Fallow

[rebeccmeister]

The garden is going to mostly lay fallow this year, aside from the perennials.

I will put in some tomatoes soon, once I finish the rest of the grading. Probably also more basil.

The cat woke me up at 5:30 this morning, because on weekdays that's basically when I feed her. Then I was awake, so I got up and finally finished filling out my federal and state tax returns. It seems the feds are giving me back a sizeable amount of money from 2020. I will stick it in my savings account. I hate doing taxes at the last minute.

Then I reserved a rental car for June through August so I can drive myself and my geriatric cat to Arizona and beyond. Any suggestions for how to outfit ourselves for the journey are welcome. I am thinking about investing in an actual GOOD cooler, for whatever that means.

...

Rather than recount everything else, which is mostly all "blah blah blah teaching prep," I would just note that I am really, really looking forward to having at least one day sometime soon where I am not operating in that "What needs to be done ASAP NEXT?" mode.

Comments

[bluepapercup]

I recently watched the America's Test Kitchen episode on coolers and they found that those super expensive Yeti coolers are actually worth the price and keep things cool a long time, longer than all the other name brand coolers they tested. The second best options were the rectangular Coleman coolers everyone knows and loves. They also found that commercially made water ice keeps things colder much longer than ice packs. I have a small Coleman that I use for all my trips and have been happy with it.

As someone who's done way more than my share of long-distance driving in the summer, I think there's a few things that make the trip more bearable. A drink container that you don't need both hands to open, good sunglasses, a long-sleeve shirt that's light and cool to keep your left arm from getting too much sun, and a good seat cushion to keep your various butt-hip-leg issues from flaring up.

Also chapstick and something to drink in the cooler that's a nice break from water. Long drives in the summer can be dehydrating even with the air conditioning on. I also like to make my front passenger seat into a kind of control center, with anything I think I might need (cash for tolls if you don't have a toll pass, tissues, a trash sack, dry snacks, etc.). I usually buy a gallon or two of water before the trip to keep in the car, as tap water at hotels and campgrounds is sometimes softened or super chlorinated and thus not something I want to be drinking all day long in my water bottle.

The last thing is that if you're going to be using your phone for your GPS directions then a dashboard mount is indispensable. I have one that suction-cups to the dashboard.

[graydon]

a dashboard mount is indispensable.

So are approximately three more charger cables and wall plugs than you think you could possibly need for said phone.

Second the water. Five litres/day won't be enough in Arizona in August and yeah, rental, so someone will come get you but still.

I'd be packing a hat. Won't need it in the car but most other times.

I find having a packing list/check list is really helpful for clearing out of hotel rooms when groggy.

[rebeccmeister]

Thank you so much for the input! As I keep thinking about it, I need to remember that I might be bringing ants back to NY with me, so I might wind up bringing along a cheaper cooler PLUS obtaining a nicer one.

You are totally right about water, especially, and I totally appreciate the insight about a drink container that can be operated one-handed. Small things that make a big difference!

[twoeleven]

I'm not organized enough to have a hotel checklist, but for short stays, I use a plain-sight rule. If I'm only staying a night or two, I keep my stuff in plain sight (not in drawers, for example) so it's easy to find when leaving, and obvious if I've left something behind.

[rebeccmeister]

I like this. I also tend to be fairly awake in the mornings so I don't often leave much behind. But of course now that I've written this on the internet, I'm bound to forget something really important at some point this summer.

[scrottie]

Slaughtered on taxes. Lots of roadside coolers out here, that blow out of trailer boats. Some nice ones, but always some damage. But, as is theme in my recent braindumping, peltier effect 12 volt coolers are a thing now. Should have built that window greenhouse. Bleah.

[rebeccmeister]

Once the semester ends I'm going to have to do a project inventory and then do some triaging and planning on that front.

I think we also still have some roadside coolers from J in our basement.