We're through vacation stage... took the better part of three weeks. I now feel like we are living in Bali. For those who have experienced this, it is a fascinating process. I caught myself frowning in distain at some tourists yesterday. It was as though if I had looked at myself in the mirror at that moment, I would gasped at the whiteness of my own skin. I know a little of the language, (emphasis little) and could find my way home if I got lost. I think. These things, I feel, entitle me to no longer be treated as a tourist. Those running the shops at the beach seem to disagree.

We love international life. I love that we live in a world that allows families of four to do what Columbus, Livingstone and Marco Polo did. All in the comfort of an air conditioned van of course. I love the dangerousness and exhilaration of experiencing things in the first person. So much more impactful than seeing a movie about it.

I did a silversmithing class last week. Loved it. I went back to the shop and asked them about making pieces back in Canada. They scribbled an address on a paper and sent me on my way. We hailed a taxi, and with a frown at the address off we went. Definetely out of the tourist zone, he pulled up to a small shop. I popped inside. Tools! It looked like a cross between a museum and a nearly bankrupt Lee Valley. Odd medical looking instruments, bottles of hydrichloric and nitric acid. Really exciting! The staff knew no English, and my pathetic charades skills were no help. I managed to get all the tools I needed, but they did not sell the raw silver. Instead, they scratched another address and sent me on my way.
Not far down the road were two little attached shops. Again in brutal Anglo-nesian, I managed to figure the process. Shop one sells you pure silver, and whatever other metals you want to either strengthen or cheapen your silver. The neighbour forms it into whatever style or type you need to make your jewelry. I went the purist route, what they call 925. 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper for strength. Next door, they heat and mix the two in a clay bowl, and pour it into a bar mold. Then there are a series of hydraulic presses and pulling machines that allow you to make flat, square, or round bar or string. This whole process, including all the tools and enough silver to make a dozen rings cost less than two simple pieces of silver jewelry in Canada would cost. Wow. I'm pretty excited. High hopes, we shall see.

We are now staying at our final destination. Sanur is a quiet beach town and will be a great place to smooth out the kinks in my tan and relax.

Oh yea... the pictures.

The dark one is the spectacular 'moon-rise' on the beach in Sanur. About a half hour after the sun sets... the moon rises. Tonight it was a spectacular full moon, and a glorious red. Pardon the sloppy photography, I'm still learning.

POCARI SWEAT. Brilliant name. When you begin to get dehydrated, you actually stop sweating. This ion infused drink helps prevent dehydration, thereby allowing you to continue sweating. Good ole sweat in a can... wonder if it would be popular in Canada?

Oh yes, Cadence the Alligator. And Shepherd the model, who will no longer allow his picture to be taken unless he is given ample time to prepare his smile.