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 54 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 70. Showers are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese. 53 here in Kingston NY going up to a rainy 71.
Just when you think things can’t get even more racist in this country – now the NY Times has posted a police cover-up/excuse for Black deaths …sickle cell trait
From “Scientific Racism and the Biological Concept of Race” by physical/biological anthropologist Michael L. Blakey
After reading this, I hate white people. That includes myself.
Puerto Rico
Good morning. I went out for my walk/run and came in early because it started raining. Got in 3 running segments. And of course the rain stopped right after I got home. Today: watch the news, make next week’s “overnight” oats….. and that’s really it. Watching the Gaza news makes me want to come up with a word combining rage and depression.
Black Music Sunday
Good morning, Moosekind. What day is this? What planet is this?
Back among the ambulatory am I. After the surgery on Friday I was prostrated from lack of food and the effects of the anesthesia.(It wasn’t heavy anesthesia, just enough to keep me from bursting out into unsuitable songs.) I basically did nothing for the rest of Friday and most of Saturday except eat and sleep. Around dinner time Saturday I started feeling like myself again.
Dearly drove me to the doctor’s office (everything was still quite blurry) yesterday morning. She was pleased with my results and said the eye was healing well. “My laser patients heal faster than my cataract patients with the other kind of surgery,” she said. So now it’s back to the drops 4 times a day, wearing really dark sunglasses for a week, no swimming, hunting, or tennis (hah!) for 4 Weeks, sleeping with an eye shield for a week, and so on. I must say I don’t seem to be seeing much better. The left eye (near vision) is still rather blurry. The doctor said that would go away over time.,
Anyway, it’s OVER, and I got through last night without any drugs, not even lavender oil on the soles of my feet, so things are fine. Yesterday after my nap I felt so much better that I walked up to smell the row of lilacs outside the dog park. They’re past their best and not nearly as pretty as the ones I had in my backyard at home. I also did a very slow 25 minutes on the treadmill. I’m not to bend over, lift anything, or walk fast on the treadmill. I’m not supposed to shower, either, although I wasn’t told how long to abstain. I shall ignore that, of course. I ordered clear plastic shower caps from Amazon that I can pull down right over my eyes while proceeding with the rest of the proceedings.
Enough about that. People here are starting to go about without masks. I disapprove of this. Yesterday I was wearing one when I sat down at a table to wait for my carryout order from the Pub. A little elf of a woman wearing a baseball cap sat down too. She was maskless. She told she hadn’t been vaccinated because the vaccine was “still in the experimental stage.” “Well, in that case, you should be wearing a mask,” I said tartly. She mumbled something, but after that I returned to reading my Twitter feed, ignoring her further attempts at conversation. What an inconsiderate bee-yatch!
I can’t do anything about India, or Israel and Palestine, or Rethuglican voter suppression, but I have a friend who needs a little help, so I’m going to do that. Wishing a lovely, peaceful Sunday to all. Here it’s chilly and partly cloudy, 56 F. at the moment, with rain expected later. If that happens it’ll be good for the garden!
Blessed be.
{{{Diana}}} – Healing Energy – & clear vision soon. Blessed Be.
Thank you, my friend!
Diana! It will clear up! Thanks for keeping us posted.
(I’m still in awe of how well I can see after my eye surgeries)
Thank you, Sis! I’m feeling slightly freaked out because I had expected to see better instantly, with no fuzzy bits remaining. I’ll give it time. I have to see the doctor on Thursday morning.
It’s 71 heading for probably 80 today. It’s clear at the moment but the clouds are already starting to move in. Just not in front of the sun yet. I don’t care how cloudy it gets as long as the sunshine has a clear spot to reach the solar panels. Which didn’t generate 6 KWHs yesterday (5.6) so the m-t-d still hasn’t reached 200 (196 with the morning’s generation so far).
If we had a decent society none of the folks I keep trying to help would need it. Including my son’s wife. With a Decent administration and Congress things get better. With a Deplorable on they get worse. But as long as the Deplorables continue to have the power they do even when they aren’t in power, we will never have a decent one. No matter how hard Decent folks try in the short time spans we/they are in power. Meanwhile people need help. I can help some a little bit. I can’t help any single body enough to get them in a stable place where they won’t need help any longer, much less all of them. Aji’s gotta come up with a couple of grand just to get the imagining done so they can see what’s wrong. Lisa’s energy yesterday was taken by A/C cleaning guys who didn’t get to her room and today’s energy will be take up by them actually showing up (at 9 am pacific!) and doing the job. Jill’s back from ABQ – 2nd opinion says her son’s father is worse than 1st opinion said he was. They’re all in “end-of-life” counseling over it. He’s only 55, the boy’s just turned 18. Far as I know Fineena’s still recovering, slowly, and still needs grocery money. I expect to hear from my son later today.
Cleaning the house in bits and pieces. Never actually finishing because the cats dirty it up right behind me. Frequently to the extent I equally frequently just don’t do less important things (like sweeping under the beds) for more important things (like cleaning up hairballs). If I could both find and afford someone I’d trust inside my home, I’d get a house cleaning person at least twice a month. But I don’t. I’m pretty sure it would help with the sinusitis – but I’ll never know.
Just realized I’ll run out of last year’s blueberries in a couple of days. I need to call the local grower and see if we have a crop this year. If so, in June I’ll stock the freezer again. I think I’ll get cherries this year. Not many. Just enough for a serving for dessert per night for the week to 10 days they ripen. But at least there are still some growing ripening cherries on the tree. I thought that hard freeze would take them all. Otherwise it’s grocery store fruit.
Got peanut butter-cocoa muffin batter “resting” for a bit. I’ll add more liquid and the leavening in about an hour and bake them. Once the weather gets hot I’ll need to mix the batter at night then add the leavening and get them into the oven first thing in the morning. But we’re not there yet. Need more coffee. Then get over to Dee’s diary. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Healing thoughts Diana. Glad your surgeries are over for now.
Thanks, princesspat!
Good morning, 57 and sunny in Bellingham. As I suspected my favorite garden shop is low on plants so I’ll need to look around and be creative with what I can find. The smaller growers were impacted by the covid crisis more so than the commercial greenhouses so smaller garden shops buying choices are smaller too.
Best wishes to all on this quiet Sunday morning.
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 48 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 72. Cloudy skies this morning with a chance of the sun breaking through in the afternoon. The rest of the week appears to be rainy with thunderstorms possible.
It looks like Joe Biden will be the next American president ground up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The only solution is to find a way for the two peoples to live separately in the region because there is clearly no way for them to live in the same space. Maybe someone 75 years ago should have thought about what would happen if you kicked out a million residents of a region to create a new country for Jewish people displaced by World War II and the holocaust? The United Nations decision to make Palestinians “disposable people” while granting a safe haven for the most recently oppressed shows what happens when you pick winners and losers instead of recognizing the humanity of all people.
I have a busy week with scheduled events that I will have to keep track of. My white board is listing them all and my phone calendar has reminders so I think I am ready to carpe diem.
See all y’all later!
Monday Meese. 55 going up to 75 here in Kingston and I’m headed outside to finally work on my garden. Yay!
Puerto Rico
Good Monday morning, Moosekind! We had barely regained consciousness this morning when a thick, Brigadoon-type fog descended. By the time we ate and drank our way through blueberry muffins and COFFEE, it had burned off to become a nice day. Our current temp. in Ashburn is 61 F., on its way up to 74 F. From Wednesday on it’s going to be HOT! Wow! Iced tea with lemon and mint (no sugar), melon for dessert, shorts (but not short-shorts, can’t blind the other residents with hideousness), and sandals! Yay!
I’ve been wanting to whiz some coffee-flavored ice cream with leftover coffee in the blender, just to see what it tastes like. Perhaps I’ll get a chance on one of the upcoming 91-degree days.
Busy morning ahead. Already watered my rather straggly-looking garden. Will attend a meeting of the Progressives (read “Democrats”) at 11 a.m. First time we’ll have met in a year. I wonder about attending a public meeting—sleeping with all that eye-protective gear has left deep grooves in my face, but I’m betting dark sunglasses will disguise most of it.
I’m already having cat conniptions at the idea that the fugly billionaire running for Rethug gov might get elected. Will see what I can do to stop it.
Wishing a nice day to all at the Pond!
It’s 66 heading for mid 70s and overcast. Raining off and on, off at the moment but was on 20 minutes ago and looks like it could start again at any time. We got 12 KWHs yesterday – m-t-d’s at 207 right now – and we’re gonna be lucky to reach 400 this month, looking at the long-range forecast.
Jill’s back – 2nd opinion says son’s father is in worse shape than 1st opinion. GFM hasn’t moved in days. & she’s got one more reason, besides money, travel to town, and soap allergies to need her own laundry equipment at home – somebody in Taos is stealing sweats and pants from the laundromats. She lost 3 shirts & 2 pairs of sweat pants, all cheap but all winter clearance so she can’t replace them. Even if she had the money to spare. Lisa had a frustrating day – A/C cleaning company decided that if she wouldn’t let smokers in her room to clean it, they weren’t going to clean it at all. They didn’t tell her that, of course. They just got her up hours before she normally does and then didn’t show up again. They did tell the motel clerk – this is a “no-smoking” motel mind you so the company shouldn’t have sent smokers to clean them in the first place & we’re talking A/C so they shouldn’t have sent smoker to clean air filters in the 2nd place – that they couldn’t do the room because she wouldn’t let smokers in and the entire crew was smokers. But she got in some good naps and finished the afternoon with nice phone chats w/ her mom and sister. So that part’s good. Sometime today Aji will be making the appointments for the imaging. & finally told Wings what the issue is so he didn’t find out by walking into the room and overhearing her doing it. (He knew she needed imaging. Not what for because she didn’t want to upset him before she needed to.) With the blood transfusions last week my DiL is much better. She of course still needs the hysterectomy and will keep leaking blood until she gets it but she’s functional and not in nearly as much paid now. I haven’t heard from Fineena.
I had bad night and am very slow today. Body and brain. Zoning out a lot. Not helpful. I need to do another batch of breakfast sausages on the electric grill today and I’m having trouble finishing this post. I’ll survive. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Poor darling, do take it easy today and perhaps zonk out through meditation or reading something. You worry a great deal about your friends and that’s commendable, but you must take care of your own beautiful self. Sending you lots of love!
{{{Diana}}} There’s not much I can do except wait it out. And hope for better sleep tonight. I focus on my friends because there’s something I can do – even if it’s just listen to them vent – for them. Most of the gawdawful in the world I can’t do anything about. Healing Energy & moar {{{HUGS}}}
Steamy morning — mid 70s driving into the office. Dropping off completed work, picking up new applications, and calling people from the office phone to see if that makes a difference in them picking up. Today’s plan: work, with dance & standing ab exercise breaks.
Good morning, 55 and cloudy in Bellingham. Thanks to what became a busy day I’m slow and sleepy this morning, hoping my legs will feel better if I just don’t use them. Oh well, flower shopping with my son was fun and we found the fire pit table Lisa was looking for and bought that too. So she and Ryan drove here to get it and stayed for dinner. A nice family day, but a lot of walking for my old legs.
Best wishes to all.
Tuesday Meese. 51 going up to 80 here in Kingston. Got a lot of gardening – lasagna bed- building done yesterday – but tripped and fell and banged up both knees – nothing broken, but I’m sore – sigh. Am going to try to finish up garden prep work today, then decide what I want to plant – I think I want an herb garden in the sunny bed I prepared.
Puerto Rico
I don’t normally cite The Intercept – however this is an important read:
Ouch! I hope your sore knees don’t slow you down – sounds like you have an ambitious gardening schedule!
Poor you, Sis, sorry about your knees! Hope they’ll feel better soon.
Lasagna bed? What’s that? (Picturing a plot filled with wavy, curly-edged lasagna noodles.) The Roma tomatoes, garlic, and basil I can easily understand but not the other part.
{{{Dee}}} An herb garden in the sunny spot is good. Falls are not good. Neither are sore knees. Healing Energy & more {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 55 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 73. Light rain is in the forecast.
It sounds like Val Demings is planning to run against Marco Rubio. That will be an interesting match-up, assuming she makes it through the primary; she does not suffer fools gladly. I worry about our House members retiring to run for higher office – our margin is so thin and we absolutely need to hold the House in 2022 or 2024 to preserve our democracy much less to advance our agenda.
A 75 year old immunocompromised woman who was completely vaccinated died of COVID-19 – a reminder that the masking is still essential for some people. I was reading about a grocery store saying that they are keeping their mask mandate because they don’t want to have unvaccinated COVID-blowers unmasked in their stores infecting children and leaving the virus everywhere. Good point! We may have to go back to washing down or aging out things we buy in stores or have delivered. We still do that with our mail and packages – letters and boxes sit in the mudroom for a few hours and we wash our hands after handling the packaging.
A Michelle Goldberg Op-Ed in the New York Times yesterday about Kushner’s Folly, the notion that you can ignore the Palestinian people to make peace in the Mideast, was very good.
No one is quite sure why President Biden is not insisting on a cease-fire – my guess is that he knows that Netanyahu will just ignore him – he is tRump’s guy – and doesn’t want to expose that rift right now.
Busy day here and a late start has me a bit behind.
See all y’all later!!
Dearly was raging at Biden yesterday for that very reason.
I was thinking that it felt nice & cool as I was doing my walk/run — it was only 67 degrees; which is noticeably different from the 72 degrees it was the other morning. Today there’s a staff meeting where we’ll hear about plans to go back to the office gradually over the summer. Management has been very cautious about masks & distance so I’m sure this will be done sensibly. Meanwhile — I did 8 1-minute running segments this morning! If I can do this again on Thursday, that’s enough to go on to the next step in the plan. My lungs were not thrilled, I’ve got to remember to use my asthma inhaler before I go out next time.
Sounds as if you’re making progress, another! Good on yer!
{{{anotherdemocrat}}} Definitely remember to use your inhaler before you go out next time. It would be nice if “management” would – considering the evidence of how well work from home went – allow folks with health issues to continue to work from home if they wish. Holding that Thought. Healing Energy & more {{{HUGS}}}
Good Tuesday morning, Moosekind! It’s sunny and gorgeous in Ashburn today with a pure, cloudless blue sky. I was washed and dressed by the unheard-of hour of 9 a.m. Usually I’m still in my dressing gown at 10. Today, however, I had to water the garden, which I like to do first thing in the morning, and get ready to go to the farmers’ market. I could see the little white tents going up in the parking lot when I came back. It was already hot by the time I walked back from watering. Right now it’s 67 F., going up to 80 F. Mahvelous! Makes a nice change.
Still reeling from a front-page WaPo article about Americans moving to other places so their kids can go to school in person. One American boy said he hated Italy: their art class focused on the significance of female armpit hair in the XVIII century or some such nonsense. Thank Goddess I had highly literate parents, well versed in literature and music, who more than compensated for the deficiencies in my public school education.
Last night I was seized by a severe fit of melancholy. It didn’t drive me to throw the dining room clock into the sea* (there is no sea here, only a few ponds), but I did wonder what was bringing it on. There was no particular bad news. However, I’ve been overwhelmed lately by memories of people and places I knew long ago. I hope that doesn’t mean that death is imminent because I’ve still got three articles to write, to say nothing of three short stories and the novel.
It’s nearly 10 a.m., so I’d better be on my way to see what the farmer has today. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond with no bad news interfering with our collective peace of mind. Biden’s doing a great job, so ignore all the gloom-and-doom pronouncements of the WaPo and the NYT.
Footnote: Those who have read the delightful “Daddy Long Legs” novel by Jean Webb (I think that was the author’s name) will recognize this reference.
This: “I’ve been overwhelmed lately by memories of people and places I knew long ago.”
I have had that as well including odd dreams of times past. I think it may be related to having our entire reality up-ended, essentially since November 2016 (at least for me). I keep looking for “normal” so it is not surprising that I would reach all the way back to memories from 60 years ago.
It’s 67 heading for 80. When I woke at 7 (after a much better night’s sleep) it was sunny. By 8 it wasn’t. sigh. We might – maybe – see some real sunshine this weekend. We might – maybe – get some rain this afternoon. But mostly we’re gonna have the curse of global warming in this area just a few hundred miles east of the dry line – lots of clouds, little rain. Which sux. We got 11.5 KWHs yesterday – 219 is the current m-t-d.
Also sux that apparently ever generation after Boomers have been brainwashed into the “Congress doesn’t matter” fascist meme. We’re not going to have incredibly competent House Speakers like Nancy Pelosi in the future because nobody in the younger generation is staying in Congress long enough to learn how. (As to the Senate, even the Boomers didn’t learn how to pass things, only block them. & the Dems seldom used that blocking power – for whatever reason. And at least one of those reasons is just as racist as the Rs if not as actively evil. They didn’t/don’t consider BIPOC to be important enough to do anything that will cost political capital.) We need Dems in all executive positions- but pulling them out of either House of Congress is self-defeating.
We’re at the ‘if anything changes it’s probably for the worse’ stage with just about everybody I know/follow/am trying to help. As far as I know nothing’s changed from yesterday. Including no movement on Jill’s GFM and no progress on Amelia’s further car and license. (Amelia did do some work on her masks yesterday so they fit better. She’s not crazy enough to go unmasked any time in the near future. & possibly the foreseeable future.)
School board election today. I early voted yesterday. The person in line in front of me was wearing her mask as a neck ornament and smiling at the rest of us all properly masked people, just daring anybody to say anything. Some of the poll workers weren’t masked either but at least were behind those (useless) plastic shields. We did continue other safety protocols. I was the only one who touched my ID, my ballot, or the (disposable) stylus used to touch the screen to make my decisions & print them onto my ballot. But. . . only 32% AR is vaxxed. I’ll be masked for the foreseeable future because the 68% unvaxxed won’t be.
Camry’s in the shop. I should know how expensive that’s going to be by this afternoon.
Need more coffee. Then off to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 48 and mostly cloudy in Bellingham. Wind and rain was noisy in the night so I was awake when I should have been asleep. Now I’m looking at photos from our daughters garden…..a large branch blew down last night, smashing old Rhodies and a prized maple tree. Her garden is in full bloom this time of year so she is very upset. But thankfully the branch didn’t hit their house so they are all ok.
Best wishes to all.
{{{princesspat}}} very much a blessing a branch big enough to smash as “prized maple tree” didn’t hit your daughter’s house. I hope you can get some rest today. Healing Energy & moar {{{HUGS}}}