Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: May 28th

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.

24 Comments

  1. Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …

    Morning low of 66 degrees in the Desert Southwest with an expected daytime high of 91. Sunny skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. Sunday Meese. 51 here in Kingston NY going up to 87! Yikes.

    Puerto Rico

    All the colonies

  3. Good morning. So, a political earthquake here yesterday. The overwhelmingly Republican House voted to impeach the Republican Attorney General. After ignoring his corruption for years, all of a sudden it was important to get rid of him. Okay. Session is over, I don’t know that the Senate will have the hearing on Monday; don’t think they can extend the session themselves; and Abbott sure as hell won’t call a Special for this. But it is really nice to see the Rs in such disarray. Anyway, I’m watching the news & smelling my steeping tea.

  4. 65 heading for 83 and sunny again. Widget says clouds will move in this afternoon. I hope it’s late afternoon at least. Yesterday we generated 21.6 KWHs. The last time we got that high was exactly one year ago May 27, 2022 when we reached right at 22. What this stage of climate collapse means in my part of the world is a little less rain and a lot more clouds. The m-t-d is 422 and we are, at least temporarily, on track for 480 for May.

    I’ve finished my Sunday cleaning chores. My back’s not happy. Neither are my hands but it’s “just” tremors – I was able to open a new jug of milk with my bare hands, no recourse to pliers or even the gripper pad. Tremors mess with mousing so I’ll cuss a lot as I’m boosting stuff. Nothing new there. LOL. I have many friends who’d consider my ailments to be a blessing and gift to have instead of their own.

    I don’t even want to think about what our Dem govt may be willing to trade for a debt ceiling deal. I fear that on a site getting more toxic & less willing to help by the day, I’m going to have a lot more people asking for help with just food. The debt ceiling is an R scam and has been from the getgo – when they invented to try and get out of paying WWI Liberty Bonds “debt”. Now? The largest debtor is Social Security Administration. The Trust is invested in T-bills. That’s what the Rs mean when they tell people Social Security won’t be there for them. They’re planning to find a way to not pay it back. Evil people.

    Meanwhile, I do have boosting to do – and Dee’s diary to read & listen to – so I’d best get to it. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}

  5. Good afternoon, 62 and partly sunny. I could be outdoors, or in my sewing room, or reading one of many half finished books, but instead I’ve been watching YouTube videos…..cooking outdoors in Azerbaijan, restoring a stone cottage in the Italian alps, and several Chateau renovations in France. I’ve only linked to one of the French channels, but more are all to easy to find and if arm chair traveling appeals it’s endlessly entertaining.
    Time for me to get busy now though, first lunch and then laundry. Best wishes to all.

  6. Memorial Day Monday Meese. 60 going up to 76 and sunny here in Kingston NY. Will be re-publishing my DKos diary on the Black origins of Memorial Day at 9AM EDT.

    Puerto Rico

    The Census Bureau reveals that the median age in Puerto Rico increased to 45.2 years in 2020, making it the fastest-aging jurisdiction.

  7. Good morning. I slept in, watching astronomy and eating breakfast. Going to do some cooking, and besides that, I don’t really know. I will get in a walk, but that’s the only other thing on the agenda.

  8. Good Memorial Day Monday, Moosekind. Hope everyone will get some rest. It’s 64 F. in Ashburn right now, supposedly going up to 71 F.

    For breakfast I thawed some of the mini-croissants I bought for our Coronation brunch. There were too many to eat that day, so I froze the rest. I heated them gently, and we ate them with butter, apricot and strawberry jam, and huge strawberries I bought last week. Light classical music played on the telly while outside steady rain fell in a most satisfactory manner. It was raining heavily at 7 a.m. when I came into the living room after getting up. It’s supposed to rain off and on through Wednesday: fine with me, since we have a 7-inch rainfall deficit for the year.

    You should have seen me on Saturday, mercilessly exploiting child labor. Nora wanted to earn money by doing housework. Karl and his parents came along. We had tea, then the children began their labors. I was going to ask Nora to start polishing the refrigerator door with a stainless steel wipe, but Karl wanted to do it! Nora scrubbed the mildew off the porch furniture with soapy water mixed with a little bleach. I made her wear gloves, of course. Later Karl (nine years old tomorrow) said, “Just pay me $5. I’ll be happy with that.” LOL!

    We took Nora down the hall in the Dogwood Pub for dinner. Dearly cannot walk very far these days. We’re going for a Memorial Day “brunch” at 1912 restaurant, down the hall and around the corner. The menu looks extremely uninspired. I’ll eat lightly, because I have a nice supper planned.

    We took Nora to breakfast at Virginia Kitchen yesterday, to show off to the manager how much she’s grown. We’ve been taking her there for Sunday breakfast since she was three. She’s taller than I am now! At what age does a girl’s height stop increasing? She was 14 in February.

    Younger Son is so vague! He talked of taking an 8-day vacation in August. They want to go to England again, but oh, wait, they want to spend a few days in Cornwall. But, oh, why not spend a few days in garbage-strewn, riotous Paris as well? Cornwall is five hours from London by car, 8 hours by train, and so forth. As for finding an air b-n-b in Paris this late—usually one would book at least in January! Goddess help them, that’s all I can say.

    Can’t think why I’ve bored you with all this. I plan to work on my writing assignments if I have the energy, being completely “houseworked out”. Karate class on Saturday morning nearly killed me. I think I’m too old for this stuff. Also, I had a horrible night last night.

    That’s enough from me, Moosekind. We watched the Memorial Day concert on PBS last night (I actually put my Kindle book down in order to watch it), and I’ve placed a photograph of my father on the ledge outside our flat. He was 22 in 1944, blue-eyed and handsome, with curly platinum blond hair.

    Wishing a nice, restful day to all at the Pond.

  9. It’s 66 heading for 84 and sunny at the moment. Widget’s saying clouds moving in. We shall see what we shall see. Yesterday we a hair over 20 KWHs and the m-t-d is 442 – not only still on track for 480 but it’s actually possible to hit 500. Again, we shall see what we shall see.

    I should be doing my 1st treadmill session followed by breakfast, but when I got on the computer to check email a little black cat hopped on to my lap and went to sleep. So I am doing computer stuff until he wakes up. THEN I’ll do my walking and eating before getting back to it. LOL. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody this Memorial Monday. {{{Meeses}}}

  10. Good morning, meeses! Monday …

    It is still morning for me (11:45am or so) but for most of you I guess it is the afternoon. It is already 88 degrees and will get to 93 with sunny skies.

    I am taking a holiday from the news – I will read about the debt deal after it is signed sealed and delivered. I do not need every pundits hot take. I did chuckle at an article yesterday suggesting that Marj and Kevin’s speakership is on death-watch. There is no way that the diehards who voted “present” back in January will not force a revote and this time they will hold firm. I hope we don’t need a functioning Congress for anything this year or next year.

    I got up early and got several projects finished and some notes organized for the short but likely busy week ahead. I am changing the way I do manual check registers to make them less manual and to take advantage of the electronic records of my online transactions which is now 95% of my banking. I have been contemplating how it would work and have finally settled on a scheme and am now implementing it.

    See all y’all later!

  11. Tuesday Meese. Good morning. 50 degress here in Kingston NY going up to a sunny 79.
    Puerto Rico

  12. Good morning. Woke up early & got my walk done. Now I’m watching astronomy & getting ready for work. Did a lot of cooking yesterday: beans, rice, and more sauce for my too-dry pasta salad. Today’s plan is just work.

  13. Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …

    It is 66 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 91. Sunny skies are in the forecast.

    It will be interesting to see who will actually vote for the Biden-McCarthy debt deal. Calling it the Fiscal Responsibility Act seems a bit of a poke in the eye for those of us who think that people are more important than money. There are surely parts of it that no Democrat wants to be on record as voting for (and plenty of parts that most Republicans swore on a stack of Grover Norquists that they would never vote for). I hope it is not passed with a majority of Democrats to save Republicans from having to support it. Nancy Pelosi was great at working with her caucus to ask them to make unpleasant but necessary votes. My guess is that McCarthy has no skills like that. I personally would not vote for it unless it was in two bills – one to raise the limit – a yes – and one to hurt poor people and the environment – a no. It will be interesting to see how it works out. I hope that the deal holds in that the debt default would be awful. Skilled communicators (goddess help us, not the doodieheads like the New York Democrat running the DCCC who lost the House and his own seat) can make hay from how badly Republicans “govern” and win back the House and then repeal the cruelest parts of the bill in 2025. A worthy goal.

    I am hoping that no one wants anything today – I could really use an extra day of holiday weekend. I think I will lay low and hope that no one notices that I am not returning their emails. I am having eye flashes this morning and will not be able to look at screens for much longer.

    See all y’all later!

      • The flashing floaters don’t last too long. They are caused by seeing a bright light and I have been able to avoid them by adjusting my desk lamps properly. Sometimes they come from a bright light on my phone or something I am looking at on the screen – those I can’t preplan. The longest I had them was two hours and I had to go somewhere and close my eyes and hope they would go away (you can see them with your eyes closed but at least you are not trying to read or focus through or around them!). These only lasted about 30 minutes.

  14. It’s 63 heading for 84 and sunny at the moment. Widget says clouds moving in. Hopefully they will get here a lot later than the widget is showing. Yesterday we generated 17.2 KWHs and the m-t-d has already passed 450 – we’re at 458.85 and the 480 target is not promised but very possible. This May is already better than the last 3 Mays and the last 4 Aprils and I’m gonna call that good.

    We’ve got faint smoke coming from somewhere. Not a lot but enough to mess with my sinuses and eyes. So my sleep wasn’t great and I can’t wear my glasses today. And I’m still in better shape than a dozen people I can think of without trying.

    I’ll believe we have a ‘debt ceiling’ deal when it passes both Houses & is signed by the President. I already know we gave away the farm on the environment and added even more onerous paperwork to the safety net. sigh. It beats defaulting in the short term. The long term? Well, we gave away the farm on the environment.

    Off to twitter & spoutible to do my boosting chores. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}

  15. Good Tuesday morning, Meese! It’s quite lovely today, blue sky, pale sunlight, and 63 F. already. There was too much wind for me to go out with the Walkers’ Club this morning, so that is that.

    Had a decent night’s sleep, need to get some exercise today, and to work on my assignments. They’re due on Thursday, along with everyone else’s. My voice is about 4/5 back, but by evening the rasp is quite noticeable. Have to struggle with getting Zelle installed on my bank account—so fearfully tiresome, but young people do not have PayPal at all, and I need to send NOLA niece a birthday present.

    Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!

  16. Good morning, 54 and cloudy. I had plans to be in the garden yesterday, but I felt overwhelmed so I read a book instead. Jacqueline Winspear’s writing always makes me think about my family and the personal costs of war.
    I have a busy day with a lab and then two dentist appointments so time for a shower and then to get going. Best wishes to all.

  17. Wednesday Meese. 53 going up to a sunny 77 here in Kingston NY
    Just finished this in-depth read on home-schoolers in Loudoun County VA.

    Gift link

    The use of the “rod” — interpreted by different people as a wooden spoon, dowel, belt, rubber hose or other implement — was a common practice among the conservative Christian home-schoolers Aaron and Christina knew, and one they had both experienced regularly in their own families.
    The elder Bealls and Comforts did not respond to repeated requests to discuss the discipline they used with their children and the decision by Aaron and Christina to embrace public education. Aaron’s older brother, Joshua — who Aaron said still home-schools his children — did not return calls. Aaron’s other siblings could not be reached for comment. Christina’s siblings, some of whom have also left her parents’ home, either declined to comment or could not be reached.
    Aaron actually shared Christina’s qualms. He knew that the term parents in the movement casually used for discipline, “spankings,” did not capture the childhood terror of being struck several times a week — sometimes more, sometimes less — with what he describes as a shortened broomstick for disobeying commands or failing to pay attention to his schoolwork.
    The memory of waiting as a small child outside his parents’ bedroom for his mother to summon him in; the fear that his transgressions might be enough to incur what he called “killer bee” spankings, when the rod was used against his bare skin; his efforts to obey the order to remain immobile as he was hit — all these sensations and emotions seeped into his bones, creating a deep conviction that those who fail to obey authority pay an awful price.

    • How loathsome! I didn’t see this article in the Post.

      I thought Jesus “loves the little children”? Blearggh. Patriarchy is synonymous with “power over,” and that’s exactly why it’s lasted so long.

  18. Puerto Rico

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