Logbook

So should I be cranky or not?

Observed a particular LJ conversation on henna. Was going to answer, then decided to actually check the ingredients list cause the current supplier is actually good like that.
Hmph. Not what I thought.
( rant about henna and labelling and a side order of explosives ingredients, cut for those who really don't care )
And of course grumping about this (and googling with some assistance from Z) has distracted me from doing constructive stuff like banners (which I have been bad and procrastinated much today, though in my defence some of the procrastination was lunch with Mum, Dad and Kerry (Happy Father's Day, Dad) and helping dismember 2 half pigs and fit them in the freezer. But much of the evening was Dr Who and procrastination...)

Time to stop grumping and get some sleep.

Henna henna splat splat and now waiting for it to sink in. Could only get the standard red rather than the dark red egyptian (still Pikos though), and the dye release didn't seem as good, so leaving it on for longer. Last of the cider vinegar, red wine, white vinegar and the usual water, gelatine, honey mix.

Spent half an hour finishing book in front of fire - yay to wood burner and a good way of getting rid of dead pizza boxes. Now onto the loitering in front of the computer randomly surfing and catching up (while Z catches up with dishes). I may make it to 2 hours... just.

But the delightful things you find:

Smart Bitches who love trashy books are a great trawl though. They had a contest for "Name that Texas Vibrator!" when Texas decided they were legel. The winner was ( look below if you don't want to trawl through yourself ). The prize was a Hello Kitty Vibrator...

The fact the new internet connection exists is good, but the fact it is somewhat intermitent and cuts out regularly is less good. Will see if that continues...

Getting close enough to 2 hours and my scalp is getting itchy. Time to degoop...

Edit: Buggery buggery sod. What is worse that lots of little bits leaking dye everywhere? Lots of heavier black little bits that don't leak dye everywhere ie sod all dye release. Note for next time: Picco's dark red henna and accept no substitutes, not even from the same supplier. Mutter mutter mutter. May need to grovel for a dark red henna care package from down south...

And I hadn't quite rinsed out the oven properly after cleaning, so no roast mutton for dinner :(

Sigh...

Mud pies, gladwrap and cone head time. Or at least it has been for the past hour or more during which I have been reading LMB's Diplomatic Immunity, waited for the virus scanner to run, caught up on some stuff, eaten popcorn (thank you Z) and attempted to catch all the red dribbles playing around my ears.

Time to washing things I think. Will just have to sleep with wet hair.

Given the roots were getting a couple inches long and the last time it was done was June or July, it was time to gloop up. Slack method this time - dumped ~1 c cider vinegar, 1 pack Piko's Egyptian red henna and whatever red wine made a vaguely decent consistancy, covered the bowl in gladwrap and left out in the sun for half an hour, then added a spoon full of honey with a spoonful of gelatine to a large cup of boiling water, mixed, then added into the henna and let cool for a while. Z applied, I sat and read for an hour (Pratchett's Maskerade in a nice patch of shade outside), then washed out. Result: hair is back to red. Usual patches of orange scalp.

Reading levels gone up a lot in the past 2 weeks, especially since arriving in Brisbane.
Current list:
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Shards of Honour
Barrayar (together as Cordelia's Honour) by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Warrior's Apprentice
"The Mountains of Mourning"
The Vor Game (together as Young Miles) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop
The Magic of Recluse by L E Modessitt
A Fall of Angels by L E Modessitt
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
"Labyrinth" (together as Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Just started Bujold's "The Borders of Infinity" and (as stated) Pratchett's Maskerade. And a blue linen tunic - currently cut out and some bits pinned together.

No job yet.

I think that about covers things.

Oh, and found a bat rookery near where we are staying (about 10 min walk away) so spent dusk last night watching lots of fruit bats drift across the sky in twos and threes and fours... Wildlife count doing well with the bats, little fishies, big fish eating little fishies, turtles, herons, ducks, geese, cockatoos, galas and occasional gecko in the bedroom.

(Cause you can't replicate/reliably deviate from it if you don't have a record of what you did previously)*

Mixed 1 packet Pico's Dark Red Egyptian Henna (125g) with apple cider vinegar (~1 cup?), ~1 tsp cinnamon (for smell) and 1 tsp cloves (smell and colour). Mixed and added cold tap water until a very slightly goopy clay mix. Covered in glad wrap and left overnight (~11pm onwards).
This morning mixed ~1 1/2 cups boiling water with 1 10g sachet gelatine (to make more of a gel mix - see here). Added large tablespoon of honey. Mixed this with the henna clay to make thinner mix which thickened upon cooling. Divided hair into coiled sections al la here
Then Z got to stand in the bathtub and goop. Sectioning the hair first made things easier but the battle between the henna-ed hair and the clips was clearly going to be won by the tentacular mess trying to be free. Slightly gelled mix was apparently also easier to apply. This was then showercapped and then gladwrapped ala here. And left...
Curiously, while it is dripping a bit (after about 55 min), the drips are mainly of clear coloured liquid and less of the muddy gunk. It is definitely staining orange - I have interesting marks on my chin and fingers and Z's legs to prove it.

Will give it another half hour to maybe hour while I eat toast in a patch of sunlight to warm it up a bit. Oddly enough the time limit is set less by the dribbling and more by how long I can stand that large a weight on top of my head. Also how long before I run out of dry bits of shirt to wipe my face with.

* Previously we had made the henna mix up with hot water and random acids available - cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, red wine etc, left it about half an hour and then applied. Left on for an hour, then washed out. Curiously, the Pico's henna is much browner in cour when mixed and may or may not have a much faster dyd release time cf other supplies. The much greener stuff we go from the indian grocers got much less colour out, but we may have not waited long enough for dye release. The Pico's stuff definitely seems to work better on average though.
And for future reference, the henna dyd release chart (time and temperature) is here.