Judy heads out to a full day of school.  There isn’t the usual line of taxis waiting.  Beijing still isn’t in “full work” mode.  She flags one down without too much trouble, but it’s always a little scary when none are aroun.

 I managed to make up for my lazy streak yesterday with a full day of activities today.  I washed and dried six loads of laundry.  Talked to mom back in Baton Rouge, and Courtney in DFW.  I rode the bike over to the police station to register our return to Beijing after the trip to the US and then Bali/Singapore.  The computer was down, and the single clerk on duty was filling out all the forms by hand?  She said the system was being upgraded.  After a holiday like this one, I would think there would be lots of people checking in and re-registering.  I was lucky and caught a “hole” in the line, but when I left, there were 12 people behind me.

I stopped by the bank on my way back to check our account balance.  I have to check it at an ATM.  My bank doesn’t have an English website, so all my confirmations have to be done on-site.  Next stop was the local wet market for fruits and vegetables.  Only three vegetable vendors were open today.  Everyone else must still be on holiday.  I bought the necessary vegetables for soup, and climbed back on the bike.  Found a vendor on the street selling fruit, so I picked out some nice apples.

Back at the apartment, I unloaded the vegetables, grabbed our wheeled cart, and headed out to Metro for groceries.   Back at the apartment after Metro, I began prepping the food for the soup.  By the time Judy got home, I had the soup ready, the dishes washed and put away, and most of the laundry put away.