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?
…
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.
…
Good morning. Didn’t get my walk in yesterday, so I walked early this morning and I am by gosh going to walk at lunch. We have a red flag warning today — critical fire danger, it’s so dry and we have strong winds. Gorgeous sunny warm but really windy.
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s 46 F. and gorgeous here in Ashboring. However, the wind will kick up later. Dearly has gone off on his long trek in an Uber provided by Kaiser to the wound care specialist in Darjeeling—oops, I mean Woodbridge. I hope this is the last such journey he’ll have to make. It gets really old.
Getting my hair done this morning because tonight there’s a dinner with the UUs, and before that I have to sign three petitions to get our Democratic candidates on the ballot for November, when the entire Virginia senate will be up for reelection. Virginia has such tiresome laws. Up here in what Downstate refers to “Yankee land,” I sometimes forget how terrifyingly bigoted some Virginians are.
Today I received my Social. Will it be the last one? If it goes, so will I. After 5 years in this Home, we don’t have a lot of savings left. How can people vote for Rethugs? Is it guns and abortion? I suppose so.
Bfitz told me yesterday that Chef Bobby, a.k.a. NewPioneer on dk, had died. I am so sorry. He was a lovely man, always trying to help people. May he live on in our memories.
The high will be 57 F., so I think I’ll clean the cooler on our screened porch and let it dry during the high winds.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
It’s 54 heading for 62, very overcast with rain off and on most of the day. There’s a slight chance it might clear off early enough to get a few KWHs, but it’s not supposed to be much. Yesterday we generated 6.88 KWHs and the m-t-d is 106.86 – on track and even enough ahead we can stay on track with just a few KWHs. So Holding the Good Thought.
It’s being a rough week. Bobby last Saturday and Momma went 34 years ago today. But like everybody else, I keep on trucking. There are always things to be dealt with and the dealing with them is a helpful distraction. So I’m off to twitter to do just that. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 46 clouds and rain outside my window today. I think/hope Sue will be here today so I need to do my part on the main floor so she can do hers. I’ve got the upstairs organized and the basement is basically under control so she can get started and I’ll get the last of the Christmas clutter out of her way. Best wishes to all.
Thursday Meese. 31 here in Kingston with snow flurries which will turn to rain soon.
Puerto Rico
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 35 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 52. Sunny skies are in the forecast. The waning crescent moon was visible in the southeast sky yesterday morning as the clouds dispersed. We had a lot of rain, an inch and a half at the airport, with significantly more north and in the mountains. The Cañada del Oro Wash, the CDO locally, was filled with fast water which stranded some campers in one of the nearby state parks. The park is supposed to reopen today and we may go take a look at how the rain changed the landscape – after the monsoon, they needed earth movers to get the mud off the roads.
When I was watching the Republican Squeaker race unfold I thought that the thing that might bite McDoodiehead in the butt first was that they ended remote voting at the same time that their majority was so slim. And sure enough, a MAGAt falling off his roof and ending up in the hospital just cut the majority to 3. The only question is whether or not there are 4 Republicans whose donors are more Wall Street than CrazyQ and who are unwilling to default on the debt limit. I hope so – tax season is a terrible time to shut down the government and having unhinged people waving a loaded gun at us is alarming.
Every day that passes suggests that while Kathy Hochul was certainly better than the Republican alternative, she was a terrible choice for New York governor. When the consent part of advise and consent says “hell no” to an anti-abortion, anti-labor Republican’s appointment to the highest court in the state, instead of saying “the people have spoken” she sues them. I hope they can defeat him in the open Senate vote and find a judge that reflects the values of the people of New York instead of a return to the Cuomo era politics of the IDC.
I have vowed to not let myself get distracted by the 10 minute news cycle so I need to get back to my projects.
See all y’all later!
Yes, I’ve certainly gone off her. What’s he got on her, that’s what I want to know.
Chilly enough for long sleeves this morning. Walked 1.3 miles; I did not miss that darned hill while I was off. In the office today, will be weird being around people.
Caribbean Matters – posted
Good Thuzzday morning, Meese! (Thursday is pronounced the way the late John McLaughlin use to say it.) It’s 43 F. and we’re between showers at the moment. It’s going to spitter-spatter all day, according to the Weather Wenches.
After Dearly’s traumatic experience yesterday, when he couldn’t get through to Kaiser’s SafeRide program, and had to stay at the Timbuktu office for two hours after his appointment was finished, I gave him a breakfast to cheer him up this rainy morning. OJ, coffee, soft-boiled egg with soldiers and the cute Ukrainian egg cosy, and then air toast with strawberry jam. He feels so much happier that we’re going to go to Costco to get gas. I have Nanny-Granny duty tomorrow afternoon, and their house is 13 miles away.
Last night I trekked across the Common to join the UUs at the Potomac Restaurant. They were fun to be with, as always, but the service was TERRIBLE! We sat down at 5 p.m. and did not leave the table until 7:30 p.m. The waiters kept bringing the wrong dishes, and it was just awful. It would be nice if the next dinner weren’t held there.
Jay, the man who masterminded the Authors’ Festival here after I suggested it, came over to Suzi and me at the dinner and said he thought we ought to write a couple of one-act plays for the Drama Club to perform. His wife Louise said that Jay is still talking about the Winter Solstice ritual and saying things like, “Did you know we have a High Priestess right here at Ashby Ponds?” LOL!
DIL is off to London on the evening plane tonight. I have a 3 o’clock meeting with the Communications Committee. Duhh. I can’t think of anything to write except one thing that’ll probably get me kicked off the Committee, because it’s unflattering to the Powers That Be.
Oh, well. First-world problem! Wishing everyone at the Pond a good day.
It’s 34 heading for 46 and mostly sunny. Yesterday we only managed 2.59 KWHs but it was enough to keep us on track at 109.
Sinusitis last night – bad enough I took the last of the generic Nyquil. Which did absolutely nothing except make me too sleepy to read while I did other things that weren’t working until they did work in the later than wee hours – then knocked me out until after 9 am. So I’m groggy as hell and also late as hell getting online. Oh well. Besides my online stuff all I’ve got to do today is put up the laundry and bake cocoa-cherry jam-walnut muffin bread. Meanwhile, I’d best get to my twitter chores & Dee’s diary. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Friday Meese. 35 going up to 44 with rain here in Kingston.
Puerto Rico
First time I’ve heard a Canadian take on Luma:
“On January 12, 2020, three years ago, 13-year-old Jaideliz Moreno Ventura died due to the lack of medical services in Vieques. This poster reminds us that her family is still waiting for justice and #Vieques for a hospital and decent medical services”
OMG, there is just NO excuse for this! That poor child! Wish something could be done for Vieques. Someone should approach Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife for starter money to build a clinic that could develop into a hospital. I know it’s the government’s responsibility, but wouldn’t something be better than nothing? Or what about the Clinton Foundation?
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 37 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 48. Sunny skies are in the forecast. Some areas of the valley may get a hard freeze but we are not likely to get one here. I was chuckling at the weather guy last night – his graphic showed VERY COLD next to the number 36 and I laughed heartily. I am pleased to be where 36 is considered very cold and not -36 as had the benchmark for the past 45 some odd years of my life.
No wonder the Roberts Court is so despised. Alito released the draft Dobbs to bolster support for his destruction of women’s reproductive rights and they are too cowardly to rat him out. So instead, they issue a very thick report which concludes that they can’t figure it out! The report also says that they did not question the justices themselves or their spouses because they are above reproach. Another institution destroyed by a Republican Party willing to elect a garbage person in order to get tax cuts, deregulation and the end of civil rights in America. Bastids.
Another day, another lie about George Santos exposed. I know that it takes a while to develop a criminal case against someone – and for good reason – but can’t they find some way to disqualify him from being in the House of Representatives? I keep hoping that someone discovers that he is not an American citizen and got a false passport from the dark web. I guess we have to wait.
It is the last work day before tax season opens and I need to get the last bit of accounting done so that I am ready for that. I have a bunch of moving parts with tax returns this year and I want to be able to get ready to file as soon as possible. I have everything I need except final forms for one of my returns. Fingers crossed that they show up in the software today.
See all y’all later!
Chilly by Texas standards (I needed a jacket). 1.34 miles and that accursed hill. At least it’s Friday. And we might get rain. Probably not, but there’s hope.
It’s 30 heading for 51 and sunny. Yesterday we generated 8 KWHs again ????and the m-t-d at 117 is on track and a bit over. Which is good because according to the weather widget today may be the last completely sunny day this month.
Last night I plugged in my laptop to charge the battery and the bloody little bastid decided to update while it was plugged in. I don’t know if it’s now running Windows 10 or still running Windows 7, but it’s now got Edge on it and not just google. I managed to find Yahoo mail, twitter, and my weather widget and save them to favorites. I have no idea how to create and put them on a favorites bar rather than having to use a dropdown box. Sigh.
As far as I know everybody’s as OK as they’ve been and still trucking on. Off to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
You can tell which operating system you have on a computer by opening a command prompt and typing in “winver”. Windows 7 is considered dangerous because it went off support years ago and at one point Microsoft started forcing upgrades to Windows 10 as part of its monthly update process. Edge is not a bad program. I am pretty sure you can’t remove it but you can tell the system that Chrome (I assume that is what you mean by Google) is the default. I prefer Edge over Chrome because Chrome wants to manage your entire machine, not just the Internet, but it is a personal preference.
To use the command prompt, do a right-click on the Windows button (the icon in the lower left hand corner of the screen), choose Run then type the command into the empty box.
Thank you. The only thing I have against Edge is that instead of a nice blank page with just the search field on it like Google does, it comes up with a patchwork quilt of news crap I’m not interested in but distracts my eye and mind from whatever I opened the tab for. LOL
Edge is tailorable! If you click the gears symbol on the top right of the page you can choose Custom Layout then turn Quicklinks OFF and Content OFF. I also turn off the Background so that I can open tabs in blissful quiet. :)
Bless you. I tried to do that before but I didn’t know what to choose to turn things actually off. Thank you. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Friday morning, Moosekind! It’s extremely windy today in Ashburn. The current temperature is 47 F., on its way up to 51 F., but the nasty winds (30-40 mph) will make it seem colder. Hope I don’t get blown off Route 28 this afternoon while driving to Younger Son’s house for nanny-granny duties.
DIL evidently landed in London just fine. Elder Son’s wife was meant to fly to San Fran today, but is too ill. She came down with Something the other day and has basically done nothing but sleep. Winter is such a terrible time for illness and deaths! Now we hear that David Crosby, original founder of The Byrds, has died. He was a leader of contemporary music. I want “Turn, Turn, Turn” played at my memorial service, if there is one.
Went to the Resident Publications Committee meeting yesterday afternoon, and really stirred them up. We’re going to hatch a plan of action at the next meeting, and then rise up as one in the “town hall” meeting the next day and confront Da Boss. We’re going to ask him why life is so difficult for disabled persons here at The Home. We’re all supposed to be so damn happy with no lawns to mow, no hogs to slop, no snow to shovel, etc., etc. Life is difficult for the disabled, and something ought to be done about it. There’s no way for the disabled to get on the shuttle buses, for example, nowhere to park their electric mobility vehicles if they want to use the gym in the main clubhouse, and a list of other complaints.
Well, now that I’m washed and brushed, it’s time to go looking for the two bills I’m meant to pay. I didn’t have time yesterday, so swept them off onto a different surface. Have examined said surfaces and been unable to find the bills. Not for the first time, I wish I were more organized.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond. How about that Russian spy ship off the coast of Hawaii, eh? Hardly reassuring. However, to balance that a group of men trolled the “March for Life” men who are in town. “I hate women!” one of them announced. “I am one of YOU. I don’t think women should make their own decisions,” he went on. The antis were shocked and became truculent. I do hope the troller is still alive: the pro-lifers are so apt to shoot people they don’t like.
Good morning, 33 and cloudy outside my window today. I was late for a dentist appointment yesterday, then met Emma for lunch, then met with a friend so I’ll know how to care for her dog while she has surgery next week, then early to bed. I need to work at my desk this morning but I hope to have enough energy for something more fun this afternoon. It’s music, solitaire and coffee time now. Best wishes to all.
Saturday Meese. 33 going up to 39 herein Kingston NY. I’m really pissed off about this:
Having been part of the movement to get Black/African-American studies taught – to see the clock being turned back is infuriating
Republican electeds in Florida are truly deplorable. I am not sure why anyone would want to live in and certainly not raise their children there. From an Obama 25 electoral votes in 2008 to a bastion of white supremacy in 2023, I really cannot think of anything positive to say about it. That the voters there overwhelmingly re-elected DeSantis means that they support his policies of hate and ignorance.
Puerto Rico
(“yolas” are homemade fishing boats)
Good morning, meeses! Saturday …
It is 32 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 50. Sunny skies are in the forecast. Winter isn’t done with us – we will probably see overnight lows into the 30s through the middle of next week. For what it is worth, it is not normally this cold. I am sure that the snowbirds who are here just for the winter are sad but I am fine with a few variations in the seasons – I still have winter coats and gloves. :)
Governor Katie Hobbs put executions on hold in the State of Arizona pending a review of the process. I am hoping the review takes years! I do not want people murdered in my name. Already she is pushing back against the Republican deadenders who are bent on passing some anti-trans bills and she told them not to waste their time – she is not going to let LGBTQ youth be harmed by people who are using the legislative process to please their hateful base.
I scanned the news and opened a few articles up in tabs to read (or Pocket) later. Apparently the Supreme Court “investigator” did question the Justices but did not require them to swear under oath that they did not leak the draft Dobbs. Of course not! They are filled with integritude for example NEVER lying about their intent to repeal Roe at the first opportunity during their confirmation hearings or lying under oath about sexual assault or taking money from rich right-wing donors to pay off mortgages and feather their nests or blatantly supporting their president in his attempt to overthrow the United States government. Yes, above reproach.
I have my project list sorted and prioritized so I best get to it. I am hoping to get some things in the mail today.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. Chilly enough for sweats & long sleeves — which it should be, it’s January. Today’s agenda: groceries, and keep my walking streak going. Today will be day 22 in a row.