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 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 (right before “Leave A Reply”) and use the Pages Tool, shown here with 3 pages of comments available.
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Gosh, bfitz, that’s awful news! Both for you personally and for your friends. I’m sorry your visitor can’t come to see you, and appalled at the idea that your friend is dead. Don’t know what to say. If you haven’t her actual physical address, you can’t ask the state troopers to check.
Will hope for the best outcome and for better weather.
We don’t know whether she’s dead or not – but she’s definitely in trouble if she isn’t. And no, without a physical address to send them – even if they were willing to go in the first place – there’s not a lot we can do. Except pray for that “best outcome”.
Keep us posted. Prayers lifted
Good morning, 60 and sunny in Bellingham. It’s warm enough now to open some windows upstairs so I’m glad I washed the window screens before putting them away last fall. It will be nice to feel the morning breeze again, seasonal pleasures.
I enjoyed time in the garden yesterday so I’ll rest my knees this morning and plant a few more flowers this afternoon. Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 50 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 77. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. Yesterday I baked in the sun on the deck and it felt great.
I was glad to see that the Democrat won in the special election in New Mexico to replace Deb Haaland. Our majority is very thin in the House due to the Biden cabinet appointees and the death of a member in Florida. The Ohio election to replace Marcia Fudge won’t be until November 2nd (the primary will be August 3rd) which is what happens when Republican governors have control and slow walk elections to replace Democrats. The Floriduh governor announced that the special election for Alcee Hastings’ seat won’t be until January, seeking to maximize how long the people in his district will be without representation. Bastids. Maybe the universe will balance things out and more unvaccinated unmasked Republican Congressmembers will get sick and be unable to continue their duties.
Today Joe Biden meets with Senator Capito from West Virginia for one last try for a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Since Republicans have not moved one inch on the pay-fors – wanting to assess fees on electric cars is one of their great ideas – I am not sure what the value is. The big question is whether Joe Manchin is fine with no infrastructure bill at all when the American Jobs Plan is dangling there in front of him if he will just agree to reconciliation. We shall see!
Time to get back to early morning projects.
See all y’all later!
Wednesday Meese – 54 going up to 76 here in Kingston – with rain.
President Biden in Tulsa
White folks need to address their history of violence
Powerful moments. Eric Loomis is right, by the way:
I am waiting for the White House to publish the transcript then I will put the speech up in a post.
Puerto Rico
Good morning. Back from a dash into the office. Went to the gym yesterday, managed 5 segments of 90 seconds running on the treadmill. Air conditioning is good. Today’s agenda: just work.
Another “misty moisty morning when cloudy was the weather” – 60 maybe getting to mid 70s and the heat is on. In June. The month isn’t starting well for electricity generation – we got 4.5 KWHs yesterday. The “meet or beat” target for June is 576. We shall see what we shall see.
Still no word on Jill. The person I’ve been working with was busy with the NM election yesterday so I don’t have anything new to report. Aji did get her 4 MRIs scheduled – 2 weeks out. The price was $800 each or pay up front for all of them at once for $1720. The impromptu fundraiser that happened when she posted that raised $1385 as of last night. Hopefully it will keep coming in as this is just the MRIs and doesn’t include the subsequent doctor visits to interpret them and then set up the treatment plan, much less the treatment itself. But that it’s happened at all warms and strengthens the heart. Fineena’s feeling a little better – not much – and has that rescheduled doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Lisa’s managing enough energy to deal with cooking and cat but nothing else. And so it goes. Holding the Good Thoughts.
Joe Biden, being an old white man whose been in the trenches a long time, can get away with saying things Barack Obama could not. And he is. Which makes Joe Biden a better president than I thought he’d be. He’s put together the kind of Executive Branch I’m pretty sure Hillary would have. He’s definitely following as best he can the Dem Party platform that she created. It is literally Deplorable that he’s having to spend so much of what little time we have cleaning up – and burying the dead – after the last administration & fascist-controlled Congress. Holding Good Thoughts that his team manages to protect the election process so we have enough time.
Fuzzy brained again today. There’s supposed to be sunshine tomorrow. I hope so. More coffee and then my twitter chores. Holding the Good Thoughts for the Pond, always. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s cloudy this monring, although not grayly so, and the current temperature in Ashburn is 69 F. It’ll go up to 81 F. later.
Just went to my garden to see how it was faring. Fortunately, between the mulch and the cool weather, nothing had died. The zucchini and the tomato plants have grown pleasingly, and the guardian marigolds are flourishing.
Yesterday I attended the Baby Shower next door in Farmwell Hall. The attendance was massive, much more than the organizers had expected. Each table was decorated with a fake cake made of newborn-size disposable diapers. A large ribbon went round each cake to hold it together, and the top was decorated with ribbons too. Very clever, I thought, as I’m utterly devoid of the ability to create imaginative things like that.
Anyway, the t-shirt I wore occasioned a great deal of comment and caused a couple of people to take photos with their phones. Across the front was emblazoned the legend, “Every baby deserves a change.” Some, who had apparently never encountered this slogan before, were in ecstasies. The Texas Diaper Bank sent me the t-shirt after I donated to it last year. Boxes and boxes of disposable diapers were collected—people really went all out for this occasion—and will be donated to the Loudoun County Foster Families Program. I wish they’d donate some to the Loudoun County Food Bank, which hands out diapers as well as food.
I have a meeting at three this afternoon, so must hustle and bustle to get things done this morning. I complained vociferously to the doctor’s office yesterday, with the result that I have an appointment at 9:15 (shudder) tomorrow morning to see what’s going on with my left eye.
I’m listening to the cicada chorus. Seems funny to think the next time Generation X emerges, 17 years from now, I’ll be pushing up the daisies. Old Shakuntala the fortune teller told me 30 years ago that I’d live to be 87. She also said I would visit India again, which so far has not come true. Let me just say it’s the last place I’d ever want to revisit, even before Covid struck.
OK, I need to get to the gym and do my thing. Haven’t been there in two days!
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
{{{Diana}}} Holding the Good Thought for your doctor visit tomorrow. Healing Energy, moar {{{HUGS}}}, & Blessed Be.
Thank you, darling!
Good morning, 62 and sunny in Bellingham. I can feel a slight breeze through the open windows but it’s going to be warm, so I’ll stay in the shade when I’m outdoors later today.
Our summer visitor schedule is now real so July and August will be busy. It will be so good to see everyone again but after so many months of covid seclusion I hope we can find our company manners!
I’ve got a busy day of house and garden tending. Best wishes to all.
Jill’s alive! She just posted on twitter about 20 minutes ago. At metropcs taos & no phone. Apparently raised enough for the phone. Still needs help w/ water & dog food. Don’t know what happened yet but she is alive and posting. (Well, if it’s really her. Until she posts something more than a need for phone, water, & dog food we can’t be sure.)
Definitely her. Her ex shut off her phone service & messaged all the neighbors who’d said they’d give her rides and told them to “stay out of it”. She’s got communication now. Not sure what she’s going to do next but :::sigh of relief::: she’s as OK as she can be under the circumstances. Thanks for all the prayers.
Thursday Meese. 56 here in Kingston going up to 75 and rain all day. Spending the day cooking soul food – requested by hubby – he is 70 today.
Puerto Rico
Biden admin is removing Trump era blocks to PR funding
Left off the day count
I was looking for that!! :)
Good for Biden releasing the funds! And happy birthday to your hubby!
Happy Birthday! 🎶🎉🎊✨🎂🍨🎁❤🎶 to your husband!
Good Thursday, Meese! We have a nugly overcast sky this morning, promising rain and thunderstorms this afternoon. We think. Glad I didn’t believe the addled weather persons yesterday and watered my garden anyway! The zucchini plant is spreading and the other plants looked quite happy. There was zero afternoon rain yesterday.
Anyway, it’s 68 F. in Ashburn right now, going up to 82 F. with afternoon thunderstorms. Tomorrow looks a bit dodgy as well with respect to weather. Hope it’s not too bad because I have to drive to Reston to mail some packages and have coffee with Darling Niece, whom I have not seen in AGES.
Had a productive meeting yesterday with the only author here who is really successful. She writes the Garaage Sale Mystery series. Her books have been made into movies for the Hallmark channel. Anyway, she really knows what she’s talking about with respect to publicity and so on.
Bfitz, glad Jill surfaced and I hope everyone else is all rightl.
Must get ready to leave here at 8:30 to make it to the doctor appointment on time.
Wishing a good day to all Pond habituées!
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 59 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 84. Mostly sunny skies. It is sad to have to turn on the air conditioning a few days after we had the heat on but that is Late Spring in the Midwest. This weekend we will see the 90s.
I made the mistake of watching some hair-on-fire news shows yesterday that make me wonder if we will ever have fair elections again. It seems foolish to rely on “democracy has lasted this long, it will survive” when one of our two political parties is actively working to destroy it. We were sensing back in the early ’00s that Republicans were going to have a difficult time attracting voters because they are literal piles of human garbage and their policies sucked. But I think few thought that their response would be to bring down the government and install a series of dictators. Unless the filibuster is killed off, the 2020 election may be the last one where a federal election can be protected from bad actors in the states.
I decided to extend the long holiday weekend into the week because the week feels odd to me. I think I will putter around on side projects for a couple more days and then maybe begin June work in earnest on Saturday. I have to create a short list of what I need to do before my trip and then rough in a to-do list for the last two weeks of the month.
See all y’all later!
Really loud thunderstorms last night, but it’s dry this morning, temporarily — more storms headed this way. Wish I had a way to tie my alarm to the weather, because it would have been nice to walk this morning. But it’ll be fine to be at the gym this afternoon — air conditioning is pretty great. Today’s plan — work till 3:30 then off to the gym for another treadmill session.
It’s 64 heading for 80 and sunshine! Yesterday we generated just over 5 KWHs bringing the m-t-d to 9.7 – but today should double that. Maybe. If the sun stays out. Sunshine is just so nice. What felt chilly yesterday feels just fine in the sunshine.
Sunshine in more ways than one. Jill being back online – after 9 solid days of no contact with the outside world, unable to convince any of the neighbors that she needed the ride to town they’d promised they’d give her and then reneged, no food (health issues – the bastid left her what the good ol’ boy neighbors would consider food but not anything she could eat), running out of water, and the road too muddy to walk. Yesterday it dried out enough she walked to the highway (paying for that today) and got the rural bus to town. Got a phone, her SNAP, raised enough online funds to cover dogfood and TP, and even got a ride home so she didn’t have to use a grumpy Uber at $72 for the trip. :::serious sigh of relief::: Money’s still coming in for Aji – more slowly of course – the MRIs are covered and about half the follow-up doctor visit. Karen’s got her doctor visit today. As of last night Lisa was planning to do car oil change & maybe smog inspection today. Holding the Good Thought on all & everyone/everything.
I am going to go out today. Get the hair cut and the kibble. Probably not takeout for lunch as it should – I hope – be nowhere near lunch time by the time I finish that. Masked. Of course. AR is still under 35% vaxxed. But coffee first. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Update: Well, goody. I was on time for my doctor appointment, arriving at 8:53 a.m. A marvelously incompetent boy “conducted” a series of eye tests on my long-suffering left eye and then left me to await the arrival of the doctor. She came in, conducted a couple of simple tests far more competently, and then told me the good news.
Everything checks out just fine. She said it’s still only three weeks out from the surgery and not to worry. “Just do everything you normally do and don’t stress out,” she advised. I’ll go back for another checkup in July. I’d forgotten that corrective lenses made of acrylic have been inserted into my eyes so I can see.
OK, whatever. I’ll try to stop freaking out. This doctor’s office also sells glasses. I wandered over to have a look at the frames. Saw only one out of a hundred that I might consider wearing if first bribed with a million dollars tax-free. Ugh.
OK, to work!
Good news Diana! I’ve got blurry vision and dry eyes this morning and it’s super annoying.
I’m glad to hear that it is just a matter of time! You must be quite relieved.
Good morning, 61 and sunny in Bellingham. Our youngest grand girls are both back in in person school today so life is returning to a new normal. So relieved they are now vaccinated and can enjoy more active lives.
Yesterday was busy but thanks to Sue’s help our house is clean again. I can do the basics but I need assistance to really clean so I’m grateful for her help. I haven’t sorted today out yet but I hope to be in the garden. Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 70 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 90. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Today’s news looks like yesterday’s news which I think is a good thing. I used to wake up every morning wondering what fresh hell had happened overnight, inflamed by the nutcase on the Twitter machine. Now most politicians – and newsmakers – are sleeping. I did read an article in the New York Times that we are unlikely to get the 70% vaccinated mark by July 4th and that there are some states that are already there or very close (for example, Washington state will be there in 3 days). Wisconsin will probably just miss it unless vaccinations step up. It sounds like there may be pockets of COVID-19 in the red states for a year or more – will anti-science #RepublicanDeathCult members get hoisted on their own petard? I see the ads for Floriduh and wonder how many people will decide that a vacation there is not a great idea.
I am either going to take another day off or try to at least get a plan in place so that if I need information from a client, I can get it before the weekend. I am leaning towards light planning.
See all y’all later!!
:'(
Here’s another
Friday Meese. 64 going up to 75 with rain here in Kingston NY.
This: