Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings posts give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
Welcomings will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning). To find the posts, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?
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NOTE: The comments page will now split off after 20 or so left margin comments with the most recent comments on the current page. To see the older comments, scroll to the bottom of the page and use the link.
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Good morning, 37 and mostly clear in Bellingham. RonK cut a bunch of holly and cedar branches for me yesterday so I’m hoping I can make some winter arrangements in the pots by the back entrance today. I usually have that done by now but I’m slow this year and sewing has taken more time than I thought it would. Oh well, I’ll muddle through this December as best I can.
Best wishes to all on this Dec day
Princesspat, I’m gong to listen to this when the rest of the household is awake. I love Loreena McKennitt and “The Holly and the Ivy” is my favorite Yule Carol.
Friday Meese – it is 10 degrees here in Saugerties NY :(
I continue to be upset, outraged and distressed about this:
The end of friggin’ May?
Oh, well, Puerto Rico doesn’t count, don’tcha know, it’s a foreign country.
How I hate and despise Rethugs!
{{{Denise}}} – seriously holding the Good Thought for Puerto Rico and USVI – maybe the “green coalition” the Clinton is working with can get enough solar, wind, and battery tech into the “up country” areas that the ACOE can concentrate on getting the cities up faster. (I’d prefer they go “green” too – cheaper for them, cleaner for the earth, and actually if the intermittence is planned for more dependable. But that’s a rebuild not a repair.) Healing Energy to everybody everywhere. and moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 21 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 28. Mostly cloudy skies with a chance of flurries towards evening.
Yesterday I had a lot of intense “eyes forward” work that did not allow me to follow the news. At mid-day, I wrapped up, took my dog for a walk, sat down to lunch, and opened up Twitter on my personal electronic device. Holey mackeral! Net Neutrality repealed, Paul Granny-Starver Ryan planning to retire, Republican Tax Bill in Tatters – it is literally impossible to keep up with the news.
Charlie Pierce says everything that needs to be said about Ryan:
Worth a full read. I am 100% certain that he sees the Generic Democrat +15, sees his own district is only R+5, and decided he didn’t want to lose his seat or become backbencher Denny Hastert, former Speaker. Anyway, my life will be much nicer by not having to see his face on my news feeds. I will admit to Like’ing and Retweeting unkind tweets about his “retirement”.
From what I see, Net Neutrality has a good chance of coming back via legislation (it will be a campaign issue and Gen Z’ers will vote for people who support it) and maybe the rule change will be put on hold until we can get some more Democrats in Congress to fix this. My daughter was livid when she found out what the Republicans had done – and that they even have the power to wreck the Internet.
I am laughing at people who think that Marco Rubio and Mike Lee will scuttle the tax bill over child tax credits. Puh-lease! This is theater – with really bad acting, by the way. Our best bet to stop the bill is for John McCain and Thad Cochran to be unable to get to the Senate floor next week because of their health and Susan Collins realizing that people in Maine can see through her lies about “they promised me a bill that would fix it.” House leadership said there would be no bills and she is willfully ignoring that fact. She can’t have it both ways: she can’t be the Champion of Healthcare and a Tax-The-Working-Class Republican at the same time. The tax cuts will come at the expense of people wanting health insurance.
See all y’all later!
The end of net neutrality means doom for all of us small website owners.
Jan, I like what you said about net neutrality coming back through legislation.
As for The Vampire retiring—may it be so!
Chilly — I needed a jacket. Had an interesting night — my jerry-rigged shelving unit for shoes fell over in the middle of the night. It’s always been a bit rickety, but I guess all the tossing & turning I do was finally too much. So I have some straightening up to do when I get home. What’s playing in my head is yesterday’s mellow pretty song, but I need to wake up so I’m giving us American Soul. This is from their SNL appearance. Loud, crunchy rock ‘n roll.
Good gray Freya’s Day, Meese! Very overcast, but that means nothing at all. Current temp. in NoVa is 25 F., going up to 32 F.
Looking forward to three days largely to myself. Looked after two rather sweet little ones yesterday afternoon, then the Japanese boys from 3:30 until 6. The Japanese boys’ mom asked me to wipe down all the faucets and doorknobs on the main floor yesterday with my own disinfectant wipes because she only has one wipe, which she is saving for today. All this in addition to dispensing snacks, superintending homework, setting the table, and getting dinner on. Little do people realize that everything they do is going to be in a novel one day.
The news is awful this morning—and that’s just in this country. Puerto Rico and VI still in the 18th century, tax scam bill on the verge of passing, North and South Pole melting, you name it.
Woke up MUCH too early at 4 a.m, so am now going to begin my day. Wishing all a peaceful day at the Pond!
Now I know more about how you come up with material for your books!!!! You are an amazing writer, Diana. :)
{{{Darling basket!}}}
Thank you for saying that. You’re just about the only person who has.
Still choosing names for the two main characters in my new novel. Will keep you apprised! :)
Good morning meese. 38 with projected high of 59. My workplace is having a morale event today which is catching the new Star Wars film. Looking forward to it!
Not looking forward so much to the fact that by the end of next week my team will have shrunk by 1 person from 3 to 2 as one person goes on vacation and then moves on to a different team. Add in deadlines and problems that are (or seem to be) rather difficult to solve right now, and I am not a terribly happy basket. But I do have a purring Belle next to me in bed right now, so there’s that. :)
Enjoy the new Star Wars film, basket!
Wish something could miraculously help solve your problems. If you are attuned to the Christian canon, I believe St. Roche is the one to apply to for difficult problems.
{{{basket}}} – hope the day, and the movie, are both good. Holding the Good Thought that Belle’s purr therapy brings solutions to your mind. moar {{{HUGS}}} and always Healing Energy
33 at dawn heading for somewhere in the 40s and is starting to clear off which is good. Got 6.3 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 92. Still can make 200 for the month but we’re going to have to start getting 7+ days again to do it. Younger son’s fever broke Wednesday night so the Austin family contingent will be here tomorrow as planned. I do need to see if there’s still a Xmas tree to be bought in Fayetteville – I’m getting a little old for otherwise acquiring one.
Evil Ones being evil, nothing new there. We have 2 chances to block the repeal of net neutrality – something like 17 states are filing law suits about it and there’s already a proposal if not an actual bill in Congress over it. Likewise we’ve got a couple of chances to block the tax scam. Like the French in Vichy from June 1940 to early 1945, our duty is to resist, block, and push back as best we can. Like the Allies in WWII planning and preparing for the Normandy landing, our duty is to plan and prepare for the 2018 election starting a year ago. Our elected officials – at all levels – are our front-line army. It’s up to us to get them in the right place at the right time with the right equipment – with solid behind-the-lines backing. It’s up to us to so behave that we can say to the youngest generation, “We seen our duty and we dood it” as my parents generation said to ours. Has been done. Can be done. Will be done.
Today’s my last Friday. Feels seriously weird. I’m working on getting my desk clear right now. Got some serious, well not so much training as going over previous training this afternoon and next week. I know my friend and co-worker can do this job. She’s not sure but I am. So I will do what I can to make her feel more confident before I leave. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 42 and raining in Bellingham. I slept late and then enjoyed a long talk with my daughter so my day is slowly underway. I did finish my Dr. Who quilt project yesterday but now the rest of Christmas needs attention so I’d best get busy.
I haven’t checked the news yet so my feelings of well being might not be reality based, but I’m enjoying the moment!
Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meese! Saturday …
It is 34 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 36. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast.
The Republican tax plan has been released and it appears that all 52 Republican Senators will vote for passage. The bill first goes to the House for a Tuesday vote and the only question is whether there are enough poison pills to peel off 24 votes. The House Freedom Caca has decided that under a Republican president, deficits don’t matter and the blue state Republicans may have been given enough goodies to make them believe that the poison pills left won’t be deadly when they swallow them. They are wrong – many of them will be voted out of office. I read that at least 6 Republicans won’t vote for it because of the Murkowski grift, opening up the Arctic National Wildlife refuge to drilling. It is pretty discouraging – for years we blocked drilling in ANWR only to have it tucked into a tax cut bill! I am still not sure how that passed the “must be fiscal or budgetary” Byrd test but there it is.
I am going to have to shut the news off for a while because there is too much that is discouraging. For every “district court has blocked the repeal of the the birth control mandate” there is a “CDC will not be allowed to use ‘evidence-based’ or ‘science-based’ in their reports any longer” or “judge who hates LGBT people and wants to execute them is given lifetime seat on circuit court”. The losing is causing long-term damage and the winning is fleeting.
Apparently John McCain might not make it to the new year. It makes no difference if he can drag himself to the Senate floor to vote – they have enough to pass it without him. His legacy is now permanently sealed as the man who lacked the will to uphold his own principles, a guy with a pretty speech (that the pundits praised), that was for other people to guide their decisions, not to guide his own. Meh. They all sicken me.
See all y’all later.
Saturday Meese
19 degrees here in Saugerties NY. Brrrrr
I am going to work some serious roots on Republicans.
The Tax Excrement is shittin’ all over us
Good Saturn’s Day, Meese! Yesterday all the clouds that lour’d upon our house turned out to contain snowflakes, so we received a dusting. This morning the rooftops, shrubs, lawns, and cars look as if someone had sprinkled confectioner’s sugar over them—quite lovely. Moreover, the sky is clearing and the sun is coming up, so outside it looks like my favorite Christmas carol:
December finds me continually playing the King’s College, Cambridge, choir’s rendition of “The Holly and the Ivy” on YouTube.
As Jan says, the news is so awful that we probably need to take a break for a while. What with Thing seemingly on the verge of firing Mueller and the tax scam bill about to pass, there is little reason to cheer. One has to get on with Christmas and sending out the rest of the cards. Also, I have to write the annual Yule newsletter that “bethumps all our friends with words” by email.
Meanwhile, ’tis clear here in NoVa, with the temp. eventually rising to 45 F. from the 24 F. it is now. Wishing all a peaceful, quiet day with no horrible news.
I hope it is becoming clear now to the political neophytes who were encouraged to cast protest votes or stay home, that which party controls the White House is critically important. President Obama held off the worst damage a Republican Congress could do but now the floodgates are open.
I am sensing that the lie they were sold – that if things get bad enough there will be a gajillion people rising up in protest and the nation would turn to Sandersism to save it! – is backfiring. The scales are falling off their eyes as the reality of a Republican administration and the rollback of Obama era good government regulations and initiatives are hitting home. My hope is that the current mess creates a new generation of pragmatic progressives, people willing to vote for any and every Democrat and to accept incremental progress to avoid the wholesale rollback of all progress in civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, justice, environmental protections, labor protections, and, really, decency over the last decade.
Another rant
Slept in, showered & ready to go see Star Wars. Going to try to not run out of the house the moment AMJoy is over. I don’t need to be there till noon. Still haven’t dealt with my shoe shelves situation. It looks like the bottom shelf collapsed, so I may have to get new (new to me, anyway) shelves. Maybe a trip to Goodwill this afternoon. But first, the movie!
Started the day a bit above freezing, 42 now but still feels like 35, going up to the mid 50s. Not really seasonal but good traveling weather. I don’t have to worry about the roads for my Austin family’s trip up here today (or going back Monday). Mostly clear and sunny, a few fluffy clouds but more “mare’s tails” – another dry day that should give decent electricity production for this time of year. Got 7.3 KWHs yesterday and just inched over the 100 mark for the m-t-d this morning. So if we get for the 2nd half of the month what we’ve gotten for the first half we’ll make the 200 which would be really nice.
Evil Ones being evil. The Rs are all for sale. Some just have a higher price than others. And apparently none of them who are up for re-election in November care whether or not they get re-elected (or else think their districts are gerrymandered safe enough they aren’t in danger). So we keep resisting, blocking when we can, pushing back when we can. And we keep doing the groundwork to take back Congress with the November elections. And we try to help as best we can the people hurt by the Evil Ones’ actions. And we mourn the people who die because of the Evil Ones’ Actions. Now is the time we have to figure out some way to draw our circle bigger even as our resources shrink and force us to draw it smaller. Starting next month I am on Social Security. Period. My days of helping monetarily stop with the paycheck I will get on the 21st. I will have to find ways to draw my helping/Healing circle bigger that do not require money. I thank Goddess I had the opportunity (and took it) to pay off my mortgage and put the solar panels on the roof. That reduced my outgo by close to $700 a month. So I’m OK even with the tax scam – at least for a while. It is ironic that at the time of year that is the darkest, the time we celebrate the returning of the Light, the Evil Ones are sending us into a metaphorical and financial darkness far darker than Nature ever gives us on the surface of the earth. You have to go into the deep caverns, home of the Wicked Ones, to find such darkness in the natural world.
Need to check over at DK and see how my folks are doing then go get my hair cut. My son and family will be here around 4 and tomorrow we’ll get the tree and have the whole family together to decorate it and feast as our faith that Abundance is coming, no matter how deep into Darkness and Want the world appears to be heading. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Have a great time with your family, bfitz!
Good morning, 42 and cloudy in Bellingham. I’m avoiding both the news and going downstairs this morning….to much reality is lurking at the bottom of the stairs! In my peaceful room the music is playing, Christmas is still magical, and our world is safe :::sigh:::
Today will be busy however so I’d best get to it. I have some packages to wrap, and my pile of branches and berries are still waiting for me to arrange so I’ll have some fun in spite of myself.
Take care everyone.