Tinkerblue

Not a Big Fan of Sephora Online

Not right now anyway.

I like to shop online. It's normally less hassle than shopping in store. Normally.

Sephora drives me insane.  They have significanlty different pricing for US and Canadian customers. The Canadian dollar is at or close to par with the US dollar and has been for almost 2 years now. But the Canadian price is still higher than the US price.  

This is usually no problem, I'd just shop from the US online store and ship to Canada. But Sephora won't let me.  If I am using a Canadian credit card, I have to use their Canadian checkout. This is despite the fact that I have a US billing address attached to my credit card. My mastercard is a Canadian credit card, but MBNA have both my Canadian and US address on file and will approve online orders with either address.  

But Sephora don't recognise that. The card has a Canadian number. So they won't even try for approval. (did you know that your credit card number indicates the country of origin. eg 4516 is a Canadian visa, 5491 is a canadian master card. So I have to use the Canadian check out.

Right now I have 3 products in my shopping card totalling $81.00

If I could ship it to the US, shipping is free . Plus $6.89 in taxes = $87.89

But under the Canadian checkout option the cost  the 3 products increases t0 $104.00.  Plus $9.95 for shipping. Plus $12.48 in taxes = $126.43

An extra $38.54!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are other companies that let me use my Canadian credit card with the US billing address for shipping within the US. Target, Amazon, JCrew, Zappos, Nordstroms. I shop from these stores all the time with no problems.

But Sephora? No. They want to gouge me an extra $38.54.  And yes I know one is US $ and the other is Canadian $, but the difference in exchange is not that much. Infact according to today's RBC exchange rate $81.00 US would only get me $79.71 Canadian. So why is Sephora charging me $104.00? Not on. 

Not to mention when Sephora has it's Friends and Family promo and offers 20% off, that it is not valid on Canadian orders. After many comments on their Facebook fan page, Sephora finally offered a free tote bag with purchase. Better than nothing, I suppose.  But I don't want a tote bag that I won't use,  I would prefer the 20% discount on products I will use.

So I'm not shopping at Sephora online. 

Rant over. 

 

 

 

They Gave Their Lives - Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Jo-Anne lives in Canberra, with her husband and two kids. Her kids are 7 and 5. I've not met Oliver or Sophie. I haven't seen Jo-Anne and Mick since 1996. I've been to the Australian War Memorial before, so I left Hubby there for the morning, while I spent the morning with Jo-Anne and her family. We chatted about Guides, travels, mutual friends, Mexico, families, jobs, and more. I was gone for a few hours and it was so good to see Jo again.  

Back at the War Memorial still wasn't done.  So I had a little bit of time for myself. I didn't go through the museum that is within the Memorial, I did spend time in the Commemorative Courtyard at the Pool of Reflection and Eternal Flame. It was very calm and peaceful. 

 

 

Above the courtyard and outside the Hall of Memory is the Roll of Honour. The names of almost every Australian who has died in war since 1885 are engraved in a long series of bronze panels. That's more than 102,000 people.  Just seeing the size of the bronze panels gives you some sense of the magnitude of the lives lost. This is only half, if that. Visitors have placed poppies next to names that are significant to them.

 

 

The archways name the battlefields on which Australians have fought.

 

The Hall of Memory sent goosebumps down my arms, and brought tears to myeyes. It is awe- inspiring. See the 5 stained glass windows in the photo below? There are 15 within the Hall, each window represents a defining quality of the Australian servicemen and women at war.

 

 

At the centre of the Hall is the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. Behind the tomb are 4 pillars that represent earth, air, fire and water, which in turn represent all the landscapes and climates where Australians have fought and died.

 

The tomb is right below the dome. The mosaic in the dome depicts the soles of the dead rising from the earth towards their spiritual home, represented by a glowing sun within the Southern Cross.

 

 

The walls of the Hall of Memory are covered in one of the world's largest mosaics (6 million plus enameled glass tiles). The figures are a soldier, sailor, airman, and a service woman.

 

 airman detail


 soldier detail

 

The Australian War Memorial stands at one end of Anzac Parade and Parliament House (both old and new) are at the other.

Queensland Flood Crisis

Tonight my family is safe and sound and dry. We've been out for dinner and come home to a warm, dry house.

We are sitting here watching the live coverage of the Queensland floods. Already an area the size of France and Germany combined has flooded over the last week or so. 75% of the State has been declared a disaster zone. 10 people are dead and 78 are missing.

Over the next few days the rivers in Queensland will continue to rise. The river in Brisbane is not expected to peak for another 2 days. The last big floods were in 1974 and this is worse. Way worse.

We have family and friends in Queensland. So far everyone is okay and their homes have luckily not been affected.

I have friends in Brisbane tonight who are at home, making preparations and waiting. Waiting to see if the floods will bypass them or not. Waiting to see if they will need to evacuate. Waiting to see if their homes, workplaces, livelihoods will survive. Waiting. There's not much else they can do.

It's pretty terrible watching it on TV. I cannot even begin to imagine what it's like for the people who are living it.

It's going to take weeks, months, longer for the communities in Queensland to recovery and rebuild.

Want to do something. You can help. Make a donation to the flood appeal.
http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Premiers-Disaster-Relief-Appeal/154284977953701