Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: January 29th

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.

28 Comments

  1. Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …

    Morning low of 43 degrees in the Desert Southwest with an expected daytime high of 64. Sunny skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. Puerto Rico

    • Sadly, not enough people voted to oust state Attorneys General to end their lawsuit against the Department of Education’s Student Loan Debt Cancellation program. We did in Arizona and we are no longer part of the suit but there is a lot riding on our right-wing SCOTUS. At least one of the Justices showed an inclination towards keeping the program in place but Mrs. Jesse Barrett’s rejection of the suit could simply pave the way for Dread Justice Roberts to vote in favor of it. The case will be heard at the end of February and ruled on by June 30th. That one of the cases includes plaintiffs upset that they did not get the debt cancellation – calling it unfair – tells you everything you need to know about the current Supreme Court: it is a place where butthurt people go to press their claims that a program that helps Those People Who Aren’t Me should be ended. :::angry face emoji:::

  3. Good morning. Tea steeping, watching the news — Ali Velshi had a great segment on the importance of journalists, especially in repressive countries like Saudi Arabia. Warm morning, mid-60s. Going to try to get to church early, as there is a class on Un-learning White Supremacy. (I’m not used to rushing on Sundays, will keep reminding myself that I need to move, to leave the house so much earlier than normal).

  4. Our high was 48 just after midnight, right now it’s 35 and that’s pretty much it until it starts dropping midafternoon. Overcast. Yesterday we managed to generate 4.9 KWHs and the m-t-d’s at 146.7 – with 3 cloudy production days left we’ll probably make it to 150 but even 160 is not likely, much less 180. sigh. (We had such a good start to the month/year, too.)

    I did connect with the installer and he did come out – but it was Friday morning while I was shopping and not Friday afternoon as I’d expected. He said the system’s circuit breaker had thrown and he flipped it back. No idea why. He also gave me a tale about why I was generating so little for the 1st several hours after it started working again that I’m not entirely sure I believe. But that’s neither here nor there. It’s working now. All we need is the sun back.

    I’ve got all my Sunday chores done (hands and back protesting, of course) and am eating breakfast. Off to twitter & Dee’s diary. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  5. Good Sunday morning, Moose Peeps! The current temperature in Nowheresville is 45 F. My poor old phone is delusional: when I first woke up it showed me snow flurries (imaginary), then light drizzle (also imaginary). Now it’s forecasting imaginary rain.

    I can’t watch either of the videos they keep showing on TV over and over and over again, so I’ve given up watching the news and weather. I hate the Whiny WaPo, the news is always bad, and the weather forecast is always way off base.

    Had bad news from Texas yesterday: Son-in-law, whom I adore, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Daughter says they’re doing a “deep dive” into the various modalities of treatment. She added, ominously, that this has changed their plans for the future. Not sure what she means by that.

    Then less bad, but still unfortunate, news on the local front: Elder Son’s wife had to go to Urgent Care this morning and has been diagnosed with the ‘flu. Both she and Elder Son came down with cold symptoms yesterday, and today Ethan has the sniffles and says his throat hurts a little. So, no grandchild visit today! Perhaps we can all get together next Saturday.

    Had such a terrible night on Friday that yesterday I was basically a zombie. The only thing I accomplished was changing the sheets on the bed. Oh, and I had a 90-minute meeting with one of the writers in my group. We kicked around some ideas, one of which I will put into practice today.

    Have tons of writing to do and oh, man, have something going on morning and afternoon all this week! Eek!

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.

    • Prostrate cancer is treatable these days. It’s rough, but I know several men who survived. One is former mayor, state senator and now mayor again Kirk Watson. I remember seeing him during treatment & wondering when I’d be going to his funeral. That was….15-20 years ago. Good luck to all your family on all those health concerns.

  6. Good afternoon, 36 and sunny in my garden today, but I’m indoors in procrastination mode, I’ve chatted with family via phone, won my solitaire games, and watched the Sunday chateau restoration videos I like to follow so I’d best get busy now or the day will be just that! Oh well, what I do and when I do it is up to me to sort out so there :)

    Best wishes to all.

  7. OhMyGoshItsCold!!!!! 35 degrees. Walked my mile anyway. In my parking garage, dashed across the street to the bigger one, twice around it….. Anyway, got it done. Yesterday’s class in unlearning white supremacy was an interesting start. Close to 100 people, so even at our individual tables we couldn’t do much discussion, but it was still good.

    • Good for you, following through on your resolution to walk every day!

      My New Year’s resolution of “More walk, less choc” is failing bigly. I must get some motivation!

  8. Good morning, meeses! Monday …

    It is 37 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 57. Sunny skies are in the forecast. Yesterday it got into the upper 60s but it was very windy making it difficult to sit outside for long periods of time. I did have a couple of nice walks.

    Republicans are discovering that “winning” the majority and the Speakership does not guarantee a governing majority. In that their intent is to NOT govern but to destroy government, that works fine for them. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we need certain things done by Congress occasionally and annually. I am not sure that authorizing a suspension of the debt ceiling until September 30th when they must also pass a budget or a Continuing Resolution is a great idea but it does give us time to try to pry a planning-to-retire-because-it-is-a-sh*tshow Republican away from the Kevin Cacas into a Democratic led coalition and get enough votes to keep the government open. In a just world, voters would remember how terrible the government shutdown was and insist that their electeds reject that path but we are in anything but a just world.

    It is the last few days of January and I have a stack of must-dos that I need to get back to.

    See all y’all later!

  9. Good Monday morning, Moosekind! It’s partly cloudy this morning in Ashburn, 37 F. now, on its way to 57 F. later—or so they say. We had no rain or snow yesterday, so once again they screwed up. They won’t admit we’re in moderate drought mode.

    Woke up sleepy and cross this morning. Once I’m fit to be seen in public, I’ll go to Barnes & Noble to choose some birthday presents. Why was everyone born in February? It’s odd.

    Finally finished an editing job I had, have two more, and am in “wait” mode for sending out a memo to my writers’ group. Also have a book review and a birthday letter to Younger Son to write.

    Cannot watch the news, can barely glance at the headlines in the newspooper. Watching, listening, and reading make me want to throw myself off a cliff. Took a break from politics all weekend.

    Everyone in Elder Son’s house still has the sniffles or worse but are slowly improving. At least Kansas City won yesterday—barely—but I’m sorry the Forty Niners lost.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.

  10. It’s 22, overcast, and we’ve already got some frozen precipitation of some sort although the widget said it wasn’t supposed to start for another couple of hours. The PV system is barely trickling and won’t do that if it gets any darker. Yesterday we generated 1.65 KWHs and the m-t-d is 148 with 2 days left in the month.

    Sinusitis is flaring – I didn’t get to sleep until after 4 am and got up sometime after 7. Groggy and moving slowly today. My hands weren’t helped any by taking out birdseed. Oh well. At least I have enough milk to last until it warms up on Wednesday – if I skip my bedtime cocoa. That’s OK. I’ve got some broth I can have instead.

    I guess I’d best get over to twitter and get started. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  11. Good morning, 27 and mostly sunny outside my window today. My list of good intentions is long but my ability to actually do something is lacking so I’ll see what happens. I do need to change the beds and do the laundry so that will prolly happen, as will the essential desk tasks. I could/should spend the day at my desk cleaning out old files and organizing the tax info. Best wishes to all.

  12. Puerto Rico


    Coastal thieves protection

  13. They sent us home yesterday because it was starting to ice. Everything is closed today and the news is just begging people to stay home. It will barely get above freezing today, and freeze again tonight so probably closed again tomorrow. Of course people set up to wfh are expected to work. Gee I wonder if the one person who hates that some of us wfh routinely will complain about that…. She’s a Trumper so she’ll probably find some way it’s still a problem for her. Anyway, wfh today, and will dance around my apartment to keep the exercise streak going.

    • {{{anotherdemocrat}}} It’s pretty much the same here. Wintry mix yesterday and temps haven’t been above 23 in over 24 hours so it all froze solid. I know it’s boring as snot, but before I got my treadmill when housebound I did laps around my house for 20 minutes and called it a mile. Healing Energy & moar {{{HUGS}}}

  14. Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …

    It is 39 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 55. Sunny skies are in the forecast.

    Every time I read something new about what is happening in Florida, I wonder how on earth anyone who has a choice would want to live there. The weather is not really that great unless you like humidity and hurricanes and the political climate is dangerous. I guess people think the same thing about Arizona but at least Arizona has enough non-crazies to kick the MAGAts to the curb. Failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake tweeted out voters signatures and the Secretary of State wants her charged with a felony – I hope they do it; I would be livid if someone posted my signature on the Internet in a tweet. If the criminal charge won’t stick, I hope that the individuals involved sue her – Hoover up some of that cash she is bringing in based on the Big Lie.

    I have some appointments this morning so I can’t stay online and read the news. I tucked a few stories off in Pocket to read later. It sounds like the DOJ will not be able to investigate sitting Congressmen – House Republicans who were part of the insurrection are reaping the benefits of Merrick Garland slow walking the investigation. Now that they are in power, they can block investigations by claiming Article I separation of powers. Bastids.

    See all y’all later!

  15. Good Tuesday morning, Meese. It’s 39 F. in Ashbummer and actually raining. Wonder how long that will last. It’s supposed to turn to snow tonight, but we know how that goes.

    Have an appointment with the plumbing doctor today. Have waited three whole months for this. It’s going to be frightfully unpleasant, but I’ll just pretend that the whole thing is happening to another woman with the same name.

    I walked to the cafe yesterday to pick up dinner, and four different people asked me whether I’m going to the demonstration today. The Conservative Caucus here has asked the Alliance for Defending Freedom (which the SPLC defines as a hate group) to speak at 1:30. A few people tried to get the speech canceled, but the Executive Director here is a Trumpanzee, so I’m sure he said no. Anyway, members of the Progressives, the Committee for Diversity and Inclusion, and the UUs will be there, standing in front of the theatre and staring as the Conservatives goose-step inside. Some of us will sit in the back and listen when the speech starts.

    Participating in the demonstration is one thing, but the speeches might sicken me. My extended family has plenty of LGBTQIA members. In fact, one of my grandchildren is transitioning. I cherish them all.

    Then, from 4 until 5 there’s a discussion with the UUs about a sermon delivered in Chatauqua this past summer. It’s the best sermon I’ve ever read, all about diversity and how there’s room in the UUs for all sorts of religious beliefs.

    Speaking of religious beliefs, a blessed Imbolc to all who celebrate it! This has always been one of my favorite sabbats.

    Must get going—wishing a good day to all at the Pond.

  16. It’s 21, may or may not get up to 29, and overcast. More wintry mix later in the day. Yesterday we generated .77 KWHs and the m-t-d at 149.98 may or may not make it to 150 today. Surprisingly the PV system is actually on. But it’s generating at 6 watts/hour. The wind scoured off enough of the wintry mix before it froze for some light to get through. But there’s not a lot of light to be making the attempt.

    It’s supposed to get to 39 tomorrow and I hope it clears the roads because I’m down to just over a cup of milk. If I don’t do decaf at midday and cocoa at night, that’ll carry me until Thursday – 1/2 cup each day in my breakfast oatmeal. Other than milk, and I do have alternatives for everything that requires it, I’m good until after Social Security “payday” – which is the 15th for me this month.

    Off to twitter to check on folks and do my twitter boosting chores. Bright the day, Meeses.

  17. Good morning, 33 and snowing outside my window today. Our son just sent a photo of Elsa discovering the snow…so fun to see her explore her new world. She is an adorable puppy. Not much new for me today, just more desk and laundry but the most impt task is done as I just won all the solitaire games for the month, a clean sweep, yay! Best wishes to all.

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