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 2979: Cheer the F*ck Up

In last night’s Coping and Healing group, as people discussed how to cheer the f*ck up during this f*cking pandemic, somebody shared this coloring book:

How do you cheer the f*ck up these days? People in my groups cheer the f*ck up by

• practicing mindfulness,
• venting,
• setting healthy boundaries,
• swearing,
• crying,
• laughing
• accepting all feelings, and
• realizing they are not alone.

Do any of today’s photos help you cheer the f*ck up?

After a long working day, I cheer the f*ck up with Michael’s cooking.

I find this when I search YouTube for “Cheer the f*ck up” …

… and this:

Gratitude helps me cheer the f*ck up, so thanks to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 2833: October Surprises

I guess it’s no surprise that people are talking and writing about October surprises, since it’s only the THIRD day of October and there have been so many surprises so far.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure my very unusual heart can take all these October surprises.

Do you see any surprises in today’s images ?

When I used a phone app to identify that weird rash, which I’ve had for all of October, I was surprised to find out that I have hives !

Actually, since hives are often caused by stress, that may be an October non-surprise.

What are your October surprises?

Surprise! Here‘s a reprise of a song from a recent blog post, performed live.

I won’t be surprised if you leave a surprising comment, below.

I hope it’s no surprise that I’m grateful to you, no matter what month it is.

Day 2796: The Element of Surprise

Much to my surprise, I’ve already written one post titled The Element of Surprise.  Would it surprise you if I shared how long it’s been since I created that post and all the surprising elements within?

Surprise!  I’m not going to do that math today.

Do you like the element of surprise?  Somebody does.

I won’t be surprised if people comment below that they  like the element of surprise only in certain circumstances. Personally, I’m still waiting for somebody to throw me a successfully executed surprise party.   And it’s probably no surprise if I say I’m hoping for no unpleasant surprises during the upcoming election season in the USA.

Can you find elements of surprise in any of these other recent images?

 

The last time I did a photo montage like that, I was unpleasantly surprised to see how the different  photographic elements showed up on my phone. I …

.. hope that you can easily explore elements of surprise in those smaller photos, but I won’t be surprised if it’s difficult to do so.

That reminds me of the elementally unhelpful “negative cognition” I’m letting go of through EMDR therapy, which is surprisingly effective in healing old traumas:

I can’t trust anybody, including myself.

Did that surprise anybody?

Here’s something that surprised me and my husband Michael yesterday:

Here’s something that did not surprise me:

Here’s another element of surprise: when the PictureThis app identified this …

as poke, pokeberries, and poke salad, I was surprised.

Now I’m wondering if my chosen musical selection for today has the element of surprise.

 

I’m hoping that it’s no surprise when I end each post with gratitude, because I am so thankful I get to share elements of surprise, every day,  with wonderful people like YOU.

 

 

Day 2786: Passive Aggressive

I hope this doesn’t sound passive aggressive, but passive aggressive people drive me nuts. If you don’t know what passive aggressive means, why don’t you say so?

pas·sive-ag·gres·sive
adjective
of or denoting a type of behavior or personality characterized by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation, as in procrastinating, pouting, or misplacing important materials.

Hmmmm.  According to that passive aggressive definition, perhaps I am passive aggressive, since I’ve been known to

• indirectly resist the demands of others,
• avoid direct confrontation (especially with passive aggressive people),
• procrastinate,
• pout,
• and misplace important materials to the extent that I spend much of time looking for them, while pouting.  For example, this weekend I misplaced my laptop, my phone, my water bottle, my pen, my purse, my mug, a mask, and a letter I had resisted mailing for days.

Well, if I am passive aggressive, at least I know I’m not alone, as you can tell from these passive aggressive images which I found at this passive aggressive website.

That passive aggressive goodbye cake reminds me that this Friday is my husband Michael’s birthday and I need to find an ice cream cake for him.  This is the first time my son Aaron and I will be around to celebrate that with him since every other year we’ve passive aggressively left him to aggressively and passively enjoy the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which passive aggressively is not taking place this year because of the aggressive coronavirus, which the  United States President has been aggressively passive about.

Is it passive aggressive for me to share these photos I took yesterday, especially if I resist telling you to look for passive aggressiveness in them?

Some of those photos were taken at our local CVS pharmacy, which I sometimes passively aggressively call the “Coronavirus Store.”  Also, for the first time ever, Harley made the passive or aggressive or passive aggressive move yesterday of quietly infiltrating our late cat Oscar’s territory.

If you don’t notice how much time and effort I am already putting into creating this “Passive Aggressive” post, I just might sulk, but who would care about that?

Here‘s a song about a passive aggressive person, which I heard when I was taking my passive aggressive walk yesterday.

Here‘s a live version of “No One Knows My Plan” by They Might be Giants:

Before I end this post, I’m going to check out the usually passively aggressive Daily Bitch Calendar and see what today’s Daily Bitch is.

I might argue with that Daily Bitch, but I don’t like confrontation.

At this point, I’m just going to mention that if you don’t comment, I hope you realize that might be construed by some people (whom I won’t name)  as being sort of passive aggressive.

Is it possible to be passively aggressively grateful for everybody who helps me create these daily posts, including YOU?

Day 2716: Working it

Since I recovered from COVID-19 in March, I’ve been working non-stop.

Yesterday, a hard-working friend texted me that I should take a vacation and I replied “What is this ‘vacation’ that you speak of?”

As foreign as the concept seems, I will be getting a vacation from work to spend time with my son, who has finished up his school work for the year in Scotland.

Now it’s time to work this post with photos that show different ways of working it.

I had trouble working that dish by Michael into a recent post, so there it is, working it here and now.

There are several versions of the Beatles’ “We Can Work it Out” working it on YouTube, including here and here.

I’m looking forward to seeing our government working it better in future months and I’m looking forward to people working it in a comment, below.

As always, gratitude is working it in this blog.

Day 2703: It’s hard to see

It’s hard to see …

• when this pandemic will end,
• so many people ignoring social distancing rules,
• all the deaths from COVID-19,
• relief from the suffering,
• all the social injustice,
• when you have tears in your eyes,
• all obstacles in our way,
• the beauty of each moment,
• into another’s heart,
• the inappropriate behaviors of world leaders,
• the state of the world,
• who is going to save us,
• what people are really thinking,
• what animals are really thinking,
• when you’re overwhelmed,
• when you’re looking away,
• when so many things are hidden,
• when there are so many different perspectives,
• when your glasses fog up, and
• when the world is foggy.

In case it’s hard to see what’s going on in this photo …

… all but one of the balloons at CVS yesterday were masked. I said to Michael, “There’s one in every crowd.”

It’s hard to see any song I like on YouTube called “It’s Hard to See,” so here is “It’s Hard to be Human” by Kina Grannis instead.

It’s not hard to see why people would write these comments about that song:

Emma Anderson
6 days ago
Kina Grannis: The singer to soothe the nation.

Jasmine Her
6 days ago
I feel this song so much. I had literally been through a horrible rut since quarantine began. I’m starting to finally feel okay, trying to learn and grow.

Tabitha S-O
6 days ago
Well, I’ve been crying for a bit listening to this but it’s ok to feel my feelings

It’s hard to see how so many people don’t know it’s ok to feel their feelings.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know it’s not hard to see gratitude here.

Day 2682: Where all the monsters are

Looking back at yesterday’s Daily Bitch Calendar, I see where all the monsters are.

I don’t know if I agree with the Daily Bitch Calendar that all the monsters are in back of me, since I see monsters elsewhere.

When we look back at my other images from yesterday, are there monsters there?

 

Therapists EVERYWHERE must deal with the monsters within their patients and themselves.

Here‘s “Calling All the Monsters” with China Anne McClain from A.N.T. Farm:

 

Where do you think all the monsters are?

Looking back again, I thought the coronavirus monster might be at CVS when I snapped this photo yesterday:

Day 2673: Messages of Encouragement

Thank you, dear readers, for all the messages of encouragement you’ve given me for my blog posts, my photos, my original songs,  my work, my sense of humor,  and my various adventures, through sickness and in health.

The messages of encouragement people left about yesterday’s post, featuring my t-shirt and song “Left the House Before I Felt Ready” were incredibly profound. I am now thinking about ways I might market my t-shirt and song, encouraging people to share those messages and also support a worthy charity.

My long-time and encouraging reader Maureen (a/k/a Sitting on my own Sofa) left this message about my “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready” song …

Sitting on my own Sofa

I think that you also stayed at home before you felt ready. 😊

… which encouraged me to write this additional verse:

I stayed at home before I felt ready.

The virus has made us all scared and unsteady.

I caught it in March and then flattened the curve

Even though isolating gets on my last nerve.

To protect other people and save my own heart

Staying home before ready was just doing my part.

I encourage you to listen to “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready,” imagining those new messages at the end:

.

I am now encouraged to start writing songs again, ignoring and otherwise overcoming any messages of discouragement from myself or others.

Do you see any messages of encouragement in the images I captured yesterday?

 

If you want to see the messages in any of those smaller pictures, I encourage you to click on them to expand.

Messages of encouragement and gratitude to YOU, here and now.

Day 2658: If you are struggling

If you are struggling during these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, you are not alone.

Yesterday, as humans I love and people I work with were struggling, I captured these images:

When I was struggling to fall asleep last night, I looked at that New Yorker page on my phone.

If I am struggling, music always helps, and I’m struggling to focus on a future when I will be able  to see Jacob Collier in concert, rescheduled  from next month to some time in the future when we’ll be struggling less with the coronavirus.

If you are struggling, it might help to watch this NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert with Jacob and other incredible musicians:

If you are struggling, consider sharing in a comment, below, and please know that I am so grateful you are here, now.