Problem solved. There is an Ikea here in Causeway Bay! I now have a foam mattress topper on the bed and know that life is soon to be good. Chinese New Year is approaching and we are going to venture out into it for the night parade- you have no idea what a show of bravery this involves.

At the apartment the kids are doing dishes, cooking, chopping and strange but loving homemaker things they have learned from hotels gone by like putting on the sconces and turning down the beds. The women at the grocery store know us and although we don't speak a lick of each other's languages we enjoy each other immensely. The girls take total charge from the elevator to the cart to selecting the veg to loading the groceries onto the belt and getting them into the bags.

I think we have achieved commune status.