THE Good Neighbour

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 63, Issue 3, 15 September 1941, Page 259

THE Good Neighbour

BY

MARY

'f’towL 17le 'To ou

(( TfRIENDSHIP is the greatest -*■ thing in the world.” I don't know just who it is who said that, but I had it sent to me one Christmas in beautiful lettering on a card, and I have treasured the card from that day to this. Friendship— is indeed a beautiful thing. Last month, you will remember, I was telling you how the thoughts of my friends lived forever in my garden of memories, and this month 1 want to tell you how grateful I am for the richness I have in so many true friends. The safest basis for a true and lasting friendship is a desire for the same pursuits, and the sharing of the same dislikes. There is no room in true friendship for jealousy or petty suspicions. Friendship trusts always, and is usually rewarded for that trust by a deep and lasting bond that will not break. A friend is always ready to help in a time of trouble, and needs not to be asked to assist when sorrow, comes, nor does she need thanks when the deed is done. Do you know ONE person like this? Yes, even to have one person among all those you know who is always there, always ready and waiting to be at your service, is to be rich indeed. I am fortunate — those I know 1 have many who are ready to help when things go wrong, and to rejoice when things go right. Yet I feel that to have a few true friends

is infinitely better than to have many acquaintances who are “fairweather” friends. Choosing friends is a difficult matter—like many other things in life, friends come along uninvited, and unasked, and it is often quite a while after they have become true friends before you realise their true value, But, if you are choosing your friends, be careful in the choice, for a man is often judged by the company he keeps. By this I do not mean that you should be snobbish in your friendships—on the contrary, I have known friendships to exist between people who have been rich and poor—but the quality of friendship has not been lessened in any degree by the difference in their stations; perhaps, on the other hand, it has been strengthened.

A friend is one who knows all about you, and loves you just the same, and it is a grand thing to know that there is always someone ready to share your moods with you. But do not forget that you grow out o f some friendships. When the t i me comes to discard these friends, discard them as you would an old j roc / i which you have outgrown, and cherish only the memories which fh in h {er , B y r °” wrote: “Friendship is love without his wings,” and those friends who were meant to be your friends through sunny days and grey will with you always, whether they are by *— your side, or many miles away. /! v

7Jlali]’s “Gt Home”

T WAS so interested in your “Care of x 1 the Hands.” I have always been interested in nice hands, although I am not as careful of my own as I should be. Once when my husband and I were on holiday, staying at a hotel, I was talking with some other women who were staying there, and one asked me if I had much trouble getting help. When I said I did my own housework, etc., she said, “Oh! I thought from looking at your hands that you must keep help.” So much for that, but it was not just after

fruit picking and jam-making time, or she would have thought differently!— Laurel, F eliding. T LOVED your letter “mother-wise.” A What a blank “"there is when any mother is incapacitated for a time, and how she yearns to be at her usual work again. The whole house is disorganised if Mother is absent, and how disgruntled everyone gets. Often these days we are called on to give a sudden word of encouragement,' even to strangers. Yesterday I sat

next to a mother in a bus, strangers, yet we felt urged to converse. “I’ve two over there,” she said, in tears, “one a prisoner of war.” “Well,” was all I could reply, “yesterday a man said that to be a prisoner was good news, for they’ve a chance to return.” And she smiled, and said she had never thought of it like that before. Mrs. Vee, Waikato. 7VTY PEN-NAME I chose because of its musical sound, not because I admire the Assyrians, many of whose most famous relics were found at Khorasbad. I think Eastern names are more musical sounding than many European ones. I had thought of using “Shalimar” as a pen-name— a lovely name, isn’t it?— I find there is. a well-known nautical writer of that name. — Khorasbad, Marlborough. T HAVE just come back from a holiday spent at a wee bay that so far is untouched by the hand of the Public Works Camps. Of course, I know these people have to live and follow ? the rail as it forges its way north, but still it is nice to find a spot where there are not dozens of tent-houses. The house where I stayed sits on a hill and looks out to the sea, and at the back, dense bush looms up to the sky. As it was wet on and off I could not wander at will through the bush, but I spent long hours’ on the beach. For several days there was a high sea runing, and I love nothing better than to sit on the beach, and

watch the waves dashing against the rocks. One wonders just how the rocks stand it, but, as in life’s battles, the storm leaves its mark behind, as one can see when one climbs over the rocks and sees the deep crevices and scars left by the waves. I had

such a lazy time on wet days just sat in front of a huge log fire, and read and read. ' , My ducks decided that “as I was on holiday they would go on strike, and they have not laid for four days. However, I scolded them today, and so I. hope they take notice of what I said, and start — Biddi-Jan, Redcliffs. AND HOW does your garden grow?” ■" Doesn’t this time of the year make you think of only the glories of your spring garden? ' Up here the first- bulbs were one day proudly blooming in the sun, but by night many were beaten down and mudded. A sudden fall of snow, followed by heavy rain, had come on, but before the rain started a different sort of nature beauty had been presented. This was the first fall of snow this season which had come as low down as here, and it wasn’t welcomed by the other little “spring arrivals”— lambs and calves*. This year the wallflower has burst into bloom in an amazing paintbox of colour, and the scent is spreading all over the garden. Feilding. TJSUALLY, I enjoy a ride home at night by starlight and moonlight, but I had a different experience one

night when it was raining. At first I

was full of. confidence and courage, and assured my host , and hostess that I was quite capable of finding the way home on my own in spite of the dark night and pouring rain. But as I proceeded further along the rough bridle track, and the rushing sound of the river seemed ever nearer and louder above the sound of the rain,- fears and forebodings began to cross my mind. How swiftly that river seemed to be flowing! It must have risen considerably with all the recent rain—and I had soon to cross it. The thought was not a pleasant one. I should now be near where the track goes between two patches of bush. There was no moon, not even a star to twinkle in friendliness — inky blackness, making it impossible to distinguish darker shadows to indicate the bush. The next moment my horse seemed to be going down, down, down. Where was I? Was I near the'river bank? And I knew that river was swift and treacherous except at .the one safe crossing place. My horse stumbled, almost pitching me off. It was too terrible. I could not go on, but could I even go back? All confidence was gone, replaced by a fear that was almost a panic. However, comforting myself with the thought that I had less distance to go back than to go forward, and had already traversed that distance safely, I turned my horse, and somehow found my way back to the cottage I had recently Jewel, Tokomaru Bay. rjpHE other night we went to see the musical comedy “Rose. Marie,” which was put on by local people. And did we enjoy it? We loved every minute of it, from start to finish. There is something appealing about “real” people after so much of the films. There was colour and comedy, romance and music, all combining together to lift us, for a short while, out of the world of everyday into the magic realm of make-believe. As we came home singing the old songs we have known and loved for years, we felt we owed a debt of thanks to those folk who had worked so hard to make the evening’s entertainment such a thrill for us. — Pigtails, Wellington.

Here's an Idea for Furnishing

SOME of us are luckier than others we have a flair - for furnishing, and whatever we do, wherever we place our furniture, it just seems right. We all know people like that—the minute we go into their home it just reaches out to welcome us with its inviting air. But you can have a furnishing flair, too, if you like to go to a little trouble to study your house, and its rooms. If you have a room that is inclined to be dark and a little on the small side, have you ever thought of making a mirror window? This is not hard, and it transforms the room for you. You will need a fairly large-sized mirror, which you must fix above a chest of drawers. . Perhaps you have an old sideboard would serve admirably. Now, with your mirror hanging on the wall, just imagine it is a window, and curtain it accordingly. With a pelmet across the top, and curtains . down each side, it looks for all the world like a window. A bowl of fruit placed on the sideboard, and a lamp, with perhaps a vase of flowers, and your room looks twice as big as before, and very much prettier. Do try it. Are you one of those women who have longed always for a dressing table, with a low stool, so that you

can sit in front of it and attend to your beauty needs? Don’t despair—take a look at our picture, and you will see that although pennies may not permit of a new low dressing table, you can still have your low stool. The small cupboard on the left is useful for keeping shoes, or even 'hats, while the chest of drawers is just your old dressing table minus the mirror and attachments. You may not be lucky enough to possess a long mirror,, in which case you will have to buy one to use between the two tables, but just imagine your thrill when you can at long last sit in front of your own mirror. Have you ever wanted a writing table? I saw a novel idea the other day. My friend had a kidney-shaped table which she didn’t like, so she painted it a pretty pink, and used it in her bedroom as a writing table. Now she loves her little table, and spends many a pleasant hour at it.

You too can acquire a flair for furnishing if you keep your eyes open, wherever you go, and whenever you can. It is amazing how many bright ideas you can glean from the homes of your friends when you. are visiting. ,

R ™ Ho - s

If you press men’s trousers with a sheet of brown paper, instead of a wet cloth, it will make a much better job, and all grease marks will disappear. % % * If a cork has broken off in the neck of your bottle, insert the blades of two pen-knives on opposite sides of the cork. Pull the handles towards one another, slowly twist round, and then pull. Your cork will fly out! & * * To remove a tight lid from a bottle or jar, hold a piece of sandpaper in your hand. * * After peeling onions, rub your hands with salt when you are washing them, instead of using soap. Fingers won’t discolour then. # * If your bread crumbles when you are making sandwiches, dip your knife into boiling water. With a hot, wet knife, your bread will cut like wafers. * * _ When your clothes pegs are new, boil them in clean water for an hour, and you will find they don’t split. * * * Painting? Then use a brown paper bag as a glove, and you will keep your

hands clean. Brown paper “gloves” are easy to replace, and save so much paint from your hands. 7JC # # > Stand your jar of peanut butter upside down when not in use. This prevents the oil from settling on the top, thus leaving the end of the jar of butter almost dry. # % % When frying onions, add a pinch of sugar, and there will be no fear of indigestion then. -kDamp your silk shoelaces with water before tying, and you’ll find they don’t slip. '

There’s night and day, brother, both sweet things; sun, moon and stars, brother, all sweet things; there’s likewise a wind on the heath. Life is very sweet, brother —who would wish to die? George Borrow