cheerfulmonk.com

Click on the picture to see the video.

Watching that puts a smile on my face and some pep in my step.

March 29, 2025

Take all the energy you spend on…

worrying about the past
worrying about the future
worrying about what others think
worrying about if you might fail

… and channel that energy into one useful action within your control.
—Jame Clear

Yes! It’s similar to my mantra for the past thirty plus years,

The quality of our lives depends on how we focus our energy and our attention.
—The Traits of Stress-Hardy, Resilient People

When I taught stress management I called it Transforming Stress Into Personal Power. That didn’t mean we can always get what we want, it was more the Stoic or Hindu idea,

Play your part well and let go of the results.

Know your values, try to live them as best you can, and don’t waste energy fussing about things outside of your control.

My favorite quote on the subject was Duke Ellington’s,

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.

He’s one of my heroes.

March 28, 2025

gocomics.com/boundandgagged

reminds me of one of my very favorites:

gocomics,com/bliss

It was published September 30, 2023, and I saved it because of the expressions on their faces. I love the cartoon even more now in these scary times. It makes me smile and lifts my spirits.

March 27, 2025

gocomics.com/boundandgagged

March 26, 2025

gocomics.com/theothercoast

It makes me think of the time Tempi was told she couldn’t sit on the couch up on the land, and Tempi sat on the table instead. No problem, the view was even better from up there.

Eventually Kaitlin and Torben decided it was a dumb rule, so they started putting a sheet on the couch to protect it, and Tempi can use it any time she wants.

March 25, 2025

The hard freeze didn’t keep the apricot tree from blossoming:

March 18, 2025:

March 22, 2025:

March 23, 2025:

(I didn’t take the picture until about 6 p.m., after Kaitlin reminded me.)

That was quite a change in one day. Thanks, Kaitlin!

March 24, 2025

The shark needed help because a plastic line was tightly wrapped around his head and was cutting into its skin. Fortunately the diver was brave enough to help it. (Click on the photo for the video.)

March 23, 2025

Both the diet and skin care worlds are popular social media niches that can quickly cycle through trendy ideas that range from reasonably effective to bizarre. The infatuation with tallow appears to be one of the few times their content focuses on the same product.
—Influencers claim beef tallow has health and beauty benefits. Not necessarily, experts say.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of the believers. Here’s an Instagram video of him frying his turkey in tallow last Thanksgiving. (Click on the picture for the video.)

I enjoyed the video, but I haven’t been converted. As I’ve said before, my job right now is to keep being as happy and healthy as I can be so Kaitlin doesn’t have to worry about me. No clogging my arteries with saturated fats.

March 22, 2025

Andy has been spending a lot of time clearing the road of trees that blew down in Monday’s wind. Most of them were small and only partially across the road, but this one took him three days to clear.

Notice the little electric chain saw in the picture — that’s the only one he can use now. He doesn’t even take his two gas-powered ones in the car — they are too heavy for him to use safely. Doing the best he can with what he has left.

March 21, 2025

As usual, March is windy. This is what it looked like Monday:

It was even worse up on the land. Andy didn’t try to take a walk, he even had some trouble opening the car door.

Another sign of spring — the apricot tree by the basketball court was trying to blossom:

Unfortunately the low temperature that night was 22°F.

March 20, 2025