cheerfulmonk.com

Do you have your birth certificate or passport? Andy has his birth certifcate in our safe deposit box, but I have only a baptism certificate. When I first applied for a passport 66 years ago that’s all my folks had for me — I can’t remember why we couldn’t get my birth certificate from the county where I was born, but proof of baptism was all I needed at the time. Then in 1964 I married Andy and we immediately went to France for 13 months. There I went to the American embassy with my marriage license and had the name on my passport changed.

Ever since then Andy and I have renewed our passports before they expired. We were impressed this last December how easy the renewal process is now — we could do it online and received our new ones in about a month.

We have no intention of traveling, especially out of the country, but we do think it prudent in this day and age to have proof of citizenship.

What about you? Do you have your birth certificate or a passport? Do you think it’s a wise thing to have?

February 11, 2026

My latest doggie fix:

Our lease says that huskies are one of the restricted breeds — we couldn’t have a pup that had 50% or more of their genes. We agree — they are not made to live in apartments.

Things your husky knows about you:

Hurray for the internet and my doggie fixes.

Jury Update:. Andy received this email yesterday:

Your request to be excused from jury service has been reviewed and granted. You have been excused from the term of service for which you were summoned.

Thank you

We expected it, but it’s still a good feeling to get it.

February 10, 2026

This is from a post by Angus in Scotland:

The cutest little Eider duckling has been blown up into the courtyard by the gales. For a moment we think it’s a puffin. Down on the shore the Eider mothers are braving the waves and paddling back and forth along the shoreline looking for it. The wee thing has opted to shelter under the car . This is out of the wind but frustratingly just out of reach. The Waitrose driver ( an early era Syrian refugee who now speaks with a Scots accent straight out of central casting ) choses this moment to drive into the courtyard and drop off ‘The Font’s’ monthly komboucha order. He sees me kneeling on all fours and asks if he can help. If we don’t do something the chick will starve. He gets down on the ground , stretches his arms, picks the chick up and then carefully carries the wee thing down to join its siblings on the beach. The Eider mothers watch him. To our surprise it is soon reunited. Interfering with nature is always a damned if you do, damned if you don’t affair. For the last seventeen years the kindness of people has been a staple of this blog. This is the latest example. The driver must have taken a good fifteen minutes out of his schedule. The Syrian refugee likes to stop out here in his lunch break to have his ‘piece’. Sometimes he brings his children with him. He is a gentle man.

A powerful reminder of what I care about.

February 9, 2026

With all the cruelty and nastiness going on in the world is it frivolous to play? Kurt Vonnegut would say it’s feeding our soul — is that too self-centered/selfish? Hugh Prather asked this question years ago in his How to Live in This World and Still Be Happy. His conclusion: No, it isn’t selfish to be happy. It was the only way he knew to be kind.

I think Thich Nhat Hahn would agree with that. Here’s a story he told:

A Buddhist monk asked his students a question, “If you’re carrying a cup of coffee and someone bumps into you, why did you spill the coffee?”

Each and every one of his students said because someone bumped into me.

“No, the reason why you spilled the coffee is because that’s what you were carrying in your cup. If you were carrying water, you would have spilled water.”

Then he said something profound.

“Whenever life shakes you, whatever you’re carrying is going to spill out. So if you’re carrying fear, jealousy, anger, greed, that’s what’s going to spill out. But if you’re carrying love, compassion, kindness, empathy, that’s what’s going to spill out.

Each and every day, you should pause and think to yourself, What am I carrying in my cup today?”

February 8, 2026

I read that question in a blog recently (sorry, I tried to find it again but didn’t have any luck). That was easy for me to answer — it’s curiosity. As I’ve said, my mantra starts with,

Stay curious and open to life.

Why is that so powerful? It keeps me from being bored, and it keeps me from becoming depressed as I spend a few hours every day keeping up with what is going on in the world. If there is something constructive I can do, then of course I do it. Otherwise I have more interesting things to think about. Like my balloon:

Seven weeks old

And my bean plant.

The two pods on the left have completely shriveled up, but they haven’t dropped off yet. Here’s picture of them from a different angle.

And the recent flower on one of the plants on the right is trying to produce another pod:

We will have to see what happens next.

Another example of curiosity as a superpower is when time- and thought-consuming problems come up. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been training myself to have an alert mind in a relaxed body, but in fact what I’m really aiming for is a curious mind. When we get really curious we automatically turn on our parasympathetic nervous system and relax. We get into the flow state and concentrate on the process rather than worrying about outcomes. That means we gather information and retain it, and we practice our problem solving skills. Our effort compounds as time goes on and we get better and better at it.

Anyway, that’s what works for me. Do you have a superpower? If so, what is it?

February 7, 2026

I always go to our doctor’s web portal when either Andy or I have lab tests. And the last time I looked his up, for some reason I checked to verify my September 28 appointment for my next physical. It wasn’t there even though I had a piece of paper telling me the time and date. I left a message at their office to mention it, and I never heard back. I wasn’t concerned because I figured it was just a mistake putting the data on the website.

But when I phoned to ask them for the note excusing Andy from jury duty, I asked them to verify my appointment. They didn’t know about it.. We made a new appointment for October 1st, and that one is on the portal now so presumably it’s safe.

They are shorthanded, so I’ll try to double check in the future, just in case.

Anyway, Andy picked up the note saying he is not a candidate for jury duty due to medical conditions. He paid the office the $25 fee, and when he got home I took a picture of the note and uploaded it to their web page. Just in case I took a screenshot saying the upload was successful:

Does that sound a bit paranoid? I think not. Mistakes do happen.

February 6, 2026

 

 
Jury Duty Update: I phoned our doctor’s office yesterday and asked that she write a letter to get him excused. They phoned back later and said it’s waiting for him to pick it up — presumably he will do that today and we’ll scan it and send it off.

February 5, 2025

Speed Bump

This reminds me of Zoe. She does like to have her voice heard.

February 4, 2026

Bound and Gagged

Andy has been summoned for local jury duty, by postcard:

Apparently if person doesn’t have access to the internet they can phone and get help, but unlike the process for me when I was summoned for federal jury duty,

I scanned the QR code using my iPad and the two of us answered the questionnaire there. Andy will talk to our doctor and let her decide if he should opt out.

Anyway, another little adventure with modern technology.

February 3, 2026

For higher resolution, click on the picture.

Pearls Before Swine

Do you think pig has the right idea about success, that it’s the ability to enjoy your day? It works for me. It reminds me of

 
and

 
I can’t always do that, of course, but I often can — and even when I can’t enjoy a chore I can practice staying centered, patient, and effective. If I can’t even manage that, at least I’ll learn something from trying.

February 2, 2026