dailyprompt – Page 5 – The Hermits' Rest

Make it go away

If you could erase one trend from history, what would it be?

I’ll tell you what trend I’d like to eliminate: charismatic psychopaths taking over the leadership of powerful countries and embarking on unstoppable campaigns to satisfy their need for praise and power.

Can we make this trend go away? Not without a destructive struggle, I fear.

Okay, people who came here to read the prompt response can stop reading. I’ll go on to ranch news. First, the dogs are making progress. And, hey, I discovered in the archives that we got Penney seven years ago this week, and she was my most recent acquisition. So we aren’t grabbing dogs Willy-nilly. (Kathleen rescued Goldie.)

Benito has started to both play with and assert himself with Harvey. I just hope they establish their boundaries quickly. It’s hard to keep B calm for his heart worm treatment when everyone wants to play and play. But they do sleep a lot.

We have noticed much less mounting and marking from Benito, which is really good. I’m not fond of that stuff.

As for the rest of us, we are muddling along, with no one feeling all that great. My jaw swelling has gone down, but I still hurt. I’ll let the dentist know, and I’m taking the antibiotics on schedule.

Sharing some white-mouthed day flowers, which got sprayed today. They were pretty, but it was time to trim some overgrowth.

Big thing for me: I am finally going through all my clothing from work and ranch and will be making some lucky thrift store shopper very happy. I got two boxes full of clothes today. More to come! This is one of my “issues,” having too many clothes. Comes from not having many growing up. But I go overboard. Sigh. I guess I could have worse issues (and probably do).

PS: haven’t lost a fish in my water garden! Yay!

Old technology memories

Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why?

I still feel bad in the tooth department but I’m gonna answer this question anyway, since nothing exciting happened today(which is good). Anyway, I miss two things from the olden days of my youth, back in the 20th century.

One is standard transmissions in cars. It was just plain fun to drive a stick shift when I was younger. You felt like you were actually telling the car what to do, as opposed to today’s cars that control the speed, yell at you if you stray out of your lane, and park for you. Cars used to be fun.

The other thing I miss is just for the fun aspect, and that’s intercom systems in homes and offices. It was so much fun to yell at your siblings on intercoms (we didn’t have one, but well-off friends did.) I know it was supposed to be so cool to play the radio throughout the house…but I liked paging parents. And oh, my, did we have fun in my first “real” job in Illinois, calling each other into our offices and being silly until we were reminded that it WAS a business.

All I know is we removed a lot of those systems when remodeling houses.

Genuine news! Finally have the first half of the year of temperatures in my blanket. July was hot!

I’m trying really hard to feel less down in the dumps and to make sure my mouth is healing. The dogs are still entertaining, though!

My excuse was flimsy

What is the best excuse you have heard lately?

Today’s question was quite appropriate. I did something monumentally dumb and my best excuse is that I read too fast. My other excuse is mouth pain making me grumpy and prone to misinterpreting things. So I embarrassed myself in front of many Internet strangers (and a person I know).

Positive note: our property is covered with these beautiful golden rain lilies. A reward from the storms.

What happened is I got a text telling me that my subscription club was ending and that I had until September to use all my points or they’d expire. Or something to that effect. My mind immediately leapt to my monthly subscription to nail strips from Color Street (such a weird name, I know). I look forward to the monthly surprises, so I got sad.

You know, my extreme nail vanity I can’t control for long.

I immediately told my friend who sells the strips, who was shocked. I then posted about it on a Facebook group for super-users of the strips. Before I was able to see any responses, Rebecca asked me to show her the text I’d gotten. I then saw my mistake. It wasn’t my Color Play subscription that was ending, but the Color Club for my hair coloring stuff, Overtone. Oops.

By the time I got back on Facebook, a tizzy was occurring in the nail group, since no one else had heard anything, including the “stylists” (MLM marketing term). I quickly changed my post and apologized, though people kept demanding I change my original post, which I had already done. I felt so embarrassed.

Luckily people were mostly forgiving and one even asked about Overtone.

But wow, my excuse for that mistake, while honest, was merely the best I could do, not a good one.

What makes us ourselves?

Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are?

Oh. I have been reading so much about the self, nature versus nurture, what the heck reality is…my main conclusion boils down to:

I don’t know and don’t think it matters

This doesn’t imply that it’s not fascinating to seek insight into how experiences and genetics affect your physical and mental health — after all I enjoyed The Myth of Normal just recently, and I’m currently reading about the nature of consciousness.

Flowers are conscious beings, according to Michael Pollan.

My point is that I’m fine not knowing the answers to these questions. In fact, I think I enjoy pondering the possibilities and learning about other scientists and spiritual practitioners propose so much that if we knew exactly how much nature and nurture contribute to who we are, I’d be sad.

Perhaps it’s human nature to want an explanation for what we perceive. On the other hand, for some cultures and individuals, not knowing is something to be treasured, a great mystery. (I do not advocate for choosing ignorance of course—you need to know what you don’t know.)

Right now, I’m choosing to be curious while enjoying being alive without really knowing what that means. I’d make a lot more sense if I were more awake and less achy from the tooth thing. I feel pain, therefore I am, said some wise person.

Update on dogs. Benito is fine. It’s hard to stop him and Carlton from playing in the evening, though. Curiously, the dynamic has changed, and Carlton is now doing dominance behavior over Benito. Hmm. Maybe they’re equals now. In any case, they sure stick together.

B is next to me, C is on the next pillow.

I’d rather be a dolphin than Benito

If you had to be an animal for a week, which one would you be and why?

I liked today’s question. I thought about many possibilities, brought on by the book I’m reading about consciousness. I wondered how it would feel to be a bird, a fish, or a snake (those were my other ideas). But I settled on a dolphin,

Why a week as a dolphin? I’d love to live on the water and perceive how that feels. Of course, dolphins know what air feels like, so it’s not like many fish, who don’t know there’s any other option. I’d love to learn how dolphins communicate, what matters to them in their world, and what kinds of emotions they have. It would be like experiencing another culture and language but much stronger.

I wouldn’t want to be a captive dolphin. They are probably depressed. Image from Pexels

This kind of experience would probably lead us humans to rethink a lot of our assumptions.

I could be one of these happy guys I saw from a boat.

Okay, but why wouldn’t I want to be Benny/Benito? He had a hard day today and hurts all over, I’m guessing, having been neutered and given many vaccinations. It’s for the best in the long run, of course.

Plus, Dr Amy and team found out he is heart worm positive. I guess his previous folks hadn’t given him heart worm preventative every month. So he is embarking on a long road to recovery that involves keeping him inactive. Yeah. Good luck. Maybe the medicine will keep him tired.

I’ll miss that testosterone once it’s out of my system.

Poor little guy. I’m glad he made it over here so he can get the care he needs.

Currently he’s sleeping under the covers next to me.

A cute thing about today was that when he got home, instead of Benito following Carlton and pestering him, the tables were turned. Carlton didn’t stray from Benito’s side, like he was caring for him. So sweet.

We are liking the nickname Benito for Benny. After all, he’s Hispanic sort of. He just has to get used to it. This way when we scold him Penney won’t think she did something wrong.

Book I treasured

Which book have you read more than any other?

Still on yesterday’s book theme, I guess. I thought about it a while, and there are two books I re-read so many times I lost count. One was Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell. She was a very good horses’ rights advocate, and she sure convinced me that horses should be treated kindly, even working horses.

I have a feeling I wrote about this before, and I did, a whole blog post two years ago. So go read that. Obviously the blog prompt writers repeat themselves!

The repetition did give me a chance to think of another book I read so much it fell apart. It was a book about Star Trek (TOS)* that listed every episode, its name, the cast, etc. Allow me to go find out its name. It’s not on the shelf next to my James Blish novelizations of each episode. Yes, I had all those beauties, mostly first editions.

The best I can come up with is The Making of Star Trek. That was by Roddenberry and someone else. But it was 1976, too late.

I don’t have book cover photos so here are the fish again. Three of four goldfish.

Or perhaps it was the World of Star Trek by David Gerrold. I had both, but this one came out in 1973 at the peak of my fascination. I do remember I annotated the book extensively and kept it by my TV chair (which is still with me, in my office). Yep, that book probably got read more than even Black Beauty.

Well, I hope someone found this interesting. My one Trekkie reader, I guess.

Oh. We have been given Benny the brown chiweenie or something related to that. His owner says he obviously seems happy here. Yeah. He’s not in a cage outside. I woke up this morning with him and Carlton sleeping sweetly beside me. Anyway, we can get him neutered and updated on shots now.

I just kept coming back until you got the hint.

And I had a very complicated day at the dentist. A simple crown replacement turned into an extraction, prep for another root canal, and something or other on a third tooth. This leads to the need for expensive repairs. Glad I have a savings account and pain meds.

I know my negativity

What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts?

As an expert on negative thoughts (my own) I have much to say about dealing with negative thoughts. I’ve written plenty about it over the years. And, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve gotten a lot better at dealing with my negative self talk.

Being human, and living in 2026, I do still have negative thoughts, both about myself and the state of the world. I don’t know what’s the “best” way to deal them, but I can share what I do.

When I’m thinking negative thoughts about myself, I remind myself that I’m just fine and that other people’s opinions of me are their issue, not mine. And over the years I’ve simply gotten more comfortable with my imperfections and oddities. That helps. Just reminding myself that no one’s perfect and that’s FINE helps me push aside negative self talk.

As for the state of the world, dealing with negative thoughts about the state of the world or the future, well, that’s harder. I latch onto any positive news like a life rope. Last weekend’s convention was helpful. But most important for me, I need to live in the moment and see the good and beauty around me. Nature, dogs, horses, family, and work are the things I can focus on. Anyone can do something like that!

Just think of a basket of puppies (I wish it were so easy)

When I was learning to not be so hard on myself, I taught myself to redirect negative thoughts by acknowledging them, then focusing on a positive statement. Things are difficult now. Your feelings are real and do matter—it’s just important not to dwell on them all the time, since it doesn’t make anything better.

Nowadays, when doomsday thoughts, hopelessness, or fear creep in I remind myself that there are way more people who just want a safe home for their families, meaningful work, and freedom to be themselves than there are oligarchs and their ilk. They have money, but we have numbers.

Did that help? Maybe?

PS: Happy Canada Day!

My friend Patty saw a parade like this today! Photo from Pexels

Now I understand modern art

What do you love now, that you hated when you were younger?

When I was young, I was all for art that looked pretty and looked like it was depicting something. It’s probably another one of my mother’s aesthetic choices that influenced me (she also hated tattoos, and while I don’t love them, I appreciate some of them). Mom was an artist and she had strong, if (now I realize) kind of bourgeois preferences.

She did like florals, and I’ve stuck with that, more because I love flowers than because I love still life.

When I was learning as much as I could about art, music, and literature in college, I was more fond of painting and sculpture up through Impressionism. After that, I could intellectually appreciate those Picasso shapes and angles, and the Mondrian squares, but I didn’t enjoy them. I could read about interpretations, but nothing moved me emotionally.

I can still remember the day it finally clicked. I was with a friend visiting museums in Houston in the 2000s. We went to the Menil Collection, which is housed in a modern building surrounded by a sculpture garden. First, I was so entranced by a large installation outside that I could barely go in.

I was so intrigued at how it was in the lawn. Menil Collection.

Then, as we walked around I came to be standing in front of a painting by Mondrian of white, yellow, and blue rectangles. I could see every detail, and was fascinated by its depth and warmth. This abstract piece moved me. I got how the simplified presentation could help your subconscious form its own associations. Ah.

Composition in yellow, blue, and white, Piet Mondrian, 1922, Menil Collection

So, now I’m more far ranging in my art appreciation, and that’s good at least for me. I’m not an art historian or connoisseur, so I could be making stuff up, of course. But I did enjoy the whole collection of “modern” art that day.

By the way, I’m reading a novel that’s also an art history class. I’ll review it when I’m done, but Mona’s Eyes is quite fascinating!

Sometimes I’m wrong

What’s a time you followed your gut and it turned out to be exactly right?

This question threw me for a loop! When I mused about gut feelings nothing that worked out came to mind.

Hello, wolf spider. My only photo from today.

No, I just thought about the ones that didn’t, but worked out anyway. I can think of a few good friends of whom I had negative first impressions. I remember the horrible feeling I had when I heard I had to move to Texas, but it’s been a great life here, just unexpected.

And yes, there have been gut feelings about romantic relationships, jobs, and travel choices that had very poor outcomes. But I learn from them all!

Usually I’m right. But can a specific instance come to mind? Nope. My gut tells me I’m too tired to think.

Enjoy this flowering tree. Anacahuita or Mexican olive.

Can you think of a good example?

Advice to young people

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

Dear younger humans,

You’re fine, even your broken parts. Other people’s negative opinions about you reflect their issues, not yours.

You’re lovable!

Sincerely,

Suna

Long day. Did good work. Someone else didn’t like it. Nonetheless, it was good. Heeded my own advice.