Yeah, I personally hate the summer. I'd love to live in the kind of climate you are in, it's in the hundreds here, but I get it. The heat just saps your energy and everything seems to drag on. Don't forget to drink water! Hopefully it doesn't get hotter for you.

I love you

That Castile soap is great, especially for oil/grease.

Yes you can. Here is a little link to help you out.

https://itsfoss.com/intsall-ubuntu-on-usb/

I didn't use this method, I have a persistent Linux install on a USB, but at least it'll point you in the right direction to figure out what you want to do.