fair henna

Last weekend, we went to the San Diego County Fair with B's parents who are annual visitors to the garden, wood working and fine arts exhibits. They seemed a bit disappointed with the garden exhibit. Maybe they were less elaborate this year due to drought concerns? I really liked smelling the roses (so fragrant!) and was surprisingly drawn to a red rose with just five petals, the Paul Ecke, Jr. rose. It looked delicate, yet vibrant. Not a very rosy name though, eh? I later found out that he was a local horticulturalist.

We wandered by the animal pens -- floppy-eared bunnies, hornless baby goats and cows, lots of cows -- and were headed toward the wood working exhibit when I saw the henna booth. I've always wanted to have this done at other street fairs, but the lines were always too long. Luckily, my timing was right and I was able to sit in right away. I was really impressed by the symmetry of the free-hand design the henna artist completed. I think it looked better than the picture in their sample book!

They suggest you keep the henna paste on for at least 6 hours. I made it through the fair, then as we sat down to wait for the shuttle to take us back to our car in Solana Beach, I crossed my legs at my ankles and yup, you guessed it, I smudge some of the paste off. Fortunately, it was dry and that part of the design was already absorbed into the skin. I'll just have to wait and see if that area fades sooner than the rest. I'm sure it'll be fine. It's survived about a work week now and is still looking good!