Chinatown

This morning, Juliana woke up with a very bad temperature after a tough night of sleep. We tried a cool bath, meds, but nothing was working, so my mom and I took her to the doctor. Turns out it was just a viral infection, so a couple bottles of medicine later, we were back at home. Juliana needed her rest, so she stayed home while we headed to Chinatown.

My first stop was Jessie Ren, the woman who does Chinese folk-art calligraphy. We've been to her on several occasions to have special gifts made. Today, my mom got her name done and I had Juliana's put onto a scroll as well as Jean's daughter's name on a scroll. They all came out gorgeous!! I spent time looking at what all of the different symbols mean:

• Dragon - power
• Lotus - purity
• Rising Sun - A brighter future
• Flower - harmony
• Panda - peacefulness
• Butterfly - beauty
• Bird - happiness
• Crane - longevity
• Phoenix - nobility

Here is how Juliana's came out, with lots of harmony and beauty!My mom going to work right away...Nana was overwhelmed at all there was to see!!! A view from the end of one of the shopping alleys... My mom and Nana enjoyed looking through all the different stalls and trying to get the best prices. It's almost like a game...how low can you go?? More shopping...these wooden fans are so beautiful. Taking a break for some fluids... After hours of walking and shopping, we were exhausted and ready to head home. I must admit that I was amazed at how well my grandmother did today, since she couldn't really rely on her wheelchair in all those tight spaces of the alleys and shops. Today was a lot of fun, but shopping can be so tiring too!! We all got some neat things and they will be able to go home with some unique souvenirs from their trip.