Day 3219: What month is this?

Have you been losing track of time? If so, you’re not alone. Perhaps the images in today’s post will help you identify what month this is.

Our cat Joan has had skin and ear problems since we adopted her from a shelter in August, and that’s not baloney. Today, she is celebrating National Food Day without a cone!

Here’s what I find when I search for “What month is it?” on YouTube.

No matter what month it is, I am grateful to YOU!

Day 3212: Records

Last night, I asked this question about records on Twitter:

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but people share the most amazing thoughts and experiences when they feel safe enough to do so. I also tweeted about these records:

I might also break a record for posting the most photos of places and creatures I love in a blog.

I love imagining breaking the record for most pasta eaten on National Pasta Day.

Here’s the first 45 record I can remember playing over and over again on our record player when I was kid:

If you were to make it into the Guinness Book of Records, what record would you be breaking? For the record, any comment below will do.

Maybe I’ll break the record for most consecutive thank you’s ever expressed in a blog with this post!

Day 3210: What I learn from my cat

Because it’s Global Cat Day tomorrow, I am inspired by my worldly and composed shelter cat Joan to compose today’s post.

Here’s Joan …

… who teaches me

• That it’s nicer in the sun.
• Not to be discouraged by obstacles.
• To live in the moment.
• Life is a combination of comfort and discomfort.
• To ask for what I want, despite inevitable communication barriers.
• I can still be adorable when I’m having medical issues.
• People may assume what I’m feeling, based on their own experience.
• Resilience includes the ability to adapt to what is.
• Almost everything is fun to play with.
• Even when healing is slow, be patient.
• A refrigerator door opening is something to celebrate.
• So many different types of food (including our other cat Harley’s food) are delicious.
• Not to be discouraged if somebody hisses at me.
• If a door is closed, open it myself or get somebody else to open it for me.
• I may accidentally do damage some times, but people will forgive me.
• Try to achieve a good mix of running around and relaxing.
• Gratitude can be expressed in many different ways, including with a purr.
• Females rule!

What can we learn from my other images for today?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “what I learn from my cat”:

Here’s Cyndi Lauper with “Like a Cat”:

What have you learned from this post?

Thanks and purrs to all those who help me blog every day, including Joan and YOU!

Day 3209: What’s a perfect gift for you?

Last night, after a day of many gifts, I asked this question on Twitter.

My perfect gift of a friend and college roommate, Marcia, gave me those chocolates when she visited us with her daughter Ellen and her son-in-law, Tim.

My perfect gift of a husband, Michael, took those two photos. Spending time with wonderful people you cherish and love is always a perfect gift.

Earlier in the day, I received the gift of a text from our vet saying that Joan the cat’s skin problem was looking much better (but not perfect).

The vet suggested that we get this product …

… to spray on Joan to prevent her from licking herself there, so we could give her the perfect gift of removing her cone.

Joan thought the Bitter YUCK was perfectly tasty, so the perfect gift of throwing away that cone is going to have to wait.

Joan is the perfect gift, cone and all.

Do you see any perfect gifts in my other images for today?

Desserts and being free sound like perfect gifts to me.

Here’s “Gift of a Friend” by Demi Lovato, which I think is perfect for this blog post.

What’s the perfect gift for you?

Many thanks for the perfect gift of your visit here, today!

Day 3205: Catching a break

As Joan the cat continues to heal slowly, she’s been catching a break every day from the cone that prevents her from over-grooming the broken skin on her tummy and leg.

There she is, catching a break in her favorite tunnel toy. When we catch her licking the problem area again, we have to catch her and put the cone back on, which breaks my heart. However, Joan seems to be a lot cooler and more comfortable about the cone than I am. She can even catch mice (who can’t seem to catch a break around here) when wearing it.

There’s Joan with cone, catching a break while I’m catching up with my morning routine of writing this blog. I’m imagining that she is suggesting that I catch a break from my worry about her wearing a cone for so long. I know that soon we all will be catching a break when Joan’s cone comes off permanently.

Here’s our other cat, Harley, catching a break from Joan’s relentless efforts to play with him.

Is anybody catching a break in my other images for today?

We hope to be catching a break from our broken shower (which caused a lot of hidden damage) with extensive repairs, including getting new tiles installed. We were catching a break at Home Depot last night checking out the tiles there, including the ones that are already on the bathroom walls.

I’ve been catching a break by sending out tweets on Twitter.

It says a lot about the state of the world that I’m having trouble catching a break no matter how noisy or quiet it is. I’m going to try to catch a break and enjoy any quiet I can find today.

It looks like the Daily Bitch can only catch a break when she gets some pizza.

Is anybody interested in catching a break by singing along to this song?

I look forward to catching any comments you leave about this catching-a-break post, below.

There’s no catching a break from my gratitude, which never stops!

Day 3203: When and where?

Last night, when I had completed a very long work day (including facilitating two remote therapy groups where we discussed COVID, family issues, the past, the present, and the future), I tweeted this:

When somebody asked about my answer to that question, this is where I went:

When and where did I capture the other images in today’s blog?

We now know where the Daily Bitch is going, but we don’t know when.

When you looked at those photos, did you notice that Joan is now getting breaks from the cone? When her skin problem is healed, she’ll be where she needs to be to be totally cone-free!

I just took that photo in the room where I’m blogging.

Regarding the when and where of most of today’s photos: Yesterday I went to CVS and Marshall’s where I bought an ace bandage and a baby onesie for Joan. When Joan is without the cone, she prevents her skin from healing by licking where the problem is. When we tried the other solutions , Joan let us know where she is on this issue — she definitely prefers the cone!

This is the song that takes me back to when I was young and where there were transistor radios, a different kind of cone (ice cream), the sun, and the sea.

When and where might you leave a comment?

When you get to the end of my blog posts, that’s where you find my gratitude.

Day 3199: Find your happy place

Yesterday, when I was at a local mall, happy to be masked, fully vaccinated, and picking up my new replacement phone at the Apple store, I saw this:

I find my happy place at home, at work, on this blog, on Twitter, and, always, with people and other creatures I love.

Can you find happy places in my other images for today?

Believing that report about COVID from today’s New York Times helps me find my happy place.

Listening to this yesterday when I was taking my daily walk helped me find my happy place:

I hope you find your happy place in the comments section, below.

Gratitude always helps me find my happy place, so thanks to all who are visiting today’s happy blog post, including YOU!

Day 3194: Limericks

We’re all dealing with challenging times,

Disheartening, arduous climbs,

With problems so deep,

Disrupting our sleep,

Take a break and please check out my rhymes:

A pretty young kitty named Joan,

Helps this writer feel safe, less alone.

She’s got talents galore

Which she’s getting known for,

Caught a mouse despite wearing this cone!

A therapist/blogger named Ann,

Shares what’s helpful as best as she can.

Photos, thoughts, songs, some tips,

Acceptance for slips,

And delish dishes cooked up by her man.

A calendar — The Daily Bitch,

Occupies an interesting niche.

With thoughts bold and sassy,

Funny, not classy,

For me, she makes every day rich.

Each day I think there’s a lot

To celebrate, cheerful or not.

On this precious day,

What’s coming my way

Is a Pfizer COVID booster shot!

Because the negative sticks,

Staying positive’s a challenging mix,

With a hug and a kiss

Here and now I’ll share this,

Michael Palin reading his limericks!

This blogger, whatever her mood,

Whether she’s cheered or she’s booed,

When it comes to the end

On her you can depend,

To express her sincere gratitude.

Day 3193: One of those days

Yesterday, I had one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong, including

• lots of trouble locating my reserved parking space for my in-person Monday work at the medical center,
• temporarily losing my pager,
• arriving late despite leaving plenty of time to get there early,
• being continually and inexplicably locked out of using the computer at work, which I need for almost every aspect of my job as a psychotherapist,
• not receiving an important email that resulted in problems with one of the insurances I take,
• not being able to locate information needed to fill out a form to rectify the insurance problem,
• witnessing the pain of many people who were dealing with way more than just one of those days, and
• confronting all this with a minimal amount of sleep the night before.

When I was on the phone with a help desk person, who was baffled by why I kept getting locked out of using my computer, I told him I was having one of those days. I wondered if he was having one of those days too, but this was one of those conversations where only one of us was doing much talking.

Now I’m writing this wondering if I’m going to have one of those days again today. Here’s one of my thoughts about one of those days — they are much more bearable if there is only one of them.

So many people all over the world are having one of those days, over and over again.

Let’s see how many of my photos reflect one of those days.

Joan continues to have one of those days when she has to wear a cone.

My husband Michael was having one of those days when he was having trouble filleting the skate for this delicious meal. At one point, he stabbed it with his knife and said, “This is for Steve Irwin!”

This was a perfect teabag for me to get after having one of those days.

This was the only question I could think of asking on Twitter at the end of one of those days.

This is going to be one of those days that many people might enjoy celebrating.

The Daily Bitch is remembering one of those days in the long-ago past.

Here’s “One of Those Days” by one of the greats, Weird Al.

Consider leaving one of those comments about this one-of-those-days post, which would make my day.

Even when it’s one of those days, I’m grateful to get another day with people like YOU.

Day 3192: National Day of Forgiveness

Today, according to the USA National Day Calendar, is the National Day of Forgiveness.

Not knowing this, I coincidentally tweeted this yesterday:

Forgive me for making up the word “Guiltmo,” which means a self-imposed prison of guilt.

Forgive me for hastily creating today’s blog post, as I need to leave soon for my one-day-a-week in-person psychotherapy work at a Boston medical center. Do you see forgiveness in any of my other images for today?

Please forgive me, Daily Bitch, for having a personal chef (my husband Michael). I’m forgiving myself for forgetting to take a picture of the delicious veggie stroganoff he made for us last night.

I find forgiveness in this beautiful music by Beethoven:

How are you going to celebrate this National Day of Forgiveness?

I am grateful for every day I get to celebrate with forgiving people, including YOU.