i woke up this morning around 7:40am to use the bathroom. karen's bedroom door was open so it didn't seem like she was home but her key was still in the door so i assumed she was in the bathroom. but hearing nothing from inside i went back to my room to put on my glasses and saw from her feet that she was just sitting in bed reading. after relieving myself i went back to bed. i knew she was leaving this morning and waited until she left to fully get up. i heard the sounds of spoon clinking in a mug (making coffee) and emptying the sink strainer into the trash. around 9am i made out the sound of the front door closing but i didn't get up until 10am.

i left a bunch of seedlings out on the backyard porch last night, as the temperature wouldn't dip below 60°F. this morning they got a full dose of sunshine and warmth, as the temperature rose to 84°F, a degree shy of the 1974 record high. i watered a few that looked thirsty and put them back into their boxes.

my mother called me at 11am asking when i'd be in belmont. they finally caught another mouse last night. i thought she meant the sticky traps we set up in one of the drawers that a mouse has been using as a rest stop, and was surprised when she asked me if i wanted to see it. i said no, told her to throw it away. but finally i realized she meant the electronic mousetrap which they set up just night and already it managed to capture a mouse. that was something i wanted to see so i arrived at my parents' place by noontime. they were outside, my mother raking the lawn, my father decluttering the garage.

they moved the trap outside, an inconspicuous black box about the size of an old-school walkman. but from opening was the tip of a mouse tail. i opened the cover to see the dead mouse inside. it electrocuted itself the moment it touched two metal plates. it seemed so peaceful, like it was just in suspended animation. later i showed my sister a photo of the dead mouse and she said it looked like a gerbil. having raised gerbils when we were kids, we have a special affinity for small rodents. it was kind of sad seeing the dead mouse. my mother has already been storing foods in plastic or metal containers, but these mice are resourceful and can survive off of crumbs left behind from daily kitchen activity.

compared to other traps (glue, snap), this is the most humane besides a live capture trap. death is instantaneous, thereby minimizing any suffering. and clean up is easy, just dump out the mouse. it didn't even eat the peanut butter bait inside, although my father said they'd put a little tiny drop by the entrance and that was gone. the trap is pretty ingenious, from the way the mouse has to contort it's body to reach the bait. the bait itself is placed in such an area with small holes on the enclosure so the mouse can actually smell it from the outside.

hopefully they can catch a few more mice, or until there are no more signs of them in the kitchen. as for the sticky traps, other than that one mouse that was caught the first day they laid out the traps, they haven't caught another one since. not even the drawer that has 6 sticky traps inside seem to be working anymore, like the mice somehow get wise of the situation. actually, a few days ago it seemed that a mouse did get in the drawer, because there was a small area on the sticky trap that looked like it caught part of a tail. from that point on it never returned to the drawer.

i had rice porridge for lunch, with some homemade kimchi and store-bought gluten. it was my first time trying the kimchi i made last week, and it tasty very good. very pungent, opening the jar was like opening a room filled with carbon dioxide exhale, along with the natural smell of fermentation. my mother said my kimchi is remarkably dry compared to store-bought kimchi; that's not my design, my kimchi is simply drier because during the 3-day outside fermentation usually a lot of the kimchi juice ends up leaking out of the jar. if i could prevent that i would, but it's also how i know the kimchi is ready, when the gases begin to push out the liquids. the kimchi had a very nice fizziness from the carbonation, like eating selterfied food. it had the perfect blend of salty, sweet, spicy, sour, and savory. i think i have perfected a kimchi recipe!

later my father and i were outside doing some yard work. he mowed the backyard lawn, while i went around digging up dandelions and picking up stray branches he pruned off from the maple tree. i also started removing the dead leaf cover on the raised beds, so we can begin planting. i had a thought to just leave it there and dig the dead leaves into the soil, but i was afraid of making the dirt too acidic for planting. while uncovering raised bed 1, i noticed an itch on my wrists. i wasn't paying attention but by the time i looked down, my gloved hands were covering in tiny ants. i'd accidentally uncovered an ant's nest. they didn't seem to be biting, but i didn't take any chances, and brushed them off my hands. later i felt a tiny burning sensation, could've possibly been psychosomatic, or maybe the ants sprayed me with mild formic acid.

i felt bad uncovering the ant nest, as i have no qualm with ants. they provide a valuable service in the backyard, including distributing seeds. maybe they can stay but i wonder if they will eat the tiny seeds i plan on planting in that raised bed?

after dinner i biked home in the fuji. it wasn't dark enough yet so i didn't turn on the lights. karen wasn't home but there were signs she'd been there earlier, like picking up the mail. i went into the backyard and brought all my plants inside, as the weather forecast tomorrow is temperature in the 50's. in fact, overnight temperature will drop into the 40's.

karen finally came back around 11pm. she said they went to manchester NH this morning, as part of a contingent of mexican services, including a mobile consulate, and health resources. she was surprised to see so many mexicans in new hampshire. later she and paula hung up with some of paula's old friends.

i order a new ipad (in gold) from bhphoto for my mother. i was going to help her order it in the afternoon, but the website was down. i knew bhphoto was often closed to observe jewish holidays, but to not be able to order anything from their website on a saturday? that's when it finally dawned on me after all these years: the store must be runned by orthodox jews, who not only close on shabbat (sundown friday to saturday) but disable their website as well. it's kind of interesting the reason why they do it, however inconvenient it may be. i was however able to order again at 9:15pm.

there's a lot of good shows currently on the air. here's is my weekly tv schedule: sunday american gods (starz) monday better call saul (amc) tuesday the americans (fx) wednesday fargo (fx) wednesday handmaid's tale (hulu) thursday life in pieces (cbs)