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 is HERE!
– Page Two of Comments is HERE!
65 heading for 85, 89% humidity, and mostly sunny. Mostly. Yesterday clouds moved in during the afternoon so I only got 16.75 KWHs but the m-t-d (with this morning’s driblet) is 74 so if it stays sunny today we should get to the mid 90s and reach our first 100 sometime tomorrow. IF. Needed the car today so took my friend to work. Credit Union to get cash for the Farmers Market and the yard guy, leaving shortly for an appointment with my insurance agent, just stuff. Today feels like Monday since I did my Sunday chores yesterday. Patterns, routines, rhythms of living – built on the heartbeat/drum beat foundation, Life is a song for singing.
Ignoring the “sturm und drang” that is our political/national scene at the moment – at least as much as possible. Just about everything in that arena is OMGHOF-oh, not that bad-acceptance of minor evil because it’s not the major evil originally tweeted. Rinse, repeat. Daily. Sometimes hourly. Evil is taking over as a rising flood rather than the tsunami – and largely because people are reacting in panic to the threat of tsunami rather than steadily and methodically filling and piling sandbags to deal with the rising flood waters. Supporting Dems, Dem candidates – doing the boots on the ground organizing and GOTV – that’s the steady and methodical work we need to be doing. And are in many places – even as the “purists” are stealing our sand and some of the bags and throwing them in the river. Don’t know who will win, but I know what wins – calm, steady, methodical work. Which can actually be fun, or at least feel good, when the team is working together and supporting each other physically and emotionally as they do it.
So. I need to do a quick pass around the internet then get out the door to my insurance agent’s office. (Another company has sent me a quote for over $300 less – I’m giving my agent a chance to “meet or beat” before I change.) Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 58 and cloudy in Bellingham. Another sleepy and slow morning, but I’ve got a dentist appointment so I need to get moving regardless.
Best wishes to all.
Wednesday Meese
51 going up to 71 here in NYS
Tried to stay awake long enough to catch the CA primary results – and couldn’t. Woke up, looked at twitter and am grinning
They said that the results of some of the close California races won’t be known until after Saturday when absentee ballots are due. I went to bed before the polls even closed there so my news is all from this morning. I hope to be able to get my work projects done so I can read the news.
Apparently TheirRevolution got shut out in New Jersey – people don’t want to throw their votes away when we need to win every seat we can in November. Their platform is based on anger against the Democratic Party and that only resonates with the most berned out voters unable to get past the fact that their candidate lost the nomination in 2016. Meh.
Yup – Jersey voters pretty much ignored them :)
Puerto Rico
Good morning, meese! Wednesday …
It is 52 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 75. Sunny this morning then clouding up – chance of thunderstorms in the evening.
There was a lot of overnight news to digest related to elections. A state Senate seat in Missouri flipped red to blue in a special election. The seat was a Trump+5 but Jason Kander had won that seat in the past so the roots were purple. Still a huge pickup given the margin of victory. The California judge who sentenced the Stanford rapist to 6 months in jail because “rape is not a real crime and he suffered enough!!” was recalled. Good. I remember reading the woman’s story and it is good to see her get some semblance of vindication. A Native American woman won the Democratic nomination for a House seat in New Mexico and is on track to become the first Native American woman in Congress.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, Moosekind and a beautiful one it is here in Northern Virginia, with a clear blue sky and sun gilding the tops of the trees. Currently it’s 59 F., going up to 68 F. later—most unusual for June. The promised deluge at evening rush hour yesterday did not happen, but never mind. We’ve had quite enough rain for the present.
Today is the anniversary of D-Day, Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944, that “great and awful morning” as one writer called it. The sky overhead was filled with the roar of airplanes, the sea heaved with ships and landing craft off the coast of Normandy. Those who died in defense of democracy would be pleased to know that millions voted yesterday.
It seems our side did very well, although I haven’t seen the latest statistics yet. Hope to get that later.
This morning I’m going to drive to Greenspring to comfort my poor friend, who is dealing with the aftermath of our friend’s passing on Monday night. She told me in an email that yesterday was horrible. Our friend’s remains will be cremated. That’s all I know right now.
Wishing a good day full of gloating to everyone at the Moose Pond!
{{{Diana}}} – Healing Energy to you and your friend. Dealing with the aftermath of another’s passing is always horrible. Friends help. moar {{{HUGS}}}
It barely got below 80 last night, and the heat index this afternoon is expected to be 105. The good (?) news is it’s going to dry out in the next few days so the heat index won’t be as extreme. Otoh, it’s not going to rain, and we’re in a mild drought. It appears I didn’t win either drawing. Bummer. But watching it on periscope of something will be free, so I’m ok with it. A non-U2 earworm: Heal Me — really happy, poppy, bouncy love song from Snow Patrol.
Good morning meese. 56 with predicted high of 81. A bit cooler than the last few days but only a brief respite as triple digits are likely to return. Lots of things to do before my sister gets here a week from today.
{{{basket}}} – enjoy the slightly cooler weather & take care of yourself. Don’t run yourself ragged getting ready for your sister’s visit. You need to have enough energy left to enjoy her stay. 😁 moar {{{HUGS}}}
71 and 81% humidity, heading for 90, and sunny at the moment. Got 22 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 95.8 – probably won’t make 600 (never have thus far) but if this keeps up, it’ll be close. 😁
I went to bed before the primaries west of me came in. Totally happy about the east coast results. (I did hear about the “accidental” issue with ballots in CA. humph!) Good news all around – Feinstein & Pelosi are vindications and I’m really excited about the NM results – first Native woman in Congress! I’ll scrounge up a few bucks for her campaign, that’s for sure. & that flip in MO really feels good. Not that I think we can flip my district AR-03, but we might be able to flip one of the others if this keeps up. Nothing like a little hope to energize & get folks through the dark times. The light ahead is an opening in the tunnel, not an oncoming train.
Need to do my tour of the internet then get on some outside work while it’s cool enough to do it. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning bfitz and have a great day outside. ❤️
It was 54 when I got up this morning with a high of 66 today; we’re finally getting the spring that seemed to have bypassed us earlier. My whirlwind trip to OH went well yesterday…so well that I’m adding another costume to the mix, without seeking permission from the director first. I was only asked to do the animals for this production of Charlotte’s Web; the human costumes were being handled by a team of shoppers who were hitting the thrift stores in search of “homespun, rural, suggestive of the 1950s” apparel. It’s a valid approach, and one that I’ve used on numerous occasions in the past. But there is a problem with this approach. It’s divorced from the character and the actor, as the focus becomes finding something, anything that will fit. There’s not even a cohesive color palette, which should be the simplest of things to accomplish. Anyway, the girl playing Fern got stuck with the UGLIEST shift/housedress/potato sack with sleeves that I’ve ever seen…because it was the only thing that fit her. (She’s at that awkward pre-pubescent stage where she’s just very blocky; she’s not chunky per se, but there’s no variance in her measurements…her bust, waist, and hips measurements are all within an inch of each other.)
I saw this playing out on Sunday and watched as she struggled desperately to compose herself and not burst into tears. I’m usually pretty hardcore with child actors, since I’ve seen too many forget that they’re wearing a costume, not making a personal fashion statement. But in this case, the urge to cry was justified; about the only redeeming feature about this “dress” is the fabric and the top part has cute sleeves. I asked the director on Sunday if I could tackle the dress so it looked less matronly. I worked with the actor yesterday…adding a belt and looking to see if I could add some trim to emphasize the neckline. The poor kid was a real trouper and started getting a bit excited about the possibilities. But as I was driving home last night, it occurred to me that all I was doing was putting lipstick on a pig. So I started thinking about what I could do in the limited time I have left and decided that the only way to save this dress is to forget that it’s a dress. So I’m going to make a poodle skirt (sans poodle), show the director, and ask if I can cut off the dress to make it a blouse, and using some of the leftover fabric to make a belt. I think she’ll say yes; at this point, she just wants to have the costumes done. But if she says no, I’ll still have my Plan B of adding trim and maybe even a Peter Pan collar (which I’ll also have ready to go).
It broke my heart to see a an 11-year old already struggling with her body image (hearing her compare herself negatively to some of the string bean girls nearly brought me to tears). We really have to do better with and for our young girls.
DoReMI, you are so kind! I hope you can help that poor little girl. This culture really, really lets girls down.
{{{DoReMI}}} – bless you. I could have been that girl at that age. Actually I was. My hand-me-downs came from cousins who were younger but bigger (taller). Let’s just say I could wear them but they didn’t “fit” – and they definitely didn’t fit what the other kids were wearing. moar {{{HUGS}}}
I was all hand-me-downs from my sister, plus whatever my mom sewed. I don’t think I had a store bought dress until I was 5 or 6. One year, as a silent protest, I wore the same dress in my school picture that my sister had worn when she was in the same grade. I thought I was highlighting the unfairness/lack of fashion progress of it all, but unfortunately, when my parents figured out what I had done, they thought it was adorable. At that point, I ramped up to less-silent protests; it didn’t change much, but my mom did start taking me to the fabric store so I could at least pick out the fabric.
I should probably add that with the theatre kid, no one was being intentionally mean; it was more a case of harried and oblivious than anything else. But the one thing I’ve learned from costuming kids over the years is that you have to pay attention to their emotions, not their words. I also turn into the world’s biggest eavesdropper when I’m costuming kids, because far too often, they’re afraid to speak up, particularly to an adult they don’t know. I’ve been able to make tweaks to costumes that I wouldn’t have considered if not for either watching their body language after a fitting or overhearing an actor voice a complaint to a friend. I’ve heard people say that anyone can be a costumer (at the amateur level) if they can sew, and to a certain extent that’s true. But if you want to be a good costumer, paying attention and listening are necessary.
Do, you clearly rate up there with the best costumers!
Bless you.
My grandmother sewed and she made some of my clothes but while she did good quality work, they mostly looked like pink potato sacks with trim. My only serious rule about clothing comes from my childhood – fit in. Neat and appropriate if you want the longer version.
You are the kind of costumer – especially with the kids – well, you are a true blessing. I tried to be that kind of teacher and sometimes even managed it. Bless you some more. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meese! Thursday …
It is 59 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 79. Clouds this morning, clearing a little this afternoon but a possibility of showers overnight as a front moves through and brings thunderstorms tomorrow.
After reading the news accounts, it looks like the California primary turned out well. We only got shut out of one House seat that we were hoping to contest (although as a Trump+15, it was a long shot). The New Jersey Senate race will give people some heartburn but only if New Jersey is in the mood to elect a pharmaceutical executive – I hope not! One twitterpundit suggested that people who are saying that primary day 6/5 was bad for Democrats is essentially full of crap. Don’t pay attention to Generic Ballots – we have some real matchups now.
A quick scan of my news aggregator shows good news out of San Diego where a judge is allowing an ACLU lawsuit against the Trump border policy to proceed, calling the separation policy “brutal”. Yes, yes it is. The rest of the news is related to Republicans acting horribly and criminally and I have no room for those stories in my head any longer so I will ignore them.
See all y’all later!
I overslept this Thursday morning – was up till 2AM
Still have more writing to do
Puerto Rico
I look at that photo from the FEMA meeting and I wonder how long it will take post-Trump before the PTSD triggered by seeing the logos for any government agency subsides. I used to be proud of my government and confident that they would not try to actively harm me but that has all ended.
Record heat again, we’re not supposed to have consistent 100s yet. Sigh. So many things going on that would be administration-ending any other time. Time to rev up the Resistance, playing Empress from my other favorite band
Good morning, Meese! I’m late to the party today—finding it very difficult to get moving. Also, I’ve been fading at 9 p.m. the last couple of nights. (Possibly this is related to traveling 3000 miles in one weekend.) We don’t have quite as beautiful a day as yesterday; in fact, yesterday was downright chilly in the evening! At the moment in Ashburn it’s partly cloudy with weak sunlight. Currently the temp. is 59 F., going up to 78 F. later.
Have some unpleasant tasks to do today, disputing a recurring charge on my credit card and investigating a couple of unauthorized charges at Amazon. I don’t remember being drugged and forced to sign up for an Instagram account with a recurring charge. I don’t use Instagram. When I called the company the man who answered refused to say what “RapidSave” was (it was the credit card company that revealed it was Instagram), put me on hold, then hung up on me. I’m ready to cancel that card.
Had a good visit with my friend yesterday. She stated that I’m one of the only two people she can really relax with, the other being her son. Her son and I knew our departed friend better than anyone else. Part of helping people through grief is just listening, and I’m good at that.
This morning is library morning, which means the public library people drive up in a little van with our library books. One can live here quite happily without ever driving a car at all, which has led several residents to sell their second cars.
As usual, the Washington Poop is pretending that the Dems didn’t really have as big a night as all that, and there’s going to be a blue ripple in November rather than a blue tsunami. Dirtbags.
Wishing everyone a peaceful day, with no 30-inch garter snakes crawling out of their cars’ vent pipes. This happened to a discomfited resident of Rappahannock County in Virginia!
Good morning, 54 and cloudy in Bellingham. I was at the dentist again yesterday and I have a dilemma to resolve. I’m being urged have gum replacement surgery, but having experienced that misery once before I’m in no hurry to repeat it. So I’ve listened, consulted, and decided to defer the decision to the fall. After my sicko winter I need a few months of being relatively healthy again.
I have a flower dilemma too. We’re hosting a birthday lunch for our daughter on Saturday and the plan is to be outdoors, but the weather forecast says “light rain.” I think I’ll just make the arrangements for the patio tables regardless, and we can move indoors if necessary. But the tendency to worry and overthink things is always lurking!
Best wishes to all.
Same! All day every day for every darn thing!!
I hope the weather stays pleasant for you.
Hope it’s a great success on Saturday, princesspat!
72, 78% humidity, heading for 90. Sunny at the moment – yesterday afternoon clouds moved in holding my generation to 17.8 KWHs and I’m afraid it’s gonna do the same today. the m-t-d is 113.7 which is not bad by any stretch but won’t make it to 600. But the 600 is a “it would be nice” not an actual goal – which is the 568 we got in June 2015.
Politically speaking, while my volunteering and a little money will be here in NW AR, most of my monetary help is going to NM. Deb Haaland would/will be the first Native woman in Congress and hers is a voice we really need there. Trying to ignore the rest as best I can. Which is relatively easy as long as I stay off my twitter TL and stick to my mentions. 😁 Since what I mostly do twitter-wise is RT Denise’s and Aji’s stuff that really is easy. I hit my TL a couple of times a day to catch/RT whatever I see posting from Peeps at Moose or one of the Villages. That’s it. Helps keep me sane. Presupposing I am sane of course. 🤞 Anyway, need to do my internet sweep then see what I can do outside before the heat (& bugs) get to me. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Friday Meese
55 and damp here in NYS going up to 79
Working on a diary about Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day parade – which I hope you all tune in to – it wil be live streamed – help boost the ratings – which makes a statement about mainland interest
Posted
rec’d & shared
Thank you
Tweeted and retweeted.
have you seen this???? LMM raising money for PR, and Google is matching donations!
{{{ad}}} – thanks for bringing that here, helping to get the word out – I’ve RT’d & also chipped in a bit. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meese! Friday …
It is 59 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 72. The forecast calls for variable cloudiness. The rain appears to have held off for the time being which is good news as I have a busy day of driving around and being places.
I am trying to do a better job of sorting the news. For example, “Scott Pruitt sends aides to buy hand lotion” does not deserve a click but “EPA proposes rule to ignore chemical impact on air and water for cost-benefit analysis” does!
I was busy most of the day but when I got on Twitter to check the news last night Legal Twitter was lit. The “Justice” Department, in a break from 240 years of tradition, has decided to NOT defend a law passed by Congress. The Republican state attorneys general, working overtime to take health care away from millions, filed a frivolous lawsuit against the pre-existing conditions coverage in the ACA and the DOJ will not defend the law of the land. So probably the ACLU will have to step in again to protect American citizens and the rule of law. Shameful.
The G-7 should be renamed to G-6 so that the adults can work on important things while the toddler takes a nap. It was once the G-8 until Russia got booted out in 2014 – Trump can join Putin as another bad actor who is an untrustworthy global partner.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, Moosekind! It’s partly cloudy here in Ashburn, 61 F. right now, going up to 81 F. later. Tomorrow it’s going to rain, or so they allege.
“Old DC” is delirious this morning because of the Caps’ winning the Stanley Cup! I don’t pay attention to ice hockey, but I enjoy seeing other people happy. The TV news showed thousands filling the streets of DC last night and cheering—many thousands more than attended Thang’s inauguration, you betcha.
Also, too, Thang is going to Canada to insult Justin, who is 8,000 times better educated, sexier, and whatnot than Thang ever thought of being. People are saying the Hatchet Man is waiting until after the mid-terms before he starts unleashing indictment thunderbolts. Five more months until the mid-terms feels like five centuries.
There’s a “shred event” this morning at Great Oak Clubhouse—goody! This afternoon, if I’m awake, I may go to a writers’ group meeting. I hope it’s OK if I just show up. Of course, once these people find out what kind of fiction I write, they’ll boot me out forthwith. However, it might be amusing to meet other writers, even if only for a short time.
The news teams will soon be en route to Singa Pura, my beloved Lion City, for the summit. Wonder whether they’ll meet at Raffles? The mind boggles at the thought of these two Very Nasty Men meeting each other in person.
Smell Report: Can still smell it in my office, but the carpet cleaner is coming a week from today. Perhaps after that it’ll be GONE.
Wishing everyone a good day with no Friday five p.m. news dumps!
Hot & sticky, already at 6am. Breakfast, tea. I can’t believe Giuliani actually said those things out loud. Got a mirror, dude? 3rd marriage ending, cheated on every wife/girlfriend….. How do these awful, mean, selfish men find women to be with them?
I wasn’t a follower of either Kate Spade or Anthony Bourdain, but this really feels like a kick in the gut. I lost someone I loved dearly to suicide when I was in my 20s, it devastated me and I was just a friend. I never understood how someone could do that to their family. Today’s a good day for Life On Earth, a sweet gentle song:
{{{Becky}}} – suicide has no rhyme or reason – it comes from being in a black hole and not seeing any other way out. Part of being in that black hole is that you feel like your family will be better off without you. Doesn’t make sense. Means those here torture themselves with “if only…” and “if I’d just…” – those who think of it and don’t do it, don’t do it because they know this intellectually and manage to fight off the siren song of the black hole. moar {{{HUGS}}}