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 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 (right before “Leave A Reply”) and use the Pages Tool, shown here with 3 pages of comments available.
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COUNTING DOWN …
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Good gray, gloomy Tuesday morning, Meese! The temperature in Ashburn is 57 F. going up to 63 F. The grayness and gloom match my mood exactly. I’m still in a bitchy mood because of Mrs. Jesse Barrett’s confirmation to the SC yesterday.
I feel bitchy
Oh, so bitchy
I feel bitchy and Witchy and bad–
Oh, how glitchy
When all the crap conspires to make me mad!
They’re going to turn the electricity off to “test” the system—fer gawd’s sake, why? Do they care nothing for my frozen foods? I have 45 minutes to get showered and dressed.
The WaPo says that 7 of 10 early voters in Virginia are Biden voters. I really should stay away from the rest of the news. CNN irritates me profoundly when they eagerly show statistics, purportedly from Pennsylvania, about how Biden is trailing thing. Pennsylvania is turning into Transylvania in my mind.
Wishing all at the Pond as decent a day as possible, considering everything.
{{{Diana}}} knowing something bad’s coming doesn’t really help deal with it when it gets here, does it? (Pennsylvania has always been Pennsyltucky – not nearly as “blue” as their reputation.) Hope your food stays OK. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Thank you, my angel, the food did stay frozen.
Cold morning here — 45 degrees, I think the coldest since March or so. I’m going to walk/run this evening. Switching to the warmest part of the day, and to Tuesday/Thursday because there’s a thing Friday morning that I want to do. Anyway, today’s plan is to work till 4:30, then go for a walk/run when it’s all the way up to 50 degrees.
It’s 36 heading for 43 and still drizzling. We didn’t get even half a KWH yesterday. The m-t-d is 236.88 – we need at least 6 more just to get out of last place. The month was off to such a good start. sigh. But we do need the rain and we have generated what I normally use in a month.
I knew we’d lost SCOTUS on 11/9/2016. I knew how badly it was going to go with the Kavanope appointment & confirmation. Knowing it’s going to happen doesn’t make it any less appalling/sickening when it does. At this point I’m not seeing a whole lot of hope. Definitely not for my sons’ and grandsons’ generations. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop working for the good. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to be wrong about this.
“Zooming” cats just overturned a litterbox so I’d best go deal with that. We do what is closest to our hands to do at home, with our friends/families, as with everything else. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Bfitz, my mind is as holey as a Swiss cheese these days.
Now when you generate more than you normally use, is it “banked” for future use for you, or do they pay you for it?
{{{Diana}}} – it’s banked for future use, mostly. It’s banked for up to 18 months and if there’s any left over at the end of that 18 months SWEPCO gets to keep it. I generally make SWEPCO a “gift” of 200 or so KWHs every year. (That’s AR for you. The Utility Commissioners have been in the Utility companies pockets since the get-go.) But so far, since I upgraded to the 4K system – and even with the greater usage of me being home all the time – I’m still not paying for electricity. I have to pay the monthly “maintenance” to have the lines hooked up to the house, currently $12 per month. I’d have to go offgrid to get out of that. But that is also AR. (see above.) moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, Meesefolk; 37 when I got up (late) this morning with a rainy high of 43. I’m pretty sure this means very little is going to get done today. It doesn’t have to mean that, of course, but I’m in enough of a mood after last night’s installment of the newest Injustice that I’m not going to force myself to be productive just for the sake of productivity.
I have another job interview tomorrow; it’s barely above entry level, but I’m discovering that I’m not particularly bothered by that. As I was telling the Kiddo last night, I’m not looking for the culmination of my professional life. I just want a job that gets me out of the house on a regular basis and allows me to give back a little bit…while getting paid. Hubby’s last visit to the dentist included a recommendation that he get dentures, which is a $10k investment we hadn’t planned for. My working would go a long way towards making that amount less gasp-worthy.
(And just like that, I just got another phone call doing an initial phone screening for another job I interviewed for. I’ll know in a few days if the company wants to interview.)
It’s chilly enough to day that I may pull some pumpkin puree out of the freezer and make a pumpkin pie. Another reason for getting a job…I’m eating far too much and too many sweets. Good day to and for all!
{{{DoReMI}}} Holding the Good Thought on the job interviews. (& maybe make pumpkin soup rather than pumpkin pie? LOL) Healing Energy & moar {{{HUGS}}}
Pumpkin soup is delicious. I learned to enjoy it during our visits to Australia, where they regard pumpkin as a vegetable rather than as the basis for a pie.
It’s good anyway you eat it, soup, pie, muffins. Yum! We feed canned pumpkin to the Mont-ster because it’s good for him.
Best of luck with the job interviews, DoReMI!
I hear you on the pounds. I’ve got seven extra that I’d like to give away to someone who could really use them.
Good morning, 43 and cloudy in Bellingham. I didn’t donate fabric yesterday, but I re arranged the stacks, emptied one tote made more room and found the pattern I was looking for, yay! Now that the space is tidy and feeling more controlled I hope my distracted brain can focus on actually sewing something today.
RonK is wearing his “vote” sweatshirt everywhere he goes, Lisa and Finn are getting out the vote in Edmunds, Erica is talking to her students about voting everyday, and I’m doing my best to worry less and be supportive. It’s going to be a long week!
Best wishes to all.
Oh, princesspat, I hear you on the “distracted” bit! I can’t seem to focus on anything except what’s going to happen on Tuesday next.
Hope we, and our brains, make it through until then.
Wednesday Meese. 44 going up to 55 and rain all day here in Kingston NY.
I love that Latinos are banging pots and pans for #ByeDon, with a traditional “Cacerolazo”
Puerto Rico
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 30 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 48. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Six days until election day!! I am wondering how I will feel the morning of November 4th – not all the results will be in but I think a winner will be able to be declared. Florida is counting votes as they come in as are other states that will decide this election. I feel as though if we win Florida, we will win the election – they are a demographic slice of swing state politics. Goddess help us if tRump is “re”-elected. My plan B to leave the country won’t work because Canada doesn’t want us; I don’t either! I wish we had a government that would pass a bill to allow us all to shelter in place again. Dane County and the City of Milwaukee are taking care of their residents but everyone else in our disease-ridden state is at risk and they are going to start filling up our hospitals too.
I have some end-of-quarter accounting that I have procrastinated on for too long and now I have only three days to get it done. Last quarter, the web site that I use for EOQ tax reporting had a problem and I was glad I had given myself an extra day to get the report and payment done because if I had waited until the exact last day, I would have been sunk. I hate doing this stuff which is why it ends up a stressful last minute project – I need to stop doing this to myself!
See all y’all later!
I actually had to turn the heater on yesterday. This is crazy for October, upper 30s for overnight lows is deep winter weather. I didn’t get to sign out early yesterday for my walk; on one of my calls they asked me to call back at 4 & I said yes without thinking. Then I saw that they live in El Paso. That’s the problem with a state as big as Texas, a chunk of the population is in a different time zone. So, I’m absolutely signing out early today, and if I stick with afternoon walk/run, Wednesday & Friday should work. Anyway, today’s plan is just work till 4:30.
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s an almost-warm 60 F., going up to 71 F. The skies will be cloudy all day, practicing for the forecasted rain tomorrow (Zeta’s remnants).
Had a decent, if drugged, sleep, so have a little energy to spend. The Zoom interview went very well yesterday. Perhaps I won’t even need a nap after lunch. I’ve three pieces to work on.
Because it’s going to rain tomorrow—or so they aver—I must go to the garden, harvest everything that can be harvested, and rip my plants out. I was going to rip them out anyway on Saturday, as we can’t pick anything after Samhain, but a directive came down from the Garden Club that the deadline is Thursday. Okay.
Thinking of making either carrot or cranberry muffins this afternoon. We shall see what we shall see, as our bfitz says.
Wishing a good, nondistracting day to all at the Pond.
It’s 42 going up to 52 and raining. The PV system is on but that’s about all you can say for it. 17 watts per hour doesn’t run the ceiling light (2 13-w compact fluorescents) I need on to see the keyboard. It’s supposed to be the same tomorrow – but then we’ll get a week of sunny-and-60s. I’m putting off my stockup shopping trip until next Thursday.
The closer we get to the election, the less I can think of to say. Mostly because while the election is absolutely our last chance to keep from going over the cliff, we can’t actually do anything until our people are sworn in. And at least all over social media they seem to be thinking/acting as if we take over on 11/4/20 – which does nothing but allows both the Rs and the LW to blame us for whatever evil the Rs do those almost 3 months in between.
And while things are looking better for Fineena, at least for the time being (another rescue dog charity stepped up and has done for her dog what the original rescue used to do but hasn’t at all this year) – thank you Goddess/es, things are right on the edge for just about everybody else. Hope – it never dies. Sometimes you think it does, but all it takes is a single sign of some kind and there it is again. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
THIS IS TRUE!!
You know that will happen and it will drive us crazy!!
Good morning, 54 and cloudy in Bellingham. Covid angst has merged with election/tRump angst and I’m afflicted! Sorry to be so grumpy and distracted. I’ve got several must do tasks so I’d best dig in. Best wishes to all.
Good afternoon, Meesefolk; I didn’t check the temp when I got up this morning, but it’s sunny and 50 now. If I were smart, I’d be outside working in the yard. I’m not at all smart today. In fact, the minute I got home from my interview, I threw on jammies and will probably take a nap in a few.
The interview was fun, and the job would definitely be a keeper if offered. It’s with a family medical center run by the largest healthcare system/hospital group in MI. It’s NOT Catholic, so no immediate ethical dilemma, and the job is far more varied than I anticipated. There would be a lot of information to remember, but at the same time, it’s the kind of job that I could leave at the office. I have no idea how I will stack up compared to the other applicants, but I did enjoy the 2 HOURS (!) I spent with the interviewers.
While I was with the hospital interviewers, I got a call from the USPS asking me to call back re the seasonal job I applied for. I called back for the initial screening, and I’m far less certain I would accept the position if I get an interview/offer. The job would start at 0400; requires heavy lifting (which I can do, but do I want to?); and would probably be a split shift. It’s the split that bothers me, since splits tend to ruin my productivity at home. I was pretty blunt with the screener and told her that while I was interested in pursuing the process, I did have reservations re working splits. She understood (I mean, who wouldn’t?), and said she’d pass my name on to the interview team anyway. Her role was basically to outline the job requirements to weed out the “hell no” answers, so who knows if my application will even pass muster for an interview. I will say that being unemployed right now has a few advantages…my stress and anxiety are focused on finding jobs to apply for, rather than the election. It’s probably a bit of an extreme distraction, but it does work. :)
Good day to and for all!
Good luck on getting the hospital job!
{{{DoReMI}}} Holding the Good Thought on the hospital job. Yes, being unemployed in this country & economy is a great, if extreme, distractor. Healing Energy, moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 37 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 41. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast.
Two “wins” at SCOTUS related to extending deadlines. I am confused why people are confused about why Wisconsin’s deadline extension was struck down and why the Pennsylvania and North Carolina extensions were left in place (for now!! Justices reserved the right to invalidate ballots if their boss doesn’t win!!!). The Wisconsin extension was a federal court allowing the extension to override state law. The other two were state courts or authorized state election officials extending the deadline. States control elections, period. Which needs to be added to the list of “things to fix when we regain power.” The “win” is in scare quotes because Justice Mrs. Jesse Barrett did not weigh in but will certainly weigh in should her boss lose any of the states where the extension was not overruled. America: failed democracy.
I am not sure how to avoid what is happening in Wisconsin – the state is running out of ICU beds which means that someone who lives in a county or city that has rules about spreading deadly viruses and has sacrificed greatly to keep their numbers down, will NOT be rewarded for their diligence. If anyone needs an ICU bed for, say, an automobile accident or a cardiac event, tough shit – the unrestrained bar flies and the Wisconsin Tavern League say “die and die slowly and painfully, we gotta have our bars and restaurants open at full capacity!” I despise them.
I have a few news stories up in tabs that I may get a chance to read later. None of them include polls and I did NOT launch the article that said that Joe Biden is being “too cautious” for not getting out there and holding dozens of campaign events a day. Fk them with a rusty boat anchor!!! Is there any “gettable” vote from someone who needs to see Joe Biden in person before they will vote for him? There are no undecided votes this year, none, zero, nada, zilch. The polled undecideds are actually “won’t say” and they are a very small number. Ignore them and those in the press who are giving them voice.
See all y’all later!
Thursday Meese – cold, raining here in Kingston and we get snow mixed with rain tomorrow. Glad I already voted.
This young man put a smile on my face today
Puerto Rico
It’s 43 going to 56 and still raining although not as heavily. The PV system is actually on. Not by much, but on. Yesterday we generated half a KWH and the m-t-d is 239.8 – we should at least reach 240 today and maybe a bit more as the rain is supposed to stop this afternoon. The weather’s supposed to clear off before dark (overnight/just before dawn low dropping to 29) and then be more or less sunny and 60s for the next 10 days. So we’ll at least get out of last place for October production. If the forecast is correct.
The election/national situation is getting more frantic by the moment. And the funding appeals…sheesh. I swear if I gave them a penny for every email I’ve gotten I’d still have used up the entirety of my TIAA-Cref savings. And if I were going to do that, political stuff isn’t where it would go. Not that it’s enough to make lasting change anywhere I’d send it because it’s not. But it still would go to people I know who need it. And if that is selfish and short-sighted of me, well, so be it. I’m giving what I can within my “means” to multiple candidates. They’ll have to get it from somebody else. My friends don’t have the bandwidth for fundraising they do. (& is that a rant to cover anxiety about the election? Why yes it is.)
I mostly don’t feel like moving but I’m gonna feel worse if I don’t so I’d best go do something on my list. LOL. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Hope your migraine has gone with the dawn, bfitz! I saw your tweet.
Migraines are the worst!
{{{Diana}}} thank you, yes. There’s a point with an on-coming migraine I can stop it IF I stop whatever I’m doing right then and deal with it. If I wait to finish whatever I was doing, it’ll be too late. I’ve finally learned that. LOL. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning meese, it’s 48 degrees in Folsom, CA with a projected high of 76. No rain in the forecast, but fortunately no fires anywhere nearby either (yet). Just trucking along and having silly/fun conversations with bfitz and DoReMI on Twitter about onions (DoReMI “hates” them) and cereal that has the same name as bfitz (which she can’t eat most of).
Good morning, basket! Lawks, what would life be without onions? I even like them roasted—you know, you peel off the brown outer layer, open the top a bit and pour in a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then roast at high heat for 45 minutes.
Yummy!
{{{basket}}} that’s a pleasant temperature range. Or at least it can be. Holding the Good Thought on both rain (coming) and fires (not coming). Trucking along is good. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 54 and mostly cloudy in Bellingham. I’m just waking up on this dark morning and haven’t checked the news. Yesterday was a sober day for Ron and me because a local therapist we knew killed herself and her 7 yr old twin daughters. I won’t link because the details are upsetting. It’s hard to understand how something like this can happen to someone we know.
Time for coffee and to cautiously check the news. Take care everyone.
How TERRIBLE, princesspat! Those poor little angels!
What a horrible thing to happen.
Hope your day will go well.
{{{princesspat}}} – Healing Energy. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good gloomy Thursday, Moosekind! It’s been raining steadily since we got up this morning (well, actually it began during the night), but I can’t even rejoice in it because I was obliged to rip out my garden yesterday. Met a man on the way back to my building who said he’d argued every year with The Powers that gardens aren’t supposed to be ripped out until after the first frost. They’ve paid no attention, they just want the site to “look tidy.” This year he’s ignoring their orders.
At the moment in Ashburn it’s 58 F., on its way down tonight to 42 F.
Well, anyway, I craved cranberry muffins for breakfast this morning, so I made them. I’ve been moving very slowly, as you can tell. It’s already after lunch! Told The Man I couldn’t bear the idea of traipsing through the rain to pick up a wretched meal from Dining Services this evening, so he went to the market and bought a pot roast. It’s simmering slowly in the crockpot with its attendant carrots and potatoes and will be ready by six.
Darling Niece and I texted this morning. She’s going to make soul cakes (really, a kind of bun) with her son to celebrate Halloween. Don bought some yeast at the store so I’ll make them too.
Feeling terribly distracted because of the election. Hope everyone will have as nice a day as possible.