i stopped at the cafe around noontime to defrost the freezer. it'd only been 2 days but there was already a substantial build-up of ice. it took 2 timer cycles to fully melt everything, and that was just what i could see. i asked my 2nd aunt about her fitness tracking, she's finally began sleeping with the mi band so we had some sleep data. her amount of deep sleep is pretty high, 38%. afterwards i continued on my way to belmont. once again i was relieved to find no dead mouse in the house. maybe the rodent horde is finally over, and they've since moved elsewhere as there's nothing to eat or drink in the kitchen.

i was in belmont to do some cleaning, at the very least vacuum the house and open a few windows as temperature hit the lower 60's on a sunny day. before i did that though, i drove the car to the watertown marshalls to look for a new umbrella. i searched for a long time, comparing the different models. i really liked a totes umbrella with some nice blue paisley-esque pattern, but the handle was just too short. i finally settled on a black weatherproof brand umbrella (weird company name), just the right length, very light, and a good handle. when i came back to the home my sister dropped off hailey briefly. she came back after i finished vacuuming and i left a bit after 4pm.

just as i thought, we hit another production record today at 46.54 kWh, about a kWh more than the last record just 5 days ago, finishing the month of march on a high note.

in the late afternoon i walked to the supermarket to get some asparagus on sale and a head of garlic. for dinner i made my instant white cheddar cheese shells with kale and roasted asparagus. does this constitute a vegetarian meal even though it has cheese in it?

i took a bath in the evening, i've been getting all sorts of dry skin nicks and cuts that my body needed a soaking to regain lost moisture. afterwards i plunged the bathtub drain, i noticed it's been slow to flow recently. one of these days, i should go into the basement and clear the drainage pipe, there must be at least a few decades' worth of build that could use a good cleaning. that's part of my wider plumbing project, which also includes replacing all the rusted spigots and clearing the hot water inflow pipe for the bathroom and kitchen sink because the hot water pressure is very low at those two locations.

another key component of an indoor grow closet is a fan. i've only started adding this recently. seedlings grown without exposure to good circulation develop weak stems. those that have a fan blowing on them produce sturdier stems.

comparing my two new umbrellas: the ace teah umbrella i got from amazon.com was $12.99 and has a diameter of 46 inches. it has auto open and close, and the fabric is teflon treated with a safety reflective strip along the edges. the umbrella also closes in such a way that the folds don't collect water. the weatherproof umbrella was $9.99 and has a diameter of 42 inches. it's also auto open and close, no special treatment on the fabric. the ace teah weighs 470g (1.04 lbs.), while the weatherproof weighs 350g (0.77 lbs.). compared that with my miniso umbrella which weight 287g (0.63 lbs.) and my japanese umbrella 284g (0.63 lbs.). maybe one reason why the ace teah is so heavy is because it has 10 ribs instead of the standard 8 ribs (like on the weatherproof). but part of the ace teah ribbings is attached to the fabric with flimsy string that will break at some point.