after we finished watching the england-panama game (6-1, at least panama scored a goal to save face even though they were eliminated from advancing into the final 16), GC and i went to market basket. i dug out the trek mountain bike from the basement, it functioned remarkably well even though nobody's riden it for over a year. the only thing that had to be done was inflate the tires a bit. since there was no food in the fridge, GC bought a lot of stuff, even switching to a cart at one point. i warned him to keep in mind my rear bike baskets can only hold so much. half his purchase were seafood (salmon, shrimps, mussels), which brought back all the terrible kitchen smell memories (fortunately i have a large supply of scented candles and incense). returning home, we ended up having to empty a shopping bag worth of groceries into a basket and have GC carry some on his bike while i hauled the rest back. we also went to star market to stock up on some cherries ($2.50/lbs. sale only this weekend).

i put the tv on the japan-senegal game before i left. because of the torrential downpour forecast for this evening, i was going to take the bus to belmont, but my sister was able to give me a ride instead.

arriving in belmont, we ended up going to the everett costco in my sister's car because she hadn't gone in a while. it wasn't that busy today (though still busier than a weekday afternoon), maybe a lot of people were out doing summertime activities. we ate costco hot dogs afterwards, i split with one with my mother even though i hadn't eaten yet today. afterwards we went to restaurant depot, but it was closed already by the time we got there, they're only opened until 2pm on sundays. we took route 16 back to belmont.

my father had already hung up the ikea solar outdoor lanterns, and found 2 other ones that were lying around the house that i didn't know about. he was also reducing the large pile of bamboo poles stacked up against the sunroom, cutting them down to small lengths and throwing out the ones too cracked to be useful. he put a cup ring around the sourwood: apparently rabbits had nibbled away all the tender new leaves emerging on the lower trunk, to the point where there was almost nothing left. the same thing happened to the kwanzan cherry, although for that particular tree we were going to trim off the lower leaves anyway so the rabbits did us a natural favor.

my parents bought a shiatsu neck massager after trying out some demonstration units at costco. i'd known about these for years, they sell for $40-60 on amazon, and my mother had been clamoring to get one. the one that they bought - truMedic brand - costs $100, with or without heat, cordless (can run on a battery for at least 2 hours), and has 3 speed/intensity setting. after it finished recharging, my mother tried it out. she likes it set to medium intensity. when operating, the massager looks like a pulsating glowing alien on my mother's back.

in order to beat the approaching stormfront, we barbecued some st.louis ribs for dinner in the late afternoon a little after 4pm. we also grilled 2 bundles of asparagus sprinkled with sea salt and garlic powder. i ended up eating 5 sticks of ribs, and somehow felt i could eat even more.

my father gave me a ride back to cambridge around 7pm just when the heavy rain began to fall. it was a nice ride in the car, but if you were stuck in the downpour on a bike or a motorcycle, or even walking, it would not be a happy event.

the house smelled of seafood cooking, but it wasn't bad, and GC - having stayed here before - knew i liked have the kitchen window and door open to ventilate out the odor. i had the foresight to close my bedroom door before i left. i tried some of the ningbo green tea he gave me; it was okay, but i prefer slightly stronger darker teas.

surfing netflix for shows to watch, i introduced GC to the expanse on amazon streaming. he ended up watching 2 episodes before preparing for bed around 10pm, giving me the rest of the evening to do my own thing.