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”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 68 degrees in the Desert Southwest 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 100. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Sunday Meese. Rain here today and some thunderstorms. Today is the 67th year of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC.
Blackouts and heat wave continues inn Puerto Rico
Good morning. Busy day yesterday, walk/run and errands & housework. I need to cook lunch for the week later today but for now I’m enjoying the smell of my tea. News is about the heat, it’s like August — so what will August be??
BMS posted
{{{Dee}}} I love Cole Porter music. Obviously, I’m not the only one. LOL. Thank you.
It’s 80 already, heading for 83 with a heat index of 88. 80% humidity right now. Sunny at the moment but starting to cloud up and supposed to rain this afternoon. Yesterday we generated 19.2 KWHs and the m-t-d at 122.9 is now on track for over 450 (barely).
Talked to Karen last night. She had a very nice visit with Joker in the afternoon and was feeling a little better. The doctor said she would be in the hospital at least until Monday. That’s a little relief but not a lot. Everybody knows Karen should stay in the hospital, in the hospice wing (which is set up to be residential), because the hospital is where she needs to be for testing and treatment. She’s got an IV drip in her arm, long-term if not permanently. If she moves her arm an alarm goes off & staff come running. It happened during our call. But the hospital apparently has a waiting list a mile long and just doesn’t have room. And nobody knows where she can go to. Matthews has room, it’s the only thing going for it, but no testing or treatment facilities. And the staff doesn’t respond as quickly to alarms. But she’s safe in hospital today and tomorrow.
Got my Sunday housecleaning chores done. Closed up the house immediately afterwards. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Got my walk/run done — it’s 80 degrees already, blech. I woke up so many times last night I already have 5 hours of standing-up credit on my watch (at least one minute of standing time per hour). Sigh. Anyway, here I am, at the office. Happy Monday.
Good glorious Monday morning, Moosekind! Yesterday we had a nugly day that couldn’t make up its mind whether to be overcast or lovely. It finally made up its mind to rain a bit and that was good, because we’re already more than an inch under normal for the year to date. Right now it’s 71 F. in Ashburn, up from 62 F. when we woke up. Today’s high will be just 80, how greatey.
Dearly wanted a pineapple-upside-down cake for dessert yesterday, so I made a teeny one in my 8-inch iron skillet. It turned out quite well, but of course I couldn’t have any. I had cantaloupe for dessert. Luckily we’re getting good ones from the Eastern Shore this year.
Talked to Darling Daughter for half an hour on Saturday before Dearly and I went out to dinner. She reported in the month they’ve been living in Massachusetts, once or twice they’ve wondered whether they’ve died and gone to heaven. The flowers are spectacular, the birds are amazing. They simply can’t believe their eyes.
She added that, so far, “Taxachusetts” is a less expensive place to live than Texas, except for one thing: food costs more. In Texas, Gubernator Abbott slapped a $200 tax on electric vehicles, but in Massachusetts they want you to use electric vehicles, so there’s no surcharge.
I am sick that the media continue to normalize Thing. Did you know, according to Twitter, the people at Thing’s rallies are PAID to attend? I hope The Woman Aileen Cannon isn’t going to try to get rid of Jack Smith. He makes me think of an avenging angel. I was disappointed that Benny Gantz left the Israel government: he seems like a rational person. I thought he’d take over from the far-right, wild-eyed Bibi. The awful carnage in Gaza makes one weep.
Today I have a Drama Club Board meeting at 3:30 (really, 3 p.m. since the people here have an annoying habit of turning up half an hour early), then an emergency meeting with the hearing aid department at Costco. I’m hoping they can fit me with a “loaner” hearing aid to replace the one I lost. I have to undergo a hearing test and get new aids. Bummer. I had planned to get new teeth, not new aids.
That’s enough from me. Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
I am glad that your daughter has settled in well and sees that there is a balance in the taxes – you pay more taxes for some things but less for others. People who complain about taxes in Massachusetts – or any other blue state – need to do some soul searching. Taxes in the blue states are high to pay for education and support systems for people in need. I have a lot of relatives who, after they retired, moved across the border from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to avoid the taxes. They were fine there when their kids were being educated but hate paying for other people’s kids to be educated which is not very “smaht” thinking. We need more not fewer educated people and we should all be willing to pay for it. Those kids will be running things soon.
It’s 66, was 60 at dawn, heading for 84 and sunny. Yesterday we generated 6.8 KWHs and the m-t-d at 129.6 is still on track for over 400 but not for over 450. Hopefully we’ll gain some ground today.
Did some grocery shopping this morning. Even not getting meat, dairy, or GF stuff it was still $50. Pity food prices are “too volatile” to be part of the inflation index. Things wouldn’t be looking so rosy if they were. But then the unemployment numbers wouldn’t look as good if students and women with children under the age of 6 were counted in the work force. (I don’t think disabled people are either, but not sure on that point.) Numbers don’t like but the criteria for how they were derived certainly can be, and is being, manipulated. (Nothing new here – the way unemployment is calculated was definitely and inflation was probably reset under RR to make him look better than Jimmy Carter.) Sigh.
Anyway, I’m off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
I am not sure where all the supposed jobs are – there are a lot of recent college graduates who can’t find jobs in their fields or anything even close. Are all the new jobs retail and fast food?
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 78 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 99. Sunny skies are in the forecast. We have a one day respite then back into the upper 100s. No sign of the monsoon yet, it is “scheduled” to arrive on Saturday.
I really can’t stand what is passing for news right now and will ignore it all.
My work week got off to a good start but now I need to set everything aside. I am working too hard and need a break.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, 56 and partly cloudy outside my windows today. I’ve nearly got our outdoor living spaces ready to use, including making a better resting spot for my old legs. I need to add another railing to the patio steps and to put w few walking sticks in strategic spots though. I’m getting much better with the walker but I can’t use it everywhere and walking unsupported is still very painful so assistance needs to be close at hand. It’s nice to be in the garden again, and to finally feel like I’m finding my way to being older yet still as active as I can be. Best wishes to all.
I am glad to hear that there are some things you can do to accommodate the adjustments to your mobility. I know you love being outside and you have put a lot of effort into creating a beautiful outdoor space.
Tuesday Meese. 54 going up to 72 here in Kingston. Wish I could send this cool weather to Puerto Rico where the weather/blackout situation is dire.
Puerto Rico
The outage occurred more than a week ago, leaving tens of thousands of clients without power after a transformer that twice exceeded its useful life collapsed.
Officials with Luma Energy, which operates transmission and distribution for Puerto Rico’s power authority, have said repairs could take more than a month. The announcement sparked widespread anger, especially since the outage has disrupted water service and comes amid daily excessive heat warnings, with the Atlantic hurricane season just starting.
“Today, a majority of Supreme Court judges, all appointed by the PNP, disqualified 4
@VictoriaPorPR candidacies, including that of 2 ELECTED officials who together obtained over 150,000 votes in the last election. This is a disastrous blow to democracy and unprecedented in our history. I reiterate my expressions at the entrance to the Supreme Court several weeks ago. We are not going to sit idly by. It will be the People who decide the destiny of this Country on November 5th. Not the PPD, nor the PNP. Nor 5 judges appointed by the latter. To the streets and to the polls!”
Tomorrow at 9:30am press conference at the CEE. We are going to continue defending our national candidacies.
Feeding dogs
“Good Morning Puerto Rico, today I want to congratulate all the People who, like this gentleman, dedicate their time to help these little angels have a quality of life. Thank you to everyone who does this very special and human work. My respect and admiration are infinite.”
Posted
Good morning. I skipped walking this morning, don’t have a lot of applications so I might log off early and go to the gym.
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 70 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 104. Sunny skies are in the forecast. The worst part of our allergy season is nearly done to the relief of everyone who knows and lives with seasonal allergy sufferers. The pollens here are different than the ones in the upper Midwest but just as difficult to live with.
Bloody Sam Alito is Exhibit A for term limits for Supreme Court Justices. No one should have so much power to destroy democracy for so long – he could simply wait until the sane people on the court died or retired and then implement his plan to remake America into a white christian nationalist nation. He should make the deplorable Martha-Ann happy and resign from the court. She apparently can’t wait until he is off the court and she is “free of this nonsense” and can fly her freak flags with impunity. Goddess help us.
I have a quiet morning after creating what I hope are pretty good to-do lists. There are two things that I can do to make my office space less cluttered and I am hoping I can get that done later today. I have some boxes that need to be taken to the storage unit and some old dead computers that need to be taken to the electronic recycling place. I found one on the Internets and need to call them and see if they are still in business and if they charge for “disposal”. Or I might wait until tomorrow or as they say in Tucson mañana.
See all y’all later!
Jan, do you have an outfit called “Green Drop” in your area? They take electronics. Also, your county—can’t remember the name of your county—may have a scgheduled electronic devices disposal day.
It does not look like we have Green Drop here. I am in Pima County and it is actually the Pima County Library System that has a link to the electronic recyclers. There was a great one near Madison that took all of my good stuff free and did not charge too much for the stuff that costs to get rid of like the old CRT monitors and tube TVs. I am hoping that the one I found here is still in business because they also do secure destruction of disks which I occasionally need.
It was 58 at dawn, 64 now, heading for 84 and sunny at the moment. Widget says clouds will move in midmorning. I hope the widget’s wrong. Yesterday we generated 22.38 KWHs and the m-t-d at 152 is barely back on track for 450. Which would be a lousy total for June. (This system is technically able to generate over 700 KWHs in May, June, & July. It’s never actually generated even 600 – but it’s managed 568 more than once.)
I just took cinnamon raisin walnut muffin bread out of the oven. It smells lovely. We’ll see how it tastes after it’s cool enough to cut. At the rate I eat it, this should last until about the end of June. We’ll see if the Powers That Be send me a day cool enough to bake at that point or if I’ll have to make do with commercial stuff until it does. Like maybe September.
Today is earicicle/Amelia’s birthday. I think her 61st. I’ve got to hit the Dollar store sometime or other and get some cards so I can send them to people. I’ve run out of the ones the various charitable organizations used to send me back when I was sending them money. Oh well, emails, DMs, & tweets will have to do today. Off to do that and then start my boosting day. Holding the Good Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good lovely Tuesday morning, Meese! It’s 64 F. here in Ashbuggy, on its way up to 74 F. later. Yesterday we had a lovely morning, followed by an afternoon and early evening filled with menacing-looking purple and black clouds. But today will be rainless with low humidity and an alleged wind speed of 8 mph. Last night we did get a period of hard rain, which was really nice.
However, Thumper upstairs decided to throw some furniture around, which she continued to do early this morning, so it cannot be stated with truth that I had a good night’s sleep. (Cue tiny violin.) Went to the Costco hearing aid department yesterday evening, ordered a new set (it’s been 4 years since I had new ones and the technology has improved), and came home with a “loaner” set.
Today I need to get to the gym, get my hair done, and work on the ritual—not to mention reading through essays.
The scales said I’d lost half a pound through not eating so many carbs. Goody.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond!
Good morning, 57 and cloudy with a cool breeze. We’re having Dad’s Day lunch here on Sunday and weather permitting hope to be outdoors. I have my doubts re the weather but if it’s uncomfortable we can always move indoors. The barbeque is under cover and with umbrellas we can stay dry so the wind is the main concern. Fortunately I’ve made enough fleece blankets for every chair so everyone can stay warm if it’s not pouring rain. Best wishes to all.
Hope it stays fine, princesspat!
Wednesday Meese. 60 going up to 70 and sunny. I have a doc appointment today which will eat up several hours, but hope to spend time later in the garden
Weather/heat/power situation in Puerto Rico continues
Puerto Rico
What do you think about the dustup over the USA Women’s Basketball team roster for the Olympics? I can’t believe the number of people who think that the selection should be a popularity contest instead of picking the best players to win the gold medal. Sheesh! I find it very disrespectful to women’s sports that “picking the famous rookie who is pretty ordinary when compared to the rest of the WNBA” is more important than filling the roster with veteran players and proven performers.
Goodness, the last time I checked, they were not asking Caitlin, who took the rejection very gracefully, because they wanted to do exactly that—stock the Olympic team with veteran players. Did something change while I was asleep? This is a good argument for refusing to go to sleep: if you’re unconscious, you miss the latest happenings.
I think Clark said something about “waking a sleeping bear” or something that made her fans think that she was upset and ready to go on a rampage. I think what she meant, from what I read, is that she was determined to get better and prove that she belongs on the next national team, in 2028. The Olympics is not a personality contest, that is what All-Star games are for – fan favorites can be chosen to provide entertainment in a meaningless game. I remember when washed up New York Yankee players were chosen every year for the MLB All-Star game just because of the overwhelming number of Yankees fans there were at the time. For a show game, an All-Star event, fine, but for the Olympics the roster has to be chosen for how the players will play together and win a game and for no other reason. I haz spoken!
Heard and appreciated!
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 71 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 106. Sunny skies are in the forecast. I think the airport had 110 as the official high yesterday. I am glad I can avoid leaving my climate controlled home!
Interesting mix of news this morning. Clearly the Hunter Biden conviction blows a huge hole in the Biden Administration’s supposed “thumb on the scale of justice” that the right-wing has been screaming about. It is not really news that someone gets convicted of lying on a government form although I suspect that people who wear suits and ties get off more frequently as long as their name is not Biden. It will be interesting to see what the sentence is. Senator Lindsey Graham plans to block any calls for Supreme Court ethics reform, he likes his justices corruptible and corrupted, thank you very much. From Florida, a federal judge struck down Florida’s gender affirming care ban for minors citing that there was “animus” in the statute. Ya think? That pretty much describes all of Florida law under DeSantis.
I was up early to get started on a project and it turns out that I can’t contact the vendor for support until 7am CDT. So I have been puttering around waiting for 5am MST so that I can get that project off my list. I will fill my coffee mug and get ready to livechat.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. Getting ready for wfh. We got some rain yesterday so it feels a little better outside. And my mint got some free water.