A Little Self-Medication

SurgeXperiences 225 is up at Jeffrey Leow's blog.  This cartoon featured in the blog carnival, shared by Scanman, from the strip Mythtickle by Justin Thompson via Gocomics, put a smile on my face on this rainy, lonely Sunday on call:

THANK YOU, SCANMAN!

***

Top 5 Things That Can Usually Cheer Me Up When I'm Feeling Blue

5) Reading nice, stress-free, well-written articles in magazines or blogs. My current pick is "Castles in the Mind" from the July issue of O magazine - wonderful article about writing, featuring the authors Jim Shepard, Toni Morrison, and Michael Cunningham.

4) Peanuts comic strips.  I love those characters.  Every time I attend one of my kids' school functions I feel like I'm IN a Peanuts comic strip.

3) Certain video items: my daughter's video clips from her recent performance of Annie, and the movies The Trouble with Angels, Elf, and By the Light of the Silvery Moon.  (I know the gender politics in the latter are obsolete and totally jarring to modern sensibilities, and it's totally corny, but somehow I just LOVE that movie.)

2) Laughter in good company, such as I had last night at my sister-in-law's house over tostones with yummy mojito sauce.

1) Smiles, hugs, and kisses from my husband and children.