Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: June 30th through July 6th

June 29, 2019 JanF Community 81

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 (usually Saturday night with a Sunday date). 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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– Page One of Comments is HERE!
 
– Page Two of Comments is HERE!
 

37 Comments

  1. Well, at least it’s not 100 degrees, and probably not this week — though the weekend will be close (and we’ve had heat indexes of 105). Protest at noon at the Capitol. I’m gonna run over after I wolf down some food. I hope it’s really big.

  3. Good morning, Meesefolk; 73 when I got up with a high of 84. Storms are in the forecast, and in fact, that’s true every day this week. But they’re the kind of pop up storms that are hit and miss, depending on the heat and humidity, not a full-on front moving slowly across the area. I went out to dinner last night with my BFF who still works at “my” old farm; she said it’s been a nightmare of too wet to do any planting and now so dry the irrigation team can barely keep up. Conversations like that remind me of why I finally left for an indoor job!

    I had hoped I would be getting my car today, but it looks like the earliest that Hubby and I can be at the dealership is Saturday. That means I need to get over there today and make sure everything is ready before Sales Guy goes on vacation. It would be so much easier for me if I could get it today, but Hubby and Sales Guy have work schedules that made that impractical. Men!

    Good day to and for all!

  4. Gonna be a (relatively) coolish day today. It was 65 at dawn, 72 now, and heading for 81. Of course I haven’t a clue what the heat index will be. If the 100% humidity doesn’t drop it could get close to 100. We’re getting afternoon cloudiness without the rain, darn it. Yesterday’s production was 17 KWHs, not quite 2/3s what’s possible this time of year. And the foreseeable forecast looks like it’s gonna do this for a while. Still, 17 KWHs is on track (barely) to get us over 500 for the month. And definitely more than I’m using without the A/C even adding in the ceiling fans.

    I am weary. Fatigued even. I’ve watched us travel this path towards fascism since I was in my teens. I’ve worked every election to some degree or another since before I could vote. Every time we’ve won I hoped we’d turn it around. But we didn’t. All we could do/did was damage control and clean up the mess. At the point we might have been able to turn it around, they took over again. And picked up precisely where they’d left off on the road to hell. Until we break up the RW propaganda machine that’s gonna be the pattern. Except this may be our last chance. So even though I am weary I keep trying.

    Closer to hand and to home, I still can’t seem to reach either the Dem Party Volunteer Coordinator about the data entry or the handyman about repairing my roof. And I’m running out of even Tubmans to send to groups like @Raices & @supportKIND who are working to help the families at the border. Or my friends who are short on groceries. sigh. So more prayers/Invocations for them. And maybe coffee for me. (The texture of the pumpkin muffin bread/cake/squares is almost like pumpkin pie. Definitely leave out the yogurt next time!) Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • You could leave the yogurt in and just add a whipped cream topping, you know. (I am clearly not the person you turn to for healthful or low-calorie food options)

      • LOL. I’ve known many people in my life, especially in my younger years, who thought pie for breakfast was the natural order of things – but I’ve never been one of them. heh.

        • Pie as a meal is always the most sensible option. I’m partial to a Michigan 4-Berry as the main course, with lemon meringue for dessert. And now I may have to add “pie store” to my errands today. Fortunately, they sell by the slice too, so I don’t have to choose.

          • When I was 15 and worked in the Walgreens “soda fountain” there was a bus stop just outside the store & during “rush hours” there’d always be men and a few women waiting. I don’t know about in the winter but during the summer when I was working mornings instead of evenings many of the men would come in for “breakfast” of coffee and a piece of pie (or 2 donuts). That was 20 cents plus tax (10 for the coffee b/c free refills, 10 for the pie or 5 each for the donuts) and bless they’re generous (or in a hurry) hearts they’d usually leave 30 cents by their coffee cup for me to pay for it with.

          • “their” generous hearts. my fingers default to “they’re” & I don’t always catch in time to correct.

  5. Good morning, 58 and cloudy in Bellingham. I managed to get the beds changed and the towels washed yesterday, but after waking up from an unplanned nap, with my legs propped up on a very full laundry basket I decided it was time to stop for the day.

    I have a haircut scheduled later today, but my main goal is to not nap in the laundry room! Time for coffee, and as always, my best wishes to all.

  6. Good morning, meeses! Wednesday that feels like a Friday or Saturday …

    It is 70 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 82 (heat index 99). Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast.

    Good news regarding the census – it will be printed without the citizenship question as Stephen Miller’s dream of white supremacy is crushed. This demonstrates both the power of the judiciary and the value of investigative journalism. It makes what the Republican Party is doing to the federal courts – and what Facebook and Google are doing to journalism – all the more terrifying. But for now, we can celebrate that the checks held.

    Trump’s Tanks are just another in a long line of embarrassing things done by a man with no impulse control who is surrounded by people who have no integrity. That they are diverting National Park money from park repairs to put on his political rally should be illegal. It is certainly despicable.

    USA soccer women defeated England in a nail-biter. I was looking forward to the whistles at the end of the half and the end of the game so that I could breathe! That they won without their best player is a testament to their determination. I am always sad, though, that there have to be winners and losers – the faces of anguish are heartrending. Today the Netherlands and Sweden play their semi-final and one of them will advance to the final to play us at 10am CDT on Sunday. I know that Sweden and the US have a history (but not with their current coach) but I don’t know much about the Netherlands. I may watch the match this afternoon if I can get my work done.

    Kamala is surging! Those of us who knew that low single digit polling reflected that people did not know her yet, not that people knew her and rejected her. She checks all the boxes (in my mind) – people are imagining her going toe to toe with Donald J. Dotard and they like what they see.

    I have one last June project to finish this morning and then I can move on to July. I have to lay out a work plan for the long weekend – I have two extra days without client emails and phone calls and it would be nice to make a dent in the to-do list.

    See all y’all later!

  7. Wednesday Meese
    70 degrees here in Saugerties NY going up to 89.

  8. Wed/Friday. I made it through the work week! Well, assuming I’m here till 5. I didn’t go to the gym yesterday. Brought the gym bag again, planning to go today. Listening to fluffy, fun but also seriously deep Discotheque.

  9. Kamala Harris surge in the polls brings out more hit pieces

    An excellent debunking thread

    • That’s pretty nasty. I am of two minds about how to respond to those pieces. That the charges need to be rebutted is undeniable but I am not sure that including that troll’s tweet in the rebuttal is a good idea. Eyes that see the lies and eyes that see the rebuttals are attached to brains that often have a difficult time sorting the lies – and half-truths and exaggerations – from the rebuttals and the explanations. A better plan would be to list the charges and rebut in a more arms-length tweet. Democrats were duped by misinformation campaigns in 2016 and there is strong evidence that it impacted the election and made Donald Trump president. I think that new Democratic voters, young people, are less gullible than their parents and grandparents but we have to be careful to not amplify the wrong voices.

      • I agree whole-heartedly about not including the offending/offensive tweet – in this and just about any other instance – it does little but reinforce the lies. The main problem with not including the original that I can see is tweets are too short to otherwise reference what you’re responding to. But mostly lies are lies that get believed if repeated. sigh.

  10. The soccer game on Sunday airs from 10am to noon. I’m so torn. I want to watch it, but church….. And they are starting a mew sermon series, based on Broadway musicals – which given the musical talent at my church is definitely a can’t miss. And sure I could record it, but that’s not the same as watching it along with everyone else….

    • You actually participate in your church service – you watch the game as an observer. Definitely do church. If you stay off the internet/TV until after you’ve watched the game it will be pretty much the same as if you watched it along with all those others you weren’t in company with. {{{HUGS}}}

  11. It was 70 at dawn and not much above it at the moment as we head for the mid to upper 80s – considering the humidity I’d say we’ll be getting heat index over 100. sigh. Yesterday was rather pleasant – after the “storm’ of a lot of clouds and a lot of wind and some rumbly thunder and maybe a dozen drops of rain blew through the temps dropped back down to the low 70s and the humidity dropped below 50% for most of the rest of the day. Stayed cloudy though. We only got 13 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 30 which is not on track for 500. We shall see what we shall see. Meanwhile kitten-cats running amok and elder-cats sleeping. I’m kinda groggy myself.

    Evil Ones being evil. At least people are taking notice of the kids. It’s not just the kids of course. Border patrol by whatever names are being fascist concentration camp guards to everyone from Elders down. But kids get the attention of people who can be manipulated into thinking the adults somehow “deserve” to be tortured. The real Deplorables shrug & say it’s the kids’ parents’ fault for bringing them. (Of course they probably abuse their own kids – and always have an excuse for why it’s the kid’s fault.) But the semi-Deplorables get very upset seeing kids abused and tortured. Not that I’m holding out any hope – but gerrymandering backfires if something happens to flip the district. Boots on the ground, precinct-level organizing is what wins elections. I’m delighted to see Kamala’s team doing just that. I don’t have much if any hope that the general populace will start understanding how important all the races are – but I can at least hope Kamala has “long coattails” because she’ll need a Dem Congress and as many Dem statehouses as possible to turn things around.

    Holding the Good Thoughts for, well, everybody – that Light manifest in this Darkness forcing the kockroaches back into hiding (or maybe act like salt on slugs…) – whatever the need. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  12. Good morning, 58 and cloudy in Bellingham. Our 4th of July plans have changed so we will now have a family afternoon barbecue at our son’s house and no overnight guests will be staying here. I’ve got a cold/sore throat so that’s a relief for me.

    Our granddaughter is attending The Fiddle Tunes Workshop so we’re going to Port Townsend on Friday so we can be at the closing concerts with her on Saturday. And then I’ve got no more scheduled events, yay! It’s been a busy few months so I’m ready for “summer vacation.”

    Best wishes to all.

  13. Good morning/afternoon, Meesefolk; 70 when I got up and going up to a mostly cloudy 82 today. We got a good soaking last night, which was most welcome, but the humidity decided to stick around afterwards. It’s just supposed to be grey and humid today, but I’m working all day, so it doesn’t really matter. Tomorrow Hubby wants to grill steaks, but it’s supposed to be super hot which he hates. We may end up having grilled steaks for breakfast so he can beat the heat!

    I had to go looking for Diana on Twitter, because my worry gene kicked into gear. She’s active there, so I’m going to assume, until I hear otherwise, that the log-in gremlin is giving her grief again. I don’t know if there’s a protocol for radio silence from online friends; these are things I never had to think about before!

    I’m getting my new-to-me car after work tonight! Sales Guy started work early today, so Hubby was able to go in on his way home and sign all his portion of the paperwork after I ensured everything was good to go yesterday. I just have to go in, sign my portion, turn in my old car, and drive home in my new one. I’ll have to take it back next week, because I ordered a spare tire kit which they’ll balance and fit into the trunk space. Apparently, Kia does not provide spare tires anymore. It’s a weight-saving strategy related to EPA standards, so it’s basically gaming the system. They provide some kind of fix-a-flat, but with the amount of long distance driving I do, I need a bubble tire at a minimum. It’s a bigger chunk of change than I wanted to spend on top of a car payment, but it strikes me as insanity to drive without a spare. And I am many things, but insane is generally not included in the descriptions of me.

    Good day to and for all!

    • I would love to have a grilled steak at whatever time of the day. LOL. But it’s just too much of a mess for one – so I’m probably gonna get takeout BBQ tomorrow instead. I have one of those worry genes, too. And same – figure if they’re online and posting somewhere they’re at least OK enough to be online & posting. & very wise about the spare. Just safer. {{{HUGS}}}

      • I don’t particularly care for steak, but Hubby does. So I wait until I see it marked down because it’s approaching its sell-by date, and then I snap it up and throw it in the freezer. Hubby thinks I’m wonderful for indulging his love of steak, and I don’t have to do much in the way of meal prep…that’s pretty much my definition of win-win.

        • I love grilled steak – but it has to be done right which I’m really hit-and-miss on. Does sound like you’ve got a win-win situation.

    • Thanks for worrying, DoReMI! It was easier to get on Twitter, which I have on my phone, than it was to get to the laptop for a few days. Perhaps we ought to send DMs on Twitter to our online friends to explain our radio silence.

      • Thank you for understanding my concern, rather than wondering if I was engaging in some intrusive, stalker-y behavior.????

  14. Good evening, Meese! It’s Wednesday night, we’re waiting for rain, and it’s been a VERY hot day.

    I’m childless tonight, which explains why I can get on the computer. Not that Miss Pink Cheeks uses it, but the foldout bed from the sofa in my office abuts my desk, so I can’t get to my laptop when she’s here. And she usurps my iPad when visiting.

    So every morning that she’s been here I’ve had to cook a formal breakfast, which she likes (we frequently just pop an English muffin into the toaster or eat granola when by ourselves), and the rest of the day has been spent taking her to swim practice or whatever. This morning Darling Niece came over with Great-Nephew Mr. B., whose blond hair reaches to his shoulders. Everyone’s always complimenting Darling Niece on what a cute little girl she has. Mr. B. is resigned to it. Most males seem to go through a “long hair” phase; Miss Pink Cheek’s father did, but eventually he got old (24!), and long hair is a nuisance when you’re a chef, so time took care of it. Anyway, the two kids had fun in the Ashby Ponds swimming pool for an hour, then we dried them off and took them to lunch in Reston.

    Jan, we watched the USA-England game (we rooted for both teams, actually) and were delirious when the Blues won. Today I felt sorry for poor old Sweden. The Dutch simply outplayed them. It wasn’t nearly as much fun to watch as yesterday’s game was because the Dutch didn’t score a goal until the 99th minute.

    Tomorrow we’re going to Williamsburg for the weekend—yes, we’re getting out of town because Goddess is sending heavy rain for Thing’s stupid parade—and we’ll be back on Sunday. We’ll have to record the USA-Netherlands final. I am SO pleased that Americans really seem to be excited about the Women’s World Cup! And there are a lot of men and boys watching too, which cheers me.

    Also very cheered that more people are paying attention to Kamala! I’ve been wearing my Kamala t-shirt around town. So far, no one has remarked on it.

    Probably won’t be able to check in tomorrow because of travel prep. but I’m taking the laptop with me so may be able to check in later. I might be able to get a few things done if we have some quiet time while we’re away.

    Wishing a Happy Fourth of July to all at the Pond and please don’t watch Thing’s parade on TV, if you can possibly avoid it! Many stations have promised to refrain from covering it, but CNN, slavishly in love with Thing as always, may cover it.

  15. Good morning, meeses! Thursday …

    It is 70 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 84. Chance of thunderstorms all day. Last night the storms hit around the time that people in the neighborhood were beginning to shoot off fireworks. I can’t tell if the dog hated the fireworks more or the storm more but I preferred the storm – that is part of nature, the other is part of idiocy.

    The embarrassment in the Oval Office is planned a military parade to settle once and for all that he has a long penis! We can wish for it to start raining just as he approaches the podium at his campaign rally and the tiny tiny crowd scatters. Another tradition hijacked by the #FakePresident.

    I hope John Roberts issues a more scathing rebuke to the Trump Administration than “the reason for the citizenship question seems contrived.” They flat out lied to the Supreme Court about when the census printing had to start (turns out it can wait until October, they claimed they needed a ruling by June 30th and therefore the case must be expedited). Yesterday, a tweet sent Trump’s boutique law firm, aka the Justice Department, scurrying to find another way to get the question put back on the census after they had told the judges in the lower courts that they were done. A Republican Congressman in Texas said Trump should just “ignore the Supreme Court” and do what he wants. JHC on a popsicle stick, if Roberts does not rein in his lawless political party he deserves to be vilified.

    Charges have been dropped against the Alabama woman charged with the “murder” of her fetus for getting in a fight that ended up with her being shot in the abdomen. That she was being charged in the first place for what was essentially “not being the perfect incubator that the state of Alabama wanted her to be” is a travesty. The lack of respect for women and women’s bodies in this country has to become an issue that we address. That we let the Supreme Court decide the right to an abortion and never bothered codifying it in a statute is legislative malpractice. Some states are fixing it but other states will codify forced birth when Roe is repealed and there is no federal right to an abortion.

    The field is set for Sunday morning’s World Cup match – USA vs Netherlands. I watched the Netherlands v Sweden match yesterday (scouting the teams!) and it was a battle, decided in extended time on a brilliant goal by a Netherlands midfielder. A Swedish player took a nasty hit in the waning minutes and was carried off in a stretcher. I wish they would wear head gear – I am not sure why more people aren’t killed or maimed using their heads to direct a soccer ball.

    Busy day here as I try to take advantage of my clients’ offices being closed, allowing me to do some network maintenance that has been deferred by my too-busy-schedule.

    See all y’all later!

  16. Thursday Meese. 69 here in NYS going up to 94.
    I will spend the day comforting my dogs because they hate fireworks – and my neighbors love them

    Puerto Rico

  17. Slept in, flipped on MSNBC since I thought Morning Jo(ke) wouldn’t be on, but I was wrong. Before I changed the channel, I realized they were talking about music, so I listened. Jon Meacham & Tim McGraw have written a book about music through American history, and it sounds really interesting. Anyway, no real plans for today. High is supposed to be in the mid 90s, so if I take a walk, it’ll be this morning.

    Today’s song is American Soul. I don’t usually post the whole lyrics, but I couldn’t pick just one snippet.

    It’s not a place
    This country is to me a sound
    Of drum and bass
    You close your eyes to look around
    Look around, around, look around,
    It’s a sound, look around, look around, it’s a sound
    It’s not a place
    This country is to me a thought
    That offers grace
    For every welcome that is sought

    You are
    Rock and roll
    You and I are
    Rock and roll
    You are
    Rock and roll
    We came here looking for American soul

    It’s not a place
    This is a dream the whole world owns
    The pilgrim’s face
    she had your heart to call her home
    Hold on Brother John
    Too many mothers weeping
    Dream on Brother John
    But in your dreams you can’t be sleeping

    chorus

    American
    American
    Put your hands in the air
    Hold up the sky
    Could be too late but we still gotta try
    There’s a moment in a life where a soul can die
    In a person, in a country ,when you believe the lie
    There’s a promise at the heart of every good dream
    It’s a call to action not to fantasy
    The end of the dream
    The start of what’s real
    Let it be unity
    Let it be community
    For refugees like you and me
    A country to receive us
    Will you be my sanctuary
    Refujesus
    You are
    Rock and roll
    You and I are
    Rock and roll
    You are
    Rock and roll
    We came here looking for American soul

    • {{{another}}} – a very good set of lyrics there. We who were born here are still looking for American soul.

  18. We’ve got low 70s this morning but are supposed to get up to the upper 80s and who knows about the heat index. The sun’s shining right now but we’ve also got “scattered” showers in the forecast so who knows about that either. Yesterday we got 21.6 KWHs and the m-t-d is 51.8 so back on track to reach 500. Nice start to the month. Glad there’s something nice going on. I’m tryin CBD oil on Murf to see if it will help whatever’s making him so grumpy. The anti-inflammatory wasn’t doing it and that stuff’s not good for cats (or anybody else) long term.

    It’s getting harder and harder to celebrate much of anything in America – the more I learn about our history the less there is to be proud of. One of the reasons we broke from GB is because they wouldn’t let us break the treaties with the Natives who’d allied with us against the French in the “French and Indian” War less than 10 years earlier. Another little “goody” that just shows everything old is new again – although all the laws and restrictions we were complaining about came from Parliament, our Founders deliberately wrote everything up as if it were the monarch – not just the Declaration itself, but all the essays, articles, broadsides, letters to editors, etc. Give people a target, a person to blame, and they fall in line like baby ducks. Sigh. But as I said to Charles Gaba the other day, we can celebrate the goals of America. We’ve never reached them and we’re in “all reverse full” right now. But the goals of Freedom and Justice for All, of Equal Rights under the law, of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – those are still very much worth celebrating. And fighting for.

    So. Coffee and hoping the additional fireworks don’t freak out the cats. They haven’t so far. In which I am very lucky. My friend has 2 dogs to keep calm and my eldest DIL has 30 goats and 2 donkeys (she calls this the “Night of Terror”) – she’ll be spending tonight in the goat barn and doing more cursing (well, not really cursing because Law of Return & she’s a witch) than celebrating. But still – Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

      • I’m not entirely sure. She used to have a circle but I think that’s no longer active. It’s definitely of the UK – probably a mixture of Irish and the Traditions along the western side of the “big” island. She calls the 8 sacred days by those names, you see. I’m pretty sure she practices solo mostly at this point. I know her attitude about “woo-woo” is one I totally approve of – appropriating everything you “like” and smishing it together is insulting, stupid, and dangerous – because that came up while we were talking about the fireworks and the animals.

  19. Good morning, 61 and cloudy in Bellingham. My sore throat feels better, but I’m still coughing so I’ll keep my morning quiet and I won’t be splashing with Ava in the pool this afternoon. It was time to say good by to her swing set so she negotiated a surprisingly large inflatable pool as a replacement. She’s ready to share but I’ll wait for a sunny day!

    Best wishes to all.

  20. Friday Meese.
    65 going up to a rainy 95 here in Saugerties NY.

    July 4

    The Fake folk try to strike again

    Puerto Rico twitter Roundup

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