Week of Aug. 18 – Aug. 25, 2024
Debra is a full-time RVer who has traveled coast to coast looking for the cutest bookstores and the perfect cup of chai. She and her husband enjoy creating community on the road by meeting up with friends or finding new ones enroute. They love sharing their adventures and making friends here at The Virtual Campground and sharing Barry’s great photography.
It was a busy week. Our family grew as the first of the next generation was born. My nephew and his wife welcomed their daughter on Monday. Our campground this week is not a favorite, but we really enjoyed the weather. We had a couple of days when we could keep the windows open! Hoping that is a sign that fall is on its way to the Northeast!
It was a good week to get out of the camper. We had a few noisy neighbors so my trip into Hartford to see the Mark Twain House & Museum was a nice escape. We also found a nearby coffee shop with great wifi and chai. I just wish the music had been a bit lower.
Things helping Me This Week
Cooking Ahead
As we continue to eat healthy, I am finding that it is best for me to cook ahead of time. Not only does it mean that I clean the kitchen less, it also takes my excuses of not wanting to cook away. Then, when I am hungry but not the mood to cook, I still have healthy choices for dinner. This has been really important this week as I got home late. I even took my lunch one day since it was already made!
I find these reusable ziploc bags to be perfect for lunch or snacks on the go. You can’t fill them too much or they will not close, but I like how convenient they are and how little room they take up in the cabinet.
As for a great make ahead lunch, this has become a go-to for me – Herbed Quinoa and Turkey Meatballs. For another favorite recipe, check out the video at the bottom.
Cleaning Tool
Do you agree with me that one of the bummers of living in a RV is no dishwasher? Ok, a few of you likely have a dishwasher but the majority do not and it gets tedious always washing dishes. It gives me another excuse not to cook, which I don’t need! Plus for the past two weeks, we have not had full hookups so I have been trying to conserve water. Well, I want to admit right now that am an idiot! We have had this scrub brush for a year and I finally figured out how to add soap to it this week. I had to google it! (Hint – twist the bottom) And Google shared that I can also purchase additional heads for different cleaning purposes. That makes it a pretty ideal RV tool since it has multiple purposes!
And no, I still don’t love dish washing, but it has certainly made it easier to conserve water when I wash dishes!
This Week’s Reading
My favorite read of the week and maybe the summer was Lulu Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller. I read her book, The Change about three women gaining nearly magical powers as they went through the change of life, earlier this summer. I liked that one, but really loved Lulu Dean’s. It was funny, sad, and very timely with all that we have going on in the country. It might read a bit liberal, but overall it was balanced and focused more on treating others the right way. An interesting thought on how books can make a difference in people’s lives and give them the tools they need, when they need them.
Based on my trip to Mark Twain’s house, I read A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by the author. It is essentially a short story and quick read. I hadn’t read it before so it seemed appropriate based on our current location. It was a fun read, not my favorite but an interesting twist on the tale. I did also pick up James by Percival Everett in the museum shop. I have heard a lot about it and it is based on the character of Jim in Huckleberry Finn. I will let you know what I think.
Other recently read books:
- The Guncle Abroad – a sequel to The Guncle which I preferred. In this book, Guncle (Gay Uncle) Patrick is tasked with helping the kids learn to accept their father’s new marriage as they travel across Europe to the wedding in Italy. It was a bit too repetitive for me, from the first book which I enjoyed and within itself. The author reads this himself on the audio version and I think that detracted from the book for me so do the paper version.
- Just for the Summer – a romance by Abby Jimenez who writes smart romances with real people. This one is set in Minnesota and features two people who share a potential curse and how they might be the answer to breaking it for each other. I did this one in audio and enjoyed the narrators.
- Address Unknown – Katherine Kressmann wrote this in 1938 in Story Magazine to help American realize the dangers of Nazism. It is a scary look at the consequences of extremism and of the power of the pen. I had never heard of this powerful epistolary novel before and am surprised it isn’t listed on the classics list. It only takes an hour or so to read it, but it will stay with you much longer!
Picture of My Week
This week, I became a grand aunt for the first time. So naturally, my favorite picture of the week is our new grand niece, Maren James – future reader if just based on the library I am collecting for her along our journey!
Let me know in the comments what you are finding this week make your days easier or happier. I would love to know.
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Just a warning about the cleaning brush. My husband was using a similar handled sponge brush to clean the camper toilet. It came apart and the end fell in. Took us quite awhile and lots of problem solving to locate and retrieve. I’ll spare you the grizzly details.
Oh my gosh, thanks for the warning!!