when my father finally showed up, we filled up the trunk with my plants. when we got to market basket, i noticed the unlocked dark grey raleigh 3-speed was no longer there. so somebody else took a bike, wasn't just me. i'm actually glad it's gone, so i won't be tempted to add it to my bike collection. we got some pork butt for the savory zongzi my mother will make this week. we also got some milk and eggs and some bean sprouts. we got some diet coke and schweppes ginger ale on sale.
after the short supply run, we went to the cafe to unload. then we went to work. we needed to do two things today: paint lines in the parking lot, and divide up the garlic chives in the parking lot plot.
we started with the painting first. it might rain later and the sooner we get the lines done the longer they have to dry. we've been meaning to do it since last year but never found time. we tried again came spring, but the weather wasn't cooperating (always rainy). plus, we could only do it when the parking lot wasn't in use, so we had to wait for a holiday - memorial day being the perfect time. the last time we painted parking lines was back in october 2017 after we had the parking lot repaved. this time was because we have the parking lot resurfaced last year. we used the same technique, a long wooden beam as a guide, 4" roller, and simple white primer paint.
this time we used another wooden beam to make sure the distance between the lines was always the same, which also meant all the lines were exactly parallel (no crooked lines). at one point a backyard neighbor was pruning their tree when a large branch came crashing into the parking lot. they came over to retrieve the branch, stepping all over the newly painted lines, as i yelled at them to stop. fortunately they stepped lightly and didn't track paint all over the parking lot. we finally finished painting around noontime.
next was the garlic chive plot. garlic chives should be divided periodically to help them grow better. we can't remember the last time we divided them. first step was just digging everything out. besides garlic chives, there was also some weeds mixed in. garlic chives came out in thick blocks of roots. we put the garlic chives into rubber buckets before working the soil. we added a layer of chicken manure, a layer of old topsoil, and a final layer of miracle-gro raised bed soil. we then picked the biggest garlic chives, trimmed the roots, and planted them into the bed. 4 garlic chive clumps per row, about 10-12 rows. we also had some dianthus we replanted back into the plot, not sure if they'll come back up. we were done by 2pm.
we couldn't leave yet. my sister asked us for help installing locks on her backyard gates. i went over to get my rain drum which arrived yesterday to her address (it came early, wasn't expecting it until wednesday). esmei came out of the house to greet us in the backyard. my sister bought all sorts of locks, but we ended up only installing a pair of barricade brackets for a 2x4.
we finally left around 2:30pm and went to belmont. while we were unloading plants out of the car, my mother was making us lunch - scallion pancake rollups with braised beef. i also had some snow fungus soup.
after lunch, we were back outside doing yard work. i continued moving outside all the plants inside the house (jasmines, osmanthus, wintering peppers, seedlings), while my father was busy cleaning scales off of the cherry plum tree. we ended up doing another horticulture oil spray (4 tbsp [2 oz] concentrated to make 1 gallon). i went back inside to water the orchids in the grow room. i moved a bunch of plants so i could close all the strip grow led's on the shelves. next weekend i'll move out all the remaining plants in the grow room, including the orchids and pileas. my father saw our next door neighbors outside and offered them a punch of leftover garlic chives (we have way more than we can grow).
i tried out the rain drum using the garden hose to simulate rain. it does work, and kind of reminds me of a wind chime. i just wonder if i can hear it versus the natural sound of rain patter. i'd like to hear it during a downpour, listen to the kind of random music it can make.
i brought over the two corned beef from my house, but because we got to belmont so late (almost 3pm), there wasn't time to prepare them in the slow cooker. instead my mother made some stirfry for dinner and we just had rice. felt like a long time since we ate rice, as the past few weekends we've been grilling with the weber.
i returned home after dinner, riding the fuji bike i'd stashed in the garage (left it there in late april after picking up my motorcycle). temperature was in the 60's, i just had a simple pullover which kept me warm enough.
after a shower, i watched the thunder-timberwolves game. OKC led for most of the game, minnesota managed to make some noises in the final few minutes, but couldn't get over the thunder as they won 128-126, taking a 3-1 lead in the series. will the same thing happen tomorrow night between the pacers and knicks?
there was still some leftover grease splinter underneath my nail. the hot shower seemed to have helped soften the skin, so i used a sterilized dental pick to dig out the raining grease bits. i think it wouldn't came out on its own eventually, but i was worried it'd get stuck underneath my fingernail forever, so i was keen to remove it.