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. Cold but the rain is gone, yesterday it rained from afternoon through late night. Getting ready for work, and today is a walk/run for my exercise. Hope I can do all 10 rounds.
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind. It was cloudy, but is now clearing in Ashburn. Right now it’s 34 F., going up to 49 F. The weather guys are still dancing on tiptoes because they don’t know if “IT” is going to be rain, sleet, or snow, or a mixture of all three. They never do know.
Have a doctor visit this morning, very boring, then hope to go to Trader Joe’s in case something does happen this weekend. Need to do some writing today because it’s due to the members of my writing group tomorrow.
Bfitz, I hope your kitty is all right!
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 41 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 59. The morning will begin with sunny skies but then cloud up as the day goes on. Tomorrow a front moves in that will drop our temperatures significantly with morning lows flirting with the freezing mark the rest of this week and in the 20s next week. It may rain tomorrow – and snow on Monday!
The president of Harvard is out and Elaine Stefanik notches another “win”. I suspect it will be more difficult to get her last remaining target, the female MIT president, ousted – no one is going to believe that a Jewish woman is anti-Semitic. I am sad that President Gay lost her job but plagiarism is a big deal in academia and apparently “oops, forgot that footnote” only goes so far. Still, the jackals circling her was ugly to see.
I hope there is enough time to convict tRump on something before the election. There may still be some people who will not want to elect a convicted criminal. Certainly, there are people who won’t care and will be delighted to “own the libs” by voting for him, but there used to be a core of Republicans who mostly cared about lower taxes and deregulation but didn’t really approve of the white christian nationalist movement that encourages nazis and white supremacists. Perhaps they can be convinced to either stay home or to vote for Biden.
I am working on a project that needs to be finished this morning. It won’t be done by 7am as I had hoped but I have the structure in place and should finish by mid-morning. I best get back to it.
See all y’all later!
It’s 27 heading for 50 and sunny at the moment. Supposed to be all day, too. Hope so. Yesterday we generated 6.25 KWHs and the m-t-d at 12.6 is still on track to better last January.
Welp. Charlie has hyperthyroid issues. I don’t know what the treatment is going to cost. I can’t pill him so it’s got to be a transdermal gel and that requires a compounding pharmacy. The vet’s office was supposed to call it in yesterday but it was almost 3:30 when I left it they may not have done it until this morning. The pharmacy is supposed to call me with pricing sometime today. Once we’ve settled how much I want to order at one time and whether or not I want to set up an autoship – and I’ve paid, of course – they’ll mix it up and ship it out.
I haven’t really heard from anybody so I’m guessing they’re all trucking along. Laundry for me this afternoon & maybe baking a small loaf of soda bread. I sure hope the wood guy shows up. I’ll be out of wood by this weekend otherwise and we’re “supposed” to get snow then.
Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
And the wood guy just called. He’ll be here in half an hour. Yay!
Yay!
Good morning, 45 and cloudy outside my windows today. I was writing a post yesterday when Elsa arrived and bounced on my lap. Chaos ensued, fun happened, but the computer slid to the floor and when I rescued it I forgot to come back to post. Oh well, nothing new here to report. I’m still slow to get anything done but I’ll eventually get Christmas put way. Best wishes to all.
Thursday Meese. 32 going up to a sunny 40.
Puerto Rico
The head of Miami-based Borinquen Medical Centers worries the continuing decline of Puerto Rico’s health care system is going to drive more doctors, nurses and other health professionals to leave the U.S. island territory.
In an interview on Friday’s South Florida Roundup with host Tim Padgett, Paul Velez, Borinquen President and CEO, said the high mortality rate in Puerto Rico documented in a recent investigative story jointly published by The Washington Post and Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism starkly illustrates the deadly consequences of a failing health care system.
The investigation found that Puerto Rico had more than 35,400 deaths last year — nearly 3,300 more than researchers would typically expect based on historic trends. The U.S. territory is home to 3.3 million people. The high death rates continued even after the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside.
The story noted that the collapsing healthcare system had left large swaths of Puerto Rico with scant medical infrastructure and personnel. The number of physicians dropped by almost 50%. Fewer than a third of its municipalities have hospitals with accessible beds, and some Puerto Ricans live as far as 20 miles away from the nearest hospital. The island has just 95 cardiologists, the media outlets reported.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Puerto Rico governor’s office must stop using the slogan “Making things happen” to promote the administration’s work because it looks like election campaigning, election officials said Wednesday.
The phrase can no longer appear on ads launched with public money by the administration of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, who is seeking a second term in an election this year. The opposition Popular Democratic Party has challenged the administration’s use of the phrase.
Walter Vélez, who oversees the election comptroller’s office, told reporters that the slogan could allude to achievements and goals, both of which are barred under laws restricting the use of public funds for election-related advertising.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A small daily newspaper in the U.S. Virgin Islands whose owner credited past generations of literate slaves for its survival is closing after 180 years in print.
The St. Croix Avis, which published its first edition in 1844, can no longer compete with social media and digital newspaper subscription services, according to owner and publisher Rena Brodhurst.
“That is an impossible mission we are unable to fulfill,” she said in a statement published Sunday.
It is always sad when a newspaper has to shutter its doors. Closing one that has been a part of the community for so long – and with such a history as the St. Croix Avis – is a tragedy.
Yes :(
Good morning. Cold (by Texas standards) enough for 3 layers plus hat & gloves. Yesterday I made it to 6 rounds of run/walk, today was just 30 minutes walking. In the office. I hope people take it easy on us. As of this week, we’re not allowed flex time anymore, everyone is 8-5. Driving home is going to suck. The hippie grocery store has cherry-chocolate bread, maybe I’ll get some on the way home. It is so good lightly toasted.
Does this mean 5 days a week, another? Capitalist bosses are so stupid.
Posted:
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 39 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 46. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast. Freeze warning issued with overnight temperatures below freezing for the next 5 days.
I am going to try to take the day off from client work and reset. Yes, it is the beginning of the new year and there are end of year and beginning of year projects with looming deadlines BUT it does not help to stress out about them as I feel I have been. I am going to make a good to-do list then I am going to see about getting a haircut. I am past due for a cut because of the holidays and the extra hair is literally weighing on me.
See all y’all later!
Enjoy your day off!
It’s 29 heading for 50 and sunny again. So far. Yesterday we generated just under 6.5 KWHs and the m-t-d at 19 is still on track.
Welp, I got the laundry done yesterday so count that as good. The pharmacy still hasn’t called so I can order Charlie’s meds. And the firewood, ahem. Well, obviously it had been down for at least a year from the rot/punk on the outsides of the logs, but they must have split it last week. It’s heavy, damp to the touch, and smells green. Red oak. It doesn’t start curing until it’s split. It rots on the ground if not split and it could be down until there was only an inch core of wood left and it would still be green. And I don’t know what I’m going to do. But the wood guy is also a tree guy and I’ve got 2 very dangerous limbs and several more maybe dangerous limbs on 2 different trees that I have got to deal with. So I’m hiring him for that and will talk to him about the firewood when he comes to deal with the limbs. sigh.
Anyway, there’s boosting to be done so I’d best get to it. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good morning. Much warmer than yesterday (50 degrees) and we had rain overnight. I made it to 8 rounds of run 1 minute, walk 2! Really hard, but I did it. Next week, I have to really try for 10. Anyway, here I am in the office.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 35 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 46. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. The waning crescent moon is visible in the ESE sky, she is at about 37% illumination and nearly out of sight over the deck overhang. It is always wonderful to the see the moon in my morning sky! I know she is going to be visible when I see the moonlight on the deck and greenspace behind the unit. We did not get the freeze here but it is darned cold!
As we approach the 3rd anniversary of the January 6th bloody coup attempt by tRump and his followers, it is good to see that most media is no longer bothsidesing it. There is a group of about 25% who believe that it was either a hoax or instigated by the FBI, pretty much the same percentage who believe that the moon landing was staged and that Ted Cruz’s father killed JFK. I hope that the January 6th retrospectives include the warnings that if the organizers of the insurrection are not brought to justice, and are instead returned to power, it is game over for democracy. The warning cannot be strong enough – people really need to understand that paying 25 cents more for a gallon of gas is not tyranny but economics and changing presidents to “fix” that is the ultimate penny-wise and pound-foolish. I need to find a way to more effectively block out the panic I am feeling about this year’s elections and the power of the courts to fix what has been broken by trumpism. Maybe a warding away ritual is needed?
It is Friday and I have promised two things and I will try to get at least one done. I did manage to get my haircut yesterday but had to go to a new salon as the one I had been using is closed. It was a good haircut and the hair stylist was pleasant and listened well, the most important part of a new haircut.
See all y’all later!
Good Friday morning, Moosekind! It’s 26 F. here in Ashburn, on a sunny, frosty day. High will be 44 F.
I had to do something yesterday, don’t quite remember what, so never made it to check-in. Today I have a long-deferred lunch with my last remaining Circle Sister in Reston. That’s halfway between our dwelling places.
After that I have to rush back here for a legislative briefing. We have a delegate for our district and a newly elected state senator for our district giving presentations today. Both are running for Jennifer Wexton’s 10th District Congressional seat. The state senate guy must have a MONSTROUS ego–he has yet to serve a single day in his new state senate position. Everyone except yrs truly is running for Jennifer Wexton’s 10th District seat. As far as I’m concerned, I want both those men to stay where they are, and for Jennifer Boysko to be elected. She and I go back 20 years, all the way to Howard Dean campaign days.
Talk about first-world problems: There’s a one-act play I want to write but I won’t have time until this summer. However, the characters are acting up, demanding to be let out and given names. They’re already speaking lines of dialogue, which is always A Sign. I dutifully wrote the lines down, but I truly cannot work on it while we’re auditioning actors and singers for “Oklahoma!” which the Drama Club is putting on in late April.
In other news, my interview for “Literary Legacy” appeared on the in-house channel yesterday. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear. Remind me to lose 30 pounds before I ever let myself be interviewed on TV again. The young man did a super job of illustrating the interview, which focused on my novella, Saving the World through Sex, but his spelling leaves much to be desired. He kept calling me “Diane,” which is not my name. Oh, well, he’s very young. He’s going to work for Maryland Public Television next week, which means the youngest, smokin’ hot guy in this whole place will be gone. Sniff.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond and to the starving Gazans and the beleaguered people in Ukraine.
It’s 33 heading for 43 and we actually got snow overnight/early this morning. Actually it’s still snowing a little but it’s mostly stopped. And the snow that was on my power lines earlier is gone. Thankfully. Once it completely stops I’ll go sweep it off the firewood on the carport. That wood’s wet enough already. Yesterday we generated 6.68 KWHs and the m-t-d at 25.7 was still on track. It won’t be after today. I won’t get any generation until the snow melts off the panels.
Purina changed something about their “Indoor Advantage” kibble. It’s both darker in color and firmer of texture. And my cats don’t like it. Sigh. New bag and as long as they’re eating enough to not get sick – which they are – I’m going to give them a few days to get used to it before I go buy something else to try and start feeding this stuff to the outdoor cats. Called the vet clinic yesterday to get the phone number of the compounding pharmacy (it’s Wedgewood, in NJ), called them, and finally got Charlie’s meds ordered. 30-day supply is $42 but 60-day supply is $51 so I did that. And since it’s my first order they gave me free shipping.
Time to get about my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good morning, 45 and cloudy outside my windows today. I finally sorted out the top layers of my desk mess yesterday and I hope to do more today. The old computer I was using for desk work and my lack of focus resulted in a few dumb errors so I’ll try to “fix” those first. I have replaced the computer, just wish I could to the same with my cluttered mind! Best wishes to all.
Saturday Meese. Waiting for the snowstorm to hit. For me – today is Klanuary6th.
This!
We can’t let people forget what Republicans do when they gain power – they do everything they can, including armed insurrection, to hang onto it.
Excellent goal, Sis, and I love your apt name, “Klanuary 6th”!
Puerto Rico
First Spanish United Methodist Church, commonly known as FSUMC/The People’s Church
Good morning, meeses! Saturday …
It is 33 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 50. Sunny skies are in the forecast. I got up early enough to see the gorgeous waning moon over the mountains this morning. Thank you, goddess!
Women in Idaho were just told that if they present to the emergency room because their pregnancy is literally killing them, tough sh*t – just die. We are a terrible country to have allowed medical care to be withheld from people over religious ideology. We are a terrible country to have listened to Ralph Freaking Nader and Bernie Freaking Sanders who claimed that “both parties are the same” and whose supporters turned the Supreme Court over to the right-wing and allow them to kill women.
I will put Joe Biden’s speech and a few of the other January 6th interviews into my Pocket to possibly read at some time. I have the quiet of a Saturday morning to myself to organize some lists and do some personal accounting.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. My stupid HOA is doing “door measurements” today, we had to either hand a key over to these incompetent strangers or be here. So I may miss my Democratic club’s endorsement meeting. This repair thing has been a mess from beginning to now. At some point today, I need to walk for 30 minutes.
Good Saturday morning, Meese!
How nice it is not to have to rush off anywhere. It’s just past 9 a.m. on “Klanuary 6th,” as Sister Dee aptly calls it, and so far not a flake of snow, pellet of sleet, or drop of rain has fallen. It’s 32 F. with cloudy skies in Ashburn. I wish I could get paid $300,000 a year to get the weather wrong every time they predict a snowstorm or even a rainstorm. THIS is what they’ve been excited about all week? Nothing? Duhh.
Plan to have a quiet day of desk work, with some exercise thrown in. Today is the sixth day without chocolate. However (confidentially), no matter how much I abstain from chocolate and dessert and exercise on the treadmill, I never lose an ounce. I lift weights, too. Oh, well, first-world problem!
Wishing all at the Pond a nice, quiet day.