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 Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s a clearish morning, with a pale blue sky and white veils of cloud. “They” say it will become breezy later on. It’s now 46 F. We seem to have received an inch of rain yesterday, and it may be more when “they” finish counting the drops.
This morning I am to be interviewed by the in-house TV people. I’ll try to look slim but it’s a lost cause. Still playing telephone tag with the office of the beautiful gastroenterologist. This will probably continue. I’ll leave my phone at home, however. I refuse to be interrupted during the interview.
Have lots of work to do when I get home after the interview. I need to submit my stories for the Blue Ridge Writers Group anthology, formulate some questions about a story for Around the Ponds re Catered Living, type up some notes about the Christmas decorations story, and so forth. I also need to start on my annual Christmas newsletter. I’m trying to think what to get for my friend at Greenspring for Christmas. She doesn’t like sweets, barely eats anything, has given up reading anything, gawd…
Bfitz, when you get a chance, could you be very kind and email your recipe for Lemon Muffin Bread? I bought all this gluten-free flour to make the apple crisp for tomorrow, but Elder Son says DIL has plenty of desserts she can eat on Thanksgiving, so now I’m stuck.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
It’s 30 heading for 51 and brightly sunny today – so far. Yesterday we generated 1.5 KWHs and the m-t-d at 111 is definitely not on track for 180 and is exceedingly unlikely to catch up. But I am grateful for whatever we get.
Got the laundry done yesterday. Either today or tomorrow I need to mix & grill another batch of breakfast sausage. Blessings of a normal life, a life of riches compared to what so many others are dealing with.
Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
I was in such a hurry that I forgot to mention that today is the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. What a tragic time that was for his family and for the American people. And now every member of his own family, Jackie and John, are dead except for Caroline Schlossberg.
I remembered. sigh.
I mentioned offhand that November 22nd was a date that for my generation would always be burned into my memory. I was in 3rd grade and the nuns brought us down to the church to pray for JFK. My daughter did not know the date (why should she?) but I was able to share the stories of how a simpler time had presidents riding in open convertibles on a well publicized route. Her generation does not have a “date”, mostly events that don’t have dates like the Bush Great Recession destroying the economy and the COVID Pandemic altering their lives forever. January 6th was pretty bad, the day a band of neo-Confederates almost overthrew the government but the government was not overthrown just damaged. There was not a day of national tragedy like December 7th, September 11th and November 22nd.
Jan, you are right.
Good morning, 45 and cloudy outside my window today. Ron has been gathering, so today we’ll start cooking. It’s an easy T Day for us this year…..Ron will cook the turkey on the barbeque, and I’ll make the gravy today from stock from last year turkey. Our son will to the veggies and I’ll make the stuffing. Nice to have a family of good cooks! Best wishes to all.
Thursday Meese. Was up all night cooking – then got bad news that quite a few of my guests won’t be coming to dinner today – they have COVID. :( Will make up some packages of food to send to them. 38 here in Kingston, going up to a rainy 51.
Puerto Rico
For those who talk about dictatorships. This is in Cidra Puerto Rico
I am so sorry to hear about your guests getting COVID! I wish people would remember that it is still a “thing” and especially that it it is dangerous to people who are undergoing cancer treatments. Thank goodness they tested and did not arrive at your house with a virus. I hope that there are enough people to enjoy your feast.
It amazes me that so many people think COVID is over.
Oh, dear Goddess, Sis! Covid rears its ugly head AGAIN!
Would you believe my neighbor down the hall has it. Saw her being carried out on a stretcher by the emergency techs. She was conscious. She was taken to Georgetown Hospital in DC because she has a kidney transplant and that’s where her doctors are. M. has always been so careful! For years she wore a mask even to the gym at 4 p.m., when practically no one was there.
I picked up her prescription from the little drugstore on campus and left it on her hallway shelf. Texted her to ask if anyone was bringing Thanksgiving dinner to her and her hubby, but she said neither of them has any appetite.
That puts paid to the hallway neighbors’ dinner we were planning for Monday evening! Oh, well.
Just hope they get better soon.
{{{Dee}}} – Covid sux but I hope your day/gathering is still a loving, caring, enjoyable one. Thanksgiving dinner “care packages” are also a blessing, if not as much as one as not having Covid & being able to attend the gathering. Them not coming & endangering you is a blessing on & from them. Healing Energy to everybody. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, happy Thanksgiving to all! I’m having my risotto for lunch — had some for dinner past night and it’s pretty good. Then I’m going to see The Marvels this afternoon. I’ll squeeze in a walk there somewhere. For now, I’m watching astronomy (pleasantly surprised that Science didn’t put on a marathon of something else). And I need to work on my music diary, I’m hosting the Saturday Night Music one at the orange place, y’all come by.
My daughter is anxious to see The Marvels – one of her friends saw it and really enjoyed it. I will wait until it gets to the Disney Channel when I can pause it to get snacks and I can control the volume. :)
Good morning, meeses! Happy Day of Giving Thanks …
It is 48 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 72. Mostly sunny skies with a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. The mountains may get some snow.
I laughed out loud at the headline that the guy who runs Ron DeFascists Never Back Down PAC resigned. So much for “never backing down”! I am hoping that the first major candidate to drop out is Short Man Syndrome Ron. It is not a shock that his Make America Florida campaign is not appealing to anyone. I would rather have Nikki Haley be the second in line behind TFG – she is terrible in many ways but mostly in ways that are traditional Republicanism. She did not turn her state into a totalitarian dystopia and actually did one or two things right including handling the Confederate flag issue after the Charleston church shooting. A Democratic v Republican general election without tRump could turn on the issues and I think on the issues we win.
I let myself sleep in and will putter at my desk this morning until it is time to prepare and eat our shared meal. We will watch sporting events and maybe take a walk in the park.
See all y’all later!
Posted:
Ooh, ooh, callaloo! This dish figured in one of my very favorite novels, so I’ve always been curious about it and wanted to try it.
However, if it involves goat, I would rather not eat someone’s kid.
Hope your guests-that-would-have-come will recover soon!
It’s 34 heading for 63 and sunny. A lovely day for family & friends to gather, if they can. Yesterday we generated 6.77 KWHs and the m-t-d at 117.7 isn’t on track but it didn’t lose any and actually gained a tad.
Family’s coming over this evening. For this I am blessed. Among many other things. When I finish catching up will all the boosting from overnight I’m going to mix and grill my breakfast sausages. Early enough to have it cleaned up by the time family gets here. LOL. I hope everybody has a pleasant day, whatever fills it. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good Thursday holiday morning, Meese! A glorious day outside, 49 F. now, going up to 59 F., I believe. Hot news! Our area received 2.14 inches of rain on Tuesday, the most since July 9, 2022. We are now only 10 inches under par, rather than 12. Also, the wildfires near Lynchburg are fizzling out. The rain certainly helped the firefighters.
Would you believe, my petunias are still blooming? If they’re still blooming on St. Andrew’s Day, I’m going to offer to Goddess.
It took 45 minutes to make the apple crisp, which is now baking juicily in the oven. It has to bake the same amount of time it took to put together. I made it gluten-free after all, as the amounts of GF flour involved were very small. I’m saving the rest to make bfitz’s lemon muffin bread. Normally, I just go to Trader Joe’s and buy a beautiful French apple tarte. The French know what they’re doing with pastry, y’all. Couldn’t do that this year because of DIL’s health issues. However, she’s such a world-class sweetie that I’d go to more trouble than that for her.
What else…I didn’t do any of the things I said I’d do after the interview yesterday. The young man who interviewed me on TV looked as if he could barely repress his giggles. (Well, he said he actually read Saving the World Through Sex.) I wish the International Tarts Society really existed, but probably the puritanical followers of Allah wouldn’t let themselves be distracted by sex. Every other nationality would, however. Then, no more wars!
Think about it. All wars are caused by men, because men like to fight. If women ran the world it would all be different, women being possessed of more brains and talent than their male counterparts.
Yesterday I wore a navy blue t-shirt dress and added a distractingly patterned sweater thrown over my plump shoulders. This must have succeeded in making me look slimmer because several persons complimented me as I walked down the hall. After struggling out of the tight “shaper” garments when I arrived home, I was too tired to doing anything except relax.
Happy Thanksgiving to all at the Pond!
Good morning, 37 and light clouds. My winter garden is chilly but I’ve just enjoyed a moment outdoors regardless. We’re cooking the turkey on the barbeque so it will be an easy fun day. Best wishes to all.
Friday Meese. Well, we ate and ate (all 6 of us) and I have lots of leftovers, so won’t have to cook for a few days. Delivered care packages to the folks who couldn’t come because Covid.
Puerto Rico
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Democrat of New York, and a dozen colleagues sent a letter to the IRS late last week calling on the IRS to crack down on the noncompliant behavior of about 100 rich Americans claiming extraordinary tax breaks under what’s known as Act 60, which benefits Americans who relocate to Puerto Rico and become bona fide residents. In 2019, Act 60 consolidated two tax havens, Act 22, which applies to individual investors, and Act 20, used for export services companies.
The provision provides these new residents of Puerto Rico with a 100% federal tax exemption from Puerto Rico-sourced income, interest, dividend and capital gains income.
The incentive program, which is overseen by Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC), isn’t available to native residents, who sometimes face tax rates as high as 33% — or to those who became residents before 2012, when the tax benefits were enacted.
It was set up as a way to lure rich mainland Americans to move to Puerto Rico to help boost its economy by building businesses and creating jobs for the island.
“Perreo.” “Jurutungo.” “Güira.” “Jevo.” “Lambeojo.” “Juyilanga.”
These distinct Puerto Rican words — which are used casually and mostly have humorous connotations — are part of a long list of terms people on the island are trying to include in the dictionary of the Real Academia Española, or Spanish Royal Academy, which is considered by many as the final arbiter on the use of the Spanish language around the world.
As a U.S. territory with a Spanish colonial past, Indigenous origins and African ancestry, Puerto Rico’s lexicon has become a fundamental part of its distinct cultural identity.
Hi, Sis, your remark about about the dicctionary reminded me that Inez, our former housekeeper, used to refer to Missy and Molly Beagle as “las perritas.” I thought that was rather endearing.
Good morning. Yesterday was nice, ate my risotto then went to the movie. The Marvels is good, if you like Marvel movies — and if you do, you know to stay for the post-credits scene; definitely stay for the post-credits scene. It is cold, in the 40s so I’ll walk later today. Watching astronomy. Will do housework later. And tweak my music diary for tomorrow.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 50 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 70. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. Right now it is clear and the stars are bright over the mountains. Yesterday it was chilly and we needed to turn the heat on – the morning sun was not hot enough to warm up the front room. The good news is that it only ran for about 30 minutes total all day. The bad news is that putting the furnace on (and switching to long pants from shorts!) means winter is here. It is not likely to get too cold (below freezing is rare) but the warm days baking in the sun in the upper 70s low 80s are gone until March.
I am going to go ignore the news for the rest of the long weekend. There are sporting events on TV to entertain me, Women’s College Basketball tournaments and college football rivalry games. We had a nice meal yesterday and walked in the nearby city park. Now it is time to get back to work. I have some projects that I need to finish up and will be able to do so in the quiet of my office as very few people will be working today and no one over the weekend.
See all y’all later!
It’s 39 heading for 52 although the windchill won’t be out of the 40s. Not as sunny as the last 2 days but still sunny. Yesterday we generated 6.4 and we’re at 124 for the m-t-d with 7 production days left in November.
Yesterday daytime was an ordinary day. Nothing different from any other Thursday. But family came over in the evening with a platter of food. They did something different with the turkey this year. French style – they deboned it all of a piece before roasting it, then stuffed it. It looked like a loaf or a log before slicing. The slices have sort of a jellyroll look, except it’s meat and stuffing rather than cake and jelly. Sides were dressing, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potato, and butternut squash. Also corn muffins. Dessert was largish slices of pumpkin and pecan pies. So. I had a largish meal last night and the leftovers will make 4 more normal-size (my normal anyway) meals. Admittedly the pie may not last 4 days. LOL.
Need to air up my tires when it warms up a bit this afternoon. Otherwise, holiday weekend? What holiday weekend? Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good Friday morning, Moosekind! Another beautiful day here in Ashburn (a.k.a. “the middle of nowhere”), with a current morning temp. of 49 F. It’ll go up to the mid-50s.
Yesterday was tinged with one of my feelings. I’d asked Elder Son to have the dinner in the middle of the day so we wouldn’t have to drive home in the dark. It was a beautiful day, with clear blue skies, sunlight shining on trees half-bare, yet retaining some color, and deep shadows. It was a little chilly but nothing fierce. Poor old Hudsie the Labrador is not long for this world, so I made much of him and took several photos. He seemed quite happy, wagging his tail at the arrival of the visitors, all of whom he knew and liked.
Darling daughter-in-law had decorated the table beautifully. She had her own florist business at one time, so she knows what she’s about. Elder Son had cleverly bought a turkey, already roasted, from Whole Foods. DIL’s parents were present, of course. I was glad that I’d brought the apple crisp instead of scalloped potatoes, because I couldn’t find a gluten-free recipe that didn’t include ham. How could I provide scalloped potatoes with ham to my Jewish daughter-in-law, my grandson, and her parents? Not on.
Anyway, we had a wonderful meal, with young Karl eyeing the cornbread with Serious Intent (he ate three pieces). I had a sad feeling that Thanksgiving would never be the same again, that this was the last time these particular people and that lovely dog would meet. Yes, I’m mawkish, not to mention lachrymose.
My sweet daughter in Texas spent the holiday working from noon to 8 at the hospital, driving some people to the airport before her shift (that’s one of her side hustles), and walking her own dogs. Son-in-law was up in Lenox, MA, consulting with interior decorators. He and Daughter plan to move there in May. He drove to New Hampshire to have dinner with his daughter, her fiance, and her future in-laws.
Well, that’s enough from me, Moosekind. I have tons of laundry and writing to do today, so I’d better get to it. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, 37 and sunny outside my window today. I enjoyed our day of cooking and family fun, but no surprise…..my legs are still throbbing. Oh well, a day of rest, ice, and elevation is needed and I know how to do that. Best wishes to all.
Saturday Meese. Am going to enjoy more leftovers today (happy to not have to cook) The TV will be tuned to Women’s College Basketball all day. It’s 25 here in Kingston going up to 40.
Puerto Rico
Femicides are rampant in Mexico and in Europe, also.
As Germaine Greer so aptly remarked, “Most women have no idea how much men hate them.”
There exists an explanation of this hatred in Sjoo and Mor’s The Great Cosmic Mother, but it’s so long since I read it I can’t remember what it is.
Doesn’t seem to matter where, when the going gets tough men kill women. sigh.
Good morning. Another cold one, watching the news, will go get groceries soon. Making pasta salad for lunch the next couple of weeks. That’s my interesting day. Oh — and I’m hosting the music diary tonight, 6pm central time.
Good Saturday morning, Meese. ‘Tis cold in Ashburn, 32 F. at 9 a.m., going up to 44 F. later. My petunias are shivering in their sheltered corner of the screened porch. I keep mentioning them because as a rule, I have a black thumb and manage to kill everything I try to grow. It’s cloudy as well, and the woods have that smoky grey look.
Yesterday I shamelessly wasted the day. Didn’t do anything! Then we equally shamelessly fell asleep after dinner and missed the shows we were going to watch. I would like to see “Secrets of the Dead,” about the little princes in the Tower.
Today I will do my best to get some stuff done. Granddaughter now wants us to buy her the Uggliest shoes I’ve ever seen for Christmas. However, they’re on back order, so if we do order them, she’ll get them for her 15th birthday in February.
Not much to say…aren’t you relieved? Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!