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 37 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 55. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese. 47 going up to 62 here in Kingston NY.
Puerto Rico
Cold morning — 40s outside, 68 in my apartment. I might have to switch the heater on tonight. Did sorta take a walk yesterday, only got in 2 running segments. Even 3 hours after lunch, my stomach was telling me it was to full & it wanted me to stop. So I’m going to have to do these in the morning, as much as I don’t like getting up early. For now, I’m watching the news & eating my almond butter sandwich.
Sunday music
OMG, I love her singing!
It’s 48 going up to 60 and while not sunny, it’s not dark enough for me to need the lights on. Right now anyway. We generated 5.78 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is right at 229. Still on track so that part’s good.
Another good – really good – is Cloud ate almost 3 TBSP kibble this morning. And while it’s not helpful, he’s starting to resist getting his meds. Not enough to keep me from giving to him, just making it a bit harder. Which is a sign of healing so I’m happy to see it. Also I seem to have gotten off very lightly on the post-2nd Pfizer jab. If I touch my upper left arm, it still feels bruised. But that’s it. (Of course if side effects are a measure of how many antibodies the vaccine is making that may not be good news. But otherwise, I’m good.)
Sunday chores and #BlackMusicSunday as soon as I get more coffee. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Sunday afternoon, Moosekind! Up until now we’ve had a gorgeous day, clear blue sky, sunlight, and almost no wind. Wish I could send it down to bfitz. Now white clouds are obscuring most of the blue. Never mind, both Dearly and I got our walks in this morning while it was still a perfect day. It’s 66 F. at nearly 3 p.m. and that’s our day’s high.
I have oatmeal-walnut cookies baking in the oven at the moment. I texted Younger Son and invited myself to tea (along with Dearly, of course). I haven’t seen Miss Pink Cheeks, whom I practically worship, for weeks. Perhaps she’ll consent to come out of her room and say hello to Boring Old Grandma. DIL at least will appreciate the cookies: she likes that delicious blend of brown sugar and butter flavors.
Have been busy as usual since getting up this morning. During my morning walk I visited the galvanized steel tub that will be my “garden plot” this year. Yep, I’m going to plant zucchini and tomatoes, along with English parsley, mint, and basil. The herbs I’ll put in clay pots as they all seem to belong to the mint family and would otherwise take over the world.
The news is too upsetting. I want to forget all about it today and think of happy things, like getting my hair cut, shampooed, and blow-dried yesterday. It always makes me feel better when I look better. The other day I put on some lipstick for the first time in ages and was startled to see my face go from, “Oh, gods,” to “Quite acceptable.” I can’t use makeup for a long while, not until this wretched eye surgery is over with. It’s also boring not to wear my usual assortment of “jewelry,” meaning my pentacle pendant, my pentacle ring, and my jade ring, not to mention the fake diamond earrings.
I did cry several times while watching Prince Philip’s funeral yesterday. The poor Queen looked so overcome with grief as she sat alone in the pew at the chapel, head bowed, face obscured by her black hat and veil. And the sight and sound of the lone bagpiper pacing slowly through the colonnade just about did me in. It’s not that Dearly and I are fans of royalty, quite the opposite in fact, but no one does pomp and circumstance as well as the British.
Must go, the oven is signaling the cookies are done! Wishing a good afternoon and evening to all at the Pond.
We had a shooting in Austin yesterday that looked like a mass shooting for a while, but it turns out it was just a man killing family members & people near them. So, whew — everybody back to normal. Chilly morning, I was thinking of walking but not in the 40s. I might walk this afternoon, or tomorrow morning is supposed to be less cold.
I wrote a diary about the AIDS Ride, since next week is when all the events are. It’s all virtual & spread out. I’m not totally clear on exactly how everything works. But I put one up here last night, and the one at the orange place posts at 7:30.
:( “just a man killing family members & people near them.”
That is why Republicans in Congress won’t support the new gun safety laws – they defend the right of males to kill the uppity wimmins who won’t show them the respect they deserve or who dare to leave them or who don’t like being stalked!
The 2 names released are his daughter, who was an exceptional student an an early college prep school and a young man who was also an exceptional student at that school, and captain of the football team who had a football scholarship to the University of North Texas.
The shooter is a former sheriff deputy who was out on bond on a child sex assault charge.
I hate this world.
I wonder, does “everybody back to normal” mean we can continue to leave home in the expectation that we will be randomly slaughtered by gunfire?
{{{anotherdemocrat}}} what an evil society we live in, where “normal” includes “just a man killing family members & people near them” – just so evil. Healing Energy. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 39 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 43. Light rain ending soon and then the skies will be cloudy all day. We are going into the (literal) deep freeze for a few days – overnight lows will be in the upper 20s! April snow will not be kind to the flowers that are already growing.
Minnesota “nice” is bulldung, it turns out. The treatment of non-white journalists and the plan to defund college students who participate in demonstrations shows what lies under the (white) surface. Maybe the reason states in the Upper Midwest like Minnesota and Wisconsin and Iowa are 90% white (and which used to be Democratic) is because they are unwelcoming to people of color?
It is Monday and already after 7am. I got distracted looking for a replacement part for a laptop and now I am behind schedule – I hate starting the week in a rush. :(
See all y’all later!
Monday Meese. 46 going up to 64, with rain here in Kingston NY.
Mass shootings
Puerto Rico
Good Monday morning, Moosekind! It’s basically cloudy today with scattered showers in NoVa, although it may clear up a bit this afternoon. Our current temp. in Ashburn is 50 F., going up to 66 F.
We went to tea at Younger Son’s house yesterday. I brought DIL’s favorite oatmeal-walnut cookies, which I mixed and baked right before we started on our way. After we arrived, Younger Son set about boiling the kettle for the tea. “I haven’t seen Nora for weeks,” I complained. “We feel the same way,” he replied.
Summoned to the tea table from playing her videogame upstairs, Miss Pink Cheeks looked very put out. OMG, twelve-year-old girls! “How was your visit to Florida?” I asked. (She went with her best friend and the friend’s parents during spring break.) She gave me a present, a pretty flowered cloth bag that had a saying embroidered on it: “We’ve got GRANDMA. We don’t need a Fairy Godmother.”
We thought six-year-old Karl was upstairs attending his writing class, but he came down at 5 p.m., cheerfully announcing that he’d forgotten his password so he hadn’t participated in the class. We were all aghast. “Two 20-minute reading sessions to make up for missing the class!” Tiger Mom threatened. Our little boy merely grinned. Tiger Mom sighed. “When Nora is 18, Karl will be 13,” she said. “I have years and years of teenagers to put up with.”
We came back here and set about “chillaxing,” to use Elder Son’s term.
The media are complicit in giving the Republicans a pass. We know that it’s Republicans who believe that we all have the right to be exposed to random slaughter by gunfire by some pimply guy who’s too ugly to get a date so he takes it out on other people.
What about OUR rights? What about our right to expect to live without being slaughtered? I predict a second Great Depression because quarantine or no, many of us will be too afraid to leave our homes even if and when herd immunity is achieved. Fear of being murdered will keep many of us from eating out, attending movies and sports events, strolling through a park, or doing anything at all. Actually, come to think of it, this situation already prevails for our relatives, friends, and neighbors who are Alive While Black.
It’s insane and will bring about the end of the so-called “American Experiment” if allowed to continue. And we ALL know who allows it to continue.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond. Becky, I’m going to read your blog and send a contribution right now.
The latest thing is right-wingers screaming at the vaccinated to “take your damn masks off!!” Screw you, #RepublicanDeathCult members – as long at you and your ilk refuse to get vaccinated, we won’t be safe from the variants that you will be getting and passing along. I am fine with masking in public for another year – it saves me from having to pluck my chin hairs as often.
LOL, Jan! I was horrified last week when I realized that a long dark hair had grown out of the mole near my mouth. I hadn’t noticed it until then, largely owing to wearing masks a lot. Nail scissors quickly took care of it and I’ll keep a closer eye on it from now on.
It’s 47 going to 70 and sunny. Nature is giving us a lovely day to hang onto – sort of like taking a deep breath before swimming under water – to get us through the next several days of lower temps, potential freezes, and lot of clouds (with little rain). It did clear off yesterday. Enough that we generated 15 KWHs and are sitting right at 244 before we get going on this sunny day’s production. So that part is good.
Cloud dialed back his eating after the lidocaine wore off, but not so far back as to be worrying. I will call the vet shortly with an update and see if he thinks maybe a second application of lidocaine would be a good idea. Just to get him through until the gums finish healing. He’s still pawing at his mouth when a kibble hits wrong (or something). Not as often, but still. And still walking away from his bowl for a while when that happens. So. Cat is better. I can broaden my attention to other things. Not that I particularly want to. Other things in this world seem to be pretty dreadful. But they still have to be dealt with and they can’t be if they aren’t paid attention to.
More coffee and off to do my “online chores”, among other things. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Glad he’s bit better, bfitz. It has been so worrisome for you.
Good morning, 50 and sunny in Bellingham. Yesterday was a busy day of cooking and family fun…..assorted salsas, grilled steak tacos, sangria, and chocolate cake. The patios were our cantina and umbrellas kept the sun from being to hot. We toasted Hans’ birthday, Covid vaccines, and the long year of Covid worries finally easing.
My knees need a rest to recover so I’ll have a quiet day today. Best wishes to all.
That sounds so delightful, princesspat!
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 30 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 45. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast. This is when the people who know better wish they hadn’t uncovered the roses, turned on the outside water and reconnected the hoses when we had a few 70 degree weekends. No, it is not summer yet. We will have snow tomorrow.
Wouldn’t you hate that the headlines and subheads of your death all included that you lost in a landslide presidential election? I am sure that Walter Mondale had other things that he was known for – that he lost in a landslide was a testament to the power of the Southern Strategy that had elected Ronald Reagan and was determined to cement a narrative of white supremacy and right-wing christianist principles – to turn back the New Deal, the Great Society, and Good Government. We are still pulling the shrapnel out of our buttcheeks over the damage done in those years and the narratives set and burned into racist America’s lizard brain.
The Minnesota Not-So-Nice jury is now deliberating Chauvin’s future. I though the closing argument was good “the problem was not that George Floyd’s heart was too big, it was the Derrick Chauvin’s heart was too small.” If police departments hired men and women to be police officers who had empathy, who could see the people they stopped as humans, maybe we could start seeing a change. Even if Chauvin is convicted (I am not holding my breath), it would not change anything – the change has to come from the cities firing rogue cops, taking on the “unions” and forcing the rest of the rank and file to reject those among them who are criminals.
See all y’all later!
Good Tuesday morning, Meese! Daylight has dawned and the Mont-ster, who wanted to interrupt me to go out while I was drinking tea, now refuses to leave his comfy perch on the sofa. He always waits until I’ve got a delicious hot cup of something and then wants to go out. Just to get even, I’m going to nominate him for the Nobel Prize for World’s Most Annoying Dog.
That said, I woke up far too early this morning, so will be tired and gritchy all day. I’m avoiding the news, it hurts too much. I have days when I can bear it and days when I can’t.
Oh, the weather: it looks as if a clear day is dawning. It’s 44 F. right now, rising to 74 F. The weather is going to deteriorate, starting tomorrow.
Not much else going on, although as usual, I’m procrastinating on finishing the articles I’m supposed to write. I constantly marvel at how little energy I have: whatever gets done gets done in the morning, because afternoons are all downhill.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond, with no bad news. May Walter Mondale rest in peace, poor man. I agree with Jan’s assessment of the news coverage and wonder anew how anyone with a measurable IQ could have voted for Ronnie Ray-Gun.
Just read Jan’s Spring Fling post and enjoyed it. Thanks, Jan!
Spring here in the DC area is one of the reasons I never want to live anywhere else. I’m always intoxicated by the colors! There are bright, in-your-face purple trees, pale and deep pinks, creamy-white dogwood blossoms, lavender and mauve blossoms, and the blue of wood violets. The forsythia has faded by now, of course.
There’s a red dogwood in front of my building, Birch Point, whose blossoms look anemic. They’re not feeding it properly, I think. Properly cared for red dogwoods are awe-inspiring, with their flamboyant dark pink. When we lived at Barky Manor for 41+ years, our apple trees would burst forth in exuberant pink and white bloom and the scent on an April afternoon would send me right into paradise-on-earth.
Tuesday Meese. 41 going up to 69 here in Kingston NY. Now that weather is warming I’ve got exterminators coming next week to deal with the termites we discovered in the garage. Sigh. Have to hire some guys to move all the crap piled up in the garage from the move.
Puerto Rico
Got up early & did my walk. 7 30-second running segments, not bad. Watching the news & eating breakfast. Sad about Walter Mondale, he was a good guy. I was called “commie” by frat guys when I handed out flyers for Mondale/Ferraro on the UT campus.
Oh, fer gawd’s sake. I’m a native Texan but I could never go back there to live. If the heat and the gun nuts didn’t kill me, the hateful attitudes would.
It’s 39, might get to 42, overcast and windy but so far none of the promised rain. Yesterday was indeed the jewel, the light on the hill, in the middle of cold and muck. We generated just over 20 KWHs – highest single day since last August – and ended the day with the m-t-d at 264. I’m not sure we’ll even reach 270 today. sigh. Lawn guys came and now my place looks the tidy “blue-collar suburban” of my childhood. In 45 minutes the 2 men do what I used to do in 3 hours (& Ed, the old yard guy, always promised but never completed). & there are cherries – little green ones, but cherries – on the tree. We’ll see if tonight’s/tomorrow’s pre-dawn freeze kills them. That’s happened before. I am so very rich that while in a good year I can have expensive “specialty” fruit like cherries, even in a bad year I don’t have to worry about not having fruit at all. Since my tomato plant is on the porch it should be fine.
The vet came again yesterday. Hopefully this will be the last time til next March for the “annuals”. He gave Cloud another application of lidocaine but this time he mixed it with something “in the same family” that works the same way but starts slower and lasts longer. We’re all hoping this mixture of topical pain relievers will hold until Cloud’s gums are completely healed. It’s working right now anyway. Cloud ate almost 4 TBSP of kibble this morning before settling down for a nap.
Hold the Good Thoughts by whatever Tradition for Fineena. She’s got surgery today and will be in the hospital for multiple days – how many depends on what the surgery found/did – with a weeks to months recover period (also depends on what the surgery found/did). Basket has the hospital address if anybody wants to send a card or something.
Yes, as usual, I’m focusing on things within my reach. I know the Evil Ones are raging. And getting away with literal murder. It’s sickening and I can’t see the path out of this Purgatory that is our systemic racist society. But just because I can’t see it doesn’t mean there isn’t one. I will do what I can. & pray. A lot.
More coffee. Then off to twitter while the cats are sleeping. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Bfitz, I just remembered that dratted FTD doesn’t deliver to hospitals! I’ll send her a card, though.
{{{Diana}}} that figures. I’ve got a card to her in the mail today. Heaven knows if she’ll actually get it before she goes home, but it’s on it’s way. moar {{{HUGS}}}