i couldn't go back to sleep after that, so i got out of bed, used the bathroom, then took a shower. i moved 2 of my bikes down into the basement, then did some garden maintenance: pruning back the climbing ivy in front of the house, pulling some weeds from the gravel pathway and perennial garden, and sweeping up the dead elm leaves.
basically i was waiting until 9:00, a decent enough time for me to drill the last of the holes on the wine barrel. with batteries fully charged, it also helped that i found a setting on the ryobi drill for even faster drilling (like a turbo switch). it took but a few noisy seconds, but i had my new hole. i flipped over the planter and set it on some bricks; now all i have to do is sit back and wait for my upstairs neighbor to thank me for all my efforts.
LJ was already up by that point. i told her i was leaving ("bye bye," she said, not sure if she was making fun of me), gathered up my things, and rode the motorcycle to belmont, first stopping to get some gas (mass ave hess, 2.127 gallons, $7.44), then a brief visit to the cafe to drop off some bean sprouts and romaine lettuce i bought yesterday evening.
my mother made belgian waffles and bacon again. i ate breakfast while watching the men's final match wimbledon match between roger federer and british andy murray. 
it turned out to be a long game, made longer by a rain delay. men's tennis used to be about power serves and dominating through aces, but nowadays there are just as many back and forth volleys as there are in the women's matches, which then becomes an endurance test since men have to win by 3 sets.
the match was just about to be over (around 1:30) when my mother and sister returned from taking hailey to winchester fells. the english crowd was obviously rooting for murray, but federer ended up winning his 7th wimbledon, tying pete sampras' record. murray choked back tears as he thanked the audience and said a few words (the camera panned to his hot girlfriend a few times). i remember not very long ago when it was federer in the losing spot, holding back his tears and watching a triumphant rafael nadal. hopefully both players will a chance to meet again when the london olympics began in 3 weeks. and then after that it's the US opens.
i went out and mowed the front lawn, finished up right when the mower sputtered to a stop (out of fuel). it was hotter than yesterday (upper 80's) but because it was so dry (40% humidity) it didn't feel that uncomfortable.
next i watered the garden using water from the rain barrel, which takes a long time but more economical (and environmentally friendly), and gave me a chance to empty out the barrels in anticipation of the next rainy refill (which won't be for a while, no rain forecasted for this week). to finish up i did have to use water from faucet, only to get at a few hard to reach places. the melon seeds i planted on wednesday had already germinated: 3 in one mound, 1 in another. must've been all this hot weather because it didn't take long for them to sprout, just 5 days. i'm still waiting for the shasta daisies buds to open up (any day now, there are already a few ready to go).
after a shower, i felt tired and took a nap in my parents' bedroom around 4:30. it was warm but not too bad, with a gentle breeze coming through the open windows. i woke up an hour later to get ready for dinner.
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LJ was cooking dinner when i got back home. "do you think i can use sour cream as a salad dressing?" she inquired. i asked if she went out today. "yes, i went to the office." i asked if she had to work on weekends, she said she didn't do much this past week and needed to catch up.