Good morning everyone!
The American Women's Club had a fundraiser - they call it "Shopping for a Cause". It was last Saturday evening and Mike and I went along with Kirk, Devin and Sandy. The event was a Carpet Auction and it was great. Denice missed a good time and I bet she would have bought one - We DID! We won one too! It was the Luck of the Irish!
The cause was the Starfish Foster Home Foundation. Amanda is the director there and she was in attendance at the event. Their web page is listed below - check it out - but be ready for some tears - it's very hard. You must realize that these beautiful children have basically been abandoned because their parents cannot afford to take care of them. They have been born with some disfigurement like cleft palate or spina bifida. Amanda is known for her kindness and these children somehow find their way to her. She arranges for the much-needed surgeries that the children need - the surgery that gives them a second lease on life. You will see that she brings these children to Shanghai for these surgeries and it is quite expensive. Some of the doctors donate their time so if you know of a doctor with these special skills - please refer them to her.
The event was supposed to be held at Shama Luxe at Xintandi which is the upscale Shama property near Xintandi - the South Side Works of Shanghai. Mike, Kirk and I took a taxi over there and were amazed at the lovely location. The apartment building was beautiful but the Clubhouse that all the apartment buildings in that gated community building share was breathtaking. When the carpet company arrived at Shama, they realized that there would be too many carpets AND the group of people who had RSVP'd was growing by leaps and bounds so they had to move it to the Clubhouse - it was a great idea!
I didn't take my camera so I don't have photos of the property but the carpets - the one on the left is the one we won - it's about 2' by 3.5' and is mostly maroon and grey (Beaver Bobcat colors) while the one we bought, which is about 4' by 6' is gold and green with some red in it. It looks love here in our apartment (OR it will once the housekeepers help me re-arrange the living room Thursday afternoon). We have the smaller one in the hallway leading to the bathrooms and bedrooms. The larger one will look wonderful with our mossy green sofa and love seat that is now in storage in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania.
The food was great. Little nibbles that consisted of small shrimps sitting on a lettuce base in a remoulade sauce. Sauteed mushrooms on a puff pastry shell. There were little pieces of chicken in teeny pita pockets with cheese and a mustard sauce. There were many other things too numerous to mention. The cheesecakes were yummy too - blueberry and chocolate. The wines were great too.
The CARPETS - well, I had no clue what to expect. None of us knew what to expect, but the gentlemen from the carpet company in Singapore were excellent. I found maybe about 14 that would have worked for us. There were some huge ones as well.
Edmund started began the auction explaining what was expected - reasonable bids - and then of course, when people bid low, he would attribute that to the world-wide recession. Some of these carpets retailed for upwards $15,000 and were going for $5,000. We were very pleased that ours was much, much, much cheaper than that because it was much smaller and because Mike was sitting quite close to me holding my arm down!
Each attendee received a book so we'll know what to look for next time. It talks about the care of your carpet and how to hang it on the wall should you want to do that. There were also some points to make on the history of knotted carpets and where they come from. It is very interesting and I intend to sit on the balcony some morning in the sun and digest it from cover to cover.
They did pull about four carpets that did not elicit any bids and then the prizes were awarded. My friend, Sharyn pulled my number and I won the little carpet. I was so surprised. Very happy and surprised. Mike was able to carry both of them home in the taxi. Needless to say, we will go again next year and try and coerce other couples to go as well.
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