Ahh the good ol ways

When I was growing up we would often spend school holidays at my grandparents.  It invariably lead to me spending days with my grandmother cooking and cleaning while my brother got to hang out with grandpa and build cool stuff in the shed (probably why he's a carpenter now and I love to cook!) 

Of course these skills learnt on holidays were further honed by my mother - when we would work together to clean the venetian blinds, the chandeliers (yes we had a chandelier!) , the oven and the old Fridgedaire! 

So I guess I learnt to clean and cook in a way that is considered "the old fashioned way"  

Chinese Folk Art - Washing day

Now most of us live with self cleaning stoves and have fridges that don't frost over.  We have "add water and stir gravy", cakes in a packet and tinned preserves.

So why would I be thinking about this now - ensconced in Shanghai?? 

Well as an expat these everyday conveniences that we no longer think about are often absent! I remember cooking my first roast in saudi and having to think back on how to to make gravy from scratch!  

Today I opened the fridge and to my horror noted that there was a 3 inch wall of ice right down the back of it - no wonder the fridge isn't working properly! 

Aaaaah but what to do - I cant turn it off because its a fridge freezer all in one - and with the price of meat,  I cant afford for it to spoil!  

So I drive my memory back to those days in Karingal Drive when that old fridgedaire needed defrosting!  

I know what we need - towels and hot water! 

With towels around our feet and buckets of hot water Russ and I prepared our attack - he armed with a rubber spatula and I with a cup of water. 1 cup of hot water splashed across the ice - and several blows with the spatula! 

It was slow going and we were barely making a dint in the ice wall - so I moved to a teapot in an attempt to direct more of the hot water onto the ice - a minor improvement.  Russ of course amped up his bashing  - but still no real progress.  And then it came to me - the hairdryer!  

So armed with hairdryer we managed to move great slabs of ice - problem solved - thanks to those good ol days and good ol ways! 

# fond memories  

Chineses Folk Art - Summer Harvest

Chinese Folk Art - Spring Cleaning!

K xxxx