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Week-long Welcomings from Moosylvania: Mar. 15th thru Mar. 21st

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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.

/ 146 Comments

146 comments

  1. JanF

    It is 32 degrees in Madison WI, on its way up to 66. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    Have a great day, all y’alls!!

  2. JanF



    But only if you are Julius Caesar.

    For the rest of us, it is the beginning of Ostara Week, the run-up to Spring Equinox which will occur on Friday, March 20th at 22:45 UTC or 5:45pm Central.

    This lamb is ready …


  3. DeniseVelez

    having coffee, scanning the news…took a look at the last polls in Israel which (fingers crossed) indicate Bibi may be bye bye from leadership.

    Was curious about Tzipi Livni, who is running with Herzog, and I haven’t seen much mentioned here about her. Went to wiki and found a link.

    Livni named one of 150 ‘women who shake the world’

    Opposition leader Tzipi Livni is one of the top 150 “women who shake the world,” according to a list compiled by Newsweek and the website Daily Beast in honor of the “Women in the World” conference taking place this week in New York.

    The magazine praised Livni as a leading advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a former foreign minister, and the first woman to serve as Israel’s opposition leader.

    “Sometimes referred to as ‘Mrs. Clean,’ she has a reputation for an unusual level of integrity and honesty,” the magazine said.

    Didn’t get much from it

    Went back to her wiki page, and then spent some more time on google.

    Would like to learn more.

    In other women’s news today is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s birthday.  Happy Birthday number 82 Madame Justice, aka Notorious R.B.G.

    So in her honor some rap 😉

    She is the subject of my sunday morning sermon at orange.

  5. Diana in NoVa

    and it’s very windy! I shall urge Dearly to light a fire in the new woodstove because Elder son and DIL are coming for dinner tonight.

    Good morning to all in Moosylvania! Haven’t looked at the news yet, just finished drinking early morning tea. Off to cook breakfast, peep at the paper, and watch the Formula I race in Melbourne. It’s September over there, but still very warm.

    Back later to say hello, Moar coffee for all here.

  6. anotherdemocrat

    Eating breakfast, watching Up. They had a segment on the death penalty, how states are running out of lethal injection drugs. There was an advocate for firing squads…… wow.

    Anyway, today – grocery shopping, and deciding about going to the NASA thing. Which means no chance I’m going to work tomorrow. (they’re showing the Hubble in 3D movie, followed by a panel discussion, and there’s no chance I’d get home before 11, hence the lack of being at work tomorrow)

    Weirdly, woke us with I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight – a song I haven’t played in weeks.

  7. princesspat

    But the cherry trees and daffodil are blooming and it feels like a spring rain. The bulb fields in Skagit County are in bloo early this year.


  8. bfitzinAR

    Yesterday’s drizzle left us a few clouds – I doubt I’ll get 12 KWHs – but I’ve got just over 10 right now and there’s some daylight left.  Meridian today in Fay., AR was 1:22 DST by my kitchen clock as I noticed while I was eating lunch (there are a couple of N-S aligned trellis posts right out back.

    I’ve got crocuses and daffodils blooming – also a few dandelions and an assortment of Spring-blooming “weeds” in my lawn that a lovely and very heartening after multiple days of gloom and DST-induced grumpiness.  (Also DST-induced dyslexia that had me hitting the panic button multiple times Friday for “errors” that weren’t errors – and wasting the time of the folks I’d called to help me fix problems that didn’t exist.  I hate that almost as much as I hate DST.)  Sunshine is a good start to the last week before Ostara.  {{{HUGS}}}

  9. JanF

    It is 47 degrees in Madison on its way up to 72. Partly cloudy skies in the forecast. It will be 46 tomorrow!! Crazy weather.

    Tom Cotton “shared” that he does not know much about geography when he appeared on the Sunday talk shows and warned that Iran had already taken over Tehran!! I guess you don’t need to know much about the place you are invading since someone else will be doing the actual fighting. Kudos to Bob Schieffer for asking Cotton:  “Are you planning to contact any other of our adversaries? Do you plan to check with the North Koreans to make sure they know any deal has to be approved by the Congress?” He refused to answer but pivoted to “We don’t want Iran to get a nuclear weapon”. On that part most reasonable people agree … we just prefer to do it via diplomacy not the PNAC way.

    Sounds like the Cotton Letter was all storm and fury as the Iran sanctions bill being put forward by Bob Corker appears to have enough Democrats to pass the Senate. The only question now is  whether it will survive a presidential veto. The White House has asked the Senate to hold off on issuing any ultimatums while the sensitive negotiations with Iran are ongoing. The White House addressed their letter to Senate leaders!!

    Speaking of the Senate, Mitch McConnell refuses to take his poison pill “gift” to anti-choicers out of the human trafficking bill. Democrats refuse to let it come to the floor because they don’t have enough votes to remove the language, only enough votes to stop the  bill from being voted on. McConnell now says he will delay Loretta Lynch’s confirmation vote until the bill passes cloture. Fine. Loretta Lynch has a day job, convicting criminals in New York and Eric Holder does not have any pressing post retirement plans. This Tweet describes what is going on:

    Chris Dashiell @cdashiell

    GOP: “You elected us to do a job. Our job is to attach anti-abortion language to every piece of legislation we see.”

    Yup. And we do not want this bill arriving at the presidents desk for him to veto because it contains some important provisions to protect women.

    They caught the Ferguson shooter and he is not affiliated with the protesters. But he is black!! That is “close enough”, I guess. I am not sure how you fix racism in policing. I was shocked to see that San Francisco has a racism problem in their police department. There needs to be a zero tolerance policy. First racist tweet/FB, you are off the force. What you share in social media reflects what is in your heart … that kind of bigot should not have a gun and a badge.

    See all y’all later! I am trying to find a brain to work on the stack of things on my desk that keeps getting taller.

  10. Diana in NoVa

    And good morning in advance to Moosylvanians who may be asleep.

    Enjoyed Jan’s wake-up post this morning. Just read The WaPo and there was no particular news in it except that an unfortunate man was killed while hiking the Appalachian Trail. On that very windy day we had he was hit by a falling tree.

    I’m fervently hunting for an Ostara ritual that does not involve planting seeds (we’re all trying to downsize and do not need yet another plant to tend), or declaring an intention to get rid of a negative quality or establish a new goal during the coming year. Been there, done that. The best ritual I’ve found so far involves blowing bubbles but I’m not sure how the hostesses would feel about that.

    After I get Miss Pink Cheeks off to school this morning I have a few hours free! Hope to make good use of the time.

    Will be back later to say hello–hot coffee to all!

  12. DeniseVelez

    sorry to be late – spent the early dawn hours chasing a bird around that somehow got into the house.

    It kept trying to smash its way out through the bay windows in the living room – as my cats watched – waiting to pounce.

    It then wound up in the pantry and the dogs knocked over a shelf on pots and pans trying to get to it.

    Finally, I just left the kitchen door wide open – and it seems to be gone.

    I need more coffee 🙂

  13. anotherdemocrat

    it is supposed to rain all week, which sucks for our visitors but we need it

    I didn’t go to the NASA thing last night. Crowds. So I’m at work, eating breakfast & drinking tea — Irish breakfast this week.

    earworm – last song from the car – Miracle of Joey Ramone, a good loud song for a Monday

  14. bfitzinAR

    Not as groggy as last week but still not firing on all cylinders (maybe 5 out of 6 rather than the 3 out of 6 for last week).  Sunshine always helps.  Birthdays and a not-so-good anniversaries this week.  My father would have been 93 on Wednesday had he not killed himself at 50 and it’s also the anniversary of a sweet little kitteh’s passing (at age 15 of chronic kidney failure).  One of my grandsons will be 6 on Friday and my youngest sisters will be 56 on Saturday.  All three of them are somewhere in TX (presupposing the elder twin has gotten back from London by now) and definitely not within easy driving distance so I put cards in the mail this morning.

    Hope I can get up the energy for a ritual of some sort for Ostara.  Mostly I just do a minor meditation and feel guilty for not doing more.  Sigh.  Oh well.  However you define “a good day”, please have one.  {{{HUGS}}}

  15. princesspat

    I’ve had some sobering news this morning. One of my son’s friends had emergency surgery for an aortic dissection last night. The good news is he survived the surgery, the bad is this will be  life altering and he is a young man (early 40’s) with two small children. Erich and I are sharing feelings of gratitude and mortality.

    So I’ll pay the bills, finish the laundry, and go to the dentist without grumbling today…..because I’m fortunate I can!

  16. JanF

    It is 41 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 45. Sunny skies.

    Great news out of Oregon about expanding the franchise rather than limiting it (“Oregon became the first state in the nation to use DMV records to automatically register residents to vote”), the Republican governor of Wyoming hopes King loses in the King v Burwell case because of the chaos that will result … and Young Tom Cotton, who voted against Sandy relief and the Farm Bill because of deficits, wants the Tea Party sequester to exempt military spending. His inaugural speech to the Senate waited all of 2 1/2 paragraphs before he brought up Hitler and appeasement. No wonder he is the darling of the right: perfectly willing to subvert his own purity stands to shovel money into the maw of the military industrial complex. I hope the Arkansas voters who put him into office realize how they were played. When you are blinded by racial animus, you miss seeing the charlatan who is poised to destroy the social safety net and good government programs you need to survive. Turns out that in 2015 America, it ain’t “the economy, stupid” … it’s stupidly hating the black guy in the White House.

    Busy morning … see all y’alls later!

  17. DeniseVelez

    Am listening to Voice of Israel

    http://www.voiceofisrael.com/

    which is not the official Israeli station – but is an internet one, founded by Daniel Seaman.

    Will switch to the official government channel later – maybe.

    There is a -6 hour time diff between NYC and Tel Aviv.

  19. anotherdemocrat

    Sandals. Windows down on the way to work. Finally back to normal. Though it is supposed to rain for the rest of the week.

    My twitter feed is full of posts about Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day parade. Here’s 2 hashtags to check out: #StPatricksFest   #Lightirl. Lots of great pictures.

    Was blasting Spanish Eyes in the car, but I’ve had a minor earworm of Morning Has Broken since we sang it Sunday. The organist never does this version, but it’s the one I hear anyway.

  20. Portlaw

    may make an appearance.

    Lots of news to follow. Today, I am particularly interested in Bibi and the Iran talks. Off to coffee. Hope it’s a good day for all.

  21. Diana in NoVa

    partly cloudy skies. Babylicious, tired out from crawling round the family room floor and then sucking on a bottle, is asleep in his crib with “Baby’s First Words in French” playing softly in the CD player beside him.

    Today is St. Paddy’s Day. In honor of my Irish ancestors we do eat corned beef and cabbage, but in honor of my Pagan orientation I’m going to wear my snake earrings today. There aren’t any snakes in Ireland and never have been as far as I know–it’s an island, for goodness’ sake. Patrick drove out the Serpent of Wisdom and the people who embodied it.

    I’ll be keeping an eye out for the elections in Israel. I do wish something rotten would happen to “The 47,” as I think of them. They’re getting away with it, and I hate that.

    Daisy troop meeting tonight, so Miss PC will be staying over at my house. Tonight the troop will tour the library, a place to which I’ve been taking Miss Pink Cheeks since she was two years old–LOL!

    Hope it’s a good day for all in Moosylvania!

  22. bfitzinAR

    rain’s moving back in sometime early tomorrow morning but I still have the sunshine today.  At 93 KHWs for the month at the moment so should hit 100 sometime this afternoon.  My next “target” is the 171 generated last October.  (Still playing with my finances in the hopes I can add more panels next month – I’m not cutting down the oak tree I planted Fall of ’98 as it shades my carport in the summer – adding only 2 would be $1.95K but 6 is $4.6K so…)

    Haven’t looked at any news yet which is probably just as well.  Still celebrating the woozle Silks got last Saturday though. 🙂  Hope everyone has a good/pleasant/comfortable day.  {{{HUGS}}}

  23. princesspat

    Between errands, laundry, and the dentist all that real life I was longing for has returned, lol! But as I do more my stamina is returning as well. The family will all be here next week end, and some will be staying for spring break so I will wait until April to go back to the pool.

  24. JanF

    It is 29 degrees in Madison on its way up to 50. Mostly cloudy skies in the forecast.

    Yikes! I am losing my faith in pollsters. They blew a bunch of them last fall (I really thought we would hold the Senate and kick Scott Walker to the curb) and now Netanyahu wins a stunning victory? You have to wonder how the news from the final days tilted the election … the “no two-states on my watch” announcement, reversing years of diplomacy, seems to have resonated (in a bad way); turnout was the highest since 1999. One person I know who watches these things closely suggests that a coalition will be unstable leading to new elections more quickly than usual.

    So the Republican released their budget and, while this is difficult to believe, it is worse than the Ryan budgets. I am still digging through it but I hope this is dead on arrival. It doesn’t even provide a framework for a realistic budget, it is a document of hate. Here is the budget in graph form, from CBPP:

    Also, I am enjoying Scott Walker squirming about Tweets and posts that his staff has made. When the awful things that his campaign and county executive staff emailed to each other came to light in the John Doe data dump in 2013, he refused to talk about it. My guess is that with Iowa ticked off, he will have to say something. My favorite comment about the OUTRAGE that Iowans are feeling was from Ed Kilgore:

    [Des Moines Register writer] Jacobs goes on, with the air of a priest describing the desecration of an altar, in documenting Mair’s tweeted insults to Iowa and Iowans and ethanol.

    Iowa … home of the Caucasian Caucuses … predictor of absolutely nothing.

    See you later! I need to get a couple things done then I can settle in and read Dee’s Cotton Batterin’.  

  25. Portlaw

    discouraging.  And, to think, our Congress was a campaign stop. And, to think, of his racism.  Not sure how all of this will affect the talks with Iran.

  26. anotherdemocrat

    Rain, glorious rain. Should have started yesterday, was predicted to be heavier, but we’ll take what we can get.

    I have music from commercials in my head, ugh, so I’m playing Hozier’s Jackie & Wilson over them to make them go away.

    Still jealous of & happy for my Presbyterian friends for passing marriage equality. I hope this influences the Methodist church.

  27. DeniseVelez

    light – but because of bitter winds now have a black ice problem.  Problems with crashes on the NYS thruway due to ice.

    Well there goes my spring out the window for a while.

    Snow in the forecast for Friday as well.

    Bibi the liar.

    What can anyone say.

    Have to head out to get an oil change.

    Have a good day folks.

  28. bfitzinAR

    I could use more sunshine, but we can also use the rain.  Finally have gotten stuff approved so I can go to the next steps (which of course will also have to be approved) – and may finally get the travel done two weeks ago processed and over to the Travel dept by Friday.  Not as groggy but still feel tired – just not right this time of year to be getting up in pitch dark, even though it’s too early to be getting up in daylight.

    Hope everybody is doing well.  {{{HUGS}}}

  29. Diana in NoVa

    And Friday, the first day of spring, is predicted to be rainy, snowy, and blowy! Ugh!

    Well, I see Bib won. That’s discouraging. Have been so preoccupied with Little People I haven’t had any time since yesterday morning. Haven’t looked at the news much. On “Good Morning Merrycar” they almost forgot to mention Bibi, they were so preoccupied with Durst. This is what passes for “news” with the corporate media?

    Crud. Have almost decided on a ritual for Ostara. It will involve as little work as possible and absolutely no dancing. I’m exhausted and this is only Wednesday!

    Hope everyone will have a good day and perhaps there will be good news from someone, somewhere. Must go down now and give Babylicious his organic baby food lunch.

    A good day to all who drink from the Moose Pond!

  30. princesspat

    I tossed and turned last night worrying about our son’s friend. It’s still moment to moment for him…..my heart breaks for his family.

    When I finally did sleep I woke up late, so good day to all in Meese Land!

  31. JanF

    It is 38 degrees in Madison on its way up to 49. Cloudy skies in the forecast.

    The good news is that the immoral House GOP budget was scuttled, the bad news is that the immoral Senate GOP budget lives on and is even worse. The Senate plans to use reconciliation to pass the budget so that they can avoid the filibuster and finally get a bill to the president that repeals the Affordable Care Act … so that he can veto it. Political games. I am tucking Budget news into comments in the post on the president’s speech in Cleveland (still waiting for a transcript … I listened to it live and followed the Tweets).

    The Wisconsin state legislature is debating Scott Walker’s budget now. If you recall, one of the provisions was a $300 million cut in funding for the UW system in exchange for more autonomy, the chance to set tuition, do their own purchasing and manage their own budgets. After people expressed concern about tuition increases, the state legislature decided to cut the funding (they need it to fix the $2.1 billion deficit created by the Walker Tax Cuts and the failure of Trickle Down to Trickle) and NOT give the university autonomy. I really do wonder at the intelligence of the regents in cutting a deal with the Republicans. They are as gullible as the private sector unions who voted for Walker because he promised he would not destroy their unions with “right to work” laws. In the meantime, funding for Wisconsin primary and secondary education will be cut again. Sigh.

    Time to get to work! See all y’all later!!!

  32. Diana in NoVa

    Rather cloudy this morning. So far it’s not a good news day. Why did the police feel it necessary to beat up a UVA student? Because he’s black?

    Now ISIL and its villainous offspring are attacking museums, so no one can go to museums? Talk about barbarians!  They’re so murderous could be Cimmerians.

    Jan, all I can say after reading your post is thank Goddess for the President’s veto pen. What a bunch of scumbuckets the Rethugs are!

    On that cheerful note, we are expecting gloppy snow tomorrow, the alleged first day of spring, so I must do all my shopping for the ritual today. Daffodils, lady fingers and spring water for the Cakes and Ale portion, and a jar of bubble mixture are on the shopping list. Yes, I decided to go with the bubble ritual because everything else was just too much work.

    Still working on April’s Fiction Cafe story, “Waking the Old Gods,” and hoping to start work on granddaughter’s birthday story this weekend.

    Hope all visitors to the Moose Pond will have a good day!

  33. JanF

    … yukking it up



    Selfie!!!

    It was after this event, yesterday:



    Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her annual Women’s History Month reception. At this year’s reception, Leader Pelosi will honor the women Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, paying tribute to Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Sandra Day O’Connor

  34. anotherdemocrat

    Well, the rain went away but is expected back tomorrow. I might try walking with the lunch group today. Skipped Tuesday because it was supposedly rainy, and the places on my face where I’m using the fluoroplex (for pre-melanoma patches) are itchy & walking in rain/mist didn’t appeal. Today I may walk to distract from wanting to scratch my face. What’s even worse is there’s a big patch on my cheek, so unlike the 2 on my forehead, my hair doesn’t hide it. Sigh.

    Earworm – actually there are 2, kind of jostling each other in my head: California, the last song playing in the car; and Someone New, my new favorite song — this is a fan-made video for his 25th birthday. The song is sweet & the video is totes adorbs. No, really. If you need some cute in your day, this is it. There’s an older woman near the end who is just the coolest.

  35. DeniseVelez

    spent yesterday doing some writing, and spring cleaning – keeping an eye on the news of the shootings in Mesa AZ…figgered out pretty quickly that the suspect of the manhunt was a white supremacist group member…but headlines weren’t going there.

    Southern Poverty Law Center calls it like it is

    http://www.splcenter.org/blog/…

    Suck up a quick orange post.

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

    Will bbl

     

  36. bfitzinAR

    door I tried to come in was locked (and I was carrying stuff, of course).  As I was reporting that to Building Maint, got a call from a GA who was supposed to be administering a test saying she’d overslept and could I get it started, had multiple discussions with multiple people who were upset about something I was asking them which wasn’t what I was asking them (and I wasn’t too happy that they kept telling me stuff I already know instead of what I was asking them – but I’m the secretary – I can’t be upset them them not understanding me, they get to be upset about them not understanding me)…  Mother used to ask, and never figured out the answer, “What does a sane person do in an insane world?” – Mother died before she saw real insanity in the world.  (Well, not counting WWII which was a different kind of insane.)  McCarthy, Nixon and Reagan were enough for her.  Well, they were enough for me, too, but the insanity has grown anyway.  And I haven’t figured out the answer to Mother’s question yet.  {{{HUGS}}}

  37. princesspat

    Ron and Ava are going to visit the tulip fields this afternoon and I’m going to bring spring plants to the front porch. Rainy day fun in the PNWet!

  38. JanF

    It is 38 degrees in Madison with an expected high of 58 degrees. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    A blessed Ostara to all! New moon this morning, spring equinox this afternoon … there is lots of waxing energy to put towards your hopes and dreams. May the seeds you plant bring you a bountiful harvest.

    On Wednesday, I listened to the President’s speech in Cleveland live. Yesterday, I reread the transcript to find a good quote to put above the fold. I was shocked later to find that somehow I had missed his calling for mandatory voting! And it turns out that he didn’t; he made an aside in a longer comment about our voting. But “The Kenyan Usurper Obama Forcing People To Do Stuff” is a big scary thing so it went viral. Sigh. At least it did bring out the “only rich white males should vote” contingent … and the reminder of which party wants to expand the franchise and which one wants to return to the “good” old days when wimmin knew their place and people of color were working in the fields singing gospel tunes and NOT running the country.

    Bibi Netanyahu has learned a lot about American politics! In the best Republican Party tradition, he lied to get elected (as Charlie Pierce said “he couldn’t even wait a week!!”) and he scared people into voting by telling them that The Other were being bused to the polls to destroy their way of life. Sadly for him, he does not have Fox News and he has to make these claims himself, destroying what was left of his reputation. The president will proceed with the United Nations initiative to establish the framework for a two-state solution and Netanyahu will have won an election but lost the trust of an important ally.

    The president spoke to the Iranian people on the Nowruz in a video (no transcript yet).

    It sent me off on a search for poems by the Persian poet Hafez about spring. Curse you, Internets, for distracting me!

    Time to get to work. See all y’alls later!!

  39. Portlaw

    news on climate change is getting worse,  Am off to find some good news. And more coffee, Will check back later.

  40. Portlaw

    article in the online New York Times in a series they have been doing with philosophers talking about race. Here’s a snippet from a much longer piece which is a conversation with the philosopher George Yancy

    The America that “black people have always known” is not an attractive one. The first black slaves were brought to the colonies 400 years ago. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that during this long period there have been only a few decades when African-Americans, apart from a few, had some limited possibilities for entering the mainstream of American society.

    We also cannot allow ourselves to forget that the hideous slave labor camps of the new “empire of liberty” were a primary source for the wealth and privilege of American society, as well as England and the continent. The industrial revolution was based on cotton, produced primarily in the slave labor camps of the United States.

       Thomas Jefferson feared the liberation of slaves, who had “ten thousand recollections” of the crimes to which they were subjected.

    As is now known, they were highly efficient. Productivity increased even faster than in industry, thanks to the technology of the bullwhip and pistol, and the efficient practice of brutal torture, as Edward E. Baptist demonstrates in his recent study, “The Half Has Never Been Told.” The achievement includes not only the great wealth of the planter aristocracy but also American and British manufacturing, commerce and the financial institutions of modern state capitalism.

     

    http://opinionator.blogs.nytim…

  42. Diana in NoVa

    Happy Ostara, everyone! Land sakes, it doesn’t look very spring-ish outside.

    Staying in this morning. I asked Younger Son to take Miss Pink Cheeks to school. Mommy is telecommuting today and Babyliciious will go to his other day care. The focus of my morning will be printing out four copies of the ritual.

    Wish we did have mandatory voting in this country. Also wish we had voting by mail and on weekends, as they do in other countries. Elections on Tuesdays are half the reason a lot of people don’t vote: despite the “law,” very few companies will give paid time off for voting. And absentee voting doesn’t kick in unless you’re physically incapacitated or going to be out of state, here in Virginia.

    Wish there were better news. Is there a single ray of hope anywhere in the country, do you think?

    A good Friday and weekend to all! Saw my daffs poking up little green shoots by the mailbox yesterday. 🙂

  43. anotherdemocrat

    We’re supposed to get strong rain & even thunderstorms today. I’ll believe it when I see it.

    Still have the Hozier earworm. Cute bouncy song. Interesting lyrics in the bridge: “I wake at the first cringe of morning, and my heart’s already sinned” I sure get the “1st cringe of morning” part. I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm. Sigh. (he then goes on to sing: “Love with any stranger, the stranger the better” this part of the video has pics of him with fans, and there is this adorable silver-haired woman on the “stranger the better” part….)

    Anyway, I dumped extra tea in my tea this morning so I better eat so my stomach doesn’t get mad at me.

  44. bfitzinAR

    44 heading for 66 and unfortunately overcast at the moment.  Hoping it will clear off soon.  It’s doesn’t take many hours – nevermind days – of overcast to mess with my mood.  We have almost survived this week and winter.  This is reputed to be good.  We shall see what the next turn of the Wheel brings us.  Flowers at least and that IS good.  {{{HUGS}}}

  45. princesspat

    The cherry trees, crocus and daffodils are in bloom and the buds on my old maple trees are a brilliant green this morning. I love the contrast with the lichen covered branches.

  47. JanF

    It is 37 degrees in Madison on its way up to 48. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast.

    Yikes! Rep. Steve King (R-IA) called out Jewish Democrats, especially those who want peace. Josh Marshall laid into him:

    … for conservatives of a certain stripe, like King, Huckabee and others, Jews are little more than a kind of yahwistic lawnjockeys, mascots for a certain type of militant defense policy and museum pieces in the historical imagination of right-wing Christianity.

    That will leave a mark.

    The president signs some executive orders related to fracking and emissions that I have not caught up with yet (I will try to put them in the Weekly Address). Mitch McConnell is telling states that they don’t have to comply with EPA regulations on coal and is still holding up the Loretta Lynch confirmation. Someone suggested that Eric Holder announce that he will stay on and hopes to also be Attorney General in the Clinton Administration. Sheesh, even Rudy Guiliani says that Ms. Lynch should be confirmed.

    And why is everyone shocked that secret societies of young males living away from home and in an environment that promotes male privilege would turn out to be sexist? Duh.

    I see Trey Gowdy would like Hillary Clinton to turn over her personal server to his House Subcommittee in the interests of “transparency”. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

    See all y’alls later!

  48. DeniseVelez

    Doing spring cleaning (ugh)one room at a time.

    Can’t wait till I can open the windows to let fresh air in – warm fresh air.

  49. Portlaw

    See that Boehner is planning to visit his new best friend whose campaign he helped. http://www.washingtonpost.com/…

    As for Loretta Lynch, think, among other things, they are also afraid of her. She’s very very smart and has integrity. For many in Washington, those are terrifying qualities. On a very superficial level, I like the fact that she’s not afraid to wear skirts. Yeah, I know, that’s really superficial but I wear skirts and I like company!

  50. anotherdemocrat

    it is supposed to rain (lightly) till this afternoon.

    Watching Up & eating breakfast. Had a very weird night’s sleep – lots of dreams (I don’t normally remember dreams) and woke up dizzy. So I’m going to sit for a while. Might not start my new exercise initiative today. (so I can get one of those pretty medals from the Dublin triathlon) Still have the same Hozier earworm.

  51. Diana in NoVa

    Perhaps Dearly Beloved can plant the peas today. He did the potatoes on Thursday. I’m still reading the print on the packets of radishes and onions with a magnifying glass, wondering when “all danger of frost” will be past in this area.

    Despite the cold, gloomy grey evening, we had a lovely Ostara ritual yesterday. I shamelessly pinched it from the Internet, taking out a lot of stuff about the Horned God and the fivefold kiss (we’re a Dianic circle), and simply cast the circle, called the quarters, and read the intention, which was, of course, to welcome spring. We invoked the Lady, so for the Cakes and Ale portion of the ritual we had ladyfingers and spring water.

    Today is the day to concentrate on Grown-Up Granddaughter’s birthday story. Must read, read, read about life in Houston. She’s currently a financial analyst with the Steve Carroll campaign, Annelise Parker being ineligible to run again.

    Tomorrow I’m going to a fundraiser for Jennifer Boysko, who’s running for state legislator of Virginia’s 86th District. She almost won her first time out, two years ago. Her opponent, evidently seeing the handwriting on the wall, has decided to retire after his term is up. LOL! We still need to go after this seat with everything we’ve got, though. There are VERY few women in the Virginia lege.

    A lovely Saturday to all in Moosylvania!

  52. princesspat

    I keep forgetting to wear a coat, and then I get annoyed because I get wet and cold!

    Our daughter and her family arrive today for a spring break visit, and the rest of the family will be here tomorrow for a belated birthday lunch. They have planned the food and my birthday gift of a credit at the flower shop means flowers are being arranged so all I have to do is be grateful and smile.

    I am baking our old favorite brownies, but only because I want to. I have a new gluten free flour that says it is a cup for cup substitute for regular flour so we’ll see. The brownies are mostly chocolate, eggs and sugar so they will be tasty regardless.

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