Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Apr. 5th through Apr. 11th

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?

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.

 

Page One of Comments is HERE!
 
Page Two of Comments is HERE!
 
Page Three of Comments is HERE!
 

 

22 Comments

  1. Good Friday. My church is having a service online, and we always do Easter up big, so I know there are plans for Sunday. Today I have to get in 8 hours of work and a walk. It’s supposed to be cooler, though — mid-70s, so that’ll be better.

    • {{{anotherdemocrat}}} enjoy the walk in the relatively cool weather. I know working from home is being challenging. Best I can figure out is that “management” expects folks to be more productive from home than at work just to prove they were worthy to allow to work at home. sigh. I hope your church’s Easter is both safe and meaningful for you. Healing Energy & more {{{HUGS}}}

  2. Good morning, 44 and mostly clear. I woke up to see the moon shining in my window so I went outside to the porch for awhile. It was nice to sit in the quiet moonlight. I wish I could convince a neighbor to replace their LED porch lights though. The cold blue light is very bright.

    We had to buy a new printer yesterday so we did so over the phone, called the store curbside, they put it in the trunk, and RonK brought it home. New ways of shopping! Getting it connected to the computers wasn’t easy, but after several muddled attempts I deleted all the old printer info and started over with the how to install program, read each step carefully, and then did as requested. For some reason it’s harder for Ron to just follow the prompts :)

    Best wishes to all on this beautiful morning in the PNW.

  3. It’s 40 heading for 62 but the sun is shining – and is supposed to shine all day. Hope the widget’s right this time. The last two days have been over 16 KWHs each and the m-t-d has gained to 97.8 – that’s on track for 300 and (barely) gaining towards 400. With just over 2/3 the month left to go and much of it predicted to be cloudy/rainy (potential for snow/wintry mix Tuesday!)…we shall see what we shall see.

    The deliberate “mismanagement” of the pandemic – that wouldn’t even be a pandemic if it weren’t for Rs’ deliberate “mismanagement” – is costing lives and economy. The Rs are gambling that since all diseases impact the impoverished hardest (& it’s an article of their Faith that BIPOC are mostly impoverished) their genocidal policy to make AmeriKKKa white will come at the cost of relatively few white people who should be honored to patriotically sacrifice themselves for the cause. & unfortunately way too many white people will consider themselves honored. sigh. (Especially if the “checks” come in September or October instead of now & have twitler’s name on them.) If the economy gets bad enough, the fascisti will put Dems in the WH for a term or two and give that Dem in the WH a good Dem Congress for 2 years. Just long enough to bring the economy back without being able to make the structural changes needed to both save lives and keep the economy strong. The horror I felt at this short-sighted evil during Nixon, the horrified astonishment I felt watching it get worse with each succeeding R president, has worn itself to depression. I just hang onto the faint hope that there are enough good and caring people working together that we can survive it.

    Of my personal friends/family, online and off, everybody’s hanging on. Everybody’s doing what they can – even when that is only staying home. Lots of worry. Every normal-for-the-season respiratory symptom is regarded with fear and sometimes panic. Everybody’s doing whatever their version of praying. Me, too, of course. Healing/Helping Energy to everybody. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

    • The IRS just put up a form that people who don’t file tax returns can use to give the government the banking information they need in order to get the money to people now instead of waiting for a twitler check. I am sure that Nancy Pelosi, who is in constant communication with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, had something to do with that. You should pass it on to those you know who don’t get direct deposits from other government programs and who don’t have to file a tax return. Here is the link: Payment Information for Non-Filers. If you just go to “irs.gov”, there is a big “button” on the page to get to the link. That should help! We have been promised the payments by 4/17 – we shall see.

  4. Good Friday morning, Moosekind, although it’s barely still morning—11:55 a.m. The wind is vile here, gusting up to 40 mph. During the night it pushed a heavy loveseat from the end wall of the screened porch out into the middle! Mind, this settee is not made of wicker. It’s not an outdoor piece of furniture at all. It’s just that when we moved here two years ago we had nowhere else to put it.

    The current temp. is 47 F. and it won’t get much higher. The winds will continue. No walk for me today.

    Had the Night from Hell in the green chair. I sweartagoddess, this is getting old. I can’t even blame the coronavirus: this was happening long before that hit. Because I had so little sleep, I feel very tired and will have to retire to the bedroom after lunch. This is ruining my plans for the day. I had hoped to get so much done!

    Our darling Elder Son drove all the way from Arlington County to here, which is 27 miles from where he lives and an hour-long drive (normally) to bring us some things we wanted. We now have extra tea, coffee, half-and-half, bread, lots of wine for Dearly, and TOILET PAPER! OMG, I am ecstatic! He also brought salad and Italian dressing, hand sanitizer, and English chocolate. So thoughtful of him!

    I am getting worried about Social Security payments. In view of widespread unemployment, will the payments still be made? It’s my understanding that what we receive every month comes from the payroll taxes of people who are currently working.

    One thing I did to help yesterday was to send money to the Loudoun County Food Bank. I also removed all the stuff we don’t eat (sweet cereal, pretzels, granola bars, and so forth) from the food delivery yesterday and took them to the fifth floor where our building angel has sacks set up right outside the elevators. Once a week she drives them to Cornerstones in Reston.

    Not much to say this morning except that I feel VERY depressed about the state of the country. Very. Wishing a quiet day to all.

    • {{{Diana}}} Social Security payments are made from the Social Security trust fund. Currently the balance is $2.9 Trillion. That’s made up of the monies you, I, and a whole lot of other folks put in there during our working lives, matched by our employers (even when that employer was ourselves), with the added compounded interest from being invested in Treasury notes. Current workers’ funds go into the trust fund to pay their own benefits later. During times like now the trust fund is being drawn down faster than it’s building up – but it still won’t hit the “need to reduce benefits” for another 10-15 years. And all it takes to “extend the life” of the trust fund (like forever) is for the economy to get going again so more money is coming in than going out. moar {{{HUGS}}}

    • Chin up, dear friend! Yesterday, I had large chunks of time where I actually did NOT think of the terrible mess we are in. I feel as though we can move the anxiety to a slow simmer on the back burner while we focus on other things – like the things you are doing, thinking about food banks and sending money and items to those who are in worse shape than us. I have a house and a steady income from Social Security and part-time work that is not likely to dry up all at once – I could live on SS alone, just not well. I do worry about a few of my clients whose businesses depend on customer contact but most of my client base is unlikely to shutter and the services I provide are both necessary and not too expensive in relative terms.

      As to sleep, I hear you! I feel like we are Insomniac Nation and that your pre-virus sleeping patterns are now all of us. I hope you can find relief here and there. At least you are not doing child care right now so that if sleep wants to overtake you in the middle of the day, you can give in. Stay safe!

  5. Good morning, meeses! Saturday …

    It is 43 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 57. Cloudy skies with a few patches of sun today but rain coming in this evening. Monday we are expecting blowing snow with points north getting possibly a foot or more. We generally have spring snow storms – and one would not expect this to stay on the ground for long – in April. I do believe that May snowstorms are more rare and I looked it up a few years ago – by mid-May, you can safely put your snow shovel away.

    The Weekly Democratic Party Address is by Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland. I am sure you will be shocked to discover that banks are following the letter but not the spirit of the CARES loan program – they are loaning money but only to businesses that have established relationships with them and, for some banks, only those who have previously borrowed money from them! That is what the dustup in the Senate was this past week – tRump wanted $250 billion in new loan guarantees for Mnuchin to dole out with no strings attached and no requirements. Speaker Pelosi and Democrats want a set aside in the next batch of money for underserved people and communities. That plus the Republicans were trying to ram through a bill with only loan money to avoid a vote on the other priorities the House has including more money for mail-in voting and more money for state and local government and health care. Speaker Pelosi did her Thursday press conference via a phone call again and the transcript will be in the Fighting Back post.

    Don’t miss RonK’s walk through the woods that he shared with us yesterday:

    A Forest is More Than An Assemblage of Trees.

    See all y’all later!

  6. Saturday Meese. 39 going up to 50 here in the Catskills.

    Have a post going up at 8:30 AM EST on the impact of Corona virus /racism on the black community. Bracing myself for the deniers.

    Also bad news for the Native American community:

    Navajo Nation

    Puerto Rico

    • Mike Pence’s pal from Indiana, who he hand-picked for Surgeon General, appears to be a Cosby clone – suggesting that black people only have themselves and their bad habits to blame for their deaths via COVID-19. Where do they get these guys willing to be the face of the most racist administration in the past 100 years and members of the white supremacist Republican Party? They are like Log Cabin Republicans, the self-loathing gay men who vote for the party that hates them and demonizes them to win elections. May karma bite all of these people in the ass – sooner rather than later.

    • The absolutely worst per capita number of cases per Aji’s nightly report is the Zia Pueblo. It’s tiny – 646 population as of the last census and had already confirmed over 30 cases earlier this week. The Indigenous population is like Puerto Rico – combines poverty, large population of high-risk folks, diddly healthcare, and a largely tourist-based economy. Not good.

    • Well, at least a few things seem to be breaking in Puerto Rico’s favor.

      That is terrible about the Navajo Nation! After all they did for us in WWII as well. Hope someone in Congress will think of them and take action.

  7. Another nice day, though severe storms expected overnight. So it’s actually a good thing that there won’t be any sunrise services. Today I need to get in 1.5 hours of work, and a good long walk. Went to the grocery store yesterday, it’s still hard to plan for how long that takes.

    • {{{another}}} – I tried to donate yesterday but for some reason while your page itself would load, the donate button wouldn’t. I’ll keep trying. (Have to find the link again first but I will.) Hope you have a good walk. moar {{{HUGS}}}

      • Do you have a pop-up blocker? Because I clicked on it & it came up in a new window. And thank you for donating!

  8. It’s 52 heading for 69 today. Started clear and sunny but has already clouded up. I’m hoping they clouds will clear off again but I’m not gonna bet on it. Yesterday we got 18.3 KWHs – highest for the year thus far – and the monthly is 116 which is on track for 300 and gaining on 400. Or was. Until the clouds moved in again. sigh. Another we shall see what we shall see.

    I have been watching this country shift into fascism since Nixon. Actually I’m more surprised that it’s taken them this long than that it’s happening. But this lot did learn from history. Consolidate each step before you take another. Make sure the foundation is massive and firm before making the final push. Those who rise too quickly fall as fast. That’s what they learned. Our team has been good at slowing them down and holding them off – but has never broken up the foundations they were building or destroyed their strongest weapon (MSM/propaganda machine). Even if we win (please goddess we win) in November and patch up the Ship of State one more time, if we do not break that weapon they will pick up where they left off as soon as we’ve restored the economy. Meanwhile they are using COVID-19 as another weapon, biological warfare, genocide. The BIPOC populations, LGBT, disabled – go down the list of Hitler’s targets, of the “eugenics” movements’ targets. We’re all in the crosshairs again. Aid withheld. Equipment stolen and sold to RW sycophants/allies. Overriding safety rules put in place locally.

    So we do what can to survive and help others survive. We pray, invoke, channel or whatever our particular Traditions teach to bring in metaphysical by whatever name help in our fight against pure evil. We support our spirits with beauty, joy, music, companionship. Healing/Helping Energy to everybody. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  9. Good Saturday morning, Meese. Enjoyed a pretty good night’s sleep thanks to DRUGS, with the result that I woke up feeling energized and motivated. I actually dressed before breakfast! That’s a first, I must say. Were it not for my Struwwelpeter hair, I’d be looking and feeling quite normal.

    It’s sunny for a change in Ashburn. Currently the temperature is 50 F., going up to 60 F. At the moment there is no wind, but later it will blow from 10 to 20 mph. Yesterday it gusted to 50 mph at IAD, just down the road from us. Many, many people are saying that trees have been knocked down, and many, many photographers are affirming the proof of that assertion through pictures.

    As my lost Friday is now past, I’ll spend Saturday doing what I didn’t get done yesterday, including a walk. When all this is over, I want a divorce from the dog. I was already a bit dotty but he has driven me right over the edge.

    The nice thing about Friday was that both Elder Son and Younger Son, at different times, dropped off deliveries. We now have enough bathroom tissue to last until the Fourth of July, and enough red wine that Dearly Beloved can stay snockered right up to Labor Day. We also have salad greens, tough but adequate cherry tomatoes, and white bread for Dearly. Younger Son, in a fit of irony, also dropped off an entire case of Corona beer! (I had previously informed him that his father has a whole bag of limes.) Anyway, it’s nice to be supplied. Now all we need is some milk. I do wish they’d deliver some, we asked the Concierge for it yesterday.

    Let’s turn off the news and have as nice a Saturday as possible, shall we? Cheers, dears!

  10. Good morning, 47 and mostly cloudy in Bellingham. RonK went to the grocery store early this morning, so we now have a ham for Easter lunch, and our son will be able to join us, yay! I’ve placed two online grocery orders but they won’t be delivered until sometime next week so Ron continues to carefully shop during the early morning senior hours.

    I didn’t get much of anything done yesterday, so I hope I can have a few focused hours today. I did enjoy a front porch visit with a friend who dropped off a book while walking her dog. And I talked on the phone with my flower shop friend. Her employees are all on unemployment, but she is in the shop hoping to sell enough bouquets to pay the rent so I’ll pick up our Easter flowers later today. She says the relief funds for small business are impossible for either her or her bank to decipher so no help is forthcoming yet.
    The bookstore cafe is selling some items via a shared website with another Fairhaven business and is accepting donations to help their employees so I’ll order a gluten free peanut butter pie and donate today.
    I know this is a world wide plague, but the immediate threat to my family and community is keeping me awake at night and worried all day. My best wishes to all as we keep ourselves safe.

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