Bread failure

I had another shot at bread again today - not so successful. It entirely failed to rise, and is burnt on the top but uncooked in the middle. It's just about ok as toast, but my sandwiches will not be amazing this week.

Homemade bread sounds and smells so amazing, but sadly the final product is rarely as good as the smell foretells. I'm not quite sure what has gone wrong. Last week, I left the dough to rise on top of the oven, and I thought that was too hot and dried it out too quickly, so this week I added more moisture and left it to rise on the table. Nada.

Too many linseeds? Not enough sugar? Too much salt? Should I try adding more yeast? Next week, I plan to 'go back to basics' - make the very simplest dough imaginable, not adding extras like buttermilk and honey. Fingers crossed that will do the trick! I just hope that the oven isn't on the blink again...

How to: clean a bathtub with a lemon

My homemade cleaning tips come from a variety of sources - from books, blogs and tv series. This one comes from the tv series How clean is your house, in which the Queens of Clean Kim and Aggie tackle the dirtiest houses you have ever seen. Often the inhabitants suffer from asthma and other respiratory problems (probably in part from the dust), so the programme often demonstrates non-toxic cleaning techniques.

This tip for shiny bathtubs with minimum cost comes mostly from Kim and Aggy, with one addition from me.

Booky cleaning inspiration

After five months of waiting, Amazon has finally come through for me and delivered this thing to my door. "Self-Sufficiency Household Cleaning", by Rachelle Strauss.

The self-sufficiency guides look pretty good - they've got volumes on soapmaking, beekeeping, weaving and cheesemaking. The principle is, as the title suggests, self-sufficiency - doing things from scratch, in enough quantity or with enough regularity that it can become your only source of whatever is in question.

Lazy weekend and Brussels tea shops

Don't you think this is just the best way to start a lazy day? Long weekends - how I love them. And again, this little picture marks something of my journey towards a handmade life - the bread is homemade, the tea is loose-leaf organic in a handmade, hand-painted mug. And what is it about the tray that brings it all together somehow?

Baking bread

I love baking bread. I love the feel of the dough in my fingers. It's much the same reason that, when I make a cake, I enjoy beating all the ingredients by hand - the world disappears for a few minutes, and I get to watch all the chemical changes in the batter.

On my mind

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to here from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, come back here and add a comment below, with a link to your blog.

This picture is of my current sewing project - miniature stocking Advent calendars for my cousins - but what I like about this is all the bits peeking out of corners which are unique and individual: you can see the three blankets I've crocheted, under the table and over the sofa; you can see the cushion with the signatures of my schoolmates on; and you can see the mug of tea - the mug was handmade by my boyfriend's best friend's sister, and hand painted by her. (You can see more of her work on her blog)

No poo: Week Two

So, today is officially two weeks of no shampoo! What do you think? Myself, I think it looks remarkably clean - much like it did with shampoo - but it feels softer, and my chronic dandruff has entirely disappeared!! *Dance of joy*

It is still a little bit flyaway, so I put some coconut oil on the ends (AMAZING stuff. Plus I swear it brings out the copper notes more) but obviously did not want to put oil on my scalp... But overall, it looks clean and healthy, shiny and smooth, and not at all like I haven't used shampoo for two weeks.

Another thing I've noticed. When I use shampoo, my hair becomes very slippy and tends to escape whatever bun or updo I have attempted. When I don't wash it at all, it stays like a rock. With baking soda, it stays almost as effectively as if I hadn't washed it at all!