besides the usual birds and wildflowers, we were also hoping to catch the cavalcade of scantily clad joggers. we were pretty much disappointed on all front. everyone but us seemed to realize that on such a hot day it was better to be "inside" than outside melting in the sun. the only new thing i saw was a swamp milkweed leaf beetle, seemingly impervious to the heat, happily fulfilling its namesake by chewing on a leaf.
from fresh pond it was a short distance to the honda dealership. bruce was searching for some touch-up paint to detail his car. he actually had an old bottle but it'd started to solidify. the guy at the fresh pond dealership didn't have any clover green pearl in stock (kind of like a metallic green nail polish with sparkles), but was good enough to check their computer and tell us it was available at the everett honda store.
bruce had already volunteered to drive me to the somerville/everett home depot so i can buy a replacement toilet seat, so the everett honda was in the same direction. he dropped off a library book at the harvard divinity school before we left on our errand run.
not only did the everett home depot have the kohler stonewood round toilet seat ($17.99), but they had 4 boxes still available, unlike the watertown home depot yesterday. back in the car, i was tempted to take it out of the box and give it a trail run. i refrained, figuring it'd be too much for bruce.
we made it to route 99 but we were on the wrong side of the rotary. the honda dealership in everett was closer to charlestown. we knew they had the touch-up paint, it was just a simple matter of picking it up and paying for it. however, their printer was broken so they couldn't print any invoices and had to revert to old-fashion handwritten forms. in front of us in line was a hispanic boy who bruce later said was very good looking (i only saw him from the back, he had good hair). the new touch-up paint came in a fancy new dispenser that allowed you to fill in the scrapes like a ball-point pen.
i replaced the old toilet seat as soon as i got home. sentimentally attached, 
i tried to remove the toilet seat cover so i could at least save that as a memento of all the good times my old toilet seat and i had together. unfortunately the screws attaching the lid to the seat were so rusted i couldn't remove them. with a fond salute i put the old seat in the box and said good bye. the new seat fits so perfectly i swear it came with the toilet (toto brand by the way, 1.6 gpf). i look forward to the new adventures we will have together.
after many days of neglect, i finally decided to visit the community garden and do some watering. despite the abundance of vegetation in my plot, almost none of it is edible. tomatoes are still green (and quite small i might add) and there's not a single tomatillo fruit yet. i did pick two cucumbers from vines that have already shriveled up from the heat. i also managed to find a few ripened golden raspberries. there are also a some herbs i can harvest: basil, flat parsley, and plenty of rosemary.
my mother called to let me know my new roommate would arrive early tomorrow morning. i spent the rest of the day cleaning the house. i had ramen for dinner while watching the latest warehouse 13 episode. i finally took a shower, unable to wait the full 24 hours for the caulk to cure (20+ hours, close enough). earlier today, before i went to fresh pond, my neighbor renee came to ask for more free computer help. her e-mail wasn't been working for a few days. the problem? her dsl modem was unplugged. i also learned she has a room to rent out, a spacious 3rd floor bedroom with a great view of the street. i told her i'd try to hook her up with a chinese astrophysicist tenant of her own.