Last Updated: September 14, 2020
Hot hot heat. We’ve had a bit of a heat wave week for the Portland area. Hopefully heading back into the 80s for awhile! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week…
Adventuring:
Kayaking at Sellwood Riverfront Park – We spent the first few hours of last Sunday (which was 100 degrees!) kayaking on the Willamette with the Oru kayak. It was so nice to get out on the water before it got crazy hot. Yes, I’m still planning to write a review of what I like and don’t about the Oru, but in the meantime I have a few thoughts on this post.
Backpacking with a Toddler – I’d been thinking of taking my almost three year old on one night backpacking trip this summer. We did kind of a dry run by doing Mirror Lake hike a couple weeks ago. And then on Monday I just decided to start packing for the next day. So it had definitely been on my mind, but was last minute timing! It took my kiddo and I three hours to make it the two miles up to the lake (me with a 35-38 pound pack on) and another three hours the next day to get back down. There were many tears, laughs, mosquito bites, and fun. I’m glad we went, but now I need to sleep for a week.
Writing:
This week on Frugal Bon Vivant…
13 Tips for Hiking with Toddlers – there are so many posts on the Internet about hiking with kids. Toddlers though? They’re crazy, y’all! So here are all my tips for getting out and adventuring with your tiny explorer (18 month to 3 year old range). And just to make me rue my words, I took our little guy on his first overnight backpacking trip. I had a good laugh when this post I had scheduled went up the same day.
Oru Kayak Promo Code: 10% Off a $1,000 Order – Love, love, loving my Oru Kayak this summer! Here’s a quick post featuring the promo code they sent me after I bought my kayak (um, thanks?!), and why I picked the Oru.
Reading/Watching:
What to plant now in your garden: Late July – I came across this blog when I was planning out my garden. They have a similar spring/summer planning method to me, yet different in that I have rarely done a fall planting. So this was an interesting read.
$ 1 COVID Tests that Could Allow Schools to Open – This YouTube video is a little long, but really interesting ideas around technology that ALREADY exists. The idea is that there is a paper saliva test that is super cheap. And while it’s not as sensitive as the current testing, since it’s instant, it catches more cases and could be used to daily for students and teacher to be able to open schools etc.
Obama’s Eulogy for John Lewis – “Sometimes, we read about this and we kind of take it for granted, or at least we act as if it was inevitable. Imagine the courage of two people Malia’s age, younger than my oldest daughter, on their own, to challenge an entire infrastructure of oppression,” he said. “John was only 20 years old, but he pushed all 20 of those years to the center of the table, betting everything, all of it, that his example could challenge centuries of convention and generations of brutal violence and countless daily indignities suffered by African Americans.”
Using/Buying:
Hooded fleece toddler PJs – we’ll be trying these for our next camping trip, as our kiddo is always on the move at night, out of his sleeping bag.
Target Drive Up – I’ve been championing the Target Drive Up feature since they started it. (No I’m not being paid to say this). It’s just super convenient, especially if you’re a parent, and especially now in the time of COVID. And I just found out that some stores are now letting you order fresh/frozen foods as part of Drive Up now too. Before it was just non-perishables. So I’m looking forward to trying that.
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
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