all that snow that fell yesterday was now all melting away today, as everything turned into slush and emptied into the storm drains like urban waterfalls. i went out briefly to bring in the trash but also to scrape off some stubborn slush clumps stuck on the sidewalk.
a quiet afternoon turned noisy when sandy once again started videochatting with kelvin at 3pm. i moved to the dining table to get some peace and quiet. i took the leftover gruyere from the fridge and had some cheese and crackers for a snack.
i've been meaning to update the cafe website and finally got around to installing word press (5.0.3) using the sevill theme (1.0.5). i spent some time playing around with the different options, figuring out if this is a good theme or should i try a different one (like delizus or norebro).
in the late afternoon i did a long overdue thorough cleaning of the aquarium. i've noticed some slime algae and hair algae and green spots of algae coating the glass. i removed the filter and replaced the activated charcoal. i removed the driftwood with the java ferns and soaked them in a bowl in the sink to better see the algae before cleaning them off with my fingers. the glass algae were especially stubborn, and i was afraid i'd crack the glass by how hard i was scouring with the algae scrubber. finally i did a partial water change and feed the neon tetras with some new fish food.
in the early evening, after finishing chatting with kelvin, sandy came into the kitchen to make dinner. i retreated back into the living room. that's when i heard her chatting with kelvin again around 5:30pm. she didn't finally stop chatting until 7pm, after she finished dinner and came back into the living room. in total, i'd say she was with her boyfriend for nearly 6 hours today. even though kelvin went back to england, i still feel like he's living here with the amount of time i've seen him on videochat.
sandy made some red roasted sweet and sour spareribs with some of the black vinegar i bought the last time i was in chinatown. i tried a piece, it tasted good, very cantonese-style flavor.
as for me, i defrosted some chicken breasts earlier and butter pan-fried two pieces of panko-breaded chicken to make sandwiches. the "cutlets" were too thick and i ended up having to split them into smaller pieces in order to properly cook the centers. it tasted great though, i ate one cutlet while saving the other one for tomorrow night.
since sandy does some rock climbing, i played the documentary free solo about the first and only successful free solo climb of el capitan by alex honnold. it's a very interesting documentary that delves into the psychology of a person who would attempt to climb a mountain without using any safety lines. what was also fascinating was his relationship with his girlfriend, who has to put up with his adventures not knowing if the next one isn't the one that kills him.