because of the rain later, i wasn't able to ride my bike, so instead i walked down to the cafe around 10am. i passed by exeter park, where according to the news earlier, was the scene of a motorcycle accident that happened last night at 1am. cambridge police listed as a serious crash involving a motorcyclist and a pedestrian. both went to the hospital, with the pedestrian suffering serious head injuries. i'm not even sure how that could've happened, since it's a low speed intersection, unless the pedestrian suddenly ran into the street during oncoming traffic. anyway, while waiting for the lights to change, i saw some vehicle debris on the side of the road, including a piece of a side view mirror. it didn't look like i came from a motorcycle, or maybe it was one of those hybrid motorcycle scooters with the big chassis.
i didn't mind walking, gave me a chance to admire the emerging perennials. so far it's all been bulbs and their ilks: scillas, crocuses, irises, hellebores. saw some yellow flowers i'd never seen before.
i made it to the cafe by 10:30am. i started boiling water and cooked 4 cups of rice. when my sister finally showed up, i heated the tea eggs and made some black noodles and dumplings. i was running 3 induction cookers while at the same time washing some dishes in the sink, felt a lot like plate spinning. later my 2nd aunt showed up as well.
i transferred the new tea eggs from yesterday into the slow cooker, then added the older eggs (10); that 4.5qt crockpot can actually hold 40 tea eggs, not just 30. i ended up eating one of the tea eggs that had lost its shell during the heat process, too ugly to sell. something i've noticed with the recent eggs we've been using (regardless if they're from restaurant depot or costco) is very brittle shells prone to breaking.
there was a period around lunchtime when it got really busy. we nearly used up all the rice i'd cooked and had to microwave some leftover rice from yesterday. we also nearly ran out of the black noodles and i had to cook another batch, along with a pot of green tea. i was also grilling a dozen chinese sausage in the breville oven, and emptying the sichuan paocai fido jar from august 2022.
i basically worked non-stop from the moment i arrived until probably around 2pm, where i finally had a brief break. my 2nd aunt warmed up some korean-inspired egg pancakes she made. she ate them with my leftover homemade tzatziki, but i found some korean hot sauce in the fridge and ate some pancakes with that, which tasted much better.
in the late afternoon it started to rain as forecasted. it was the kind of miserable freezing rain, and i didn't feel like taking the bus to belmont, so i called my father for an extraction. he showed up around 4:10pm right after we closed, and gave my 2nd aunt a ride too.
even though i was pretty busy at the cafe, it wasn't a busy day overall. maybe the cold wet weather was a factor, but it was the weakest day of the week. we sold a lot of bento boxes, but didn't sell a single beef noodle soup, which seemed like the opposite of what happened a few saturdays ago, when it seemed like we sold nothing but noodles, and no bento.
the first thing i did when i arrived in belmont was to check out the knipex pliers wrenches. my father was astonished when i told him how much they cost ($90), for a pair of surprisingly small wrenches. there's no denying their innovative design, but are they really worth all that much? there's still a chance i might return them, but in the meantime, i was looking for things i use them on, but didn't find anything around the house. one thing i'm concerned about (other than the price) is whether the smaller size might make it difficult to get the proper turning leverage compared to a tool with a longer handle.
as always, i also checked out my aeroponic plants. every week they never cease to amaze me with their growth, which has now entered the exponential phase. i sort of regret making so many holes on the lid (a dozen), because the plants are growing too close together now. my father asked whether we should prune the lower leaves, but i said to let them grow naturally, see how big each mustard green can get. besides, it's not the leaves i want, but rather the stems, for pickling/fermentation/cooking purposes. even the formerly anemic chinese celeries are doing much better now, growing tall stalks that look like they might touch the led lights by next week. i also remembered to check the roots. amazing just how long they've gotten. makes me appreciate how compacted soil can affect plant growth, and just how far down i should aerate when i till the raised beds.
i'm wondering with the outdoor weather has gotten warmer, if i should move the aeroponic tub outside, so it can take advantage of the natural sunlight, which is far better than a pair of led lights. i'm also wondering if i should start a second aeroponic tub. all it'd cost me is a length of 1/2" PVC piping (10ft for $4.71), another pump ($17), and a plastic tote ($8). all other materials and tools i have. just something to think about.
i foraged for snacks (bourbon-flavored gummy, greek sultana raisins, pecan melts) while waiting for dinner, which came in the form of thin noodles in a smoked ham broth. i also checked out the yaesu FT-991A all-band portable ham radio (someone in malden is selling his for $875, normally they're $1360-1460), and researched some affordable electric car options. my father gave me a ride back to cambridge around 7:40pm.