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?
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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.
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– Page One of Comments are HERE!
– Page Two of Comments are HERE!
Cold & rainy — highs in the 40s till the weekend. And there is supposed to be a hard freeze on NYE, I’ll have to gather & cover my plants. Going to 2nd viewing of Star Wars around noon, this time actually with my friend. Breakfast & local news. Dr. Who last night was great. Good send off for Capaldi — I loved how you could always tell how much he loved playing the part. So looking forward to the next Doctor. Happy, bouncy Christmas song: Oi To The World
If God came down on Christmas Day
I know exactly what He’d say
He’d say “Oi to the punks and Oi to the skins-
But Oi to the world and everybody wins!”
Just posted
Going to see if I can do one a day while I’m off from school
Good morning, Meeses. We’re all the way up to 1 degree here in the metro Detroit area; the dogs and humans will be spending most of the day inside (the cats already do, so they don’t get counted in this tally). I have a feeling the dogs would be happier if we had a giant litter box for their use. I have so many leftovers that I could stay in for the next week if it weren’t for that pesky work thing, but I’ll be grateful for today’s reprieve. Because of the cold, this will be me today:
23 at dawn – sunny and expected to get to 40 or so today. Love the sunny part. Got 4.5 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 137. If it stays sunny all day we should get close to 145 by sundown. Hope it both stays sunny and the wind dies down. I’ve got some outside work that’s needed to be done for over 2 months but I’ve either been too tired or the weather didn’t cooperate on the weekends. Now I don’t have to wait for weekends, but I still have to wait for the weather. With temps in the 40s I’ll be good for 15-minute stretches outside, lower temps less time of course. But I can get some measurable progress with 4 or 5 good 15-minute stretches.
Other than the outside work, today is a laid-back day. The cooking that will need to be done tomorrow isn’t needed yet today. And with the holidays pretty much over, including most of the clean up, there’s not a lot to do around the house. Sometime after Epiphany I’ll take the tree down and put up the decorations but that’s a job for then. Mostly it’s tend the fire, tend the cats, and remember to drink enough water (yes, I think of Puerto Rico with every glass) which I tend to forget to my body’s detriment. Cloud’s napping but Charlie has been taking advantage of me being home to demand some serious lap time (and in fact is on my lap as I type).
Evil Ones are being Evil. We shall see what we shall see about blocking that evil in 2018 – remembering that even delaying evil saves lives and is good. We’ve already started to take back Congress. We’re running more Dems for more seats than we have in decades. We’re putting boots on the ground with precinct-level organizing as we haven’t done in decades either. Boots on the ground is what it takes to win wars and elections – and this coming election, like the last ones, are truly battles and not contests. Lives depend on us winning. This is our duty. We will do it.
Heading back to twitter for a short while and to DK to read Denise’s diary – I’ve retweeted it but I haven’t read it yet. LOL. And of course to check in with the Villages. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 30 and cloudy in Bellingham. I’m in a sleepy post Christmas daze today….lots of fun but I’m weary! My kids gave me a great gift, a small Bose blue tooth speaker, so lingering upstairs with coffee and music is even more inviting. It’s very portable and the sound is wonderful so when I do start my day the music can go with me.
Hope it’s a good day for all.
{{{princesspat}}} being able to take your music with you, however you can do it, is a true blessing and a wonderful gift. Music is one of the easiest ways to connect to the Universe because Life is a song for singing. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meese! Wednesday …
It is -8 in Madison with an expected daytime high of 5. The wind chill is 18 below. The cold will continue overnight with snow expected tomorrow and Friday.
My light intake of the news is being helped by my swearing off 2017 retrospectives: ::skip:: ::nope:: ::no way in hell!::. I was glad to see yesterday that the election court in Virginia’s “tied” district is rethinking the damage they are doing to the recount process. I find that surprising because I am sure they are Republicans and winning at all costs generally overrides any concerns about respecting rules. But apparently they realized that the optics of “I was fine with tossing this ballot but when I realized that it might tie the race, I decided – after the fact – that I was wrong” were pretty bad. I hope they declare the ballot spoiled; it is clearly an overvote and to try to determine which oval to count based on the voter’s other picks is a perversion of the process. I would have liked to have the little old Jewish ladies in Dade County have their butterfly ballots looked at in 2000 and have someone decide that they could not possibly have wanted Pat Buchanan to be president. But a vote – or a spoiled ballot – is a vote. If the voter was unwilling to go to the check-in desk and tell them he spoiled his ballot and needed a new one, then his candidate loses. Would I feel the same way if it was our candidate down by one with the balance of the Virginia House of Delegates in play? I am not sure. But in this case the election court clearly made an exception that they should not have made and that is what the argument should be about.
My errands yesterday threw off my schedule and I need to put my nose to the grindstone today. I am rapidly running out of 2017!
See all y’all later!
Wednesday Meese – the big chill has struck the northeast with an icy grip
We are well below zero wind chill – 7 degrees temp – they are predicting it will get worse during the rest of the week.
So glad I don’t have to go outside – feel bad for the hubby.
I don’t watch reality tv – but was curious when I saw promos on twitter for CNBC’s “The Profit” – hosted by a millionaire Lebanese American businessman Marcus Lemonis (who is a Democrat)
The show covered a lot of ground – what I think is important – is that it reached an audience that may not watch or read more lefty stuff.
If you get a chance give it a look
Good morning, Moosekind. Still dark as pitch at 6:07 a.m. Outside it’s 30 F., going up to 31 F. later, according to my weather gadget. Like the rest of the country, NoVa is in the deep freeze.
Yesterday, after working out with my trainer, I came home and did nothing but stare and sleep. Luckily, Miss Pink Cheeks at nearly 9 years old can entertain herself—she brought her Kindle and her art supplies. And after an afternoon nap I actually felt a bit better.
In two hours I have to drive to Arlington County to look after Mr. Toddler, who is recovering from whatever he had. On Christmas day he was a bit under the weather, so his parents put him to bed upstairs. Anyway, looking after this short person who’s in the process of abandoning afternoon naps will be my day!
Hope it’s a good day for everyone and that there won’t be any bad news.
It is really cold for us — 30s this morning, not getting out of the 40s today. This weekend I’ll need to schooch all my plants together & cover them because on NYE it’s supposed to get in the 20s. I should probably bring the basil in. Today should be interesting. We’ll either be swamped because we haven’t been here since Thursday or we’ll be absolutely dead. Probably swamped.
Read an interesting thread on twitter about affirmations for the coming year, one this person listed that was hers last year was “get out of your own way” which of course made me think of the song. And B-man said in the intro on this live BBC version that you preach what you need to hear.
Everywhere I went yesterday was swamped. One of my stops was to my quick oil change place to get my oil changed and – especially – get my fluids checked for cold weather. I pulled into a line with one other car in front of me and asked the woman how long the wait was. She said 3 hours and pointed at the 10 cars parked in the little parking lot behind me. Yikes! I left and will check again today, probably with a phone call first.
13 with a windchill of -2 here (explains a few things about how my hands and feet felt when I put out the morning birdseed) and mostly sunny at the moment. As far as electricity generation is concerned, yesterday was a very good day. Got 7.79 KWHs, 2nd highest for the month, and the m-t-d is 144.9 – if it stays sunny we should crest 150 today with 4 days left in the month. I didn’t get my outside work done yesterday as the windchill never got above 20 – all I went outside to do was feed birds and bring in more firewood. Today the actual temperature isn’t supposed to get above 20 and the windchill may or may not get above 10 so I’m not sure about getting that outdoor work done today either. We shall see what we shall see.
Haven’t checked twitter or DK yet, will in a minute or two. I haven’t had coffee yet (I have cocoa with breakfast) but there’s a sleeping cat on my lap so it may be a while. As with yesterday the only place in the house I’m really warm is sitting next to the fire, either in the rocking chair or on the hearth itself – depending on whether what wants the most warming is my feet or my back. :) Still learning twitter – I know “trending” is a good thing for whatever the topic is but to me all it means is I will see at least 15 rapidly repeated versions of whatever that topic happens to be – but I’ve discovered DM, and that you can group DM, and need to use that more. I’m putting responses to people in replies to their tweets most of the time and if the response is personal rather than a comment on the issue it really should be a DM. Twitter is keeping me a lot more aware of the specific evils the Evil Ones are up to which is not particularly good for my frame of mind. Harder to “warrior up” when I’m being slammed with not just evil but the specifics of evil. But I will. It’s my duty – and my joy – to support the “frontline troops” in this war on Evil.
Heading over to DK to check on Village stuff and whatever else is in my stream. Then to twitter for notifications and messages mostly. And coffee when the cat wakes up. :) Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Another Midwesterner checking in with subzero temperatures. When I got up this morning, it was -8; my phone tells me that the temp has climbed to 8, which is supposed to be our high for today. I dug out my winter hiking boots to wear to work today, because they’re my warmest shoes (my office is over an unheated, uninsulated crawl space, and I struggle to keep my feet warm during the winter). So I look like a Business Professional Lumberjack today and probably will for the rest of the work week.
I just saw on Twitter that Gallup has released their poll, showing that President Obama and Sec. Clinton continue to be the most admired man and woman in the U.S. No surprise to me, but I expect twoutrage to commence in 3-2-1.
I will ignore that, particularly since I received an unexpected parcel in the mail this morning…nothing can destroy my good mood now. The package shouldn’t have been unexpected; it was a bracelet and earrings I’d ordered from Wings before my daughter’s wedding (late October) and then promptly forgot about. It got delayed on their end because of life: their wedding, Aji’s illness, etc keeping Wings out of his studio. It was like receiving a holiday gift for myself, and because I’m apparently a total airhead, it was a total surprise.
{{{DoReMI}}} – and again good for you in ordering something for yourself. Even better for you in getting something of Spirit to match your own. And it’s kind of neat that your own life was so busy you’d forgotten about it and it was a surprise. Gifts of Spirit in whatever form should always be a delightful surprise. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 30 and snow/rain in Bellingham. I hope my post Christmas crash is over but I’m just waking up so I may need another day. Thankfully my knees feel better this morning.
Time to find some coffee. Take care everyone.
{{{princesspat}}} – Healing Energy and also rest. This is the time of year when the body wants the Healing power of rest to make up for whatever the previous season brought and to prepare for what the next season brings. It is normal and natural to want more rest right now – fighting it is like trying to take an unwilling cat for a walk on a leash. It can be done but it spends a lot more energy than it’s worth. :) moar {{{HUGS}}}
Thursday Meese.
8 degrees here in Saugerties NY – wind chill makes it sub-zero. Going up to a “high” of 16.
Writing for deadline (with mittens on)
Sigh.
PR
Logging in has been a pain – it takes me several attempts to post
Denise, how awful, having to type with mittens on! And yes, why is the Moose so skittish? One doesn’t have such a problem with other sites. We’ll never know.
Hope you can get the house warmed up sufficiently to take the gloves off—in more ways than one!
It is frightening about Puerto Rico. It’s reminding me of Russell Blake’s dystopic novels: all it takes are a couple of hurricanes to ruin civilizations, forget nuclear war. Once the grid goes down, that’s it. This could happen to us all if Thing and the rest of the kakistocracy remain in power and bring about another, and worse, Great Depression. “No help from the government” would be the watchword of the day.
Sorry for the login problems. It goes in cycles and I think is related to other site’s cookies confusing the Moose WordPress. Free software comes with glitches. I am also one major upgrade behind and need to set aside time to run the update. Maybe some quiet Sunday.
I have the Roy Moore lawsuit story up in a tab to read. I follow Rick Hasen, an expert on election law, and he has said in the past that the likelihood of a lawsuit blocking certification is slim. And, if I recall, the Senate decides. If the state won’t certify the election because the outcome did not please them, the Senate can vote to override them. I guess I better hit Twitter and find out what people are saying. Like I need another assault on democracy to worry about!! :)
The Alabama Secretary of State is not impressed by Roy Moore’s lawsuit:
Yay, John Merrill! He evidently believes in the rule of law.
It took him a while to come around. His first reaction after the election was to try to find some way any way to not have to certify. The public outcry shut him up. He actually blocked Rick Hasen on Twitter for asking a question about the process! Snowflake.
Good morning, Moosekind. It’s not as cold here in Virginia as it is in the Catskills where Denise lives, but here we are at 13 F., going up to a whopping 25 F. later. Despite the excited predictions of the online newspaper, it’s bone-dry and will remain so. No lake effect snow for us!
Right now it’s still dark. Yesterday I enjoyed driving through the still grey December morning with hardly any traffic about. Anyone with children has had to take the last couple of weeks off from work, or else work at home. Mr. Toddler was his usual lively self and wore us both out. After lunch I took him up to the nursery for a story reading-and-rocking session; when my DIL came up after half an hour to check on us, she found us both asleep!
Was able to leave after that, so arrived home much earlier than I’d expected to.
Today I’ll have Miss Pink Cheeks here but will have to leave her with Grandpa while I go to the gym. This evening Elder Son and DIL will drop off Mr. Toddler with us while they go out to dinner at a restaurant down the road. Mr. T. adores Miss Pink Cheeks, so aside from feeding them dinner, I won’t have to entertain them—they’ll take care of that themselves.
Wishing all a peaceful day with no bad news.
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 1 degree in Madison with an expected daytime high of 9. We are expecting flurries and snow showers throughout the day. The highs will not be into the double digits for at least the next 5 days so we are hunkering down. I need to get my car in for that oil change and fluid check today even if it means sitting there for an hour. Yesterday I called around mid-day and the wait was 90 minutes.
A quick check of the news showed that it is pretty much the same as yesterday evening’s news which I was scanning off and on. People subject to the Blue State Taxes that the red state Republicans imposed on them are trying to pay their property taxes early to take advantage of the deductions on 2017 taxes. I hope they can get that done. If they can, they may just be hit with the tax for 2 years since we can repeal that atrocity in 2021: House Bill 1 – Repeal The Assholish Blue State Taxes Act introduced by Speaker Pelosi.
Can someone explain to me why Bill DeBlasio is having Bernie Sanders swear him in as Mayor of New York City??!? People need to quit acting like Sanders is some kind of elder statesman – he is a narcissistic destroyer, not much different from Donald Trump in his relentless focus on himself to the exclusion of all others.
See all y’all later!
Jan, completely agree about St. Bernard, and here’s wishing you luck with your oil change today!
Brrr! Another day of no sun & it won’t get out of the 40s. Yesterday there were only 2 of us answering the phones, supervisors had to dial in & help, it was still insane. Going to use happy, bouncy You’re The Best Thing to get me through the day.
I found this article encouraging. One of the more disheartening results of the 2016 election was the theft of the Supreme Court seat and that the Republicans now have free rein to remake the federal court system. Zoe Tillman from Buzzfeed shares some data to help ease that pain somewhat:
It is sad that we could not make any advances (particularly in the 7th Circuit where an Obama appointee had to be withdrawn because chump Pat Leahy was seduced by “blue slip” comity) but this helps:
What I find also encouraging is that judges appointed by Ronald Reagan and even George W. Bush are not toeing the Republican line. One of the judges who demanded that the EPA write new lead paint rules now and not wait 6 years was a George W. Bush appointee. The Obama judges are reliably competent jurists so if they can convince their pre-Trump Republican colleagues to not dismantle democracy, maybe the damage will be minimal.
It was 18 around midnight so my weather widget tells me but rose to 23 by dawn and supposedly heading for 40 which I’ll believe when I see. Definitely didn’t get any outside work done yesterday except feeding birds and bringing in wood. Got 6.3 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 151.3 – with 4 days left in the month we might make it to 170 but at least we’ve already made the 150 (beating out last year’s 149.1) – currently we have the cloudy part of partly cloudy. I hope it clears off and we get more sunshine.
Having problems with my eyes – partly strain (not sure if it’s not enough light when I’m online or that the laptop hurts my eyes more than the desktop at work did) – partly can’t wear my glasses right now. The new frame is rubbing blisters on the bridge of my nose so I’m not wearing them today. I need to see what can be done about that. Paying out over $400 for glasses I can’t wear is an affront to my frugal soul. I do wish I knew how to make the font size bigger. That would help (as long as it wasn’t so big I had to scroll left and right to read anything).
Gonna check the Village at DK and also Twitter. I can’t do community over there but at least I can RT stuff like Denise’s Puerto Rico tweets. And I can point out that bernie is not a Dem without fear of being banned. Of course for all my care in not saying stuff like that over at DK I got banned anyway. sigh. Oh well. Bright the day , Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
If you are on a browser, you can press CTRL then + to embiggen the screen (press CTRL then – to make it smaller.)
That works! I need to write that down somewhere so I don’t forget it. :) Thanks and {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 33 and raining in Bellingham. Yesterday’s snow flurries were pretty but didn’t last long and that’s fine with me.
I feel sneezy and achy this morning so I’m going to stay quiet and hope I avoid the bad cold that others in the family have been experiencing. I want to start reading a new book but napping is easier on my eyes.
Hope it’s a restful day for all.
It was -6 when I got up this morning but has made it up to 9 degrees already; the high is supposed to be 14, but I have my doubts we’ll reach that. I refuse to join the chorus of voices complaining about the cold (yet), because I so clearly remember a few winters back when the temps were not just sub-zero, but ridiculously so. Waking up to -6 is a lot better than waking up to -30.
I work today and tomorrow and then have off until next Wednesday. I’m going to spend the weekend trying my hands at a craft project. I’ve seen ideas on Pinterest showing how to use recycled toys, glued to a lamp, and finally spray painted in one color. My daughter’s wedding centerpieces were vases filled with either toy dinosaurs or Lego bricks, and although a gratifying number of guests took them home with them, she still had a substantial number left. I snagged them when we were visiting for the holidays, and I’m going to attempt the lamp project. I’m the least crafty person in the world, so this will be…interesting. My husband, on the other hand, is very good at this sort of thing, so if it looks like I’m headed towards Pinterest Fail, he’s likely to step in and save the day. The spray painting will have to wait until warmer weather, but it would be nice to get all the gluing done this weekend and end 2017 with a productive bang.
We can complain about the cold because it is our right as Midwesterners but you are correct – this is not the worst winter or even in the top 20. I remember a winter back in the mid-80s where we had wind chills in the 50 to 60 below zero range every weekend for a month. We have been pretty lucky so far this year.
I was still living in Scotland then, so I missed that. I do remember the winter of 92? 93? when we had an extended deep freeze here in MI. School was out for a week, because it was dangerously cold. When spring arrived, it became obvious that the cold had taken its toll…not a single peach tree survived in a 20-or-so-mile radius from my house. I lost two in my backyard which was sad; orchards lost their entire stock, which was devastating. Fortunately, this is more of an apple area than a peach area, so very few orchards were 100% reliant on peaches, and somehow the apple trees survived. But it was still a huge financial hit for area growers.