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.
…
Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 3 degrees in Madison WI with an expected daytime high of 23. Isolated flurries are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese. -1 degrees here in Kingston NY. Brrrrrr.
Puerto Rico
Dee, have you seen the article about PR in today’s WaPo Business Section? Some selfish people are featured in the story.
Yes I did!
It froze overnight, but will get into the 60s this afternoon. So glad the hostage situation yesterday resolved without harm to the hostages. I think I’ll decide about going to in-person church about 5 minutes before I’d need to leave. This afternoon, I need to do some cooking.
So glad no one was hurt except the terrorist! That sounds heartless. He should have lived to stand trial but the police force in this country stick to the rule, “Shoot first, ask questions afterwards.”
Black Music Sunday
It’s 25 heading for 42 and still overcast. While the roads are clear there’s an inch of snow on everything else. Including the solar panels. Yesterday it snowed most of the day – true, sometimes it was just drifting flakes – and we only generated .28 KWH. The m-t-d inched up to 79.5 – and I’m not sure we can catch up even to 180 for the month at this rate.
Last night Michele Wilson’s brother Reid passed. So now she’s faced immediately with the cost of dealing with his body – and Social Security pulling back his last benefit check. Then she’ll have some time to rest and mourn.
Goofy little white-pawed tabby is “cat loaf” sitting in the snow watching the rodent hole under the bird feeder. I know he’s not hungry because I fed him this morning and there’s kibble left in the dish. Cats.
I actually got a decent night’s sleep last night. I can’t remember the last time I got 8 whole hours, even if it was in two 4-hour chunks. Obviously, as uncomfortable as they are, the sinuses are better. Hands, well, I’m not screaming and cussing as I try to do things with the mouse so they’re that much better. We’ll see if they stay that much better as I get over to twitter and start my daily routine there.
Off to Dee’s diary and twitter. Bright the day, Meeses.{{{HUGS}}}
Glad you had a decent night’s sleep, bfitz! That always helps. The little white-pawed tabby is a mystery.
Years ago I had a friend who suddenly decided she would no longer use a mouse. She started training herself to use only commands on her keyboard. We lost touch, but I wonder whether she succeeded in that enterprise. She didn’t say she had a problem, just that she wanted to avoid the mouse.
We had a mutual friend who had problems with her hands because she was a librarian, and stamped library cards all day. She became a nun, but I think that was more to do with her rather unsatisfactory life than because she had a hand and wrist problem.
Sleep does help, doesn’t it. Yes, cats. Always a mystery.
I use the function keys to move from tab to tab and also to refresh. If there’s one for toggling between windows rather than just tabs I don’t know of it. Nor one for opening windows/tabs or closing windows/tabs. And definitely not one to indicate I want to start a new email or make a reply to a comment anywhere – and then to actually send it once I’ve got it written.
I thought about becoming a nun back when I was actively practicing catholicism – but decided there was no way I wanted to put myself even more under the power of patriarchy than I already was just living in this society.
You can assign function keys to some Windows tasks. It has to be things you can already do with keystrokes, for example alt-tab moves between open windows and can be assigned to an F-key. I am pretty sure it would not be possible to use F-keys to open a window/tab (you could not program what you wanted to open!) but possibly to close a window/tab. Many years ago I worked with a client who had ALS and could not use his hands or speak. There were some promising eye-blink mousing and typing devices and software. I would imagine that 20 years later there are other tools. You may want to check with the disability community to see what options might be available.
If – or maybe I should say when – this gets worse, I’ll need to get something that will do that. They have to exist. Probably expensive, but there. Thank you for the “alt-tab” to toggle between windows. I only knew the “ctrl-tab” to move between tabs within a window.
Good advice! I’ve sometimes thought I should investigate Dragon Naturally Speaking in whatever form it exists now, because I can see the day coming when my hands will be too arthritic to let me type. Already I’m unable to open most tight-lidded jars without the help of a twister mat or Dearly Beloved’s hands.
I always considered it rude that Social Security claws back a person’s last benefit check. In my mind, if it makes it to your bank account, it is yours. I am sure that many a newly-made widow or widower has been confronted with no way to pay the bills – or even overdrafts if automatic payments are being made – because of that. It can be particularly devastating if the surviving spouse is getting the minimum benefit and the larger check for the “breadwinner” suddenly disappears. Even the smaller minimum benefit check is probably earmarked for bills for many couples. It seems like a kindness would be to let the last check stay where it is.
Rude is a polite word for it. Yes, it leaves the family with no way to pay outstanding bills. Or for the funeral. And if the family didn’t know it was going to happen – and many don’t – and paid some of those bills, it means a bank “overdraft” and bank “insufficient funds” fees piled on top of everything else. And since they aren’t paying ahead – you get your 1st month’s check and the end of the 1st full month on Social Security just as if it were a paycheck on a new job – it’s actually theft of the last month’s earned benefit. It’s the Deplorables’ way of making sure no Social Security dollars become part of an inheritable estate. Bastids.
I just don’t understand what governs this. My beloved Mother died on the 7th of the month. No one clawed back her Social. She was actually getting my Dad’s Social. I think I even called IRS—you could get hold of them in those days, 2008, if you called before 8 a.m.—and they said not to worry. It really helped.
The thing that helped most of ALL was that before she died we managed to get her house covered by a revocable family trust. That simplified life considerably, as the house did not have to go through probate. We were able to sell it with the help of a realtor in early summer. This was quite providential as later that year all hell broke loose with the economy.
Good Sunday morning, Moosekind! It’s 18 F. with “lowering” skies in Ashburn. The flat smells appetizingly of the brownies I’m baking. They’ll be out soon. Snow is predicted to start at 1 p.m., changing to sleet and freezing rain, and then bla bla bla. Tomorrow is a holiday, so I think most people will stay home. I’ll read about MLK’s life and work on line.
Well, it turned out that Miss Pink Cheeks couldn’t come because she had to work on a school project. As much as I longed to see her, that suited me because I was a wreck after a very bad night on Friday night. Perhaps she can come next weekend.
Not much to say except that I refuse to read the “Biden is a failure” articles in the WaPo. There’s no point in elevating my blood pressure. I’ll just quietly potter about today and hope to get some things done. Must look up the location of Tonga and also find out exactly where the Solomon Islands are.
We’re planning to totally stay home and not go anywhere as long as the bad weather lasts. Wishing a nice, quiet day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, 40 and cloudy. I’m thinking about a quilt project but I’m not sure I have the skills to actually do what I’m picturing. I want the blocks to look like a book shelf with books shelved and stacked. Each “book” would feature a different fabric, but how do I cut and piece them so they look like books, not just strips of cloth? This project may need more thought :)
I cleaned and oiled my sewing machines yesterday so I’m slowly getting ready to sew again. I should finish some of my to be sewn stack but I’ll see where the muse leads me. Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 21 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 28. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.
I am very much in favor of the press focusing on the DeSantis Trump spat instead of writing endless articles about the “failed presidency” of Joe Biden. I am pretty sure no one expected Joe Biden to be a transformational president – most people voted for him as an electable placeholder until the next generation of Democrats are ready to run the country and can be elected in the face of white nationalistic tendencies. Everyone knew that Joe Biden had a blind spot about the usefulness of the Senate – it has been broken for years and ruled by Comity which means “Republicans can ratfk everything because Democrats value politeness above making people’s lives suck less.” It is not surprising that the Founding Fathers’ compromise to accommodate slave states would come back and bite democracy in the ass. It was foolish to expect otherwise and negligent for the Democratic Party to neglect voting rights legislation and just “count on the courts” to follow the existing laws and protect the franchise. The courts are Republican and they know that the only way their minority party can hold onto power is to ratfk the voting process. Goddess help us.
Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day – federally chartered banks and post offices will be closed but many businesses will be open because it is not a holiday they care about. When we went to DC back in 2014 we made a point of seeing the MLKJR monument. If it is ever safe to travel again – and Democrats hold onto power – I would like to go back to DC and see the monuments again as well as the new museums.
See all y’all later!
Snow Monday Meese!
Wow!
Puerto Rico
Among the schools on the list is the ONLY high school that #Vieques has . Do you understand what this means?
Jesus tap-dancing Christ, what is their reasoning on this?
This all got pushed by Betsy DeVos clone former Head of Education Julia Keleher (who is now in prison)
Get rid of public schools and invest in charters was the plan
Good morning. It didn’t quite freeze overnight, and it’s going to get warmer through the week until Thursday & it’ll freeze that night. But today will be great, and I’ll get in a walk. Cooked yesterday — risotto with broccoli, kale & mushrooms. And spinach & mushrooms to add to the couple of frozen dinners I have. Going to be hard to go back to work tomorrow, at least it’s wfh till Thursday.
It’s 28 heading for upper 40s and sunny so it might even make it today. (It didn’t manage to get to freezing, much less the 40s, yesterday.) We generated about enough electricity yesterday to run one 60-watt-equivalent compact fluorescent light for 10 hours. Why yes, the m-t-d is still 79. With over an inch of snow on the panels, I’m not sure what we’ll get today. The sun and warmth are going to have to do some melting before we get anything. sigh.
I found and have been wearing my wrist bands which seem to have helped the problem with my hands. That definitely indicates at least part of the issue is repetitive motion as my son thinks. Holding the Good Thought and all that. Same ol’ with the sinusitis causing lack of sleep. I got a total of 4-1/2 hours. Oh well. That would be a “good” night for Aji. Everything’s relative. Or at least most things are relative.
I haven’t connected with anybody yet today but as of last night Jill was much better (still a little cough but the fever’s gone) and everybody else was pretty much hanging on.
I need to bake cookies today but twitter first. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 40 and cloudy, with rain showers off and on all day. I’ve got lots to do today but the motivation to do anything is lacking. A quick trip to the garden shop for some primroses might be a good idea. Covid numbers are high here but wearing a good mask and staying outside should be safe. Seems like this plague will never end! I feel guilty about whining because I know how fortunate I am but some days the walls do close in. As always, my best wishes to all.
I know. It’s quite wearing.
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 25 degrees in Madison with an expected daytime high of 36. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast. It will be a lot colder tomorrow and the next few days with lows below zero.
Today is the day that the filibuster is once again enshrined as the last tool for the white supremacist minority to block the right to vote – and to have your vote counted – in America. That the Civil Rights battles of the 1960s have to be fought again with the face of the Republican Party now being Glenn Dumbkin declaring that America is post-racial instead of the principled Republicans from the Party of Eisenhower who helped LBJ pass Civil Rights and Voters Rights is tragic. An article I read yesterday suggested that the rhetoric now is eerily similar to the rhetoric in the Jim Crow years, Southern politicians lashing out at the “federalization of voting” in the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Yes, the federal government needs to step in and insure fair elections (and non-partisan vote counting) because one of our political parties has determined that the only way they can keep power is to end democratic elections and govern as a minority. Banned-by-tRump Senator Lisa Murkowski should caucus with the Democrats on this issue and break the filibuster rule for voting rights. She could be the Margaret Chase Smith of the modern era.
The DeSantis Trump feud is really heating up! Roger Stone called DeSantis a “fat guy with a bad haircut” who tRump made governor and tRump’s former aides are blaming Mitch McChinless for keeping the rumors of the spat floating. Apparently Republicans are realizing that tRump is going to ratfk the midterms with his purity “Big Lie” position and are trying to avoid it. Ha! Good luck controlling the furies you unleashed, Republicans. You own the cuckoos.
I woke up this morning with plans to sort through my to-do stack and get organized for the end of January push and instead puttered around. My to-do stack starts out as a stack of papers with notes on projects but then when I am in a hurry, I add a Post-it Note to help me remember a new thing I realized needed to be done. Right now it looks like a pad of sticky notes exploded on one side of my desk – I need to read them and put them in a list.
See all y’all later!
Tuesday Meese. It’s 26 degrees here in Kingston NY with light snow going up to 28.
Puerto Rico
Good morning. Ran into the office to grab some new applications, getting ready to log into work. Today & tomorrow are supposed to be gorgeous — then Wednesday night a big cold front, it’s supposed to be freezing Thursday morning & they’re talking about “wintry mix” Thursday & Friday. But today will be beautiful, I may log out early and take a walk.
It’s 42 going up to 58 and sunny at the moment. Widget says clouds will move in soon. Temps will drop tomorrow – to the extent that forecasted rain may be snow by nightfall. But today it will be (relatively) warm. The snow melted fast enough yesterday that we generated 4.3 KWHs – not bad considering the system didn’t even come on until 10 am. The m-t-d is 84. I’m not sure it even can get back on track. But we still have a lot of month left.
Momma died 33 years ago today. Just after 8 am. I was in the hospital room with her but talking to a friend when heard I her stop breathing. She was 58. I was 37. I’m 70 now. At least I don’t reach for the phone every Sunday to call her any longer.
As far as I know everybody’s still hanging on. So that part’s good. I’ve laundry to do today but I’ll wait until afternoon since I’ll be hanging it over and in front of the fire anyway. Off to twitter. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
58? How awful! I was lucky and had my mother into her 90th year (she passed a few months short of her 90th birthday).
I hope memories of her give you comfort today.
Our sucky healthcare system. Misdiagnosed based on age, weight, and gender until it was too late. Momma’d be 91 if she were still here. 92 in August.
Yes, the memories are mostly good. Mostly comforting.
🙏🙏🙏🙏
{{{{{{{bfitz}}}}}}} these anniversaries are always so hard, sending you comforting thoughts
Sorry about your mother, bfitz. I never stop missing my mother. I think of her every day.
I’m the same. That’s why I get pulled up short when I realize how long it’s been. And the weirdness of being older – now 12 years older – than she was when she died.
Good Tuesday morning, Meese. We’re under partly cloudy skies this morning, with 36 F. on its way up to 37 F.
Yesterday I was in a huge hurry because I had to take a shower and get ready for a 10:30 interview in the Cardinal Clubhouse. Had a wonderful time interviewing the ex-Peace Corps volunteer, who lived in many of the places I’ve lived in or visited. It was so much fun talking to her I didn’t want to stop!
Returning home, I made lunch for the three of us and then took a long nap because I’d had such a rotten night on Sunday night. Last night I took a pill, therefore enjoying a 7 and 1/2 hour sleep.
I’m trying to be nicer to the dog, which is difficult because he gets on my last nerve, but then the poor animal never asked to move to a place where we have to boot up and take him out 20 times a day for his aging bladder, instead of simply letting him out the dog door that led to the backyard. I’ll stop feeling guilty about that the day I die.
Have a great deal of writing to do, not only work on the articles, but also personal correspondence with the family. Yesterday I texted both Elder and Younger Son to see if they were behaving Britishly. They were: they drink a cup of tea every afternoon between 3 and 4 p.m. I gave each an “A” for Englishness and then stopped bugging them.
Well—stretch, yawn—I’d better get on with things. Hubby and Monty are out for their morning walk. Last night because of the terrible weather many of the staff could not get to work, so the dinner options were to eat in the restaurants. They did not offer carryout. Well, with Dearly’s COPD, we’re not eating in restaurants with all this Covid around, so I made chicken vegetable soup with what I found in the fridge, pantry, and spice cupboard. It was delicious, too. There wasn’t a drop left.
Well, they’re back, so it’s time for elevenses. Wishing a good, productive day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, 44 and raining, so another slow and sleepy morning for me. I’ve made some progress with my quilt idea and now have a pattern to make the books. But thanks to covid my favorite quilt shop is closed so I’m looking for fabrics online. Spoonflower has so many choices, 91 pages of music themed fabric! I may disappear down the fabric rabbit hole. Oh well, it’s a good diversion from angst producing news of the day. Best wishes to all.