Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: January 9th

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.

33 Comments

  1. It’s 26 heading for 54 and sunny. Yesterday we generated 6.7 KWHs and the m-t-d of 54.8 is (slightly) gaining again. I’ll do my grocery shopping in a bit – get set up on twitter & finish my oatmeal. Gonna do the supplement stock up at the co-op on Thursday because this week the forecast is 60 & sunny, next week it’s 45 and not.

    Once I’ve got eggs again, I’m going to do some baking. Possibly a “belated” applesauce muffin bread (apple cakes being a 3 Kings Day thing in areas and Traditions that grow apples). Holding the Good Thoughts that things get better – for everybody and despite the odds.

    Off to set up twitter stuff. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  2. Good freezing Tuesday morning, Meese. It’s a tropical 22 F. in Ashburn today, going up to 29 F. later. The sky is a beautiful, glacier-like blue with not a cloud in it. No precip. is predicted.

    Have a full morning of work at my desk ahead and a pedi and reverse gel mani scheduled for the afternoon. I’m sick of getting gel manicures. Not only are they too expensive but I can’t type with one. And I need to type.

    There is a beautiful snowy owl (they think she’s about a year old) flitting about DC. She visits the buffet at Union Station every night, specializing in the pigeon pie and rat ragouts on offer. It’s quite rare to see a snowy owl this far south. Glad someone caught a photo of her! She has such a sweet face.

    Let’s see. At least I am somewhat dressed, just need to get washed and brushed. I have to set up a Google meeting room for Thursday in the hope my writers will join me there.

    There is an article about our President in the WaPo today but as soon as I saw the byline was that of The Bitch, I turned the broadsheet and didn’t read it.

    The disk in my Mac is spinning madly. I don’t know what this portends, so I’ll Google it. I’m afraid to call the Geek Squad because there’s so much Covid around.

    Hope everyone at the Pond will have a good day.

  3. Good morning, 51 and raining so it’s dark and damp and the snow is gone, but there is another flood watch warning. We remain warm and dry is our comfortable covid confinement bubble so I’m feeling grateful. But I’m not getting much done, so where is my focus! Apparently my brain still needs more time to idle and play solitaire. Best wishes to all.

  4. O.M.G. y’all – I was really hoping that I’d get $580, and I have over $1,000 raised! What an awesome birthday!

  5. Wednesday Meese – 12 degrees here in Kingston – feels like zero.

    Haiti

    Puerto Rico


    The Health Department reported 28 deaths from covid-19 today, bringing the death toll to 3,421 since the pandemic began in March 2020.
    This figure would equal the maximum record for deaths in a single day since the start of the pandemic. On August 31, the same number of deaths was reported.

  6. Wow, yesterday was awesome! I got $1800 donated for the Ride! Just, wow. Glad I stayed home and kept posting, asking & thanking. Today, it’s supposed to warm up to the 60s, so I’ll take a walk this afternoon.

  7. It’s 42 going to 57 and sunny. Clouds supposed to move in this afternoon. Hopefully late this afternoon. Yesterday we generated 6.685 KWHs and the m-t-d is 61.49 – not on track of course but gained a little.

    At least the employees – and even some of the customers – were masked in Harp’s yesterday. I found most of what I was after. Surprised at how small the space allotted to canned fruit (including applesauce) has become. I don’t know why it surprised me but it did. Our very privileged society mostly eats fresh or does juice. I guess needing to have relatively inexpensive and shelf-stable fruit around in/for winter is an old “habit” of old people who learned it from their grandmothers for most (white) folks in America. But I found some applesauce – got the individual servings package since they were all in plastic containers and I’m only going to use it for baking anyway. And the applesauce-walnut muffin bread came out quite nicely. Made the house smell good, too.

    Not as good sleep last night as the previous but I’m OK. Hands are cold but I think mostly functional. Off to twitter to find out. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  8. Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind, and a nippy morning it is, as well. Right now in Ashburn it’s 32 F., going up to 47 F. The sky is blue but wears a thin film of white and the sunlight is hazy. Yesterday when I left the nail salon at 5 p.m. I saw a gorgeous silvery half-moon directly overhead in a rapidly dimming blue sky. Made my day.

    It’s already past 10 this morning but I have been busy. Went to the medical center at 8:30 so they could draw blood. I offered my big toe, just to change things up, but they said no, thanks. They searched frantically for a vein and finally found one after I squeezed a rubber thingy that looked like a lemon. I asked what happened to the previous vampire, whose name was Eric. They said he’d always wanted to be a doctor, so he’s now attending med. school at the University of Arkansas. Bfitz, IIRC, the medical at U. of A. is quite well thought of, is it not?

    Our family motto being, “Anything that’s free, go and get it,” I hung around the clubhouse (where the doctor’s office is located) until the free coffee and muffins were dispensed at 9:30. The coffee wasn’t that great but hail, it was free.

    I still have tons of desk work to do. I’m doing one load of laundry per day because Dearly thinks that helps keep women healthy. What does he know? I’ve often thought how comforting it must be to be a man sitting watching TV in the evening while the clink of saucepans and the clatter of cutlery hint that meal preparation is happening. It’s probably the same feeling I have when sitting in the passenger seat while Dearly pumps gas or checks the tire pressure: “Thank Goddess I don’t have to do that.”

    There is a hint of four-letter word happening Sunday night into Monday. I will be most displeased if it prevents Miss Pink Cheeks from staying here. On the other hand, if it snows and she’s already here, I will be only too pleased to keep her.

    Well, that’s enough nonsense from me this morning. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!

  9. Actually screaming out loud — I got 2 donations this morning that put me over $2,000 raised! WooHoo!!!!

  10. Good morning, 51 and raining outside my window. I’ve finally got all of Christmas put away, but it’s still so dark outside we (and the neighbors) have left the outdoor lights on. The colored lights are starting to look a bit garish to me, but the clear white lights are just fine and will stay on the patio trees until summer. I’m trying to re engage with the news of the day but I can only read so much before my eyes glaze over and I can feel worry crowding in so than it’s back to whatever feels more comfortable. After so many years of reading and commenting about the daily news it’s a big change for me to feel so uninformed. Right now I’ve got a quilt idea in mind so that’s more fun to think about. Best wishes to all.

  11. Good afternoon, meeses! Wednesday …

    It is 37 degrees in Madison and since this is the daytime, it is also the daytime high!

    My too busy morning turned into a too busy day and now I have a half dozen documents that I need to save and close. I need lunch and a nap – I will pick it up again in the morning.

    See all y’all later!

  12. Good morning, meeses! Thursday …

    It is 28 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 36. Light snow this morning and then mainly cloudy this afternoon. The Midwest is expected to be hit by a major snowstorm tomorrow called a Saskatchewan Screamer. It is like the infamous Alberta Clipper (but originates in Saskatchewan!) which dumps snow measured in feet instead of inches. I have never heard of the Screamer and I wonder if the shift is due to climate change. In any event, our local Weather Liar says we will not get hit so I expect to see two feet of snow. I don’t have to go anywhere this weekend so I am fine.

    I see some reports that the omicron may have peaked and that the drop in new infections will occur quickly. Of course, we still have too many people in the hospital and even a 90% decrease in new cases will put our health care system at risk. Just like freaking 2020 and the first half of 2021, we have to worry about ourselves or our loved ones falling and breaking something or heaven forbid getting into an automobile accident that requires hospital care. I think I age another year every time my daughter gets in my car to go somewhere. This is no way to live – fk the trumpers and their “let everyone get COVID to own the libs” mentality.

    I am watching the John Lewis Voting Rights Act attempted advancement out of the corner of my eye – I don’t care to read the pundits who are careening from WE ARE DOOMED to WE ARE SAVED. I am about 99% certain that the bill will be killed by Democrats who simply don’t care who is in charge of Congress or the White House. I wish there was a way to show them, like A Christmas Carol ghost, what the future would look like under a trumpified Republican Party. Anyone who thinks McConnell won’t kill the filibuster for everything if they regain the Trifecta is delusional.

    I made it to the check-in on time this morning but I need to get back to my projects. Every year in January I remember how much I despise year end accounting tasks. Now this year they are saying that tax season will suck even more than last tax season. Apparently they are still behind on logging 6 million returns from last year! I got a nasty note from the IRS last month saying that I did not file (of course I did) and I had to reprint and resend my 2020 return. I paid $10 to get the signature this time and will do that with this year’s return – I suspect that they throw away the ones that are just mailed regularly when they run out of space to store them. Anyway, I want the green return receipt card in my hands if they are expecting another clusterfk tax filing year.

    See all y’all later!

  13. Thursday Meese. 27 going up to 41 here in Kingston with some snow showers this morning.

    Puerto Rico

  14. Wow, that is excellent news about the debt cancellation! Even though Congress sucks and will continue to suck, it is clear that having the right people in the administration can make people’s lives better. I remember after we lost the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014 that the only legislation being passed was budgets bills that had to be fought tooth and nail. The Obama Administration was a firewall between the terrible things that Republicans wanted to do and the people who needed help. The tRump years exposed how precarious things are – we really need to figure out how to convince people that putting Republicans in charge is an existential threat.

    • Good idea, Jan, but unfortunately whereas Democrats are awful at messaging, Rethugs are superb at it. Years ago Jim Gilmore, a Rethug whose stupidity level was on a par with that of Dubya, campaigned on “No car tax.” Stupid Virginians ate it up. The incoming Rethug gubernator is trying to do away with the state income tax. How will the state pay for programs?

      Rethugs think of two things between birth and death: how to get rid of taxes and how to get rid of sex. They’re all scumbags.

  15. Good morning. Cold by Texas standards — I know 35 would be a warm overnight for most of y’all. It got up to 65 yesterday, so I went for a walk; and today will be 75 so I’m walking again. Last night’s Bookflurries was a huge success — so many comments I had trouble keeping up, and people kept commenting into the night — and even some new comments this morning.

  16. Good Thursday moaning, Meese! Great Mother, websites are jumpy this morning, I keep getting kicked out and then have find my way back in. Right now it’s partly cloudy—blue sky covered with a haze of white veils—with weak sunlight and a temp. of 34 F. in Ashburn. It didn’t seem quite so bloody cold when I took Monty out to the courtyard just now. There didn’t seem to be any wind whistling up the slope either, which was a blessing. Our high today will be 48 F., and four-letter-word is still in the forecast for Sunday afternoon.

    Yesterday, after feeling perfectly fine in the morning, I became ill around lunchtime. Backaches, headache, queasy tummy. I took an hour-long nap after lunch and woke up feeling better but still queasy. For dinner I could manage only toast and applesauce, washed down with iced gingerale. My temperature rose to 98.6. As a rule my temperature is below normal.

    Anyway, I feel better this morning although I couldn’t manage any breakfast until 9 a.m. This afternoon my Writers’ Group is meeting somehow but after today I’ll have a little more free time.

    The incoming speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates made some very nasty remarks about the outgoing Democratic House majority. Rethugs are so lacking in civility. I remember George Allen, once touted as a future presidential candidate until his “macaca moment,” said that Democrats deserved to have their “soft teeth pushed down their whiny throats” when he was inaugurated. Yesterday when Gov. Northam made his farewell speech, only half the lege was wearing masks. Perhaps the maskless will get Covid and pop their clogs.

    Clearly I’m in a lousy mood, sorry, so I’ll just wish a good, peaceful day to everyone at the Pond.

    • I am in favor of maskless vaxless Republican politicians popping their cogs.

      Either the Internet is jumpy or we are! I posted a comment instead of a reply to Dee’s comment – something that I never do.

  17. It’s 33 heading for 60 and sunny. Yesterday we generated 6.5 KWHs. The m-t-d at 68 isn’t on track but it’s closer. Hopefully we’ll gain more ground today. Before the clouds move in for the next 2 days or so.

    One of Jill’s dogs miscarried yesterday. Jill didn’t know she was pregnant. Small dog, too many puppies. Only 2 of 9 survived (as of last night). Jill was already 2 dogs over the legal limit because she’s got her son’s dogs. And as bad as the shelter situation was in Taos ($65 surrender fee – but a no-kill shelter) it’s worse where she is now. High kill rate because the PETA director won’t approve any applicants for adoption. (Also no help with spay/neuter because of the rules said PETA director added for anyone to be eligible. Not that it was much help anyway – a one-time $50 voucher per household.) sigh. At least puppies, once big enough, are easier to rehome than adult dogs. Especially traumatized adult dogs.

    Between 10:30 and noon is supposed to be “quiet” at the co-op so that’s my target time. Stocking up on supplements isn’t cheap. But decent diet and supplements have carried me through so far, so I’ll keep doing them. Still rearranging what to take when but not changing amounts. That means it’ll take longer than usual since I’ll not be getting my here-to-fore usual brands/formulations.

    Anyway, off to DK for Dee’s diary & to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}

  18. Good morning, 45 and raining, but I see lighter clouds on the horizon. And last night there was a brief but beautiful sunset, so nice to feel the light returning. We joined our son for lunch at the bookstore cafe yesterday and it was so nice to be there again. We were in a corner booth with no one around us so I hope it was a safe decision because the walls are closing in. I’ve got desk work I need to do today and RonK hopes to go somewhere with his camera so we’ll see what today brings our way. Best wishes to all.

    • Yesterday and today, from my Sunrise Calendar:

      Sunrise: 7:27am, Sunset: 4:45pm – Day length: 9h 17′
      Sunrise: 7:27am, Sunset: 4:46pm – Day length: 9h 19′

      We have added 19 minutes since Solstice and are adding at the rate of 2 minutes a day. By February 3rd we will have added an hour! The light is coming back fast.

  19. Good morning, meeses! Friday …

    It is 27 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 23. Isolated flurries expected. I was watching the weather report last night and January has been a roller coaster – 5 days of dramatically below average temperatures and 5 days of dramatically above average temperatures. Maybe “dramatic variations” are the new norm?

    I hope the experts are right and omicron has already peaked. I am so COVID-weary. Last summer, when people started traveling again, we had great hope. It is too bad that the 30% of Americans who have a death wish have the power to drag down the rest of us. I hope that the large companies who don’t have to follow vaccine/test mandates still do; United Airlines announced that none of their employees have died from COVID since they put their mandate in place. We need to name and shame big companies who use the Republican Supreme Court’s antivax ruling as an excuse to ignore science and create dangerous workplaces. In a perfect world, people could refuse to work for proud members of the #RepublicanDeathCult – unfortunately, many people have no choice. Bastids.

    Okay, so now we have established that it is “just fine” for Republicans to not just make it more difficult to vote but that it is also “just fine” to put in place new laws that change how votes are counted and certified – if we do manage to vote in large enough numbers to kick the bums out, the bums will simply declare that the votes for people other than them were fraudulent and discard them. I am looking forward to moving to Arizona and casting a vote for Sinema’s primary opponent in 2024. We don’t need Democrats who are history challenged and who are BFFs with John Freaking Cornyn. People like Sinema, and the other Karens, make me embarrassed to be a white woman.

    We are down to less than 10 business days in January and my to-do list is screaming at me. I am in the process of simplifying my business and I hope that next year is easier – I need more nap time!

    See all y’all later!

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