Part 1: Two More Dogs Rescued and in Foster Homes

On Saturday, Sat. Oct. 11 we went back to the local county Animal shelter and pulled out the two Dachshund mixes to go to foster homes. Katie at the rescue, found foster homes for each of the dogs so she gave the okay to pull them out of the shelter.

  The shelter had cleaned them up, updated their shots, and neutered them so they were both on pain medications. The shelter named then "Doc" and "Abu" and they are light-colored dachshund mixes. Their mother was brindle (white and spotted). Both are extremely timid, but good dogs.

   After signing the paperwork, we loaded them into the cab of our pick up truck and drove to the meeting place where we met Emily. Emily is a rescuer from Washington, D.C. who was driving several dogs to Delaware for foster homes. Emily took Abu and headed north as we returned home with Doc.

  Doc stayed with us overnight and did okay. It's always good the first night in a new home to give a dog Benadryl or something to help them sleep. It's a traumatic experience.  

Tom and Doc

   Of course, it was one of the wettest weeks in the year for us- as we got 5 1/2 inches of rain in 5 days, so the rain didn't help, but it all worked out.

   On Sun. Oct. 12, we drove Doc to Katie, the rescuer who found the foster homes. She took Doc to his foster home north of Washington, D.C.

Doc and Rob waiting for Katie to take Doc to his foster home!

Tonight at 8pm EDT on PBS: SUPERHEROES: A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE!

Today, Tuesday, October 15, 2013, is "Superheroes Night," featuring a three-hour block dedicated to the groundbreaking program SUPERHEROES: A NEVER-ENDING BATTLE.
   The newest film from Emmy Award-winning producer/director Michael Kantor will premiere at 8:00 p.m. ET tonight!
 VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH LYNDA CARTER: http://video.pbs.org/video/2365065192/

INTERVIEWS: Stan Lee; actors Adam West (TV's "Batman") and Lynda Carter ("Wonder Woman"); Geoff Johns (chief creative officer, DC Comics), Jeph Loeb (head of television for Marvel Entertainment); Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) and cartoonist/author Jules Feiffer (the long-running strip "Feiffer"), as well as appearances by the late comic book icons Joe Simon (co-creator of Captain America) and Jerry Robinson (who helped create the Joker). A full list of interviewees who appear in the show is located at the end of the release.

Details on each of the 3 hours: http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news.php?readmore=13919 

Our Friend Beth Kaufman's 1st Book Signing! "Make Mine a Double... Mastectomy That is"

Beth and her book!

Congrats to our friend Beth Kaufman who had her first book signing this past weekend Oct. 13, 2013 at the yogurt shop in Waugh Chapel South, Crofton, Md. It was a rousing success and she sold a lot of books, talked with a lot of people and everyone had a great time.

Chatting with supporters

signing away

Tom, Beth and Rob celebrating the 1st book signing!

great friends and supporters

  I (Rob) was fortunate enough to meet and befriend Beth back in May at the Bowie Book Expo, and she needed an editor for her book, so I volunteered (I call myself a "ghost editor" and together we got her book published in September!). She's a stand up comedienne and of course, really funny, personable and such a gift to anyone that knows her.
  


BOOK SUMMARY: Beth Kaufman's Stand-up Guide to Surviving Breast Cancer This book can help people keep a sense of humor through cancer treatment even on the worst days. This is a great book for newly diagnosed patients, caregivers and survivors alike. This is Beth's personal story of her bout with breast cancer. It is told with humor, yet is poignant. It takes you on a year-long ride from start to finish. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will certainly get your yearly mammograms after reading her story. It is unique in the way it is told from a comedienne's point of view, a stand up guide to getting through 525,600 minutes of a cancer patient's life. Use this book as your "stand up" guide to surviving breast cancer.  CHECK IT OUT ON AMAZON in Paperback and E-book: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Mine-Double-Mastectomy-That/dp/1492197289

Great conversations

fans and supporters with Beth's daughter Danie

cake of her book cover!

signing more!

Hamming it up!

 

A Fun, Furloughed Dog Walk /Tyler's New Tags

A crazy family picture on our dog walk!

In the morning of Oct. 8th, we decided to take  Dolly, Franklin and Tyler on a nice, long walk around the local business park. It was sunny and crisp, with temperatures in the upper 50s, and there was no one around the science park - which made for a stress-less dog walk.

 

Franklin and Dolly not looking, Tyler looking...

CAMERA SHY -  If you have human children or canine children, you know it's hard to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time. We had that problem when we stopped to get a family photo. We just couldn't get our three kids to look at the camera!

Tyler withholding affection

MR. NO KISSES TYLER - For some reason, Tyler was not very happy to walk, so he withheld kisses.  Perhaps the walk was too long! 

Tyler showing his new tag!

Tyler the poser

NEW TAGS FOR TYLER!  - Somehow things disappear. One thing that disappeared and we have no idea how, was Tyler's ID collar tag, so we stopped on the way home and got him a new one at Petsmart. They have a large variety of tags and now they "laser engrave" them - very cool! Here's some pics of Tyler sporting his new tags.

Fun with Yoga!

a monkey posing. :)

Our friend Amber is a certified yoga teacher and we attend the classes she teaches on Tuesday nights. It's a really great thing to learn, and Tom and I really enjoy the class, learn how to relax and listen for whatever is going to "pop" whenever we do yoga.

MONKEYING WITH MONKEY POSE -   Last week, we were doing the "Monkey Pose," and Tom looked over at me and said "eee-eee-eee" like a Monkey, causing me to burst out laughing!

 SHAVASANA OR "CORPSE" POSE -  Earlier this week I received my copy of AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) magazine. As I was flipping through it there was a section on yoga!  In the short article there were three poses mentioned. One of them struck me as both funny and inappropriate for retiree magazine. It was called the "corpse pose!"

Corpse Pose

   I guess they put that in there to get people trained for what was to come. :)  There are a lot of other poses they could've cited, but I guess someone at AARP magazine has a twisted, but funny sense of humor!
  To do the "corpse pose" you lay on your back like a dead man, eyes closed with your hands at your sides or on your chest. Breathe normally, and let your worries dissipate as you exhale. If you have been playing relaxing music, listen and let go. This rest position can last from 3 to 11 minutes.

This is one pose we can't do!

We want these guys to come to class!

   BTW- The word for "corpse pose" is "Shavasana." The name comes from the Sanskrit words Shava  meaning "corpse."

What is the Debt Ceiling Anyway?: ABC News Article

Don't know what is meant by "the Debt Ceiling"? Here's a great article Abby D. Phillip on ABC

(William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

News.com to help you understand it. 

(Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/debt-ceiling-what-is-it-good-for/)

Oct 10, 2013 4:21pm  

Congress is once again debating whether to raise the debt ceiling, a legal limitation on how much the government can borrow to pay debts to which it has already committed. But what is the debt ceiling, anyway? And do we really need it? Here are some surprising things you might not know about the debt ceiling:

1. Congress invented it less than 100 years ago.
For more than a third of the county’s history, there was no debt limit. Congress simply decided how to spend money, and authorized the government to borrow what it needed to pay for it. Easy. But then again, for most of the pre-debt ceiling era, America’s economy wasn’t very complicated. So in 1917, in order to give the Treasury Department more flexibility to borrow money to pay for wars and other expenses, Congress created a debt ceiling for certain kinds of debt. And in 1939, it created an overall debt ceiling that governed all forms of debt the government could take on. Back then, Treasury officials liked the idea of a debt ceiling because it gave them some flexibility in how to borrow in order to pay for what Congress authorized. Today, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, like the others before him, is now trying as hard as he can to convince Congress to raise the debt ceiling to avoid default.
2. Only one other democracy in the world has one.
That’s right, we’re pretty much alone on this one. Denmark is the only other democratic nation with a system like ours. And in the 20 years since they’ve had a debt ceiling, they’ve only raised it once. The United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, you name it; none of them has debt limits. They all have slightly different ways of figuring out how to control their debt, but it’s through the spending process in most cases. In Germany’s case, they’ve enacted a law in 1999 that restrict debt to 0.35 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, which prevents lawmakers from authorizing spending beyond that point. Other countries have similar, albeit less stringent, restrictions on debt as a percentage of GDP.
3. It’s not in the Constitution.
There’s nothing in the Constitution that says Congress should use the debt ceiling to control spending or debt. Congress is, however, constitutionally required to decide how money is spent, and the debt ceiling is just one of the mechanisms they use to measure the fiscal impact of those choices. Speaking of the Constitution, many people suggest that President Obama has the power through the 14^th amendment to raise the debt ceiling. Specifically, it says: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.” Whether that means the president can pay the country’s debts with or without Congress, few people know, and White House officials say they don’t think the 14^th amendment gives Obama that power, but Obama himself hasn’t ruled it out.
 4. The debt ceiling hasn’t helped Congress spend less.
The debt limit, according to a 2008 Congressional Research Service report, “can hinder the Treasury’s ability to manage the federal government’s finances.” What it doesn’t do is prevent the government from spending more money. Since the debt ceiling has been in place, it has been changed by Congress more than 100 times. Congress acted to raise it rather than lower it the vast majority of the time. Between 1990 and 2000, the debt ceiling went from roughly $3 trillion to nearly $6 trillion. From 2000 to 2010, the debt limit went from nearly $6 trillion to more than $14 trillion. You get the idea.
5. We don’t need it.
When Congress members decide to authorize spending and levy taxes, they sometimes create debt that needs to be paid. The debt ceiling simply forces a second, retrospective conversation about that debt.  “Whenever you’re spending and taxing you’re implicitly deciding how much you have to borrow,” said Robert Murphy, a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Clinton Administration and a professor of economics at Boston College. Congress could do what most other democratic nations do and simply decide on spending, taxing and borrowing all at the same time because, after all, you can’t have one without the other (or others). Some, however, view the debt ceiling as a fire alarm Congress put in place to alert the country when borrowing might be getting out of hand, however. “The debt limit also imposes a form of fiscal accountability, which compels Congress and the president to take visible action to allow further federal borrowing when the federal government spends more than it collects in revenues,” as the CRS put it. Others suggest that Congress members should do away with the debt ceiling and address new debt when they decide to spend money, not after.

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