagement is broken off. But this sad end to her scheming never seems to dishearten her and she usually quick 1 turns her attention td another couple of her acquaintance. What Miss Officious doesn’t know' about the management of children isn’t worth knowing. It never occurs to her that people may have different ideas on this vexed question—instead she makes herself a positive nuisance to her married friends by constantly offering them advice on the subject oF their children's upbringing. But perhaps she is most devastating; when it comes to any sort of excur- 1 sion. She invariably takes the brunt? of the arrangements upon her shoulders, all with the most good-natured' air possible, and it is surprising how* far too easy going most people are to remonstrate with her. THE DIFFERENCE. The really helpful girl is very different in her methods —and consequently in her results. She is not ebov2 trying to help on an engagement, oil course, but she does at least stop to' consider whether it is wise to do so. And she often fee’s very sorrv for her married friends in their to bring up their children, but she does' not immediately try to make those! children a replica of what she wou’ev like them to be. She contents herself with taking them off the r mother’s hands as often as she can. If she goes for an outing Avith lots! of other peonle she is always ready* to suggest plans, but she r,ever at-» tempts to force her own ideas down the throats of everyone else. Wliat it really amounts to is tha'7 Miss Officious goes round arranging the world to her own satisfaction, and doiner things as she likes them to be done, regardless of the fact that in doing so she is riding rough-shod ove.people’s feelings, while Miss Helpful' starts from an entirely different standpoint. She thinks first of what people like and how they like things done. With the result that whereas everyone groans when Mis Officious aopears on the scene, and heartih r resents her Avell-meaiit efforts. Miss Helpful is always sure of a really appreciative wel-

BEAUTY TALKS. (By MARGARET H. JEROME.) CORRECTING A GREASY SKIN. Is there anything more distressing to a woman than a greasy skin? It spoils everything; good features, bright eyes, nice hair, take a back seat, quite, overpowered by a shiny, oily skin. Unfortunately. a greasy skin is almost always a forerunner of enlarged pores and blackheads; it is therefore, of great importance that it should be taken in hand and treated before those obstinate blemishes set in. IMPORTANCE OF DIET. In the first place, the diet needs attention. This, unless you are unduly stout, should be liberal, nourishing and easily digested. Food that 's not well digested and assimilated by the system is a prime source of greasy skin. Then you must drink lots and lots of cold water—at least half a pint first thing in the morning, and last thing at right, and as many tumblers full during the day as possible. STEAMING. The face should be steamed once a week (twice a Aveek if the condition is very bad). After steaming get two pieces of ice and rub the cheeks briskly with them, until they tingle; then keep on rubbing for a couple of minutes longer. If ice is not procurable use an astringent lotion. Camphor Avater, which you can quite well prepare yourself, is good. Crush a lump of camphor into p.owder and place it in a widemouthed bottle with a pint of cold water. Shake well and allow to stand for a day or two; then strain and use the liquid for rubbing the cheeks. Another good easily-made-at-home astringent solution is benzoin lotion, in which a drachm of tincture of benzoin is added to one pint of rosewater. FRICTION. One of the chief factors in curing a greasy skin is friction. When washirg the face, therefore, do not hestitate ‘.o use a not too rough, well-soaped loofah, and let it be specially busy at either side of the nose, Avhere the greasiness usually is most in evidence; rub well, but do not actually crub the face. Instead of ordinary powder use prepared Fuller’s earth, which is admirable for a greasy skin.