Inn of the Wandering Dragon

Yes that crazy time is fast approaching! (as if you really need me to point that out?)

The tree is up and decorated, sitting (for now) safely on the cleared off bookshelf. With much luck neither the cat nor any pint sized visitors will send it crashing to the floor. For me the season simply would not be the same without a tree, it could be real or not so long as I have some semblance of one. I can say "some semblance of" because one Christmas found me down under working on an ostrich farm. Since we had no tree or decorations I invented one out of tissue paper and balloon pieces and stuck it to the wall! Interestingly enough all of the Canadian backpackers wanted Christmas festivities while the rest of the travelers were a lot less fussed over it. If I can get the picture of my made up tree scanned before the end of the season I will post it here.

The house is cleaned and somewhat ready for my friends who will be visiting for the next few weeks. The Christmas cards are finished and sent. I still have some shopping to complete and some gifts to send off in the mail and I'm just wishing we could figure out something for those "impossible-to-buy-for" people on the list. After the snarking that occurred over the group gift to the parents last year I think the other parties are sticking to their promise of not letting my other half be involved in any group gifts again!

So the plan for tomorrow is some baking, I have only had the ingredients ready for the past two weeks but no worries. It is better to have yummy treats lying around when there are more people around to help eat them...

Even on a misty day the view was wonderful and the roar of the waves was nothing short of amazing! The cliff area itself is designated as a wildlife preserve home to a variety of seabirds and other creatures. There are even wild goats although I did not see any.

I have to admit though, that standing out along the edge of the cliffs wreathed in fog and mist, it is no effort at all to let your imagination run wild with ideas of secret caves and mysterious people on crazy adventures. When I think of my time in Ireland, I always come back to this wild and beautiful place in my mind. I think it resonated with me on a different kind of level than the other places I visited.

I found a book on how to be invisible
Take a pinch of keyhole
And fold yourself up
You cut along the dotted line
You think inside out
And you're invisible

Eye of Braille
Hem of anorak
Stem of wallflower
Hair of doormat

I found a book on how to be invisible
On the edge of the labyrinth
Under a veil you must never lift
Pages you must never turn
In the labyrinth
You stand in front of a million doors
And each one holds a million more
Corridors that lead to the world
Of the invisible
Corridors that twist and turn
Corridors that blister and burn

Eye of Braille
Hem of anorak
Stem of wallflower
Hair of doormat
Is that the wind from the desert song?
Is that an autumn leaf falling?
Or is that you, walking home?

Is that the wind from the desert song?
Is that an autumn leaf falling?
Or is that you, walking home?
Is that a storm in the swimming pool?

You take a pinch of keyhole
And fold yourself up
You cut along the dotted lines
And think inside out
You jump 'round three times
You jump into the mirror
And you're invisible

Ahhh... Another batch of spicy soup has been cooked up! It is a vegetable base (mostly tomato) with nice sized chunks of fish making it a tasty and filling meal. In addition I have also stocked up on a few spices that were running low so I can get back to making some more curries. Plans are in the works for a new batch of chili - and it will be the good stuff this time as opposed to the watered down bland batch that stumbled in last time! I have been given an ice cream pail full of fresh garden tomatoes so I'm thinking some home-made pasta sauce could be in order as well, perhaps some salsa? I shall have to rummage through my cookbooks for some ideas!

The other half is not going to be happy with me but to be blunt I am tired of not eating the foods I enjoy just because he doesn't like them. And to be equally blunt, I can't live on his idea of meals ie. microwaved hot dogs and tortilla chips. For him food is simply fuel to be shoveled in before getting on with things. It is also something of a necessary evil as there are so many ingredients that he either refuses to eat or is unable to eat. For myself food is something to enjoy and explore, which would partially explain why he is skinny as a rail and I am not.

Regardless, after a long absence from any real culinary indulgence I shall be making a return to the kitchen. I do not make claims to be a fantastic chef but I do enjoy flavours and if nothing else, I know that there are a few people out there who do appreciate and enjoy what I come up with!

I am slowly trying to shake this cold that has nested in me for the past week. The weekend was too busy to really help in this but I have tomorrow off so with luck a quiet day (of sorts) will be just the thing for me.

I say (of sorts) because there is always the housework which our busy lives has put off until now, plus I will be stepping out to grab the last few things for my costume. The other half will be working late so we probably will not work out his costume until Saturday (sigh...). But regardless, I will have some quiet time to relax and revitalize myself for the comming week.


Chalk was definately happy to have me home again. When he wasn't chasing the string he was getting into everything I was doing, which included trying to "hide" in my drawers when I was trying to put stuff away! I admit, he's so cute that I just have to play along...

I'm just itching to carve my pumpkin but that will probably have to wait until friday. I really don't have much else in the way of Halloween decorations other than a few candles. We shall see if I find myself with the time and energy to create something.

After waiting for close to 2 hours I was called in to see the Crown Representative about the speeding ticket I received. He was suprised by my statement but it took him all of five minutes to look up the facts in his computer. Indeed, that was not my car. The whole issue has been cleared up and I can get on with life sans demerits and fines.

And after much debate, testing, fiddling and searching my landlord has found the problem with my car and with the replacement of one little sensor it runs just fine now. At least, it ran fine in the garage. My registration has lapsed so he hasn't taken it for a test drive. I'm going to renew the registration today so hopefully by the end of the week my car will have a clean bill of health so to speak.

Some things are finally looking up.

Yes, one of my favorite holidays is fast approaching! Halloween night there is the Green Fools Halloween Howl. A few friends and I will be going to this event and I am really looking forward to it.

Of course, where there is a Halloween party there must be - costumes! I have a pretty good idea for my own costume which should result in only a minimum amount of spending to complete it. All I need to complete the look is a hat and a sword, I have everything else.

As for the other half, who knows? He has no interest in Halloween at all and has declared that I need to come up with a costume for him. How typical is that? I figure we are going to hit the thrift stores to see what we can find.

One of my friends has the opinion that the costume you wear reflects what you want for the coming year. I had never thought of it that way before (I wonder what qualities a flaming hell cat would represent?). But for this year I think my costume reflects a search for adventure, fun and a touch of glamour. I can live with that!

I received a rather interesting article from the local police service this week, namely a speeding ticket!

It would seem that one of the many traffic cameras took a picture of this car traveling about 72 Km per hour in a 50 zone. The photo of the licence plate is clear - except for the very last digit. It is just blurry enough that it could be a six, or maybe an eight?

I honestly wonder if the cops just cover their bases and send out tickets to all the possible culprits?

But once I got over the shock of receiving a rather hefty ticket I looked more closely at the information. Naturally I am going to fight this.

1) I was at work in a different quadrant of the city during that time and I have a signed time sheet to prove it.

2) This is not my car. I do not own a Saturn, rather my licence plate is registered to a Nissan - and yes I still have my plate firmly attached to my car.

3) I can get a licenced mechanic to put forth a statement that my little car can't even reach the posted speed limit let alone go beyond that by 20 some clicks. As a bonus, it hasn't been able to that for over two months!

I'm laughing about it because really, what else can I do? I'm going to phone around and see if I can get this tossed without having to waste my time in court (and loose wages in the process). Wish me luck, I think I am going to need it!

This picture was taken about 72 hours after the paste was removed. The orange is completely shifted to the beautiful redish browns and I love it! Of course, this being the palm of my hand it is always flexing and moving. You can start to see the wear along the major lines of my palm where the skin is exfoliating a little bit faster than other areas.

From here the stain will slowly fade away. I haven't decided if I will take a picture of that or not

This picture was taken approximately 24 hours after the paste was removed. I have to say I'm happy with the colour I'm getting!

The flash has washed it out a bit but yes, the stain on my arm is much lighter than the stain on my hand. Why? Because where the skin is thicker (ie. callouses etc) it absorbs more dye from the henna.

This design was created by a very talented lady in the states who goes by the online name of Mountain Mehndi. She first posted it back in the spring with a joke about the sun seeming to have stage fright. I have always loved it and I finally decided to try it for myself. I figured it is appropriate considering the sun seems to be getting ready for a long winter's nap!

I would like to try variations of this with different seasonal elements at some point. I just have to work out how those elements will flow with the whole design.

And to clarify - these pictures taken last night show the henna design wth the paste still on the skin.

Yes, this about sums it up for me.

At long last I am working again, temporarily as the title implies. As an added bonus my trip to work is quick and easy by bus - 25 minutes one way door to door - nice! For the next month or so I'll have a regular eight to four work routine comprised of a couple thousand files to sort through. Truth be told the work is tedious but it pays. Not surprisingly my supervisor was a little concerned as to whether or not I would not show up again the next morning. But realistically this is not the climate to be turning my nose up at an opportunity. I will take what I can get, thank you very much!


And it is not like this is the worst job I've had. I can easily think of others that were far worse for various reasons (although as far as reasons go, the smell would definitely be at the top of the list!). Those jobs would include:


a) Cleaning houses / apartments after the tenants have moved out. Some people have absolutely no pride, or shame for that matter.


b) Blowing out rotten ostrich eggs so the shells can be sold to crafters. Ah yes, a five galleon pail of stinking egg sludge in the hot sun... talk about the memories!


c) Grocery store cashier - I am zombie - let me smile even though you have 500 items in express lane...


Overall I'm feeling all right about this. Besides, you never know what these strange connections can bring in the future...

In placid hours well-pleased we dream
Of many a brave unbodied scheme.
But form to lend, pulsed life create,
What unlike things must meet and mate:
A flame to melt-a wind to freeze;
Sad patience-joyous energies;
Humility-yet pride and scorn;
Instinct and sturdy; love and hate;
Audacity-reverence. These must mate,
And fuse with Jacob's mystic heart,
To wrestle with the angel-Art.

Happily drifting through dreamland, in which the surprising contents of an old sailing ship I worked aboard are offered up to all past friends and crew. (Come to think of it I should probably check their website and see if anything is going on).

*purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

Wandering around the shelving units I pick up strange and wonderful items (mostly books) that I have never seen before. These will make great Christmas presents! This totally reminds me of (insert random name here). You see, we have to rescue these things because the ship itself is disintegrating into the sea.

*purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* (a gentle tap on the nose follows)

I do not encounter many people I know, I'm thinking most of the people here are from the last big voyage, while I was on the voyage before that. Oh wait, there's Andrea wading across the tidal flats to join us...

*PURRRRRRRRRRR* (a less gentle push on my cheek and a whisker tickles my ear)

Sigh...

Yes the cat has decided that I, the apparent slug-a-bed, must now be up at the horrendously late hour of 5:30 in the morning. He is quite pleased with himself as my eyes open and I roll over. Maybe I can shake the furball off and go back to sleep. Just one more hour of sleep is all I really want. His response to this is to hop onto the bedside table, which my other half has conveniently covered in miscellaneous stuff, and start to rummage through the clutter as loudly as possible. Push this, rustle that and all the while smugly purring. He knows it will drive me nuts. After all this is why I keep my dresser top clear of stuff - to keep him from doing this. The other half never bothers to think of these things.

Finally I can take no more of the this. I roll over and scoop the not-quite-fast-enough feline and toss him onto the middle of the bed. Before he can make his escape I am thoroughly rumpling the cat and pushing all of his fur backwards! Eventually I let him escape at a full speed gallop though the door. Ha! Victory is mine!

Or not. I am now most definitely awake. The other half was already up and now I can hear him going about his morning routine. And I have less than an hour remaining before my alarm goes off. I might as well get up. So it is a draw then. I am up and a decidedly rumpled looking cat is watching me from the other side of the room staying well out of reach.

I mean that facetiously of course. I am still hunting to return to the ranks of the gainfully employed but I am by no means alone in this - which is part of my problem. There are many skilled people out there competing for what is available.

I received a letter from EI stating I may be eligible for extended benefits while undergoing some form of career training program. That sounds great and I am definately interested! Here are the strings: Firstly, this is a limited time offer. So the only programs I can apply for are those that start in the winter semester. Not surprisingly, this reduces my choices of available programs considerably. Secondly, each of the approved schools for this program has X allotted funding to cover those students on this program. There have been so many applicants that the funding has run out. What this means is that I would have to seek alternate funding (ie. student loans) to go back to school, which will render me inelligible for the program.

In other news my poor car is still immobilized. The replacement engine computer makes absolutely no difference whatsoever - boy am I glad I never shelled out $900 for a brand new one! My landlord is a mechanic but he says he can't even look at it for another month. My other half is supposed to be checking the electrical whenever he decides it's not too chilly / windy / or when he's not too tired. Yes, I could probably take it into the shop and get it looked at sooner but I'm trying to avoid hemorrhaging money for obvious reasons.

In the meantime all I can do is keep at it and try not to let myself get discouraged.

A mental note for anyone who may be thinking of taking in Heritage Park any time soon - you need the full day! Not a half day where you show up after lunch time, but a full day from the moment the gates open until closing is what you need to go through most of the park.

We camped overnight so as to avoid spending the entire day in the car, as it was our campsite was closer to Jasper so we still spent most of the day in the car. But on the whole everyone enjoyed the trip.

And what more beautiful place to go for a trail ride than along Lake Louise? We saddled up for an hour and a half ride to the lake head (which is not a waterfall no matter what the guide says) and back. And after the ride we had lunch in the chateau and enjoyed the view.

Canada Day saw us enjoying an early pancake breakfast at Fort Calgary. The entertainment was provided by a variety of cultural groups performing ethnic dances and music.

Naturally, we had to pile in the car and head to Banff for the day. We rode the gondola up Sulphur mountain to enjoy the views in the frigid winds.

After much debate and trepidation we finally convinced our friend Cedric to try the Sky line at Canada Olympic Park (COP for short). If you're wondering what a zip line entails check this. I think we had our friend seriously doubting his sanity when he agreed to do this. But after all was said and done he decided he loved it (and was pestering Kim to give it a go, maybe next time).

Have you ever stood in the card aisle, trying to pick out just the right card and finding that you really don't fit all the mushy "hallmark moments" and flowery poetry. But then I don't fit much of the humour either. So on one hand it could be that my family is somewhat dysfunctional and out there, and on the other hand it could be that my family really is normal and everyone around us is just pretending.

Maybe people pick out the pretty cards in a hope that what they are and what they share really is like that - pretty. I usually find myself picking a blank or simple card and then picking a few words and phrases from other cards to write in by hand. I mix and match until I find something that actually fits the occasion and the people involved. It takes a fair amount of work and for whatever reason I usually end up doing this at the very last possible minute. Take my parent's anniversary as an example, I was signing the card for my parents in the car while mom is standing beside the car waiting to walk with me into the restaurant.

I can hear my friend laughing even now in my head - "you are such a dork!" On occasion I find a card out of the blue and keep it for the upcomming occasion. On occasion I actually get proactive about stuff as well. But for now I guess I keep my 'odd yet possibly normal' family ammused regardless.

This weekend... the farm. Next week... Montreal. Life has been pretty crazy lately to say the least.

If everyting goes smoothly we should be back from the farm by supper on Tuesday (but then the other half and his family are involved so I will not hold my breath). From that point we wash and pack so as to be ready for our 9 am flight the following morning - Wednesday.

In the meantime I am still trying to find the relavent parts to convince my car to run and play again after it came to dead stop on the highway a couple weeks ago. It sounds like I will have to order the main part from Manitoba... sigh. Truth be told I can order it brand new from the local dealer for about $900. It is, of course, non-returnable if we discover that this part does not solve the problem. Because we are not absolutely 100% certain that this will work, I would rather spend $200 on a used part instead. At least this way if the part doesn't pan out then my wallet is not hurting as badly.

Yes it has been a month since I was laid off. Since I was let go still in the midst of my holidays I made the choice to enjoy my remaining holidays with my friends. There will be more on our adventures later when I get my hands on my friend's camera! I finished that leg of my holidays only to find myself completely run down and sick. Practically speaking this is not the best state of being with which to impress a prospective employer. With all the running around I have had to do for various people I have decided to start my serious job hunting after I return from Montreal. Although I have been perusing the job boards to get a feel for what is out there.

This is the one picture I have of a design I did at the faire. One of the other vendors is an avid dragon boat racer and wanted something 'dragonish' on her leg. This is actually the practice version I did on my friend and is based on a design from the pattern book "Lezards First". I have never tried this pattern before or anything like it so I am pleased with how it turned out.

Yes, this was our third year attending the BC Renfest. It was a weekend of pirates, fairies and good natured revelry. 'Tis sad to say but since I was battling a nasty cold all weekend, I simply was not as into things as I normally am. Still I enjoyed myself and shared some laughs and songs with the regulars of the faire.
This year was also a little different in that I set up a small table in my friend's booth to sell henna. This was something of a last minute decision and scramble to get ready but I feel that things went well and I was pleasantly surprised by the patrons. I was expecting most requests to be of the smaller variety but I had a healthy number of people choose the larger patterns as well. The end result was that I made enough to cover my shopping so I came home with close to the same amount of money as when I left. I do not have any pictures of my table set up, nor do I have many pictures of the designs that I did. However my friend and I are quite well decorated - for demonstration purposes of course! ;)
Would I do this again? Yes, as long as it remains fun and enjoyable for us all.

And here is the design a week later with some body paint added in...

I had a few people compliment me on my "tattoo". I still enjoy the henna designs without added colour, but I thought this would provide some fun experimentation.

As it turns out, I am the last member standing of the Tuesday night dance class. One bowed out a month ago due to an insane work load. Another stopped showing up as she was in the process of moving, setting up house and planning her wedding. In regards to the other two I really can't say why they dropped off the planet so to speak. Ah well.

Instead of performing for my non-existent class, my instructor and I chose to perform the routine to her level 1 class right before my usual class time. I showed up early and warmed up by joining in their routine. I think I did OK considering I haven't practiced that routine in over a year! I am fairly certain that a couple spots have been changed as well but no worries as we all had fun.

I'm not sure how much of my "individual touches" actually showed through. I was more concerned about not letting the cane fly out of my hands and hit the audience (there was one definite close call but I kept it). But the applause was enthusiastic and the class members were complimenting us and asking about the different moves we performed, so I guess we did all right.

Some of them will be back for the summer session. Unfortunately I'll be taking the summer off so it will be the fall before I return. Realistically I doubt I will have very much time to practice over the summer months, but I would like to if I get the chance. I'm definitely going to miss it!

A friend of mine has been taking drawing classes part time at the art college. She has been checking in with me on a very regular basis, looking for advice and opinions. Thank goodness her instructors give decent outlines in their handouts because some days I have to read through that to get an understanding of what question she is asking. But I will say one thing, she is better than she thinks she is!

The latest class is unlike anything I have ever taken, it is actually designed to improve your skills for actual illustrative / design work. And believe me - it's not easy! I find it fascinating though, to check out her assignments. In fact, if I had the time (which I don't) I would seriously consider signing up for the class in September. But, be that as it may helping my friend has given me a few ideas to practice in the sketchbook.

My background is pretty much the opposite. In fact I can recall certain instructors who actively discouraged "realistic" art and illustration. In truth I honestly think the program I went through was seriously lacking in terms of key foundations. As a result I do not think my art is as strong as it could have been if those foundations were in place. What is my basis for this statement? Consider Klimt, Picasso, Dali, or any of those we consider masters. They had a grounding, a foundation in crafting realistic illusions. And when you truly understand the rules of how illusion works, you can more successfully bend those rules to express your vision.

The Tuesday night class I attend has been a fun collaboration over the past weeks as we have all been working to create a new choreography. The dance is just about complete now. There are a couple spots that need some "tweaking" to get it right.

Our instructor has hatched upon a brilliant (in her mind anyway) idea: this choreography we have been building is the generic version. She wants each of us to practice and work out our own version of it with our own personal accents. And then we are to perform for the class on the last day, which is two weeks away.





So far each student has demonstrated their own personal look of terror as they digest this idea. Nevertheless, I better start practicing some more...

I recently co-ordinated a small henna gathering. A couple of us who have been chatting on facebook agreed to meet up for some much needed practice. Hennaing someone else is a completely different experience from just applying the henna to yourself. For one thing, most of us are neither yoga masters, nor are we the "gumby" types who can bend every which way. We can only reach certain areas (the left hand is really popular). So having henna applied to an area we have difficulty reaching and drawing on (well) is a wonderful novelty!

One lady enjoys a combination of painting on the henna with a brush as well using the cone for darker lines to reach a nice two-tone effect. This cherry blossom branch was painted on me and the stain came out rather well I thought. I did not get pictures of the pieces I did on them, but perhaps next time I might remember.

I decided to explore a few different styles of henna in the sketchbook recently, here are a couple of the pages I have been working on. I need to build up my visual 'language' so to speak and I need to improve my design planning. So I'm starting by copying designs of other artists (whether I like them or not) as a means of learning how they put their designs together and how they achieve their flow. From there I can retain elements I like and use them towards building my own designs.

A friend of ours has taken on the monumental task of breaking into the local builders market. First he renovated an existing property, now he is in the process of building one from scratch. He is going for the higher end (high dollar range) of the market in terms of his location and design, and the whole process has been interesting to watch.


What has been even more interesting (for myself anyway) is observing how the physical space is evolving from the original design - and the reactions of people who are actually walking through the space! As an example, the top floor was designed as a loft style bedroom. It comes complete with a walk in closet plus full bath and a fire place, however no one who has been walking through has though of it that way.

"This would be my office space."

"This would be my sewing room."

"This doesn't feel like a bedroom."

"This would make a nice play area for the kids."


The room itself is long and narrow (such that furniture placement is going to be a challenge), and it has the lowest ceiling in the entire house - and yet, that is where people envisage spending a lot of their time (or maybe just more enjoyable time). In contrast the "lifestyle room" and the other bedrooms are all wider with higher ceilings and more windows. They are pleasant and comfortable but their perceived purpose is markedly different from the top floor.


I know where I would spend most of my time if I lived there. What do you think?

The past few weeks has found the rollercoaster of life to be plunging and twisting more dramatically than usual and I feel like I have been choking on emotion along the way. I think it truly is a sad state of affairs when I have to specifically schedule time to just sit down and let myself feel and release what is pent up inside. But then I really can't blame anyone but myself for my busy life. And for the rest that has been going on, attempting to lame blame is pointless. Life happens. Death happens. And all the Joy and Shyte that are part and parcel of our crazy little world happens along with it.

We lost a good friend recently, she passed away unexpectedly. She was a smart, sassy and straightforward woman who was always willing to try something new. She grabbed opportunities with humour and honesty and I always had a great deal of respect for her. We were not always close but I can honestly say she made quite an impact on all that knew her, myself included.

She will be sorely missed.

And we only fumbled a little, not bad considering the relatively small amount of practice time. Everyone had to go through a dry run to get to know the stage. This was also for the benefit of the lady handling the lighting and sound. We discovered the stage was smaller than our routine so some slight adjustments had to be made. For starters - baby steps! I did not fall off the front of the stage and the girls behind me did not get pushed into the curtain so we did well.

A good thing to note is that one should quickly learn how to find that gap in the curtain to exit the stage! There was some good natured fumbling on the part of a few people over this. When you can't find the way out, things get a lot less graceful but it is funny.

We had a great show from a variety of performers. Some of them were new like ourselves, some had been dancing for several years. My classmates and I drooled over pretty costumes and admired the skill and hard work that went into these performances. I was happy to find everyone supportive and encouraging. One group in particular sat center front row specifically to cheer everyone on! Would I do this again? Yes! Although for now I will say I am glad the next show is many months away. I need more practice!

Yes, I am obviously excited for the arrival of spring when the appearance of a pair of mallards sends me into a happy mood! These two were taking a brief rest on the front lawn at work yesterday before continuing on their way.