cheerfulmonk.com

I’m still smiling.

September 17, 2026

Pearls Before Swine

Andy and I used old-fashioned road Atlases. When we traveled we would get a new Rand McNally one from our insurance company each year.

I sorely missed that a few weeks ago when I was trying to see where a wildfire was in relation to our town. Maps on the internet didn’t have enough resolution for what I needed, so I ordered an atlas from Amazon.

I love looking at maps, and I like the spiral-bound version because it’s easier to hold. I’m just grateful they still make them. Do you use maps much?

September 16, 2026

This poor old world has way too many of them.

Off the Mark

September 15, 2026

AccuWeather is predicting that yesterday’s high of 86°F is the end of our hot weather — presumably for the year.

Fingers crossed!

September 14, 2026

The Other Coast

September 13, 2026

Andy and i were tickled the other day reading the National Weather Service forecast — we were going to have a slight warming trend. No, we weren’t happy about the added warmth, but we loved what the fellow wrote in parentheses:

Come on! It’s September! It’s supposed to be going in the other direction.

It did get up to 88°F yesterday, but maybe now it will go in the “right” direction?

We have air conditioning in the living room, but not in the bedrooms. It was still 77° at 9 o’clock last night, but I’m still sleeping just fine with a fan blowing on me, so no complaints.

September 12, 2026

Pexels

Andy and I usually get our Covid shot in September, our flu shot the first couple of weeks in October. So I had been checking with our pharmacy about the Covid shot, and they had them yesterday. We went down and had them in the morning.

Andy didn’t notice any effect at all. My arm was slightly sore if I noticed, but mostly I wasn’t aware of it. Needless to say, we’re happy we have that off our list. 🙂

September 11, 2026

Pickles

I thought of this the past couple of days when it was time to deal with Verizon’s monthly overcharge. The chat agents are friendly, and they keep saying it has been resolved and will never happen again, but there it is.

Anyway, I don’t take pictures, except for screen shots of their promises, but one of my first reactions is “blog fodder!” How will I describe this in a post? That alone makes me step back and broaden my perspective. I also figure it’s good practice in not wasting energy on what “should” or “shouldn’t” be happening but instead focus on what’s the best way for me to get the result I want.

The big change this time is I have a case number, so presumably when it happens again I don’t have to repeat myself. I figure it’s a long-term project — I will let you know if I ever succeed.

September 10, 2026

The Other Coast

Speed Bump

September 9, 2026

What happened to the last 200 days?? I remember when I reached 1000 days, now it’s 1200.

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Garfield en Español

Garfield

Calvin and Hobbes en Español

Calvin and Hobbes

Peanuts en Español

Peanuts

Peanuts en Español

Peanuts

What’s the point of sulking if no one cares?

September 8, 2026