i saw it yesterday and knew i had to get a skein for my mother: patons' new metallic yarn, a blend of nylon, acrylic, and surprisingly wool. i got one in lavender ($5.99 but half off with 50% coupon; although i really liked the metallic green, like beetle shells). it's so new that there's no mention of it yet on the patons website.

i went to belmont to do some more gardening on another warm day, with temperature in the 70's. my mother was at home knitting in the naturally heated sunroom, still recuperating from her recent surgery.

i started with some simple pruning of the piles of branches. learning from yesterday's mistake, i didn't press down with my left arm, but instead used my body as a brace and used only my right hand with the lopper. the hand-held pruner i could use with either hand, but i preferred my right hand (even though normally i'd use my left). i managed to collect a whole trash bin of branches before i stopped.

i wanted to plant some early season seeds (peas, lettuce, kale) but needed to first enrich the dirt in the raised beds. the compost in our backyard bin is at least a year old. it's medium quality compost at best since i didn't have a good blend of brown to green ingredients and didn't turn it often enough. but even medium quality compost is better than nothing, and of course it'll continue to decompose, slowly releasing natural fertilizer and amendments to the soil. it's kind of slow work since i don't have full mobility in my left arm, so i could only dig out the compost with my hands (instead of using a shovel to load it into buckets). i used a tool called a culti-hoe to mix in the compost with the soil. i worked in 3 buckets full before i decided to call it a day, give my arm a rest.

i made it back home by 4:00. everything was going great until i slowed down to park my bike and i hit a peddle. the bike wobbled and i instinctively shot out my left hand to grab the handlebar, which hurt my shoulder again. s

around 6:00 i saw something special: the google car! i saw it drive down harris street but i was too late with the camera. i was tempted to follow it so i could get myself on camera, but before i could decide, it must've done a u-turn to continue down eustis street. i pulled up the blinds to take some photos (unfortunately with the wrong white balance), there wasn't time for me to go outside, but maybe when they update the street view i can see myself in the window. the last time they updated was fall 2009, so it's been almost 4 years.

some oatmeal for lunch, some canned baked beans for dinner. i wanted to make a grocery run today but couldn't decide what i wanted to make, and since i still had enough food in the house to last a few more days, i decided not to go.