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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-04-24, Page 2Crabby Husbands Nagging Wives The young wife wanted her freedom so that she could marry a wealthy man. Her . husband would not consent to a divorce, however, because, despite her proneness to nagging, he was still in love with her. "So you refuse to divorce me?" she -demanded. The hus- band nodded and launched into a heartfelt plea to his wife to kiss an snake up. But the wife, instead of feeling pleased, nurs- ed a bitter hatred against him and determined to make his life e misery. Night after night, as he tried to sleep, she disturbed him. At first, she merely placed alarm clocks under his bed, timed to go off at 2 or 3 a.m. But eventu- ally he grew accustomed to them, so she took sterner mea- sures. Creeping into his room, she would dash a cupful of ice- cold water into his face, some- times not even bothering to re- move the ice lumps! Finally, as the culmination of her hate, she took to daubing him, while he slept, with quan- tities of flour paste. At last the Unfortunate man relented and gave her grounds for divorce. Nagging, it has been said, weakens only those who are themselves weak, People with strong and buoyant tempera- ments generally stop such non- sense before it can begin, or perhaps they do not marry nag- gers in the first place! A Yorkshirewoman, though good-hearted, hard-working and thrifty' became thoroughly net- tled by her husband's habit of putting his feet up on the best chair in thei,r living -room. She wearied of telling him to desist. So she took to •rattling a tin of stones in his ears ,• every time she- caught him with his :feet up. This •new• tat.tic fairly tiled him. tie counter=attacked by hunting out and throwing away her tin of stones. This only made her get bigger tins and stones. The situation became so diffi- cult that the two took separate rooms and for two years lived quite apart, even taking their ineals independently. In the U.S.A., nagging in some households takes the form of endlessly criticizing the hus- band's moCtey-earning capacity, his manners his choice of neck- wear, the closeness or otherwise of his shave. Inevitably, the nagger offers him a good comparison — that 'peach of a man," Steve Smooth- phizz, two blocks distant, who every day gives his wife such a pleasant surprise: money for a new dress, a bouquet, some new perfume or a big box of choco- lates. "He worships the ground on which her shadow falls," said one disgruntled woman, refer - mg to a neighbour's hhusband. "But as for you, Custard Joe, you don't see my shadow any- where—no, not even when I'm standing right here beside you." "Nor you mine, any longer, honey," snapped the husband, bis patience worn out. And so Laying, he jumped into his car end roared off. He didn't return, or give her a clue to his where- abouts for four long weeks. When he reappeared, she was mighty glad to welcome him hack, and having learned her lesson, put away her "nagger's tongue," as she had the grace to gay, into the family fridge! Who wins the nagger's stakes? There can be no final answer, seine new forms of nagging ap- pear almost daily. But could it be the woman who, jealous of Iter husband's mania for stamp collecting, and thinking that he kept her` short of housekeeping , money, formed the vastly' irri- tating habit of plastering his boots with old used postage stamps, Morn off envelopes and. parcels? She pasted them down so tight that when he was in a hurry to catch his morning train for the office, he often had first t to steam them off his toe-capss and rush off with unpolished boots. It seemed she derived im- mense satisfaction out of this procedure. Matters came to a crux when he was preparing for his firm's annual dinner, •a dressy, affair, and he found the front of his stiff white shirt transformed: into a chequer -board of used stamps. This naturally annoyed the -keen collector. The situation worsened when she began to invade his stamp album, removed prized speci- mens, and sold them "to raise her housekeeping allowance." Admitting defeat, he disposed of his entire collection. Now he sits at home, a morose and silent man, while his wife tells the neighbours: "My hus- band's getting old and horribly dull. A pity he can't find some- thing interesting to occupy him." When women take to nagging, then men must look out. From northern France comes a story of a couple who became es- tranged because of the wife's ob- session for dogs. She not only kept large numbers of them, but gave them the complete run of the house. The husband, returning from work, was shocked to discover Pekes perched on the kitchen table, sampling his stew. When he went into the drawing -room, there were other dogs scuffling about. It was the same in the bedroom. They climbed into his bed and drove him out of it. When he complained, his wife accused him of being "a hard- hearted beast!" Sometimes women are victims of naggers. Let us introduce Hildegrade, a Hamburg woman who, living with her sister on a joint income, their father's leg- acy, felt perhapst that with her sister removed, her own life would be rosier. Now this sister, Anna -Maria, detested, as many women do, both mice and spiders. So Hilde- garde went out of her way to introduce such creatures on all possible occasions. Poor Anna -Maria could no longer look forward even to milk puddings, her favourite sweet, for invariably she found a spider drowned beneath the rice. Mice, too, scampered about the house with discon- certing frequency. And some- times these also appeared on the menu. It was all done very subtly, The nagging sister even pro- duced a cat, to keep the mice down, but fed it surreptitiously so that it wouldn't look at a mouse, dead or alive. This dreadful state of affairs, with one sister trying to drive the other crazy, persisted for about three years. But Anna - Maria was tough. Finally, she decided to go and live with friends in a fresh district. And this time fate neatly intervened. For Hildegarde, living on her own, caught a chill which de- veloped into pneumonia and caused her death. WELL -FARE STATE Police of Ferndale have re- cently intensified their "Cour- tesy Pays" campaign. Pedestrians and motorists who show cour- tesy are stopped by the police and issued with a ticket. The tickets are good for a free meal at a local restaurant. SKY PILOT -The Rev. Charles Lee, a flier in World War 11, has stow 'taken to the air for his church. The 34 -year-old Congrega- tional minister has been hedge -hopping across Great Plains states for two' years. HIS FIRST ARMY BREAKFAST—Pvt. Elvis Presley, the rock 'n' roll idol, rolled out of bed a half-hour earlier than fellow Army recruits at Fort Chaffee, afid` then ate his first Army breakfast, above. Presley and 50 other recruits: were outnumbered' by re- porters and photographers at the camp to record the hip -wig- gling singer's entry into the service. Twenty -three-year-old Presley ,reported that he had "a good night's sleep." G r7 TA BLL TALKS e1a'4 ¢, Accdtlews. One . welcome sign of spring is rhubarb. A favorite way of cooking it may be familiar to some of you, but it's worth men- tioning because of its simplicity. After washing stalks of rhu- barb, trim off any brown spots and cut on a board into 1 -inch pieces, Place in a casserole with some sugar-rabout 3/4 cup of sugar to 1 pound rhubarb, unless you have a sweeter tooth. Cover and bake at about 325° F, for 45 minutes. No water is needed, for the drops of moisture which cling when you wash the stalks will combine with the natural juice of the plant to make abund- ant sauce, and slow cooking will. produce a lovely, deep pink hue. A little experimenting the other day resulted in a delight- ful modification of the above process. With the sugar which was sprinkled on the rhubarb there was mixed about 3 tea- spoons of cornstarch, and of course the resulting sauce be- came thick as it cooked. (A stir once in a while during cooking helps to keep the sauce smooth.) When the thickened rhubarb cooled, it. was not only a strik- ing pink, but just the right con- sistency. to spoon into crisp tart shells, made from ordinary pie - crust. A dab of whipped cream on top made a handsome and delicious dessert, a kind of one - crust rhubarb pie. There was one special advan- tage, too. You can put the rhu- barb in the tart shells just be- fore serving time, thus avoid- ing the soaking -in process which often: makes a day-old pie some- what soggy. * * * Just in case you've mislaid former recipes for roasting a leg of lamb, here are directions. If your leg of lamb weighs from 5 to 6 pounds, roast it from 21 to 31/2 hours at 300° F. If you use a meat thermometer, it will register 175° F. for medium done and 180° for well done. Do not have fell removed from leg of lamb. Season meat with salt and pepper. Place skin side down on rack in open roast- ing pan. Insert meat thermom- eter so the bulb reaches the cen- ter of the thickest part of the leg, being sure bulb does not rest on fat or bone. Do not add water. Do not cover. Allow 30 to 35 minutes per pound for roast- ing. * ° * To go with your roast lamb, try these mint dressing balls. About thirty minutes before your lamb is done, place these balls on a rack with the roast and bake them. You'll enjoy this new way of serving mint. MINT DRESSING BALLS 3/4 cup finely chopped onion r/s cup finely chopped celery 2 tablespoons butter 2 cups toasted bread crumbs 7/z teaspoon thyme % teaspoon salt %s teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon dried mint or '% cup chopped fresh mint 1 egg beaten Cook onion and celery in but- ter until tender; add remaining, ingredients and toss until moist- ened. Shape into eight balls. 5 ' '* * Meringues If you decide' not to serve mint in dressing balls, garnish your roast with mint meringue treats. Beat 1 egg white until stiff. Add '/a' cup mint jelly, and continue heating until well. mixed. Place meringue in 4 or 5 peach or pear halves. Bake or broil until mer- ingue is lightly browned. -Another Garnish Another idea for, garnish for your lamb is fruit en brochette. Thread any combination of small fruit or pieces of fruit, suchas pineapple chunks, cherries, crab apples or bananas, on skewers. If you like them hot, brush with melted butter before heating. Sweet Potatoes If you're having sweet pota- toes, you may like to serve these pineapple towers. Spread canned pinapple slices with mashed sweet potatoes, brush with but- ter and .top each with a marsh- mallow. Bake until heated through. * * You'll like a lamb breast if you fill it with this pineapple - mint dressing. Get a 3 -pound, boned breast; cut a pocket from end to end. Season with salt and pepper. Put the dressing inside the pocket and skewer edges to- gether. Place on rack fat side up in uncovered roasting pan; roast at 325° F. for 2 hours or until tender. Make gravy with pan drippings. PINEAPPLE -MINT STUFFING 2 tablespoons shortening 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion 1 quart soft bread crumbs '/4 teaspoon salt Dash pepper 1 can (No. 2) or 21/s cups crushed pineapple, drained 1 teaspoon chopped mint Melt shortening in skillet; add onion and saute until tender. POur over soft bread crumbs, salt, pepper, pineapple and mint. Stir. , * * Nothing quite .tops Dutch ap- ple calve for a pick-up dessert. Since this cake can be whipped up in a matter of minutes, as a matter of fact while the potatoes are cooking, a dressy dessert is ever at hand, however busy the woman of the house may be. DUTCH APPLE CAKE 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 14 teaspoon salt ih cup of milk 1 egg 3/4 cup melted shortening. . 2 tablespoons granulated sugar ' 1VIix ingredients together in 'one bowl. Since this recipe is slanted for the busy person, don't fuss. It " comes' out beau- tifully in the end. Put dough into an 8" square, shallow baking tin. At first you may feel there isn't enough dough to cover the bottom of the pan, but keep spreading and stretching: it with a fork. It will cover. Core, peel, and quarter three large apples, then cut into thin slices. ( A cup Of canned apples will speed the process.) Then, overlap apples in parallel rOws on top of dough, pushing each slcie of apple, thin edge only, part-way into dough. Combine - next three in- gredients. Y teaspoon cinnamon Y/ teaspoon nutmeg 3 tablespoons sugar Sprinkle combination over ap- ples, then top with three table- spoons of butter. Bake in a hot oven, 400° F. for about 40 min- utes, or until the apples are ten- der. The topping is optional: After the cake has cooled for ten min- utes, either whipped cream Or whipped jelly, (any jelly on hand will do), spread over the top will complete , an attractively delicious dessert. Super Cheesecake Even those who say they do not ordinarily like cheesecake, - wee enthusiastic when this . one is served. Crust: 15 graham crackers, crushed 1 pinch cinnamon 6 tablespoons melted butter Mix and spread around bot- tom of pan and sides. Filling: 3 eggs beaten till lemon yellow 1 cup sugar 1 pound cream cheese Add cheese very slowly. (leave out of refrigerator to soften before using,) Rind of one lemon, grated 1 teaspoon vanilla Bake 45 minutes at 350° F. Or until firm. (Use pan with fairly high sides, or spring -mold pan, as cake rises.) Cool, then 'pour following cream mixture on top. 1 pint sour cream 3 teaspoons sugar y teaspoon vanilla Bake 500° F. for 15 minutes with oven door open. This last is import an. Chill and serve. Serves 10 to 12. CALMED DOWN—Looking prop- erly contrite, Nicky, the Barbary ape who escaped twice en route to the Overton Park Zoo sits calmly in his cage eating a banana. The ape scrambled through the rigging of the ship that brought him to the United States, leading the sailors a merry chase. Then, ashore, he temporarily' got away again. Pottery -Making -- A Female Craft Pottery -making, so long as it was done by hand, was in many cases a female craft. In view of the lack of communication be- tween the women of different communities divided by dif • ference of speech and probably of ritual, there were many local' variants among the products. of: the female crafts. Among these crafts that of pottery -making gives specially valuable evidence, because pot fragments have so often persisted for thousands of years. As Europe north of the Medi- terranean was at first merely a barbaric fringe of . the Middle East and the Aegean civiliza- tions, it is natural that the paint- ed pottery of . the Near East should have been made, in the course of time, during the third millennium B.C. on the loess lands in Hungary and west of the Dnieper. But though skill in pottery' did spread westwards, the idea of a coloured slip did not penetrate. far. Instead, the surface, while still soft, was marked with incised lines, finger. impressions and, later on, with incrustations. The lines might be traced with an edged or pointed stick or might be impressed by pressing a string. , There are' also pots in the Danish museums or- namented by pressing a cockle- shell on to the surface before baking. Archaeologists tract the spread and the replacement of pottery styles in Europe as their best line of evidence for interpreting movements of peoples and of cultural elements. It is a fact of "'some importance that about 2000 B.C. or soon afterwards there appeared in Spain and in central Europe pottery of finer quality than had for the most. part been made hitherto in these regions. The vessels made were drinking cups or beakers; the paste of which they were made was usually fine and the baking well done. The style is of interest, partly' because, though it and its variants last only a few genera- tions, they can be traced over wide areas, both in Spain and on the loess of middle Europe as well as, in quantity, in Britain. —From "Times and Places," by the late HarOld Peake and Her- bert John Fleure. Removing Stains From Old Glass One day at an auction I saw a lovely cut glass perfume bottle. It was badly stained with a "high water" mark inside. I've learned not to buy dis- colbred or dead glass, no matter how beautiful the shape and pattern when it is badly marked in this way. And until then I had never found a way to re- move the stubborn stains. The person next to me spoke up. "If the dealer would clean the bottles before exhibiting them, she wouldget far better prices." "Do you know a method for removing stains like that?" 1 " asked. "Only an old-fashioned one that seems to work," she replied. "Wash a potato well, then cut it up into small chunks with the peel left on..Put half a cup of these into the bottle with enough water to reach the line of dis- coloration. Let them stand one or more days. Then when you rinse the bottle, the stains will be gone." And, wonderful- to be told, the old homemade method ,...has worked equally well for ane! By Sarah Shields Pfeiffer in The Christian Science Monitor. Drive With Care ALL FOR PEACE - Fifty people protesting American nuclear tests scheduled to begin in the` Pacific in. April are shown starting out on their 100 mile six day walk to New York City from Philadelphia The marchers intend' bo go to the U.N. Building to bring up their, case for the abolition of nuclear jests on Good Friday. jf.