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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Wednesday Meese. Brrrr – it’s 31 degrees going up to 52.
Puerto Rico
Good moaning, Moosekind, and I use the word “moaning” advisedly. It’s 33 F. this morning in Ashburn, with the sky is just beginning to lighten. Today the high will be 53 F., and mostly sunny.
Needless to say, I am gobsmacked, astounded, and flabbergasted. To have that doughy-faced male as governor will set Virginia back 100 years. Abortion will be banned, contraception will soon follow, women who have miscarriages will be reported to the police. Early voting will be banned, forcing people to stand in long lines on election days. I was hoping we’d have a Democratic sweep, which might result in our lege and governor passing legislation to join the other 48 states in having elections at the proper time. It’s very wearing to have to work yourself up every November.
I’m also totally freaked that NJ wasn’t a blow-out for the Dems! What went wrong?
Either the majority of Americans have low IQs, resulting in being totally brainwashed, or they’re just plain evil. Goddess knows I wasn’t excited by McAuliffe but a Democrat is a Democrat, blast it all, and will generally do the right thing. Imagine having dead-eyed Winsome Sears break tie votes.
The only comfort is that Dunkin’ is barely squeaking by. A 2-point win is not very much. How we are going to get through the next four years I do not know.
Well, I did everything I could, including getting my hair done on Monday and wearing a bra the entire day Tuesday while handing out sample Democratic ballots to voters. An effing Rethug lawyer in Richmond filed suit against the Dems for not having the word “sample” on the sample Democratic ballot. That meant that the precinct captain had to sit and write “sample” on our blue half-page ballots while the other volunteer and I handed out sample ballots.
We did it for two and a half hours at an elementary school nearby. The precinct captain is a former airline pilot, which was fascinating, and has written a book about her experiences. It hasn’t come out yet but she showed me a copy of the cover on her phone.
I’ve had a frantic few days of looking after Younger Son’s dog, Younger Son’s daughter, Miss Pink Cheeks, and doing the political thing. I had to ferry Miss PC around on Sunday night so she could go trick-or-treating with her friends and then watch a scary movie afterwards. Goddess knows driving around unfamiliar neighborhoods in the dark is NOT my favorite thing to do but, Hail Asphalta! The Goddess provided the Waze app, which got me through it. Once back at Nora’s house, where we spent Sunday night, I had to dispense candy to the trick-or-treaters for the first time in years. I’ve missed that, living here amongst the elderly.
Nora told me that she has A’s in all subjects except English (she flubbed up on an assignment). Although in the 7th grade, she is doing 9th-grade Honors Math, which her teacher said is really 10th-grade math. She is so adorable! She told me a boy had asked for her phone number but she didn’t know what to do. I suggested that next time it happens she should say, “You’re very nice, but the answer for now is no.” She’s too young for that sort of thing, although at age 12 probably all they would do is talk.
Anyway, we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and think about how to engage voters. In Arlington the ratio was 75% Dem. votes to 25% Rethug. Loudoun County surprised me by voting heavily blue.
Well, that’s enough from me today. Need to catch up on email, exercise, and Goddess knows what else. Was up at 5 a.m., so a nap is in my future. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
So sorry about VA Sis. You did your best. Now time to hunker down, while planning for the next round of elections.
This is good advice! Other good advice is to ignore all the next-day pundits who think they know why we lost Virginia – the election results need to steep for a while before they can be consumed properly. One thing is clear, however: we are not going to win by courting white women or rural voters – we need to expand our coalition to bring more young people to the polls to dilute the Karen and Deliverance votes.
Thanks, Sis!
In from my walk/run. I decided to do today rather than try to squeeze it in tomorrow — besides it is supposed to rain tomorrow morning. Of course, it was supposed to thunderstorm overnight & still be raining this morning. Anyway, I did good. Work till lunch then head to the doc for my check up. And maybe a flu shot. Since the shingles one is a 2-parter, I’m going to get it from a neighborhood pharmacy.
It’s 42 going to 47 and cloudy. No more rain but clouds all day. sigh. Yesterday we generated 2.97 KWHs. At 4.5 for the m-t-d we’re definitely not on track and haven’t produced a full day’s usage yet.
The Rs own the media. Dems will always have to put out extraordinary effort to get a slim win. Because white people are racist as hell. So racist they don’t care how much they damage their own civil rights and economic security as long as they damage/destroy those of the “others”. And anybody who makes them feel good & righteous about their racism is going to get their vote. Yes, it makes me sick. It has since the ’80s. (Yes, I vote in every election anyway.)
A former kossack/friend (mufftootuff – she was a Peep but not active anywhere else so I doubt anyone here knows her) is in the hospital and over the edge she’s always straddling. I don’t know if I can find anything to send her but I’m going to try. Amelia’s got a potentially scary thing but we don’t know the details yet so just keepin’ on until we do. Aji’s trying to get the bills paid & find $1400 over so she can go to the eye doctor as she was supposed to almost 3 months ago. (Tests to be sure the lupus meds aren’t destroying her eyes.) I don’t have to mention to anyone at the Moose Pond that none of these folks would be in trouble if we had the comprehensive universal healthcare Hillary tried to get us in ’94.
I’m tired. But there’s work to be done and what little of it I can do, I will. Off to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 49 and mostly cloudy in Bellingham. I’ve got the election blues this morning and my feelings are to complicated sort out so I’m going to focus on my small world today. Best wishes to all.
Thursday Meese. Can’t believe it’s 29 degrees here this morning, and only going up to 49. Sigh. Winter is here.
Puerto Rico
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 34 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 48. The forecast calls for :::gasp::: wet snow this morning. Yikes! Waaaay too soon.
My goodness, the morning news is full of doomsday talk. The parallels to the Tea Party takeover in 2009 and 2010 only go so far. That “movement” took everyone by surprise and it took a while for people to realize that it had nothing to do with “fiscal conservatism” but everything to do with race – we had just elected the first Black president and white fragility drove people to the polls. This time around, the racism is not whispered but shouted and when you can see something you can deal with it. That Democrats are going to be punished for, literally, making people take their medicine is really awful. History may be kind, just like it was kind to the Congressional Democrats who voted for the Affordable Care Act and were defeated in 2010, but this time around we can’t afford to let Republicans back into power. These guys are not John Boehner – they are members of the #RepublicanDeathCult and will sacrifice the lives of anyone who does not bow to their god tRump. By the way, saying that “passing legislation that people want” will solve our 2022 problem is ridiculous. People don’t vote on facts, they vote on emotion. I hope we can find a message that resonates with them.
I slept poorly with a disturbing “can’t find my way out of a building” dream finally waking me up. The only way to resolve it was to get up and work. I have a lot of things on my platter today and better get to them.
See all y’all later!
Posted
Good morning. In the office today. Got my flu shot and covid booster yesterday, have a sore arm but that’s all. Doc prescribed cholesterol med, sigh. I’ll pick it up after work today. And healthier snacks, no more cheese and crackers.
It’s 42 heading for 55 – warmer than forecast. We were supposed to get an overnight freeze and didn’t. All the colder weather forecast last week for this week has shifted up between 5 and 10 degrees. I hope it’s at least enough to tell the oak tree to shed her leaves. Yesterday the sun came out about midmorning and we generated 7.18 KWHs bringing the m-t-d to 11.86 – not on track but definitely better.
If the evil white people do/are doing only impacted white people – well, it would suck for us who know it’s evil and do what we can to stop it but it would be justice. But that evil not only impacts everybody and everything else, it impacts everybody and everything else first and hardest. & no, Black women can’t “save us” – rto has the numbers. For a Dem candidate to win it takes 90% Black, 70% Brown, 40% white. Yeah it can go down to 38% white – IF the Black and Brown numbers go a lot higher. White people are about to become the plurality rather than majority – but white people are still the largest demographic by far. They/we got the power we have via genocide and restricting the franchise. They/we are working to keep the power via restricting the franchise. And if a “little” genocide is added in, well, white culture has always loved “blood sports”. If we can protect the vote and get the kids we might be able to turn it around. Maybe.
Mufftootuff had thankfully minor surgery yesterday. A large adhesion to remove and no bowel reduction necessary. Amelia got up the energy to get out for a bit (after she aired up the tires) – she got vaxxed both booster and flu at her grocery store pharmacy & even managed some groceries. Fineena’s got more health issues. Aji seems to be hanging on. At least she hasn’t mentioned an episode of getting worse. Can’t call it good because her “new normal” is pretty bad – but she’s still breathing. And active online. Compared to all that, well, mine are very minor.
Off to twitter and to read Dee’s diary. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 58 windy and raining in Bellingham. I started a clean up around my potting bench yesterday but stopped when showers turned into real rain. Today I’m going to finish organizing the pots I want to keep, put river rocks around the area so it will be less muddy, put everything away and call another good enough job done. I’ll get wet, but oh well.
Best wishes to all.
Good Thursday afternoon, Meese! It’s a cool 50 F. In Arlington, Virginia, under sunny skies. I’m looking after my six-year-old grandson, who has more energy than a jumping bean! Mercifully, now that we’ve painfully made our way through two “first readers” and half a book of silly jokes, he’s being quiet. He’s watching some ghastly cartoon on TV in which everyone has huge eyes and pink or green hair.
Being over here with a human jack-in-the-box is just what I need to shake off my post-election depression. I am desperate for some sleep, but that will have to wait. Wishing everyone a good day at the Pond!
Taking care of healthy active children usually shakes the depression from seeing us take another step into the abyss. They are hope personified. {{{Diana}}}
I wrote a diary at the orange place. Since my work computer won’t let me come here,I can’t copy it here, can’t copy & paste the link. The title: Completely non political, not about progressive vs establishment and definitely not about pie.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 36 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 52. Sunny skies are in the forecast. We will have 60s on Sunday and Monday! Winter was a fleeting moment – certain to return later this month. :)
The House will apparently vote on the two infrastructure bills today. I am not sure how they preserve their “both bills must be signed together” plan if they do that, I guess they have to take it on faith. The Senate already passed the roads and bridges bill so it just needs a signature. Manchin and Sinema can still kill the Build Back Better bill if they want to – I guess they cut a deal with Joe Biden but it is just a promise, reneging would only destroy their credibility not their careers; Biden has no sticks to use on them. I guess we shall see!
The boy from Illinois who MSNBC called a vigilante tourist, a guy who brought an assault weapon to a place where he could shoot rioters for fun, appears to have found a friendly judge and a nice white jury. I hope that after his acquittal he can still be convicted on federal weapons charges and sent to prison.
We made it to Friday! I got some work done this morning and I put together a short list of errands to run. My to-do stack is a bit of a mess but I think I know what is in it – I should sort through it today so that if I am wrong, there is time to fix things before the work week ends.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. Had a terrible night’s sleep. Was so cold I actually had to turn the heater on. And put on gloves, then socks….. It was 68 in my apartment, haven’t been that cold since maybe March. Working in the office today, hope I can stay awake.
It’s 33, actually did drop (barely) below freezing early this morning, heading for 58 and sunny. Yesterday we generated 8 KWHs and the m-t-d is 19.71 – not on track but catching up. A “warming” spell coming through – Monday may or may not hit 70! But back to winter by the end of next week.
Thank heavens for being retired! If the sinusitis doesn’t let up until after 1 am, I can sleep until 8 and sort of make up for it. And if a Reynaud’s flare limits my computer use, I don’t have a job depending on it. Anyway, last word from Mufftootuff was they’d taken out the tube and given her clear liquids and she was very happy about it. Amelia is recovering from her “out” although other things are unsettled. Fineena had a CT scan she wasn’t happy about and was waiting to talk to the pulmonologist. Aji didn’t post yesterday until after I got offline (so I have a lot of stuff to boost this morning – hope my hands are up to it). Aashirs nani’s face is healing. & my friend only replied “thank you” to my “Happy Birthday” email which is kind of ominous.
Anyway, off to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Friday morning, Moosekind! Home again, thankfully. It’s a glorious November morning, sunny with clear blue skies, 32 F. The grass sloping down to the fence that divides the woods from the campus is white with frost.
But enough of this meteorological chitchat. Looking after an active child and driving to Arlington and back through rush-hour traffic was very stressful yesterday. I simply collapsed after dinner. Went to bed early and slept for 5 hours. After that I lay awake and finally got up at 4:30. I hate this way of life. Why can’t I go back to sleep after getting up for the usual reason?
Oh well, there’s nothing anyone can do.
11:20 a.m., same day. I have been to an insurance presentation, of which I could not hear a single word, and picked up the Home for the Aged cookbook, containing recipes from residents. Yrs truly contributed to it. It’ll be interesting to see which, if any, got in.
Okay, that’s enough from me today. Wishing a good, relaxing Friday to all at the Pond.
Good morning, meeses! Saturday …
It is 41 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 61. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Democrats are in array on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, a $1.2 trillion investment in America’s aging roads and bridges that includes $550 billion in new spending. Thirteen Republicans broke with their party leaders and will likely be primaried for supporting something that will help their constituents. House progressives in D+50 districts voted against the bill because they would rather bern down the Biden presidency than stain themselves with impurity. I want the Build Back Better plan too but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush – and BBB is not dead, it just needs a CBO score. If the House “moderates” renege on their promise, then we can get angry and upset – until then, we celebrate a victory and hope for the best. I absolutely trust Nancy Pelosi to know what can and can’t be done and to get the best possible outcome.
It continues to be embarrassing to live in Wisconsin. The “trial” in Kenosha of dimpled white boy murderer is a travesty and a fraud just like the Q-adjacent quarterback of our state’s storied football franchise.
Today I can pick and choose what I will work on because Sunday is a cushion day before Monday’s promises have to be delivered – plus I get an extra hour! I think I will catch up on accounting work because that is the largest stack on my desk.
See all y’all later!
Omar, Bush, Bowman, AOC, Tlaib, Pressley – no vote isn’t going over well with Black Twitter.
Saturday Meese – Brrrrrr. 27 here in Kingston.
Just need a few more sigs on this petition
It’s 36 going to 63 and sunny. Yesterday we generated 7.2 KWHs – m-t-d 26.9 -and we’re catching up to “on track”. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Last night after midnight, even though it hadn’t been 3 weeks since last use, I got out the nasal decongestant spray. It worked. I slept til after 8. I wish to heaven there was something that worked as well that could be used regularly. My hands, especially the right index finger, are still being unhelpful. sigh. Minor problems compared to my friends’ issues. And the nation’s. And the world’s.
Off to do my twitter chores. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}