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, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 82 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 100. Partly cloudy now with a very slight chance of rain this afternoon. We did not get any of the expected rain yesterday. We are going to heat up again this weekend and will not likely see any respite from the intense heat until the middle of next week.
The descent of Iowa into MAGAt cult status continues apace. I feel badly for them, they were once a somewhat progressive state and voted for Obama twice and helped his candidacy in 2008. Now, a 6-week abortion ban. Goddess help the decent people of Iowa who have no power to stop what is happening to them.
I have errands to run today so I need to finish up projects and shut down. Yesterday was Microsoft Patch Tuesday and, for reasons known only to our Microsoft overlords, they decided to roll the updates out in two separate update sessions. That meant connecting twice to my computers and the peer-to-peer servers that I manage and rechecking and restarting a second time. PITA and time sink.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 86 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 102. Mostly sunny skies with a chance for afternoon rain. I was awakened by the sound of rain moving through the area (specifically the dripping into the fireplace vents) at 1:30am and sat on the deck for a while breathing in the scent of the monsoon rain. The night birds sounded happy! I am sure it was not more than a thimbleful of rain but every bit is appreciated. I claim credit for it – I ran my car through the car wash yesterday.
I will focus on sea otters stealing surfboards in Santa Cruz because the rest of the news is boring. Following the Republican presidential primary is a ridiculous waste of time – the nominee will be tRump and the 2024 presidential election will be an existential battle for the future of America, 2020 with the stakes higher than ever.
I decided to stay up after the raindrops woke me up. I have a project that needs my full attention and I have about 2 hours before clients will start work.
See all y’all later!
I have watched this many times :)
Great Goddess, you were up early! And your brain even works at that time! Wow. Hope a nap is in the cards for this afternoon.
I was up early too, and did not quite manage to go back to sleep afterwards. Bummer.
Thursday Meese. 66 here in Kingston – going up to 89 and raining.
Puerto Rico
Y’all need an ark up there! Please send the rain to us, we’re 9 inches under par.
Good morning. 81 degrees already. Walked up the ramps to the top of the parking garage at work so I could see the Space Station flying over. Jogged in place while I watched. Way cool. I actually slept last night, so will probably work the whole day today.
Impressive, another! How can you tell it’s the Space Station? All the blobs of light look the same to me. And how can you tell when it’s flying over you?
You can get texts from NASA about when it is over your area. They say where it appears, the direction it’s going, how high, etc. It is a light like a star, but moving fast. You can tell it isn’t a plane, but it moves fast.
Caribbean Matters posted
Sis, the media cares nothing about important policy meetings. They only care about the person with the orange face who CONTINUES to elude the heavy hammer of justice.
:( Yup. It really pisses me off. So much important stuff happening around the world and here at home an it’s 24/7 Orange Turd
It’s 72 heading for 96 and actually raining at the moment. The rain moved in later than projected so the cool(er) temps did too. I’ve got the A/C off/house open for the time being. We generated right at 20 KWHs yesterday so closed the widening gap a little. We’re likely to lose more ground today unless it clears off fairly soon – and stays clear. At 187 the m-t-d is 34 from being on track.
Sea otters stealing surfboards and orcas biting tillers off sailboats are signs we should be paying attention to. But being humans of a colonizer culture, we won’t. And it’s still the only news worth watching, the MSM being what it is.
Aji got her internet back (there were 2 patreon notices in my email) so I’ve got 2 days’ worth of stuff to boost at twitter & spoutible waiting for me. As well as my other stuff. So I’d best get to it. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good Thursday morning, Meese. Didn’t make it here yesterday because of getting ready for a meeting about my play, the title of which is “Shakespeare Was Right.” I said perhaps we could think of a better title, but two people said no, they liked it.
So we have to change Daniela the bus driver back to Daniel. Easiest transition we’ve ever made—we simply remove the “A.” Now we have four male characters and only three female. The next play I write is going to have ONE male character and three female characters.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we’re down to Code Yellow again. It’s 80 F. in Ashburn, fair, with a few wisps of white cloud straggling across the blue. Thunderstorms are predicted for tonight—a likely story!
Today is my Blue Ridge Writers Group meeting. I’m serving them a Victoria Sandwich. Even as I write, two layers of Cream Sponge cake are cooling on the wire rack. Reading through the essays they’ve submitted, I gather that two of them can’t eat sugar, so I’ll pop a couple of big strawberries into the cake carrier. I have to run to Trader Joe’s to get a pot of strawberry jam to brush between the layers, and a bunch of roses. July always makes me think of roses.
The story I want to write for the contest is busily churning away in my subconscious. Last night, I hadn’t emailed one of my best friends for so long, I simply called her up and we had a nice chat. She told me I was too tired to make the sponge cake last night, which I was, so I just did it this morning.
Now the sea otters are wreaking havoc on surfboards? Say what? The creatures of the sea are restless, and I don’t blame them. We humans have heated the sea to the point where they’re having difficulty finding food.
Goddess help us all. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
Friday Meese. 66 going up to 80 and raining here in Kingston NY.
Puerto Rico
Sis, it seems to rain in Kingston every day! Can you please send it down here? We need it.
Good morning. Just a normal walk this morning, no Space Station to look at. It’s about ten million degrees, but I got my 30 minutes in. Watching Le Tour, getting ready to work.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 84 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 104. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. This morning I could see the pretty little waning crescent moon and her companion, the Morning Star, in the eastern sky. The moon is about 10%, going “dark” on July 17th. No rain here last night maybe some today. The next few days we will have what we hope to be the final Excessive Heat Warning of the season. It will still be over 100 but normal 100s, not these scorchers. A week of monsoon rain is projected for next week.
I hope the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats hold firm on their refusal to give in to the right over access to abortions for military families who happen to be assigned to bases in red states. If I were in the military, I would have to think long and hard about staying in with the level of disrespect being displayed – military promotions being held up in a political show and now cutting off access to health care if you have the bad luck to be stationed in Hateful America. That Head Klansman Tommy Tuberville’s staff calls him “Coach” not “Senator” should demonstrate to everyone that he is not a person serious about governing. It will be interesting to see if Kevin’s Hard Right Puppeteers putting poison pills into the Defense Authorization bill will blow it up. I hope House Democrats don’t vote for that monstrosity. History has shown that saying “I voted against it first” does not work as cover for bad votes.
New York State redistricters will have another chance to fix the Congressional map they botched in the run up to 2022. I am not holding my breath that they have learned their lessons. They need to move quickly because Republicans will appeal the ruling and the more representative maps need to be locked in early to be in place for 2024. Democrats could easily pick up 4 more seats in the House from New York – close to the number needed to flip it back Blue. Then we only need a handful of the remaining 14 Biden+ districts to flip back and we can retire Marj’s Kevin and send him to the back bench. In my Biden+ district, “represented” by the odious Juan Ciscomani, the (quite excellent) ads against him have already started. I hope our candidate is better this time. I did not mind Kirsten Engels but she had too many old videos available showing her espousing positions that scare the independents. That is not shocking, she is a university professor specializing in environmental law and her lectures would naturally discuss the environment and what kinds of laws might be needed to protect it. Juan “my parents snuck across the border but we need to shoot anyone else who tries” Ciscomani ran ads with Nancy Pelosi in them to scare people. I wonder if he has the guts to go fullthroated racist and run ads against Hakeem Jeffries? Demonizing a woman seems to be fine with most people but can he run “scary Black man” ads without turning off the moderates? We shall see.
I got almost nothing done yesterday and I need to get to it this morning. I have a stack of things that accumulated from a too-busy beginning of the week and I need to sort it to see if there is anything urgent.
See all y’all later!
I hope New York State redistricters will get it right this time. Sigh.
Good Friday morning, Moosekind, and happy Bastille Day!
What are the Rethugs going to do about Opill, slated to be sold over the counter in 2024? They hate women and want to see us suffer and die, that’s their problem.
If I still lived near Reston, I could buy lunch at La Madeleine today and score a couple of free Bastille Day tarts! But I’m going out with the Raging Grannies this morning and we’re stopping by the glass recycling place on the way back.
It’s 76 F. in Ashburn, really glorious, but gaining in humidity as the day goes on. Back at the ranch, DIL and Nora could not Get On yesterday in Tokyo. They tried twice, and finally Younger Son had to buy return tickets. They’re supposed to arrive at IAD at 6 today. Meanwhile, they had to spend the night at the Tokyo airport! So uncomfortable.
We’re on emergency grandparent duty today—we’ll leave here shortly after 3 p.m. to go to Trevor’s house so we can take care of Karl and the puppy until the travelers arrive from Japan, at which time Dearly will pick them up from IAD. It is NOT a good idea for Space Availables to travel at this point in the summer. Sometimes we can get away with it in mid- to late August, when the crowds are returning home for school and college, but July is the pits.
I need to get ready, I’m being picked up in 45 minutes. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
Yes, Bastille Day! Alors, I shall find something French to eat!
It will be interesting to see how available Opill will be. In many states, pharmacists can refuse to provide any medication that they think may “harm the person” buying it. If it is like some powerful cold remedies and needs to be behind the counter and asked for by name, can they refuse to hand it over because of their “conscience”? Will pharmacies refuse to stock it? I hope it is available online as well as in a pharmacy – it is the last chance that women who live in anti-choice states have to control their reproductive destiny.
As soon as it’s available online, I’ll be ordering some. Not for myself, but for Nora, in case she needs it. I hope she won’t, but I’m not an ostrich.
It’s 74 heading for 89, humid and overcast. We got another inch of rain and may get more this morning. It’s not cool, but it’s cooler than inside so I’ve got the house open for a bit. We generated 18.2 KWHs yesterday and gained a (very) little. The m-t-d at 205.5 is definitely not on track.
Groggy & tremors. Lousy night. I got what passed for solid sleep between 3:30 and 7 – tried to doze a little and rest my eyes after doing my back exercises (I do them in bed) which is why I’m so late this morning. I really hate waking up choking on mucus. But at least I do wake up so that’s good.
I haven’t checked in on anybody yet and I’ve a lot of boosting to do so I’d best get to both. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
OMG, bfitz, I hope the rest of your day goes better!
{{{Diana}}} I manage. I’m still so very much better off than most folks I know, even when I have a bad night. Healing Energy & moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 69 and sunny. Looks like I’ve been forgetful the last few days, but with my friends cancer/covid situation I’ve been both busy and pre occupied. I managed to get the drugs they needed at the pharmacy again yesterday and will continue to do porch drop offs, but no real contact until they have recovered from covid. We tested negative this morning, so can now worry less re our exposure last Sunday. And best of all, Erica’s visit can still happen. They will arrive on Sunday so time to put the flannel sheets on the guest beds away and get ready for summer visitors. Best wishes to all.
Princesspat, Elder Son loves flannel sheets on the bed year round. He finds them so comfortable.
Glad Erica can still visit!
Saturday Meese. 66 going up to a muggy 88 here in the Hudson Valley.
Puerto Rico
In-fighting in LULAC
Our starting temperature in the morning is 88 but thankfully it is not muggy.
It is 88 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 108. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. We are in day 2 of 4 of a heat dome. I have plenty of things I can be doing indoors and it is pretty quiet here but I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a houseful of bored children. I am pleased with my life choices. :)
So Death Valley is a “tourist destination.” I guess you go there, get photographed with a thermometer showing that you are idiotically standing in 130 degree heat and then run back to your car and drive away. Too many failure points, in my mind. Car stops running, air conditioner is overtaxed and quits, flat tire. People are dumb.
House Republicans hardliners have set up a showdown over the normally bipartisan Defense Authorization bill. It won’t pass the Senate with the social policy amendments. You really can’t govern when one of the parties welcomes anti-government members into its caucus and gives them the power to block needed legislation. I am not keen on spending a trillion dollars on the military and that is worth fighting about but trying to return the military to the Jim Crow days is awful. You can just see on former Navy Seal Eli Crane’s face the disdain he feels about having had to serve with those he called “colored people” chosen, in his mind, not for their abilities but for the sake of diversity. Fk him and his ilk with a rust anvil. Twenty-two percent of his constituents are members of the Navajo Nation – I’m sure they are proud.
In Wisconsin, they fired a teacher for tweeting her upset that a song that had rainbow in it was being removed from a school event. Also in Wisconsin, a high school was forbidden to put up Safe Space stickers for LGBTQ students to know which teachers were safe to talk to. One school board member said that it was “coddling” the students to not have them bullied. Another one said that the entire school was safe and welcoming. Right. I am glad that my daughter made it through K-12 and got her undergraduate degree before the state descending into madness. We just had to deal with Republicans defunding our schools and driving away good teachers – they hadn’t yet realized that they could make life miserable for non-white non-straight children. And they wonder why Wisconsin is bleeding young people and getting older at a higher rate than most other states.
I have a good list of projects to work on in the quiet of weekend mornings and I best get to it.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. Watching Le Tour. There was a crash this morning, but no one I recognize was involved. The American leading the mountains competition is doing okay. It’s 80 degrees already, heading to 108 — we are under an excessive heat warning. Definitely exercising inside today.
It’s 69 – been 69 since about 9:30 last night when the rain moved in – heading for 91 and sunny. At least at the moment. We generated 13.4 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d at 213.8 is not on track and losing ground. It’s still possible to catch up. We shall see what we shall see.
I talked to Fineena last night. Dr says she’s dehydrated and scary low on vitamin D. Add that to pain and depression (probably causing some of the pain and depression) and it’s understandable that she’s dithering right now. There’s so much to do and where to start. Well, the best place to start would be with a dumpster and a strong, healthy person to haul stuff from the house and put in it. Then she’d have room to sort through and see what she really wants to keep, what she can give away/donate, what else goes into the dumpster. If it’s not too expensive she can rent a dumpster. Getting the strong healthy person to help is another matter.
I got almost 7 hours of sleep last night and am doing much better. Hopefully I won’t have to have the A/C overnight again for a while. As far as I know everybody’s doing about the same as they have been. Unfortunately including earicicle having trouble getting the gatekeeper nurses at her doctor’s office to get her through to the doctor for an Rx for her UTI. And including the folks on my needs list – as in they’re not getting help. Thursday the 3rd in as many weeks got evicted because we couldn’t raise the last $200 of their rent. 2 of those were families w/ babies. It’s maddening when it’s not depressing. But I/we will keep trying.
Time to close up the house and start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good morning, 69 and mostly sunny outside my window today. Erica has car troubles so they will now arrive on Monday, so I have a bit more time to get ready. I have neglected more than I realized, but the laundry is finally ready to be put away so one big job done. I wish I had been more creative with my flower planting this year, but oh well. Best wishes to all.