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 to view previous pages, shown here with 3 pages of comments available and Page 2 circled.
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Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 70 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 90. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday, July 4th Meese. 58 going up to 74 here in Kingston NY and the rain continues. The only thing good about it is that it might just damp down the fireworks here in the area which freak my dogs out every year.
Puerto Rico
Elsa – PR
Elsa – DR
Elsa St. Lucia
Good morning! I’m eating breakfast, watching the news and Le Tour. Another day in the mountains and it is cold & raining. Yesterday, I made dinner for the next 2 weeks; surprising how tiring that was. But it’s really good. Not sure what I’m doing today, maybe I’ll just watch Marvel movies after the tour is over.
Black Music Sunday
It was 63 at dawn, 69 now, and heading for mid 80s today. Still low enough humidity that the heat index and air temps will be just about the same, which will be comfortable for me. Sunny at the moment. The widget says clouds later. I hope a lot later. Yesterday we generated 19.5 KWHs (m-t-d is 43.65) which is good but not as much as ‘normal’ for July. Making progress. We’ll see if we can make enough to get on track before the next cloudy day derails us again. As above so below. We shall see what we shall see.
When I was a small child – under 10 – the 4th was a block party. We little kids got sparklers. The big kids had firecrackers. Somebody’s dad would haul out the grill and do burgers and dogs. All the moms would bring side dishes or desserts. The former we kids didn’t eat but we definitely made inroads on the the latter. All the dads were WWII vets. Some of the moms were as well. Or worked in the shipyards. Or otherwise supported the “war effort”. We moved, life changed, I grew up, and started learning what this day meant. First the glorious and holy WASP supremacist myth (still taught today). That stayed with me more or less intact for decades. But the cracks were always there. As was the cognitive dissonance. Both grew. I used to love 1776. To believe the “slaves like family” garbage. To buy the “uncivilized savages” crap. I got over it. All I have left is this country, with all the evil in its foundation, has a goal of “freedom and justice for all” & that goal is worthwhile. Worth supporting. Worth working toward. So on we go. I hope.
Household chores, such as I do, mostly done. Need coffee, then over to enjoy Dee’s diary & do my twitter chores. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 58 and sunny in Bellingham. I was busy yesterday so I’m tired this morning but it’s good to have more energy for our daily life. I’m glad our family 4th will be at Erich’s house today, and that I can rest until it’s time to go. Just remembering all the 4th block parties and family dinners we’ve hosted makes me weary!
Best wishes to all on this 4th of July Sunday.
My doggie does not like the fireworks. The tradition of shooting off fireworks – and blowing off fingers and face parts – is stupid. I haz spoken.
Good morning, meeses! Monday that will feel like a second Sunday …
It is 75 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 90. Sunny skies are in the forecast. We did not get the 8 hours of rain from 8pm to 4am that I prayed for (no, it wasn’t in the forecast) – instead my dog and I had to suffer through neighborhood fireworks through midnight with a bone shattering blast at about 11:30pm. FreeDUMB.
Thankfully, the weekends are no longer a firehose of news. I was laughing at Republican governors on the talk shows discovering that the Delta variant is in their states and killing unvaccinated young people. Well, DUH!! Unless you are simpletons, you knew this was going to happen and willfully ignored it. Getting vaccinated became a mark of the beast for members of the #RepublicanDeathCult – you are getting your wish.
Is there anyone who cares what Bob Woodward has to say about tRump’s final days in office in his new book? I hope not. I am sick of seeing the seeping orange pustule on my TV again and need to have my mute button handy.
One thing that gets my goat, by the way, is the way that news commentators talk about the inability to vote as a “problem for Democrats.” JHC on a popsicle stick!! Shrinking the franchise via partisan hackery is a problem for small-d democracy – it means minority rule and should concern everyone. We will not survive as a country unless they can fix voting for everyone. With the current makeup of the Supreme Court (thanks, Bernie Freaking Sanders for your “both parties are the same” ratfking of the 2016 election) there is some question that even the pretty tame John Lewis Voting Rights Bill would be struck down. We need to swamp the polls in 2022 and rebuild our House majority and expand our Senate majority. By the way, I am done trashing Joe Manchin – he is simply the guy saying it out loud. There are at least four other Democrats who will not vote to kill the filibuster, two of them in Joe Biden’s own state.
I have been given a “free day” by the way the calendar has worked out this year and I need to take advantage of it to get ahead of this weeks projects including June end of month and end of quarter. I essentially took June off but I am ready to roll now. The new moon and waxing energy is due on the 10th and I will use that to keep the roll going.
See all y’all later!
Monday Meese. Bleary eyed because fireworks idiots in my neighborhood set off what sounded like bombs all night. Dogs freaked. 57 going up to 84 here in Kingston. We get a one day break from rain – and then the rest of the week we have rain and thunderstorms.
Anti-vax traitor KY Rep Thomas Massie is at it again.
Puerto Rico
Rainy here, and cooler — highs only in the 80s, brrr! Doing laundry, watching the news. No real plans for the day, maybe some housework.
It’s 70 heading for 87 with low(er) humidity that will keep the heat index under 90. Supposedly. Sunny at the moment with cloud moving in later. Yesterday we generated 18.5 KWHs, so basically 85% to 90% of what’s “normal” for July. The m-t-d at 62 isn’t on track but it’s gaining.
The younger cats didn’t like the fireworks but they weren’t freaked out by them. The older cats, first Cloud then Charlie then Murf, went into hiding. I closed my bedroom door so it wasn’t in or under my bed. I didn’t look for them because the point of hiding is to feel safe and if someone knows you’re there it’s not safe. The neighborhood stuff started midafternoon, getting louder and more intense as the day went on. Periodically punctuated by sirens from emergency vehicles. The professional stuff was added in somewhere around 8 p.m. but at least it wrapped up by 11. The loud and frequent amateurs kept it going until well after midnight but it tapered down in volume and frequency enough that I could go to sleep before 1 a.m. Wannabe rebels/revolutionaries gleefully playing soldier. While soldiers who dealt with the real thing get/got their PTSD triggered. sigh.
Hoping to give blood this week. But of course the Blood Bank isn’t open today. Maybe tomorrow. I have to do an Aldi’s run later in the week as well. Hopefully that’s it for “out” for at least 3 and maybe 4 weeks. AR is under 40% vaxxed & cases are rising again. Last week they reopened the COVID unit in Little Rock. You bet I’m going masked.
Coffee. Over to twitter. I haven’t checked in on anybody yet. Holding the Good Thoughts. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 60 and mostly sunny in Bellingham. We enjoyed out family 4th…..good food, all the dogs, fun to be together. Our neighborhood stayed quiet last night so no fireworks nonsense for me. I’ve got house, garden, and desk work to do today so if I stay on task I’ll be busy :) My sister arrives on Wed for a weeks visit so I want to be able to just be with her.
Best wishes to all on the quiet Monday morning.
Good afternoon, Moosekind! It’s all-the-8s here in Ashburn at 12:30 p.m., going up to 90 F. We started the morning with blue skies but now the heat-clouds are piling up. It’s so interesting to watch how they do that.
We had a wonderful evening on Saturday. Our friend, whom we hadn’t seen for a year and a half, invited us to dinner. She’s a very good cook, so we thoroughly enjoyed both her company and the meal.
We also had a good time celebrating the 4th and Elder Son’s birthday at his house yesterday. He’s a good chef. Miss Pink Cheeks was lost in some preteen dream world of her own and did not engage at all, but I received a hug from her 7-year-old brother. Soon-to-be-six-years-old Ethan has never been a hugger, so that was nothing unusual.
Had the night from Hell so it took until 10 a.m. to come back to life this morning. Went to the garden to pick some Sungolds and lettuce for a lunchtime salad. I don’t see how the lettuce keeps going, it’s so hot. It’s very bitter, but the Sungolds are so sweet they’re almost like candy, so they balance each other out.
The Foot did not hurt much at all yesterday but after that walk to the garden and back, it’s starting to act up a bit.
Time for another rest! Honestly, what a lazy life I lead. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 77 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 88. Chance of afternoon thunderstorms. That front will bring in cooler weather with perfect mid-70s for the next 10 days or so. w00t!!
Sadly, it turns out that the #RepublicanDeathCult won’t just kill themselves but they are making another run at us! The Delta variant is not killing the vaccinated but it is infecting us, apparently making some people pretty sick. I guess we stay masked. Joe Biden had a big celebration but I hope it does not end up looking like Bush’s Mission Accomplished moment. He made sure to say that we weren’t completely out of the woods but no one will remember that part.
I am in a massive shredding project, determined to not pack and move boxes upon boxes of paper. What may be needed will be scanned then shred, legal documents will be the only things kept in paper form but they will be scanned so the (hoped for) single box of paper can be tucked away. Old computer equipment and no longer used appliances will be taken to the recycler – some of it will require paying to get rid of properly (tube TVs!) others will be taken and the component materials salvaged. Then there are the books – sorted into sell and donate stacks and carted away. I have one month to see how much my accumulated junk can be reduced with an eye on getting an estimate for moving/storage – and what further reduction would be needed to downsize. I wanted to do this last year but with everything shut down, getting rid of things properly was impossible. I hope the Delta strain does not shut everything down again.
See all y’all later!
Wow, that’s quite a project, Jan! Wishing you success with it.
Now that we’re not moving after all I have lost the desire to declutter, but I need to get on with it. I’ll call it “death cleaning,” so the heirs won’t have so much “stuff” to deal with.
We spent over a year removing things from my mother’s house (she and my father had lived there for over 50 years). Even when you think you have lived pithily, when it comes down to the last scraps of a persons life there are hard decisions and a lot of sadness. Last year – when we were all facing death with a global pandemic raging – I was anxious to clear my house so my family would not have to deal with it if COVID-19 got me. Unfortunately, from lockdown there was not much that could be done. Now the recycling places are open, charities are taking donations of household belongings and clothing, and resale stores are open again.
Tuesday Meese. 72 here in Kingston – going up to 88 with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. I hope they hold off, since I want to do some planting today.
This Auntie Maxine fan approves
A new worry – Lambda
Lambda?
Back to work Tuesday. Got the normal stuff to do, and prepare mentally for a full day in the office tomorrow. And I’ll go in for lunch on Thursday, for a farewell thing for a coworker. But today is just work & Le Tour. We’re having rainy & cooler than normal weather — high of only 89, but it’s still really humid, so “cool”.
Puerto Rico
Covid PR
It’s 64 heading for upper 80s, heat index mid 90s, and sunny. At least at the moment. Yesterday we finally got a “normal” July day of production – 21.5 KWHs – and are gaining on the “on track for 500” with the m-t-d at 83.
Jill’s got something in town today that she can’t talk about so probably legal. Her stalker’s back. & been reported. Stoopid woman thinks she can change the user name but use the computer/IP address and not get caught. Amelia’s losing the fatigue battle and there’s nothing I can do but stand by with moral support & help a bit keeping her living indoors. Fineena’s not happy about the fireworks, especially how they scare Henry, but is very happy about having new the dog. They’re a pack now. Aji and my friend are keepin’ on keepin’ on – slogging through work and the medical industry crap as best they can. & our country, while not teetering on the edge at the moment, is still teetering. And close enough to the edge to go over if we fall that way.
Cats are enjoying the windows being open. I’m going to (try to) give blood today and will have to close up before I leave whether or not it’s that warm yet. It probably will be. The blood bank doesn’t open until 11. I’ll need to leave around 10:30 and it should be in the 80s by then. If I’m first in, first out – & masked, of course – I’ll be as safe as possible. Hold the Good Thought. The last time I tried to give my iron was too low.
Need to get my coffee down – don’t want to have caffeine too close to trying to donate. I wouldn’t have any at all today except for the heachache not having it would give me. Off to do my twitter chores. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Tuesday morning, Meese! Today will be ‘ot, ‘umid, and ‘orrible in Ashburn. Right now it’s 81 F. with whitish-blue skies, going up to 95 F.
Am happy to say that a court stayed the implementation of MD Guv Larry Hogan’s little plan to stop unemployment benefits. I hope Marylanders take note: that’s what you get if you elect a Rethug gubernator. No sympathy at all for the poor.
Last night I took cold meds, so enjoyed 7 hours of consecutive sleep. Consequently, this morning I leapt out of bed to make Banana Bran Muffins with Walnuts for breaKfast and am now contemplating Scampi over cauliflower rice and Peach-Blackberry Crisp for dinner. It’s amazing how much better life is with nearly sufficient sleep.
Dearly is watching Le Tour. I’m glad to see the noisy spectators standing behind green barriers. Is this a recent thing? I’ve never liked the way the spectators surged on to the bike lane in the past. The south of France is so breathtakingly beautiful! One’s senses reel at the sight.
Monty is not feeling well so Dearly has lined up an appointment with the doctor at 1:30. That means I’d better get my stuff done this morning, as we have only one car.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
There are no good Republicans – they will always revert to type. The people in Massachusetts and Vermont are deluding themselves. I was glad to see that Democrats are lining up to take on Hogan. He needs to be retired.