it was already 55 degrees by the time i woke up this morning. i went out for a run wearing nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. it wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either, the perfect running weather. i admired some flowering witch hazels, and even saw a few honeybees visiting the orange variety. is it weird that it's mid-february and i'm already seeing bees? what will happen to them if we get another cold snap? i also managed to collect some clematis seeds i saw growing on a fence. don't know which variety they are (maybe oriental clematis?), but i'm going to try and germinate them.

i left the house again in the early afternoon to run some errands. first stop was at michael's store, to drop off some sunflower seeds i got him a few weeks ago. he told me he's been busy with weekend birthday parties, between his 3 children and their classmates. he also said he started running, and went by my place a few days ago. i would've stayed and chatted some more, but a customer came in, so that was my cue to leave.

next i rode to central square to check on my sister's godmother's apartment while was she away in taiwan for a month. i collected her mail and went up to her apartment to make sure everything was okay. the thermostat was set to 77 degrees, i turned it down to 70 degrees (the lowest it'd go). she also had two small potatoes she seemed to be sprouting in glass jars that'd dried up; i filled them up with some water.

since i was in the central square area, i decided to get some mcdonald's for lunch. earlier i'd already put in my order on the phone app, all i had to do was pay and send it in. i got two hamburgers, a free large fries, and a 10 piece mcnugget. i didn't think it'd be busy but there was actually a line of people waiting to pick up their online order. at least two of the employees were asian, something i don't often see. i put my food inside of an insulated grocery bag and rode home.

my mother had asked me to get a few things from market basket. i was going to do that after i ate lunch, but since i was already out, i decided to hit the supermarket first just to get it out of the way. i got some cilantro and scallion. when i stepped out i forgot to get baby spinach and had to go back again. i had the misfortune of being in a line with an old lady who couldn't remember the PIN number for her debit card. people behind me were already getting out of line once they realized what was going on, but i held my ground. that little market basket jaunt took me almost 30 minutes.

i figured i could stop by the cafe and drop off the supplies before returning home, so i wouldn't have to go out again. but it was already 2:30pm and i was sort of hungry, so i stopped home first to eat before going out again. this also gave me a chance to squeeze a container of fresh orange juice for my mother with the sweet star market navel oranges i bought last night.

i finally made it to the cafe by 3:30pm. they weren't very busy today, despite the warm weather. it was much the same last thursday. i brought some temu stuff that i tried to return; temu issued me the refund but told me to keep the items, which including some earrings and a tiny stainless steel teapot.

i returned home for good by 4pm. i went out briefly to get more oranges from star market. i still had a box of mcnuggets and i ate them while watching the latest episode of poker face (the episode with the race car driver).

i bought a container of ice breakers sours from market basket. they're a nice candy, but they contain some kind of artificial sugar (sorbitol?) that gives me a serious case of explosive diarrhea every time i eat it. i got it for my mother (who occasionally experiences constipation) but ended up eating the whole container despite knowing the consequences. things were okay at first, but then i started getting gassy and my stomach was making weird gurgling noises. when it finally started, i had to run to the bathroom. i showered afterwards, figured i was in the clear. i ended up going to the bathroom at least half a dozen more times. i even sharted, and was forced to do a load of laundry because of it.

i had a bunch of towels that needed to be washed, and i used the vinegar-baking soda trick: 1 cup of white vinegar on a hot water wash, followed by 1/2 cup of baking soda during the rinse cycle to neutralize the acid. then throw everything into the dryer without fabric softener. since i had the baking soda out, i also decided to clean my bathtub.

i had a piece of scallion bread from the cafe that also included some embedded slices of meat. i finished some leftover grilled buffalo wings along with a few spicy chicken feet. a glass of chai milk followed by some orange slices concluded this evening's dinner. it was so warm today that the heat didn't even kick in this evening. it left a weird stink in my bathroom, which was either from the wet towel, or the improperly sealed sewer line exhaust vent.