SUNDAY, 3/1/15

Today is going to be a “rest and recover” day for Judy. She’s had a very full 5 days of school before this, and she’ll have 6 even busier days of instruction and musical rehearsals/performances after this.

I head out to the nearby wet market for some fruits and vegetables. The “New Year” holiday isn’t fully finished yet, and it’s obvious in the market. Only a few vegetable vendors are open, and none of the fruit shops are open. I have to piece together what we need in this market and several others I found open down the street.

We tried a new delivery place for dinner and found a good Caesar salad and chicken wrap for future reference. We enjoy dinner with fireworks occasionally breaking the quiet of the evening.

MONDAY, 3/2/15

MUSICAL WEEK is ahead and Judy goes out the door determined to make it a success. I’m trying to get our apartment in shape well enough so when our Ayi comes back today, she won’t be wondering what kind of filthy savages we are. I get a little laundry going, and the dishes cleaned up. She’s going to have a long day of vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and general cleaning, along with an extra large bunch of ironing when she arrives.

Surprise, surprise! She’s not coming back today. Late in the afternoon, when she didn’t come in, I called Lilly to check on her status. Lilly’s mom, who’s been “subbing” for Lilly (and doing a great job) while the baby was born (before Christmas), has still not returned to Beijing. She’s planning to arrive on the train Wednesday, and will be in our apartment on Friday. Lilly’s not sure when she’s going to get back. Maybe April, maybe later. Ugh! Another 4 days without an ayi. I hope we can survive. I’ve been walking around some of these “dust bunnies” for several days already.

I guess the good news of the day is that I managed to get some swimming done today, as well as yesterday. Maybe I’m beginning to get back into a schedule. I keep looking for a day when it’s warm enough to play table tennis. The problem isn’t the temperature, though. The wind has been blowing for several days now, and it’s so frustrating to hit a ping pong ball and have it blow back over your head.