my parents came around 9:30am for a supply run. today it was the everett-chelsea-malden run. first stop was costco, where we arrived 15 minutes before opening. the parking lot was virtually empty, but by the time it got close to 10am, it tripled in the number of cars. another weird thing: seems like all the people coming to costco this early were all asians for some strange reason.
i got two bags of miracle-gro brand garden/raised bed soil for $7.50/bag (on sale). this soil will be for the long planter boxes, where we'll grow an assortment of baby bokchoi and chinese celery. we also got some clear storage boxes, also on sale. i admired some infinity brand bicycles, also on sale for $300. having seem how much new bikes can cost, $300 is a bargain. only 7-speeds, which is just enough gears, plus disc brakes.
next stop was restaurant depot. since we already bought eggs at costco, we didn't bother buying any here. instead we got some small 1 oz. sauce containers including lids. lines were long, but fortunately they opened a new checkout lane and we didn't have to wait too long.
from restaurant depot it was a short ride to the chelsea market basket. we got meats, diary, and produce here. we also got a long baguette to go with the wheel of brie cheese my mother picked up at costco. i saw they sold small potted gardenia in the floral section, with flower buds the size of olives.
returning from chelsea, our last stop was the asian supermarket malden 88. they don't give out free bags but they do offer free boxes, which was what we used to carry our purchases. i didn't get anything here but i did check out some asian seeds, none of which interested me enough to purchase, though i might still get some from chinatown if i see them.
we left malden by 12:30pm, taking route 16 along the mystic river back to cambridge, to the cafe to drop off the supplies. it took us nearly an hour before we were finally finished and back at my parents' place. we had some brie cheese on baguette, even tried it with a bit of prosciutto. feeling hungry still, i ate a leftover barbecued drumstick from yesterday, even though we had evening plans to have dinner at spring shabu shabu in allston.
we were to meet my sister there sometime after 4:30pm, who was giving my 2nd aunt and her godmother a ride. that gave me just enough time to go into the basement and water the plants. my father fertilized the jasmines and gardenia with an acid-loving fertilizer, so their soil was still moist, and i didn't bother watering them. i did however water the pileas, orchids, prayer plants, and christmas cactus. i even added a tiny amount of fertilizer, get them ready for their eventual move outside in another month or two.
i also raised the led grow lights on my aeroponic plants; they were growing big enough to practically touch the lights now, and raising the lights provided the whole plants with more light. my father was concerned there might not be enough nutrient solution, as the plants are growing much faster now, so they're feeding more. but the water level isn't at the halfway point yet, but definitely by next weekend i'll add a fresh bucket of nutrients.
turning on the television brought us breaking news about the nashville tennessee school shooting: 3 children dead, 3 adults dead, and the police killed the shooter. what was unusual about this mass shooting (as if mass shootings themselves aren't an anomaly) was the shooter was said to be a teenage girl. more info will develop later.
we left for allston around 4:25pm, getting to spring shabu shabu by 4:40pm. my sister and her guests arrived at about the same time. the restaurant didn't open until 5pm so we waited outside, first in line. my sister kept showing us a live feed of her house, where we can hear hailey barking non-stop. concerned, my sister ended up not eating with dinner but instead went home to look after her dog.
we went to spring shabu shabu a few times when it first opened. then the pandemic happened, and buffets became super unsafe. to be honest, i thought spring shabu shabu would go out of business. but they toughed it out with socially distant seating and instead of self-serve buffets, you tell the waitstaff what you want and they go gather your ingredients. now that the pandemic is pretty much over (for most people at least), the buffet business has bounced back. my aunt came here a few weeks again, and there was a long line outside. that's why we came early, afraid it'd get crowded and we wouldn't be able to get a table. in retrospect that was unnecessary, especially on a monday weekday. as long as you arrive soon after they open, you're sure to get a table (not sure how a wekend though).
the occasion for this spring shabu shabu visit was my mother wanted to treat the "employees" to dinner using the tip money saved up for this month. originally i didn't want to come, because i rather spend my time in belmont doing gardening stuff. but the food was good, just like it was before. the only thing they didn't have were those tiny korean dumplings, but i remember they stopped carrying those before the pandemic as well.
instead of actual menus, the waitress put a coaster on the table that had a QR code that took you to an online menu. my father and i got the mala spicy broth, while everyone else got the bone broth. we all got lamb while my 2nd aunt went with the seafood assortment. i found i really like the fried tofu and bamboo strips. i also like the tofu skin and the king crab balls. my 2nd aunt was able to eat despite missing her lower dentures (they're getting fitted with a new tooth at her dentist), but only softer foods, so i got some her clams.
my sister showed up around 6pm, decided to come anyway after calming hailey down. apparently her dog needed to use the bathroom and was barking in distress. we were all done with our first round of eating, and onto the second round.
for the second round i just focused on what i liked, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach, and once i started eating, i quickly realized i was already at full capacity. seeing my struggle, my mother said i could stop eating. i finished my lamb but buried the rest, hiding the evidence so it didn't look like i was wasting food. i went to get some soft-served ice cream afterwards, got the half vanilla half green tea swirl. i liked it so much i went back for a second serving.
we finally left by 6:50pm. there was a crowd of people waiting outside, most likely larger groups waiting for a big table, or members of their party haven't all arrived yet. my sister gave her godmother a ride, while my parents drove my 2nd aunt and me. cutting through harvard square, they dropped me off first before dropping off my aunt.
first thing i did when i got back was to use the bathroom before taking a shower. because i had so much tofu, i was gassy the rest of the evening. regarding the nashville school shooting, the shooter wasn't a teenage girl but instead a 28-year old woman who was a former student. on top of that she's also transsexual, which was something i thought about when i first heard the news, how rare it was for mass shooters to be female. what if it was a transsexual male?