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Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Dec. 28, 2014 thru Jan. 3, 2015

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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.

/ 147 Comments

147 comments

  2. JanF

    As NYC Mayor Memorializes Slain Officer, Hundreds Of Cops Turn Their Backs

    As de Blasio remembered Ramos as an officer who “put his life on the line so other New Yorkers could live in peace,” hundreds, if not thousands, of police officers standing outside the funeral turned their backs away from the screens projecting de Blasio’s speech, mimicking the snub to de Blasio a few weeks earlier as he walked into Woodhull Hospital where Ramos and his partner Wenjan Liu were taken after they were fatally shot while sitting in their police car in Brooklyn. Many other officers did not turn their backs, and attendees inside the Queens church applauded.

    Someone needs to tell me what the difference is between the Westboro Baptist Church and the NYPD police union. It is despicable to use a funeral to make a political statement. This Tweet sums it up:

    @lsarsour: Today’s story should be about Ramos, his life and children BUT due to selfishness, the story is cops turn back on mayor.

  3. JanF

    California Is About To Make Egg Production More Humane, By Giving Hens 70 Percent More Space

    Starting next year, 15 million egg-laying hens in California and millions more providing out-of-state eggs to Californians will be required to have 70 percent more space – going from a minimum of 67 square inches each to nearly 116 square inches, about a 10.7-inch square of space per bird. California is the biggest consumer of eggs in the country, and this new regulations is part of a broader national effort to shift industry focus away from production efficiency to include animal and environmental welfare.

    Even that is not enough because it still means that hens will live in a space there they can’t even spread their wings. Some egg-users are going to cage-free birds:

    Aramark, a food services company, has said that the 30 million eggs it buys ever year in the U.S. will come from cage-free hens by the end of the year. Burger King is committed to getting all of its eggs from cage-free hens by 2017.

    This week, Starbucks announced plans to stop selling eggs from caged hens.

    It is good business to care about our earth and her creatures.

  4. anotherdemocrat

    Had a very long, but interrupted night’s sleep. It is cold – in the 30s, and the pollen count is super high. Watching the news, and Mythbusters. Got church later then gonna make kale soup with blackeyed peas. Considering how 2014 went, I’m starting with the good luck stuff early. But in the meantime, I feel a little odd, so I’m just going to sit here till time for church.

  5. Portlaw

    The missing airliner is very very disturbing. The fact that the Pope may speak out on climate change is very very  encouraging. Wonder how the Repubs will take that!

    Hope it’s a good day for all.

  6. Diana in NoVa

    Well…still feel horrible! Received 4 prescriptions from the doctor yesterday. Spent the night in the recliner downstairs as that seemed to reduce my coughing and I didn’t want to disturb my husband’s sleep. Won’t go into tiresome detail about my illness, just suffice it to say it’s ruined my plans for my–hollow laugh–free time. I wanted to do some writing. My daughter from Austin and her partner were to have come to tea yesterday. I was so ill I couldn’t even cook dinner–asked Hubby to get some Chinese food.

    I’m supposed to take Miss Pink Cheeks to see her cousin tomorrow so the two can scream, run around the house, and make gingerbread boys and girls, but am not sure I’ll feel up to it.

    Have barely looked at the news but am very curious about yet another missing airliner and the poor souls aboard it.

  7. bfitzinAR

    this morning.  (Sun came out around 11.)  Well, apparently I got the crud – not just the usual sinusitis which bothers but does not deprive me of sleep.  I wish I had a recliner.  Last night I basically sat upright with my back to the wall, cushioned from the hard and the cold (exterior wall) by pillows for most of the night.  Must have been coming on for the last week – I just thought it was an extra yuck bout of sinusitis – and I’ve used up all my allotments of decongestants.  It will be at least a week (if I’m “shorting”) and should be two before I use any of them again.  Sigh.  At least I don’t have to worry about staying alert enough to work.  University doesn’t open again until Monday the 5th.  I finished off the last of my chicken soup for lunch – hope leftover ham and steamed sweet potatoes works for dinner as it’s what I have.  Once I think I can function without burning the fool out of myself I’m going to make stock and the next day make more soup.  But I’m clumsy at the best of times and this is not the best of times.  I think I should have added myself to the list of folks I’m burning candles for (or would be if I hadn’t burned my last one yesterday).

    But the sun is shining and that does make a difference to how I feel – cruddy but not as cruddy as I did this morning looking at all the gray.  Happy last Sunday in 2014!  I really am ready for this year to be over.  🙂  {{{HUGS}}}

  8. princesspat

    Christmas is finally over and I’ve got the messy house to prove it! We had fun yesterday, everyone left this morning, and I went back to bed for what feels like a long winter’s nap.

    So now I’ll make a clean up and pack it all away plan, and start tomorrow. I’ve got a good book to finish reading today.

  10. DeniseVelez

    Hope those who are under the weather feel better today.

    Am starting my end of the year clean-up today – lots of accumulated junk to throw away.

  11. JanF

    It is 18 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 23. Partly sunny skies in the forecast. Winter is back!

    Sorry to be late, I got distracted by a couple of things.

    One of the things I was distracted by was the end of 13 years of combat operations in Afghanistan. I put a post up as a place to reflect.

    The other thing is that a long-time blogging friend, bleeding heart, passed away last night after many years of battling chronic illness. Our friend Aji wrote about her yesterday (before she passed away) here:

    We met online, but somehow I always thought that someday I’d have the chance to hug her slender shoulders in person. She looked so delicate, but in my experience of her, she’s always been so strong. She exudes gentleness and love – and a fierceness that manifests in her staunch support of her loved ones, a will of solid iron that I so admire.[…]

    And so Wings and I send our prayers to Spirit, our strength to you and your family, our deepest thanks to you for your appearance in our lives, and our great love to you, all on the back of a horse named Ice riding the day’s golden winter light.

    bleeding heart was the first online person I met “in real life” as we shared a city, a state, and a passion for Democratic Party principles and politics. We canvassed together during the 2011 recall, agonized over the destruction that Scott Walker and his soulless minions were doing to our state, and never gave up on the hope for a better time. May your spirit, bleeding heart, free of the body which had been such a trial for so many years, soar.

    p.s. She was for the Department of Peace …

    See all y’all later …

  12. anotherdemocrat

    It froze overnight. last time I watched the news, they weren’t predicting one, so I didn’t cover the plants. Oh well, hope they lived. I knew it was going to be somewhere in the 30s, so I didn’t set the alarm for early enough to walk before work. It is supposed to get into the 60s this afternoon, but then an arctic front comes tomorrow.

    Earworm: my babies doing I Believe in Father Christmas

    I wonder how our call volume will be today. We actually have surprisingly little e-mail considering we’ve been out since last Tuesday. I really hope people take it easy on us today. At least it’s another short week. And I have my blackeyed peas & kale soup.

  13. Portlaw

    here on this island.  Am meeting some friends from France for lunch. Today, like all of you, am digging through stuff trying to finish up the year, I had a small party last week and threw stuff in baskets to clear surfaces but I need that stuff!  Will be away next week and feeling pressure to get things done.  

    Hope good health is sweeping through Moosylvania.  Be well. The world needs us!

  14. Diana in NoVa

    Just read your tributes to bleeding heart. What a lovely person she must have been. I don’t recall bumping into her when I frequented Orange daily, but perhaps I wasn’t reading the same diaries. Hope she will walk in peace in the Otherworld.

    Still ill, but feeling a little more energetic every day. I’m under orders to put the good china back into its boxes. This afternoon I’d like to clean up my Home Awful, as you all are doing with yours. It’s possible that Daughter-from-Austin and partner will come to tea tomorrow, and he’s promised to install the latest Mac operating system on my computer. Don’t want to shock him with the way this place looks.

    So off I go, wishing you all a good day! Jan, I hope “the end of the war” means what we would like it to mean and not what Rummy thought it meant. 😉

  15. princesspat

    Looks like winter outside the frosty windows. I was going to start putting Christmas away but Ron’s arm is really hurting so I think a quiet day for both of us is a better plan. He sees the Dr tomorrow morning so I hope whatever the fix is will happen soon!  

  16. bfitzinAR

    I think I’m feeling better, I think.  I could just be the sunshine.  We’ve had such a cloudy December just seeing the sun makes me feel better.

    Glad the war in Afghanistan is officially over.  Be nice if it were actually over as well, but we take what we can get.

    I wasn’t familiar with bleeding heart’s diaries but she certainly had the right bumper stickers.  (I know I shouldn’t judge a person by her bumperstickers but…)  I hope with all the evils she was working to prevent – and we all know how that goes, 1 win for 10 losses it sometimes seems – she had good times.  Good memories to take with her across the Rainbow Bridge.

  17. DeniseVelez

    opened the door to let the dogs out and slammed it shut quickly.

    Looks like New Years Eve in Times Square will be very cold – I will be snug and warm at home watching freezing tourists.  

  18. JanF

    It is 5 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 13. Sunny skies but that is because of the high pressure system that is bringing frigid temperatures. I like the sun BUT I don’t like windchills in the double digits below zero.

    I have not looked at the news this morning yet because there are only two days left to 2014 and I spent yesterday traveling. TODAY, I have to put my nose to the grindstone.

    I did see last night while I was vegging out that there was a not-shocking-at-all revelation that one of the new House leaders is a white supremacist. :::yawn::: Anyone who thinks that is surprising has not been paying attention. In this New Confederacy, once again poor white Southerners have been talked into fighting and dying for the have-mores to keep their “property”. They are the Republican Party and considering that most of those poor Southerners are still fighting that lost war 150+ years later, there is little hope that they will ever see that they are being duped; we simply have to wait until we outnumber them electorally.  

    See all y’alls later.

  19. DeniseVelez

    Leader of Latino police group urges cops to tone down anger at de Blasio

    http://www.newsday.com/news/ne…

    More than a dozen police officers representing the groups 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, Grand Council of Guardians and the National Latino Officers Association showed up at the site, laying flowers at the spot where the officers were gunned down. They stood silently with candles for 15 minutes and later shook hands with observers who thanked the officers for their service.

    While the other two groups did not comment, Miranda said the groups were brought together “to show our respects to Officers Ramos and Liu.”

    While Patrick Lynch, president of the rank-and-file Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, has led the rallying cry against de Blasio, saying the mayor and other city leaders had “blood on their hands” in the wake of the killings, Miranda said “so far, you’ve only heard one voice and that’s not the voice of us.”

    Actually – 100 Blacks in LE (a group I am very familiar with, did take a very strong stance – earlier on:

    Black Law Enforcement Groups Blast PBA Stance on Eric Garner Death

    http://www.ny1.com/content/new…

    Several black law enforcement organizations on Friday called out the city’s police unions over their handling of the Eric Garner case.

    They gathered outside the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association headquarters in Lower Manhattan to blast both them and the sergeants’ union for quickly coming to the defense of the officers involved in Garner’s arrest.

    “And it makes every good cop, no matter what color he is, job even harder when there’s no accountability for those officers that cross the line,” said Damon Jones of Blacks in Law Enforcement in America.

    The organizations said it is wrong to say officers did not use a chokehold when cell phone video shows otherwise.

    They’ve also been against the Stop and Frisk policies targeting blacks and Latinos.

    I remember when all these groups were founded. Of course their members know that when they are out of uniform they are just as much at risk as any other person of color – from police.    

  20. Diana in NoVa

    We’re supposed to be having what the Weather Ladies refer to as a “wintery mix.” If I ever get some spare time I’ll set up a GoFundMe account so they can go to school to learn English. So far the “wintery mix” consists of dry skies with streaks of blue showing through the gray. Wonder if I can get as much money as they do by telling lies?

    Yes, I feel bitchy and sad this morning. Keep thinking of that plane dropping like a stone into the sea, with all the children, one of them a baby, going down with it. Our baby is 7 months old today.

    Well, now that I’ve cheered you up, let’s discuss New Year’s Eve plans. Dearly Beloved and I plan to sit in our chairs, drink tea or cocoa, watch the goings-on in Times Square until paralyzed with boredom, and then go to bed. When we wake up it will be 2015. The most interesting part will be seeing how they manage the New Year spectacles. It was easy in the 2 thousand-oughts, but what do they do nowadays?

    Wishing all in Mooseland a good day!

  22. Portlaw

    WASHINGTON – Michael G. Grimm, the Republican Party’s lone congressional representative in New York City, announced late Monday night that he would resign effective Jan. 5, two weeks after he pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion.

    The decision to call it quits by Mr. Grimm, of Staten Island – perhaps best known for threatening to break a reporter in half and throw him off a Capitol Hill balcony – came after a conversation on Monday with the House speaker, John A. Boehner, which a person close to the speaker confirmed. In a statement released by Mr. Grimm’s office just before midnight, he said, “I do not believe that I can continue to be 100 percent effective in the next Congress, and therefore, out of respect for the Office and the people I so proudly represent, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life.”

     bold mine.   http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12…

  23. anotherdemocrat

    Warmer morning, but a colder day. I didn’t need gloves & hat this morning like I did yesterday, but brought them for going home, a front is due mid day. We may have freezing rain for New Year’s.

    Eating breakfast (almond butter sandwich) & drinking tea. Yesterday was a super-busy day. Hoping that people either give us a break or that one of yesterday’s “sick” people drags their lazy butt in here.

    Weirdly, my earworm is Carol of the Bells. I haven’t played that part of my Christmas mix for days, so I dunno where that came from. I have the version by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir – I hated giving them royalties, but it was the only version I could find that was big, grand, sharp… All the other versions I listened to were either jazzy, folksie… just off somehow. Going to be interesting taking calls with that in my head, I may try to switch it to something quieter.

  24. princesspat

    The wind is quiet, but several big branches from the old maple trees are on the lawn. I want to pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep, but Ron’s Dr. appointment is at 9:15 am and I’m the driver. Needless to say he’s not liking his spot in the passenger seat, so I had best get us there on time!

  26. Portlaw

    a victim that I bought socks from, Amadou Diallo. I have never forgotten or forgiven his death. He was a shy innocent. His death seems to have been forgotten so I would like to remember him. I think of him every time I go buy the place where he sold socks and where I lit many candles for him after his murder. May he rest in peace and may his memory not be forgotten

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S…

  27. JanF

    It is -3 in Madison with a windchill of 15 below. It will get to 19 degrees later today with abundant sunshine.

    Why does it shock Republicans to find racists in their ranks? As the Charlie Pierce article posted above points out, it is who they are and how they get elected. Rep. Scalise will apologize for his “mistake” and might lose his leadership role much like Trent Lott lost the Senate leadership role more than a decade ago … after he declared how much better America would be if Strom Thurmond had been elected president and those darkies had known their place.

    Sigh.

    My fervent hope is that one of these days, people voting for Republicans out of reflex will finally stop and say “Holy mackeral, I can’t vote for these guys!” I would like to see Scalise stay in leadership because his hooded head will be a reminder to us that elections matter.

    I think I have a bajillion things to do today so I better go.

    See all y’alls later!!

  28. Portlaw

    believe this is the last day of the year!  Wishes for a better year of health for all Meese and moral health for the world.

    BTW, has anyone noticed how Ebola, one of the big stories of the year, is no longer mentioned? Now that it doesn’t seem to be a threat to us the disease is no longer interesting while thousands continue to die. I will give my local rag, The New York Times, credit. yesterday they devoted all eight pages of the Science section to it and the photos in Africa were devastating..

    Have fun today, Meese, but do behave!!!

  29. DeniseVelez

    Happy New Years Eve.

    Link to this petition was posted over at orange

    Petition for the Resignation of PBA President Patrick Lynch

    http://petitions.moveon.org/si…

    I enjoyed signing it – with a note.

    Yes Jan – Ebola – now that it can’t be used to whip up election fear is no longer important to wingers.

    On a different note, for those who honor the Goddess in all her forms I have a New Years Eve in Rio de Janeiro diary going up tonight at 11 PM EST over at orange on the goddess of the sea, Iemanjá (Yemaya) traditional celebration there.

  30. anotherdemocrat

    We’re not actually expecting ice in the city, but they canceled the New Years Eve thing anyway. It is cold – gloves, cap & coat cold. But no ice.

    Earworm is I Believe in Father Christmas. Because it is Christmastide, Yule isn’t over it just begun. And we need some of that Santa/Father Christmas/Green Man magic released on this planet. So, blessings & peace to all.

  31. princesspat

    We have both good news and bad news re Ron’s wrist. The good is no surgery for now and a brace instead of the cast so he can use his hand and drive when he’s ready to do so. The bad is that his wrist is “a mess” due to arthritis, and that limits what can be done to fix this injury. He will have another CT next week so the Dr. will have a clearer view of he bones, and then we’ll see what happens next.

    So the reality of the impact of arthritis on our lives is settling in.

  32. bfitzinAR

    cloudy and chilly – as in arfen cold chilly – at least for Fay., AR wind chill of 23 is arfen cold.  I just got back from marrying a sweet couple in the park – I just did the 30-second legal requirements, they are going to Lake Fayetteville to the bridge over the spillway to do the “spiritual” part.  Probably shouldn’t have gone out, considering I still haven’t shaken this cold, but I had lunch with my son before and then scooted home as soon as I did the ceremony.  Considering that the seeds of 2015 were planted in 2014, I don’t know why I think 2015 will be any better than 2014 – as ye sow the wind, ye reap the whirlwind – but there’s always hope while there’s life.  And hey, Imbolc’s only a month away 🙂  

  34. anotherdemocrat

    I can’t copy & paste the whole post, but here’s the whole thing – and you really should read them all, his words are magical

    http://journal.neilgaiman.com/…

    here’s the one just for this year:

    I meant, and mean them all. I wasn’t going to write a new one this year. But…

    Be kind to yourself in the year ahead.

    Remember to forgive yourself, and to forgive others. It’s too easy to be outraged these days, so much harder to change things, to reach out, to understand.

    Try to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow away like dead leaves, with nothing to show but time you spent not quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin.

    Meet new people and talk to them. Make new things and show them to people who might enjoy them.

    Hug too much. Smile too much. And, when you can, love.

  35. JanF

    It is 14 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 30. Partly cloudy skies in the forecast.

    January is the start of 31 days where my name is all over the blogosphere. Everywhere I look … Jan … Jan … Jan. I will try to not get a big head. 🙂

    My news feed is filled with 2014 retrospectives and bests of lists. The best of 2014, in my opinion, is that it is done. 2015 will be an interesting year because there are no elections with national implications for the first time in 7 years. Perhaps this will be a year to heal and gain strength, to identify the issues that will be important next year, 2016, when the torch is passed to a new Democratic president? One thing I do not expect is a year when much of anything gets done. The priorities of a party that thinks that the KKK and the League of Women Voters are the same … just another civic group to speak in front of … will not align often with mine.

    See all y’all later!

  36. Diana in NoVa

    up to 40 F. today. We’re expecting rain and somewhat warmer temps on Saturday.

    We stayed up much too late last night, seeing the New Year in for the first time in many. I had a really exciting novel to read, but by the time I finished it, I felt sick from all the cartel-related violence. As I don’t drink alcohol, my sore head must be imputed to lack of sleep, I think. 🙂

    Oh, the horrors of upgrading! Daughter-from-Austin’s partner, an Apple engineer, wanted to install the latest Mac Os, Yosemite, on my Mac, so I encouraged him to do so. BIG mistake! As usual the techies went mad with joy–here was yet another opportunity to increase our befuddlement–and in this enterprise they succeeded perfectly. No scroll bars (I found them in System Preferences and put them back), all my beloved bookmarks, including The Moose, GONE. Remind me never to upgrade again, OK?

    Looking forward to another day of Sitting and Staring. Hope everyone will relax, stay warm, and do whatever you like to do best! Denise, will see if I can catch your diary over at Orange. I really need to catch up on diaries here, too.

    Good day to all!

  37. DeniseVelez

    brrrrrr – tis nippy here today – 21.

    Thankful I’m staying inside except to let the animals in and out.

    Making family traditional New Years food for today

    Black-eyed peas, ham and rice.

    Other than that – hope none of you have hangovers 🙂

  38. Portlaw

    for the days coming up.  

    It’s 28 here, going up to 40. It hasn’t been cold enough here for me to get our my winter coat even once.

    Am going to a traditional New Year’s luncheon that a friend always gives. When I was young, this was a day when one visited grandparents and older relatives and ate meat pies.  

  39. anotherdemocrat

    Slept in – and actually hit the snooze, which I never use. Nibbling some breakfast. Going to go visit my friend later, she is back in inpatient rehab, right in my neighborhood.

    Cold & rainy here, but no ice in town. Got to get a walk in, maybe this afternoon.

  40. princesspat

    It’s cold outside, so I plan to stay cozy inside today and ease into this new year. I do need to get a new calendar however, and as soon as I’ve transferred  the dates to remember I will happily and officially close out 2014.

    I join you all in feeling the new year actually begins in the fall, so the words “New Calendar Day” work well for me!

  41. bfitzinAR

    If we can hold at this light intensity I may get a whole KWH generated to start the new year.  Since the worst of last year/month was .33 KWH for the whole day, we’re still making progress.  The various folks (and it was more than one lot – or at least more than one “site”) who decided to do fireworks at midnight blessedly chose the color-bursts types.  We didn’t have simulated battlefields, just whomps and light.  Obviously it woke me up or I wouldn’t have known, but it didn’t bother either my cats or Lodger’s dog so this is good.  Hope everyone is having a good and/or relaxing day.  {{{HUGS}}}

  42. JanF

    It is 21 degrees in Madison, expected high of 31. The big weather news is that a major winter storm is blowing in just in time to catch people returning from winter break. Saturday night into Sunday morning: 2 to 6 inches of snow/ice/sleet and then temperatures for the next week plummet into the single digits with double digits below zero for overnight lows. Brrrrrr.

    Today is Friday yet it feels like a MondaySaturday. Lots of people are working but they were off yesterday and a half day on Wednesday. And tomorrow is the weekend! Well, I am working and I did yesterday morning as well. Trying to stay ahead of the January deadlines.

    I scanned the headlines and noticed that former Governor Mario Cuomo died. I don’t know much about him because he was governor of a state-I-didn’t-live-in and was a national political figure when I was not paying much attention to politics. I am told that his speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1984 was a barn burner and I am going to hunt down a transcript later this morning when I have time.

    Have a great day all y’alls!!

  44. Diana in NoVa

    Yesterday was gorgeous, today is cloudy. We ate our ham, blackeyed peas (I do this as a mini-memorial to my late mother), and baked sweet potatoes to get the new year started off correctly.

    Speaking of calendars reminds me that I have to track down two Llewellyn Witches’ calendars for myself and my friend in Germany, who loves them. I send her that and the Witches’ Datebook every year.

    Feeling a bit better every day, thank goodness, but still hate to watch the news. Hope everyone in Moosylvania will stay warm and have a good day!

  45. Portlaw

    much to do this weekend since I am going away next week and am not ready! Hope it’s a good day for all!

  46. anotherdemocrat

    Still damp & cold here — light rain expected all day. My stomach made me go ahead & get out of bed, it didn’t like the Amy’s blackeyed pea dinner I had last night. Eating some breakfast, watching the news. Got to eat enough of something that I can have my tea.

    The rehab my friend is in is almost close enough to walk to, so I’ll be seeing a lot of her while she’s there.

  47. princesspat

    All I managed to do yesterday was nap and read so I hope I’ll have more energy and focus today. I’m wishing for a clean clutter free house so that means I need to make it happen.

    When the Christmas tree begins to smell and drop it’s needles the charm is gone!

  49. bfitzinAR

    in Fay., AR.  Not what I call a great way to start a year (or a month), but it’s what we got.  Even with the KWH generation in Dec 2014 (with Lodger) my household used 2x the electricity as Dec 2013 (without Lodger & with 10 degree average colder) – so basically Lodger is matching my usage PLUS taking what my system generates.  In at least one respect the end of May cannot get here too soon.  (Well, there’s another respect – current Chair leaves at the end of this academic year.  W00t!)  Anyway, borrowed the neighbor’s splitter again – set it up on the carport out of the drizzle and split firewood most of the morning.  I use 3x the firewood when I’m home all day as when I work, so all the wood I split last Saturday is either already used up or sitting in the “in-house” woodbox.  The new stack on the porch and carport will last the entire month of January. 🙂

  50. JanF

    It is 27 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 32. And a surprise snow squall!! I hope it is tonight’s storm a little early because it is much easier to deal with in the light of day.

    It is inspirational to read the Mario Cuomo articles. I wonder what happened to his son to turn him away from the liberalism and progressive values his father was so passionate about? Is it simply impossible to be a strong liberal in this day and age after the right-wing media has been bashing liberals for so long? Has the death match politics of the 21st century made all politicians hesitant to show a liberal face lest they be called weak … or worse?

    I have a busy day ahead. If I am unable to return today, moose programming note: I will be in a different time zone for the next week so you may see my check in early or late or missing. The next two Sunday Welcomings diaries will probably post on Saturday night. I hope it does not confuse anyone. 🙂

    See all y’alls later!!

  51. Portlaw

    Monday for a week so have much to do before heading out.  May bring my iPad so may check in. Lot’s of “mays” in that sentence.  Now I have to look for my lists of things to do. Enjoy the day!  

  52. Diana in NoVa

    On this cold, gray, rainy morning we’ve just finished a breakfast of toasted crumpets dripping with melted butter and honey. Quite yummy, and now Dearly is making the coffee. Must rush out and get my straggly locks taken care of before dashing off for lunch at La Madeleine with the Circle Sisters.

    Daddy Pink Cheeks informed me yesterday that the entire family will be out of town for the Martin Luther King Day holiday. I’ll be able to have a writing weekend! I am so excited. Writing has taken a back seat to the Christmas hols. and yet felicitous phrases keep forming in my mind…

    Safe travels to you, Jan and Portlaw! Have a wonderful time away. You’ll be missed greatly (let’s hope you can check in from time to time).

  53. princesspat

    This is living inside a cloud weather, as the sky, water and horizon are all the same shade of damp gray.

    Safe travels Jan and Portlaw. I may have the seasonal stuff packed away by the time you return!  

  54. anotherdemocrat

    I did 6 miles. it’s cold (for Texas) – maybe 40-ish. I’m tired & my lungs didn’t like it. But I did it. Got home in time to see Melissa Harris Perry’s take on New Year’s resolutions. You should find it on msnbc.com, it’s interesting.

    I’m going to take a nap now.

  55. Diana in NoVa

    No, I hadn’t seen your post about this foul-up. Ye gods, what a thing to happen!

    I’m sorry you were disappointed and hope you can reschedule your vacation successfully.

    Safe travels and have a marvelous time when you get there!

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