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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Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 34 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 48. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese. 49 going up to 58 with rain here in Kingston NY.
Today’s #BlackMusicSunday post will honor the Queen of Gospel – Mahalia Jackson.
Blessings of Palm Sunday and Passover for those who celebrate
Dee, thank you for reminding me that today is Palm Sunday. I first heard the following very short poem when our teacher In Singapore read it aloud. I never forgot it and still love it, although it makes me cry.
The Donkey
BY G. K. CHESTERTON
When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.
With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.
(That’s a literary masterpiece. So few words, but such massive emotional connections!)
Puerto Rico
Still looking for a vaccination appointment, and I messed up a software update on my smart watch & have to factory reset it. Today: church, cooking, a drive through Palm Sunday thing at church, and keep looking far a vaccine.
Sigh. Feel for you, another! It shouldn’t be this hard!
More Holding of Good Thoughts that you get a vaccine appt – preferably today. Mine was luck – that the little (& little known) pharmacy in the same building w/ my doctor’s office got some vaccine and my best friend knew about it to tell me and somebody canceled 1st day after I got on the call list. It shouldn’t be this hard or take that kind of luck. But right now it does. So. Healing Energy & more Good Thoughts. & {{{HUGS}}}
Sunday Music
Good Sunday morn, Moosekind, and welcome to our gently falling rain. Right now it’s 56 F., going up to 74 F. later. We may have severe thunderstorms this evening. Then again, we may not. We’re still almost an inch under par for normal rainfall so far this year.
We were out all day yesterday. The morning was beautiful and sunny. We decided to follow Younger Son and DIL to North Beach rather than being all cramped in one car. However, I saw a chance to have little Karl to myself, so he agreed to accompany us. We drove through explosions of color–green-misted trees, other trees frothing with white blossom, pink and purple trees that had burst into bloom overnight because of Friday’s 80-degree temperatures, weeping willows of lime green so intense it almost hurt the eyes to look at them. At one point, traveling over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, I could see the dome of the U. S. Capitol far in the distance to our left. It was Karl who said, “There’s the Washington Monument!”
I asked Karl what his favorite subjects were, and he answered geology and astronomy. In other words, rocks and Mars. He’s a really interesting six-going-on-seven-year-old.
When we arrived at North Beach it looked like a very pleasant little seaside town with a boardwalk that overlooks the bay. Chesapeake Bay itself was very blue under a blue sky, another sight to rejoice the eyes. The five of us had an overpriced lunch at Neptune’s restaurant. There was a little enclosure of wood and Perspex built over the sidewalk. It had a door that separated us from the main dining room.
By the time we left the sky had clouded over and the Bay looked gray-green. We had a perfectly nightmarish journey home because what should have been a one-hour drive turned into two and a half hours of very heavy traffic. The Waze app on Dearly’s phone warned there was a crash ahead, so we had to skirt around the site. It must have been serious because there were all sorts of ambulances and police vehicles.
At home we simply collapsed. We watched the film “Philomena” on Netflix and it was so good I was driven to get the book on Kindle and start reading it. Sigh. I am such a bookaholic. Is there help for people like me? (However, I despise Marie Kondo’s solution of owning no more than 30 books.)
Still too upset to comment about Georgia. Wishing all Pond people a nice, peaceful Sunday with no surprises. Like Oprah Winfrey, I hate surprises.
It’s 46 heading for 61, a more than 20-degree drop from yesterday, and sunny. The cool front came in with rain but the rain and clouds confined themselves to 5:30 pm until after I went to sleep and were gone by morning. I like that. I’d have liked it better if they’d moved in around 7:30 pm but 5:30 isn’t bad. We generated 15.7 KWHs and the m-t-d is starting this morning at 317 – we should get out of “last place” for the 4K system by mid afternoon.
My son got his (day late, thank you FedEx) birthday present that was sort of to himself because he commissioned it and sort of from Aji and Wings because they wouldn’t take money for it. It’s a silver Sikh khanda but the hand-cut silver was hand-milled in contour lines to represent the Indigenous earth-mound builders of the lands here where my son was born and also where he’s lived most of his live. The lines also represent the rivers – sacred, life-giving, and trade roads – of those peoples. And where the sword hilts are, Wings put 3 stones. A garnet surrounded by 2 opals. These stones are Indigenous to central TX and also AR – but they’re also found on every other continent on earth so that makes them a bridge between the Faith my son is embracing, the lands he was born and live in, and the lands his ancestors came from. It’s lovely. And he is making his formal commitment to Sikh today wearing it.
I will Hold the Good Thought that all the things so urgently in need of repair in this world, all the people so urgently in need of help, get what they need. However that can be managed. I will do my best to do my part in that.
More coffee then heading for Dee’s diary and the music to do my Sunday stuff by. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 45, raining and windy in Bellingham. Our sons were here yesterday digging the spent soil out of the veggie garden. They hauled 4 truck loads of dirt away and distributed several wheel barrow’s full around the neighborhood so they were muddy and tired but it was a good day. Heidi stayed close by me.
Later in the day we went to the garden shop and the twiggy iron trellis I saw last season was still there so now we can move the hydrangea. It was good to visit with the people who work there, smile behind our masks, and share our gratitude that this miserable covid seclusion is finally ending.
Best wishes to all on this quiet Sunday morning.
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 32 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 63. Sunny skies are in the forecast. After a week of rain and clouds, the skies cleared just in time to see the full moon last night and she was magnificent!
I am going to go news-lite today as I finish up some end of month, end of quarter projects. I did look at the headlines and the “consensus” is that Joe Biden is doing too much/too little/just the right amount. The world is a complicated place and Joe has a team in place that can manage them. Part of what we are seeing is that the media did not spend any time on the crises of the tRump malAdministration – they focused on the personality of TFG and the chaos that came from having an the country run like a small business with an ignorant narcissist with the attention span of a 4 year old in charge. It will be easy to scan the news and focus on what is really important in the Biden era.
See all y’all later!
Monday Meese. 41 going up to a rainy 50 here in Kingston NY.
Chauvin trial starts today
Puerto Rico
Decided to make the ferry story a diary
Good Monday morning, Moosekind! Sunny and windy in Ashburn. Currently it’s 44 F. going up to 58 F., winds 15-25 mph. Ugh.
Did a lot of laundry yesterday. This morning I need to work on some stuff. Also need to pick up my prescriptions from that stupid campus drugstore (“Oh! We can’t fill these yet! We’re too busy until Wednesday!”). Then they filled it on Friday and notified me to pick it up on Saturday, when it was closed. It always closes for the weekend.
Anyway, I found out that Miss Pink Cheeks, her best friend, and the best friend’s parents did not go to a big, stupid place like Miami Beach. They rented a condo in a small town that had a beach.
In the meanwhile, Elder Son and family will be out of town for the Easter holidays but back on Friday. Elder Son proposes to grill dinner, then we’ll take Mr. Kindergartener back home with us for the night.
So those are the arrangements for the week. I’m sure we’re having a Committee meeting on Thursday and I HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING! There’s always something to distract me, like laundry or dogs being ill, or something.
So I’d better hop to it.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
Chilly morning, in the 40s. I needed long sleeves and real shoes for my run into the office. Back home now with new applications. Today: work, and vaccine hunting.
???????????????????? that you get a vaccine appointment soon. Healing Energy & {{{HUGS}}}
The news said that “any adult who wants a vaccination can get one” in Texas. Is that just Abbott lying again?
It’s 52 heading for 70 and bright sunshine. We generated 19.2 KWHs yesterday. Best single day since last August. The m-t-d is 336.5 so out of last place for the 4K system and 3 production days left in March. We can’t get to 400 but we certainly can get a lot closer. ???????????? (That’s the good news. The bad news is the bugs are out. I’ve already had one tick bite this year. sigh. I hate bugs.)
AR still trying for No. 1 in deplorability. AR’s always tried to beat TX. Back in the day of SW Conferences AR was the only non-TX school in that Conference and their “big rival” game was against the UT Longhorns. (Of course in TX we didn’t pay much attention to them. As far as UT was concerned the “big rival” game was against TX A&M Aggies.) Everything. Mention Sam Houston as the 1st president and later governor of TX, AR will pipe up and say his brother John lived in AR. Mention TX became a republic in 1836, AR will pipe up and say AR became a state in 1836. Always gotta beat TX. TX has always taken some doing to beat because TX wants that superlative for TX. Be best if we can, but if we can’t be best then be worst. Don’t mess with “Mr. In-Between”. It would be amusing except that winning the Deplorability contest means killing a lot of people and driving most of the rest into abject poverty (that they will only accept if it’s because the people killed were “others” – but will accept gladly as their “patriotic duty” if so).
It is good to have sanity and decency at the helm again. There is so very much to do and the folks who need the help and aren’t getting it yet are not happy. Being told “wait, it’s coming” mostly enrages folks who’ve been told that to shut them up while others (white people) got everything available – for centuries in some cases. Including monies and other help what was designated for them by law or treaty. So I say nothing. But I watch to see if those promises made finally become promises kept.
Meanwhile I do what I can with whatever benefits I have to help. Be that boosting links or prayers or spare cash. Which I’m about to head off and do. After more coffee. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Bfitz, thank you for doing what you can.
I’ll be emailing you later this morning.
Good morning, 39 and mostly sunny in Bellingham. I tried to read outside yesterday but the wind chill was uncomfortable so I came indoors to the sofa and then a nap happened. I haven’t been tending to business lately so I hope I can focus on my desk and the stack of unopened mail today.
Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 52 degrees in Madison and that is also the expected daytime high. We got close to 70 yesterday and tomorrow we will wake up to 28 degrees. Yikes! We won’t see the 60s again until Saturday.
I did not watch the trial yesterday – I don’t want to see video of someone being murdered and I certainly don’t want to see George Floyd on trial for getting his neck in the way of a psychopathic cop’s knee. The look on Chauvin’s face when he is killing George Floyd should be all that anyone needs to see to convict – he is enjoying it and he knows that he will never pay a price for killing a Black man.
Joe Biden is starting to roll out his judicial nominations. Good. We need those seats filled before we lose our Senate majority. There is no one who believes that Mitch McConnell would not block all judicial nominations were he to regain power. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in Merrick Garland’s old seat needs to happen ASAP to restore the balance of power on the DC Circuit. Let’s get it done, Schumer.
I need to get back to it, I am running out of March!
See all y’all later!
I couldn’t watch either Jan.
Tuesday Meese. 27 degrees here in Kingston NY going up to a sunny 61.
Puerto Rico
This morning I am going to donate to MSF, an organization I whole-heartedly support.
Nice morning, in the 60s, going up to 80 this afternoon. Cold front coming overnight/early morning — which means it’ll be chilly tomorrow when I go out to get my vaccine!!!! So happy I got an appointment for a 1st dose. Already deciding what to wear — a U2 t-shirt so my arm will be easy to get to & a sweater because of the cold. Today: work, and maybe log off early for a walk.
Yay!!!
Yay for the vaccine, another!
W00T!!!!! ????✨????????????
Good Tuesday morning, Meese! It’s sunny and gorgeous here in Ashburn, but 47 F. so far, on its way up to 70 F. It’ll be windy this afternoon, however. I must get out for a walk this a.m. I read in the Health section that if you get sunlight in the morning, you’ll sleep better at night because of the way our brains are wired.
I realized yesterday, to my bone-dissolving horror, that we actually have a Committee meeting on Thursday. Am I really going to stare at all those people in their Zoom boxes and say, confidentially, “Actually, I haven’t done a goddamn thing on my assignments.”
(Utters banshee shriek) No! I mustn’t! I must at least type up the notes, arrange the stories in pairs, and gather a little more material. Tomorrow I know I’ve got an errand that’ll take me to Fairfax County for a coupla hours.
Sent Karl a couple of books yesterday, one on the solar system and one titled, How to Write a Story (Grades 1-3). His parents are tired of dictating stories to him for his writing class. I hope this will help.
Wishing a great day to all at the Pond, and a terrible day to the insides of ALL Rethug legislators who are trampling on voters’ rights, trying to make it a crime to knock on a door while Black, and keeping women from getting health care in the form of abortion, Plan B, and even regular contraception. May Saint Lorena of Manassas visit them ALL during the night with an especially sharp knife. (BTW, I’m mean.)
It’s 61 heading for 72 and dark enough to have the lights on. sigh. Temps won’t really start dropping until after dark but it’ll be 50s for the next few days. Yesterday we generated 18.3 KWHs and the m-t-d started the morning at 354.97 (so even with a cloudy day, if not too cloudy, we should reach the next “marker” of 360).
I didn’t watch the trial. Watching murders has never been entertainment to me, unlike apparently 75% or more of my fellow white people. Watching cops get away with murder isn’t either. Prayers to the family and friends – I’m not sure for even what exactly. Justice. Healing. Something.
I just got the call from the pharmacy. My 2nd shot is scheduled for Thursday 4/15. So by the end of April I’ll be as safe as I can be. Yes, of course, I’ll still be wearing masks when I go out. And hope to heaven the place I get my hair cut will still be doing masks. Decent administration makes a whole lot of difference of folks being able to get vaccines. Unfortunately it’s not able to make genocidal Deplorables either wear masks or actually get the vaccines. Those kinds of rules – like voting – are state and local.
Some folks have their stimulus money. A lot of folks who really need it (like Aji & Wings) don’t. And any of the non-resident aliens are hosed. Their work is the most vulnerable and least paid – farm labor, chicken plants, grunt-level construction – and they don’t “qualify” for the stimulus money. So the various community helps & needs lists and groups just get fuller of desperate people our colonizer/WASP supremacist society pretends doesn’t exist when they aren’t vilifying them. sigh. On we go. Doing what we can as Decent people. Knowing it’s not enough. But it’s what we can do. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Tax update. I finally got my IRS notice explaining things and they are correct. TurboTax made the error. Good thing I didn’t count on that extra money. And now I can file things away and quit worrying about when or how to actually talk to a human at IRS.