The Hermits' Rest

Can you dig it?

Yes, I can. Today a lot got done around the house, and some of it was by me! I can dig that. I managed to go to the #1 Cameron meeting place, the bakery, and not be late. That’s because I mis-remembered the meeting time. So I got to talk to all the employees and other friends while I waited for Mike and Martha. We discussed our upcoming trip to Ruidoso (for longer this time).

My view as I waited. There’s a kid quietly playing in the kid area. A nice change of pace.

I steeled myself to be cheerful and positive as I did all the errands I was too slothful to do last week. I paid more for gas today than I ever have in my life. For some reason that inspired me to give the random sad-looking person sitting outside the station the change from buying my soda. Maybe it balanced out my irritation at the gas prices.

The first cheerful sight today was three Great Egrets all at once. That’s unusual here.

On my way to Tractor Supply to get animal feed in Rockdale, I passed all my favorite political candidates and waved. I also noted yard signs and a billboard. Wow! That cheered me up enough to enjoy the folks at Tractor Supply even when I had to wait to get loading help (I have tweaked my back). I got a shirt that says “Positive Vibes” to commemorate my improved mood. ) I could dig that, too!

Next I headed to the pharmacy, because I couldn’t drag myself over there to pick up a prescription before it expired. The bonus was my expensive prescription my insurance won’t pay was also ready. AND they had time to vaccinate me for flu and COVID, which we elders need. The new pharmacist is a very sweet young man who’s fun to talk to. He has a button earring. It’s so cute. I’m glad one of the new pharmacists is nice, since my favorite one finally escaped (I’m going into all this detail to show I made an effort to be a good influence in the world today.)

There was actual digging at the ranch today! The next phase of our water retention setup got into motion. It was great to see our ancient backhoe finally fixed and back at work! It’s more than a lawn ornament!

The dirt has to be dug away to build the foundation for the water tank next to the house, as well as pumps and filters. It was interesting to be reminded just how much dirt we brought in to create our foundation and get the drainage right. The black at the bottom of the reddish fill is the black land clay.

The white pipe is the sewer line that must move.

All went well with the digging except the sewer line out of our bathrooms got nicked. It was going to have to be moved anyway, it turns out. I’m relieved to report it’s fixed enough to work until the line gets moved into its new position.

There’s a lot of precise measurement required to do all the digging correctly, and I’m really impressed that the huge machine can be made to do such fine work. We’re lucky to have a resident tractor ballet expert at our house!He can dig it, very well!

What did Lee and I do during all the digging? We’ve been watching Lee’s favorite YouTube channel, which is a guy in Canada who does bookbinding. (Find the videos under Four Keys Book Arts.) What a complex process that is! The guy has a very pleasant demeanor, so calm and relaxed that you almost miss his puns.

Three books the guy bound for the author Andy Weir. The video series was called Project Hail Andy.

My favorite parts are when he does paper marbling and leather tooling, but it’s all more interesting than you might expect. I do think it’s funny that we’ve turned into people who spend their weekends watching stuff like this, but it’s certainly less stressful than the news.

And I can dig that!

Super Suna strikes again

If you had to switch lives with a fictional character for a week, who would you choose?

I just had to respond, even if I’ve answered this before. I’d be Supergirl. Yep. Kara Zor-El of Argo City. I don’t think I’d be the one from any recent movies. I’d be Legion of Superheroes Kara from 1970s and 1980s DC Comics. I like that she’s smart but imperfect.

It was hard to find an image without a stupid “modern” costume.

She was always my favorite. My next-door neighbor Sandra Purvis and I spent hours and hours of our childhood running around in our neighborhood wearing towels as capes, pretending to be Supergirl and Phantom Girl. It was a great way to escape from our daily lives and pretend we were dating dashing teen boy Superheroes. She and I both spent a LOT of time in our imaginations.

Later on Anita and I were just as enamored of our Legion friends, though there was more script writing and less pretend play.

Here in the modern world I escape by hanging out in the outdoors, surrounding myself with dogs, as well as playing with pens and nail polish. Hmm. I also did that as a teen.

I’m feeling better, a bit, so after birding a bit, I did some cleanup around the porches of our house and threw some stuff away. I felt so powerful just making myself do something useful. There’s so much more to do, but I can tell I did something. The big cleanup will wait until it cools off. Besides, there were mosquitoes after me.

It may look like a mess, but it’s better.

I also made a happy discovery. Lee had bought some boxes to store old photos in. Meanwhile, I had been searching for better Color Street nail polish strip storage but finding nothing. I brought a polish package upstairs just to check, and lo and behold, it fit in the box. I didn’t need the little individual storage boxes, I thought. Then I realized I could use them to store the smaller packages that bonus sets come in. I felt like Super Suna for figuring that out. I’d been dissatisfied with my storage a long time.

There are probably two readers who find this interesting. Enjoy!

I guess it doesn’t take much to force a little self esteem back. I shall keep on trying!

PS: Wood Storks flew over the house last night. My yearly migration sighting!

Book Report: The Land and its People

Yeah, I already finished another book. Reading is about all I can manage right now. So, this is the latest essay collection by David Sedaris, a writer I’ve always found funny. A lot of his funniness comes from his voice when he’s reading his essays, which I’ve enjoyed more than once. The Santaland Diaries is really great. I got his latest collection, The Land and its People (2026), on my most recent foray into Barnes and Noble, and the book’s time at the top of the to-read list finally arrived. I was ready for something not about nuclear warheads, for sure.

I do find the rants of an aging gay New Yorker comforting and entertaining. I don’t find them uproariously funny but that’s okay. I’m sure I’d be guffawing more if I knew (or cared) more about life in New York City among the literate elites. But at least I’m fairly culturally literate, so I followed most of the references to famous people and their buddies who hang out in fancy restaurants and hotels.

You know, I just might not be in the mood for rich people feeling sorry for themselves, me included (borderline). So don’t let my negativity steer you away from this collection. There are some gems in there, especially toward the end. I giggled at the essay about how people mispronounce words they e never heard aloud before —there were some new ones in there for me. And I enjoy his undying love for his husband and siblings (especially Amy and Gretchen).

I’d say if you like self-deprecating humor and wry observations of the human condition, you can’t go wrong with anything David Sadaris writes. And the f you get a chance to see him live, treat yourself to the performance!

Book Report: Seek Immediate Shelter

I thought the idea for this book was fascinating. It’s about various members of a community who experience an announcement of an incoming ICBM missile telling them to seek shelter (immediately, as the title implies). Seek Immediate Shelter, by Vincent Yu (2026) focuses on new characters in each chapter, but since they’re nearly all members of the town’s ethnic Chinese community, it’s not surprising that they go into the same shops or have met each other.

As much as I loved the premise of the book, I found the characters so incredibly human, flawed, and often unkind that I found it hard to empathize or even like them. You do eventually find out how some of the folks came to be so damaged and “messed up,” which helped me understand more. The people are really different from most characters in books, and I credit Yu with creating such a unique community.

Yu writes beautifully, with spare prose that provides the reader ample opportunity to read between the lines and come to their own conclusions. I enjoyed reading the book, even though I’ve had nightmares about bombs coming ever since “duck and cover” training in the 60s. I liked that each chapter could be read as its own novella. It’s an easy book to read in chunks.

I’d say it’s a challenging book to read, because the characters are a bit sad and directionless, but honestly, it’s kind of fun to read a book about average people in extraordinary situations. Hmm.

What does Cameron need?

What’s one thing that would instantly improve your city?

The town I live closest to is Cameron, Texas, with between 5,000-6,000 people. It could use many things, though it’s improving over the past few years. There’s just one thing I wish we still had, a hospital.

Cameron has had one in the past. This was on Crockett Ave.

Like oh so many small towns in Texas, Cameron had a hospital not all that long ago, the replacement for the one shown above. There were questionable management practices and it failed in 2018. The other hospital in the county, which was owned by the same company, bit the dust not long afterward.

The Cameron Hospital is now where most of the county government offices are. The Rockdale one is now being renovated as an educational facility.

All these other uses are great, but that leaves the entire county with no place to go for emergencies. It’s 45 minutes to the closest hospital in Temple, where our family spends a lot of time. I’d go to College Station and hope the extra ten minutes to get there wouldn’t kill me.

We do have two clinics, and I really like the local one I go to, where I know the people. But these aren’t for urgent care or emergency care. And there are no hospital beds in this county.

You’ve probably heard of the rural health care crisis. It’s real! Of course it’s just one piece of the healthcare problems in the US. What a mess.

But hey, I have a very pretty plant on the porch. That’s my little glimmer of the day.

I used to go places

What’s the longest trip you’ve ever taken?

Hello. I can answer this question in two ways. The longest distance I ever traveled was to Switzerland, which I have done twice, one when my children were young, and then when Lee and I went on the Rhine River cruise. the first trip was pretty much a nightmare and the second was the best vacation I’ve ever been on. I wish I could go on another Viking Cruise. Just the right mix of relaxing and seeing new things.

The longest length of time I’ve ever traveled was when I went to Toronto for three weeks to work. I had a wonderful time. It was probably the highlight of my time at Planview. I felt respected and valued by the nice people at CIBC (a bank).

Still feeling down. My Mom’s birthday was today, 104 years ago, so unlike many of my friends, I’m not freshly grieving or treasuring a living parent. But mostly the remembrance of 9/11 and all those lives lost hurts so much. (I’ll not repeat my personal tale, preferring to stick to the big picture).

Today’s coloring. Not scanned so it doesn’t look great.

And it’s so hot. Etc. So I colored and tried to enjoy football. However political ads and the fixation on gambling tamps my enthusiasm down. Whine.

So annoyed at Paxton ads that I made a drab mandala.

I’ll be back soon

Just not quite myself, so I’m pretty boring. Highlights? It rained .03” yesterday. I have spent most of my time the past few days working (not today), doing necessities like feeding animals, listening to birds (migrating sandpipers are here), and reading.

Other than that, I’m coloring. Keeps anxiety attacks at bay.

Lee scanned these for me. They look better in person, because some of the colors have metallic sheens in a second color.

If pets could talk

If your pet could talk, what would be the first thing it says?

Feed me. Now I need a nap.

I’m worried about various illnesses. Dogs have bad allergies (Penney got steroids). Black widows are on the prowl again. My mental health is slipping—I can’t make myself do things i know I need to do. I just want to read.

I guess I couldn’t do much outside anyway, since they fertilized the field across the road and it smells like a very ripe diaper. I still have humor.

A book I regret reading

Have you ever regretted reading a book — which one and why?

Shoot, I wasn’t going to do the prompt today, but when I saw the question, the answer immediately popped into my head. I know the Sidney Lanier Elementary School librarian thought I was a mature child due to my vocabulary and reading skills. And I know she was aware that I loved books about horses. I’m guessing I’d pretty much gone through the entire horse collection during the hours Mrs. Atwater sent me away from the class so she could teach reading to the rest of the class in peace. But really. A ten-year-old girl is not a good candidate to read and appreciate the life lessons taught in John Steinbeck’s The Red Pony. Spoiler alert: the pony doesn’t fare well.

I don’t know if a 68-year-old highly sensitive adult woman who loves animals is a good candidate. Yep. I regret reading that book because it gave me many years of bad dreams.

Honestly, as hard as I’ve been trying, I feel like my attempts at seeing the good in the world, being friendly, and appreciating what I have can’t keep the mental struggles away. If you’re feeling down, too, I see you and commiserate. We can hold each other up. I’m here to listen, too. It keeps us connected.

Hey, look. It’s July and August of this year. Last year there were no pink days (over 100°) in the temperature blanket.

I do have things to bring a smile to my face, though. Kathleen gave me a very pretty tree of life hanging decoration and a whole set of matching coasters that she decorated herself. Each coaster is different!

Plus, I’m boosting my spirits by taking pride in doing hard things. For example, I’ve unpacked all my bags from my trip! And though I bought some shoes, I put three times as many in the donation boxes. Bonus: it’s been over a month and my closet is still all picked up. Look at meeee!

Note the empty space on the shoe shelves.

I will not dwell on the things I’ve not done that I should do. I’ll just try again tomorrow.

Airport survey time

What’s the best and worst airport you’ve been to?

Today I rested, as a worker I supposed to do on Labor Day. You’re also supposed to protest, so once again I’ll complain about the irony of being a contractor and being told not to work, but also not get it as a paid holiday. Sheesh. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I’m not paying attention, Suna. I’m just glad you’re home.

I’ll just answer the blog prompt, then. You can answer too, unless you don’t fly, of course.

Favorite airport? I have a few I like, especially any airport with clean terrazzo floors. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is one I recently visited with great floors, interesting seating, and lots of light. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it looked.

Weird seats, shiny floors, lights. Myrtle Beach.

My other favorite airport is Hilton Head Island, also in South Carolina. It’s tiny, intimate, and oh-so-easy to get in and out of. I think they’re expanding it, which is sort of a bummer.

Runners-up include Greensboro/High Point, North Carolina, with just enough space for a friendly bar if you need one, and Portland, Oregon.

Least favorite airport? Just about any huge hub like Dallas, Houston, or Atlanta. I have PTSD about O’Hare thanks to being there on 9/11, so I’ll add it to the list.

Outside the US, I like Toronto and I really don’t like Heathrow. Thanks to marrying a non-flyer, I don’t get to go many places outside the US anymore.

Feel free to share your favorites!

I’m glad to be back to be with all the birds. I missed them. I restocked the feeders and sat in the birding hut a while, even though it’s still darned hot. The new shades that were put up for me help a lot. My garden spider companion didn’t mind me one bit!

Air can come through, but the sun is blocked

I’m also glad to be back with the family, too. Travel is fun but regular routine and being a hermit are also good.