Inn of the Wandering Dragon

I have received some new henna! This is from a different region and so it is supposed to have slightly different colour and characteristics (ie more stringy and easier to drape long thin lines than my usual Jamila). I can't wait to play with it! I'm thinking of trying some seperate, and some mixed with the jamila to see what the differences are, I know it's going to be subtle but it's still going to be fun experimenting. Plus I have a henna workshop to attend Wednesday night, so I'll be able to pick a few brains for tips and techniques! I'm like a kid at Christmas - this is going to be so much fun!

Remember the phrase "you get what you pay for"? I found myself helping at my old job for a couple of evenings this week, a picture framing shop. It never ceases to amuse me to watch people shopping in the store. They want the most beautiful, the nicest, the most classy and they think it should cost nothing.

Now I will admit that the inexpensive and the expensive can quite happily co-exist together providing - and this is the important part - that the quality is compatible. Not everything that is inexpensive is disintegrating trash, and likewise not everything that is expensive is actually worth nearly what you paid for it. But lets be honest, the reason that picture on the rack is only $20 is because there are tens of thousands of them mass produced by people who are not paid enough to care about it. They are then packed by the crate load and shipped across the country - (if not the world) by more people who really don't care much. So yes, it is only $20 but chances are there will be a scratch or a careless blob of paint or a ding somewhere to mar the surface. This does not mean you are entitled to a half price discount.

Now if you bring in a photo or a work of art to be framed you are paying for someone to care and to take the time to make sure the mats are cut perfectly, the glass has no fingerprints on the inside, there is no tiny stray lint sticking to your great great grandfather's nose etc. And in that case you are entitled (and expected) to look over every square inch to make sure it meets your expectations.

Now I have just presented two extremes but the fact is that there has to be some reasonable expectation about what you are buying. And the fact that you are paying ANY amount of money at all is not an automatic entitlement to stunning perfection.

We finally made it to Edmonton to visit and catch the dragon show - without any further automobile drama!

The show itself was allright, I would have liked to see a little more on other cultures and their ideas of dragons but cest la vie. There were several fantastic works of art on display from pantings to ceramics to textiles. Simply put this is a fun show to get the families into the museum. There is a fair bit for the kids to do and interact with and then since we're here lets check out the rest of the museum... This show is also bi-lingual so you can practice your french following a storyline throughout the hall.

We had a good visit with our friend who recently had knee surgury and helped with some stuff around around the house since he's not so nimble at the moment. We enjoyed a rousing game of Settlers of Catan along with a tasty BBQ and called it a night. All in all it was a pretty good trip last weekend.

Well the laundry is almost done and I have cooked up enough food for lunches for the next little while. I still have the house to clean but that's ok. It's amazing how much everything piles up when you have been absent for most of the week!

So I now have a car, a nice little 4 door that is reasonable on gas and in decent shape. I bought it off some friends since they have upgraded to a new Freestyle. This car is also a standard - which I haven't driven since I was working down under, say 8 years ago. We took the car out for some practice driving and suffice to say I was pretty rusty. The little dog that joined us in hopes of a nice car ride was having some serious doubts regarding my ability to drive. I can still picture the dog in the back seat with a wide eyed trembling expression - "we're all going to die!" My driving ability gradually improved however and no people or dogs were harmed in the making of this little adventure.

I also attended a family reunion this past weekend. It was held a a small rural community center a few hours drive from here. The boyfriend and I crashed in my parents 5th wheel for the event and we all had a pretty good time. The whole event was low key and not too structured. Basically if you felt like haveing a game of horseshoes or softball you went and started one, nothing other than the pot luck dinner was predetermined. The dinner itself was excellent with a good variety of dishes to choose from, a nice change from bland pot lucks of the past. I enjoyed hanging out with the cousins and meeting new people from other branches of the family. By the sounds of things, so did everyone else so plans are in the works for a repeat performance next year. We shall see what happens.

After the reunion the boyfriend and I decided to head to Edmonton to visit friends and catch a show. Unfortunately what we ended up with was a broken down truck and then getting rear ended in a borrowed car - yay. Most of monday was spent fixing the truck and I have been seeing the chiropractor all week. Next week I get massage after Chiro and I'm looking forward to that. To be honest the crash could have been a lot worse - other than my neck being a bit off kilter I don't think there were any other injuries. For our friend's sake we hope this whole issue can be resolved quickly and as painlessly as possible.

I have lots more to blog about, but this will have to do for now. It is time to get some sleep so I can tackle the mounting insanity at work tomorrow...