Season 26 (2022)
HOME + TRAVEL
This week we celebrated the summer solstice (the longest day of the year!) with plenty of time enjoying the outdoors. Whether you are spending time closer to home or embarking on summer travel plans, I’m sharing a few ideas to help you stay organized while giving your brain a vacation from decision overload.
We love to stay in AirBnBs when we travel because it often gives us the feeling of being a local. When we’re at home in Austin, we usually cook at home for most of our meals and only eat out occasionally. On vacation, we tend to eat out more often, but the decision depends on the setup of our AirBnB kitchen. Some kitchens are well stocked for cooking, while others have just the basics.
If we’re driving to our AirBnB location, we’re considering assembling an AirBnB kitchen to-go kit that might help us cook our meals at the AirBnB more frequently. I’m thinking of including our cast iron skillet, fish spatula, mixing bowl, olive oil, salt, spices, a few harder to find condiments, and even dish soap. Share in the comments below what you would include in your AirBnB kitchen to-go kit.
A recent farmers’ market haul while on vacation
We like to balance our time in the towns we visit by supporting local restaurants, co-ops, as well as farmers’ markets. Before we leave for vacation, I often use the reminders app or Trello app on my phone to make a list of what I might need from the grocery store or the farmers’ market for meals. I often bring a few of our favorite recipes. Meal planning while on vacation should be easy on the brain, so I want those decisions to be made ahead of time whenever possible.
If you have camping in your plans this summer, you’ll want to check out the REI Co-op newsletter article called How to Build Your Own Camp Kitchen Chuck Box
Our solution for little bits of snack trash on the road
Road trips aren’t complete without a place for snack trash. I found these creative bins on Etsy. Storing snacks in reusable containers like these cuts down on the trash and can be reused at your destination or for school or work lunches after your trip.
10 Eco-Friendly Lunch Boxes for Camping and Hiking
Sustainable travel supports local communities and is easier on Mother Nature.
GARDEN + NATURE
The beauty and abundance of a summer garden in this video inspires me to look for new ways to use herbs and produce in the warmer months. (*video link has sound)
Recently, I came across a book I’m adding to my TBR (To Be Read) list called Woodland Manitou: To Be on Earth described as “a collection of essays rooted in the rhythm of the natural world”.
Paola Merrill from The Cottage Fairy YouTube Channel videos wrote a book called The Cottage Fairy Companion: A Cottagecore Guide to Slow Living, Connecting to Nature, and Becoming Enchanted Again, and her book is available for pre-order right now.
WELLNESS
We observed a chalk artist last week creating intricate designs on a sidewalk just a day before rains faded their vibrancy and left a muted but still beautiful surprise to those walking past the colorful designs. His artwork reminded me of the value of impermanence in our lives. Whether we are making memories on vacation, capturing a fleeting moment in a photograph, watching a flower bloom, or enjoying a ripe summer peach, the joy (that often feels bittersweet) is knowing that there will be no other moment just like the one you are experiencing.
As a society we love to make plans for more. What if we made plans for less? Hidden Brain’s Do Less episode discusses why subtraction may actually mean more in our lives than addition.
In case you are in need a laugh, try having horses in Iceland take charge of your never-ending email inbox. Curious? Check out how they built a keyboard big enough for a horse.
CREATIVITY
Your camera roll contains a masterpiece.
Romanticize your life. (*article may require a subscription to NYT)
BOOKSHELF
Vacation reading can look different than our everyday book picks. Maybe you have time to finish a longer format book or want to complement your travel adventures with a story based in the location you’re visiting or want a story filled with adventure and exploration? Maybe you’re just looking for a way to escape the heat with a good story? This week, I’m sharing three book picks to add to your summer reading list.
I came across the description for Peter Heller’s latest novel, The Guide, in a Bookshop.org newsletter and knew that it would be a great pick for my husband to read while on vacation. My husband enjoyed the characters, the author’s ability to create an immersive setting, and the references to areas that we’ve visited in our own travels.
The intimidating heft of Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr made me put off reading this epic novel until I had more free time this summer. I’m so glad I made time to read it, though. While the beginning of the novel has you following three different timelines and a handful of characters, the stories are intimately woven together into a masterful story ending.
Cloud Cuckoo Land is a historical science fiction book with themes that will hit home for so many readers with the recent events regarding gun violence, the pandemic, climate change, and the challenges we are facing as a society. Books have a central role in this book in the fight to save them and share their stories with future generations. If books weren’t so powerful, why would we devote whole buildings to them and why would people try to restrict our access to them for fear that the words inside might have the power to influence our perspectives and actions?
“Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you.”
Cloud Cuckoo Land reminds us that the purpose we are searching for and the ability to make change happen may be in our own hearts and hands even when the journey is arduous.
If you’re looking for an atmospheric escape filled with intrigue, 300 Days of Sun by Deborah Lawrenson will send you to Portugal during World War II. I found myself interested in learning about Portugal’s role in WWII albeit through a historical fiction lens.
Lawrenson’s imagery woven throughout the story created a mood that was never overdone but added a break from the action in the story to reset your brain and your heart.
“Violet shadows stretched from the rocks, clock hands over the sand.”
“Smells of hot oil and garlic and fish funneled down the narrow streets; clatter and chatter wafted from small dark restaurants.”
“A black-and-white-cobblestone wave pattern rippled across it like a tide stopped in stone.”
“In the run-down Alfeiria district, washing was strung up high on lines above the streets like flags flapping, the neutral flags of normality.”
The suspense will keep you reading with descriptions light enough that nothing is too graphic which makes it perfect for anyone with a sensitive heart that would still like to indulge in rich storytelling. Although the characters were well-defined, I found myself drawn to the place and mood. This is also a story of refugees in a time of war.
“In the days after their arrival (now refugees), the Bartons experienced a peculiar kind of loneliness tinged with possibilities. No one knew who they were. They could be whomsoever they choose. By the same token, there was no shared history with others, no acts of kindness and connection that root a person to a place. Achievements in a former life had no bearing.”
Episode #333: Vacation Reading on the What Should I Read Next Podcast
The New York Times Guide to Summer Books
Although this one may hit a little TOO close to home with all the travel nightmares this summer, you could also read Novels About Vacations Gone Horribly Fantastically Wrong!
COMMUNITY
Zeneta and Zaire's Book Wishlist for Healing in Buffalo, New York
The Buford Book Bus in Austin, Texas keeps kids fed AND reading through the summer.
Playing Superhero vs. Protecting Your Family
Why Do We Let Children Buy Guns? (*may require a subscription to The Washington Post)
The Colorado River is in crisis.
My uncle’s documentary is making change happen for the forests of Ecuador. Investors force Home Depot to review wood-sourcing policy over logging concerns.