i removed the blue tape from the french door this morning then spent some time washing the windows. i also installed some insulating foam around the edges of the door to seal the gaps. it fit perfectly underneath the door (without rubbing up against the bottom), but when i looked from the inside i could see tiny gaps, so i'll still need the door snake to keep the cold out. with that my door coating project is over. i might want to remove the screen door for the winter, to allow more light into my kitchen; i've realized when the screen is there, it blocks some of the sunlight. besides, the screen needs to be replaced, it was ripped by careless contractors who walked through the door when i first got the place and i never fixed it.

for lunch i finished the rest of the calamari salad along with the last of my homemade half sour pickle. i left before 1pm for chinatown then haymarket. today seems to be the last 70's degrees day we'll have for the year, so i wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. my shimano indexed shifters arrived from aliexpress. they didn't come with the cable housing, but i might have some spare ones. before i left, i noticed my front tire was flat again. it will run okay after i pump it up, but after a few days it'll go flat again. i'll need to remove the tire at some point and check the inner tube for holes. it made me nervous enough to bring a manual hand pump in case i got a flat.

i got to ming's market by 1:20pm. they had everything my mother wanted (deer brand suancai, daikon radish, tea egg spice packets) except disposable chopsticks and takuan (japanese yellow pickled radish, they did have it but it was unusually expensive). i went to c-mart to see if they had any of my missing items. i found cheaper takuan, but no luck on the chopsticks. i also bought some watermelon seeds and saury fish snacks.

i left chinatown by 2pm and made my way to haymarket, getting there in about 15 minutes. a lot of vendors had baby cucumbers, and boxes of mangoes were selling for $4 each. i got some cara cara oranges (6 for $2), assortment of plums ($5), 2 bunches of leek ($1), scallions ($1), and cilantro ($1).

i left by 2:30pm. i was worried about my rear bike baskets, the left side held in place by wires that were starting to come loose. every time i went over a bump, i was afraid the baskets would fall off the bike. i rode slow, and it took me 40 minutes to get from boston to the cafe. only when i stopped did i realized just how flimsy the baskets were attached to the bike: not only was the wire loose, but the bolt securing the top of the baskets to the bike frame had sheared off. i need to get this fixed before i can use the bike again.

my 2nd aunt and godmother were both at the cafe. they tried the plums and the saury snacks. my mother scolded me for not getting cucumbers, after scolding me last week for getting too much. my father showed me the progress he's been making in the basement, making room for the new upright freezer arriving next wednesday, relocating the ice machine and some metal shelves.

i left the cafe close to 4pm, my mother packing me a bento box of leftovers. i bumped into david, who told me he found a new place, in somerville just off of beacon street.

i had dinner while watching the ALDS game. the red sox were in a rut both offensively and defensively in the worst possible time, in a must-win game that they ended up losing 0-5. i switched channels after the 8th inning, when the astros hit a 3-run homer. i watched the baseball game instead of basketball, which turned out to be a worst game, the celtics losing to the raptors at home 115-83.

i finally went ahead and ordered a new 6-shelf wire shelving unit ($50), like the one i currently have in the kitchen. i bought that one back in december 2017, it was $40 but there was a $20 promotional coupon and i paid just $20 for it; the one i have now i'm paying 2.5x as much. they're exactly the same, except this one doesn't have hooks, but instead it comes with shelf liners, which i think is more useful. i'm getting the shelving unit to use as a plant stand. i was also considering a bamboo plant stand, but in the end i went with the wire shelving unit because it had more flexibility in terms of adjusting the shelves. also if i ever decide to make an ikea FABRIKÖR green house, i can use the shelving unit for something else, whereas a bamboo plant stand only has one purpose. i sent it to belmont because it's due to arrive on monday but i'll be at my parents' and it's going to be rainy so i'll probably get a ride back home, so i can bring back the shelving unit.