this time of year is a great time for running as i can 1) admire the late spring flowers and 2) look for treasures people throw out because they're moving. today i saw a coil of garden hose that i forgot to go back for as well as a free bicycle. a free bike is like one of the holy grails of street finds, but there was a reason why it wasn't claimed earlier: besides two flat tires, the bike itself seemed child-sized (24" wheels?). the shifting looked clean though, hardly ridden, or at least not during the winter in salty snowmelt conditions.
i stopped by the community garden after my run to water my plants. torrential rain is expected overnight, so i could've not watered, but i just wanted to check to see if there were any more insect damage (none). elena was there and came to ask if i could give her some garlic chives because "i had so many." apparently she moved from a raised plot to a ground plot, and was now fighting a battle against slugs and snails.
i didn't get back home until 12:15pm. after a shower, i ate a leftover drumstick. lowes contacted me earlier about picking up the ego mower (LM2135SP). so i headed to the cafe to borrow the car so i could drive up to the saugus lowes. just as i was about to leave the house, i bumped into sheri. she told me her front door lock was stuck and she can't open the door, so will be using the back door temporarily. i tried working the lock myself, but the door wouldn't budge. i think the doorknob came loose, i suggested to her to tighten the screws. she ended up contacting steve and paul, who sent a locksmith to fix the door. sheri sent me an e-mail later to let me know.
i didn't get to the cafe until 1pm, left soon after that. it took me nearly 40 minutes to drive up to saugus. the mower was much larger than i expected, but could still fit inside the car. it was on a flatbed pushcart, a parking lot attendant helped me lift it inside the car, i don't think i could've done it easily myself. i thanked him for his help and asked where i could put the flatbed cart. he mumbled something, i followed him inside the store, before i realized he was on the spectrum and didn't know what i was talking about. i just left the cart by the entrance.
i then spent nearly an hour browsing the store. i live within close proximity to 4 home depots (watertown, somerville, everett, waltham) but not to a lowes. the saugus store is the closest but it's quite a drive. that's why whenever i get a chance to visit a lowes, it's always a treat. it's mostly the same stuff as home depot, just different brands. i made a beeline to the EGO tools; home depot used to carry them as well before EGO signed an exclusive deal with lowes. i picked up 2 quart-size paint pouring lid, i've been wanting these since last year, only lowes seem to carry them (for some reason lowes doesn't offer freeing shipping like home depot). i saw a craftsman brand electric mower. the gas mower we own is a craftsman. this electric version is 20v 20in but looked cheap, everything made of plastic, and very light, like a toy. i checked out their patio furniture, admiring their cantilevered umbrella. they were selling a bunch of spring bulbs at 50% off, but i felt inside the bag and many of the bulbs/tubers/roots seemed dried. i checked out their selection of fungicide/insecticide, i've become quite the expert when it comes to these chemicals. finally, i went outside to their garden department. some 6ft u-posts i bought online from home depot were scheduled to arrive today, but home depot sent me e-mail saying they might be delayed by 1-3 days. so i decided to buy the u-posts here and return the home depot ones when they eventually arrive. i also couldn't resist and bought a potted caladium. i didn't leave until 2:45pm.
my day wasn't yet over though. i drove 2 miles to broadway plaza in malden. they've got a flaming grill buffet, a sav-mor liquor store, a dollar tree, and the 99 asian supermarket (not to be confused with 99 ranch in quincy). i went to dollar tree to get some cheap yarn for my mother. i first sent her a photo, then she called me back with her order. after that i went to 99 supermarket. i've been here before, it's on the periphery of how far we're willing to drive to an asian supermarket. i remember their prices aren't anything special. i can get better prices in chinatown, though the selection here is much better with bigger aisles and less crowding. i was picking up zongzi ingredients for my mother: two types of glutinous rice, bamboo leaves, zongzi string, dried mushrooms, dried jujubes. i also picked up two bags of jasmine rice (25lbs. bag $22.99) we use at the cafe.
i finally left by 4pm, anxious about the traffic going back home. since i was 2 miles closer to home, the drive itself took just half an hour. google maps showed me 2 directions - neither of which i liked - so i basically made my own way and let google maps redraw a new route. i was trying to retrace my steps from when i first arrived. once i got back onto medford street, i knew where i was going and turned off maps directions.
since i'd be passing by my house, i decided to stop there first to drop off the u-posts. imagine my shock when i saw that home depot did deliver their u-posts after all, so i bought those lowes u-posts in vain. it's not like it's worth keeping these 6ft u-posts, as i noticed the price for 6ft and 7ft are the same (at least at lowes, we prefer the 7ft).
i then raced back to the cafe. i made a quick decision to go to my parents' house first to drop off the mower. my father wouldn't be able to do it by himself with his one lame arm, so it was up to me. fortunately we had a flatbed cart in the garage that i managed to position at the bottom of the car hatch so i could drag the boxed mower out. the packaged weight is 88 lbs. the mower itself weighs just 55 lbs. i also brought the home depot u-posts so i can return them at some future date.
it then took me 20 minutes to drive to the cafe in what should've taken just 10 minutes. i was stuck on one stretch of road for 10 minutes, within viewing distance of the cafe. i finally got there a bit after 5:30pm.
a few orders came in, i stayed to help. i didn't leave until almost closing time.
for dinner i ate some more leftover barbecue. i also finished half a bag of cherries, forgetting that eating too many causes diarrhea. i didn't mind, i love cherries, i'm willing to pay the price.