my parents came to pick me up around 10:30 to take advantage of some black friday morning deals. i printed out some crafts store coupons last night, 30% off all purchases (including sales) before noontime. first stop was ac moore, where the sale on paton classic wool ($4 each) combined with the discount coupon came to just $2.80 per skein. next we went to michael's where there was a sale on lion brand wool-ease ($5 each before coupon). these places were busy but it wasn't anything crazy (maybe that drama happened earlier before the crack of dawn). they only had thick & quick (super bulky weight) but my mother still bought a lot. we briefly went to home depot (looking for 60w-equivalent CFL bulbs but they were all sold out because there was a special doorbuster sale) before returning to michael's to take advantage of the after-12:00 50%-off-one-item coupons to buy up some lion brand fishermen's wool (enlisting my father, that came out to be 3 coupons). the final tally was 27 skeins of yarn (plus a package of horehound¹ hard candy).

my parents dropped me off at my place where i rode my bicycle to belmont. after having some leftover turkey for a late lunch, i went outside to replace my bike chain. i wanted to show my father how it's done but he was already asleep. i broke the old chain with the chain tool and hung it up in the garage using a neodymium magnet along with the new chain. placed side-by-side, it was easier to figure out how short i needed to make the new chain. the new chain was actually just 3 links longer than the old one, but i shorten the new chain anyway just to match. one thing that was very evident was how stretched out the old chain was, almost an inch worth of displacement compared to the new chain.

although i needed the chain tool to remove the old chain and to shorten the new one, no tool was necessary to install the new chain using the missing link attachment. it's so easy with a missing link that one should be included with all new chains. besides the quick install, i can also remove the chain whenever i want for easier cleaning.

i took the bike for a test ride. the grinding sensation and noises i've been experiencing were now gone. it felt like i had a new bike. so it wansn't really the bottom bracket after all but actually just a stretched out bike chain. the bottom bracket still makes a little noise when i pedal but almost unnoticeable (nothing that a repackaging with fresh grease can't fix).

my mother was busy knitting, working on a commissioned project (for a church friend of my 2nd aunt, in a rush to get it finished before my aunt leaves for taiwan next tuesday), but then later switched gears to knit another thorpe hat (green-biege-brown) after giving away two last night.

there was still enough turkey left to have for dinner. the remaining bones will be used to make a turkey broth. for dessert we ate the remaining ramekins of flan and some asian pears.

marco, who went to the office this morning, wasn't home yet when i returned to cambridge around 8:00. when he did get back (9:00), i treated him to the leftovers i brought with me from yesterday, thanksgiving turkey peking duck style. i forgot to take out the flan, i'll offer him some tomorrow night.

¹ with a name like horehound i couldn't resist not getting it. it's a real thing apparently: Marrubium vulgare, a perennial herb (resembling mint) native to everywhere but the new world. it has a distinctive bitter yet sweet taste, hard to describe. it's been used traditional as a folk medication to treat things like sore throat, indigestion, and inflammation (thanks wikipedia).