The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-05-14
THE HIGHER
THE FEWER
There's Always Plenty of Room
At The Top
By
NANCY ]. MIDGET

slap on paint. Spring is here and
with it that joyful task called
spring cleaning and setting the
house to rights or as near to
rights as ones energy and the
depth of ones pocket will allow.
Of course for about two weeks
nothing is where it should be and
some things in fact are no longer
in being, for they have been
gathered up by the zestful clean
er and dragged off to be burned
or given away.
Now some really clever peo-
pie can have their painting done,
the house cleaned through and
even half torn down and rebuilt
without a thing seeming out of
place but I have to do it the hard
way every year as far back as I
can remember. There was many
an official holiday when I was at
home from the office and Mother
and I would decide to paint or
paper this or that room. One time
1 remember it was the bathroom
the first attempt I had made at
withdrawing a ceiling. I was
up the ladder, slapping away to
my hearts content, not getting
too much running down my arm
when I happened to look down
and saw that I had donated a
large quantity of the white wash
to my mothers head and should
ers:when we had a look in the
mirror we laughed so much that
we nearly fell in the bath. Any
way we finished the job and call
ed it a day, cleaned up and be-
took ourselves out to a cup of tea,
bun and butter and the movies
afterwards.
Paper hanging was another
thing. I am pretty sure that now
my patience, temper, nerves or
what have you would come near
cracking if I attempted a large
room and a too-patterned paper.
Even in those days I would shut
the door firmly and dare my
mother or anyone else to put
their nose round the door in case
I exploded into cussing and
whereas the paper and paste
wouldn't be offended, the others
feelings would be hurt. For all
that 1 still like to dabble in paint
and when possible, give the place
a good go over.
Turning out cupboards and at
tics can be most interesting, in
fact history itself caught in an
old dress, piece of material, card
or any one of the many oddments
that get slowed away in attics.
When my mother died and Grace
and 1 moved into an apartment
we started cleaning the old things
out of the upper hall (landing,
in England closets. One thing
I recall was that my fathers silk
hat which mother had kept for
those many years, was still there
in its box. When my father was
a young man it was correct for
even the office clerks in the city
of London to wear a silk top hat
After that came the bowler hat
l believe and now of course the
soft felt is mostly in fashion. I
had never experienced house
moving until that time and it was
like walking out of one life into
another for there seemed to be
none of the old feeling of belong
ing even after year in the new
apartment though we had the
old, well known furniture with us
or as much of it as we could fit
in. The rest had to be practically
given away though I doubt if
you could get the same quality
stuff now, for at the beginning
of 1910 with the war on, no one
was very interested in second
hand furniture. We hadn't a great
deal of furniture but it is anna
zing how much there is that
won't fit into a small, modern a
partment with none of the nice
old hidy-hole cupboards.
I now try to keep my belong
ings down to minimum; get
very hard hearted. about old
clothes, shoes and what have you
I know when my mother taught
me house keeping she passed on
some advice given her by an old
Scotch house keeper she used to
work for. 1t was Keep the cor
ners clean lassie, and the middle
of the room will aye look after it.
self. That I have always found
very good advice, not only where
house keeping is concerned but
it does take an effort. 1t is so very
easy to just bother about what is
visible and in the limelight and
not bother about what is going
on in the Swallowed corners even
when we know it is there.
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