Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Dec. 11th through Dec. 17th

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 (every Sunday morning). 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 now 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 and use the link.

26 Comments

  1. Good morning, meese! Friday …

    It is 7 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 18. We are expecting a winter storm overnight that will dump 5-12 inches of snow and drop temperatures into the double digits below zeros. It is good to not have to go anywhere!

    Today at 2:15pm Eastern, President Obama will hold a press conference where the subject of Russian interference in our democracy will probably come up. After the news conference, possibly the last news conference held by a sitting president for the next 4 years, the president and his family will head to Hawaii for their Christmas vacation. Yesterday, Michelle Obama spoke at a White House screening of the film “Hidden Figures”. I caught a few bits of it and have the video and text up in my morning tabs. I will put up a post if I get caught up on my projects.

    The blatant power grab in North Carolina is alarming – when Republicans lose elections, they simply change the rules so that the incoming Democrats have no power. This is the template for Republican governance and we are likely to see it on the national level under the Unified Republican Government. :(

    See all y’all later!

    • p.s. The deadline for signing up for January 1, 2017 ACA coverage has been extended until Monday, December 19th. The web site, according to friends of mine who procrastinated, was very busy and there were delays. Good Government at work!

    • NC power grab may not be legal. It depends on how the governor got those powers in the first place. It’s true that what the Legislature giveth, the Legislature can taketh away – but most Southern states have everybody’s authority laid out in their constitutions. If the NC constitution gaveth the powers, the Legislature cannot taketh away. Which doesn’t mean the R Lege won’t try anyway hoping to snarl things up in the Courts until the next election cycle.

  2. Good morning, Meese! It’s somewhat overcast here, currently 14 F. in NoVa, going up to 28 F. later today. Jan, that 5″ to 12″ inches of snow sounds worrisome—glad you don’t have to go anywhere. Here, it’s supposed to produce freezing rain tonight, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Yesterday the howling winds blew out the electricity twice.

    Just saw an eye-popping item, ostensibly from the Telegraph in the U.K., about how Swedish villages have been told to prepare for war with Russia. It’s weird, but this morning I woke up from a dream in which I was giving canned goods to a neighbor because her family was short of food. In real life this neighbor is quite well off (if the house she lives in is anything to go by), so this dream puzzles me.

    More Christmas-related chores to do today, as well as getting supplies in so we don’t have to go out this weekend. Wishing a good day to all!

    • Europeans have longer memories than Americans for political situations that turn into wars. But then, the wars have happened on their home territory so even the toddlers have real life memories of such things. For us, we haven’t had a war on home territory since 1865 and the kinds of people responsible for that war have taken over first our educational system, then our media, and now our political system. They don’t have to worry about anybody having living memory of what really happens when war comes to call. The Swedes managed to stay neutral in WWII (while helping to get the Danish Jews out of Europe – their “underground railroad”) but that was partly because Hitler wasn’t going to try to exterminate them and partly because given a choice between being invaded by Germany or Russia, as a “Germanic” people they chose Germany. They still don’t want to be invaded by Russia.

      And everything in a dream is you – dreams come from your subconscious. Usually just “status check” but sometimes with a message for the conscious mind. But everything in a dream is you. The “you” you identified with, the neighbor “you” were giving to – even the nourishment (canned goods) “you” were giving – the dwelling places, the situation – all you. Have fun with chewing on that. :) and {{{Diana}}}

  3. Just read Ron K.’s fascinating post re mammoths. What a marvelous essay! The diorama sounds wonderful. Feel rather glad I didn’t live back then—yikes. Imagine coming face to face with one of those creatures.

  4. It’s supposed to be nice today, high of 70ish. Going to see Star Wars this morning! Errands this afternoon — oil change & a long walk. But: Star Wars this morning! I read something that said you should re-watch the 1st movie after, that it’ll add dimension/insight.

  5. 30 heading for upper 40s today, gonna stay that way or even get into the 50s by morning, then start sliding – my Sunday is forecast to be what Jan’s today is (without the precipitation, thank goddess, as my younger son’s family is driving up tomorrow and back to Austin Monday). Home today – got chimney cleaners, firewood, maybe house cleaner, and maybe guy to replace the dead garbage disposal all coming today. Also thank goddess I get paid next Thursday. (University pays on the last working day of the month, whatever date that might be. University is shutting down on the 23rd for winter break so the 22nd is the last working day of the month.) How much time I spend online will depend on whether these folks all show up at once, everything gets done more or less at the same time, and then they go away again – or if they trickle in all day. :)

    Heading over to GOS to check my community fundraiser stuff and last night’s 3rd in the “12 Days Before the 12 Days of Christmas” series Mopshell is doing. (Annual “Wrap-up” Meeting and Holiday Party last night – our 2nd as the “new” Chair started the “tradition” last year – and didn’t get home until 9) After that, we shall see what we shall see. Bright the day and wind to thy wings, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • I rec’d the latest fundraiser diary that I saw – was it yesterday? Can’t contribute (sad that my unemployed friend has to buy the movie tix because I couldn’t go otherwise) but I rec when I see them

      • Recs help – the longer the diaries stay visible, the more folks can see them – and if even one of those “more folks” has a little cash to spare, then we’ve all done the good work. Enjoy the movie – and remember, that while it may be more blessed to give than receive, it’s still blessed to receive and in fact the former isn’t possible without the latter.

  6. Good morning, 25, clear, windy, and icy in Bellingham. Compared to Jan’s weather I shouldn’t complain. but I am! Between icy patches and the low angle of the sun driving was treacherous yesterday.

    Thanks to my dentist and relatively smooth root canal my tooth isn’t throbbing this morning….yay! I will have to wait a month for the new crown though as the infection had spread. I should have realized what was happening sooner, but the erosive lichen planus I live with confuses things. So yet another lesson is stress management……my autoimmune system can’t tolerate my level of awareness re what tRump is doing to our country! Hmmmm…….the saying “all politics is personal” seems to apply.

    I’m not very good at staying unaware, but I’m going to have to do better at letting go of the worries I have re his day to day presence in our lives.

  7. President Obama’s press conference. No, he has no magic fix for what has happened but definitely showed a profound sadness that the American people cared so little about the institutions he cherishes.

    https://youtu.be/w2c0pYm44W4

  8. Good morning, meese! Snowy Saturday …

    It is 10 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 18. Snow flurries off and on throughout the day. The storm warning is still in effect until 9pm and then the arctic blast arrives.

    North Carolina Republicans pulled off the most blatant power grab in recent memory by changing the rules based on the political party of the governor. The courts have ordered new elections in 2017 and I certainly hope that people step up and run for office and kick the bums out.

    President Obama gave his end of year presser yesterday. Some people were not happy because they wanted him to declare a state of emergency and suspend the results of the election. My goodness! Have they not been paying attention for the past 12 years? That is not how Barack Obama rolls. The press is unhappy because he called them out for their obsessive focus on the emails. And he pointed out what they have done to themselves with that bargain:

    How is it that we have some voters or some elected officials who think that Michelle Obama’s healthy eating initiative and school nutrition program is a great threat to democracy than our government going after the press if they’re issuing a story they don’t like?

    I hope that some were chagrined but the Twitter reaction suggested otherwise. In fact one reporter suggested that President Obama set the stage for this by his lack of press conferences and transparency. Ha! The White House press room under tRump will be a big screen TV with his Twitter account scrolling past. Meh.

    I will put the official White House video and transcript up in a post later today.

    See all y’all later!

  9. Good morning Meese.

    Snowing here in the Catskills.

    Obama bashing by the self-appointed supercilious “left,” who have zero clue about what is or is not appropriate for a POTUS was in ugly open view (again) during and after his presser.

    I wonder about those people who call themselves Democrats and spend all their time and energy bashing Democrats instead of going after Republicans.

    Me – I’m sticking with Rev. Barber and Moral Mondays for my inspiration.

    • Rev. Barber is working on electoral change to make people’s lives better. That is the ONLY thing we should be focusing on. The rest is gotcha insider politics.

      The DNC chair battle is a proxy to re-fight the primaries which simply underscores the berner ignorance. DNC chair is not about ideology, it is about organizing. Figureheads don’t work – we need someone willing to get on the road and talk to state party offices and put together a plan to rebuild from the grassroots up and win some elections. I don’t want to know what the chair stands for, I want to know what he or she is doing to find candidates for every single race in every single state.

  10. Up for ungodly hour walking. 7 miles is going to hurt. But I’m, going, dammit. Neither allergies nor digestive issues will keep me away. iPod is fully charged as are the earphones. I’m recording AMJoy because that show is great. She’s been covering the goings-on in North Carolina and was on the Russian hacking story since back in the summer.

  11. Good icy Saturday morning, Meese! It’s 26 F. under rainy skies here in NoVa, going up to 50 F., or so they say. Right now the roads are too dangerous to drive on, so it’s a good thing I don’t have to.

    Have planned a quiet morning of emailing my Christmas newsletter and possibly watching YouTube videos of how to exercise with resistance bands and free weights, while following along. No way am I going to the gym in these driving conditions!

    In the New Year I plan to be more politically active but right now I just can’t. The Christmas dinner is on Dearly Beloved and me, and there is a great deal to do to get ready. I’ll have Miss Pink Cheeks for just two days next week, and Daughter-from-Austin will be coming for tea on Wednesday. She and SIL are on their way to Europe for a Viking cruise.

    Hope everyone will have a nice quiet Saturday by the fireplace and will temporarily forget The Awfulness.

    (The Moose put me through hell to get here this morning! The instructions for enabling cookies are so old Apple doesn’t support them any more. Finally I had to clear All website history, including cookies, and the Moose let me in again. Jan, please disregard the email I sent earlier. I need coffee!)

    • I am glad you got in! I ran the queued up upgrade to WordPress 4.7 this morning and that probably wreaked havoc with your browser, especially if you were logged in at the time.

      Glad you persevered!!!!

  12. Good morning, 223 and cloudy in Bellingham. Watching President Obama press conference yesterday was sad and sobering…….

    I finally got my desk in order, the essential bills are paid, and the list I usually write the first of Dec is out of my head and on paper so I have a busy day of Christmas catch up ahead. I’m late with mailing so I’ll have to be creative.

  13. Already had our high for the day just before what passed for dawn – 50 – and we’re more-or-less slowly declining til dawn tomorrow which is supposed to be 8 (but sunny). Hopefully the sun will come out today. At least it’s not so dark the PV system stayed in night mode. It’s not generating much, but it is generating. Yesterday started chilly (couldn’t build the fire until the chimney inspector/cleaner guys came) but good. The chimney is fine, there are some things on the roof that need tending to but can wait until summer and won’t be expensive, and they’re going to find me a better hearth protector than what I’m using. House cleaner came, only had time to do a thorough clean of the stove and kitchen area, but that’s OK – that’s the part I really needed before everybody gets here tomorrow. The wood guy is another story. He came late – after dark – and basically sold me a cord, which I paid for, but delivered something a little short of a rick. When I said “wait a minute” he threw some wood on top of the stack way too long to fit in my stove to bring it up to a face rick, said that’s what I’d paid for, and left. Nothing in writing except my check and only $80 in question so a legal recourse would be silly. I have no idea whether he does this to everybody or just pulls it on old ladies he can buffalo but it pisses me off. If I hadn’t wanted a cord, I’d have ordered a rick – and split that $80 between PDNC, Aji, arabian, and jtg. Sigh.

    Like President Obama, I’m puttin”g my faith in the ability of the institutions – the Great Experiment – to survive even this calamity. Someone at GOS was saying something (after Obama’s “disappointing” presser) needing a “hero narrative” but not going to get one. I told her that there are no hero narratives and there are no heros – we rewrite/make up history to create them because we want them, but just ask any even heavily-decorated vet or a “water protector” or Hillary who has fought for kids and families since before she got out of college. After the fact we call such people heroes but they’re just ordinary people of good heart doing the best they can in a bad situation. Just like our parents/grandparents in WWII whether they “fought” in the battlefields or the Home Front – somebody started calling them the “greatest generation” but they themselves never did and didn’t like it. Just ordinary people of good will doing their duties in bad times. And we outnumber the Haters. So we will ultimately win. Just like we did in WWII.

    Heading to GOS. Need to start writing my Saturday Helping Street Prophets. And set up a “draft do not publish” of the template as mettle fatigue is going to start doing weekly showcases of different sections of the Kos Katalogue and wants to finish up with the folks on my list who are vendors supplementing Social Security or Disability with their sales or other “special” situations – like Wings jewelry and photography sales not only IS their income but it’s also part of covering building expenses the fundraiser does/will not.

  14. That’s terrible about the nasty woodcutter. If you had a neighborhood online network, you could give him a bad rap, or if you have a local version of Yelp, you could use that.

    I hate people who double-cross their customers.

    • It’s hard work, but there’s honest and then there’s not. sigh. I’m trading out the too big pieces to the disabled vet down the street who does my yard work. (By trading I mean I’m giving them to him and he may or may not give me back something actually burnable – but him I know about and walk into deals with my eyes open). Yeah, the double cross is worse when I’m trying so hard to deal with small business and local vendors.

  15. Not sure anybody’ll see this, but my younger son just called – they’ll be over as soon as they’ve unloaded at the hotel (and cleaned the kids up) – which reminded me that with the family celebration tomorrow I may not be online until evening if at all. So sort of checking in ahead of time. heh. Take care and moar {{{HUGS}}}

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