my parents didn't get here until 7:50am. we then left for south boston, across the longfellow and then onto route 93 by mass general hospital. we got to foodpak (baifu) by 8:20am. it was surprisingly crowded despite it being so early (they open at 8am); a lot of asian restaurant owners were doing supply runs as well before they open their stores.
my father forgot his phone and left his baifu membership card at home, so he had to get a temporary card when we first arrived. we bought enough stuff that i was worried it wouldn't all fit in the car. we finally left around 8:50am.
we didn't really need anything in chinatown, so decided to head directly back to the cafe. we got there by 9:20am. we weren't due to open for another 2 hours, but since i couldn't easily get back home, i decided to stay and wait. we roasted some charsiu pork while my father brewed some black tea for the bubble drinks. my father had been dutifully watering our parking lot garlic chive plot. since we replanted the roots last monday (memorial day), they've already grown 3-4 inches. that little area is the perfect location for garlic chives, with sun practically the whole day. there's also a bottom layer of composted chicken manure and fresh soil, so all the conditions are met for successful garlic chive growing. plus, rabbits don't eat garlic chives, and it doesn't seem to get any pests. all our foxgloves are pink - or so i thought - but one of them is entirely white. i'll be sure to save some of its seeds so we can have some foxglove variety.
even though the bulk of the rain had finished before i even woke up early this morning, it was still showering intermittently throughout the day. we set up the patio deck when we first arrive but by afternoon it was raining again, promptly us to put away all the furniture again.
it didn't look like it'd be a busy day until we got to 12pm and it got really busy for an hour. then around 2pm it got busy again. those two spikes was enough to double our profit compared to last saturday, the memorial day long weekend were we barely had any customers. it was also enough to push us over last week's profit, as we end the month of may on a high note. still didn't beat our earning from may 2024, but we came pretty close.
my sister's godmother showed up. then later in the afternoon (an hour before we closed) my 2nd aunt showed up as well. she brought back some food she got in california, including backyard-grown fruits from various relatives. seems like everyone in california is competing to see who can grow the best fruits. she brought back loquats and meyer lemons, and said other relatives were growing persimmons and passion fruits. everyone left with zongzi.
using google lens, i went online searching for photos of dogs that look like esmei. i found a few that were near clones it even fooled my sister. one dog included her genetic composition, which said she was 25% beagle. i think esmei is mostly beagle as well, given her black & tan markings and long body short legs, not mostly australian cattle dog as my sister claims.
i was prepared to walk home, but since my parents were giving my 2nd aunt a ride, i ended up getting a ride as well. as soon as i got back, i picked up the seedlings from my back porch and walked down to the community garden to do some work. the sky was overcast and occasionally sprinkle. i dug up more sections of my perimeter to throw out the weeds and pick out the garlic chives. i didn't have time to process them so i ended up bringing them home. as for my seedlings, i placed them in my grow bags. they'll get more sun to grow, but i'm afraid they might get eaten by slugs and snails. i'll come back tomorrow to dig some more and plant garlic chives. i won't plant my seedlings just yet until wednesday, when i can refill the grow bags with fresh raised bed soil.
afterwards i took a tour of the garden. a lot of people have tomato plants, a few of them already with fruits. everyone else's garden looks great while mine looks like a complete mess. i feel like this every season. i finally returned home after about an hour. i soaked the newly dug up garlic chives in some water.
i took a shower and heated up two oil rice zongzi for dinner while watching game 6 between the knicks and pacers. the game was closely matched in the first half. knicks held the lead a few times in the first quarter, while the pacers led through the second, though only by single digits. in the second half indiana dominated. they played with a frenetic pace and i think it just wore out new york. indiana led by as much as 21 points. pacers win 108-125, advance to the NBA finals, first time in 25 years.