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 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!
Good morning meese, it’s 55 with a predicted high of 80. I am up early for a work call although I’m not still fully awake. This is going to be interesting…
I was able to officially announce my performance debut at the ragtime festival on Twitter. The responses were wonderful 💜
Ragtime Festival web site: https://www.westcoastragtime.com
{{{basket}}}
Yay, basket!
Good morning, 62 and raining in Bellingham. I’ve got a hydrangea bouquet in mind but I’m going to wait until the rain eases. I tried to ignore pouring rain on Sunday and made a very tattered and wet arrangement so no need to repeat that experience. My jacket is still dripping dry in the garage!
I need a day off from tRump/election worries so I’m going to try to stay occupied with home and garden tasks. Best wishes to all.
{{{princesspat}}} Flowers are life affirming. Any/all of the Rs are most certainly not. Much healthier to stay with the flowers. Healing Energy & more {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 63 degrees in Madison with a daytime high of 81. Mostly sunny skies with rain expected in the evening.
I was following the Lewandowski “testimony” on Twitter yesterday and, seriously, if this is the “compelling TV” that House Democrats think will inspire Americans to support their move for impeachment, they are delusional. A parade of “fk you, we won’t answer your questions” – in 5 minute bits as members pose for the cameras – is NOT how you lay the groundwork for articles of impeachment. House leadership needs to seriously rethink this strategy. They need to set up something that sidelines the preeners and posers from both parties and puts professionals in charge of questioning. They gave Lewandowski a free commercial for his Senate run. Foolish.
I am going to go news-lite today to make a dent in the stack of projects that needs serious attention.
See all y’all later!
Wednesday Meese. 52 going up to 71 here in the Catskills of NY.
I’m about ready to throw my hands up in the air and just scream
Since there was almost zero news about Puerto Rico in the mainland media – I got up this morning and retweeted older articles – including some of my own with new toplines
The male-dominated media is incapable of empathy. They can’t imagine what it would be like to live without money and without white male privilege. They never have any trouble going to the doctor, so the possibility of not having access never enters their minds.
It makes me wonder whether a female-dominated media organization and a female-majority Congress would have acted positively long ago. Of course there are women like the loathsome Joni Ernst, but I’d like to think she’s a member of a minority.
We didn’t get any rain yesterday, and little chance the rest of the week. The storm landed too far east, we’re on the dry side. There’s some complicated meteorological reason why we might get rain tomorrow, but if you tell me things at 5am, they have to be simple, so I don’t remember the reason. I entered a contest yesterday, for tickets to the U2 concert in Sydney. Hope I don’t win, because then I’d have to get a 2nd job to pay for airfare & hotel. And the way the economy is, it’s not like you can just apply at the local grocery store. Anyway, most of this week is about the Walk. The good thing about it not raining is that it won’t interfere with that. I’m leaving early today to pick up my t-shirt, going to wear it with my gold sparkly sport skirt. And here, listen to U2 doing Ultraviolet — love the speech at the beginning about women who resisted & persisted.
Good Woden’s Day morning, Moosekind, and a beautiful morning it is, too. It’s 59 delightful degrees F. in Ashburn, with blue skies and sunlight. The humidity is low and our high will be about 75 F. Bliss!
Less blissful was my night from hell last night. Did everything right: walked more than an hour in the morning, limited my caffeine to one cup each of coffee and tea in the morning, went to bed at 9:30 with a book, applied magickal sleep cream and lavender oil, used yellow glasses to read the book on my Kindle app. Turned out the light at 10:30. At 1:30 a.m. I was still wide awake. I am tho pithed off I don’t know where to look! I’m trying to think of a safe sleeping pill, but I dunno…my insomnia seems intractable. If I seem extra bitchy today, you’ll know why.
Feeling terrible about the lawlessness of the Rethugs. They defy subpoenas, refuse to testify, commit numerous offenses, and they get away with it! I feel like the frog in the slowly simmering cauldron.
Well, I’ve got plenty to do today if I can stay awake long enough to do it, so will wish a good day to everyone at the Pond.
Things I try: 1. make a big pot of sleepy-making tea (1 bag of several kinds like Sleepytime, Calm, Bedtime, lavender, etc) and drink with dinner. I’ve found that they blend well together & don’t need sweetening. 2. ocean waves or rain sounds – either in an app or a CD on repeat. I picture the thoughts in my head being washed away by the water. 3. if the thoughts really, really won’t shut up, I pick a small but random number like 7 and count. I pick a random one so my mind won’t try to add up how much I’ve really counted to, thus how much time has passed.
hope some of those help!
Thanks bigly, anotherdemocrat! I’ve been told “no liquids after 6 p.m.,” so that one is out. However, the ocean waves thing is great! I noticed I had no problem sleeping at the beach because we left the door to the balcony open so we could enjoy the sound of the waves. I’ll look for a wave machine.
Walking an hour a day is also helping a bit.
{{{Diana}}} – I hear ya on the bad night sleeping. I do know what my problem is – sinusitis, exacerbated by pollen lately – but I’m dealing with 4 or less hours of sleep a night on an unfortunately regular basis. Not as bad or as often as anotherdemocrat and you, but since last night was one of those nights…Healing Energy to us all. (As to the Rs, they will do that as long as they are in power. Just like the KKK didn’t worry about lynchings as long as members of the KKK were the law enforcement, judges, & juries. We stop the lawlessness by getting them out of power.) moar {{{HUGS}}}
It was 66 overnight and we’re heading for the low 90s again. Still mostly sunny with the clouds moving in during the afternoon. We got 13.3 KWHs yesterday and the m-t-d is 234 – still on track. Which is about the only promising thing going on at the moment. The Congressional hearings yesterday certainly weren’t. I don’t even know what that was about other than showing people who don’t think Congress is doing anything that yes, they are doing stuff, following the legal procedures that can lead to the impeachment the screamers say they want right now! as if that would stop any of the things they keep screaming about impeachment for. And of my friends nobody’s health or financial situations are getting better. Most are getting worse. & I can’t do anything about that either. sigh. Guess I’ll look around the internets then get my walk in early before it heats up. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, Meesefolk; 54 when I got up and going up to 77 today. We have a mini-heat wave approaching with temperatures both here and in Ohio going up to the mid-80s. Normally, I would be grumbling a bit about that in mid-to-late September, but Kiddo’s house has AC if it gets too hot, so no grumbling this time around.
I got in this morning to discover that Boss had tried to write a letter and screwed up the settings on the software somehow. He’s done this before, and while I can fix it, I can’t for the life of me figure out what he is doing. I was tempted to not fix the problem this time, but it would have messed with my ability to write cover letters, so this time it’s fixed. But I’m hoping that he screws things up again just before I leave so I don’t feel the need to fix it. I never knew I had such a vindictive streak until now!
I took several online assessments yesterday and decided to practice some radical honesty. I figure as long as I can collect 20 weeks of unemployment, this early in the process I can afford to take the risk. So despite the fact that one of the jobs, a sales support position, used words like driven and goal-oriented, but I made it very clear that I’m not that person. My goal orientation is very internal, as is my drive. So external incentives don’t really work with me, and I saw no reason to pretend otherwise. Besides, I’ve worked in sales support positions before, and I have yet to meet a salesperson that wants someone on their team who is functioning as a competitor, which is what the “driven and goal-oriented” questions implied. I won’t be doing this with every assessment I end up doing, but since this job was at the very edge of my driving radius, I decided to give myself the pleasure of not playing the game. At some point, I may look back and kick myself, but right now I am quite sincere when I say I’d rather work at the local gas station/party store than twist myself into knots of stress to fit someone’s mold. This is my “I shall wear purple” moment; we’ll see if it lasts!
Good day to and for all!
{{{DoReMI}}} – Here’s to “wearing purple” ✨👍🎵💖😁 – Holding the Good Thought on the “right” income-producing situation coming to you. (& fantasizing about minor pettiness in the face of major pettiness if not down right abuse is good for your mental health.) moar {{{HUGS}}}
That’s interesting, DoReMI! I still receive notifications of writing or editing jobs (Goddess knows why), practically all of which are goal-driven bla bla bla and 99 percent of which are in locations I’d never consider commuting to. As much as I’d like to earn some money, it always comes down to this: I really don’t want to do anything but what I do.
The only job for which anyone seems willing to pay me nowadays is child-tending, and it’s sporadic. However, the children involved are so delightful it doesn’t seem like a chore at all.
That wouldn’t be the solution for you, though. I’ve often wished for a Computer Hand-Holder who’d waltz around the neighborhood helping the technologically inept to do things on line. There’s a kid here who supposedly does that but we’ve employed him twice and he doesn’t know what he’s doing. The problem is, you need something steady.
Your approach to your job search is interesting to read about! It sounds like you have the code words down and can avoid the types of jobs that won’t really suit you. Your boss sounds like a real piece of work. I have had clients like that, men confident that they don’t need to understand how technology works who barge in and wreck things. I charge them for every second of time it takes to fix the messes they create hoping it will deter them; it rarely does. I say “men” because while women sometimes have this attitude it is rare – most women understand that technology is set up a certain way for a reason and don’t feel the need to assert their superiority over it!
My approach to job searching will probably change dramatically the longer it goes on (and panic sets in!). But right now, I’m not feeling particularly willing to compromise: I’m not willing to drive more than 30 miles one way (and would prefer much less); I’m not willing to pretend I’m cutthroat when I’m not; I’m just not willing to pretend, period. If I find I’m getting no nibbles or I see signs that a MI/UAW/GM recession is setting in, I may need to change either my approach or the types of jobs I’m looking at, but I’m not there yet. Finding this stubborn streak in me is amusing. I have always been a textbook conciliator who views compromise as a good thing, rather than selling out. Maybe it’s part of getting older, but at the moment, I’m feeling pretty darn uncompromising.
Good morning, 59 and cloudy in Bellingham. Thanks to the rain I was in my sewing room yesterday, muttering to myself about how memory fades. I used to know where all the basic measurement info in my files was but now I fumble around, recreate what I’m looking for, and then find the original info. Oh well, keeps me busy!
Last year I sewed for family, but this winter I want to make some new items for our home, and I want to use what I’ve got. The old needlepoint work I’ve saved for years may become new pillow covers if I can just stay focused :)
Best wishes to all, and as always my thanks for friendship and community.
{{{princesspat}}} ah, that memory thing! LOL. Using what you’ve got to make your home more comfortable and pleasant sounds like an excellent idea. Healing Energy & moar {{{HUGS}}}
I haven’t been in my sewing room for months, but I’m getting the itch again. I have some old needlepoint and candlewicking pieces in one of my stacks of “to be done…someday” projects; I picked them up years ago at the estate sale of one of the long-time members of my church who was someone I greatly admired (because of her character and because of her exquisite handwork). I never quite knew what I was going to do with them, and I mostly bought them as mementoes of my friend. But the mention of pillow covers reminded me that I still have them and that pillow covers would be a perfect use for them. Thank you!
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 70 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 77. Rain this morning and tonight with a chance of sun poking out this afternoon – I am going to guess it will be steamy and the air conditioning will stay on.
We are entering the silly time, when the way-too-many news outlets need to gin up controversy to get clicks. One headline screeched “Harris goes into Iowa as do-or-die moment”. Bull! She is not going to drop out if she doesn’t win Iowa and to suggest otherwise is journalistic malpractice. She has a plan and it has never involved “winning Iowa” nor does it need to. And good lord, it is September, still months away from when the first votes are cast anywhere. The latest breathless NBC/WSJ poll said that only 9% of the people surveyed had a locked-in candidate. That is the very definition of fluid. The ground game in the primary states is still the key and she is doing just fine. Giving the Iowa cacas such a powerful say in our nominating process is foolish and I hope this is the presidential election cycle that exposes their sham once and for all. We will not win Iowa in 2020, that is Trump country, old white people who hate city folk. Call it the joke it is – if it upsets Iowans, who cares, those 6 electoral votes are unlikely to decide the presidential race.
Going news-lite worked well for me yesterday and I will extend it into the weekend so that I can focus on project work.
See all y’all later!
Thursday Meese.
Coming up for air for a minute – have been pounding the keyboards since about 2AM writing for deadline.
45 here in the Catskills, going up to 72.
Well, it got to 101 yesterday & didn’t rain, but the weather guy is sure that today we’ll get rain & it’ll cool off. It was 78 driving in to work — at 5:30 am, so forgive my skepticism. I got some cash donations last night at me Democratic club meeting, so I’ll be leaving work early to take them to the office. I see in the news that Trump has committed treason again. Yawn. Must be a day ending in y. Reminds me of the video for Chocolate. People running around like crazy, the world is ending; pause to re-set and it starts again.
I’ve got a bunch of errands I’m just about to run off and do so this is a short check in. The low was 67, the high will be in the low 90s. Yesterday we got 13 KWHs and the m-t-d is 247. Rs are being Rs. Bye.
Good Thor’s Day, Meese! It’s a fantastic 61 F. here in Ashburn at 9:30 a.m., on its way up to 73 F. later. Guess who’s going to make Slow Cooker Beef Stew today! I have to pick Mr. K. and Miss Pink Cheeks at the school bus stop this afternoon, and stay with them until Mommy comes home at 5 or so. I then have a horrendous drive back here, so finding dinner ready will be blissful.
Happy to report that simply “practicing” to go on the 10-Day Sugar Detox Diet has caused me to lose 2.5 pounds since Monday. I can live without caffeine and sugar for 10 days. However, it’s a bit dreary to contemplate life afterwards with no dessert ever. At my age one has so few pleasures left: no alcohol, no tobacco, no weed (not that I’ve ever done that), and no, um, wossname.
First-world problem! I will probably give the news a miss today as I’ve got a heap of things to do.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Good morning, 55 and cloudy in Bellingham. I was in the garden yesterday and my legs are still unhappy so it was a long night and now another sleepy morning. Such is life! I did make a hydrangea bouquet but it’s not very interesting because I was just to tired.
So today will be a resting day, and tonight I’ll go with Ron to a community college event. He is the chairman of the foundation board this year so he will be busy and I’ll do what I can.
Best wishes to all.
Good afternoon, Meesefolk; 55 this morning and 77 today. The heat starts tomorrow, as does my trip to OH to the house with AC, so I say, “Bring it!”
I am sitting here more than a little bemused, because I have just applied for a job at one of the Most Hated Places in America, and I’m actually excited at the prospect. I’ve been looking at the listing for two straight days and laughing at the thought of ever working There. But I kept going back to the listing, and it occurred to me that might be my brain trying to tell me something. I talked to the Kiddo about it today, as she functions as my personal truth-teller when I need someone to help me figure out if I’ve lost my damn mind. She assured me that I wasn’t crazy, and in fact, the Job at the Most Hated Place in America was actually very much like my current position. So I took the plunge. I submitted an application to be an “aide” at the Michigan Department of State…which most people know as a counter clerk at the DMV.
I know this sounds downright bizarre, but it’s the first job I’ve applied for that has actually gotten me a bit excited. It’s more standing than I do now, longer hours (including occasional 1/2 days on Saturdays), and busier. But the pay is equivalent and maybe a bit more. The prospect of dealing with stressed or irate customers doesn’t faze me; part of my job now is to deal with the stressed or irate customers, so while it’s not always fun, it’s something I know I can do. These are the sorts of times when being a natural conciliator is actually a good thing; my ego isn’t involved, so my temper rarely engages. The cash handling part is probably less than what I do now. It just seemed like a natural fit, or at least falls into the “nothing ventured, nothing gained” category. In the meantime, it reminded me of this clip from Zootopia:
Good day to and for all!
{{{DoReMI}}} – the more good people in gummint jobs the better. That position is the “face of the state” to many people. I think it would be a good “fit” for you, too. more {{{HUGS}}}
I think this kind of job would be fine for those who go into it with no illusions (which is sounds like you would). I internalize anguish when someone tells me that their computer seems slow so I could never work in a job where every third or fourth person might have an issue that I can’t resolve to their satisfaction. In general I have found DOT workers here to be helpful – the few times I had to do tricky paperwork things, they have been patient as we worked through it.
Good luck!!
Friday Meese.
Woke up – pissed off. 2nd Anniversary of Maria today – very little in the news
Wrote this
And Puerto Rico suffers because of the white-eyed, orange-faced baboon. If one could but see him suffer as he has caused others to suffer!
We can hope for a three-fold return for him.
We did get rain yesterday — not like Houston, but we got plenty — and it still hit 100. And every day in the forecast has 100 or higher. I’m grateful that the AIDS Walk is in the morning, and not a 5K — I think we’re just marching up to the Capitol. If there’s a survey after, I’ll definitely say something about having it so early; last year it was in November & that was much better. Today’s song: Head Full of Dreams, because I love the speech.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 61 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 81. Chance of thunderstorms.
Does anyone really think that “Donald Trump cutting deal with foreign power to investigate his opponent in a presidential election” is somehow a “blockbuster” or “game changer” or “NOW, Republicans will have to care!” moment? It is what he did in 2016 and his party is fine with it – they can only win when they cheat and it does not matter if it compromises national security or trashes our standing in the world or breaks the law. And their mouthbreathing base certainly doesn’t care; they probably have no idea where Ukraine is or any history of the region. They care only about owning the libs and our reaction to it pumps them up.
Going back to news-lite as yesterday’s new projects set me back another two days on my plan to dig out from under a to-do stack that threatens to topple.
See all y’all later!
Good Freya’s Day morning, Moosekind, and a beautiful morning it is, too. The temp. in Ashburn is an incredible 49 F., going up to 81 F. today. We’ll have a hot weekend but at least the temperatures are on a downward trajectory.
Incidentally, our area is on track to experience the driest September ever. All my plants except the parsley, mint, and basil have died. Goodbye, lavender and Frondsy the Boston Fern!
Just reminded Dearly Beloved not to make any coffee for me this morning. No more until October first, Goddess bless that wonderful day.
Off to HQ at 10 to put in a few hours’ work before coming home to have a very late lunch and attend the Writers’ Group at 2:30. Then we’ll have an early dinner at the Pub down the hall before attending the Ashby Ponds Talent Show at 7. Mercifully, it lasts only an hour.
Feeling so discouraged about my candidate’s seeming plunge in the polls that I don’t want to think about politics today. Wishing a good day to all at Pond!