Soap Scum Begone

Soap scum has been the menace of my existence ever since I moved in with Mr Fork.  Internet research has shown that his preference for soap bars over my preference for liquid soap means that he is more likely to produce that waxy white buildup on the shower glass (and since I have no chance of converting his soap choices, we need a solution).


My subtle hints may have been too subtle, as leaving a squeegee and various cleaning products in the shower didn't seem to have the desired result that he wipe the glass when he was done, and as a result, we had a shower so thick with soapy scum that I'm ashamed to describe how bad it really is.

I decided that something needed to be done and searched around for a clean, green cleaning solution.  The overwhelming suggestion seemed to be vinegar so I mixed a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts water in a spray bottle and went to town on the glass.  Just a segue way here but the way that most cleaning solutions are designed to work is that you apply them, then leave them to sit there for a small while before wiping away.  This gives time to sort of soak in, and get the job done.  Anyway, I left my vinegar/water solution to sit for several minutes, then got in there with one of those slightly rough cleaning pads, scrubbing through the solution and really putting some elbow grease into it.  Next step was to rinse with clean water and then wipe down with a dry towel.


Our glass was pretty terrible, so it took a few more sessions with the vinegar but I can report back that our screens are now transparent again and our shower feels sparkly clean (and smells vinegary fresh!).  I also feel good that I used a natural solution so didn't contribute anything extra down the drains that shouldn't have been there.  Win, win all round.


What's your best natural cleaning solution? 

New toys!

I finally talked myself into getting a Kindle.  After debating back and forth with the decision, I opened it up to Facebook and was overwhelmed with comments by people who loved the device.  Being an obedient sheep, I followed the herd and signed up.  I have to say, Amazon make shopping fun – the anticipation started when I got to track the Kindle on its way towards me.  It even arrived a day earlier than promised and so far I’ve not been disappointed.  In preparation for my new toy, I downloaded the appropriate apps for my phone and my mac as well as some sample freebie books so I could test it out.  Now I’m throwing it out there – anyone have any good, inexpensive book recommendations for me to whet my Kindle appetite on?

Sore

I'm aching today.  Could it be because, after 6 weeks of Yoga for Dummies, I went to my first ‘real’ yoga class and realised how inflexible I am?  Could it be because, after 1.5 hours of yoga on Saturday, Mr Fork and I decided to dig up a tree in our backyard (and let me tell you, that tree was well entrenched with multiple trunks and a heinous root system!).  Or maybe, it’s the 50km I rode in the Brissie to Bay yesterday while fearing for my life the entire way?  Perhaps a combination of the three?

In all honesty, after doing that ride once, I will never do it again.  It was the most badly organised ride I’ve been on, with little regard for rider and other road users safety.  I lost count of the number of near misses I saw, including the idiots who rode more than two abreast, who refused to give way to cars, stop at red lights or even just stay in their lane, as well as the riders who didn’t know basic rider etiquette and didn’t call when they were stopping, didn’t give way and didn’t move to the left when riding slowly – and didn’t even stick to the road, opting to terrorise pedestrians on the footpath.  Additionally, riding up every, freaking hill between Manly and the city, including eating exhaust fumes along all the heavy industrial roads through Murarrie did nothing to improve my mood.  I considered not completing the ride but my retentive self wouldn’t let me not finish what I started.  I pity the poor cars who were inconvenienced by bad riders, closed roads and general rider/organiser stupidity.  I so hope they send out a survey asking what we through of the event.  Moving on...

Last week, we rescued two puppies who were out terrorising the neighbourhood at dawn.  On calling the owner, turned out they live across the street from us.  He was relieved that someone had found them and arrived post haste, two crying girls in pink dressing gowns in tow beaming through their tears.  This Saturday, while we were wrestling with the tree, the neighbour came over with his little girls who’d made us homemade thank you cards (complete with drawings of our house and puppies) and a box of Favourites.  Bless.  The cards now grace our refrigerator and the chocolates mostly grace Mr Fork’s stomach.  Good neighbours still exist in the world (*cue soapie theme song*)

Awwww

The cold gives me a chance to get away with things which Mr Fork might not otherwise let me, such as letting the hounds run around in small outfits.  So here's a picture of our furbabies rugged up against the wintery chill.

Recipe: French onion soup

It's been a bit cold of late (yes, I know my southern friends would tell me that Brisbane doesn't get cold, but I have felt the chill), and nothing satisfies more than a big bowl of warm soup when it’s cold outside.

For some reason, I had a hankering for french onion soup, I'm not really sure why as I'd never had it before in my life.  A quick search around the internet and I had a collection of recipes that provided enough inspiration for me to go ahead and do my own thing. 

Here's the one that I based my version off.  It was already vegan (traditionally french onion soup is made on a beef stock), but I wanted to make sure I had enough to eat now and for plenty of leftovers so I changed it up a bit. 

• 4 large onions (mix of red and brown), sliced in half and then sliced thinly
  
• 1.5L stock (I used stock powder, so I added that with boiling water – see step 2)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• Pepper to taste
  
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
  
• 4 Tbsp cornflour

1. Heat oil in pan, and sauté onions until lightly brown.  Add garlic and sauté a bit longer, then turn down heat, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes until mixture is all soft and wilty (stir occasionally).

2. Add cornflour and stock powder to coat onions, then add boiling water (this is so it doesn’t go lumpy when you’re thickening it – if you’re using liquid stock, just add the cornflour first, then the stock on top).  Bring slowly to the boil.

3. Simmer until thickened to preference then season to taste.

Traditionally, this would be served in a hollowed out bread bowl with some melted cheese, however, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of having such a carbohydrate laden dinner, so I deviated from the norm with a plain bowl filled with soup.  I don’t add a lot of salt to my cooking, so for an extra flavour and vegetable boost, I served the soup on top of some kale chips which were lightly sprayed with olive oil and sea salt.  Delicious!!!

Next time I’ll probably dice the onions and up the flavour with some herbs and spices as this version was a little bit too subtle for my tastes.

Look what I found today

I've been thinking about head wear lately, specifically, what sort of head wear I'll wear with my two wedding gowns.  There's a whole world of fascinators out there, most of them gorgeous and hideously expensive to boot.  Its not that I'm cheap per se (although I am...), it's more that I'm not really the type of girl who's going to wear those things regularly, so I don't see the point in paying gazillions of dollars for them.

So I was shocked and awed today, to find affordable, fantastic headwear at a gorgeous little shop in New Farm.  I was having lunch with a girlfriend at pintxo today (side note, love that tapas train!) and decided to check out the little store next door afterward.  From the outside it looked like one of those pretentious overpriced shops so common in that part of town, but the inside couldn't be more different.  It was staffed by two lovely ladies, who couldn't have been more friendly.  I think it's primarily a handbag shop, but they also do custom upholstery and have lots of lovely materials and textures everywhere.  As a side line, the owner also sells a whole bunch of handmade fascinators, at prices that are so dirt cheap, made by the girl who is dating her son.  They ranged from the pretty, to the whimsical to the just plain cute.  I was a little disappointed that they didn't have anything in ivory, but I did pick up this little thing, to go with the red gown.

It was $14, and worth every dollar.  The owner has promised to ask if her artiste will make some ivory ones.  Although she doesn't take orders, so I'll have to take pot luck and pop back - but at that price, its certainly worth it.  Guess it just shows that you can't pick a snobby, pretentious shop by the facade!

I can see a rainbow

This was my view from the bus this morning.  A grey and miserable day it might have been, I might have been tired, cranky and completely against going to work, but that sight brightened my day enough to get me through.