Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: October 24th

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 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 to view previous pages, shown here with 3 pages of comments available and Page 2 circled.

29 Comments

  1. Wednesday Meese. Still raining here, should stop soon – yesterday was horrid, last night worse. Lotta flooding in the area (thankfully not by us) 50 going up to 56.

    Can’t believe (sigh – yes I can) that now the racist Rs are going after Toni Morrison.

  2. Puerto Rico

  3. Big thunderstorms overnight, still some lightning as I drove in. And cool enough for a sweater. Eating breakfast, watching the news online.

  4. Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s partly cloudy and very breezy in Ashburn, 54 F., going up to 69 F., with winds from 13 to 25 mph. Ugh.

    Well, mah Gawd. We presented ourselves, washed, brushed, and dressed at the incredible hour of 8:28 a.m. at the booster shot place, but no go! The truck was late coming from Richmond with the booster jabs! Oh, great, we only have to get the dawg to day care, get back here, leave promptly at 11 to pick up our friend, and make it out to Great Falls to have lunch at L’Auberge Chez Francois. I am spending a large part of my Christmas savings on it.

    In addition we have no hot water, nor will have until late this afternoon. Guess who needed a shower! However, I had a heater in the bathroom, a warm towel rail, and a bucket of water that I had saved when they turned off all the water at 7 p.m. last night. It was back on this morning, but cold. I quickly boiled lots of water in the electric kettle, soaped off in the shower using only cold water (I screamed softly while doing this), then emptied the bucket of pleasingly warm water over the Good Body.

    It all illustrated the fact that I am very spoiled and would probably die without civilization.

    Okay, having imparted more information than you care to receive, I will now shut up. Oh, I just want to say that on the radio coming back from the barbershop yesterday, I heard there is MASSIVE early voting in the Virginia suburbs and Richmond, and equally massive voting going on in the red rural districts (not so good). I’m looking at YOU, Arlington and Fairfax, to save us from the Rethuglic of Gilead!

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.

  5. Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …

    It is 35 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 57. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.

    I missed the “sweet spot” for checking the news and have to get back to work.

    See all y’all later!

  6. It’s 64 heading for 67 and overcast (lights are on) – it’s supposed to rain for most of the day. For some reason the PV “dashboard” isn’t loading this morning so I can’t give the stats. As best my memory works (not good) we got over 7 KWHs so the m-t-d should be over 220. I think. I got the laundry done anyway so I’m thinking over 7 is about right. The “dashboard” periodically does this – random as far as a non-techie like me can tell. And usually working by the time one of their techies gets around to responding when I report it. Bringing me the politely delivered assumption that there wasn’t a problem and if I weren’t a technically-illiterate old woman I’d have known that and not bothered them. sigh.

    Aji’s still offline. Jill’s and Lisa’s situations haven’t changed. I haven’t heard from most of the others.

    My friend’s visit was very pleasant. The latte did knock out the headache I had. Which just tells me I really need to get off coffee long enough so not having it doesn’t give me headaches. I have enough sources of headaches. I don’t need to continue fostering that one. I’d like it to be a treat I can share with my friend in the cooler weather. Not a necessity. I can’t say she’s doing better. But things are processing as planned. At least at the moment. (Latest step in the bankruptcy was a “money-management” seminar. As if one could manage one’s way out of medical debt. She “passed” of course.) They’re looking for another dog. The one they have left now Umi’s died is very upset at being an only. More stuff to do on wrapping up their parents’ estate. And then there’s work. . .

    Anyway even if no coffee, I still have twitter chores to do. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  7. Good morning, 49 and cloudy in Bellingham. RonK did cancel his trip. He’s feeling a bit better today but still not up to a day of freeway driving so he’s relieved to just be home. Fortunately his brothers are understanding.

    Our son helped me get lights up in the garden yesterday so the new shelter now has pinecone lights around the supports, the trees in pots have white lights glowing in the dark corners of the garden, and the tall yew tree by the barbeque has new white lights as well. Getting everything hooked up with new electrical cords and remote controls was the hard part but it’s done, and the garden looked cozy and inviting last evening. So covid or not we’re nearly ready for outdoor fun, rain or shine.

    Time to change the ice packs on my knees and find some more coffee. As always, my best wishes to all.

  8. Thursday Meese – 42 going up to 56 here in Kingston, and thankfully no rain.

    Puerto Rico

    • Dee, why on earth would Tish James want to give up her Attorney General job to run for governor? Could she win in a state that still has a lot of pockets of whiteness, including white liberals who say one thing and vote the opposite?

      • Good question – there are going to be a lot of people running – it is going to be interesting. Could she win? The odds are probably against it, however I don’t think Hochul is a shoe-in

  9. Good morning, meeses! Thursday …

    It is 45 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 52. Rain expected all day. I ordered a jaunty boonie cap (which will arrive today) to use in the rain. I am finding an umbrella and a sniffy dog on a leash is too much to handle. The dog does not mind getting wet but I need to keep the rain off my glasses. I hope it works!

    Gawd, the news is awful – I truly wonder if America has become ungovernable. The murderer who killed the BLM protesters in Kenosha last summer is going to trial. The judge will not allow the dead and maimed victims left in his wake to be called “victims” because it will prejudice the jury. They can however be called “rioters” or “looters” because of course that won’t prejudice anyone! In my mind, this trial is already appealable for judicial asininity based on that. Kenosha County is mostly rural and very red except for the city of Kenosha so I am sure a jury from there will have sympathy for the murderer. I hope the feds are watching this closely and are ready to file federal charges if the state courts let him off.

    In a completely NOT SHOCKING development, it looks like the billionaires won and they will be allowed to game the system and suck the wealth out of America without paying their fair share. Joe Manchin called it “divisive” to tax them. Yeah, you know what is divisive? People who work 40 hours a week and can’t find a place to live or have food on the table because they cannot earn a living wage, elderly people on fixed incomes who can’t afford eyeglasses or hearing aids or dental care, young people who can’t afford to go to community college and whose futures involve minimum wage deadend jobs. That is what is divisive. Grrrr.

    I have a busy day as I am trying to avoid using every available work day in October to meet end of month hard deadlines. If any one thing goes wrong tomorrow, I miss the deadline which would result in penalties and a lot of unnecessary paperwork. So I need to get it done today.

    See all y’all later!

  10. In from my walk/run, today was so much better than Tuesday. Chilly. I needed long sleeves. So glad I’m working at home today.

  11. Good Thursday morning, Meese! It’s sunny but chilly, a good drying day out on the porch. We have 49 F. in Loudoun County at the moment, going up to 55 F. I’d better get busy doing laundry (my husband’s sovereign remedy for all illnesses of women) to cure my sore legs. For some totally bizarre reason I am afflicted with what feels like shin splints. Have no idea why.

    Still feel like a python that has swallowed a coupla pigs after that enormous lunch yesterday. It was delicious! OMG! The coffee was even tasty and normally I don’t like restaurant coffee. Our British friend, who had never been there before, was charmed. It’s like a bit of old Alsace, only it’s in Virginia instead of France.

    Um…not sure whether I’m being overconfident here…there has been massive turnout in early voting in Virginia, especially in Fairfax County (blue). One guy on Twitter said the Rethugs are “already spinning a loss five days before the election. Five days before,” he added. I so hope this is true.

    This is the first time in many years that I will not put in a Swiss Colony order for Christmas. Everyone in the family is on a diet, or SC offerings are “not organic,” or they flat-out don’t need any presents because they’re already millionaires, and bla bla bla. I’ll spend some of that money taking that same British friend out for her birthday. She’ll be 87 on December 27th. What a day to have a birthday, eh?

    Other than that, yrs truly will be handing out sample ballots from 12:00-2:30 on Election Day, and from 5 to 6 p.m. The polls close at 7. Election Night is the one night a year I allow pizza for dinner. Must think what to have before and after. Probably fruit salad for after.

    Thus do I occupy what’s left of my mind with matters trivial. Wishing all at the Pond a good day!

    P. S. The rain we had the other day made a dent in our rainfall deficit. We’re now 4 inches under for the year rather than 6. More rain is promised for tonight and all day tomorrow. We’ll see.

  12. It’s 50 going to 52 overcast, rainy, and windy. We’ve gotten over 2″ of rain thus far. On the other hand we got just under 1.5 KWHs yesterday and today looks to be the same. The m-t-d is 217.45 – 250 for the month ain’t gonna happen. sigh.

    Late to sleep last night – I’d forgotten why I don’t use the commercial saline solutions, I just buy them to get the bottles and make my own. I was reminded. Sometime after midnight I was boiling water, making saline solution, prying the sprayer off the bottle & dumping the commercial solution, pouring my too hot (hope I didn’t damage/shorten the life of the bottle) saline into it – and waiting until it was cool enough to use. Because after I used the commercial stuff I most certainly wasn’t going to get any sleep until I did. I’m not sure when I got to sleep but with the rain and lack of light I didn’t get up until 8.

    I haven’t been anywhere except email so don’t know what’s going on. Probably don’t want to but that’s neither here nor there. Sending Good Thoughts to everybody. I know they need them even if I don’t know why. Off to twitter & Dee’s diary. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  13. Good morning, 49 and raining in Bellingham. I’ve finally got the down comforters back on all the beds and the pile of summer weight bedding is nearly washed and put away. It’s been a lot to do this year, but I needed to be distracted from the news so I’m grateful to have mindless distractions and a feeling of accomplishment. I should working at my desk right now, but that’s not mindless work so I’d best find my focus.

    Best wishes to all.

  14. Good rainy Friday morning, Moosekind! It’s raining like HELL, in fact. I hope Younger Son doesn’t encounter problems when he drives to work in Woodbridge, Virginia. The City of Alexandria already has streets underwater. Currently in Ashburn the temperature is 56 F., on its way up to 61 F. This may make up our rainfall deficit, or at least put a dent in it.

    Yesterday I tore down the garden. Felt sad when I picked the last of the grape tomatoes and the last of the Sungolds. My late neighbor adored them. I used to leave little sacks of them on the shelf outside her door. I think next year I won’t plant so many.

    Today the plan is to mop the bathroom and kitchen floors, replace the bathmats, freshly laundered, thereon, and bake a loaf of bread. I also have some desk work to do.

    Wishing everyone at the Pond a good day!

  15. Friday Meese. 40 going up to 57 here in Kingston. Headed out to go to a ceremony today – digging out some warm sweaters.

    Puerto Rico

  16. Good morning! My last wfh Friday. I slept in, which was wonderful. Today: work till 3:30 (last day for that, too), then pick up groceries. Have a great day, everyone!

  17. It’s 47 going to 52 – windchill is 42 going to 47 – heavy mist, very damp, and windy. The street light’s on and the PV system isn’t. Yesterday we generated a whole 2 KWHs. M-t-d is 219.48 – no, we’re not going to make it to 250 by Sunday’s end. At least it’s more than the 2.5K system did in ’14.

    The furnace kicked on for the first time this season last night. Which is actually later than “normal” – previous years it’s come on at least once before my birthday. This is the time of year I really wish I had a “tiny house”. Not an itty-bitty one, but 600 sq ft plus an attached catio would be just fine.

    My son and I visited for a bit – well, couple of hours – yesterday. He came by to drop off something and we got to talking. . . 😁 We agreed that Dems come up with good, caring, plans and then Rs write the rules for using them. Then of course Dems get the blame for a lousy, bureaucratic, insufficient-for-the-need program. Nothing new. I wish there was.

    If the curse, whoever it came from, is “may you have interesting lives” then the blessing is “may you have boring lives – lives where you are safe, secure, comfortable, and never need to worry about medical emergencies or your next meal.” Americans seem to have that backwards as to which is the blessing and which is the curse. sigh.

    Off to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  18. Good morning, 46 and mostly cloudy in Bellingham. I hope the bit of blue I see in the sky outside my window will last and we’ll have a break from rain today. I want to cut the best of the hydrangeas and dry them for use in winter arrangements but it’s been so rainy I keep waiting. Today may be the day.

    Denise, thank you for your wise words on twitter. Gives me comfort and hope that this country will continue to inch forward despite the day to day struggle. As always, my best wishes to all.

  19. Good afternoon, meeses! Friday …

    I was getting ready to shut down my computer in anticipation of a visit from a friend and realized I had not checked in! It is 52 and overcast, it will warm up another couple of degrees but the clouds will stay.

    Last work day of October and I am not caught up on accounting – I am hoping for a quiet weekend when I can sit and shuffle papers.

    See all y’all later!

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