Daily Show Video Clip: Wow! Did you know about this July Agreement?

I didn't know that the House agreed with the Senate in July to pass a clean bill for Government funding!!  Since then, they added in the "repeal or delay Obamacare." George Stefanopolis of ABC News interviewed John Boehner who revealed that!  SO, now they're blaming the Democrats

   From the DAILY SHOW: Jon Stewart explains in 3 minutes with news clips: The Shutdown Blame Game  House Republicans take a stand against Obamacare and personal responsibility.  (03:20) 

LINK: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-october-8-2013/the-shutdown-blame-game

Big Dog Rescue Day #2: Dachshund Puppy Goes to a Foster Home!

the little dachshund puppy riding to his foster mom

This is part two of our dog rescue work on Tuesday, Oct. 8th. The fifth dog we saw that day was the tiny 3 month old dachshund puppy that we were taking out of the shelter and bringing to a foster mom (through the rescue).
A PICK UP AND FOSTER TRANSPORT -  Before we got to the shelter, we text messaged two of the coordinators, and learned Kristen S., a member of the Dachshund rescue, already went through the approvals to foster the 3 month old Dachshund puppy that was turned into the county shelter with his mother. So, we already had a pick up and transport to do!

Tom carrying the pup to our truck to go to his foster home!

 THE DACHSHUND PUPPY - The little red dachshund puppy, 3 months old was put in the same pen with his mother, in order to keep him from panicking (which he did when she wasn't there). He was about 4 pounds, if that. There were also little scars on his face, so he either got into a scrape with another dog, or had fallen (I would guess the former). As it turns out, ALL FOUR of these dachshunds came from the same home (of a dog hoarder who doesn't believe in spaying an neutering apparently). Fortunately, they were turned in.

Kristen meets her new foster pup!

Kristen and pup ready to go home

 We fell in love with this little nameless puppy immediately. He's a squirmer, though and tried to get away, but we brought a new collar and leash for him, so he didn't get anywhere. The county shelter did give him a flea bath and several shots, so he was coming with us in decent shape (and paperwork).
  After we left the rescue on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 3 p.m., we arrived home just before 4 p.m. to let our dogs out, and then we drove north to bring the little nameless pup to his new foster mom, Kristin.
  Kristin was working until 5pm, so with traffic, it took us another hour to get the pup to her - and we got there just as she got out of work. We brought a bed for the little guy and some treats to go with him, and Kristin was just gushing over him (we were, too!). Kristin emailed us the next day and told us that she named the puppy "Rocco."
  We were so happy to bring this little puppy to a foster mom who will help him start his life in a great way.

NEXT: A LONG, FUN FURLOUGH DOG WALK 





     

A Big Dog Rescue Day #1 - Meeting 5 Dogs /Foster Homes Needed!!

Dachshund #2 we met at the County Shelter

We work with both Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue and the Washington DC Weimaraner Rescue (and have worked with some others). Because we're still on furlough, it was helpful to both of those organizations because we were able to go to the county shelter and check out five dogs for the 2 rescues!
   We got notified that there were four dachshunds and one Weimaraner/Labrador mix at the shelter that all needed to be evaluated by the rescue. 

Dachshund #1 we met at the County Shelter

    FIRST TWO DACHSHUNDS -   It took about 40 minutes to get to the shelter and we met with Jenna who works there. She introduced us to two other dachshund mixes first to see if we thought they could be adoptable through the Dachshund rescue. The rescue usually likes dogs that are mostly dachshund because we know the behaviors and temperament.  The first two dogs were siblings and were lighter than a usual dachshund, but we learned their mother was a Brindle or multi-colored dachshund. Both had the dachshund body, barking and look, so we deemed them okay for the rescue to foster. Fortunately, they have someone who already filed potential papers for them, but if that falls through, the rescue will have to find foster homes for them.
DACHSHUND NUMBER THREE (no photo) - The mother of the puppy that we were going to transport was the third dachshund we investigated, but she had four people interested in adopting her, so most likely she would be successfully adopted through the county shelter. Her 3 month old puppy, however, had no takers, so the rescue was called in.  *Tomorrow, we'll tell you about the Dachshund Puppy**

The fourth dog we met- a beautiful Viszla mix!

WEIMARANER/LAB MIX WAS ACTUALLY MORE OF A VISZLA - The shelter told us that they think that have a Weimaraner/Labrador Retriever mix, but when we met this gorgeous dog, we both immediately thought that the coloration was just like a Viszla. A Viszla is the cousin to the Weimaraner, but is brownish in color. (Weims are grey or navy blue- yes, blue). So, the County shelter was going to contact the Viszla rescue for this beautiful dog with short brown fur and beautiful green eyes.

The Viszla mix

SPAYING AND NEUTERING - If you know someone that doesn't spay or neuter, PLEASE try to convince them to do so. Last week, the county shelter had 170 dogs in it! Today, there were 145 dogs. Most were adopted..



**CAN YOU FOSTER A DACHSHUND OR WEIMARANER FOR A SHORT TIME?? - URGENT NEEDS!!***- If YOU or anyone you know can foster a dog, even for a SHORT time, the DC Weim rescue (email:  rescue@dcweimclub.org) and Dachshund rescue (http://www.c2cdr.org/index_foster.html)  really, really need you!  *The rescues cover medical expenses. You just pay for food, love and walk the dogs- to keep them from being euthanized.* PLEASE help!!!!
TOMORROW: THE DACHSHUND PUPPY GOES TO A FOSTER HOME! 

Backyard Gardening Part 2

Franklin supervising outside work

We've had a very dry August and September here in the mid-Atlantic, so keeping things alive in the backyard (we gave up on the front grass) has been a challenge.
  Tom waters dutifully every day and keeps up on what plants are stressing and which ones are dying or have died and have to be replaced. We lost an Arbovitae that we've had for about 7 years and had to replace it, and despite watering that almost daily, it died in the same spot (while others are okay).
   TALL GRASSES - We've noticed that despite drought conditions, tall grasses love to grow, so we've started planting a lot of them.

Dolly also supervising outside

Back flower bed in the backyard

LESS THAN NORMAL RAINFALL - According to the National Weather Service climate summary for Baltimore, Md. from Jan. 1 to Oct. 5, the average annual rainfall total by this time 32.33 inches and we've had  27.22 inches. That's 5.11 inches under the normal.

A row of potted mums on the patio

Our new little fountain with a boy and his dog

 

Backyard Gardening Part 1

Newly planted grasses around a plum tree

On Saturday we helped our friend Ed rid his front lawn of huge grasses that his former neighbor planted years ago, and that had become overgrown. Ed didn't want the grasses, so we took them to plant in our backyard where no regular grass will grow. It was a very hot day, with temperatures near 87F (Heat index near 88F) and bright, scorching sunshine.
    We split up the two giant groups of grasses into 6 different parts and dug 6 holes. We found roots to an old maple tree in half the holes we dug, which always makes it a challenge, but fortunately, they were quite rotted.
    The backyard is Tom's domain, and he's done an incredible job with it- planning what plants need to go where, and landscaping. We have a fountain, a small bird bath, a couple of bird feeders, and a new fountain of a boy and his dog. 

Rob supervising Tom!

TOO DOGGONE HOT!
   As for our dogs, they stayed outside with us for about 30 minutes, and although they sat in the shade, they were hot and wanted inside where it was cool.

Tyler always has a smile!

 

The finished product!

NEXT: A LOOK AT SOME OF THE GARDEN BEDS

Baltimore Book Festival #4: A Son's Moving Message / Isabella's New Series

The Baltimore Book Festival was more lucrative in terms of me giving messages than selling books - but it all evens out. Sadly, no one was in the buying mood, but the three messages I passed on were pretty powerful - making it worthwhile.

Rob talks with a visitor who had questions about spirits

A SON'S  MESSAGE - The third message I received while selling books at the Baltimore Book Festival was from a son to his mother.  A woman stopped by my table and just kept looking down at the books. I knew she was brought there for a reason, and the reason was standing behind me when I developed my "spirit-indicating" headache that tells me when a ghost or spirit is around.
  I sensed there was a male spirit behind me, but I didn't yet identify who it was when the woman asked me about where people who are murdered go after they die (which is a chapter in my "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" book). I knew that the male figure behind me was the reason she was there, and had to be connected to the murder.
  She told me that her son was murdered, so now I knew who the male spirit was beside me. I came around the front of the table and let her son tell me what his mother needed to hear. He said that he knew that he was in the wrong place and that it was his time to pass. He said he knows how horrendous this has been for his mom in her grief, but his passing had to happen to teach some others who were around him, a valuable lesson about life.
  He told me that he does come around his mom from time to time, and he is fine on the other side. One critical thing he told me was that just before he died his spirit left his body and his pain was blacked out. He doesn't remember experiencing pain on the other side, and his death was apparently very quick here. His mother looked at me with tears in her eyes, said thank you and had to walk away to compose herself.
  Of course, I had to walk back behind the book table and sit down to compose myself, too. Not only was I overcome with emotion, but it physically and mentally wiped me out to channel her son. At least she has some closure on her son's death.

Isabella explaining what Legion is all about

ISABELLA'S NEW SERIES -
  As I was giving messages from spirits,  Isabella was making connections, talking to dozens of people and captivating them! Her new series is called "LEGIONhttp://www.irharrisbooks.com/the-legion-series.html. Here's the summary: From the author of The Bound Trilogy comes her next epic fantasy series, The Legion. Fired from the job she loves, with no money and no prospects, Aidee returns to her hometown of Thorne Bay, Alaska to find her footing. A quiet fishing village with a history of Inuit Elder magick, Aidee's little hamlet attracts tourists from around the world who hold a gruesome intrigue for the massacre that occurred in the town. After years of being away she quickly realizes all too soon that she's been expected to return and that she's not the only one still trying to wash the blood of the past from her hands...

Rob was excited about this new addition to the festival

Baltimore Book Festival#3: A Mother's and Grandmother's Messages

Rob explaining how ghosts and spirits communicate

While at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sept. 29, in addition to hearing people's ghost stories and stories of loved ones coming back, I also received a number of messages for the people who stopped by the table.  It was difficult to tune into ghosts and spirits during the festival, though, because of all the noise (there was a band playing not to far away, and it was very loud, and played all day). Getting messages requires concentration. I did, however, manage to get a powerful message from a mother who passed, that help comfort her grieving daughter.

 A MOTHER'S MESSAGE OF PEACE - One of the most emotional messages was from a mother to her grown daughter, whom I'll call "Sue." Sue stopped by the table and looked at the books. I sensed an older woman around Sue and asked if it was her grandmother that passed. She said that the older woman is her mother (as I said, sometimes it's difficult to tune in with music blaring). I told her that I sensed guilt around her and she nodded. I asked if her mother was in a managed care facility, because that's what I was shown (which I thought odd for a younger woman's mother to be in managed care unless she was critically ill). Sue said "yes, she was in a managed care facility."
   Sue confirmed that she did visit her mother often but she did harbor guilt. That's when her mother's spirit told me that the guilt is because Sue wasn't there when she passed away.  I asked Sue if she was there, and she said "no." I told her that her mom said that no one was in the room when she passed, and she wanted it that way. She passed on her own because she didn't think that Sue or her sister could handle the emotional trauma of watching their mother pass.
   Sue understood what I was saying and we were both dealing with tear-filled eyes. She thanked me for the message and said that now she understands why her mother passed without anyone around.
   That was a really powerful!!

Isabella meets Jen from BGL newspaper!

VIKASH'S GRANDMOTHER - A young man from India named Vikash stopped by to ask questions. He asked about how our loved ones cross over and give messages. He said that he was close to his grandmother - and she came through. Oftentimes, spirits will fill me with emotion, and with two others I met it would be overwhelming. With Vikash, his grandmother showed me that he was protected by her. It sounds odd, but he was radiating love and positive energy. His grandmother instructed me to give him a hug and let him know that she's around. That was a really cool, but short reading.

Rob and Diane, who helped us out all day!

Baltimore Book Festival#2- Great Support and People I Met

Rob, Diane and Isabella

The Baltimore Book Festival happened on Sunday, Sept. 29th in downtown Baltimore. It went on for three days, and Isabella and I were under the "Author's Tent" only on Sunday. We managed to get the same location for set-up and it was a perfect weather day. 

Isabella answers questions about her books

   A personal THANKS to our friends: Craig B., Cynthia O. and Diane G. for coming out to support me (and Isabella). That meant so very much to me. 
  Diane actually stayed with us the entire day and watched our tables if one of us had to take a break, talked to people, and promoted our books. She was amazing.

Isabella talks about her new series "Legion"

Rob meets a couple who have had experiences of their own

PEOPLE I MET - Most of the people I met either had experience with Earth-bound ghosts, or spirits of loved ones on the other side. Many had stories they wanted to share and get confirmations about and I was happy to oblige. 

Rob signs an article he appeared in for an attendee

 One man told me that he lived in a haunted home, and his family coped with the ghost until they moved out. Apparently, the ghost is still there.
 
NEXT: MORE BOOK FESTIVAL and SOME MESSAGES I GOT! 

Baltimore Book Festival#1 - Isabella and Darby Visit

Rob, Tom Darby, Isabella

Last year when I (Rob) was at the Baltimore Book Festival I had the great fortune to set up my table right next to Isabella and Darby. Isabella is an Adult Fantasy novelist, who has one trilogy out called the "Bound Trilogy," (it's not about people over 50 having regularity issues- it's about Demons bonded to humans, with vampires in the mix, and how they all function in society. It takes place in the Philippines... making for an exotic setting.  I'll get to the book in a moment.
  First, I want to point out how fate brings people together that are meant to be together. Isabella, Darby and I had so much fun last year at the festival, that we stayed in touch and a friendship bloomed. You could say that  we immediately were "Bound" in friendship. This year, she and her husband Darby stayed with us for the weekend of the festival. We had a great time, filled with a lot of laughs and great conversation. He's got a PhD. in Biology and other aspects of the science, and she has a masters in International conflict resolution (among other things). Dolly, Franklin and Tyler fell in love with them immediately, too.
      I read Isabella's trilogy (and had not read the genre before) and loved it. If you haven't, here's the summary for Book 1 called "Bound" and she goes by the pen name "I.R. Harris." (http://www.irharrisbooks.com/the-bound-trilogy.html)  

Dolly, Darby, Tyler, Isabella, Franklin

    To Ana, the Bonding ritual is a dangerous part of being human. She herself hasn't been chosen--yet. However, her dear friend Kai has, and on the surface he seems happy. However, Ana knows that Kai was lucky; his Bonder didn't make the choice to kill him. When it is her time, she might not be so fortunate. As it so happens, the choice to take Ana as a Bond was made years ago and her time is now. When Ana's peaceful life in Indonesia is suddenly intersected by a Bonder Demon named Nathanial, she is thrown into a roaring tempest of choices, of love, of ever changing loyalties, and of lies. She quickly realizes that loving someone is not the same as knowing them, and that having either of those things offers no guarantee that her heart will be protected or her life will be spared.  For Ana, does being Bound mean to live in the absence of love, of autonomy, of trust or does it mean she will have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to reclaim who she is and to save not only herself, but also the lives of those to which she is forever tied?   
NEXT: THE BALTIMORE BOOK FESTIVAL 

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Quick Lesson: What do Blood Pressure Numbers Mean?

Tom and I had our physicals recently, and as usual- whenever they tell me what my blood pressure numbers are, I always ask if it's good. So, here's a quick lesson in Blood Pressure readings!

WHAT'S THE BOTTOM NUMBER MEAN?: Diastolic The bottom number, which is also the lower of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats (when the heart muscle is resting between beats and refilling with blood).

WHAT'S THE TOP NUMBER MEAN?:  Systolic

The top number, which is also the higher of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats (when the heart muscle contracts).    Which number is more important, top (systolic) or bottom (diastolic)?
Typically more attention is given to the top number (the systolic blood pressure) as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease for people over 50 years old. In most people, systolic blood pressure rises steadily with age due to increasing stiffness of large arteries, long-term build-up of plaque, and increased incidence of cardiac and vascular disease.
Here's a short video explaining just that!

Worth Reading: Shutdown Letter from Congressman John Sarbanes of MD

 
Dear Friend,
One of Congress’s most basic Constitutional duties is to pass a federal budget that keeps the government running. Instead, the House Republican majority has shamelessly used this process to engage in ideological hostage-taking – refusing to pass a budget of any sort unless Democrats in Congress and President Obama agree to their demands to abandon health care reform. As a result, at midnight on September 30th, the budget authority for federal agencies elapsed and the government shut down for the first time since 1996. Many government services will be suspended and thousands of federal employees will be told they cannot report to work.

I accept that the Affordable Care Act is not without controversy. In a democracy, we encourage passionate debate over important issues. However, Republicans in the House of Representatives have become obsessed with repealing the law at the expense of many, many other pressing issues we face in this country. They have staged over 40 votes to repeal, defund or delay health care reform. Not one of these measures has passed the Senate and, in any event, the President has promised to veto any legislation that would prevent the health care law from going forward. But Republicans refuse to accept this reality and have resorted to stamping their feet and shutting down the government. That’s no way for responsible legislators to behave.

At this point it is unclear how the current impasse will be resolved. What I do know is that we must stand up to this radical faction or risk emboldening them further in their use of bullying tactics. The same members of Congress that forced the government shutdown have also signaled their willingness to damage the nation’s credit rating to get their way, compiling a list of ransom demands ranging from health care to environmental regulation to tax breaks for millionaires. Americans are right to be angry and frustrated by this overall trend of governance by manufactured crisis. Sadly, it is fast becoming the “new normal” for our democratic processes and institutions.

I was elected to get things done in Congress and I will keep working to foster a different climate, one in which constructive debate and principled compromise carry the day.  Thank you for being engaged and demanding that your voices be heard and respected.

Sincerely,

John P. Sarbanes

Video of the day: Henry Cavill Teaches Respect on Sesame Street!

    "Man of Steel" star Henry Cavill has appeared on the premiere episode of the 44th season of "Sesame Street", joining Elmo to talk about "Respect."  It's a good reminder no matter WHAT AGE you are! ": )

    In the premiere episode entitled "Don't Get Pushy," Cavill appears in a "Word on the Street" segment alongside Elmo, the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. He joins the crew to help teach kids the meaning of the word "respect." Despite his celebrity status, the "Man of Steel" hasn't let the fame go to his head. The puppeteers reportedly had the 30-year-old cracking up on set while shooting his segment. Cavill also proved that just like his on-screen alter-ego, he has a heart of gold. He reportedly took a moment to praise the show's cast and crew by saying: "Can I just say, you guys are incredible... it's really remarkable to watch you guys work. I have enormous respect for what you guys do."