Hot Topics Q&A #1

 Still hot here. I have an answer for one question, and then a question for which I'd really appreciate your answers. Thank you.

[1] What Are Chafeguards?

Safeguards are things which guard us from anything unsafe. Chafeguards is my word for things which guard us from painful chafing in hot, sticky, sweaty weather. First up, baby powder

Baby powder these days is no longer talcum. In the UK/EU the rules are very strict about the purity of traditional talc. In the USA, there have been cases of cheaper talc containing carcinogenic asbestos. But Boots and major supermarkets are all using cornstarch. A dusting on your skin helps all those areas which get sweaty and maybe sore. Rub it on your sandy feet and it will leave them clean, soft and comfortable when you put your shoes on. 

Chub-Rub shorts are fabulous. In hot sticky weather I find it really uncomfortable wearing a dress, my thighs rub and chafe. A pair of these under my skirt makes such a difference. I use Snag. They are light and fit perfectly. Liz recommends Primark cotton cycling shorts. As Carole King [almost] sang, Can I believe the magic of your thighs? Will you still love me tomorrow? 

[2] Are you a [S]crimper?
I keep being sent links to this offer - a free mini crimpit wrap. I can see the potential usefulness of this gadget for making quick snacks in the airfryer.  I read a few reviews which went from 5* genius, use it everyday to 1* useless, I could get the same result with beaten egg and a fork. Have any of you out there got one, and how would you rate it? Crimp and Rave, or Scrimp and Save?

Buzz Off!

It is official. There are definitely more flies around this summer. The hot weather, and fewer wasps, mean there are greater numbers of them. I have an electric zapper in the kitchen, it's blue light glows eeerily in the evening, but it seems to work there. But we still get them flying round in the other rooms. 

I'm trying to avoid developing an irrational hatred of these creatures. This article was very informative. Keeping surfaces clean, and all food covered is important. Apples are in the fridge, not the fruit bowl. And bananas are inside a cupboard. And because I like to make tea in a teapot, and have a jug of milk, I've unearthed my jug cover. 

It's the vintage doyley I edged with beads five years ago. A traditional solution, and it works beautifully.

I was out in a park with an old friend this week. Some guys were packing away a display about bees. There was a big photo frame. In the absence of grandchildren, we seized the moment for ourselves. 

I now realise flies are important pollinators. There are some plants which are only pollinated by flies [like cacao - no flies, no chocolate!] But I still struggle with their increased presence in my home. 

Bees are much cuter! 

How do you cope with house flies? 

No Reds Under The Beds Here!

When we got married, Bob's parents bought us a bed. The guy in the shop told us to turn/rotate the mattress every three months to ensure even wear. I diligently marked each corner, top and bottom. Thus in the corner under Bobs pillow, it would say Jan 1st/ Apr 1st/ July 1st/ Dec 1st depending on which season we were in. We kept the bed, but changed the mattress a few times. The bedframe had four built in underbed drawers. So useful when we lived in tiny flats.

Then Bob got sleep apnoea. We got a new bed and a new mattress. Now we had one with a definite top and bottom, so it's turned round, but not over - every six months. Last week we did the July turn. This is an IKEA Malm bed, and matches our bedroom cupboards [as does the one in the back bedroom] IKEA are about to phase out the Malm range. Look out for bargains on FB Marketplace!
A few years back, IKEA had an ad campaign for its beds "Where family starts" claiming that German researchers had discovered than 10% of European babies were conceived on IKEA beds. They had a photographic family tree including bed pictures. [The other Europeans were presumably conceived "out of bedlock"]

It is always slightly embarrassing to see how much dust collects under my bed despite my 'swiffering'. There are a few things which live there

• the extension cable for plugging in bedside light, phone charger etc
• A small zip underbed bag where I keep our summer sandals and beach shoes over the winter.
• The big pack of spare kitchen tiles, because when the boiler dies, probably soon, I will need to fill the gap. And these tiles are big and need to be stored flat
• A small box of emergency foodstuffs. A hangover from the days of my Brexit box, I check this and use/swap stuff that is going out of date every so often. Rosie recently asked me "Grandma, why do you keep snacks under the bed?" I pointed out that a can of red kidney beans doesn't really count as a midnight snack!

In the back room, the bed is a little higher, and I have two proper Malm storage drawers. One has all my craft paper and card [flat and accessible] The other holds spare bedlinens and tablecloths. The contents of both drawers are slowly being used up/donated to CS. 

There is something very satisfying about doing a thorough clean, washing the bedside rugs, putting fresh linen on the bed... 

At the moment I use the duvet cover as a loose top sheet. Even in hot weather, I like to have something over me when I sleep] My preferred heatwave pjs - an ancient "Friends" t-shirt, and M&S men's boxer shorts.[3-pack, for £10 in 2023] Confession; some of these hot mornings recently, I get to lunchtime and I'm still slumming around the house in these!

Years ago [having read the joke in one of her dad's books] my daughter asked her Sunday School teacher

"Is it true that we come from dust and go to dust?"

The somewhat surprised lady said "Well, that's what the bible tells us, dear"

My cheeky child responded "Well, there's a lot of people coming and going under my bed then

Is There Life After Housework?

I read this book back in the 80s. Three things I recall

1. Use a squeegee after every shower, it will keep the glass and walls sparkling [at the time I did not have a shower - but in the years since, I have stuck rigidly to this habit - it works
2. When mopping the floor, keep clean water and wrung out dirty water in two different buckets. I use a pad type mop, and have a clean dry pad for drying and finishing off, rather than wringing out the dirty pad. 
3. I did not like his "life's too short" model - with frequent use of single use disposables, both for cleaning and decor. [Especially "don't put all the Christmas stuff back in store, ditch and and buy new next December"] What about saving the planet, Don?
   However, about the same time I read the book, I often walked the girls home from school along with another mum and daughter. One Friday she said "I feel so guilty, I haven't washed down the skirting boards this week"  I cheerfully responded "Don't worry, I haven't done mine for well over a fortnight, and the world hasn't ended!"  [truth be told, I couldn't actually remember when I'd last done it, it may have been after the flying chocolate mousse incident the previous autumn...I was a busy and stressed Mum back then] 

The more I think back to those sunny days, making models, visiting NT properties, climbing over the cannons at the Maritime Museum, enjoying Holiday Clubs and Pancake Parties, the more I realise Mr Aslett was wrong. The question ought to be "Have you enjoyed life before the housework?" 
Obviously there are some chores which happen as part of the daily routine. Habits like pulling out the wheelie bin on Wednesday. loading the dishwasher after the meal, dropping dirty clothes straight in the bin as you take them off, squeegeeing the shower before you get out and dry yourself, putting the milk jug back in the fridge promptly - especially in hot weather...

But the sun's shining and you want to go for a walk, take the grandchildren somewhere fun, or attend a free organ concert in the Church - so forget washing down the skirting or re-organising the sock drawer! 

Another Mum I knew back then said that she had never seen her mother do housework. Cooking and clearing up meals yes - but cleaning, washing, ironing - Mum did all those other tasks once the three children had gone to bed. I couldn't get my head round that - didn't vacuuming keep them awake? If she ran the washing machine at night, when and how did she get the laundry dry? 

According to a survey two years before the pandemic, the average British woman spends 2 hours a day on household chores, and men a little less than that [i.e. a total of 14 hours a week] . I couldn't find out if the 2 hours included meal prep&clearing. If it does, then that seems about right for us. In retirement it is easier to share out the jobs [and he is a better cook than I] Many working women, like my daughters are well organised, busy juggling family, work and home. I know it is tiring for them [so grateful that my two always make family needs their #1 priority] Perhaps I should keep a time sheet for two weeks and see what gets done and when. But not this week - I'm off to London on Friday morning! 

How have your housekeeping habits changed over the years?

Do you have any help? [humans or gadgets]

Washing My Dirty Linen...

 On May 30th, Bob and Rosie were swimming in the sea, on June 2nd I was muttering about 'Flaming June' and wanting to wear lightweight clothing, last Friday I was writing about hot, sticky summery days. 

I complained to Bob that the water butt was empty...

And then this week it has rained, and rained

Don't you just love this picture entitled "Spring Cleaning the Ark" ? It is by London artist William  Heath Robinson [see here]
Mrs Noah, and her sons and daughters-in-law, got all the animals onto the roof, and they are giving the boat a proper clean. [even tho it is still raining!]
I had planned to be out working in the garden, but had to come inside when the sharp hailstones descended. I've spent much of the week doing little odd jobs which should have been done last month.
To be honest, in the run up to Bob's hospital visit I didn't feel like housework. 
Now he is feeling better, and we are both sleeping better, I have had a bit more OOOMPH!. As opposed to 0mph, which is Zero Miles Per Hour. I've become very determined in my cleaning regime.

Steph recommended The Pink Stuff, miracle cleaning paste [not that I had any miracles which needed cleaning!] It does seem to tick many of the boxes regarding the environment. Yes it is a little abrasive and there are surfaces where it is not a good idea to use it. But it is brilliant for dirt on the base of my saucepans [they call it 'bottom grime' - an unfortunate name I think] also marks on the oven door and shelves, and bathroom grouting. I keep old toothbrushes for small scrubbing jobs.

Over half term Liz said she'd had a go at her white towels and sheets, using Ariel Bio detergent. I stopped using bio detergent in 1985 when Steph had a really bad reaction when wearing clothes washed in biological detergent, and ended up in A&E [she was about 8 months old] Forty years later, she lives on the other side of the country. So I decided I would try again. These pods were on offer, so I bought a box. My sheets, towels and hankies are whiter - but I did a longer, hotter wash than usual. Perhaps I should have tried that programme with my regular Lidl powder first. I have ditched the dinge!
Thanks Liz and Steph for the cleaning tips!

Have you noticed that Peter Crouch is all over the ad breaks lately? In the last 6 months, he has done, Ariel, Paddy Power gambling, TNT Sports, Chery SUVs, Victorian Plumbing, Shark Ninja BBQs, Bovril, Alpro Breakfast foods... It is 8 years since he stopped playing professional football.  Maybe he needs to pay for more tooth whitening. .
And still it rains. We have had spectacular thunderstorms. The lightning was so close- we watched it strike our friend's house a couple of gardens away - mercifully no real damage or injury [just a blip in his power supply] 

I am hoping it is dry tomorrow, there is a Yard Sale in Foulsham, and I am looking after the pitch outside the Chapel. I would like people to turn up and pay up! At least we do have the Big Gazebo to shelter under.

What is your favourite cleaning product?

Little, And Good

Are you aware of the Japanese company Muji? The name is a contraction of a phrase meaning "No brand, quality goods". They have half a dozen shops in London. You can read about the company and its philosophy here. Everyday items, well designed, sustainable, minimum packaging - stationery, homewares, basic garments.

They have recently opened a store in Hong Kong, and to celebrate, they invited artist Tatsuya Tanaka to produce some artworks featuring their products. I've posted about TT before, here in 2017. He uses regular items as the basis for minuscule works of art. Look at the ones he has come up with for Muji

He made a tiny Muji store using various items, stationery bits and small shopfitting components. Then he did lots of pieces which have witty names referencing the products used.
I like the jeans waves on the socks beach, and the ice-cream store...  His attention to detail is fantastic

Finally, to the delight of the residents of Hong Kong, he recreated Victoria Harbour and its iconic skyline - using Muji products for the buildings, a brush for the circular exhibition centre, a toothbrush for the pier - and staplers to represent the ferries which carry passengers back and forth,

What a clever guy, what a lovely shop!

Caps, Crafts, Clare

I think the first time I came across the word forage was as a child, when my Dad put on his Boys' Brigade Officer's Uniform - he added badges to his suit lapels and put on a navy woollen cap, which he referred to as a forage cap or Glengarry. The word  comes from the Old French fourrager - which meant 'plundering, or hunting for fodder'. Soldiers would wear a soft fabric cap rather than a fancy military helmet when they were away from the battle and doing other jobs, particularly looking about for food for their horses. Being soft, these caps could be folded and put in a pocket or backpack. A Glengarry was the name given to this popular style of forage cap developed by a regiment of Scottish 'fencibles' at the end of the 18th C. It was adopted by the BB who began in Glasgow in 1883.
But I later learned that forage could mean 'to hunt about for things' or 'to scavenge'. To look for 'wild' food [eg mushrooms], or for things to use - often at no cost, because they have no value to others. 

So when I spotted this book on the library shelf, I grabbed it. Firstly it is by Clare Youngs, one of my favourite craft authors, second, I love recycling, and finally, if the foraged resources are free that is even better!
There are 35 projects in three sections - foraged 'natural' materials, paper & card, fabric & thread. Clare makes decorations, clothing, gifts and useful objects - using new ideas, fresh twists on old techniques, and traditional skills.

 

covered buttons, boro stitched jeans, painted pebbles, stitched denim sashiko coasters, pressed seaweed cards, foiled leaf garlands, and loads more... coasters, cushions, dolls, gift tags, stationery...with CYs precise instructions, clear illustrations and accurate templates

Lots to copy, or to inspire you - adaptable for all ages and skill levels. Another *****
Have you read any good CY books, and would you recommend them?

In The Pink

Back in the 80s my friend invited me to go with her on a shopping trip to Bromley. Having dropped our daughters off at Primary School, we went in her car for what she described as a day of Retail Therapy. By lunchtime she had a few carrier bags, and I'd bought some new pants for the children. 

"You must get yourself something, Ang" she insisted. So we went into Laura Ashley, and at her suggestion I spent £5 on a lacy pink knitted scarf. She assured me I'd wear it a lot. 

Every so often I pull it out to finish off an outfit, perhaps half a dozen times a year. As I did a couple of weeks ago. Then I decided it should have a wash, so I put in a bowl of warm soapy water and swished it about a bit. I couldn't believe how much colour came out in the water! I felt like Macbeth with "the multitudinous seas incarnadine" I was so glad I'd not put it in the general wash inside a 'lingerie' bag. 

It dried quickly in the warm sunshine. Back in the day, I was quite unsure about the purchase, it seemed rather frivolous on our limited income . But when I look back and think about it in terms of cost-per-wear, at about tuppence a time, I have definitely had my money's worth. I see they are currently being advertised online at £25+. Good gracious!! 

I Knew That Some Day, My Plinths Would Come!

As far as we can tell, Cornerstones [built 1972] started with a basic kitchen. In the 80's the owners replaced the units with better ones, with wooden doors. In around 2007, an extension was built, so the kitchen was slightly larger. Some of the old units went into the Futility Room,[without plinths. I can fix that, said Bob] and fairly cheap ones were put into the new kitchen. We bought the property in 2009. In 2018, we repainted the FR units, and added some wall cupboards [surplus to requirements when we moved from Kirby to Ferndown] It took us months, because we weren't living here then. But I was really pleased with the final results.

Eagle eyed readers will spot that there are no plinths visible under the sink!  Bob said "I will make a set sometime" My post of 8 years ago was entitled "Some Day My Plinths Will Come".
We retired here 5 years ago. The fridge freezer moved into the corner, and my French picture came down.  And we began to realise the main kitchen was falling to bits. So 2025 was The Year Of The Kitchen. A lot of hard work, plus help from friends and family [and a few good tradespeople] we ended up with a £30K+ kitchen for around £10K. 
Bob is not a man to let things go to waste. Some of the removed cupboards were repurposed in the garage, and he replaced the upper futility cupboards [small and shallow] with bigger ones. "I shall put new doors to match on the drawers and sink unit" he said. [June 2025] Sixteen years on, and now the FR has new upper cupboards - but no doors on sink, and still NO plinths! I decided to say nothing.

Last Friday he had an amazing burst of energy - having sorted out my table, he then set to with power tools modifying the old doors to make new drawer fronts.
And then he made plinths! Seventeen years after he suggested it. To show my joy at this great improvement I have tided the drawers and cupboards and moved all the random bits of paper from the fridge door. Just four things have been allowed to remain.

This is a really usable room now and easy to maintain [no more things rolling under the sink!] Thank you Bob

I've Got Some Nice Legs!

Said Bob. It was during the great pre-retirement downsize, I realised that one thing I did need at Cornerstones was a small table in the back bedroom. I had hoped it would be a worktable for my craft activities, and a place for visitors to put their stuff. That was why Bob mentioned his nice legs [!] and that he had a piece of wood, a short length of kitchen worktop retrieved from our neighbour's skip in Dorset when they had a refit. The legs were red metal [IKEA bargain basement, £5, years ago] and had remained in his stash, stuck together with parcel tape. He promptly screwed the legs to the wood and there was my table. It has been in use ever since. But he never actually finished it properly. I put a tablecloth on it when we had overnight guests.

Here it is, this time last year, stacked with food and jars during the kitchen refit. The top is grubby, it had sharp edges and corners, and the base of every leg [hidden in this shot] is a mess of half removed brown parcel tape. More recently my worklamp has been clamped to the edge, and the table has been covered with sewing projects.

On Thursday, I had been tidying the bedroom, the tabletop was clear. Bob leapt into action, and took the table outside. He removed the legs, and while I set to work with solvent to clean off the sticky tape and goo, he rounded the edges of the top. He sanded everything and finished it off with a coat of Osmo. It looks so much better now

Clean, shiny and no sharp corners! This will count as a restoration project, another of my #word365 activities. Thank you Bob. I shall refix  my lamp and I'm 'good to go' again

I Brought My Own Bag...

Usually when I go out to do a proper supermarket trip, it is planned in advance so I have the bags. But sometimes I am out, and buy something unexpectedly. More than 30 years ago, my SIL went to Oz to visit her family, and brought me back a nylon folding tote bag.

It packs up very small [credit card size] and so I carry it around in my handbag. But last week I realised it is really wearing out - all the seams are on the point of giving way. I have a couple of other folding bags, but they are nowhere near as compact as this one.
Barbara's son and his family are now living in Australia. She sent me this birthday gift

This cheerful kookaburra print bag is a few inches square when folded into itself, but opens up into a full size tote bag.

What perfect timing! I can discard the dodgy old one, and tuck the new one in my handbag for my Manchester trip today

And that means fewer plastic bags or bags-for-life being purchased. Good for my wallet, good for the planet. Thank you Barbara!

When you were at school, did you sing the song "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree" as a round in your music lessons? We did, but I don't think I had the faintest notion as to what a kookaburra looked like

SORRY ABOUT LATE PUBLISHING. Just realised it didn't post.  currently catching up whilst sat on a train which is held up outside Grantham!

A Watched Pot

... never boils.

First thing every morning I make a cup of tea. But I find it hard to stand in the kitchen doing nothing waiting for it to boil. So I use those minutes to do something useful

 

1. I might pop to the bathroom and clean my teeth
2. Write a shopping list
3. Match up the unpaired socks in the laundry bin
4. Rip up yesterday's teabags - leaves into compost, bags into bin
5. Empty the dishwasher

How do you fill those minutes? 

Lofty Thoughts

To paraphrase a Randy Newman song*

It's a jungle up there!
Disorder and confusion everywhere

No one seems to care

Well Bob does

Hey, who's in charge here?
- He could be wrong now
    [but I don't think so]

Over the winter it has been too cold to spend very long up in the loft. I scuttle up the ladder, snatch what I want and come down again. Bob thoughtfully fitted an extra grab handle for me 3 years ago. I occasionally return items by putting them in boxes, climbing to the hatch, and shoving them hard across the floor without even going right up inside. This does make for disorder and confusion. The main loft contains my sewing and craft materials, out of season clothing, and other random stuff [two guitar stands belonging to Bob - who rarely sets foot up there] The loft above the Futility is much tidier. All the Christmas stuff, and those empty boxes from important items [to be kept until the guarantee runs out, just in case]
I set aside time this week to work on tidying the loft. This happens every couple of years.  I have rules for myself during this activity

1. Go to the loo before climbing the loft ladder [for what Ro and Jess call a "Safety Wee"]
2. Take mobile phone [if I don't, its sure to ring - and if something goes wrong, I need to be able to call for help!]
3. Take a sharpie, a pair of scissors, a tape measure and a trash bag, for efficient labelling and sorting
4. Organise 'stuff to get rid of' into three boxes/ bags while still up there. Donate, recycle, and general bin. It is much easier that way.
5. Be firm and realistic. I am retired now. I don't need half a set of class worksheets about algebra anymore. Yes, the children can do drawing on the other side of the sheet - but be honest, just how many pictures is Jess going to do when she visits? I have been filling a plastic box with random craft materials to take to our local Scrap Scheme. Somebody else will use them.
6. Pieces of ribbon less than 10cm long are no use to me. Particularly if they are grubby from being on the floor up there. Ditto tiny scraps of felt. And elastic that lost its stretch back in 1998. Bin them!
7. Sort things sensibly. Label the drawers so you can find things quickly. Next time, put things away carefully in the right place, however cold it is up there
8. Nobody needs to keep every envelope, jiffy bag, and cardboard box that the postman brings. Recycle!
9. If an item has not been used for a very long time, why am I keeping it? Rehome it or ditch it. Now!
10. If it is properly tidied now, I can keep it tidier in future. My word of the year is restoration. I need to restore order and sanity...

I last tidied the loft in autumn 2023 [see picture]. But that space in front of the drawers is full of more stacked boxes now. So I cannot get to my Velcro stash, or felt pieces, without a lot of shuffling. A tidy up is long overdue

The current disordered state! I need to do the winter/summer wardrobe swap in the next couple of weeks. Back to work...

*It was used for the theme tune of that great detective series "Monk". Adrian Monk was OCD, he would have a complete melt-down if he saw my loft.

NB that empty HiViz jacket is strapped to the roof truss, It is not a desperate kidnap victim.
Also, I found my little wooden eggs, just in time for Easter Decorating.🥚🥚🥚

One For Sorrow, Two For Joy...

This is the logo of The Magpies, aka Dereham Town Football Club. Norfolk boasts a number of FCs with bird nicknames [Norwich Canaries, Kings Lynn Linnets, Reepham Robins...] Founded in 1884 as Dereham FC, merging in 1986 with a Sunday league team, to become Hobbies United - in 1991 named Dereham Town FC.

This year, 2026, marks 60 years since the first name change, and our local museum is making this a year of sport [we just had the Winter Olympics] So Katie asked how we could bring the Museum Mice up to speed on this.
I said that creating sports gear for the mice was a bit of a challenge - why not dress them as footie fans, and give them all hats and scarves? And I'd got black and white wool in my stash...
Oh no I hadn't! Lots of white dk, but somehow almost all my black wool got used up when I donated it to some poppy-knitters. I bought a cheap ball of black dk and set to, producing first scarves and then hats. And the hats needed pompoms. 
"Why is there a small fork on the coffee table?" asked Bob. "It's mine, I said defensively, "my first ever fork, it used to have a little spoon with is but that got lost decades ago"
"Buy why is it on the coffee table?"  "It is perfect for making Mini PomPoms"

That really is black wool, it just looks navy in the picture! Here's a diagram.   Choose a fork the width of your finished pompom.

 Thread the ends round between central tines a few times [use a darning needle] and tie tight. Cut and trim.

The project is going very speedily, I'm making hats with both white and black pompoms. The mice should look splendid! I decided to polish up my little fork, so got out the giant tin of Brasso. Don't forget, if you polish a piece of cutlery with Brasso or Duraglit, you should wash it in regular w/u liquid afterwards before using it for food.

Have you ever made mini pompoms?

Do you support a football team? [I don't] 

Do you still use metal polish? [The National Trust polish their copper and silverware just once a year before the start of the season]

⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽

Magpie began on ITV in 1968, it was intended as a rival to BBC's Blue Peter which began ten years earlier. Magpie ran for just 12 years. BP is still going, approaching its 70th birthday, it's the longest running children's TV show in the world

Spinning, Strimming, Trimming

Tuesday was a pleasant day and for the first time this year, the whirligig dryer went up in the back garden. Always a cheerful sign, spring is on the way. And later Bob strimmed the edges of the lawn, and mowed the grass. The grass was just a bit loo long. I'd better get a move on with my 2026 garden notes.

My hair was also a bit long, so I drove into Norwich and went to Supercuts. Shelley cut quite a lot off, but I am pleased with the shorter cut. I can show off my dangly earrings! I think my last cut was in September, but Steph trimmed my fringe in the Christmas holidays.  A one length bob needs minimal maintenance, but once it gets a bit too long and the weather warms up, I like to go shorter again.

I am still unpacking bits and pieces from the Manchester trip. I thought I had left Bob's slippers behind. I hadn't - but I had failed to pack my little red Icelandic beauties!

Today should be a lot of fun, I am meeting up with my old friend Elisabeth in Newmarket - we have been friends for 44 years. We are going to the racecourse together- but for a Quilting Show, not to bet on the horses! There will be a full report later...