Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Mar. 29th through Apr. 4th

March 28, 2020 JanF Community 84

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!
 
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32 Comments

  1. Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …

    Morning low of 46 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 45. Rain is in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  3. Puerto Rico

  5. Didn’t get in my walk yesterday. I thought I’d go to the grocery store then walk. It takes so long to get groceries these days…. Even without a line to get in, touching things only with a wipe in my hand, then the centralized check out line, spraying the bag with bleach cleaner when I got home, and wiping down each item…… Oh, and finding something to put the bread in…. Just, wow. Today, after church, definitely a walk.

  6. Murf has trained me into morning lap time so I’m checking in and will put off my Sunday cleaning chores until he gets off. ???????????? It’s in the upper 40s – furnace is on for the first time in 3 days – heading for 70 again. It did clear off yesterday afternoon and we got 10.8 KWHs. That was enough to bring the m-t-d to 290 – we’ll go over 300 today. The sun’s shining already and is supposed to most of the day. I don’t know how much over and it won’t be over enough even with 2 days left in the month to get us out of last place with the 4K system, but definitely better than I was afraid of last week.

    When I start doing the floors I’m gonna try it with a bandana over my mouth and nose. (Actually it’s a large napkin – I wish it really was a bandana – but it’s big enough to tie behind my head and that’s what I need.)
    Just see how long I can stand it. I’m hoping that the bottom being loose will stave off the panic attack. I’d thought about wearing my winter gloves on Thursday but both pair have holes in them which kinda defeats the point. Kace on Twitter suggested socks as mittens and I’ll probably do that until I get to the blood bank. They’re gonna supply gloves for the intake stuff. I’ll wear them as long as I can for my shopping. There is a bright side to being the only human in this house. I don’t have to worry about masks, gloves, or even as much cleaning as most folks do to be safe. There hasn’t been another human in this house for over 2 weeks, only 2 other humans (not at the same time) in this house since before Yule. I may be recirculating my own “bugs” but I’m not getting anybody else’s – with the possible exception of whatever might be coming in with the mail and groceries.

    Getting close to anxiety attack myself about Amelia and Aji, especially Amelia. But there’s nothing I can do that I haven’t already done. And there’s really nothing more I can do about anybody else and the nation (or world) in general. So I keep doing what I can and try to not think about it. One more reason for doing what I can around the house – cleaning, yard stuff, start that container garden after I get the stuff to do it with next Thursday. As a rehab guy once told me, work is the great distractor. Just with I could work longer at a stretch. For that matter, I wish I could pray/invoke/Channel longer at a stretch. But I can’t so short spaces of everything taking turns will have to do.

    Healing Energy to everybody to your need/shaping. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  7. Good morning, 47 and raining in Bellingham. The rain was heavy when I first woke up so I hope the very dirty upstairs windows got the washing they needed! The sky is lighter now so maybe my plan to do some more pruning on the salal by the upper patio can still happen sometime today. I’ve been going slow with those plants because it’s a focal point and I don’t want the plants to look sheared off. New growth is emerging from the cuts I made last fall so now I can see where to make the next cuts so the planting will be lower and less of a barrier.

    No change with our COVID contained life. RonK is writing another essay about trees and I’ve got my sewing room full of project possibilities. I could finish something but apparently I enjoy starting something new more so that’s what I do.

    Best wishes to all on this cloudburst morning.

  8. Good gray Sunday morning, Moosekind! The temp. in Ashburn is 50 F. at 8 a.m., and the forecast calls for 78 F. with afternoon thunderstorms. For exercise today I’ll go up and down the five flights of stairs across the hallway behind the fire door. Mornings are always too busy to exercise.

    Last night we had an alcohol-fueled party in the hallway. Our delightful Irish neighbor, brandishing an enormous goblet of white wine, dressed up for the occasion but others appeared in their pajamas, ready to watch a movie after the party ended. We began by trying to sing a few songs but the upper registers of “Danny Boy” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” defeated our aging voices, so we simply had a cocktail party. It was the first such party I’ve ever attended that included dogs as guests: a bowtie-wearing chocolate Lab, an inquisitive beagle, and a quivering pink poodle who, overcome by the noise, buried her little nose in her human’s shoulder.

    Anyway, we had such a good time we said we’d do it again next Saturday night. I did a funny turn, a British music hall song called “Waiting in the Church,” in a Cockney accent. It was well received. Then I tried to get “Knees Up, Mother Brown” going but the majority seemed not to know it.

    Yesterday I actually did something: I organized some of our legal records. They’re in a nice leather portfolio that will go into the special space I’m creating so our heirs can easily lay their hands on everything if we joss it. Now I am much exercised as to how to label the thing. Will the leather be damaged if I paste a label on the front with scotch tape? I’m not sure.

    The news continues to be awful. We’re reading the newspaper online as the physical one isn’t here. One writer suggested that although the pandemic will lessen in the summer, it’ll come roaring back with the advent of cold weather in the fall. Apparently that’s what happened with the ‘flu epidemic in 1918-1920.

    Hang in there, Meese! We’ll get through this. Wishing all a quiet day at home.

    P. S. I wrote this, then forgot to press “Post”! Now it’s nearly 3 p.m. It never got as warm as they said it would. The sky is still gray but the temp. is only 55 F. I care not–as long as it isn’t raining, I’ll go for a walk after tea.

    • {{{Diana}}} Put the portfolio in a paper bag and label that. (Yes tape will damage the leather.) Your hall party sounds fun. And a very good idea. “Doing the stairs” is how a lot of the Admin staff of whatever title used to get their/our exercise in Old Main during the winters and rainy weather. moar {{{HUGS}}}

    • {{{anotherdemocrat}}} It’s been so long since I lived in Austin – almost 40 years now – that the only things I recognized were the Capitol, the UT Tower – and that wonderful, caring, spirit that is Austin. That brought tears to my eyes. moar {{{HUGS}}}

  10. Good morning, meeses! Monday …

    It is 39 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 50. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    I only have time for a quick check-in and then my nose needs to be placed firmly to the grindstone. There are only two days left in March and I have accounting work that must be done in March. I kept thinking I had plenty of time and here we are – March is almost gone! I have to decide if I will venture out today; the absentee ballot I ordered over a week ago has not arrived and it needs to be mailed back no later than tomorrow to guarantee it arrives in time for the election. I will probably give it one more day then go to the city clerk’s office to vote in-person. I definitely won’t vote on election day and I definitely need to vote.

    I am having a difficult time figuring out how safe it is to shop for groceries (and when it is safe to put purchases in our refrigerator/freezer/pantry.) Does having a stranger, whose virus status and cleanliness habits are unknown, shop for you really cut the risks? So far our local store – which is ginormous and allows for some social distancing – seems to be doing a good job of safe re-stocking and check-outs. What I worry about is that people with short-attention spans will get sloppy and fall into old habits. I have to focus on the fact that not everyone will get sick and not everyone will get sick enough to be hospitalized and not everyone hospitalized will die. We will die if we don’t eat – or if we don’t have coffee.

    See all y’all later!

    • Jan, is your store doing curbside pickup? I’ve been ordering from Amazon/Whole Foods, but Whole Paycheck doesn’t have normal brands. It’s fine for fresh stuff, when available.

      There was a whole article in the WaPo yesterday about the fact that yes, everyone should jolly well wear masks in public. The Amazon delivery guy did. The young waiters who deliver three days’ worth of meals at a time wear masks. If you can manage it, wear a mask and gloves, even if they’re not disposable gloves. You can always wash the gloves after you return. And of course, disinfect your shopping cart handle and stay six feet away from everyone else. Some stores are putting plexiglass shields between the cashiers and the customers at the checkout stands.

      You can also sanitize your kitchen counter before you place the purchases on it, and wipe down each package with a disinfectant wipe before storing them in the fridge or on the pantry shelf.

      • I want to strike a balance between caution and paranoia. Wiping down the counters before and after setting the food on them seems wise, wiping a carton of eggs that I won’t use for 6 days with disinfectant before putting it in the refrigerator seems obsessive. I think letting packages “age” about 4 hours before considering them safe to touch without gloves is about as far as I want to go. So if I get the virus, you will know how it happened!

  11. Monday Meese. 41 going up to 51 here in the NY Catskills.

    Yamiche – Kudos

    Puerto Rico

    Puerto Rico

    • Gavin Newsome has people repairing those ventilators and they’ll be operational tomorrow!

      Love Yamiche Alcindor. She’s frequently a guest on “Washington Week” with Robert Costa. Thing is such a vile, vile racist.

      One wonders why he hasn’t contracted “IT.” A lot of people around him have.

  12. A friend sent me a link to this video. Worth watching to dispel creeping hysteria.

    • Thank you for that!! I don’t want to be careless but I also want to believe that the things that grocery stores are doing will make it safe for me to go to the store and buy food (and soap and other essentials to stay healthy).

      An article I read this morning was about how a March 10th choir practice in Skagit County Washington killed and sickened members. The singing sent particles of COVID-19 into the air and infected about 75% of the people who were at the 2 1/2 hour practice. A reminder that the virus is airborne then lands on things or gets breathed in. The “lands on things” can be waited out (based on the type of surface) but the “breathed in” part can’t – you are infected. So stay away from where airborne particles might be present and give the rest of them time to die off.

      I listened to the entire Price video and what I can’t figure out is the “don’t touch your face” thing. Certainly, I can’t never touch my face – it is impossible. If my last exposure to food packages was 4 hours ago, can I touch my face?

      • Jan, my bet – no I’m not a doctor – is that once you’ve put your food up washing your hands and you’re OK. And when you get it out again, ready to cook stuff, well once you’ve opened raw food and put it wherever to prepare it, you’re gonna wash your hands again, right? Every time you wash your hands you’ve broken the chain as it were. {{{HUGS}}}

  14. In the mid 40s maybe going to 70 and cloudy. Again. March is going out the way it came in – a wet lamb. Anyway we got 15.8 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 305.9 – not sure if we’ll get to 320 considering but over 300, well, it’s not good but it’s still banking electricity against the summer A/C use so that part’s good.

    I forgot to put the bandana on while I did the floors yesterday so I wore it while I did the treadmill and more work on the fence line in my back yard. With serious breaks between. I can wear it for over 20 minutes before I start having problems. If I concentrate on counting my breaths I can wear it longer but that means I’m not concentrating on whatever I was trying to do with it on. So. As long as the time in each store is under 20 minutes I’ll be fine. Not sure about the glove/mitten thing though. I’ll wear the gloves from the Blood Bank until the rash starts because the mittens make me even more clumsy than usual. That’s Thursday. Which is also the day Amelia’s “rent” has to be paid. Goddess! I hope she contacts her FB friends and they come through for her!

    Aji & Wings have had 3 sales this entire year. They can’t live on that. So prayers for sales (or at least revenue from somewhere although they prefer sales) – Aji’s calculating they need $5K to cover the next few months. A big chunk of that is medical – either up coming or payment on loans that got the hospital bill collectors off their back. So the focus of a bunch of my prayers/invocations/Channeling has been going to Amelia and Aji. They aren’t the only ones by a long streak but they’re the most urgent at the moment. Healing/Helping Energy to everybody. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  15. Good Monday morning, Moosekind! It was like Brigadoon when I lurched into the courtyard at 6:30 with the hound-dawg. Was pleased to notice that the sky was already lightening.

    It’s beyond annoying that last night, while I was trying to watch a program I really wanted to see on PBS, I kept falling asleep, but when I went to bed I was awake until 1 a.m. Furious, I took a melatonin pill and came into the living room to sleep in the green chair until 6:30. (Yep, first-world problem.)

    First-world problem No. 2. I’ve spent more than three-quarters of a century living in the most prosperous country in the world (according to hallowed legend). This is the first time in my life I haven’t been able to buy whatever I want just because I want it. There’s no white bread, baby carrots, dishwasher pods, or toilet paper to be had from Whole Paycheck. I’m too afraid to leave the campus for fear of what might happen. This is a tiny violin problem compared to what others are enduring. I just thought it was interesting because I’ve never experienced rationing before.

    This morning I got up and made banana-walnut bran muffins. Flavored with cinnamon and cloves, they smelled delicious while they were baking. They were delicious to eat too. We received two bananas in the latest food delivery, so I chose the bigger of the two to use for the muffins.

    Despite the foggy beginning, the weather has now improved considerably. We have a pale blue sky and sunlight. I really want to get something done today, so will sign off.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and the poor souls beyond.

    • The “rationing” we are going through is not rationing like it was for WWII – that was government imposed rationing and, in theory, had a rationale (!) behind it. The rationing we have now is due to the marketplace – hoarding and probably the disruption the supply chain and import rules. I am not sure who is picking our produce – we have a government that is hostile to farm workers – and I have been reading about long-haul truckers working 12-16 hour shifts to get goods and materials where they need to go. Some truckers have no places to stay and nowhere to eat when they are on the road – Wisconsin DOT is keeping our rest areas open and keeping them clean and safe but other states are closing theirs.

      I am not sure why little carrots would be in short supply. That’s a head scratcher!

  16. Good morning, 42 and mostly cloudy. I woke up to another early morning cloudburst, but that’s a sound of spring I enjoy hearing. I was able to be in the garden yesterday and to my relief the salal I’m trying to prune back into it’s space looks “right.” I’ll do a bit more today.

    Best wishes to all on what I think is a Monday morning.

    • {{{princesspat}}} gardening is good. Healthy & healing to body and spirit. (Mostly. Barring alleries. LOL) Hope you can garden again today. Healing Energy. moar {{{HUGS}}}

  17. Looks like my check in this morning never posted. Hi there, I am still here.

    • I looked for a comment trapped in spam or the moderation queue and couldn’t find one! Glad you are still here!!!

  19. Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …

    It is 36 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 43. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast. Yesterday’s forecast said was the same but we had long periods of sunshine which felt wonderful on my dog walk. It was still too cool to sit on my deck and soak in the rays but you can tell that day is coming.

    I wonder how Wisconsinites feel about their Republican Senator Ron Freaking Johnson telling them to “die and die quickly” so that his businesses and stock portfolio don’t suffer. I hope someone is grabbing footage for the campaign against him in 2022 in the event that he changes his mind and decides to run. Our Democratic governor is setting up his own network for test kits reminding everyone that Republican governance kills and Democratic governance is #ForThePeople. Goddess help us, we need safe and fair elections on November 3, 2020 to get us out of this mess. tRump said the quiet parts out loud yesterday on his call-in to Fox News when he said he would push back strongly against election help because Republicans can’t win elections when lots of people vote. We are going to have mail-in voting and we are going to need to help get everyone registered and signed up – it will be a huge task.

    I have one day left to get March work done so I need to get to it.

    March – in like a lion, out like a holy mackeral!!!

    See all y’all later!!

  20. Tuesday Meese. 38 going up to 50 here in the Catskills of NY

    Puerto Rico
    Send her some love.

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