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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It’s 68 heading for 90, the heat index is still not supposed to get to 100 (ahem), and sunny. Pleasantly cool breeze and the house is open to air out and bring some of that coolth in. I’ll need to close up in another hour to keep it in but I think I’ll have another day of no A/C. For which I am thankful. Yesterday we generated 13.35 KWHs. The m-t-d is 425.68 which is already better than it was looking last week. We will end the month in 4th for life-of-the-system August production.
I’m glad we’re finally out of Afghanistan. I wish we’d never gone in. I am (obviously) more dove than hawk when it comes to war but I’m not a pacifist. If we are attacked by the military of a foreign nation, definitely the response should be military. But starting a 20-year war because the leader of a bunch of murderers is hiding out in another country? Nope. Not even if the murderers in question managed to highjack some commercial airliners (which shouldn’t have been possible) and fly them into buildings killing over 3000 people. Many more than 3000 people died in the war – and the leader was taken out as he should have been in the first place, by Special Ops. (Since our wypipo’s govt run by W refused to give any evidence other than “I said so” about bin Ladin’s guilt thus blowing the chance of Afghanistan just handing him over to an international court for trial.)
Nothing new under the sun. Even strong hurricanes with massive storm surges aren’t new – they just haven’t happened in human history. Prayers up/Holding the Good Thoughts for the folks on the Gulf Coast dealing with this one. & more local/personal ones for my friends. For whom details may change but the situation hasn’t. (Including the “helpers” – doing what they can, knowing it’s not enough, suffering from watching what’s happening to friends and loved ones. And mostly trying to be strong and not put the added burden of their own suffering on their suffering friends/family.)
Coffee and twitter chores. Another day in paradise, right? Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Tuesday morn, Meese. We have partly cloudy skies and 77 F. right now in Ashburn. Thunderstorms are eagerly expected by certain persons (moi), but may not materialize. There was a most ominous-looking dark purple-gray cloud hanging around yesterday but it moved merrily off.
The Foot does not like it when I walk on it. This morning I walked to the garden. It looks icky. Thinking it might rain, I didn’t bother to water it. Picked what was pickable, then trudged home to breakfast.
Busy morning today. I have to go to the gym (luckily, no weight-lifting today), run up to the Village to get mah hair done, return a parcel to UPS, and pick up a few items from the market. I seem to spend most of my life in grocery stores.
Last night I had to take a pill after two bad nights of sleep, with the result that I slept nearly 8 and it was great.
Also have to get an ad out to the Purple Paper, which comes out once a week on Thursday. Luckily it’s not long.
That’s all I’ve got, folks, see you tomorrow. May everyone at the Pond have a calm, peaceful day
Good morning, 55 and raining in Bellingham. I need to stay indoors and tend to business today so I hope the rain continues. The garden will benefit and so will I! My mind keep going to “what if’s”…what if Gore v Bush had never happened? No way to know, but I can imagine many different realities for our country and for us :::sigh::: Time to focus on my test mess, so as always, my best wishes to all.
Wednesday Meese. 65, rain, only going up to 67 here in Kingston and we have flash flood warnings. Must be from Ida.
Puerto Rico
Yesterday, Vaello Madero—who was stripped of his SSI benefits after moving from New York to Puerto Rico—filed a powerful response that the continuing denial of SSI benefits is not just unconstitutional, but would represent a dangerous continuation of the Insular Cases’ doctrine of “separate and unequal” status for residents of U.S. territories. Last year a unanimous panel of the First Circuit upheld a district court ruling that the continued denial of SSI benefits in Puerto Rico was unconstitutional.
Good morning. So grateful to live in a place with electricity. I actually turned the w/o up one of the times I woke up last night, I was too cold. Working in the office today. Will definitely take stretch & move breaks.
It’s 69 heading for 93, heat index one side or the other of 100 (I know which side I’m betting on) and mostly sunny. I may or may not get away with no A/C today. But I’m gonna try. We wrapped up August at 438.4 KWHs with not a single day generating over 20 and only 4 getting over 17.
Biden’s FEMA would be reminding folks of the difference between Dem & R presidents – IF MSM was carrying any of it. Instead and as usual considering who they’re owned by they focus on what they don’t like and can try to make a scandal of about whatever Biden is or isn’t doing. Whether or not what they’re saying is even true. They know once the accusation is out there, the RWNJ Deplorables will grab it and boost it forever.
Meanwhile, for the folks I personally know, things are at best remaining the not-good same. We haven’t gotten to an “at worst” yet and I hope we never do but things are definitely getting worse for some. Prayers/Good Thoughts is all I got.
I hope the lawn service comes today – I ask him to wait a week when he came last week but that means he’s got to “fit me in” – because I need to do laundry. The grass itself isn’t high but there are seed heads all over the place I’d rather not wade through. And I certainly don’t want my clothes actually on the line while they’re doing the job with all the dust they’ll kick up. If they don’t I’ll call them and see if I can get a specific day. As long as it’s before Sunday I’ll be fine.
Oatmeal, coffee, & twitter are in my near future. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s cloudy and 72 F. in Ashburn, gathering strength for the thunderstorms and tornadoes starting at noon. What? Dearly assured me that in the early hours of the morning we had a tremendous thunderstorm with rain, lightning, thunder, the lot. I heard nothing, being fast asleep with the aid of a melatonin tablet. As usual, shortly after 5 a.m., Monty barfed on the carpet. Grass again.
I must go to the gym shortly. I was very displeased with what the scales told me this morning. I gained 14 ounces in one day? Well, as Horse said in Animal Farm, “I must work harder.” Today is a weight-lifting day as well.
Must also get a birthday card off to my friend at Greenspring. It’s actually a week from today but with the holiday and DeJoyboy’s slowdown, I calculate it will take longer than usual.
In addition, I need to undertake the loathsome task of lining up volunteers for the Festival and ordering bookmarks. I must say that staff have cooperated handsomely! They’re paying for the long tables that need to be rented, and providing a couple of balloons and vases of flowers. Very nice, very nice.
That’s all from me today. Wishing a good day to everyone at the Pond.
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 61 degrees in Madison with an estimated daytime high of 75 degrees. Sunny skies. The air conditioning was shut of yesterday evening for the first time in about a month. I am not looking forward to the electric bill.
Thanks, Bernie Sanders and your bro cult, for destroying the Supreme Court and ending women’s right to choose. Of course your freaking bros don’t care about women any more than they care about people of color. Fk you and them all.
I am going to go news lite because I can’t stand seeing the media piling on Joe Biden over Afghanistan, crowing about how the Democratic Senate is going to let voting rights be extinguished because “COMITY”, and dancing on the graves of all the women who will be forced to give birth or die.
I am in a bad mood today because I woke up with plans to do a lot of little beginning of the month accounting things and I have been thwarted every step along the way. I will set it aside and try again tomorrow.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, 46 and sunny in Bellingham. It’s chilly and the furnace is turning on so it’s time to close some windows and to put the down comforters back on the beds. Fortunately Sue will be here to help me this afternoon so I can ease my creaky joints into the day and still get something done.
The news is overwhelming me again today and my mind can’t find the words to express how I feel so I’ll wish you all a good day and try to do the same.
Morning, meeses. Thursday …
It is 50 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 77. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast. I did have to turn on the air conditioning yesterday – the hot sun made it too warm indoors. But it was only on for about 4 hours instead of 24.
So the Sanders-Collins Court has decided that because Texas was so clever – enlisting vigilantes to enforce their abortion ban – they should be rewarded and their ploy called “novel”. What an awful precedent to set! Essentially, any state that does not like a federal law can empower vigilantes to go after those who would exercise their rights. I am sure this will embolden them to pass yet another restrictive voting law, allowing citizens to sue anyone who they think shouldn’t vote and giving them a bounty. I am not sure how this gets fixed when the courts have essentially decided that the Constitution – and laws passed by Congress – are inconveniences, easily discarded if they get in the way of their ideology. In a just world, there would be no filibuster and the Democratic Senate would pass laws to dilute the power of an out-of-control judiciary.
I have a busy “beginning of the month” day lined up. I finally got the tweaky little things done that were thwarting me yesterday. Web sites are terrible, the promise of ecommerce falling leagues short. One of the sites I was using to set up an account ended with a page telling me to call a number (after 20 minutes of setup entry); the url at the top indicated that I had landed on a page called “#glitch”. Well, duh.
See all y’all later!
Thursday Meese. Looking at the flooding here in NY – we are still under flash flood warnings today, though no rain is predicted.
Lalo
Justice Sotomayor
Elijah McClain
Puerto Rico
Good morning from Gilead. Except with guns. I’m almost actually thinking of leaving. I would definitely leave if I was younger. Working from home today, my back is stiff…… I went to the store & got ice cream because that’s a necessity. Real question: how is this law not a HIPPA violation?
I am hoping this horrible law backfires on Republicans. People should report every single Republican lawmaker – and Greg Abbott – on suspicion of dropping off their girlfriends at an abortion clinic. It doesn’t matter if it is true or not, they would have to defend themselves in their joke courts. I am looking forward to the first test case. I hope women who need abortions can find a way out of the state.
It’s 73 heading for 91 and the heat index is supposed to stay under 100. So a little cooler today and maybe. . . Mostly sunny at the moment and I’ll need to close up the house shortly. Yesterday we generated 12.14 KWHs – not only not on track for a “meet or beat” goal of 459, not on track for a more modest goal of 400. Early days yet. We shall see what we shall see.
I have no idea how anybody, especially “politically savvy” Dems, could have not seen what the fascists have been doing for the last 60 years. I really don’t. And as evil as what the Rs are doing is, and it is, what they’re trying to do is worse. And I’m not sure we can stop them at this point. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
Nothing’s changed anywhere with anybody but there is a path opening up for a couple of folks. Maybe. Holding the Good Thoughts.
The lawn folks came yesterday so doing laundry today. Need to get it in the washer then over to twitter. Protecting Energy those those in peril. Bright the Day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 60 and sunny in Bellingham. Fortunately I’ve got a garden to water today because reading the news this morning is making me furious and I’ve no words to express how I feel. I know you all share similar feelings and I’m very grateful to read your words this morning. Thank you.
Morning, meeses. Friday …
It is 61 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 72. Light rain is in the forecast.
Good lord, the wheels are coming off everything! Joe Manchin won’t sign onto the budget reconciliation – now that HIS infrastructure bill has passed the House (we suspected this might happen). The Supreme Court refuses to uphold the Constitution of the United States and federal statutes related to voting and we can’t fix any of it because of the Senate filibuster. American cities are drowning and children are getting a dangerous and sometimes fatal disease because the adults around them are members of a death cult – refusing to accept the science of climate change and vaccines. Goddess help us.
Some good news: UW Madison announced that 90% of their students planning in-person classes have been fully vaccinated and 94% have had at least one shot. So my little island of sanity will be a bit safer without a bunch of college kids blowing COVIDs on me. I went to the grocery store yesterday and most people were masked (we have a mask mandate in Dane County). I feel sad for those who, by no fault of their own, live in terrible counties and states run by terrible people. I feel no sadness for those who voted for ignorant people knowing that they were ignorant.
The weekend is almost here! I feel as though I got nothing accomplished this past week and hope that the long weekend gives me some chunks of time where I can make progress on projects.
See all y’all later!
Friday Meese. Still reeling here from pictures of the Ida destruction in the Northeast
51 going up to 72 here in Kingston.
Big early test for Governor Hochul. I hope she responds well.
Good morning. I see other states are joining Texas in Gilead. Great. Woke up about 57 times last night. Possibly a slight exaggeration, but wow. Brain not working very well, I hope my tea wakes me up some.
It’s currently what Dee in NY and Jan in WI are supposed to get as their high. Down here the high is supposed to be 93, heat index around 100. It’s cloudy at the moment – light’s on cloudy – and is supposed to be at least mostly cloudy for the day. Which helps neither the electricity generation or my mood. We got 12.39 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 24.55 – not promising. But there’s still a lot of month to go.
Things are so bad in so many directions – but it all stems back to the RW/KKK/Bircher/fascists who started their long-term plan to “take back” the country in 1958. It’s all of a piece, the same philosophy – that as Aji continually points out is the colonizer culture of conquest, conversion, resource theft, and genocide – this entire society is based on. So it’s really been like shooting fish in a barrel to erode the progress decent people have made over the last several centuries.
Roadblocks still in the way for Jill but just roadblocks and not brick walls. Other folks are hanging on. Getting tired so it’s harder to do it, but still hanging on. Holding Good Thoughts all around. (& calm days for all of us running short on sleep.)
Coffee, close up the house, & twitter are in my near future. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}