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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Cold here again. Today is garbage pick up day and my bins are frozen to the driveway – locked in ice from snow melt :(
Puerto Rico
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Oh, crud, Sis!
It’s 34 heading for 37, overcast and drizzly. Yesterday we generated 1.9 KWHs and the m-t-d at 57.76 is so not on track we’re not going to reach 100 if we don’t get some sunshine. Even the 2.5K system got 147 back in ’15. The only time in the live of the system when the system was actually working that we’ve gotten less than 100 was in ’14 with the 2.5K system.
The lack of sunshine isn’t good for my emotional health either. Which is in bad enough shape as I wait to see if I get my Social Security next Wednesday. Oh well. One day at a time. Off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Bfitz, I’m fairly sure you and I will receive them since we live in the continental United States. I did read on AOL just now that some U.S. citizens who live overseas may not receive them on time. Apparently there’s a form overseas residents have to fill out. Crud.
Holding the Good Thought. SSA is much more inclined to do its job than obey illegal EOs. Unlike the employees at Ag & HHS who think folks needing help are really scammers and are happy to shut them off.
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 46 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 59. Mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast. This morning I saw one very bright star in the ENE sky but the rest were too dim to cut through the cloud cover. The moon was full this morning at 6:53am MST and I saw her over the mountains yesterday evening and into the night.
I was pleased to see that children of service members in Germany walked out of an assembly that featured Defense Secretary Hogsbreath. They were protesting his cancellation of Black History Month events that they had been looking forward to. You can put literal piles of human garbage into important positions but you cannot make people like them. We have the power to withhold our consent to be governed by the tRump malAdministration and eventually it will crumble.
I was up early and got enough done that I am going to call it a day and sit and watch sporting events from the weekend that I recorded.
See all y’all later!
Good Wednesday morning, Moosekind! It’s 32 F. here in Ashburn and Meese, it ain’t gonna get much higher. We woke up to a winter wonderland of snow this morning. The snow finally began, tentatively at first, then with growing enthusiasm as the afternoon progressed. When I walked to the front of the building to check it about 9 p.m. last night, it was still snowing merrily.
We’re supposed to get rain that will wash all this away. Oh, lawks, I had the NIGHT FROM HAIL last night! I think it was mah eczema acting up: you know, an unbearable itch that goes on and on and makes me scratch until my ear or whatever’s involved turns red and swollen. As well, it attacked my lower lip! YOWL! I have to rehearse tonight and we’re going to do blocking, which means I have to stand next to some of the other actors. If the swelling hasn’t subsided by the time we go to rehearsal, I’ll put on a mask and say that although I myself am not contagious, I may have been exposed to someone who is. Such are the uses of vanity.
I’m sick about what Melon and the Felon are doing. You shoulda heard what Jeff Tiedrich has to say on the subject of that press conference yesterday. The Devilish Duo are ruining so many people’s lives it’s unbelievable!
I’ve mixed up the sugar cookie dough for the Valentine cookies for tomorrow. After lunch I’ll roll out the dough and bake the cookies. Because the Loudoun County Public Schools, which supply our restaurant waiters, are closed today, we are being offered a carry-out lunch-dinner combo. I’ll have to go pick it up in a minute.
Have two plays to read through because we’re rehearsing “Animals vs. Humanity” (whereby the animal kingdom sues humans for acting so ugly) tomorrow. Oh, HAIL, Tulsi-who-hath-no-pulsi has just been confirmed, my phone just informed me.
That’s enough from me for the moment. Wishing everyone at the Pond a nice, stress-free day!
Good morning, 19 and sunny outside my windows today. I’ve glanced at the news but as Josh Marshall says, We’re in dystopian quasi-science fiction territory here.” So to protect my sanity I’m going to try to stay news lite today. My sewing room needs attention so that’s where I plan to be today. Best wishes to all.
There’s a donation match for the AIDS Ride tomorrow at noon central time, I just scheduled a diary for the orange place at 7am
Thursday Meese. Here’s something to do:
Tell Google the correct name
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of…
[image or embed]— Russ Jones (@russincheshire.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 8:05 AM
oops – let me try again
Correcting Google
Puerto Rico
“In Puerto Rico, there are many situations to address, including the collapsed health system. However, there are conditions in which action must be taken urgently, as they affect everything else, and this is one of them… It seems to me that the consensus is clear: let’s put an end to this Board, which was not democratically elected. Let there be no doubt, they are not going to leave voluntarily; we, the people, have to get them out.”
Good morning. I put together a diary about the AIDS Ride to post at 7. There’s a match at noon central time. It is really cold, like actually cold — in the 30s. I walked a little, figured sleep was more important than exercise leading up to Sunday’s 5K.
diary is up: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/13/2302603/-Begins-at-Noon-cst-Matching-donations-for-the-Hill-Country-Ride-For-AIDS
It’s 14 heading for 35 and trying to clear off. I devoutly hope it makes it. Yesterday we generated 2.78 KWHs and the m-t-d at 60.7 is way off track. We’ll see if it manages to gain a little ground today.
Yesterday I baked molasses spice walnut raisin bread using flaxseed meal instead of eggs. It came out pretty well. The textures a little different but not odd or unpleasant. And tastes fine. I need to go to the grocery store today & I’ve got firewood coming this afternoon. The ash and maple I bought last summer burns too fast. What I thought would last the entire season won’t last through February. And we started late/had a warm autumn. This load is hickory and really should last the rest of the season.
I haven’t seen the moon in 2 weeks. Maybe tonight. Meanwhile off to start my boosting day. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Good morning, meeses! Thursday …
It is 52 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 66. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast. I saw the moon in the haze last night but only the moon glow this morning.
I have to get my last planned vaccine this morning before vaccinations are shut down by RFKjr and his band of science deniers and distorters. I needed the pneumonia vaccination. I am hoping that when I next need a COVID booster, I can get it in Mexico.
See all y’all later!
Good morning, 23 and cloudy in Bellingham. I have a long overdue mammogram today…..I feel well enough to keep the appointment but I’m tempted to call in sick :) I’m continuing to feel better but fatigue still makes me feel faint and dizzy so Ron will drive. It’s nice to feel stronger and I think my stamina will continue to improve now that I can do more but I am cautious re driving. Best wishes to all.
Good morning, wow it’s cold. Okay, 30s might not seem “wow” cold to you — but it was in the 80s last week. I’m wearing sweats for the race Sunday. Yes, runners warm up running, but mine is only a 5K, I’m going to be walking half of it, and I hate being cold.
So here I am at work. Must remain upright till 5. I made approximately eleventy zillion outgoing calls yesterday and I only got three new people set up. Makes for an exhausting day. Maybe today will be better.
Good Friday morning, Moosekind, and happy freezing Valentine’s Day! It’s a beautiful morning, however, 30 F. going up to 40-something.
Yesterday I had to run to Trader Joe’s to buy roses, chocolates, and giant strawberries. Then I had a read-through of a play called “Animals vs. Humanity.” I’m playing the role of Donkey. Have to research Donkey braying and try to make the sound. After that I barely had time to pack my cart and trundle off to the Writers’ Group.
Pleased to say the writers loved my Valentine cookies and kindly overlooked the amateurish pink squiggles I put on them. We had a highly stimulating discussion as we wrapped up our work on Writing the Novel. I told them next month we’ll be writing poetry, specifically free verse.
After arriving home I was so exhausted I had to take a nap. Made a spaghetti supper at home and enjoyed a quiet evening.
Today I have to hotfoot it to my doctor to find out why my face swelled up like a red balloon. My ears wanted in on the act, so the right ear turned red too. Then my lower lip ballooned—first one side, then the other. I could NOT let my fellow actors see me like that on Wednesday night, so I pretended I’d been exposed to someone with the ‘flu, and that’s why I was wearing a mask. I HOPE the doctor can DO something! We rehearse three times a week and we’ll have seven performances in April. Also, in the play I have to ask one of the actors to marry me. Who wants a woman with a face like Mars?
Wish I knew what’s causing it. Oh, well, enough of this dermatological chitchat. I have Nails at 11, then—it’s to be hoped—time to recover from yesterday before we go to a delightful Valentine’s dinner at the Pub. Passed by it as I went out to look at the Moon, and they were already folding red napkins to put on white tablecloths and arranging individual bouquets of flowers. They work so hard to make us spoiled old people happy!
At first I was afraid I wouldn’t see Her last night, but oh, no, she flirted with me. I stared at an extra bright cloud and then She popped right up! After that She veiled herself again and went on playing hide and seek for quite a while. I felt cheered, but it was fuh-reezing out there, so I came back.
Saw a tweet that said, “Four more years of waking up in the morning and wondering, ‘Is he dead yet?'”
Gave Dearly a mug full of chocolates this morning and a card. He went to the store to buy me a card but forgot what he came for, so he didn’t get one. That’s okay, he brings me early morning tea in bed and that’s better than any Valentine–that much I can tell you.
Wishing all at the Pond a good day!
It’s 32 going to 47 and overcast. Again. We might, maybe, get some sunshine this afternoon. Yesterday’s glorious sunshine gave us 13.58 KWHs and the m-t-d at 74.16 while nowhere near on track gained a bit of ground.
I got my grocery shopping done yesterday. I did see 2 people at Harp’s wearing masks and was asked at Braum’s if I was wearing the mask because of Covid. I told her Covid, flu, colds – if it’s an airborne virus, the mask will stop it. Can’t say she is now on the “mask up” bandwagon but she did look thoughtful. The wood guys had “a breakdown” and didn’t show up. They’re supposed to be here this morning shortly. Meanwhile I’d best be off to my boosting chores. Holding the Good/Healing/Protecting Thought for everybody. {{{Meeses}}}
Friday Meese. Still cold here in Kingston and snow predicted for tomorrow :(
Puerto Rico
“A newly circulating memorandum within U.S. political circles has sparked intense discussions among policymakers and Puerto Rican stakeholders.
Titled “Addressing Puerto Rico’s Political Status through Executive Action,” this document, directed to President Trump and key members of his administration, outlines a path to resolve Puerto Rico’s longstanding colonial status through decisive executive action. In an unprecedented move, the memorandum challenges the feasibility of statehood, and it prioritizes national sovereignty as the only sustainable solution for Puerto Rico’s future, shaking the foundations of pro-statehood and pro-commonwealth advocates.”
Bastid racist Matt Walsh.
I love Golfo de Puerto Rico! I think all countries should rename bodies of water that are adjacent to their land mass to match their country’s usage and confuse the hell out of the cartographers. I hope the AP does not back down from their principled stand on not calling the Gulf of Mexico by the name assigned by the dumpster.
Good morning, meeses! Friday …
It is 52 degrees in Tucson 🌵 with an expected daytime high of 66. Overcast skies with a fairly good chance for rain. No stars and no moon available to look at this morning.
I got organized for a busy weekend and will sit and veg out for a while today. The Arizona Wildcats are hosting a softball tournament and their games are on my ESPN+ streaming service. Both of the teams I follow for Women’s Basketball are not having the kind of seasons that will get them into the NCAA Tournament which is a disappointment. The Wisconsin Badgers won’t even make it into the BigTen Tournament because the rich men who built the new BigTen don’t care about women’s sports and decided that only the top 15 teams will be in the tournament, leaving 3 teams to end their seasons without having a chance to capture lightning in a bottle for a final run as they have for the past 50 years. Bastids. At least the Big XII, where the Arizona Wildcats now play, don’t shut out the teams who don’t have as much success. If they can get healthy, they might win a couple of games in Kansas City and get a tournament bid.
See all y’all later!
As another women’s college basketball fan here – I feel for you Jan
Good morning, 29 and mostly sunny, nice to have melting snow temps. For some reason I decided to bake Valentine treats for our Bellingham family so now I need to do it. RonK and I are going to lunch so between activities and naps I’ll have a full day. Best wishes to all.
Saturday Meese. Sitting here waiting for our predicted snowstorm to hit.
Puerto Rico