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Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Nov. 16th to Nov. 22nd

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Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings diaries 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.

In lieu of daily check-ins, which have gone on hiatus, Welcomings diaries will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning) and then, if necessary due to a large number of comments, again on Wednesday or Thursday to close out the week. To find the diaries, 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?

…


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 137 Comments

137 comments

  3. Diana in NoVa

     Going out to tea today, although it’s actually lunch, considering the time will be 1 p.m.

    Haven’t looked at the news yet but the BBC alerts woke my husband at 4:30 a.m. with the awful news of another atrocious crime perpetrated against an American in the Middle East.

    Hope everyone will have a good day and stay warm!

  4. anotherdemocrat

    Eating breakfast, watching Up. It is really cold. Today: church & cooking. I found a recipe in My Beef With Meat for a breakfast dish with oatmeal, spinach & shiitake mushrooms. Sounds interesting. And then a pasta dish with kale & a lemony sauce.

    Meanwhile, trying to get my brain in gear.

  6. princesspat

    It’s a quiet and lazy morning…..my sister is safely in Edmonds with our daughter and we’re slow to wake up. All the family activity was fun last week but apparently we need a restful day to recover!  

  7. bfitzinAR

    The problem with having solar panels on your roof is you can’t get to them to brush the snow off.  It’s just a light snow at the moment, they’re just barely covered, but that means instead of the 300 W I’d be generating right now in this overcast, I’m generating 90 W.  Oh well, the sun is actually expected tomorrow (partly cloudy) and definitely Tuesday (clear).  People are freaking, as usual, so I’m not bothering to go to the store for milk (I’m down to my last pint) because there won’t be any.  I’ll have coffee instead of cocoa for breakfast.  Anyway, only reason I’m online is to make sure Procter-Silex is still making toaster ovens in America as mine just fried itself (at 15+ years old that’s not bad just inconvenient).  Apparently they are. 🙂  Have the good evening. {{{HUGS}}}

  8. JanF

    It is 8 degrees in Madison with a wind chill of -1. So it begins. The expected high is 15 with high winds and mostly cloudy skies. They did take the snow out of the forecast which is good news because I have to run errands this afternoon.

    The political news is mostly making me laugh these days. Everyone has an opinion about the message that the midterms sent. Including Mitt “Won’t Get Off My TV” Romney saying that the president should “read” the midterm losses as a repudiation of his immigration policies and work with Republicans to craft a bill. HAHAHAHAHA!! He did work with Republicans! And the Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform policy. Which Republicans in the House were not allowed to vote on because their leadership was scared!! I am not sure if Republicans are evil or stupid. The other thing making me laugh is “Grubergate”. The economist who crafted Romneycare and who provided consulting services on the Affordable Care Act thinks voters are stupid and needed to be lied to in order to support the ACA. Er. guy? The voters have never supported the ACA … most hate it. It passed via reconciliation (51 votes in the Senate) with not a single Republican vote in either house of Congress. Some laws are passed because they are the right thing to do (the Civil Rights Act, for example) and not because they will be popular. Making laws is sausage making; for the right-wing media to, 5 years later, act shocked … shocked that there are pig snouts in it … is simply ODS.

    Off to the work! I lost the Internet for part of the weekend and I am seriously behind. I use the quiet weekend time to connect to clients networks for maintenance; now that has to be done in the early mornings and spread out over several days.

    See all y’all later!!

  9. Diana in NoVa

    going for a high of 52 F. Tomorrow we’ll be in the Deep Freeze.

    Had a lovely time at tea with nephew, niece, great-nephew, Dearly Beloved, and Miss Pink Cheeks yesterday. The two Littles need hardly anything to entertain themselves! After tea they ran off their “chocolate high” out front, watched by Dad and Grandpa as they rearranged the pumpkin and squash harvest decorations and made little piles of dirt. Miss PC, who fears nothing, even attempted to climb a tree in her party dress!

    The Web site is finally up and running but now the guy tells me he needs $1,000 a year to maintain it. Duh…I’ll have to actually start selling my ebooks to afford that. Wonder if it’s true that one has to pay to become a WordPress admin.

    The news this morning is just as awful as usual. There’s never any good news.

    Hope everyone in Moosylvania will stay warm, dry, and able to think of reasonably agreeable matters today…

  10. anotherdemocrat

    I was talking with the crossing guard outside my church yesterday & we both agreed, we’re done with winter. We’ve had a whole week of it. Which is more than we get some years. I thought it wouldn’t freeze last night, so I left the plants uncovered & of course it did freeze. And it’s supposed to get in the 20s tonight, so I’ll cover them tonight.

    Eating breakfast – the oats, spinach & mushrooms thing is interesting.

    Welcome to the working week. (and now I have an Elvis Costello earworm)

  11. Portlaw

    to the thirties. Saw the Ofili show yesterday. He’s the guy who uses elephant dung in his paintings and whose work drove Rudi Guiuliani over the edge. They were fantastic, original, glowing and everything wonderful.  Heard the Bach B Minor Mass and thought maybe western civilization has something to offer the world. The news, however, is not great. Worried about the Iran deal. And, of course, worried about Ebola and its toll in Africa, The Times is doing a wonderful job covering it but it’s heartbreaking to read.  Think I will go see if there is good news. Maybe there is something about that robot on the comet,The thought of it always makes me smile. And, of course, the thought of Moosylvania is always cheering!

  12. DeniseVelez

    I have an exec committee meeting this afternoon of local Democrats

    Will be interesting to hear what they think of all the leftist clamoring for Elizabeth Warren.  (which imho is pointless – I think she is right where she should be – in the Senate)  

  15. bfitzinAR

    at least I’ll be generating a few KWHs today, unlike yesterday – even a dusting of snow covers the panels.  Heading out to an appt with Benefits.  I’m one of those without health ins – not only do I trust most drs as far as I can throw them, I use so little medical “service” that I’d never reach the deductible so all my premiums would just go into some CEO’s pocket – preferring to use the money to do things like pay off my house, get solar panels, and kick in a few bucks when there’s a Kossack (or Moose) in need.  But now, with the penalty being greater than the premium, I’m going to get health ins.  Toodles and {{{HUGS}}}

  16. princesspat

    I see a cold pinky blue sky outside my window this morning, and now that the leaves are gone the bare branches of the maple trees frame the view. I love seeing the seasons change in my old trees.

    Reading this article is a nice counter to the selfish news of the day…..

    Couple’s last wish: turn their West Seattle view lot into a park

    All their lives, George Watton and his wife, DeLayne, did what they thought was right.

    And so they decided that upon their deaths, their view lot in West Seattle, where similar land alone is assessed at near $300,000, would be donated to the city as a pocket park.

    “My dad liked the idea of giving back to the city,” says Teri Karnofski, 65, of Kelso, one of their two daughters. “And he didn’t want a developer going in there and putting up some tall building.”

  17. JanF

    It is 10 degrees in Madison (-5 wind chill) with an expected high of 18 degrees. This is about 25 degrees below the normal for this time of year. We will get back to the 40s by the weekend. The worst part about this is that the snow that landed Saturday melted a bit and then froze into ice on the side streets. Makes me want to stay home!!

    I notice that today’s news is similar to yesterdays. We need an impeachment or sumthin to liven it up! I thought I heard that today was when the long awaited executive order on immigration will be announced.

    This is pretty cute. Illinois is trying to encourage young people to get insurance:

    See all y’all later!

  18. Diana in NoVa

    Had the night from hell. The medication I’m taking for “acid reflux disease” is causing such terrible insomnia that I’m going to complain to the doctor about it. Can’t endanger the lives of my grandchildren owing to impaired faculties from this nasty medicine–I have to drive them to school and my house every morning.

    Back later–a good day to all!

  19. DeniseVelez

    it will skyrocket to 34 🙂

    Have school.  Jan – will not post TC here today since it is pointed at some orange folks.

    Those of you in the cold – stay warm!

    Those of you in the warm – I envy you.

     

  21. anotherdemocrat

    Offsite work today, in my neighborhood, so I don’t even have to leave the house till 8. But I won’t be around here much. So – hi & I’ll see y’all later.

  22. princesspat

    The familiar grey skies are most welcome…..the sunshine was making my windows look dirty! They actually are, and the gutters need to be cleaned so it’s time to call for help. Our days of hauling tall ladders around are over,

    I’m doing something fun for Ava, my 7yr old grand girl. She loves my old net book computer…it’s red and just the right size to tuck under her arm, but after an oopsie with a glass of water the keyboard doesn’t work very well. So with Justin’s help it’s now unlocked ( I couldn’t enter the password myself), cleaned up, PBS Kids is the homepage, all the bookmarks will be for sites she enjoys, and I’ll buy a small mouse and keyboard that connect with the USB port.

    So a computer of her very own can be checked off her Santa list. I’ll let her parents solve the car of her very own wish though!

  23. bfitzinAR

    More crazy busy with students trying to get into classes they’ve no business trying to get into – but the Advising Center doesn’t seem to realize they need electives to have enough hours to graduate and all our lower division stuff except the intro classes are full.  Finding something to do with these kids should NOT be my job but since we are “the front line” as far as University contact is concerned I get to tread the razor-thin line between being helpful and “overstepping my authority”.  sigh.  Taking a momentary break (as the phone isn’t ringing) to check in.  Need to organize the stuff on my desk I should be doing if I weren’t dealing with kids – it’s become a messy stack of shoved-out-of-the-way papers – and do whichever of them I can before the next interruption.  {{{HUGS}}}

  24. JanF

    It is 17 degrees in Madison on its way up to 25 degrees. My radar shows snow will be arriving shortly. Nothing like Buffalo, though! Yikes, 8 ft!! That is almost as much as our record for an entire winter season (110 inches).

    This photo was Tweeted last night: “Lake effect storm near Buffalo closes part of @NYSThruway8790 with significant snowfall”:

    Yikes!!

    Good news from Washington DC. The election did not damage every Democratic Senator’s brain: Keystone XL pipeline fast track was defeated. And in HAHAHAHAHA! news, god of the greenwaldians, Rand Paul, voted against the bill to rein in NSA excesses and it failed to win cloture. HAHAHAHAHA again. Now those frustrated by impure Democrats (all of whom voted for the bill!) will have to find someone else to Stand with. Maybe Bozo the Clown.

    See all y’alls later!! Busy day here but I will keep an eye on the news in case the immigration order is officially announced. I will post the president’s remarks.

  25. Diana in NoVa

    Dulles International Airport, going up to 37 F. today. Looking at pictures of all this snow makes me think of stockpiling dry soup mix and so on. With the standby generator we can get lights and the electric kettle will work, although the oven generally doesn’t. I suppose it depends on which circuits Hubby directs it toward.

    The doctor prescribed Zantac instead of the awful stuff I was taking so last night I actually did get 8 and 1/2 hours of badly needed sleep. Miss Pink Cheeks had dinner with us before she and I attended the Daisies meeting. The little girls had fun dressing up in old-timey Girl Scout uniforms and then making paper dolls.

    Thinking of the news with dread…Ferguson, Jerusalem, and the rest. Hope Meese everywhere will have a productive day!

    P.S. One of the Daisy mothers apparently used to work for the Republicans in South Carolina–Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, et al. She confided that she’d had the time of her life, fundraising and so on. I didn’t tell her I’m so liberal I can hardly get to sleep at night and that I’d vote Socialist if I could.

  26. anotherdemocrat

    Back at the office today. Yesterday was nice, but nowhere near as busy as when we did this event last year. Still cold this morning, but the temps are supposed to get back to normal by the weekend.

    Eating breakfast (oatmeal, spinach, shiitake mushrooms, nutritional yeast), drinking tea. Sneezing my head off, even on benadryl – you’d think there wouldn’t be stuff in the air to sneeze at, but maybe the damned cedar trees have started their thing already. All I know if I’ve had water faucet nose for several days & that’s getting old.

    Earworm – California – this is a live version & thinking about my baby Bono – his crash & injuries were really quite serious. So – mojo out to everyone dealing with health issues, and other stuff too. Smooches all around.

  27. Portlaw

    be followed by more but worried it will not be.  

    How on earth are they managing in Buffalo? Yikes.

    Off to read all of the other news and have more coffee. Hope it’s a good day for all.  

  28. bfitzinAR

    elections aren’t over yet.  We’ve got a runoff for city council and a referendum to repeal the “human dignity resolution” to not fire gays because they’re gay the Council passed a few months back.  This is our 2nd attempt at civil rights along this line in 15 years.  The 1st got repealed. We’ll see if we have to go for a 3rd try in another 5 years – considering who votes in these elections, especially in fascist states like AR, I’m giving it a less than 50-50 chance.  Sigh.  But heading to the polls in a few minutes to do my bit for civil rights/equality.  {{{HUGS}}}

  29. princesspat

    After my morning pool workout (and recovery) I’ll be back in my sewing room this afternoon. I’ve cleared the way for old projects to emerge, some I want to finish and some that I never will. It was a bit dismaying at first to see the dates on my worksheets and realize how much time has passed. I can just walk away from that room when I need to, and I have!

    So today I hope to complete a flannel duvet cover and shams for moi…..I still like the fabrics and they are still new, not worn out like they would have been had I finished the project when I started it 🙂

  30. anotherdemocrat

    Bobak Ferdowsi ‏@tweetsoutloud 4m4 minutes ago

    Old plan isn’t working. New plan: We try to make the world better a place & be nice to each other.

  31. JanF

    It is 16 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 19. Mostly sunny skies in the forecast. Tomorrow it “warms up” to 29!!! Break out the shorts!!!

    Everyone is buzzing about the president’s address on immigration tonight and some of the headlines are very funny. From “Obama is Not a Monarch” to “GOP Governors Hostile on Immigration Plan” (it is NOT breaking news for them to be hostile towards the president on any plan) to concern trolling about violence and/or civil disobedience. Oh, and lawsuits. Republicans love lawsuits … except when they help people hurt by coprorate negligence.

    See all y’all later!

  32. anotherdemocrat

    It’s finally warming up, in the 40s this morning & will get up to 66 this afternoon. Finally back to seasonal (for central Texas) by the weekend.

    I’m looking at info from one of our council members about a proposed golf course at the park that is currently used by a lot of triathlons. I just want to be sure we’ll still be able to have our races.

    Happy Friday Eve! Earworm is still California.

  35. bfitzinAR

    and I really wish I could get Thor’s (or Ceiling Cat’s or FSM’s or SOMEBODY’s) help at the QC tonight.  It’s the official Quorum Court meeting, not the committee meetings, and I will – the last possible time – move to amend the millage ordinance to set County General millage to 4.9.  The millage must be passed tonight.  We cannot adjourn the November meeting without passing millage.  Since this proposal went down 3-10 in committee, I expect to get a second and then see it go down again – 4-11 if everybody is there.  Sigh.  But the County needs the revenue so I will try to get it for them.  Meanwhile, I’ve got my day job to deal with – “call for classes” for the rest of 2015 went out yesterday.  I’ve set up the spreadsheet for entering May intersession, Summer, August intersession, and Fall class requests (with days and times) as they come in.  I’ve already received two and need to log them.  Have a good Friday Eve and {{{HUGS}}}

  36. princesspat

    All my cold dry plants are perking up and so am I! Rain is much easier to live with  than cold wind and snow.

    I need to engage my creaky curtain brain today, find all the rodding parts and pieces, and help son#1 install the last pair of draperies in son#2’s home. I have to really think about things I used to just automatically do now so I won’t make a mistake. Getting the brackets in the correct spot so they are anchored in the wall, and when the rod is sitting in them with the rings on the draperies clear the floor by 1/2″ is the challenge….basic curtain math, but I’m rusty.

    And that’s why spackle is in the box with the rod parts…..but needing to use it makes everyone cranky.

  37. JanF

    It is 6 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 28 degrees. Sunny skies today and but there is a freezing rain advisory overnight. I hate freezing rain. Give me 5 feet of snow … just kidding! The Weather Nation images of the Buffalo storm on my TV are simply amazing.

    The president’s speech, I thought, was very good. He sounded the right tone and got choked up a little near the end. It must be difficult for a person as kind and caring as he is to realize that the nation he presides over is filled with such hate. The tweeterazzi were complaining that the White House did not release their normal “As Prepared Remarks” and I think that is good: his words had not been warped by the right-wing before he even had a chance to speak them.

    I put up the president’s speech and transcript and will stay away from most of the news today. I want to enjoy the feeling I had watching the speech and thinking about the people who will be sheltered from the fear of deportation: 4.1 million people whose children don’t have to worry about their parents being hauled away and sent “back” to a country that they may not have lived in for years.

    There will be plenty of time to read the negative comments later. The pre-hate comments were simply awful, for example, Kris Kobach, an actual elected official in Kansas, being concerned about “ethnic cleansing” of white people because of the policies of President Obama. 🙁

    I will post the president’s Las Vegas speech in the immigration speech post when it is available later today.

    See all y’alls later!!

  38. Diana in NoVa

    No baby care today because this afternoon I am having outpatient surgery. No food or drink is supposed to pass my lips from midnight on, so I’ve already been fasting for eight hours. On top of that, I have an abscess on my gum, which really hurts!

    Just hope my dentist, on whose answering machine I left a message last night, can recommend someone who works on the weekend. I won’t get home any earlier than four o’clock today, which is when my regular dentist finishes work for the week. I do wish illnesses wouldn’t happen on the weekend.

    Can’t believe that Thanksgiving is next week! Groan! Still so much tidying to do.

    Wishing everyone in Moosylvania a good day!

  39. anotherdemocrat

    Finally back to warm. Sandals in late November is a little unusual, but it is 60-something out, so…… It is supposed to rain today, yay!

    Tomorrow morning’s workout is gonna hurt. Not only did I not exercise last Saturday, I haven’t done anything all week. This is not the way to get up to running by February. Sigh.

    Anyway. Friday. As Captain Mal would say, “huh”. (only makes sense if you liked Firefly, if you didn’t, don’t worry about it)

  40. DeniseVelez

    27 here in Saugerties – so have a heat wave compared to JanF

    Am lecturing today on “2nd Wave Feminism” and the women of color who were part of it.

    Sunday on Orange am looking at campus rape and “roofies”.

    Disturbing to say the least.  

  41. bfitzinAR

    Gloomy and overcast is rather appropriate for Washington County AR – last night we passed a totally unsustainable budget for 2015 (we did at least preserve the transit funding 5 JPs wanted to cut) 14-1 which I voted for as being better than no budget at all.  We did not pass the millage increase I tried one last time to get 3-12.  3 other JPs thought it was a good idea but didn’t want to be on the wrong side of a losing vote.  Depending on the department, next year’s QC which thank C.C. I will NOT be on, will start seeing people asking for money to finish out the year along about August.  There is NO capital in there for replacement equipment.  There is no travel, no training, and a minimum 15% cut in supplies.  I’ve decided to allot the $11.22 my tax bill would have gone up to a large bag of catfood to be donated to the Animal Shelter.  (Although I may see if I can squeak out of my decreased personal revenue some school supplies for JDC.)  But that was pretty much it.  There will be 4 meetings in Dec, but they will be just “housekeeping” to wrap up the year.  The “drama” is over for another year for the QC and completely for me.  Have a happy Saturday Eve and {{{HUGS}}}

  42. princesspat

    Reading about snow and freezing rain makes me feel guilty posting that comparatively balmy weather report. Warm thoughts and hot chocolate to all!

    Well the curtains are hung on the rods with care, heh. And yes I am rusty so we did simple math…..put them on the rod, balance on the ladder holding the rod, curtains and bracket in place, measure and mark the spot, then install the brackets….not effortless, but no spackle needed!

    I turned off the tv after watching the President’s speech last night, and I’m going to be careful today. I want to savor the words and the positive thoughts of making peoples lives better. Time for a break from the retaliatory R’s and their mean spirited venting.

  43. JanF

    It is 32 degrees in Madison on its way up to 41. Heat wave!! It says to expect fog, probably because the ground is so cold. We were supposed to have freezing rain but if we did, it happened while I was sleeping.

    Everyone is holding their breaths waiting for the St. Louis County grand jury’s whitewashing. Meanwhile another unarmed black man is shot and killed in an “unfortunate accident”. 🙁

    I have only scanned the headlines on the president’s executive order on immigration. I am almost ready to read some of it now, except the commentary because it does not deserve my time. It was amusing to see that the same headlines could be plucked from any point in Barack Obama’s presidency when the right-wing disliked something he had done: starting on January 20, 2009 when he was took the oath of office. I am sure it helps to simply recycle the outrage because they have wrung the thesaurus dry of synonyms for overreach, disappointment (as if they “expected more”), and failure. :::yawn:::

    Well, I have a busy day on tap and I should get started. See all y’all later!!

  44. Portlaw

    to the Ferguson police department.At least he won’t get severance pay.  I am still hoping for justice. A grand jury could surprise us with a plea for justice and some hope.

    Those close to him said on Friday that Officer Wilson, who has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting, had no intention of returning to the mostly white police department in this mostly black St. Louis suburb.

    Discussions between Ferguson officials and Officer Wilson’s lawyers had begun in the last two months, some involved said, but tapered off without resolution. On several occasions, Ferguson officials have urged him to resign, but he has not agreed on the timing of his departure, an official with knowledge of the talks said Friday. The city does not plan to offer Officer Wilson, who says that he feared for his life when he encountered Mr. Brown and shot him, severance pay or any compensation in exchange for his resignation, an official said.

    Ferguson personnel rules require that an investigation be completed in order to fire an employee. That has not yet happened, the official said. If Officer Wilson is indicted in Mr. Brown’s death, city officials have said, he will be fired.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11…

  45. Diana in NoVa

    A picture of the face of a dignified Native American man of advanced years, looking straight at the camera, with a word bubble that says: “Against immigration?”

    And lower down, “Splendid! When do you leave?”

    Kinda says it all, doesn’t it?

  46. Diana in NoVa

    The effects of the anesthesia have worn off–I slept well–the almond croissants are baking in the oven even as I write. I can already feel that it’s time to take a few meds, though.

    Busy day ahead, ironing tablecloths, tidying, polishing silver, inserting the leaf in the dining room table. Elder son has invited us to dinner tonight, even though DIL is out of town.

    The Web site designer wants me to make a 1-minute video about his service for “prospective,” as he put it. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

    Going to think about my own stuff today–seem to be saying that a lot lately–because thinking about Ferguson is too depressing. Have a feeling that Wilson is going to get off scot-free. This country should change its name to “The Racist States of America.” Saw something from Toni Morrison on FB to the effect that we all belong to the HUMAN race, “race” as such is an artificial construct. So true!

    Why must humans constantly create these artificial divisions? Men are superior to women, white people are superior to black and brown people, blond, blue-eyed white people are superior to black-haired, brown-eyed white people, and bla bla bla.

    A good day to all!

  47. anotherdemocrat

    The rain started earlier than expected. I cut my walk short & came home. Eating a breakfast sandwich & watching Melissa Harris Perry. Hitting mute when the Heritage Foundation guy talks. And now she’s playing a clip of Ted Cruz.

    Today: house cleaning, in case my brother comes for Thanksgiving (we’re currently talking about meeting in Waco (halfway-ish between Austin & Dallas)

  48. princesspat

    It’s light rain today, but yesterday’s rain was a downpour so after going to the pool I stayed indoors. I’ll venture forth today.

    I’m listening to Anonymous 4 this morning, but I can’t embedd the video as YT doesn’t offer the “old format”. Is there a way to use the iframe format on the Moose?

    http://youtu.be/_ht9OKMV_2U

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