Summer Living
I love busy summers. I really feel like being busy in summer is the best part about seasonality. In winter you get to slow down, bundle up, and cook things that take a really long time to simmer and bubble. In summer you chop up fresh things or do a quick hot grill to get peaches, corn, and sausages perfectly charred. The busyness of summer is saying yes to going down to the river after work, so you rush around grabbing a towel and water bottle (can’t find your sunglasses though) and then get to relax with friends at the river for a few hours before getting too hungry to keep swimming and heading out to find a bite. Summer is busy because there's too much sunshine to take advantage of and work can only hold your attention for so long before you’re only thinking about eating watermelon lakeside.
Now I must confess, I am speaking about working in summer in a theoretical way or explaining my partner’s experience this summer. This is my first summer since I began working at 15 where I truly am having a summer break. My contract for my job ended in June and I decided to not to try to scramble for a new job until we make our cross country move. This is a huge privilege that I am not taking lightly! I am so grateful that my partner is still working and that we were able to save some money for the move and to have wiggle room around my work timing. This summer has made me realize just how much energy my job takes from me, because I have never felt freer to make social plans every night than this summer! Apparently when I have time to myself to recharge and do what I enjoy I can make as many social plans as I can fit in a week. It's always refreshing to figure out that my capacity socially is dramatically different when I have a job that takes all my energy. While that feels so simple and easy to understand, it really has taken me not working to figure that out. This has also opened up time in my day thats easier for my friends with kids to make work in their schedule! I got to spend good quality time with a friend and make them some pasta while baby slept and we chatted.
This batch of a pasta was a good reminder of all the delicious things you can make without the special tools, and just using a rolling pin and a knife you can make a great dinner.
This summer is also a fun transition time. We packed up our whole life at the end of June into a storage box, and all the clothing and items we wanted for two and half months needed to fit in our medium to small car. This includes an entire work from home setup as well as camping gear, clothing and frisbees and a few cookbooks and lots of shoe options. We packed up our apartment for the summer so we could house sit around Portland and down in Santa Cruz for the summer to save on some rent and make it a fun time scooting around different houses before we head east. We are moving to Maine in September from Oregon. We are in a hilarious and fun limbo period before heading to Maine, with living out of our car and in other people’s homes while also getting ready for a big change! One of the absolute nicest things about not working is slow mornings with time to make breakfast for Karl and I.
We also have been able to go out to eat at some wonderful places and really get the taste of summer.
New places like Cornelly’s and old favorites like Bantam in Santa Cruz.
Living out of the car has actually been more fun and easier than I anticipated, but I’m still filling up my mental list of what I’m going to cook and bake first when we move into our place in Maine. The things I miss most by far from the storage unit are my cookbook and some of my kitchen things. I miss some of my ceramic mugs, my silverware, my knife, and my trusty blue pot. I did make the choice to keep two ceramic mugs in the car with us so I can still enjoy that luxury while on the road. The most sensible and wonderful choice for keeping in the car were two of Martina Thornhill’s Okay cups. Stackable, durable, and nice to look at and hold.
There has still been some good home cooking and eating along the way even with all the moving around. This corn basil pasta from NYT.
It’s been such a gift to be out of the kitchen I’m used to because it’s forced me into trying new things because they have different basics and tools in their kitchens.
Along with good eating, there has been some good reading.
Thanks for joining me on this little newsletter! I am looking forward to sharing more of what I’m excited about and being able to share some slices of my life.
Also, searching for any tips for preparing for my first northeastern winter. I’ve put up with some rainy winters, but never seriously cold ones. So if you have any layering tips or even mental tips for winter, pass them along!
Until next time,
Rachel