while taking a shower, my mother called me, asking when i'd get to belmont, because she wanted to revisit the grand opening of the fresh pond ac moore to take advantage of a $10 off coupon for the first 100 customers. i left via bicycle but it took longer than usual due to the strong headwinds which made me feeling i wasn't even moving. the sky was a crystal clear blue, not a single cloud, i was excited about the potential solar output for today. at manassas and huron i spotted a cooper's hawk resting on a branch about 3m away from me. would've made for a great photo except i did pack my 18-200mm lens.
we left for fresh pond soon after i arrived around noontime. there were a lot of customers. all the shelves were well-stocked, but the aisles were a little narrow compared to other ac moores. my mother picked a basket full of yarn, but when we went to go pay, the $10 off coupon was no longer valid as the store already had more than 100 customers (my 2nd aunt came early this morning before 9am and she was able to use her coupon; had we known, we could've waited until tomorrow to use a 15% off everything coupon, or gotten a $10 off coupon from the grand opening promotion happening at the back of the store). even the 60% off one item coupon didn't work because all the yarn were also on sale.
i ate a portuguese custard tart for lunch as well as a bowl of bland chinese pearl barley (aka job's tears; needed something sweet like dried dates or longan) with adzuki beans. i played some recent captures for my mother, including episode 2 of i am the night, robin hood, and the girl in the spider's web.
the solar production for the day was 37.15 kWh, higher than i expected (i was thinking 35kWh). in comparison to last february, we only broke 35+kWh 3 times total: the 3rd (35.22kWh), the 17th (35.23kWh), and the 27th (39.12kWh). one thing i noticed is that last year, around 3:45pm, there's usually a production uptick. i'm not seeing it this year, so i'm thinking maybe some trees filled in so there's no longer that sunlight window.
we had dinner early, by 4:20pm, because my mother figured i could then return home early before it got too cold. we had meigancai with pork and stir-fried eggplants. i left by 5:30pm, listening to the distressing creaks of my bike gears (salted over, needs some TLC, at the very least some oil).
i got back home by 5:50pm. sandy was in the kitchen making dinner, frying some squid pancakes, videochatting with kelvin. the house was filled with a fishy fried smell but i didn't say anything, i just went into the bathroom to take a shower. afterwards she returned to the living room with a bowl of sliced asian pears. she spent the rest of the evening sniffling from a runny nose with no desire to blow it, maybe it's an english thing. at one point i ran across the street quickly to get some snacks from star market. later in the evening - hungry from eating so early - i had myself some korean instant cup of noodles.