Make a Staycation Plan Now; Get the Most from Summer

Beginning next week I’ll be on hiatus all July. I’m making a staycation plan to ensure I don’t fritter away my time.

While I won’t be blogging, I’ll be posting the best of “Call Me Grandma!” from the archives, so please come back each week. I’ll return with new crafts, games, recipes, and insights August 3.

Making a Staycation Plan

I like to make a list of what I plan to accomplish during my time off. (Here’s my list from 2020.) Some goals are the same because either I didn’t accomplish them, or the activity is perpetual.

I check the list periodically to see if I’m still on plan. I don’t make a huge to-do, list because goofing off should be part of a staycation, too.

Here’s what’s on my list this year.

Food and Cooking

I’ve worked in the culinary field almost my entire career, as a food editor and in food marketing communications. I’m still involved in the industry; this year, I was a judge again of the James Beard Foundation Awards.

Still, I’m not a professional chef so, there’s a lot I can learn and do during my downtime.

My staycation plans:

• Host at least one small garden party.
• Bake and frost a layer cake for no special occasion–just for fun and practice. I don’t have much of an opportunity since our family favors birthday pies.
• Try at least one new recipe or master one new cooking technique. I have several hundred cookbooks in my library to choose from.

Family and Relationships

As I get older, I’m recognizing the importance of documenting family history for my children and grandchildren. I’m also wanting to reconnect with friends.

My staycation plans:

• Scan important family photos and upload to the cloud; identify the people for posterity. For example, in the photo above, I have no information about the child on my grandmother’s lap. One day, my children might not even know that the person pictured is my grandmother.
• Send a proper handwritten card to a few friends, instead of emailing.
• Arrange a zoom call with far-flung cousins for a virtual family reunion.

Adding Fun to my Staycation Plan

I tend to have work-oriented goals in my staycation plan, and forget to plan for fun. Just because we’re staying home doesn’t mean we have to stay put.

My staycation plans:

• Go on at least one picnic in the park.
• Take a long drive into the country or to the seashore and have a leisurely lunch at a good restaurant.
• Spend time reading on the deck without feeling guilty.

Household Improvements

I’m not much for vacuuming or mopping, but I enjoy straightening things up. I love the satisfaction of creating order.

My staycation plans:

• Redo my floor-to-ceiling spice cabinet–new jars; new labels.
• Clean out and reorganize all the kitchen drawers.
• Reorganize my craft room.
• Review everything in my clothes closet and get rid of anything that doesn’t “spark joy.”

Continuing Education

It’s good to learn something new during leisure time. I am an avid reader of e-books and a listener of audiobooks. And we have quite a large print book collection of history and art in our home library.

My for-fun reading is heavy on the British detective genre.

My staycation plans:

• Read or listen to at least one history or art book.
• Learn to master designing my own projects with a Cricut cutting machine.

Blog

While I won’t be producing new blog posts, maintaining a blog is ever-demanding.

My staycation plans:

• Curate a collection of archived posts to repost each Wednesday during my absence.
• Plan out stories for the next two months.
• Plan projects for the grandkids to keep them busy the rest of the summer.
• Produce more reels and continue to post fresh content on my social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Follow along on my social media platforms to see what I’m up to during this staycation.

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During my vacation, for the next four weeks, I’ll be reposting curated archived stories. Next week: what to do with toilet paper rolls to entertain kids. Come visit!