i began to notice people with numbers on their chest. turns out it was a cambridge 5 mile race. i got there right when it was about to be over. 
huron avenue from fresh pond parkway all the way down to the golf course was closed, but i could still get in with my bike. the finish line was right by the park, and the youth center acted as a headquarter. that explains the crowd of people i saw there last night, young and old alike. they must've been the runners at some kind of pre-run gathering.
i was happy to see that the linseed oil-soaked rags we left out in the backyard did not spontaneously combust overnight. it was probably because some of those rags were also rain-soaked and the temperature last night was on the cool side (upper 30's). the linseed oil-coated boards were dry for the most part, with some areas still feeling a bit oily. they weren't sticky at all, which i read is what happens to slow drying linseed oil. i moved the planks from the garage to the sunny backyard for some additional drying.
some more early spring scenes:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
i brought along a container of cabot wood cleaner, hoping to remove the black mildew stain from the backyard picnic table. i'd already scrubbed it a few weeks ago with some hot water and that seemed to remove most of te dirt, but the mildew seems to be embedded deep within the grains, requiring a stronger chemical wash. i whipped up half a gallon of cleaning solution and began scrubbing away with a plastic brush.
 |
 |
 |
 |
15 minutes later i rinsed it off with a hose. i did remove some more discoloration, but there wasn't that much different between the before and after. the only way to get it back to pretty again is to lightly resand the surface and coat the table again with australian timber oil.
hailey was apathetic for most of the day, waiting for her master (my sister) to come home from chaperoning a little girl's sleepover party last night. whenever hailey was let out into the backyard, she'd do her business and run right back into the house. not sure how her paw is healing but i haven't seen her limp all weekend.
while my father was at work, my mother was at home searching the house for her lost camera batteries. i told her it wasn't a big deal to replace them, but she would have it. thankfully by the end of the day she found them.
 |
 |
 |
victor filled me in on the celtics' victory when i got back to cambridge. shaq was playing his first game after being on the injury list since early february, but it didn't take him long to get injured again, this time with a calf sprain. victor told me he scored 3 goals at his soccer match earlier today; he played for more than 2 hours non-stop and now his legs hurt. i found out that his girlfriend will be arriving in boston early friday night. i was more curious about when she'd be leaving but i'll wait for another occasion to politely ask.