 Julia was accused by the family of being frivolous and unreliable— she never enjoyed household chores— and was once seen sweeping the kitchen floor with a pair of knickers on her head.Her cooking methods were also haphazard, as she would mix things "like a mad scientist", and even put tea "or anything else that came to hand" in a stew.A favourite joke would be to wear a pair of spectacles that had no glass in them, and then to scratch her eye through the empty frame.