Sew Fun LOL – Studio6229

With great expectations we arose today thinking only of one thing….you guessed it the trip to the Silk Factory…unfortunately it was not the first stop for us.  Ok –  let me tell you the first event of the day was great.

We started off going to the Beijing zoo – The 32 of us and 1 million of our closest Chinese friends.  Feeling a bit tired from the Chinese Torture last night we got off the bus and followed the flag…did I tell you about the flag?  Charlie our tour guide carries this orange flag and for the slow walkers they can see it for miles.  Charlie likes to walk or almost run, while the group usually tends to walk or almost crawl.  Charlie carries the flag and as we depart the bus – he yells…”Don’t forget to follow the flag”.  We’ve got it now…

We make our way thru the crowds and Charlie decides we will only see the Panda’s or at least try to see the Panda’s.  We enter the first building and there is a sea of people, wall to wall and guards on their megaphone’s screeching something in Chinese….people seem to ignore the guard.  We later learned that it meant to keep moving, and get the kids off the edges.  So no Panda’s in sight so far, we go to the end of that building and there he is – the saddest looking Panda….but wait, he sees the crowd and gets up to do a dance, ok it wasn’t a dance but him scratching his butt on the back wall…I prefer to think he was entertaining us.. Charlie yells for us to follow the flag, we go to the next building, where there is one Panda lying on its back outside…can’t see his face but he is there.  Now we have to move to the next section, this is no easy task…I think there are two million people there now…but we get to see the greatest Panda…he is busy eating and not at all interested in us or any of the other people for that matter.  We take some pictures and now its time to go to the souvenir shop.  Of course can you imagine not doing that, at each place everyone must buy a souvenier…you know the kind you take home and nobody wants, but you buy them anyways…We lose one of our group and after about 20 minutes we find out she went back to the bus…so much for the buddy system, her buddy had no idea where she was…

We arrive at our next stop – the silk factory.  We are waiting with baited breath….can’t wait to get inside.  We must first listen to the Silk Factory guide give us a tour, teach us about the silk worm and how it is all made.  Did you know that one little silk worm spits out 1680 meters of a single strand….imagine…but do you know how many of those you need to make a quilt…over 200,000.  We find the whole process truly amazing…so come on we want to get to the silk…but wait, first we must see all the silk comforters…we are quickly thinking there is no fabric here.  Charlie comes to the rescue – knows how much Sharon and I want silk fabric and takes us away from the group into another room.  Well it is Silk heaven, a nice variety of color and different types of silk fabric.  Just like all the other places we get our own personal shopper to follow us around – anything we say they do.  Prices were pretty good ranging from about 22.00 to 60.00 per meter.  We spent the next 45 minutes touching everything – oohing and awing over the silk…there was no bargaining here as it is government regulated.  None-the -less we made our purchases with smiles on our face.

Next stop lunch – and then off to the Olympic Center – not many people wanted to get out of the bus, but those that did returned within minutes.  The whole area was closed off for a private event.  However our bus driver took us around stopping on over passes for everyone to take pictures.  Our bus driver is terrific.

Now we head for the Summer Palace, Charlie lets us know its several kilometers of walking each way and many of the people are too tired, so he decides we will do a short cut, later he said it was good because again our 1 million Chinese friends were all in attendance.  Did I tell you its National Holiday week here, if you come to China avoid this week  – not good for tourists especially in a city with 19 million people all on vacation….The Summer Palace was nice, more of the same type of structure but surrounded by beautiful temples and lake..

We go back to the bus and head for dinner.  This is our farewell dinner from Beijing and we went to a very famous restaurant where this is their specialty.  We arrive an hour too soon so we walk thru a Ming Style Shopping area, its fun to see all the people – remember our million Chinese friends…they like to come where ever we go….we are getting to know each other…especially in the arm areas, where elbows seem to work to get you places….my friends think nothing of pushing me aside.  So now I should tell you we had more people fall today, we are up to 9 out of 32…..no it is not Sharon or I….we’ve done the two step a few times but never fallen….Our dinner was quite interesting…we always get something with a head on it…of course Sharon and I are first in line to try it – NOT….Today the first 4 dishes passed us by on the lazy susan…we just laughed and knew the rice was coming soon.  Then some really cool dishes arrived – we actually ventured out of our comfort zones and tried them and to our delight wanted more…We learned how to eat authentic Peking Duck….its like making a mini burritto….duck, sauce, onion and cucumber….Did I tell you in the other blogs what we get to drink….did you guess Beer – you would be correct – no I have not had any but Sharon enjoys a glass or two….then comes the finale…..same dessert as everynight….yup Watermelon…..I think we should make this a new tradition in our house….I asked Charlie if he could take us to a bakery and his answer was there are none in China….they eat fruit….their idea of dessert for Americans is a variety of breads…funny eh!

Well back at the hotel now, needed to pack and give all our luggage to concierge before going to bed….we have to awake at 4:45 for departure at 5:45….so we are off to try and get some sleep – we fly to XI’AN (pronounced Seean) tomorrow where we will get to see the Terra Cotta Warriors….I wonder if our 1 million Chinese friends are coming?

Temple of Heaven

So by now you know our routine….we get up, have breakfast and then we board the bus…kind of like school kids on a schedule….we don’t mind as there is so much to see and do.

Today we started off by driving to a Hutong Neighborhood.  We get out and there are 16 richshaws waiting for us…we travel in two’s the buddy system.  It was originally built around the water, over 80,000 families live in this neighborhood.  It is structured of small low houses with alleys that are the size of a one car lane.  Every 50 feet or so is a door, the door is important.   Depending on the ornamentation on the door and in front you can tell the status of the person.  Military and high ranking officials have lions on both sides of the door and above the door you will find up to 4 round structures….

We get into the rickshaw and begin our journey….the first thing we get to see is an authentic Ming dynasty wedding, the groom is on a horse and the bride carried in a concealed closure (I don’t remember the name) music and dance and festivities all around, we make it thru the crowd and emerge into the streets of the neighborhood.  After about 30 minutes of touring we get out of the rickshaw for a walking tour.  Our guide “Willie” takes us up to doors and explains the significance.  I need to stop here for a minute.  Did I tell you the minute our feet hit the ground we had 4 additional friends….street vendors…two woman, one man and one 4 year old boy.  They decided we looked like we wanted to buy their goods, they followed us for then next hour or two – or lets just say until we got back on the rickshaws.  I have decided my new name is “Bu Yow”.  Do you remember yesterdays blog….Bu Yow means – don’t want….well one lady in particular seemed to be on my all the time…I kept saying Bu Yow…and at one point we got into a Bu Yow match….a little while later she approached me – realized it was me again and yelled at me “Bu Yow”.  This set us into hysterical laughing…so you may now refer to me as Bu Yow. 

The Hutong is very poor and when you see the pictures you will see just what kind of conditions people live in here…ok so now we enter a private court yard….we go thru the doors and get to see inside one home.  It is a courtyard surrounded by 4 buildings.  The north building is for the parents or oldest members of the family, the building to the East is for the son, building to the west the daughter and building to the south the servants.  We find out we are eating in this private home.  Can you imagine Sharon and I eating here – oh we are very very nervous….you will see our pictures shortly – it tells the story.  We enter the sons home which has been set up with small tables and rickety stools.  We sit down squished together.  They bring us beer and coke.  Here you drink this at every meal.  Sharon will be stealing Robert’s beer when we get home, it is now her beverage of choice.  The lazy susan begins to fill with interesting foods, do we dare…….well we do…we have become adventurous – or is it hunger pains telling us to eat, not sure but we do.  Sharon tips one glass over as it has water in it and she is not taking a risk…I laugh…we finish our meal, saying “Che Che” (thank you) and move along….The Hutong was one of the best parts of the trip so far.

You know this trip is with “Sew Many Places”…so far there is no “Sew” and we have seen “many places”.

Next stop – Temple of Heaven, well it is where the emporer goes to pray….nothing to exciting here except we can say we were in “Heaven”.  I will say that we were celebrities again here, people with children wanting us to have pictures with them.  I held a baby boy and he kept touching my cheek, I gave him an american quarter and you would think it was gold, apparently it will bring the boy good luck.  We walked thru the gardens and arrived at a student gallery.  Upon entering we were all wondering why would we come here, within minutes we were served tea and had a lovely student tell us about all the art work….next thing you know we all had purchases, or most of us did anyways.

Now for the Pearl Market….it was much like Silk Alley – hundreds of vendors everywhere, we went to the top where Charlie had arranged for us to go to a good dealer….I was really disappointed prices were not what I thought was a bargain so Sharon and I left the group and went a wandering….guess what we found…..a Dairy Queen, we sat down had a sundae, not bad, we thought…off to dinner now (yes we seem to eat a lot).

Chinese dinner – we are getting to like the food here…in fact we are not hungry at all.  Even Sharon is eating more….:).   We depart the restaurant at 630 and leave for the Red Theater…we arrive to see the 7:30 showing of “The Legend of Kung Fu”.  It was a terrific show.  Now we think for a Happy ending again…..we have massage therapists coming to our room….Sharon and I think what a way to end the day, nice relaxing ending…..

Wait – no we must be in the wrong place…we are not having massages, we have entered into the Chinese Torture chamber…(yes its our room).  The ladies arrive seem nice enough, no english but we can handle that.  We lie on our beds and they begin…now you have to know our muscles hurt more from climbing the wall than anything else…every time they touch us they kill us – they punch and slap and dig into our skin….every few minutes I hear Sharon “Ow, OW”.  My therapist, says “relax OK”.  Now they touch our fingers they seem to be pulling out our finger nails and toe nails…but “relax OK”.  90 minutes later we are free from torture….they leave and we start laughing hysterically, can you imagine we thought it would be relaxing….Chinese massage is nothing like the type we are accustomed to….So now it is very late and we must say goodbye until tomorrow.  Our bodies need time to recover and prepare for tomorrow…….

What an exiting day today was….We got up with our usual wake up call….Every day the prearrange things for us….6 am wakeup, 7 am breakfast, 8 am departure….We had our usual breakfast boarded the bus and we were off to the Jade Factory.

Ok one not so fun fact….3 more people fell, we are up to 6 of our 32 people have fallen….no Sharon and I are not one of them….and we do not plan on it…

Upon arrival we will greeted by Meow Meow, the cutest, funniest tour guide….She had us all laughing within minutes…She took us thru the factory, telling us where and how Jade comes from, stopping for us to watch the jade actually being carved….the funniest part is when she told us how she learned english – can you guess?  She watches Sex and the City – she also decided to wear high heels like the ladies on the show….then we were all assigned a person who followed us thru the whole store  it was high pressured sales…i bought a couple of things, Sharon did not as the person she had was just way too pushy…

So with that we then got back on the bus….and we drove and we drove and we drove….did I tell you that we were on the bus and drove….traffic here is insane….really insane….after several hours we finally arrived at the Great Wall.  It was packed – I am sure there were a million there pushing and shoving to get up the very steep steps…so off Sharon and I went – a man pointed for us to go right so we did….unfortunately it took us the wrong way and we were going up the down path….not funny when those million people are headed towards you. Within minutes we realized what was up and climbed a set of stairs – we were now on the wall….the climb begins….we must have climbed for about 20 minutes when we came to the first guard lookout tower.  Sharon thought it was too steep for her with that many people in a crush, so she stayed below and I decided it would be fun to go up, on the way up there was a mother in front of me with a baby on her shoulders….want a laugh, the baby had crotchless pants on and the bum was hanging out….I was a bit nervous that if the baby pooped it would be on me….but up I kept going….Upon reaching the tower I looked out and waved at Sharon below….what a feeling it was….ok so lets climb some more….I reached the next small plateau, went up 10 more steps and there I ended my climb….I would have done more you know but I had to be back on the bus by 4:15 and needed time to get down….of course you know me, I made a few friends along the way, met some really nice student teachers….and had my picture with a couple of chinese kids….I am a celebrity here….ok – this is not all about me…I need to get back to Sharon…

I finally got back to where Sharon was and she was laughing and having fun with some women from our group, she also was having her celebrity picture taken from some chinese friends….Down the hill we went, much easier you now….now back on the bus….to guess what….drive and drive and drive….we got back to Beijing where they took us to a Western Restaurant….well not quite the American food we are used to but it was food….I think we may have lost a little weight here…

Now for the Happy Ending….we went to a foot massage parlor…yes it was big….can accomodate many at once…we were in a room of 5…of course our massage therapists didn’t speak English but what fun we had….we learned they were all 20 except one….we spoke english they answered chinese, we laughed they laughed – who knows what we all said…when I told them I knew chinese – I said “Nee How”…they siad “nee how” back, when I said “Bu Yow” instantly my foot massage ended….I said No no…..keep going….BU Yow means  – don’t want – we all had a great laugh….it was an amazing foot massage….

Back on the bus again….it was a quick ride to the hotel….Sharon and I had the best day….tiring but fun……off to sleep we went….

Well we have not adjusted to the time so guess what time we woke up – yup around 4 am….Sharon turned on the light to read and I just lied there until around 5:15.  We got up showered, went for breakfast and prepared for the day.

We boarded the bus and off to the square.  So when we arrived so did 1 million of our closest friends.  It is national holiday week here and everyone is out…we had to push thru crowds all while trying to follow a little yellow flag in the air.  The square was cool – I think the best part is that we were celebrities.  All the chinese people stared at us and wanted to take our pictures.  At least 4 times I had people come up and motion for me to have my picture taken with their child, or mother…..it was pretty fun….the other unusual thing were the little kids…..Carrie you will appreciate this….they wore crotchless pants….so if the kid needed to go to the bathroom they just squatted where ever they were and did their business…just so you know you had to watch where to step.  Speking of watching were you step….we had two of our group fall on the cobblestones….both were able to continue on but they took pretty hard falls…no I was not one of the two.

We moved on then to the Forbidden City – stopping every once in a while for Charlie to tell us what we were seeing….in the Forbidden City only 80,000 of the 1 million people were allowed in.  Lucky for us our tickets we prepurchaed….we made our way thru the city ending in the Imperial Garden – it was quite overwhelming….from start to finish it took us about 4 hours to walk thru it….pushing, and being pushed – it is part of the culture here….we boarded our bus and went to a special place for lunch – again we had authentic chinese food…and authentic Chinese toilets…don’t ask!

Finally we went to Silk Alley – now this was a bit disappointing for us.  We thought there would be fabric, there was but not enough to buy anything, it was 6 floors of vendors….oh my god, we learned how to negotiate.  I bought a cute Chines box, the price started at 800 Yuan, I ended up paying 100 Yuan….and it went on like that for the few purchases we made…In the end Sharon had me do her negotiating as I got pretty good at it….along the way though they all call out for you….”Ladies , ladies….do you want scarf?”  To which I would answer no we are having hot flashes…..Ladies, Ladies do you want silk pajamas to which I would answer “No we sleep in the nude”….ladies ladies do you want mens shirt….to which I would answer “no we are woman”…..can you imagine for several hours every 5 seconds someone yelling out to you or following you….we got real good at saying Bu Yow….which means “Don’t want it”.

We then boarded the bus again and went to supper….this place was ok – we did not eat much…Upon arriving at the hotel the Custom Tailor came.  We ordered suits and were very excited about these purchases.  In 24 hours we have a fitting and then they will be finalized and delivered to us before we leave Beijing…..well it was a long day, walking more than 5-6 miles….but we did it….a bit exhausted so we are off to bed to get up at 6 am tomorrow for our next adventure…..

Lorrie and Sharon

We awoke with excitement but also with anxiety – we had to take a 12.5 hour flight….We thought 6 was long enough. Started off with a typical continental breakfast – nothing exciting about that.

Upon checking out of the hotel the clerk told me I had a $40 credit from a voucher which could not be redeemed for cash – she told me I had to spend it and sent me to the minimart….Do you know how hard it is to spend $40 on nothing that you need, so we bought packets of Tylenol, chapstick, peanuts….just what we needed added weight to our bags. We got on the shuttle – told the driver United – he of course dropped us off at United – Domestic….uggg….we had to walk to another terminal…We got into line and just as we were weighing our stuff Elizabeth from Sew Many Places approached us….we were now connected to our group.

We assembled – had a group discussion on what to expect and what to do on arrival…Biggest thing was to ensure when you passed thru the Temperature detection machine that you stated you were fine if you had a fever. I was a bit panicked since I came down with a cold the day we were leaving.

But guess what – as we were sitting there waiting to board, May another participant whom we had been corresponding with over the last 9 months introduced herself.  It was like old friends meetings.  May asked us what we did the day before and we told her about our day and trip to Britex.  Just by chance I said “May – do you have a niece named Crystal”?  She looked a me and quizzically said yes I do why.  Ok how funny is it that the store clerk from Britex is best friends with May’s niece Crystal….we had a very good laugh over the connection.

Flight was long….we watched movies, read, did puzzles, sewed a teddy bear head and body…made friends with our neighbors….cat napped – we did what it took….then WE LANDED – yeah!!! we were in China…We arrived got thru customs without any issues and I even passed the temperature control gate….whew….we made it.

Charlie our tour guide is wonderful – he is telling us all the things we need to know. We arrived at a beautiful 5 star hotel – the Regent – freshened up and met for an authentic chinese dinner….it was fantastic….we were given instructions for Sunday and then went back to our room and crashed….

Tomorrow we are off to Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall…..will be back tomorrow…..

Our day in San Francisco started with a first for me. Lorrie and I went and got massages. I had never had one before so I felt a little foolish having to ask very basic questions, like how much clothes to take off, ha, ha! Of course it was as wonderful as everyone has told me in the past, I’m sure I will do it again.
After the spa we took a long taxi ride to the city and went to lunch at Mel’s Diner. They have the best milk shakes! Lorrie was happy because she was able to have vinager on her fries. Then we went to Britex Fabrics. Great store, somewhat pricey but it was definitely quality fabric. I fell in love with one that was $245 a yard! No I didn’t buy it! But it was nice. Lorrie bought some fabulous trim – while there of course she struck up a conversation with the Salesperson – Kristen – she told Kristen we were going to China and Kristen promptly told her she had a friend Crystal whose Aunt was going to China….wouldn’t that be funny if someone on the trip knew Crystal!
After the fabric store we took the trolley to Pier 39. We walked around the shops and then met with my sister-in-law and her family who had driven down to have dinner with us at the Hard Rock Cafe. We had a great dinner then off to get in the taxi to return to the hotel.

We rearranged a few things, watched a bit of X-Factor and soon turned out the light because Lorrie couldn’t keep her eyes open…..Off to Beijing early in the morning….

Lets focus today on the do’s and dont’s of travel. As most of you know I have done quite a bit of travel, my friend Sharon – not so much. The day starts off trying to finalize things at work, last-minute stops and of course a quick trip to CVS because a cold is coming on.

Lindsay drives us to the airport, we have pre-printed boarding passes….we go to the bag drop and guess what…my bag weighed 40 pounds, Sharon’s is 51…..we smile, we begin to tell of our long-awaited trip to the Jet Blue agent and she agrees to not charge us for the extra weight….phewww…..saved $50.00 (really need this for the goodies in China).

We proceed to Security and there is a long line, the sign points Economy to the left and Speedy Members to the right. I say to the Security guy – I’m a speedy kind of gal…he laughs, checks my ticket and says no you are really economy, but I will let you thru anyways…we score no long line up for us….We are almost home free….we put our bags on the inspection belt, I go thru without a hitch, Sharon on the other hand gets stopped….we think its her CPAP machine but no – Sharon put her camera tripod in her fanny pack which launches into a complete search of that bag…..I step back….begin to laugh….Sharon must now follow Mr. Security to have her bag searched, emptied and tested for explosives….imagine….Sharon 🙂

Ok we get on the plane, all is well until they tell us they don’t have an approved flight plan….funny – don’t they fly the plane back and forth to San Fran twice a day???

A short delay we are up in the sky….it’s time to relax and watch a movie….I am struggling to put my seat back….I push really hard on my button…..uh oh….what have I done…..my neighbor who was fast asleep had a very rude awakening…..I didn’t push my button but his and he went flying back….I am trying to be apologetic my Sharon bursts into laughter….so I cannot contain myself – laughter all around…I’m not sure the man was that happy with me but by the end of the flight what I did was nothing in comparison to the two kids who kicked our seats and cried thru the whole trip….

We arrive very late (our time) at our hotel….grab some supper and hit the sack……

Wow after almost two years of planning the day is here to begin our journey.  WE have researched, scrambled and planned right down to the magazines in our backpacks…The most fun part to share is our packing strategy.  We have decided that one suitcase is best…Especially since we will be traveling to Beijing, X’ian, a three day cruise and then Shanghai.  So how did we pack you ask?  Well it is called the disposable clothing model….We have chosen the 15 pairs of socks, underwear, shirts and pants that will be making the trip over but not making the trip back.  Each night as we put on our jammies the days clothes will be disposed of….Theoreticaly we end up with an empty suitcase – but guess what = it gives us room to fill it with treasures from our trip.  I am really looking foward to Silk Alley, Jade Carving Factory and Cloisenne…..Stay tunes….we will try to let you know of our great adventures……off now to finalize the last little bits….see you tomorrow….

Hi Everyone.

Our annual charity sewing for Toys for Tots has begun.  Yesterday we were at 5 locations – our sewing machines were buzzing as we came together to create clothing for 18 inch dolls.  Our program focuses on donating 18 in dolls with wardrobes to the Toys for Tots foundation.  Check out what we are doing at www.billericatwirls.com.

If you want to help you can sponsor a doll, by donating on the site – each doll cost us $14.  We currently have 56 sponsored and we need help to reach our goal of 170.   You can also help if you are a sewer – patterns are on the site…you can email me for information where to send the finished clothes….

See you soon. 

Lorrie

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Well 2 years planning and in 3 days we will be on our way to a fantastic tour in China….stay tuned and follow us..we will try and post each day….if you want details of our trip check out www.sewmanyplaces.com for our itineray.

Lorrie