i went running this morning even though i did think about cancelling. temperature was in the lower 40's. at that temperature i could still wear shorts, but wore a long-sleeve pullover turtleneck to keep warm. my arms and legs were cold when i stepped outside. it was chilly in the shadows but warm in the sun, so i tried to keep in the sunlight as much as possible. thankfully most of my run around the charles river is in full sun. i got back home by 11:15am.
for lunch i warmed up a can of gumbo soup. afterwards i started my errands. i spent some time sweeping all the tiny locust leaves covering the steps and sidewalk. i used the new corn broom ($14) that i bought from market basket yesterday. i wasn't planning on it but i ended up raking the oak leaves in the backyard as well as those that'd fallen on the porch. i turned off the water supply to prevent the pipes from freezing.
i left at 1:15pm and went to home depot to return a bunch of unused electrical wiring supplies. once again, there was only one person working the returns department so it took a while. i thought about doing some shopping but decided against it to save time.
i went to belmont by 2pm to disconnect all the rain barrels and drain the connecting garden hoses. most importantly, i emptied the on-demand pump, multiple 4-way manifolds, and sprayer wand. this to prevent crack damage if frozen. originally i was going to mow the lawn too, but the grass was still slightly damp from yesterday's rain so i'll wait until this weekend. with the temperature so low the grass has already stopped growing anyway. mowing is mostly to clean up the leaves on the lawn.
the sunroom was like a sauna with all the windows closed, not sure how the jasmines and thanksgiving cactuses will handle the temperature extremes. the lights in the basement grow room turned on automatically, the smart program pre-programs kicking in. the cubic dehumidifier was humming away, lowered the humidity down to 54%. it looks to be working now, pumps when necessary, i haven't gotten a single full tank warning on the app since i fixed the pump function over the weekend. the HSQT MPPT was busy charging the LiFePO4 battery in the living room via the 100W solar panel outside. originally the meter said 64W of electricity, but then the controller flashed an E02 error before the power dropped down to 4W. later i discovered this is normal behavior when the battery is fully charged, the controller will stop charging when it sees high voltage input.
i left at 2:30pm and went to the mt.auburn star market to get a few supplies. chicken leg quarters, mandarin oranges, and a box of cold fried chicken on sale.
3pm i was at the cafe dropping off the chicken. my 2nd aunt and godmother were there, as well as my sister. earlier my sister asked me to take esmei to belmont as there was a plumber working in her house and she had no choice but to put esmei in her cage. it wasn't too busy so she managed to go home and look after her dog while the plumber worked. i returned home soon afterwards.
i got some chicken juice on my canvas grocery bags so decided to do a load of laundry so i could wash the bags as well. i had some fried chicken while waiting for the laundry to finish. i went out briefly to score some cheez-it crackers from the nearby star market.
i went out at 7pm to check out some halloween festivities around the neighborhood. i was just outside when a marching band came down oxford street, heading to crescent street. a house on prentiss street had one of those 12ft skeletons ($300). the theme this year on crescent street was spiders. i accidentally inhaled some fake cobweb into my mouth. the coolest house was on wendell street, lit up in violet and magenta colors with a bubble machine set to entice children to visit.
for dinner i finished the rest of the fried chicken while watching some basketball. there was a knicks-cavaliers game followed by the spurs-suns. celtics (3-0) play tomorrow against the pacers (2-1), a chance to extend their winning streak.