today was a nice spring day, sun in the sky, temperature in the lower 40's, snow continuing to melt, and here and there spring signs. the stretch of perennial flowerbeds on the western side of my parents' house lit up with yellow-white-orange-purple of crocuses. there seems to be more this year than in the past, maybe because nothing was left standing after this winter. i fear for the crocuses because rabbits have been known to eat them, which reminds me: i want to seal up the perimeter of the backyard with wire mesh to keep those pesky rabbits out.

my mother and i watched outlander while eating lunch, on this starz preview weekend. i tried to get her to watch it a few months ago, but she thought the first episode was so boring, she never bothered to finish it. this time however we began with episode 5 "rent" where there's more action. i was also happy to learn that the series returns next saturday, with weekly broadcast of the remaining 8 episodes of the first season.

hailey was at home. when my sister returned from a nanny service interview, she took the dog out for a nature walk. she also took my iphone so afterwards so could visit a verizon office and switch over my phone number.

we went to the waltham ocean state job lot in the afternoon. i'm always looking to score some plant seeds on sale (burpee 50% off). i also came away with a set of covered planters with the hopes of planting the rest of those columbine seeds (they need to live outside in order to be subjected to cold stratification). my mother got a comforter for my grand uncle and an electric kettle for my 2nd aunt, to replace the one that broke and to prevent them from burning down the house by using the stove to boil their water.¹ afterwards we browsed the rite aid next door where my mother bought some fish oil and vitamin C on sale (2 for 1) for some taiwanese relatives. we then drove to the nearby stop & shop. it's been ages since i've been in a stop & shop supermarket. the last one i can remember was the one i alewife before it became a bread & circus and now whole foods. the place was pretty big but there wasn't a lot of people, even on a sunday, which actually makes for a better supermarket experience. i'm just used to going to the somerville market basket and that place is always crowded.

we got back close to 5:00, the newly updated iphone on the dining table. somehow i was not excited to receive it.

i can't wait for the city to begin street sweeping next month because the road conditions are terrible for cycling. pot holes are one danger, but most of them have been filled up (as a temporary fix before they can repave the roads). the other danger are all the bits of gravel and branches and other debris on the bike lane. i actually prefer riding in the middle of the street because that's where there's the least amount of debris is. i ran into ed walking back from star market in the dark. he said he started riding his scooter 3 weeks ago.

what's new in the closet growhouse: eggplant seedlings have emerged! they weren't there yesterday, but almost like they were on a clock, 7 of the 8 eggplants have sprouted. this is my first season growing eggplants from seeds, i've never seen their seedlings before, like a forked tendril with a vein running down each embryonic leaf.

¹ the last time my father and i were in my 2nd aunt's apartment fixing their cable tv, we saw my 2nd uncle boiling a kettle of water on the gas stove while he was in the bathroom. large flames were shooting out and at first we thought the kettle was leaking, but turns out he'd overfilled it and water was simply pouring out. they had an electric kettle before (which i got for them) but they used it so much that it broke. hopefully this new electric kettle will keep them safer.