Rainy Day

Today is so dark.
Rain has been coming down hard all day.

I'd like nothing more than to find a coffee shop with a fireplace, order a mocha and curl up for the afternoon with a good book.

No such luck.

I did, however, have a lovely time at the fabric market this morning.
I went with a British friend.
She might well be the only British woman in Dalian.
And I am lucky enough to have her living in our building.
Turrah.

The fabric market always cheers me up. The possibilities are endless. While we were there I put in another order - and cost out a couple things I've had my eye on - one of which is a full length, silk, sleeveless, high-collared brocade dress. Very Chinese, but really a must have. The cost? About 250 yuan (US $32.45)

I also stopped by one of the many yarn booths at the fabric market, to see how much it would cost to have a sweater knit for Chase. Turns out, it would cost 1oo yuan, which is US $12.94. That's for someone to spend hours hand-knitting a custom sweater.

My helper looked at me like I was crazy for even considering it. Why? Because machine made garments are much less expensive. For example, I came across super cute baby shoes earlier this week that cost 25 yuan (that's US $3.24).

Totally outrageous. I love it here.