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. I went to the gym because I’ve been writing off going, so I wanted to be sure I got it done. Two times 10 minutes, y’all! Plus 6 more. Anyway, working and watching astronomy.
It’s 59 heading for 62, overcast, and supposed to rain today. Which I’ll believe when it actually falls from the sky. Yesterday we generated 10.3 KWHs but the m-t-d at 136.45 is still on track to beat out last year. We’ll see how much more ground we lose today.
The plumber came and not only do I now have hot water in the kitchen but the float assembly and handle on the toilet have been replaced so I’m no longer filling the tank with a bucket and flushing using an old shoestring. I’d been a year without hot water in the kitchen. I’d been flushing the toilet w/ a shoestring & using a bucket to fill the tank since Covid started. And irony or blessings or something – the plumber’s bill came to exactly what my AR state income tax refund was – that I got Monday. 👍🏻
Anyway, a bit sluggish this morning. Sinusitis flare overnight. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Glad your home repairs were made and paid for, bfitz!
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 50 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 81. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Well, the Arizona Supreme Court just handed the state’s electoral votes to Joe Biden, guaranteed a Democrat will replace the Green Party’s Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate, and likely flipped the Arizona legislature red to blue. We have the signatures to put constitutional abortion protections on the ballot this fall and are waiting to beef up the totals to make sure we have the 380,000 or so vetted signatures needed to qualify (we have over 500,000 right now, I think the organizers would like to have twice what we need). There will be voter enthusiasm and the Party of Misogyny will pay the price. I am not sure it helps for Attorney General Kris Mayes to say she won’t prosecute anyone under the total ban that the court declared the law in Arizona – anyone who would risk imprisonment would be foolish. I hope that there are plans afoot to help get women to California, New Mexico and Nevada until we can fix this in November. Kamala Harris is coming to Tucson on Friday to remind people that there is only one party that cares about women’s health.
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford’s women’s basketball coach, is retiring after 38 years. This is not unexpected – the Pac12 Conference was dissolved due to male incompetence and greed and Stanford will be playing in the ACC (yes, the Atlantic Coast Conference) starting this fall. I knew that the conference failing would fall more heavily on women’s sports because of the tight budgets and increased travel costs plus student athletes not wanting to spend hours on planes to play their sport while trying to maintain their studies. The first shoe that dropped was Stanford star Cameron Brinkman opting to go into the WNBA instead of playing another year. She said that there was no way she could keep her grades up with all the traveling. Tara probably does not want to have to deal with having to recruit in the new world of college sports, I know I wouldn’t if I were in her situation.
I have appointments this morning so my work day started early and will end early.
See all y’all later!
I really don’t understand placing Stanford in the ACC. Sorry to see VanDerveer go – great coach.
Stanford chose to move to that conference rather than try to rebuild a new conference on the west coast after the Pac12 became the Pac4 due to the defections of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the BigTen and then the Four Corners teams leaving for the Big12. It is all about D1 Football – all the programs chasing big bucks that come from media contracts and national exposure for their recruits. The men running the Pac12 conference turned down pretty good media options because someone told them that they were VERY special and could get more money. Now they have nothing. Greedy and stupid.
VanDerveer was a great coach and her records will never be broken. The new coach sounds like she is pretty good, she was the assistant head coach and a player on Stanford’s 1992 National Championship team, but she will have a tough time recruiting. Stanford student athletes, especially the women, don’t major in communications, most play scholarship sports to get degrees that will help them get good jobs when they graduate. Will they want to spend 20 hours traveling several times a month during the basketball, softball and volleyball seasons? I guess we will find out.
Tara is going to stay on as a consultant with the athletic department. She is only 70 – too young to completely retire but not too young to slow down a bit.
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s grey and dampish in Ashburn this morning, and a mild 64 F., going up to 77 F. At least, that’s what they say. They said we’d have rain last night just as rehearsal was ending—we didn’t. Then they said it would be raining when we woke up horribly early at 6 a.m. Nupe! Every time I step on to the screened porch it looks as if it wants to rain and certainly smells like it, but it hasn’t so far.
We rehearsed Act I last night and it went quite well. Tonight the cast in the Bidding scene in Act II will meet upstairs half an hour before rehearsal begins, to go over their lines, since that’s the part that’s giving us tremendous trouble. I’mve been sending healing white light to cast members who aren’t well. It’s surprising how much mental energy that takes! Curly said yesterday that he did wake up feeling better. I was pleased.
I have to buy tickets at 11 for those family members who will actually attend. Darling Niece is supervising the high school Drama Club’s field trip to New York today. Elder Son just let us know he’s flying home today from Seattle and will be in town late tonight. I do have a peripatetic family!
I’m preparing for my writers’ group meeting tomorrow. Ordered Shakespeare’s birthday cake yesterday, will pick it up tomorrow. As usual, ordering it was a most unpleasant experience. I hope to Goddess they get it right! Also need to prepare the quiz and the prizes.
This time I’m doing things slightly differently—I’m going to give everyone comments on their essays before we meet tomorrow. In this way we’ll save time and I can be sure to get my comments in.
I’m starting to want a cup of tea, but will wait until I come back from buying tickets.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Good morning, 34 and cloudy outside my windows today. I basically rested the day away yesterday but that’s ok because healing is my main focus. I’ve been reading my stash of gardening books and think I have a simple flower planting plan for this year but it’s still to cold to plant the pots so for now I can just stay warm and think about it :) Best wishes to all.
Thursday Meese. 50 and raining here going up to 62.
More toons on abortion and reproductive rights:
Interesting ‘toons, Sis, although I don’t quite get the “Handmaid’s Tale” one. Who’s the guy that was too old?
I think that a diss of Joe Biden snuck into the cartoon recap. Rude of that cartoonist – probably a berner.
I think it’s a sarcastic commentary on people who decided to not vote for Biden because of his age
Ah, that makes more sense! Maybe a little too subtle for me – I get so angry hearing people talking about Joe Biden’s age that I assume the worse.
Puerto Rico
(ACT 22 is the subject of today’s Caribbean Matters)
Good morning. Ran for 10 minutes, walked the rest. In the office. Will deal with the noise as best I can. My wfh days are so much better.
Caribbean Matters posted
It’s 50 heading for 65 and sunny (& windy) today. Yesterday we generated 1.88 KWHs (it finally did rain – after sundown) and the m-t-d at 138 is on track for over 400 but that’s it. Hopefully we’ll gain back some ground today. Or at least not lose any more.
Got an email from Joker/Julie last night (after I went to bed, I didn’t see it until I got online just now). She’d gotten a text from Fineena saying she was in hospital but didn’t say which one and hasn’t heard anything since. So candles/prayers/Good Thoughts in that direction would be good.
Nothing new from anybody else. Off to get breakfast (the cat just got off my lap) and then I’ll be back to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
OMG, will send healing energy to Fineena.
Prayers lifted.
Good Thursday morning, Meese! It’s 66 F. and cloudy in Ashburn, going for a high of 69 F. They say it will rain at 2 p.m., but I’ll believe it when I see it. None of their rain predictions has materialized so far. If we weren’t already 2 inches over for the year, I’d worry.
Dearly has gone to the doctor. Since said doctor is going to do terrible things to his eyes, he has taken an Uber to the doctor’s office and back.
Busy day ahead, have to pick up Shakespeare’s birthday cake, then conduct the writing group from 1:30 to 3:30. Tonight we have “Oklahoma!” rehearsal again. Can’t think why I haven’t lost weight, as being away from home every evening keeps me from eating chocolate.
Hot news—yesterday the Drama Club sold $5,000 worth of tickets, and there are two more box offices to come! Is not that exciting? We give half of what we make to the Benevolent Care Fund. When I went to buy tickets at 11 a.m. yesterday, when the box office opened, the line had started at 10 a.m.! It stretched all the way down the hall. Everyone seemed excited about the show.
Also, I’ve been asked to join the board of the Drama Club. I accepted, as there’s only a 1-hour meeting once a month. I told them frankly that I can’t do much else than attend meetings, as I have a horribly busy summer: anthology, monologue, writing a one-act play. Well, it all keeps me off the streets and out of the pool halls.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 71 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 88. Sunny skies are in the forecast. I took my walk early to make sure it would be pleasant and indeed it was!
While I would have preferred that the Arizona legislature repeal the 1864 statute, the Republican House leaders thwarting those efforts last night made them show their asses. Now Arizona women know that the only way to regain their reproductive rights is to elect Democrats to the House and Senate and give Katie Hobbs a legislative majority. We will vote to not retain the two Supreme Court justices who voted to uphold laws from the Confederacy (giving Hobbs two seats to fill), we will flip the Arizona House and Senate, we will elect Ruben Gallego to the Senate and re-elect Joe Biden – and pass a constitutional amendment to enshrine reproductive rights in the Arizona constitution. It could not be more clear. That Luckovich cartoon Dee posted said it all – Republicans will realize that as long as women have the right to vote we will not stand by and let them take away our rights.
I worked long yesterday on a project and work up early to tidy up some loose ends. I am ready to take the rest of the day off.
See all y’all later!
Pulling for y’all to clean house.
Friday Meese – loud thunder here last night and early AM. 63 and raining.
More toons:
That Signe Wilkonson cartoon is spot on. Like Barney Frank said “Conservatives believe life begins at conception and ends at birth.”
Puerto Rico
Sargassum
Good morning. Walked 1.4 mi in the lovely 50-something degree weather. Lawrence O’Donnell is trending on Twitter because of his hilarious mocking of tfg last night. Really, whoever his stylist is must hate him. Anyway, just have to stay awake till 5, or long enough after that to drive home.
I didn’t see that – will go find it.
I found it. Thank you. Lawrence was right on target
Good Friday morning, Moosekind! It’s 60 F. in Ashburn, going up to, uh, 65 F. or something—probably because of the wind. It will usher in a cold front. Dearly, whose hearing is as excellent as mine is poor, said it rained on and off during the night. We have had none of the floods, damaging tornadoes, hail, or graupel the forecasters predicted.
Last night’s rehearsal did not go at all well, partly because of the absence of our pianist. He tore up his knee, so had to go to Urgent Care. Sent him healing white light this morning. (Also sent it to the guy who plays Curly, to Dearly, and to Fineena.) Aunt Eller did beautifully in Act I on Monday night but last night she didn’t do well at all. It’s so noticeable when Curly and Laurey have their lines down perfectly!
The writers’ group meeting went quite well. Everyone enjoyed the cake. They did not, alas, do very well on the quiz, although two of them did better than the others and shared the prizes. When it came to my essay, which I’ll post when I get a chance, the four men in our group looked nonplussed. I explained to them that I like civilized men, but not patriarchs. After that they cheered up somewhat.
Enough of that. Must scurry, scurry to take Nora’s shorts to her. Why do kids like to look poor by wearing bleached, threadbare shorts with threads hanging down? Back in the Late Cretinous, when I was growing up, we all wanted to look rich. Will also have lunch with Darling Niece to give her the theater tickets.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
It’s 51 heading for 72 and sunny today. Yesterday we generated 21.3 KWHs and the m-t-d at 159.75 is on track to do better than last April so that’s good.
I talked to Karen last night. She was a bit on the woozie side and didn’t seem to know much about what’s going on. She fell Wednesday afternoon or evening. She stepped into a hole or tripped over something, I couldn’t quite understand her on that part (I hate cell phones), but it was outside and there were people around who gathered around – and called an ambulance after a lot of arguing. She wasn’t clear but I think she hit her head. Unfortunately not for the first time but this is the first time there were people around to see and respond. She’s had an MRI and thinks there’s going to be a “CT or some kind of scan” today. She called Joker/Julie this morning to say that she thinks she’ll be in for a few more days for observation.
We’re in for a warm spell – in the 80s starting tomorrow until the temps drop back into the 60s next Friday. Nothing else going on that I know of. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thoughts for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 60 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 86. Sunny skies are in the forecast with high winds after lunch possibly kicking up some dust. The airport got to over 90 degrees yesterday, the first 90 since last October.
Colorado is also planning to put an abortion rights Constitutional Amendment on the ballot this fall. The women in any state who are depending on the votes of whoever happens to be in the legislature on any given day for their rights, need to wake the hell up and get abortion rights into their Constitution and make sure none of these holdover laws like the 1864 Arizona ban are left unrepealed. Kamala Harris is here today and I hope she blisters the butts of the men running the Arizona legislature. We need one seat flipped in each chamber this fall and then we won’t have to care what they think about women and women’s rights because they will be powerless to hurt us.
I got a bunch of little projects done this morning and now I am ready to take it easy.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, 44 and cloudy in Bellingham today. I’ve dug into my desk and made enough progress with the piles of paper to be able to work there again. So if I can keep focused I may actually accomplish something! I go to the lab this morning, and if energy allows will stop at a garden shop on my way home. I’m not ready to plant yet but it’s creative to look around and think about possibilities. Best wishes to all.
Saturday Meese – I’m heading out to an all day ceremony at around 7:30- wearing my priestess hat today :)
Sadly it’s raining and cold so some outdoor portions are cancelled
Have a good day!
The Light surround your day. Blessed Be.