November 29/10

Happy Birthday Benji.. nine years old today.
Love you

Well now I do not know about you folks reading this
but my understanding of a "POW WOW" is dancing, drumming and presentations.

Imagine my complete surprise when we got to this beautiful white domed mission
out in the desert and lo and behold not a dancer in sight!
No drummers, no beautiful flutes playing..
Ok I thought "maybe we are just early".
Yeah............. no.

I started walking around, note
I have two cameras around my neck and stuff in those wonderful pockets field pants are want to have.
I see jewellery and some of it is so very beautiful.
The bead work so well done and the colours in the sun simply stunning.
I asked an older Native woman if it might be a possibility to take a shot of these four neck pieces she had made .
The sun was full on them.
Lordy be she got instantly irritated
and was really in my face with her very quick "NO".
I thanked her for allowing me the pleasure of looking at such beauty and walked on.
I would never ever take a photograph of such an item without asking.
I thought I was rather polite, at least I hope I was.

So we walked around and took some shots of the Mission and so on.
But what was that I smelled?
Fry Bread..
Oh my word if you have ever eaten good Indian fry bread
you know exactly what I am talking about.
This would become the WOW in Pow Wow!
So I figured I would try each place.. there were only a dozen!!!
First one was good.. had cinnamon on it..
Second one was better, had icing sugar on it.. could not finish it though.
Ya know the eyes are always bigger then the stomach!
BUT as Lee polished it off for me I went back and got a Candy Apple.
Have not had one of those in more years then I care to admit.
And I thought it was really good until about the 4th bite.
I was all sugared out by then.
There is something to celebrate about being a kid and polishing off all this stuff with no problems!
I just could not finish it..
but oh the fun I had with what I did eat.

We decided that it was best we leave then
as we were not going to see any dancers and hear no magical flutes or drumming.

Not a rousing success, but also not a drop in the bucket bad day.

Today I decided at the Monday General Meeting, (where you get to stand up and introduce yourselves);
I would let Lee do it and I would be demure and quiet.
Oh stop that now...
you know I can be quiet..
usually when I am sleeping though!

Sometime during this meeting volunteers were called for to put together a Christmas Tree.
I put my hand up and thought
 "IF My Friend Helen can do these kinds of things in my home town when she comes for the winter"
 then I can certainly do a similar community minded thing here.
How hard could it be right?
It is not rocket science .
So there I was with some ladiesI did not know and probably would not recall them anyway..
and we start to assemble said tree.
Well lo and behold, it apparently is rocket science.
I could not quite believe my eyes or ears at how this had to be
and where this should go.
I did have some ideas on that very subject myself.
However, I suggested that these ladies would be the experts
and I could learn a great deal from watching them do this.. maybe I would catch on..in time.
I told the one gal I was really shy and preferred to just be in the background.
She "poor babied" me and patted me on the shoulder and said "there there it will be ok"
Exactly what I deserved for being such a smart alec.
But come on.. a christmas tree stuck in a huge pot of sand and branches that are colour co-ordinated.
How damn difficult could this be anyway?

I have a best friend who has the best saying ever..
If you always do what you have always done,
You will always get what you always got"
So the deal is the ladies who always do this will continue to always do this..
and so on.
But it was kinda of fun to be something I am not and not have anyone know any different.
What a scamp!
More adventures wait... until next time..