FOOT-COMFORT FOR THE HOME COOK

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 113, 3 August 1927, Page 5

FOOT-COMFORT FOR THE HOME COOK

It is always annoying when feet, perfectly amiable about dancing, ten-nis-playing and walking, are utterly unfriendly in the house. The reason for this lies in the strain we put upon them when we are. standing nearly motionless at the stove or washing-up board. As long as we are moving briskly about, the muscles are moving too, and the blood doing its own work; unless we remember to vary our ’’stand” and to get our weight fairly well distributed, the moment the warm weather comes we shudder at our favourite shoes and, everyone knows the moment one’s feet are tender, even enormous “boats” can cause sheer agony! However, feet, like other things, can be trained, and if they are given some brisk walking exercise every day, it will do much to keep thei* in good condition. It pays, too, never to do any standing-up work in heel-less shoes or slippers—indeed, cooking in soft warm slippers is about the most certain way of getting aching feet and swollen ankles there is! It is unwise, too, to soak the feet if there is further standing work to be done soon after. A refreshing wash and new stockings (cool, fresh stockings are the most reviving things the busy worker can easily have often and often) by all means, but reserve that long footbath for the go-to-bed wash. A little mild Charlestoning in the kitchen or scullery, even while at our work, is extraordinarily good for footweariness, for it js the way we stand and the dead weight we leave on our unmoving feet, plus sometimes encasing the poor things in unsuitable footwear, that is responsible for the annual crop of tender feet. It answers very well to have one or two pairs of very nice shoes “an easy fit” if we have many home duties to perform. There is nothing quite so elderlylooking as that “cat-on-hot-bricks” effect. “