trying to knock a few more items off of this week's todo list, i removed all the old vegetables from my sichuan paocai jar and replaced it with fresh vegetables: chinese cabbage, carrots, daikon radish, sichuan peppercorn, thai chili peppers, and a dash of baijiu. i made 9 cups of brine last night but after i put in the new ingredients the paocai jar was nearly full, and i only ended up using 1-1/2 cups of brine to completely submerge the vegetables.

this was a commotion at the end of my street, as i watched a group of somerville fire fighters and police congregating. i saw my neighbor neal go checking it out. when he came back, i opened the window and asked him what was going on. apparently there was a suspicious package scare and the bomb squad was investigating. i immediately knew what it was: when i went late last night to tag a pokestop, i saw a suitcase in the middle of the sidewalk. it struck me as suspicious at first, but i figured maybe it was just leftover trash that the garbage truck didn't claim that day, and because the suitcase had wheels, it naturally rolled into the sidewalk. but apparently there were neighbors who didn't think it was all that innocent and called the police. later when i looked again they were all gone, false alarm as expected.

the governor this morning announced the remaining rollout schedule for vaccination. all residents over the age of 16 can start receiving the vaccine april 19th. that's about 2 weeks ahead of biden's recent announcement that all americans will be eligible for vaccination no later than may 1st. there's not much i can do but wait for them to contact me about appointments - either the state distribution or through my hospital MGH. i could also try securing a vaccine through a pharmacy (which gets their supplies from the federal government) but i don't need that level of stress.

in the early afternoon i cooked a package of bacon outside on the backyard deck with the electric smokeless foreman grill. it took about an hour grilling at 375°F in 3 batches, about 20 minutes per batch. while the bacon was cooking, i got the step ladder from the basement and relocated my outdoor weather station sensor to a spot that was more protected and not exposed to the elements. i only ate a few pieces of bacon, saving the rest for the leftover vegetable soup i made last night.

i adjusted the rear bike brakes. i started be removing the righthand brake lever so i could can the post. the rubber brake pad itself had been worn down completely and i replaced it with a new pad. i used the existing spacers instead of the new ones. i then installed the lever back onto the bike, mounting it in the same tension hole as the lefthand lever (top hole, highest tension). i then held the brake levers together and tightened the brake cable. it was a nice warm day, while i was outside i cleaned the dirt off the bike frame with a rag doused with WD40. i also wiped clean the chain and applied fresh oil. basically i gave my trek utility the poor man tune-up. the next thing i do for it is to replace the crankset. i'd replaced it on my old bianchi bike but i believe the crankset on the trek utility is still the original. i'll need to make sure i have the correct tools to remove it.

bike repair took about an hour. my original plan was to ride down to belmont to grab the cafeteria trays i use as a base for my seed pots, but it was nearly 4pm, so i figured i'd do that tomorrow. instead i took a short trip to star market to grab some cabbage on sale, 7¢/lbs (i bought 2 heads, 52¢ total). every year i make sauerkraut, and every year i throw out sauerkraut after leaving it uneaten in the fridge. i'm trying to think of what else i can make with all that cabbage. korean kimchi can be made with regular cabbage (called green cabbage), i might try that (instead of the usual napa cabbage). or i could make coleslaw.

i only had an almond milk matcha latte for lunch and some sichuan paocai for lunch. i snacked on some danish blue cheese with water crackers. when evening came around (6pm even though it was still light outside), i participated in two pokemon raids, capturing a pair of thundurus.

for dinner i reheated a bowl of vegetable soup. i added some bacon this time, but in the future i think i should wait for the soup to heat before adding the bacon, otherwise it loses its crunchiness and kind of disappears in the soup. it was okay but i'm already sick of this soup. it's edible but not that delicious, the kind of food you have to yet versus want to eat.