temperature was in the 60's this morning, warm enough to just go out in a shirt with rolled up sleeves. i set up a single strip led on my topmost grow closet shelf so it was illuminate 3 transplanted vegetables (2 ground cherries, 1 purple serrano pepper). i also moved the two trays of seeds i started last night into the kitchen, along with the heat mat. if memory serves me correctly, they should start germinating (with heating assistance) in about 5 days time, though the bitter melons do take a bit longer.

there was a quick burst of business around noontime that got pretty crazy: 4 orders happening simultaneously, some to-go, some eat-in. my father just happened to go to the bank around that time, so it was just my sister taking the orders, but she wasn't communicating clearly and i was lost as to just how many things needed to be made. fortunately my father came back in the nick of time and the 3 of us were able to fulfill all the orders. after that it didn't get too busy, more manageable at least.

my godmother stopped by to give me the money for the shoes i helped her order online. she also dropped off some garlic chive egg pancakes and was supposed to take some bread yeast with her but ended up leaving without it. soon after that my aunt and matthew came by, arriving separately. my aunt fixed herself a horchata while they ordered a bento box to go.

i had somewhat of a lunch, ate some of the garlic chive egg pancakes, then had a frankenstein sandwich that i pulled together from spare ingredients: toasted whole wheat bread, braised beef, some leftover pickled mustard green, some cilantro stems destined for the compost bin.

we work the cafe on the weekdays and then on the weekends its supply runs. i started making a list of things we needed, especially items i need to get from chinatown when i make a trip late tomorrow morning while my father's at the cafe helping out my sister and her godmother.

i ended up leaving around 4pm. i went into the alleyway to pump up my bike tires for tomorrow's ride into boston and to secure the rear baskets with a new strand of wire. that's where i bumped into my upstairs neighbors, jeff and michelle. jeff's contract here in greater boston is only for a year apparently, and originally he was just going to commute back and forth between san francisco and boston, but decided it'd be easier and more fun to simply find a place to stay. they've actually been here since winter (december), living out of long-term airbnb rentals, first in beacon hill, then in central square, and now the agassiz neighborhood. jeff's been here before on business but has never lived in the northeast, while michelle grew up in jersey and went to school in western MA. they seem like nice folks, michelle even said they'd invite me upstairs for drinks one of these days.

i did 3 loads of laundry: my record shows the last time i did laundry was back in march, but i think i did a load sometime in april that i never bothered to record. in any case, i had a lot to wash. one load wasn't enough, the second load included bedsheets and towels, and the third load was a medium-sized collection of cold water garments like sweaters and other wool-based articles. of my sweaters i dried them on the collapsible polder rack i pulled out of my closet.

while laundry was going on, i also set up the spicy shelf under sink organizer (as seen on tv!). i realized i wasn't able to fit it how i wanted under the kitchen sink because of the various plumbing, so i could only have the shelf on the side under the sink that was plumbing free. the plastic shelving itself seems a bit flimsy, but gets the job done nonetheless.

my father called me, said he spoke with my mother. he said both my mother and my big aunt have tested negative for covid (so far, with home tests), but my 2nd aunt is still positive for coronavirus. their pre-flight PCR appointment is on monday (sunday night US time), if she's still positive, she'll need to reschedule her return flight back, while (hopefully) my mother will test negative and be able to come home on tuesday.

for dinner i was going to have more ramen but i realized i didn't have any eggs in the house. i did however have some leftover braised beef my father gave me, so i substituted that instead of an egg, and cooked up a bag of chongqing instant noodles that i had in the house.