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 to view previous pages, shown here with 3 pages of comments available and Page 2 circled.
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Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 7 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 10. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese – 44 and cloudy here in Kingston and it will stay that way all day.
Who are they?
Barack Hussein Obama and his mama. Wonder why he didn’t write books about her? She loved him so much. He once said that every night she sang him a lullaby about a beautiful baby boy who had golden skin all over.
His signature achievement, the ACA, must have been inspired by the memory of his mother. When she was dying of breast cancer, he would visit her in her hospital room. She was audibly worrying about the high cost of her hospitalization and treatment and whether her insurance would cover it.
Puerto Rico
Bloody hell! Late in your teaching career is no time to have your future pension benefits cut.
OhMyGoshIt’sCold. First freeze of the winter, it got down to 27. I was running the a/c till bedtime last night, woke up some time after midnight because even with the heat set at 70, I needed to put on a warmer sleep shirt. Now I’m watching the news. I need to make next week’s overnight oats, but I can do that this afternoon.
Posted.
Welp, it’s snowing. Not hard but more than just the odd flake or two. Not much more, but still. There’s snow on the ground. Again, not much. The grass is sticking through. And it’s 14 heading for 29. Maybe. We got a whole 1.3 KWHs yesterday and today doesn’t seem like to do better. The “goal” for January is 237. Reaching 200 would be just fine. Not that it seems likely at this rate. But there’s a lot of month to go.
Moving slowly today. I’ve been outside to pour boiling water over the ice in the bird water dish and restock the feeding station. Put out some catfood too even though neither of the tabbies were in sight. (I hope to heaven they have a warm as well as sheltered place to hole up.) Oatmeal’s on and I’m sipping my OJ. I’ll get onto my regular Sunday chores in a bit. Including twitter ones. That cold saps energy. Even when only out a few minutes. And of course my hands are cold.
Holding the Good Thought for everybody. Off to check the oatmeal and get over to Dee’s diary. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Hi, bfitz! Snow, huh? Not much, but we Southerners tend to be thrilled with even two tiny flakes. It’s good of you to unfreeze the birds’ water. I wonder if the visiting felines are holed up with their real families. Perhaps they just like visiting?
Oh, well, I’m probably the only person here old enough to remember that Rosemary Clooney song.
{{{Diana}}} Well, southern born & bred, but I did live 3 years in Madison, WI and 5 in KC area of KS. But I do remember back in Houston how rare snow was and even when we got it – every 3rd year or so – there was less than an inch on the ground. Scraping up enough to make a snowman. . . they were always dirty looking because of the dirt and dead grass mixed in. LOL. & yes, I remember the song. I don’t remember more than the first couple of lines, but I do remember it. :)
I live in Madison and still have relatives in the KC area (where I lived for a dozen years) and the differences now are pretty minor – they get the bitter cold and the ice and the heavy snow. It was not always that way; we used to joke about the City of Kansas City having only one snow plow and how they waited for the Sun, Inc. Snow Melting Service to clear the roads. Not so any longer.
I lived in the KC area – actually Lenexa 1 year and Olathe 4 years – from August ’92 to August ’97 – and we definitely had winter. I most assuredly used the down parka I’d gotten in Madison. (Which I gave away once I moved to Fayetteville after 3 years of not taking it out of its summer sheathing.) The last winter I was there we had a freak snowstorm on my birthday (10/20) that did so much damage to the still-leafed-out trees it was weeks in clearing up.
Good Sunday morning, MoosePeeps! It’s gray, gray, and likely to stay that way. Outside we we have 59 F. on its way up to 64 F. There may be rain showers this afternoon. I’m a 50% believer after yesterday, when we DID get some heavy rain. (Thank you, Yemaya.) Last night as we prepared to totter off to bed, more heavy rain descended. It was lovely to open the window and listen to it beating down while we put on our “sleepy clothes,” as the grandchildren call them.
Interesting fact: The windows here open only 3 inches, to prevent us oldsters from hurling ourselves outside to escape it all through suicide. At least, that’s what I have been told. Probably untrue, they just don’t want us accidentally falling out the window.
I’m feeling great after getting 8—hours of sleep, that is. I was so worried about taking the .5 Ativan tablet that I started rereading 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s. I’m already doing a lot of them.
Tomorrow begins a two-week regimen of eating oatmeal porridge with chopped apples and walnuts every single morning for breakfast. All three are known cholesterol reducers and I have a fasting test coming up.
Work is going well on the dreaded Chapter 9! I downloaded a photo of a charging black boar, found out the name of the Procurator of Britannia in the year 140 A.D., and made half the changes needed in the chapter. Of course, right now that chapter is like a rough piece of sculpture. I’ll have to polish it before it goes up on the website.
Wishing a good day to all the peace-loving grazers at the Pond. Anotherdemocrat, hop you don’t freeze today!
Good afternoon, 43 degrees and light rain and wind are melting the snow, yay! It’s good the ground is thawing and the pavers are settling so we’ll be able to open the back porch door again. For some reason this week of winter has put me in hibernation mode and I’ve lazed away the days. We did get the Christmas tree out yesterday but the ornaments are still waiting on the dining room table so putting them away needs to happen soon. Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is -4 degrees in Madison (thankfully no wind) with an expected daytime high of 18. Sunny skies are in the forecast. It appears as though it is going to “warm up” into the 30s tomorrow but then plunge back into the deep freeze. It is a challenge to get my doggie to go outside in this weather, even with a sweater and warm booties.
So The Former Guy, aka stinking pile of human garbage tRump, plans a big party to commemorate the one year anniversary of when his (literal) confederates almost overthrew the legitimately elected government and installed him as an unelected dictator. Any media outlet that covers it live (with an empty podium and countdown window) should be shunned. It is NOT news that the Republican Party and its leaders hate democracy and are trying to reframe the coup attempt as patriots patrioting. Goddess help us.
The Child Tax Credit enhancer has expired, leaving many Americans facing poverty and eviction in the middle of winter and in the midst of the 3rd wave of COVID infections. The Senate is literally killing people – nice job, Founding Fathers, creating an institution that gives the former slave states and their descendants the power to block help to those who need it. Goddess help us.
The first work week of January is extremely busy as I need to get my own end-of-year/beginning-of-year projects done so I can help my clients with their projects. I got a few things done but there is lot more on my to-do stack.
See all y’all later!
Yikes!!! Minus 4? I’ll take my toasty 25 degrees
I laughed when I thought to myself “it is good that there is no wind chill.” The actual temperature is enough to freeze your tears in 5 minutes!! This will likely be my last winter in Wisconsin – I have downsized into living space that does not require me to clear snow any longer but it does require depending on others to clear the walkways before I can use them so it is not perfect.
Monday Meese. 25 here in Kingston going up to 27.
Woke up to Nate Silver opining on COVID surge in Puerto Rico – and got really pissed off. He’s not a health expert – he knows nada about PR and yet over 8,000 people “liked” what he had to say.
Nate Silver is a small child who achieved fame for blogging about numbers that he mostly pulls out of his ass. He spends most of his time now defending his awful polls and opining about things he knows nothing about. There is a core of former bloggers of a certain age who all have the same usefulness deficit – Matt Yglesias comes to mind as does Ezra Klein. I am glad to see Nate schooled but it will not change his inflated opinion of himself.
Very well put, Jan!
Another hard freeze last night, it was still below freezing driving in to work. It’s supposed to freeze again Thursday and Friday, so I’ll just leave them covered. Came home from church with 2 poinsettias, they were going to mulch any leftovers. Keeping them inside, I don’t want to mess with the plant covering. A stem broke off one, ‘m going to look up whether I can plant it or just toss.
It’s 17 going to 45 and sunny. Yesterday afternoon the sun came out and sublimed all the snow it touched – what was in the shade is still there – including what was on the solar panels. Not that there was much. The cover was thin enough the system was on after sunrise. But the generation went up to good a little after noon and we got 3.9 KWHs. The m-t-d is 5.32 – certainly not on track but it’s early days yet.
If this country had a decent healthcare system not a single person “on my list” would be in trouble. Their health issues would have been caught and treated when they were treatable and even chronic things would be held to a better and less expensive level to treat. And their living money wouldn’t have gone/still be going to paying medical debt. They wouldn’t be left both disabled and in poverty, depending on friends and total strangers to keep the rent paid or lights on or food on the table – and usually a combination thereof. Our society is evil.
Hands are cold but at least functional so far. Actually the only part of me that’s truly warm is my lap. There’s a little black kitty curled up and sleeping on it. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Oh, dear! I hope your hands will feel better as the day goes on, bfitz!
{{{Diana}}} well, other than when I’m by the fire in the late evening my hands won’t be comfortable until about July. All I ask is they stay functional. Healing Energy & more {{{HUGS}}}
Good Monday moaning, Moosekind! Guess what, it’s been snowing! In Ashburn! We in the District-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) are wondering how “Sunday night rain showers into Monday morning” turned into 3-7 inches of snow. it appears to have stopped for the moment, but it’s accumulated one whole inch.
Naturally, everyone in the DMV has panicked. The schools are closed. This little frozen surprise will likely be the only snow we see all winter. The kids are delirious of course, and even Younger Son, who normally commutes 40 minutes each way to Woodbridge, VA, is at home today because the office is closed. This has saved his mother a great deal of worry.
Right now it’s 30 F., going up to 33 F. I feel as if I’m on holiday and can just do whatever I want.
In real life, however, I have a lot of work to do, so I’d best get on with it. Wishing a nice, peaceful day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, 40, cloudy, the snow continues to melt away, the ground is thawing, and we can now squeeze out the back door, yay! I’m emerging from my post holiday/snowed in stupor but I’m not fully engaged with yr 2022. Oh well, baby steps.
I’m reading Louise Penny’s book The Madness of Crowds and while it’s nice to be back in Three Pines with the Gamache family the parallels to tRump and the people infected with his malicious words is a bit unsettling. Kirkus review…..
Monday morning and my desk, laundry, and left over Christmas all need tending so time to get busy. As always, my best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 19 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 32. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast.
Parents here (and in Milwaukee) are complaining because their kids are forced back into remote learning for another week. The reason for the “shutdown”? They don’t have enough teachers and staff and bus drivers. This is not tyranny, this is “people are sick from a disease that we could eliminate if REPUBLICAN ASSHOLES would get vaccinated.” The flu you get when you are vaccinated is “mild” in comparison to the one that is killing over 1,000 unvaccinated people a day but it is still making people sick and you can’t work when you are sick. I saw someone on Twitter point out that this narrative about “mild” is wrongheaded as it suggests that people should be working through it and completely ignores long term effects. It is NOT okay to send vaccinated people into infection zones and just tell them to deal with how sick they get. We are a stupid – and heartless – nation. COVID is still making people sick and we would be smart to mask up and stay out of places where we can catch it.
Chuck “I am so dumb I can’t remember the names of all the Senators in my caucus” Schumer plans to put the Voting Rights bills on the Senate floor and dare Republicans to vote them down. Good lord, how stupid! They will vote them down and nothing will happen because cowardly Democrats in safe seats care more about protecting Senate comity than they care about protecting our democracy. Liz “Dick” Cheney cares more about protecting and defending the Constitution than Senate Democrats – not just Manchin and Sinema but Feinstein, the two particularly ugly men from Delaware, and Warner. This is not “one guy blocking voting rights” it is people blinded by their white privilege and the high of being one of 100 people in a powerful legislative body. I despise them.
Back to the grind! I have so many time sensitive projects that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I need to do my “list of three” triage where I choose three projects that I need to get done and do them in sequence, ignoring the longer to-do list and little projects that inevitably “come to mind.” It can be an effective way to focus; even if it results in only one of the projects getting done, that is one more than if I just sit here feeling overwhelmed.
See all y’all later!
Good luck with the projects, Jan!
Tuesday Meese. 12 degrees here in Kingston, going up to 35. Took a rapid test – results negative, will take another in 24 hours since we are planning to visit a friends house (very small gathering) for Three Kings Day on Thurs.
Best wishes for continued negativity! :)
Fingers crossed for you, Dee!
Holding the Good Thoughts.
Froze again last night, but just barely. I might uncover my plants today, it’s not going to freeze again till Thursday night. Yesterday they gave us permission to work from home more, so I asked for Thursday. After I go in Friday, my next day in the office won’t be till the 20th — I took next week off then there’s the MLK holiday, 2 normal wfh days…. Pretty nice. Also, I’ll be around on Thursday so I can cover the plants. Allergies are absolutely killing me. Another good thing about working from home.
Sorry about the allergies, another. Is it cypress?
Good Tuesday morning, Meese. It’s 21 F. on a beautiful blue-and-silver day here in jollye olde Ashburn. There are shadows on the two inches of snow we received yesterday, the evergreens look as if someone got loose with a sifter of confectioner’s sugar, and the sky is icy blue. The roads are still too iced over to travel, most schoolchildren have another “snow day,” and it looks as if we’re going to have more sleety, sheety weather all week except for Thursday. We really have to do some shopping on Thursday: we need new pillows and I’d like some sheets that actually fit. Moreover, we have to stock up on food that isn’t nuts. I have enough nuts in my house to feed an entire nation of squirrels for the whole winter.
Speaking of food, I did excavate the pantry cupboard with a high-intensity flashlight, and I did in fact discover a long-forgotten can of black-eyed peas! I opened it and heated up a small serving for each of us on New Year’s Day. I still have a lot left and am wondering what to do with it. I have a recipe for Meatless Hoppin’ John, but it’s too big. We don’t like it well enough to eat it every day and so forth.
I don’t know whether my writers’ group will be able to convene on 13 January. Bummer. We’ve all written the required essays, I have a whole bag of wrapped peppermint bark squares to share, and so forth. This morning my task will be to inquire of the Resident Life staff whether we can do a Zoom meeting. We’re all a bit wary of meeting, nowadays.
Nothing more to say except that I hope everyone at the Pond will have a good day!
Well, crap! Moose logged me out between my reply to Dee above and my morning check in. On 4 & maybe another half hours sleep I’m not gonna try to recreate what I said other than the weather & PV system report.
It’s 34 heading for 50 and sunny. We generated 6.43 KWHs yesterday. The m-t-d is 11.7 – not on track but not losing ground either. Oatmeal’s ready and twitter calls. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 36, light clouds, and snow and rain showers later today. Most of the snow is melted now and plants in the garden are starting to recover. It’s nice to see the hellebores blooming despite being buried in snow. If I do my desk work this morning I’ll go outside with my clippers later and start getting the patio garden tidy again. Best wishes to all.