julie called this morning while i was in the showers asking if i wanted to go get some garden plants. originally i was all ready to visit crane swamp out in the four boroughs (marlborough, southborough, westborough, and northborough) but i figured i could do that tomorrow. we headed out to pemberton farm on mass ave first to see what kind of stuff they had. i noticed julie was writing things down. figuring maybe she was making one of her routine checklist, i looked over and realized she'd already drawn out a map of her garden and was just deciding what to get.

next we spit in the face of supporting local businesses by visiting the mahoney's in winchester, which has a vastly superior selection. here will filled up a pushcart with plants. i got two packs of tomatoes ("celebrity" and "fantastic", $2.50 each), some cucumbers ($2.50), some habanero peppers ($2.50), a chinese lantern plant ($4), and a weird potted plant with the most amazing foliage ($5, i'm a sucker for pretty packaging) (after a lengthy internet search, i think it might be a prayer plant). back in the hot car, i was struck with an idea: wouldn't it be great to turn a car into a greenhouse?

despite it all, we went back to pemberton farm to get some plants to complete our collection. i bought some basil and a container of rosemary (let's see how that goes, i killed my last rosemary plant due to lack of sunlight in my backyard).

no work from client S today but they did want a change order and asked how long it'd take me to do it (i said 2 days) and that it'd need to be finished by the beginning of next month. i tested my macbook pro out in the backyard. as desirable as it may be to be working outside in the shade, i felt it wasn't for me. fear of biting mosquitoes and bits of tree detritus falling into my keyboard made me go back inside after just 10 short minutes. besides, i like my privacy, and somehow being out (even though in my own backyard) felt too open for me.

in the afternoon i went with my mother briefly to market basket to get some groceries. ever since it's been warm enough to ride my motorcycle, i haven't been to the star market across the street. once i realized that market basket has everything star market has but cheaper, it became a no-brainer. probably when winter arrives i'll returning to shopping star market.

i returned to belmont for dinner in the evening. my sister wanted me to help her install office x, my mother wanted to learn how to use the e-mail account i set up for her, and my father wanted copies of my yading photos so he could compare them with google earth. since i was in the neighborhood, i went and visited zeff's photo store with my father. i bought a new neoprene case for my camera that is without a doubt one of the most phallic looking things ever, like a padded jock strap for a well-hung athlete. i also got a neoprene pouch for one of my lenses so i don't have to carry it wrapped in a dishcloth anymore.

back at home, my mother and i were out in the backyard digging for more dandelions. since my father had recently mowed the lawn, those familiar yellow flowers were all gone but the plants were all still there. my mother was so caught up in the moment that she re-aggravated the blister on her palm from the last time she was weeding.

my sister came home from her nanny duty with her child care because she was helping her finish some school project (where's the parents? when did the nanny also become the homework assistant?). unfortunately she also promised us that she'd make dinner, so everyone was waiting for her to cook (i would've been happy ordering pizza or something). after dinner i came back home; the weather was still warm enough (in the 70's) that i was fine riding in just a t-shirt.