i ended up doing none of those things. ana was already gone by the time i got out of bed. she's disappeared on a few mornings, doesn't tell me where she goes, i don't ask either and don't really care besides a mild curiosity. after a shower, i did a load of laundry and prepared to go out for some groceries. ana came home around 11:30am right when i was about to leave.
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taking my usual shortcut through properzi way, i saw the open house sign for the new condos built on the former barrel factory land. curious, i stopped to check it out. 6 units total, each one selling for about a million, with 1-2 parking spaces per unit. one of two penthouse units was already under agreement, but the other one was still open and i got a chance to check it out. it's got an amazing kitchen with a 6 burner gas range and an island range hood.
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exploring further upstairs revealed a hardwood deck with an expansive panoramic view of somerville, cambridge, and boston. the only caveat is the condo sits right behind the commuter rail, and has an ugly view of some graffiti walls which constantly reminds you that it's not the best of neighborhoods. for a million dollars, there might be better options out there that are still in the area.
back from market basket, i noticed the large crowd of people in front of ed's house. that made me remember something one of the properzi real estate agents had told me: that the house ed lives in was being sold for 1.9 million dollars, which includes all 4 units. curious again, i went to go take a look. there wasn't an open house, but simply a for sale sign, but that was enough to attract all sorts of prospective buyers. i must've looked out of place in my baggy jeans and t-shirt, and one look was enough for them to know i couldn't afford the property. i haven't chatted with ed in a while, wonder how he feels about being forced out of his childhood home. he's practically a local institution and for better or worse, the neighborhood won't be the same without his townie charms.
ana was taking a shower when i got back home. all her showers are long, as well as being noisy, as she blared rihanna from her iphone. during the time she was in the bathroom, i managed to make and eat breakfast (although really lunch by this point). after she finished, i took her i was going out and wouldn't be back until the evening. i'm considerate like that.
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i stopped by the cafe to drop off some bean sprouts and a head of lettuce for my mother. earlier my father and sister were cleaning up after my great uncle had an incontinence accident all over his bedroom and bathroom. my father had already went home, my mother was still at the cafe until her shift ended at 2:30p.
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arriving in belmont, i helped my father figure out the wooden braces situation for our awning. i suggested we anchor the rear awning bracket first, then mount the awning manually by holding it in place to see whether or not the two wooden braces he'd already made were of the right length and location. that was the only way to accurating access them. even without nailing them to the house, the braces held in place from the weight of the awning. we found out right away that they needed to be at least half an inch higher than their current location. so my father cut off an additional half inch notch on each pieces. now they need to be painted over before we install them. at this rate, the awning will probably go up either saturday or monday.
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i also did some garden maintenance, chopping all the western side iris leaves down to the ground. the foxgloves are doing exceptionally well, considering i just sort of haphazardly planted them from a clump of seedlings in late spring that i thought were going to die. they seem to be resistant to any insect or critter attacks, and grow perfectly well even in shady conditions. they are biennial, so next year is when they'll flower. i read the best time to transplant them is in the fall, so i'll do that when i get the chance, move some to the western perennial bed, and some to the perennial bed behind the garage. they should've never been planted in any of the raised beds.
finally, we ended the work day by reinstalling the gutter downspouts. my father had already put back the two spouts by the garage, but there were still 5 downspouts through the perimeter of the rest of the house. at one point, while moving a ladder, my father forgot he left a power drill on the platform and the tool fell off and hit him on top of the head. fortunately it was the flat end (and not the pointy end).
besides installing the new awning, there are still some things to do around the house: clear out the garage (currently filled with painting tools and supplies), rake the leaves (they've been dropping heavily in recent days), clean the gutters, and repair rb3 (corner posts eaten away by termites, side of box falling apart).
i bought home a jar of store-bought kimchi, which inspired my mother to make fried rice for dinner tonight. i can make korean kimchi myself, 
but with a roommate living at my place, the kimchi smell would be too unforgiving so i won't make it until late december, when i'm finally roommate-free. my mother received a call from my aunt to say that my grand uncle had another accident. after finishing eating, my father left to go clean up the mess.
ana wasn't back when i got home, only to return around 10:30pm. for snacks, i finished some leftover vanilla bean haagen-dazs ice cream and a honeycrisp apple. i watched a bit of the browns-bengals game before switching over to a bootleg download of ant-man.
in recent days i've developed some eczema in the crook of my right elbow. i've been applying some moisturizer but i think the problem isn't due to how dry it was, but actually by how wet. so tonight i'm trying some gold bond powder, hopefully it'll do a better job.