Day 3440: National Loving Day

I’m loving that there is a National Loving Day.

I’m loving that you’re reading my blog, here and now, and looking at today’s images.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “National Loving Day.”

Thanks to all the loving people who helped me create this National Loving Day post, including YOU!

Day 3420: Start where you are

I will start this post where I am — on my way from Boston’s Logan Airport in a Lyft to our home on the South Shore.

Because I am starting the day with no sleep after a red-eye flight from Portland, Oregon, I may need to change the ending after I gather and share all my latest photos. Let’s see where we end up.

Start where you are and you very well may end up with pizza.

This is what I find on YouTube when I start searching for “start where you are.”

I start and end with gratitude no matter where I am, so thanks to all who help me start and end my blog posts, including YOU.

Day 2875: Getting my joy back

After dealing with many setbacks, losses, scares, pain, and disappointment over the last four years, I am finally getting my joy back.

Can you see my joy in any of these images?

The best way to get over someone

who uses their energy to destroy

is to build with joy.

Last night, while I was getting my joy back, I heard this old favorite, which always gives me joy.

In “Love is the Answer,” Todd Rundgren asks, “Are we alive or just a dying planet? What are the chances?”

With joy, love, hope, clear vision, trust, good enough leaders, and a commitment to the hard work ahead, we now have a chance.

I’m getting my joy back with gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU!

Day 2838: Just keep walking

Yesterday, I

• facilitated a Coping and Healing group remotely from my home,
• went to Tufts Medical Center to get my first echocardiogram since contracting COVID-19 in March,
• heard from my wonderful cardiologist Dr. Deeb Salem via email that there was no change in my heart,
• celebrated the great news by buying cream puffs from my favorite bakery,
• drove by a demonstration of Black Lives Matter people and Blue Lives Matter people,
• told my husband and son my good news,
• walked back toward the demonstration,
• visited the beautiful collection of painted rocks on the beach,
• Sharpied more Trump stickers,
• stood with the Black Lives Matter people as many more Blue Lives Matter people swirled around us with flags and loud noisemakers,
• asked one of the Black Lives Matter people whether the Blue Lives Matter people were supporting Democrats (whose national color is blue),
• explained to that person that I was kidding,
• was told by another Black Lives Matter person that I was awesome and my hair looked great,
• started walking back home,
• told a guy who passed me and started talking nonsense about the Black Lives Matter people, “I don’t agree with you so just keep walking,”
• got caught in a wild and windy rainstorm,
• just kept walking home for another 30 minutes,
• changed out of my wet clothes,
• had some cream puffs,
• ate a delicious swordfish dish made by my husband Michael,
• watched the Vice President debate with my husband and son,
• commented on a fly’s affinity for Mike Pence,
• ate more cream puffs,
• declared Kamala Harris the winner,
• dealt with our internet and cable going out during the debate analysis,
• put aside worry about it being restored in time for my groups today,
• went to sleep, and
• woke up in time to blog before my dental cleaning this morning at 8 AM.

Let’s just keep walking through my most recent photos.

I just keep walking through my Daily Bitch Calendar until November.

I just walked over to YouTube to find “Kamala” by Randy Rainbow:

Just keep commenting, below.

Thanks to all who help me keep walking and blogging every day, including YOU!

Day 2828: It’s amazing how …

It’s amazing how …

• I almost forgot to blog this morning,
• adults can act like children,
• greedy some people can be,
• lies can trump the truth,
• amazingly hard I have to work to make the “T” in “trump” lower case in this list,
• difficult it is to trust others,
• birds of a feather flock together,
• people still hold on to hope for the future,
• in Judaism sins against other humans are more important than sins against God,
• when I first published this post, I forgot to include the day number in the title, and
• I have many amazing images to share with you today.

It’s amazing how many cute animal videos there are on YouTube. Do you have a favorite one ?  Here’s “The Best of The 2020 Funny Animal Videos 2020 — Cutest Animals Ever.”

It’s amazing how many great comments I’ve gotten on this blog over the years.

It’s amazing how many ways there are to thank those who help me create these daily blog posts, including YOU!

Day 2784: Antidepressants

As a clinical social worker, I cannot prescribe antidepressants, so I talk to people about other types of antidepressants, which I like to call “personal medicine.”

Do you see any antidepressants here?

For me, all those images are antidepressants, including that homemade, well-worn window sign that says “THANK YOU HEALTH CARE WORKERS.”

What are your antidepressants, these days?

Music is  an antidepressant for many.   Here are Blood, Sweat & Tears performing “Manic Depression” in 1980:

Comments are also antidepressants for me, so I look forward to taking that personal medicine later today.

As always, gratitude is an antidepressant, so thanks to all (including YOU) who help me combat depression with this daily blog!

 

Day 2771: Character

Because of the kind of character I am, I’m going to start this blog post with a definition of “character.”

character

noun

char·​ac·​ter | \ ˈker-ik-tər , ˈka-rik- \

1a: one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.
“This is a side of her character that few people have seen.”
b(1): a feature used to separate distinguishable things into categories.
advertising of a very primitive character
(2): the aggregate of distinctive qualities characteristic of a breed, strain, or type.
a wine of great character
(3): the detectable expression of the action of a gene or group of genes.
c: the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation.
the character of the American people
d: main or essential nature especially as strongly marked and serving to distinguish.
excess sewage gradually changed the character of the lake
2a: one of the persons of a drama or novel.
b: the personality or part which an actor recreates.
an actress who can create a character convincingly
c: characterization especially in drama or fiction.
a novelist good in both character and setting.
d: PERSON, INDIVIDUAL
a suspicious character
e: a person marked by notable or conspicuous traits.
quite a character
3: moral excellence and firmness.
a man of sound character
4a: a graphic symbol (such as a hieroglyph or alphabet letter) used in writing or printing.
b: a symbol (such as a letter or number) that represents information.
mathematical characters
also : a representation of such a symbol that may be accepted by a computer.
c: a magical or astrological emblem.
d: ALPHABET
e(1): WRITING, PRINTING
(2): style of writing or printing.
You know the character to be your brother’s?
— Shakespeare
(3): CIPHER
f: a conventionalized graphic device placed on an object as an indication of ownership, origin, or relationship.
5: REPUTATION
the scandal has damaged his character and image
6: POSITION, CAPACITY
his character as a town official
7: REFERENCE sense 4b
8: a short literary sketch of the qualities of a social type
in character
: in accord with a person’s usual qualities or traits
behaving in character
out of character
: not in accord with a person’s usual qualities or traits
his rudeness was completely out of character

I tried to add and remove some characters to that long definition to make it clearer but, because I’m an impatient character, I gave up before the ending.

People we know of excellent character have sent us sweet condolence cards characterizing our late kitty Oscar as a character.

 

I so appreciate the loving character of Janet, Ray, Lydia, and Bob.

Harley, who has a more nervous character than Oscar did,  is sitting next to me on the sofa as I’m typing the characters in this post.

What character(s) do you notice in my other photos, which I will characterize as “recent”?

Here‘s “The Top 10 Movie Character Musical Themes.”

Here‘s somebody with character playing “The Imperial March” (#3 in the Top 10 Movie Character Musical Themes) during day 55 of the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland:

I look forward to all the characters left by various characters in the comments section, below.

Many thanks to all the characters who help me create this daily blog, including YOU!

 

 

 

Day 2764: Remarkable

It’s remarkable how many remarkably comforting and thoughtful remarks people have been leaving on this blog about the recent loss of our remarkable kitty, Oscar.

It’s also remarkable, to me, how anybody can still support our remarkable U.S. President, who thinks it remarkable that he passed a cognitive test and remembered the words “Person Woman Man Camera TV.”  I don’t think it’s that remarkable that I still remember those words in order, days after hearing them.

Recently, I remarked to my husband that I found it remarkable that somebody had used a marker to mark up a nearby wall with this:

Yesterday, I brought a marker with me on my walk, with the intent to re-mark that wall.  However, my marker was remarkably thin, so I couldn’t remark the MAGA marks, even though I tried. Instead,  I marked up the wall directly above, like so:

As I re-marked that wall, I listened for remarks from people nearby on the beach,  who were enjoying the remarkable day. Everything was remarkably quiet. When I was done re-marking, I resumed my remarkable walk.

Which of my photos today are the most remarkable?

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I find these images particularly remarkable, here and now.

 

 

 

 

It’s remarkable how comforting it is to have Harley around as we grieve the loss of our remarkable Oscar , who looked like this:

After I saw that cat food bag at the supermarket yesterday, I showed that photo to my remarkable husband Michael, who has so often remarked in many remarkable situations, “Look, Ann!  That cat looks just like Oscar!”

It’s remarkable what we remember.

Here is Jaheim‘s  “Remarkable” featuring Terry Dexter:

It’s remarkable how much I’m looking forward to your remarks, below.

Remarkable thanks to all, including YOU.

 

Day 2739: No longer

I am no longer President of the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy, so I am no longer worrying about acting Presidential (although “acting Presidential” no longer has the same meaning it used to).

Carl Reiner is no longer on this earth.

This sentence, at the end of the Wikepedia entry about Carl Reiner, is no longer than 20 words:

Reiner died at his home on June 29, 2020, aged 98, in the company of his family.

This episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show, which Carl Reiner wrote, produced, and created, is no longer than 25 minutes:

This 2000-Year-Old Man Routine, co-created by the no-longer-with-us Carl Reiner and the-still-with-us-as-of-this-writing Mel Brooks, is no longer than four minutes:

I am no longer able to say that I never saw that before. It’s been no longer than 55 years that I’ve known Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks as comic geniuses.

Mel Brooks, who describes himself on Twitter as “Writer, Director, Actor, Producer and Failed Dairy Farmer” and who no longer can have dinner every night  with his old friend and co-writer Carl Reiner, posted this no-longer-than-280-character tribute yesterday:

Carl was a giant, unmatched in his contributions to entertainment. He created comedy gems like The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Jerk, and Where’s Poppa? I met him in 1950 when he joined Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows, and we’ve been best friends ever since. I loved him. When we were doing The 2000 Year Old Man together there was no better straight man in the world. So whether he wrote or performed or was just your best friend — nobody could do it better.  He’ll be greatly missed. A tired cliché in times like this, but in Carl Reiner’s case it’s absolutely true. He will be greatly missed.

It took me no longer than a few seconds to find this great photo of Carl Reiner, Annie Reiner, and Mel Brooks that was taken no longer than two days away from Mel Brooks’s 94th birthday and Carl Reiner’s death day:

I hope it is no longer debatable in this country that black lives matter.

I am no longer worried about other people’s incorrect assumptions or my inadvertent miscommunications, like Mel Brooks’s birthday and Carl Reiner’s death day being the same day (which they aren’t — they are one day apart).

This post is no longer focusing on words as I share my images from yesterday:

I am no longer expecting comments but I will welcome any you choose to make.

It takes no longer than one word to express heart-felt gratitude.

Day 2713: Cuts

As I’m taking my first cut at today’s daily blog post, I want to share this quote about cuts that cut through a lot of noise yesterday:

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Do you see any cuts in the other images I captured yesterday?

 

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Here‘s a cut from “Just for Laughs” with Margaret Cho:

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Feel free to take a cut at a creating a comment, below.

Let’s cut to the chase which, in this blog, is gratitude!