Talking
When summer comes here, I actually leave the house. Gasp!
Part of being a newspaper person is that it requires me to actually leave the house during the summer months and interact with people.
I have a sort of stage fright about going out to things, but once I’m there, I tend to love it. I get my little hobbit dad’s love of humans doing human things, being kind to each other, hearing their stories.
This weekend, I paused for a really long time outside an event at a library on our island.
It’s sometimes awkward to walk into spaces holding a giant camera. To be fair, the camera also tends to give you an air of “I’m coming in no matter what,” which can be helpful.
Inside the library was someone lovely who I hadn’t seen in forever. And I got to see him thriving. THRIVING! This was a person I used to worry about. And here he was living his best life. I think I’m going to write a little bit about this over on LIVING HAPPY today too when I get time.
Anyway, this is why it’s sometimes good to leave your house and manifest your hobbit dad no matter how shy you’re feeling.
THE POEM (Via the Poetry Foundation)
Romance
By Václav Hrabě
Translated By C. E. Janecek
Romance(2 versions)
Translated from the Czech
Green fluorescents
pale the night sky
Swaying like a drunken preacher
And the stars
even at this distance smell
of pickling brine
The moon this handsome fellow
stuck two fingers down his throat
What a hunk And how he pukes!
Smiles life lessons odorless
beer
sorrow spiritus and soot in lashes
When he’s done I’ll drag him to bed
After all he never sleeps
And then comes
the golden spike of my program
Juggling bottles
inside them some water sand and sticky feathers
a queen of hearts
half drowned
I have to do it fast
so they at least resemble
fireworks
love’s vertigo
the white smiles of clowns
the tender pirouettes of cormorants and wild geese
the sparking spindly circle
of life
I have to do it fast
so it can’t be mimicked
So the polite cleanshaven man in the first row can’t stand
pat me fatherly on the shoulder
and say “Friend we can excuse your madness
but we know it’s all just the tiring work of able hands
So why the illusions friend
why the illusions?”
I have to do it so fast that no one can tell
how much my hands are shaking
and with a vigilance so vast
as vast as my fear
that these otherwise ordinary bottles
flying through the air yearning to echo
love fireworks people and birds
could break
Just like that
the slip of shaking hands
and earth’s gravity
I finish without applause
you’ll see me tomorrow
feeding the gulls above the river with my stories
and spitting at the sky making clouds
for the holy moon
he’s hungover
and someone needs to do it
before everyone else leaves for work
Source: Poetry (June 2026)
A SANDWICH FILLING AND NOT A SOUP!
Gasp!
I know! I know! What am I doing? Can I not even play by my own rules? Where is the soup, Carrie?
Spoiler: Nope. I can not play by my own Substack rules.
This is from Allrecipes.
CHICKPEA SANDWICH YUMMINESS
What goes in it.
1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 stalk celery, chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 tablespoon mayonnaise, or to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
How to Make It
Gather all ingredients.
Mash chickpeas in a medium bowl with a fork.
Mix in celery, onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dill until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve on bread and enjoy!
Recipe Tip
You can substitute any raw, chopped vegetable for the celery. You can use your favorite salad dressing instead of mayonnaise.
BONUS LINK
This link is about how we might abandon hobbies and how you shouldn’t pressure yourself about that.
Thanks for hanging out here with me in my totally no-pressure substack. It’s just a few of us here and I love that and I love you all very much.