Curtain Length/Puddling

I am a lover of all the Renovation type shows and have noticed that  the curtains are long and spilling onto the floor, which is called 'puddling.' I have always believed that the best look is just above floor level. It looks good and is practical

Lots of home decor is purely for looks and lacks user friendly type requirements.

I can imagine trying to hold up the curtain with one hand whilst trying to juggle the vacuum with the other and the added risk of the vacuum sucking in the curtain!

Puddling refers to the amount of extra length of fabric that is spilled or puddled on the floor - adding opulence and style to your drapes.

'Puddling' originated as a means for the rich to show off their wealth as they were the only ones who could afford the extra material to lay on the floor.

How much puddling:

1" - a clean look where the draperies just rest on the floor, also called a break or 'trouser break.'

2"-4" Puddle - the most popular today, having adequate length to spill nicely onto the floor but still not a large puddle.

6"-8" is a true Puddle with enough length to fan the draperies out onto the floor.

What look do you like?

Nasty Comments

It seems that no matter what the topic on Facebook, it brings out the 'nasties' in droves.

Joe Hockey's win against the Fairfax media brought out 311 comments (so far) and most of them were as you would expect in this day an age - full of derogortary and uncalled for comments.
If anyone dare make a comment agreeing with the decision, look out as you are in the firing line and will cop abuse as well.

Today, I made a non vendictive comment on the 'Over Sixty' site and was told by a sensitive reader that I looked overweight,  to which she repeated to other writers who dared disagree with her point of view.

Please keep the nastiness out of Facebook, as in a debate there is always the for and against without any nastiness, just well thought out negative and positive comments.

TOOTHPASTE

There is no such thing as one simple TOOTHPASTE - on checking the supermarket shelves, there are many varities available eg whitening, mint flavoured, gel, sensitive, triple action etc. These are encompassed in many brands with the all time favourite Colgate as well as  Macleans, Oral B to name a few.

There is also the question about fluoride, but most toothpastes seem to contain it, like it or not but that is another option for those who are totally opposed to fluoride.

This leads me to our household, and likes and dislikes of toothpaste. My husband and I agree on most things but the flavour of Toothpaste is not one. So instead of one enjoying cleaning their teeth and the other loathing it, we have recently resorted to HIS AND HERS TOOTHPASTE.

My favourite at the moment is Oral-B Pro Health and my husband's Colgate Total. I feel it is also more hygienic having our own tooth paste.

So the only thing missing in our bathroom to go with our HIS AND HERS TOOTHPASTE is our His and Hers basins!!

What toothpaste do you prefer, would love to hear your preference.

MAZZA'S MONTHLY REFLECTIONS PART1

Well here we are halfway into the second month of 2015 already and this year I thought I would write a blog where I look back and reflect on the previous month, somewhat like a monthly diary.

January started in bed sound asleep, the first year in many that we have not dined and danced into the New Year with the Congo line keeping in beat to "Running Bear." The main reason was that my husband was recovering from a Hernia operation and we had all the family home so it was nice to spend time with them.

I live in the beautiful little seaside town of Brunswick Heads which takes on a more vibrant atmosphere during January. Just before Christmas the "Housie Tent" is erected and is run nightly as a fundraiser for the Brunswick Valley Rescue Club  until around the 20th of January. Next to that we have the Carnival with all the fun rides for the kids and the young at heart. Then mid January we have a massive fireworks which heralds the start of the Fish'n'chip festival and the Woodchops.

I love to partake in a few rounds of Housie and  to attend the Woodchops, especially the State of Origin on the Sat night where QLD and NSW fight it out in a marathon effort with alot of encouragement from the crowd. All the events are organised by a bunch of dedicated volunteers who give their time generously.

Late January, my sister and her eldest daughter visited from Grafton, which was a lovely.

I ventured into the river on one occasion where I met up with two acquaintances and spent some time catching up on what was happening in our busy lives etc.

Also celebrated my Husband's birthday on the 10th and after dining out in Mullumbimby, headed to Brunswick for some Housie and Fireworks, which this year was spectacular.

My little grandson successfully started prep, which was a big milestone for him and his family.

So January was all about family, recreation and enjoying the festival atmosphere in my little home town of Brunswick Heads.

Photo of the Brunswick Heads foot bridge.

Fruit Cake

It has recently come to my notice that the humble fruit cake has lost it's popularity with the younger generation.

For some time the composition of the wedding cake has changed from the traditional fruit cake to the mud cake, the white mud cake, carrot cake and various other alternatives.

We sell the 'Lions Christmas cakes' at work and the comments from my younger colleages was 'who eats fruit cake' as if it was a crime to do so.

In keeping with this new trend, it was difficult to find a Christmas cake in the stores this last year. I remember my mother making up to 9, 2 pound cakes as well as the traditional fruit pudding in the cloth bag every Christmas. She gave some away but we all enjoyed our fruit cake for afternoon tea.

As I ponder the reason why our humble fruit cake is losing it's popularity through the generations, I wonder will it ever make a comeback or be lost forever?

The Hose

As we grow older, we can't necessarily do things the way we used to do or find that task a little bit more difficult, so finding a product to make life easier is the way to go.

The humble garden hose had become a non friendly item with having to pull it back to the wall bracket and carefully wind it around in a somewhat tidy fashion, not to mention the dreaded kinks along the way. 

Browsing through my local Mitre 10 catalogue, my eyes focused on a retractable hose, which was reduced by $40 and was wall mountable. I couldn't wait to purchase it and after my husband installed the bracket on the wall, we were ready for action.

I now enjoy hosing the garden as I pull the hose out without any tangles and with a tug away it recoils into the wall unit, not only quick and easy but with little effort on my part.

I also 'killed two birds with the one stone" as it was also an early Christmas present for my husband!

What new product have you purchased to make life easier?

Photo credit: Caroline