cheerfulmonk.com

It started when I posted a casual photo with a comment something like this: “It’s a cold wet horrible mid-winter day. Time to wear my funny hat.” Implying: “My orange bobble hat hand-knitted in the Malvinas always makes people laugh, and we need a laugh today.” That hat is not a fashin statement. It’s a gift to humanity, a hat with a mind of its own. I love it when my clothes cheer people up.

It was so kind of you to tell me, “Yor fashin statement sucks.” I was thrilled and answered straight away, “Thanks! That’s great!”
—Rachel Alpine, Dear young fashion influencer, don’t be cross

Hurray for Rachel, and for anyone who tries to put a bit more cheer into this poor old world.

June 26, 2025

Kaitlin sent this around 4:40 their time yesterday afternoon.

And Tempi included this picture of herself in her post about the heat,

That is unusual heat for Massachusetts, and AccuWeather predicted cooler temperatures starting this afternoon:

Thank goodness!

Our reprieve started yesterday. We had some rain and the temperature dropped to the low sixties in the afternoon. This was the picture from my bedroom window about 6 pm.

How are things where you are? Fingers crossed for us all.

June 25, 2026

A woman went to a store in Michigan to buy a birthday cake. She saw a worker and asked if someone could write a message on the cake. The worker said yes, and after a long wait, she came back with the finished cake. The woman thanked her without checking how it looked, then went to pay for it.

When she finally looked at the cake, she noticed the writing wasn’t very neat. She smiled a little, but it didn’t bother her. At the checkout, the cashier looked at the cake and didn’t smile either—she called a few other cashiers to come look. They took pictures and talked quietly.

Then one of the cashiers came over to the woman, gently held her arm, and said, “The person who wrote on your cake has autism. Thank you for smiling and saying thank you to her. She usually isn’t asked to do this task, and you probably made her whole day.”

The lesson in this story is that we should be kind to everyone.

It really is a beautiful story, and it touched my heart.

—Maiju Kemppainen

June 24, 2025

NEW SURVIVAL TECHNIQUE: During a heat wave or fights on the reef, clown fish can actually shrink themselves to survive. This is wildly more successful than humans’ tactic for handling heat/conflict resolution—-getting really upset and letting it ruin your day.
—The Morning Brew

I like that one because it reminds me of years ago when Andy and I were riding a train to Paris one hot, sticky evening. A man and a woman started fighting and had to be escorted off. Andy and I figured that wouldn’t have happened if the weather hadn’t been so miserable.

This following cartoon was published before our bombs dropped, and I figured it wasn’t supposed to be a political statement of what to do or not to do. It was sadness at the devastation of war.

gocomics.com/wizarofid

Then there is this piece of advice:

Now that the bombing has begun, there’s no telling where this will end.

Be strong. Be safe. Hug your loved ones.
—Robert Reich

Hugs to you all.

June 23, 2025

This was on Reddit:

Accidentally said “Love you!” at the end of a call with an important client yesterday. I heard him giggle as I hung up, and I was mortified. Today, I saw he emailed me this:

Hey,
Just wanted to say that I didn’t mean to laugh at you when you signed off on our call with a “love you.” I just found it funny because I’ve definitely done that before, and I know it happens.

I’m glad you have enough love in your life that that response comes naturally. If anything, you should be pround of that. 🙂

Have a great weekend! We’ll follow up about my call with Chris on Wednesday, as discussed.

Reading that made my day.

June 22, 2025

I cheerfully admit, this blog does seem to be doing that. But it makes me happy, there is that.

That said, another video about drama pups: When You Need a Cool Husky But Get a Drama Queen

Just the expression on the pup’s face makes me laugh.

June 21, 2025

Jassila Sikkandar, Pinterest

Everyday moments are precious.

June 20, 2025

An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means that it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.
– Paulo Coelho

A quote I loved even more came from a cooking competition when one contestant’s effort received harsh criticism.

Well, that was a character-building experience, wasn’t it?

He’s a man after my own heart. Have you had any “character-building” experiences lately?

June 19, 2025

I hadn’t watch Steve Hartman in years (no TV access) so I was pleased to see him again in this video.

June 18, 2025

Click on the photo to see the video (it repeats).

July 17, 2025/span>