The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-09-29
Bcautifyiing ~
the Home

u tsnDAA VIZ VII tHH phTlOF WdiE W1LHOu
doubt, there were also clever crea
lures who could crochet circles 81
heavy cord and dip them In glue and
dry them In the shape of baskets wher
those Items OF fancy work were popu
lar. However. have strong doubts 81
Women's ability nowadays to accom-
| plish the feats advised in family mag
azines and columns of household sug
gestions.
| When gazed at the old style. bat.
tered furniture In our extra bedroom
last spring remembered an article
had read on refurnishing the home
With can OF enamel paint and d
brush and q devout spirit Of duty, the
article said. It was easy for any intel
ligent person to transform utterly
anything in the house. The two
chairs were birch, the table bird's-eye
maple and the dresser walnut but I
had sudden visions Of an entirely
Aswhite enamel room, so bought the
paint. Just then the weather turned
hot
Whenever ! have special burst
OF energy the weather always turns
! hot. The heat turks around corners
and lies low, holding it's breath, Just
waiting for me to get ready to do
something. Then when get ready 1t
ponnces upon me and reduces me to
wilted rag. But. having started the
painting bee, had to keep on, be-
cause We had company coming the
following week.
After had applied one coat of paint
Mrs. Ringsted dropped In Mrs. Ring
sted rs one of those appalling persons
who, apparently, without the slightest
effort on their part, know how to do
everything, thereby increasing the en-
,vious dislike of all their acouaint-
ances. In this case Mrs. Ringsted
threw up her hands and walled be-
cause I had not first removed all the
old finish on the furniture before I be-
gan painting.
she said It was very simple. All
you had to do was to move the pieces
out into the back yard, make pail
full OF strong I've and with an old brush
scrub the surface. The yarnish. she
said, would roll off like water When
II inquired II my dress and complexion
would do the same If they got spatter-
ed with I've, rs they undoubtedly
would, she got mad and went home.
1T was stiii hotter the next day
when | put on the second coat of white
paint and, really, | was somewhat dis
couraged to see how the original color
showed through. The dresser was
murky white, the birch chairs vera
streaky and the maple table was
speckled. With the worry and the
heat, | looked like a combination OF all
three of the conditions that afflicted
the furniture.
When ! turned from the dresser |
found the puppy sitting upright in the
rocking chair wagging his tail expect.
lantly over Its freshly painted surface.
When | went to chase him out Of the
room | stumbled over the straight
chair and grabbing It wildly to bal
ance myself, covered my hands with
its fresh surface. You know when
white paint dries on your skin 1t turns
dark gray and has to wear off
Each successive day devoted three
solid hours to putting on another coat
of the paint. Thus | missed one pic.
mic, one matinee and one luncheon.
The family would come and stand
around and tell me how much better
the things would have looked had put
in little yellow or blue or cerise |
into the white enamel to get what they
call tint. Once father absent. |
mindedly sat down on chair and |
stuck there, He took most of it's sur. |
face away with him, thus making me
a lot OF extra work The morning aft. |
er the enamel was ON found that the |
dresser drawers were stuck tight from
the paint on their edges. In pulling
the lower one OFT by main force / |
went over backward and hurt my |
head, also losing my coil of false hair
in the open can of paint on the floor.
When Uncle John and Aunt Sue ar.
rived conducted them to the guest
room and gave them full directions.
! told them that on no account must
they sit on the chairs, because the
weather was so hot the paint refused
to harden. told them also that
they must not think Of shutting the
dresser drawers because they might
never be able to open them again with.
out blowing up the whole thing with
dynamite and wasting my handi-
work
Aunt Sue. who Ia good house.
keeper Of the old fashioned sort was
greatly annoyed at the open drawers
and from force OF habit shut the ton
one before she thought. She had to
stay ut home from tea party given
FOR her because all her front hair was
In the drawer and she couldn't 70
without It. Uncle John broke his Den.
knife trying to pry IT open and took
,ff his coat to work more easily. throw
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