it's only day 2 of the election vote count but it already feels like it's been many more days. one good thing about the indecision is it's making me wake up early just so i can check the results. today there was no change in the undecided states, they're still undecided: nevada and arizona in biden's column, pennsylvania, north carolina, and georgia in trump's column. only difference is trump's lead in PA and GA were getting increasingly smaller. although it's taking a long time, every time we get another update in counts, biden inches a little bit closer.

operatives in the know predict that biden will overtake trump in pennsylvania around 4-5am, and will eventually win that state. georgia is even closer, as of tonight less than 2000 votes separate the two candidates. there's a good chance biden will win georgia as well. showing signs of desperation, trump finally came out of hiding and went on a rant on the press briefing room, questioning the legitimacy of the democratic process. all the major networks pulled away after they realized what was happening, informed viewers what trump was saying wasn't true.

i was surprised when i looked at my weather station and saw the weather outside was warmer than it was inside. i opened a few windows to let in some fresh air. it is november after all, it's a rare treat to have temperature in the lower 70's. for lunch i made some scrambled eggs and cooked some kielbasa sausages on the smokeless grill. ever since i got the smokeless foreman, i seem to be using it everyday. the novelty of it hasn't worn off yet.

in the early afternoon i took the motorcycle to the cafe. i was there to see this billboard that my father discovered yesterday that featured a photo of my sister and mother in a advertising campaign for small local businesses. my mother took me, we ended up walking, just a short distance from the cafe.

my mother knew the neighborhood well from her frequent walks, and showed me a garden that features some cactuses. i always thought cactuses couldn't survive here in new england, but i have seen cactuses outside, always thought they were decorative, placed there temporarily, no way would they survive the winter. but i did some research and was surprised to find that there's actually a native new england cactus, the eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa). found in sandy sunny soil (like in sand dunes), the fruits are edible but not very sweet unlike some other prickly pear varieties.

i went to the watertown home depot afterwards to pick up an order of half a dozen corningware plates in winter frost white ($14). what should've been a routine visit ended up taking a long time because they put my order in the wrong bin and couldn't find it. i tied the box to the back of my motorcycle as i returned home. when i opened up the box i realized i made a mistake: these are lunch plates, which are only 8.5" wide. what i wanted was bigger dinner plates instead. i'm going to see if my mother wants them, i got too good a deal to return them although that's always an option.

for dinner i made a big pot of pasta meat sauce, with ground beef, a jar of tomato sauce, and a can of tomato puree. i've made enough to last me into next week. i ended up boiling 1-1/2 cup of barilla cellentani pasta, served with some shredded parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper. it was a hearty meal, although when the weather gets this warm, it better to eat something cooler, like a salad or a sandwich.