one of the good things about these 2/3 heavy duty plant trays is that i can move out my indoor seedlings more easily. the way i had it before - with gravel trays - there was no easy way to move the seedlings outside to get some real sun. i had to move my seedlings into a different tray to move then outside, then transfer them back at night. with these 2/3 trays, it's just an easy matter of moving the whole thing outside, which was exactly what i did this morning, with temperature hitting the lower 70's ana a day of sun. this also gave me an opportunity to inspect each seedlings. with my triple strip light setup this season, my tomatoes are growing great: short, stocky, leafy.

with the weather so nice, i was expecting it to get really busy at the cafe, but once again, there is no direct correlation between the weather and business, and it was a slow day, though we made the most of any day this week so far. i was hoping to see an online order but it only happened after i left, an online drink pickup order from the business next door and a grubhub order.

my mother took her second at-home covid test, once again she's negative. i feel like she was exposed to the coronavirus but her vaccinated immunity successfully fought off the infection. my 2nd aunt not as lucky.

i blended the rice + cinnamon + water that'd been soaking overnight to my another batch of horchata. my father brought the nut milk bag from home so i could strain the mixture and get rid of all the rice and cinnamon solids. i planned on using just half a can of condensed milk, but the horchata was too bland, so i ended up using the entire can. it wasn't as good as the first batch, but i think that's because the novelty of the drink had worn off. i also used slightly less cinnamon, just 2 sticks instead of 3. it was definitely smoother though because we strained it, which is the way to go.

i returned home by 4pm. i went to the basement to get the expanding ladder and climbed to the top of the porch to inspect the gutter. there looked to be a few spots where water might be seeping through so i caulked it with some silicone. i just need to wait until the next rainstorm and check if the additional caulking fixed the leak.

afterwards i went to the community garden to inspect my plot. lynn was there and so was her friend kevin, as well as annemarie, jen, and a few other gardeners. it was actually pretty crowded, i think the nice weather induced a lot of people to come out and check their plot. i didn't do too much work, mostly just chatting, dug up a few weeks, took some photos, then returned home by 5pm.

i spent the evening doing indoor gardening. first i brought in all my seedlings and put them back in the closet. i also moved the power supply unit one shelf space up so i can have the top shelf free to put 3 2/3 trays. i then filled two trays with pots, just barely had enough potting soil to fill them all. i planted 9 hyacinth beans, 9 bitter melons, and 6 wild cherry tomatoes.

only then - around 9pm - was i able to make dinner. i made some ramen soup buldak, bought a 5-pack the last time i was in china. normally buldak is served as a dry noodles (no broth), but this particular variety was a broth (ramen) noodle. i made it "luxury" style with some kewpie mayo, raw egg, a teaspoon of gojuchang and minced garlic along with the included spice packets. normally i do this with nongshim ramyun noodles. the buldak was both slightly sweeter and spicier, despite the broth. the noodles were also wider and more slippery, which i didn't like. i still prefer my nongshim ramyun.