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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It’s 58 heading for 86 and mostly sunny today. Yesterday we generated 13.5 KWHs so while we lost a little ground we didn’t lose much. And the m-t-d at 244.44 is still on track to do better than last April.
I haven’t heard from Fineena. I left a voicemail last night and if I don’t hear from her this morning, I’ll call the hospital this afternoon. Her phone battery was low last time I did talk to her. That may be the issue.
Yesterday I mixed & grilled 6 weeks’ worth of breakfast sausages. Sinusitis flare about 4 so I’m a little early and a lot groggy. Today is my Social Security payday so I’m going to the credit union for cash and may go by the co-op as well. I lead a boring life. Thank Goddess. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
bfitz, your life may be boring, but you yourself are anything but!
Do you like reading in the evenings? There’s so much to explore out there: Marion Chesney’s Regency novels have made me laugh my head off, as have her Agatha Raisin novels. Then there’s Rhys Bowen with her Evan Evans mysteries, Molly Sullivan ditto, and Georgiana mysteries. You can download them from the library, very likely, or if that doesn’t suit, borrow regular books from the library.
I like mysteries because they’re such an escape. The bad guys get punished and the good people get to go on with their lives—so unlike real life.
{{{Diana}}} Thank you. You’re pretty interesting yourself. I do read in the evenings. And yes, mostly mysteries for that exact reason. Mostly old favorites because by end of day my eyes are so tired I don’t want to have to concentrate as I’d have to with something new. I also play solitaire with real cards and do variety word puzzle games. Moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 53 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 86. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Good news from the prognosticators in the Arizona election races this fall. The U.S. Senate race has moved from Toss-Up to Leans Democratic. Ruben Gallego has some solid ads and he is leaning into the abortion issue while his opponent, Kari Mudpuddle, implodes trying to ignore video evidence that she has supported the return the Civil War era law on women’s reproductive health. By the way, that set of laws also put the age of consent at 10 years old for the crime of rape. John Oliver described Kari Lake as “possessor of big local real estate agent energy” – she does indeed, in a scary way! In fact she spoke at a gathering of Paradise Valley real estate agents and her speech included how much she cared about the plight of the homeless, I guess those who can’t afford $10,000,000 for a home? In any event, it will be nice for her to finally give up politics (her VP ship has sailed) and go back to being a terrible person reading the news on TV. The really exciting news for me is that my CD AZ-6, the seat currently held by Hispanic-loathing MAGAt Juan Ciscomani, has moved from Leans Republican to Toss-up. His response to the abortion law was that it should be changed, it needs exceptions – which will tick off the rabid anti-choice voters in his district and make the pro-choice voters laugh their asses off. I so want him to be a one-term Congressman and to have to try to find a job after the Arizona Republican Party’s electeds lose more races and the market for “devising policies to hate on working class people, the poors and recent immigrants” shrinks. In any event, today the Democrats in the Arizona legislature are going to put forward a bill to repeal the 1864 abortion ban and it will provide a roadmap for where to concentrate our efforts in the fall. Unfortunately, the filing deadline has passed and some of the Republicans who will vote to keep the ban will be running unopposed. Methinks that the Arizona Supreme Court delayed their decision for just that reason.
I spent yesterday prepping for a coding project with the first step being to assemble all the notes on what needed to be included. That turned into a massive sorting of a stack of folders that had “notes” dating back two years. In any event, that stack and its companion vertical rack folders have been sorted and reorganized and a lot of things tossed into the shred bag. I am not 100% confident that I have all the notes on what I promised but it will be a good starting point. Now, I have to get to it.
See all y’all later!
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! Guess what, we actually had a night off from rehearsal last night, so I used it to fall asleep in the green chair after dinner. I wish Dearly would get me a new recliner for Mother’s Day, but he’s already been so generous I really can’t ask for it. Between the visiting puppy exercising his teeth on the wooden handle and sheer age (that chair has rocked many a baby to sleep), the green recliner is now a decliner.
It’s 61 F. and overcast in Ashburn. “They” say it will rain, but they don’t really mean it. On Monday it rained quite hard in Sterling, down the road, but we received exactly 6 raindrops on our living room windowpane.
Wore my colorful “Oklahoma!” t-shirt with matching yellow cap to pick up dinner last night, and two different people cheerily informed me that they already had their tickets. We have one more box office tomorrow, and a week from tomorrow is our first performance! Shriek!
I am currently much exercised that women basketball players make millions less than their male counterparts. Victoria Brownworth reported yesterday on Twitter that Caitlin Clark will make $36 an hour! Gods! That’s what I paid my beagle to answer emails that I didn’t feel like answering. She and the others are AMAZING and should be paid what they’re worth! Bloody hail, we don’t want them going off to Rusher to make a bit more money and be flung into jail like Britney Griner. I hope someone, somewhere, does something about this situation.
Going to rest before I get cleaned up for the day. Then I have to get a pedicure. Very painful process, but it must be done.
Wishing a good day with no bad happenings for all at the Pond!
Good morning, 36 and a blue sky outside my window today. The new greenhouse is in place and sheltering the pepper and tomato starts. When it’s warm enough to plant the starts are usually gone but RonK had his pick of the best plants yesterday so he is happy. I’m doing better with managing the walker outdoors and thanks to Bri (the young woman helping me with the garden) projects are still getting done. Best wishes to all.
Thursday Meese. Woke up to major thunder and lightning at around 3AM – it’s now raining and 45.
Puerto Rico
Sis, why in the die-diddley HAIL are people picking on Sotomayor all of a sudden? If they want to get rid of someone, try Thomas, who does ZERO. Or Keggernaugh. Or Mosquito.
If this continues, my blood pressure will go out of bounds.
Good morning. Just a walk this morning, 1.13 mi. Went up on the roof of the garage, it was actually pleasant. (Yesterday it was so muggy at this hour that I was glad to be going to the gym) We’re supposed to get thunderstorms later, and rain on Saturday. In the office today, and the Ride dinner is tonight.
Posted
Ugh, Sis, imagine a whole sea of it. Someone actually wrote a book titled, The Wide Sargasso Sea. Never read it.
It’s 67 going to 80 and sunny at the moment but clouds shortly and rain later are supposed to move in today, then a drop in temps. Yesterday we generated 19.6 KWHs which is probably the best we’ll be able to do at least for several weeks since the oak tree has leafed out. The m-t-d is 264 and that’s on track for “beat’s last April”.
The news from Fineena mostly isn’t good. The doctors think it’s cancer again but this time thyroid and/or liver/pancreas. She’s having biopsies today. Either one explains the pain she’s been in. She’s still wandering a bit/having some confusion but someone who was probably a social worker did come by and talk with her. There are several programs she qualifies for so at least that part’s good. Anyway, whatever prayers & Good Energy you can access, be nice to send her way. She’s probably going to be in hospital for a while longer. Let me know if anybody wants the address to send her a card or something (no flowers on the floor she’s on).
I signed on early to get the word out. Off to fix & eat breakfast, then to my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Thanks, bfitz dear! Was going to call her today but now will wait until tomorrow, as she’s bound to be woozy from the operation. Will send her a gift card so she can pick what she needs or wants.
Sent energy. She’s constantly in my thoughts.
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s 68 F., I’m wearing Bermuda shorts, and I’m about to leave for a nail appointment. This morning I went to get an updated Covid shot. The Resident Life Director, who was clearly lying in wait outside the Jab Room, caught sight of my “Oklahoma!” t-shirt (very bright yellow letters on a blue background) and my matching yellow newsboy cap, and insisted on taking my picture after I came out.
The high will be 80 F. today. Last night’s rehearsal didn’t go too badly, really—a few missed cues, a few blanks. Curly showed up with brown hair! He looks more darling than ever. Ado Annie now has curly blonde pigtails and blue ribbons, she looks adorable. The Great Controversy over Laurey’s wig has been resolved—regarding the first one, the Director screamed that it made Laurey look like a bag lady—but now Laurey will wear a wig which, if anachronistic, is very flattering.
We didn’t have a rehearsal Tuesday, so I used my free evening to fall asleep in the green recliner. I was surprised to find that I missed seeing everyone at rehearsal on Tuesday! Zounds! It’s beginning to feel as if we’re all a big family.
Yikes, I have to leave for my nail appointment in a few minutes. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond. Sister Dee, do send us some rain. If we don’t get some rain soon, I’m going to start moaning about the drought again. Prayers and white light for Fineena.
{{{Diana}}} Working a show feels like you’re all one big family. That’s why for all the time suck and stresses that go with it, people keep doing them. LOL. Moar {{{HUGS}}}
Ten gets you twenty that you’re right, bfitz! (Hugs right back at ya!)
I notice that I called today “Wednesday.” Crud. It’s Thursday, the 18th of April. Does that remind y’all Meese of anything?
Uh, actually, it was 17-year-old Sybil Ludington who gave the first alarm, several days before the 18th of April. Of course, women NEVER get credit for anything. And if stuff goes wrong, it’s always our fault, as America Ferrera pointed out with clarity, point, and no small bitterness in “Barbie–The Movie.”
I was only in community theater for 2 years – 10 shows in all with 3 different “companies” but I remember it well. (I mostly did lights. Once I did sound and twice I was stage “crew”.) It was so hard to let go I actually used to help with breakdown just to get the closure on each show.
I knew the date was familiar. I just couldn’t place it. LOL.
Good (just barely) morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 82 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 90. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. I am going to need to start taking my walk earlier – it was a little warm this morning.
I haven’t had any time to check the news and will continue to be “unknowing” going forward. I have been checking the local news and the Arizona Senate voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban which is meaningless and performative since the Arizona House voted it down. To actually have the repeal take place, both chambers have to vote for it in three consequential days and with the legislature only meeting one day a week, that puts it out three weeks. Then, if the House also votes to repeal – a very big IF – it won’t go into effect until 90 days after the legislative session ends which will probably be June. That means that the ban won’t be repealed until September at the earliest. And all it really does is put the 15 week ban in place, that ban which has no exceptions beyond the 15 weeks for rape and incest and hoops to jump through for protecting the life of the mother. This is all intended to convince voters that they don’t need the constitutional amendment that we will be putting on the ballot in November. Bastids. Of course we need the amendment – it restores Roe which allows for abortions up to fetal viability, closer to 22-24 weeks and an exception for the life of the mother after that. It would end forced birth and forced death in favor of a fetus.
I have a number of irons still in the fire this morning and need to get back to it.
See all y’all later!
Friday Meese. 44 and cloudy here in Kingston going up to 59.
Puerto Rico
With a ticket to Paris 2024! Puerto Rican decathlete Ayden Owens-Delerme secures his qualification for the Olympic Games
Good morning. Walked, didn’t run. There’s always tomorrow. I’m not going out to the Ride tomorrow, the weather is iffy, my car is over 10 years old….. I just don’t want to get stuck 30 miles from town in the rain. So I’ll meet with my training group instead. Had a terrible night’s sleep, hope I can stay awake till closing time.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 59 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 91. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Another day, another escalation in the Middle East. I am not sure how the entire region can avoid devolving into a permanent war zone. I guess the Israeli people are realizing that when you elect a right-wing warmonger that you are likely to get war. And when you actively support someone who seeks to win at all costs you lose any moral high ground you once claimed. Too bad, it did not have to be this way.
Katie Hobbs is doing some fine vetoing in Arizona. The downside to the ballot initiative process is that while it is great to get laws enacted that the out of touch Republicans in the legislature refuse to support (by gathering citizen signatures to put it on the ballot), it has a feature that lets the legislature put an initiative on the ballot with just their votes. So the regressive and oppressive bills that Katie Hobbs vetoes can come back as ballot initiatives which can be fashioned to sound reasonable to people who aren’t paying attention. That is how some ballot initiatives related to ending mail-in ballots, shortening the early voting period and shutting down county-wide voting stations might end up on the ballot. Republicans can only win by making it more difficult for the people who disagree with them to vote. That is why anyone who uses the term “good Republican” is foolish – there are no good Republicans; the party needs to be burned to the ground and the earth salted where it once stood.
Busy day again here. I need to make sure I have everything I need from clients for project work scheduled for the weekend.
See all y’all later!
Good Friday morning, Moosekind! Whaddaya know, I’ve mentioned the correct day of the week. Whereas yesterday was partly sunny and so warm I actually wore shorts to rehearsal, today is a nugly gray day with a temperature of only 55 F.
Rehearsal was a bit wacky last night. Curly, who is ordinarily the best-prepared actor, actually missed a cue. He had curled his newly brown hair with a curling iron, we noticed. Will Parker, who ordinarily wears white hair and a white mustache, had shaved off the mustache and had a stylist dye his hair. It cost him $80! Yikes! The music was a little off, the lighting was a little off, so I just hope to Goddess everything goes well tonight. The cast will be in costume, so as they walk from their apartments to the makeup room, they’ll have to wear trench coats and look furtive. “Don’t talk to anyone,” the director ordered.
We may get some rain. You know how that goes. I hope we actually do, for the simple reason that we need it.
This morning I am determined to go to the gym. Then I’ll pick up my main meal at the Grille in the Blue Ridge Clubhouse, which is right next to the gym. Dearly will have to go to the Pub down the hall for dinner and sit at the bar. Hope no one starts singing.
Today I was supposed to fly to Texas for a family reunion tomorrow. I’m glad I’m not doing it, April 19th as a date has such unpleasant connotations. It’s the day the Branch Dravidian complex was burnt, the day the Oklahoma City municipal building was bombed, and if I remember correctly, the date that Ruby Ridge happened. Ugh. Can’t think why I’m boring you with all this.
Death Valley is a-bloom with flowers! Saw it on telly this morning. Reminds me of my story, “All Acts of Love and Pleasure.” Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
It is a wonderful time of the year for desert blooms! And birds! The migrating birds have been moving through the area and our own birds are back and nesting.
I think April 19th is Hitler’s birthday or something like that which inspires white nationalists to be particularly awful. I was disgusted to see the white nationalists who run the state of Oklahoma up at podiums decrying that terrible thing that ONE OF THEIR FREAKING OWN did by blowing up the Federal Building in Oklahoma. I hope that they someday get their just rewards.
It’s 52 going up to 67 and the furnace just kicked on for the first time in a week. Sunny at the moment but the widget says clouds will be moving in soon. I hope not. Yesterday we generated 9.2 KWHs and at 273.5 the m-t-d is still on track but lost some ground.
Fineena called before 7:30 central time this morning, I don’t know if the confusion about time is drug-related or what, mostly to say she hasn’t gotten the results of the biopsy. She thinks they only did one yesterday but the people she’s talked to so far this morning don’t know anything about doing the 2nd one today. She’s getting bored with North Carolina nature shows but that seems to be most of what the local PBS station is carrying. Anyway, she said she’d let me know when she knows anything about the biopsy.
My hands are cold and stiff. Oh well, this “cooling trend” will only be a few days. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Saturday Meese. 48 going up to 65 with rain. Will be spending today, Sunday and Monday in a priest initiation ceremony, thankfully indoors.
Puerto Rico
Rains today in Orocovis. This government dares to say that we are prepared for a hurricane.
Comic-Con
Good morning, meeses! Saturday …
It is 55 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 88. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Volkswagen workers in the south vote to unionize, fundies are upset at Marjorie Taylor Greene for dissing their guy, Pastor Mike Johnson, and plot her undoing, House advances foreign aid bills which will help Ukraine despite the Russia-enthralled MAGAt congressmen, the jury has been seated in the tRump trial which will feature a lot of “gawd, he’s disgusting” moments hopefully creating a core of “I can’t vote for that guy” people who either stay home or vote for Biden. We live in interesting times.
In Arizona, the Republicans who run the legislature plan to vote to end the ability of citizens to vote to remove Supreme Court justices. They are likely to lose two of them this fall in retaliation for their votes to return the state to literal frontier justice. That means all judges are appointed for life. I hope the people of the state reject than and reject anyone who votes for less democracy over more democracy.
See all y’all later!
It’s 50 heading for 63 and overcast. Sigh. Yesterday we generated 14.6 KWHs and the m-t-d at 288 is still on track to beat last April. We’ll see whether or not it still is tomorrow.
I haven’t heard from Fineena since yesterday morning. Hoping that no news is good news – but I’ll call her this evening if I don’t hear from her today. I mostly haven’t heard from anybody else either and at least as far as my family is concerned no news is definitely good news. My hands aren’t happy with the cooler weather. Oh well. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Is evening the best time to call Fineena? I’m always so worried about interrupting “procedures” if I call in the morning, or naps if I call after lunch. I’ll call her at teatime, which these days is about 3 p.m.
{{{Diana}}} I’m not really sure but I’d bet on late morning or early afternoon. So yes, teatime is probably a very good time to call.
Good Saturday morning, Meese! After a damp and overcast start, the day is trying to become at least partly sunny. The greenwoods are just that—green! While I’ve been preoccupied, the trees have begun leafing out. They’re still in that tentative stage of greening, which I love.
At the moment it’s 57 F. in Ashburn, climbing up to 70 F. later, so it’s definitely not shorts weather. Back to jeans. Boring.
This morning Dearly brought me tea at 7, which I drank, luxuriating in bed until nearly 8 a.m. I have been so tired! Last night I arrived in the makeup room at 5:30 p.m. and stayed through rehearsal to walk the Director out to her car at 9 p.m. (She’s 83 and has big problems with her knees and migraines.) When I arrive home, I’m too het up or something to go to bed right away, so I read until I feel myself nodding off.
My “Dark Brandon” mug has arrived from the merch place in Austin, of all things! Yay! Didn’t make it to the gym yesterday, too tired. Looking forward to a quiet day of laundry and writing. I bought a small cart with wheels for Dearly for all the things he uses in the living room, which is now his bedroom. There’s a place for his tea mug or wineglass, his crossword puzzle, his bottles of pills, his iPad, his remote, glasses, asthma inhaler, etc. He’s putting it together (it arrived in a flat box), and now just has to translate the Chinese for “screw the screws through the holes here and the holes there.” For someone who’s 93 going on 94, he’s pretty sharp!
It’s already nearly 10, so I will wind this down. Our Gubernator Dumbkin is fighting with the legislature AGAIN over the budget. He’s a Trumpanzee and they’re mostly Democratic. We’ll see what happens.
Wishing a good, relaxing day to all at the Pond. I have three days off! Isn’t it lovely?