i don't run on wednesdays but it's the only morning in the week where i have time to get some groceries. i went down to market basket after deciding i would be making greek chicken pita pockets the rest of the week. the only ingredient i had were the pita bread, everything else i ended up buying. i bought a big package of kitchen paper towels, and i remembered to bring my bungie netting so i could get it home.
i was back at home by 10:30am. i had about an hour to kill before i had to leave for the cafe. unfortunately most of that time was spent fixing my CO2 generator, when i saw it still wasn't working right. the diffuser only produced a tiny amount of CO2 bubbles. no matter how i adjusted the needle valve, the bubble counter only showed a bubble every 2-3 seconds. thinking the diffuser was clogged again, i swapped it out with the old diffuser. that didn't work any better. finally i decided to swap out the bubble counter, go back to my old counter. seems like my CO2 problem only started when i started using the new counter. sure enough, once i went back to the old counter, everything worked like normal, and i was able to adjust the bubble counter so it delivered more bubbles into the tank. maybe one day i'll revisit the new counter, but in the meantime my CO2 generator is working again and that's all that matters.
i showed up at the cafe with the hot sauce i made last night. i didn't think much of it but my mother seemed to like it. it sort of reminded me of a very finely chopped hot salsa dip. it seems too fresh to be a hot sauce. i also brought my hommade tonkatsu sauce and made my parents try it. my father said it wasn't sweet enough, so i added another tablespoon of ketchup followed by a teaspoon of brown sugar, which really made it sweet.
today was busier than last wednesday. casey's daughter showed up at the cafe this morning and ordered a bunch of bento boxes (i wasn't there). we appreciate the business, but all her orders are custom orders filled with substitutions and various portions. so only only do they take longer to prepare, we probably lose a little money from the additional ingredients. also this morning before i showed up there was two more uber eats orders. i made a new batch of tea eggs today, simmered it for 2 hours so they'd be ready to serve if need be tomorrow.
i found out the metal handy box i bought yesterday from home depot is too small to fit the entirety of the semi-smart timer switch. so i need to get a bigger box. maybe i'll try plastic this time, so i don't have to worry about grounding the metal enclosure.
my sister showed up at the cafe with esmei, on way to the vet to get her distemper vaccine. she stopped by again when they returned. esmei didn't cry when she got her shot, and all the vets and nurses came out to see her. the vet said the bald spots on her head will probably never grow back to normal, and there will always be scars. the vet thinks maybe another dog bit her on the head.
around 3pm i went to the fresh pond trader joe's to get a few supplies, along with a few snacks for myself.
i finally left the cafe around 4:30pm. i had all sorts of after work things i could be doing - houseplant maintenance, bike fixes, community garden pruning - but i was too tired to do any of that, just wanted to go home and veg out the rest of the day.
close to the evening i looked outside and realized my latest temu package had arrived. it included: male/female quick disconnect spade connectors, a red bike bell (for the red spirit bike), a round rear reflector (for the same bike as well), a pair of scissors (to replace the pair i broke back in belmont), a resin embalmed insect keychain (missing the chain for some reason), and the pièce de résistance - a 365nm UV flashlight. i played around with the UV flashlight the most, looking for stains around the house, but also to energize anything glow-in-the-dark. something i didn't realize until recently was UV lights recharge glow-in-the-dark items the fastest: a few seconds of shine makes them glow super bright. unfortunately the glow doesn't keep for long (no matter how long i shine), and fade after a few minutes.
i didn't fall asleep today, which is a victory in itself. instead around 8pm i started making my greek chicken pita pockets. the boneless chicken thighs i marinated this morning using a bottle of herbs and garlic marinade that i bought. the recipe i saw called for a greek yogurt marinade, but i didn't want to buy a tub of yogurt just for the marinade. what i did buy was more italian than greek. anyway, i grilled the chicken on my foreman smokeless grill, setting up two fans to ventilate the smoke out the window.
the recipe was quick, took me all of 30 minutes to make. the slowest part was just cooking the chicken. once that was done, i cut it up and added the other ingredients to my pita pockets: chopped lettuce, sliced cucumbers, sliced red onion, feta cheese, olives, tzatziki. i added way too much, and ended up with a facefull of tzatziki. it was okay, but i think it'd be better with something actually barbecued, like beef or lamb, something more like a gyro.
i ate while watching the celtics pre-season game against the sixers, their second meeting. the jays sat out this match, but porzingis and holiday both played. this off-season has been the payton pritchard show, he's been shooting lights out. if he can sustain this level of offensive display throughout the regular season, he could very well be our secret weapon. the regular season starts on october 25th, a game against the knicks in madison square garden.
after midnight i started replacing the bathtub caulk. it was the only time i could do it and have enough time for the silicone caulk to dry and cure. earlier i'd already scrubbed the tiles and corners with bleaching foaming bubbles. i got some paper towels and made sure everything was dry. using a razor and an awl, i started removing the old caulk. i was just going to take out the mildewy segments, but ended up removing the whole thing. i then cleaned the seams one last time with some alcohol. i was using a new caulk - dap kwik seal ultra. i got it because i thought it was silicone, but it's actually a siliconized sealant, whatever the hell that is (probably a proprietary formulation). i got the squeeze tube because it's easier to work with. i was afraid i'd run out, but even after doing the bathtub, i still had 3/4 left. i even used more sealant than i needed, because when i ran my fingertip to smooth out the beads, i probably removed half of all the caulk. supposedly the caulk has ultra-hydrophobic properties that repels water, dirt and strains, and offers a lifetime mold and mildew guarantee, which is quite a promise. typically i start getting mold on my caulk after about 6 months. if this can really stop mildew and mold on my caulk, i'm going to be a fan for life. i finally finished caulking by 1am.
oh right, the second amazon prime days happened today and yesterday. what did i buy? i mentioned the shelf pin jig ($28). i also bough some more colgate total plague pro, after seeing it was much cheaper now. i plan on returning it for a price adjustment. i also bought another t-fal deep fryer, also a price adjustment purchase. the prime day sale was $30 cheaper, so that was a no-brainer. i bought a magnetic knife holder ($18) for my own fridge. a case of good earth sweet & spicy tea ($16, that's my go-to tea during the winter months). and a 3-pack of 128GB sandisk ultra microSDXC cards ($30). that's pretty much it. i almost bought a wood router and a meat grinder, but didn't see anything that appealed to me.
