ANIMAL WARNING!

DENVER, CO -- Tele is a 7-month-old Golden Retriever who loves treats. So, when 2-year-old Jordan started feeding her mints, she loved it.  

"I was standing right there as my 2-year-old is handing one mint for him, one mint for me type of game and it was literally six mints later that we started seeing signs," said Lindsey Davis, Jordan's mom.

Within 15 minutes of eating six mints, Tele was having seizures and vomiting.

Davis took her to Aspenwood Animal Hospital on Colorado Boulevard. Dr. Julie Kelly said when Tele got there, "she was basically in a type of a coma."

A frantic call to Animal Poison Control revealed that Tele was being
poisoned by Xylitol. "It is an artificial sweetener that is in sugarless
chewing gums and mints and some household baking products," said Kelly. "It is life threatening to dogs. They can die very quickly."

She says veterinarians are seeing more cases of Xylitol poisoning. "We are starting to see these animals that are getting into people's purses or their children are giving them treats and dogs like to eat anything they
can," said Kelly. Davis wants to warn other dog owners.

"The compound is as close as a hands reach of the check out stand so people need to know that this is toxic to dogs," she said.

Tele is back home and feeling better but the vet says she still needs to be watched closely to make sure there isn't any permanent liver damage. 

Just a thought..........

 

Once again in my lifetime I am witness to the election of a new pope.  It is exciting to realize the history that we have lived through today.  All of the pomp and circumstance will be recorded in history books and people who come generations after us will read it as it unfolded.  And we, you and I lived it!  It almost seems a bit surreal.

It was with great sadness that I bid Pope John Paul II goodbye on April 2, 2005 as did the rest of the world, especially my fellow Catholics.  In my mind, Pope John Paul II was truly my loving and gracious father.  It was with a bit of irony and more sadness that I realized  that 20 years ago to the day my biological father had died.

Pope John Paul II was a humble man from humble beginnings, one who was looked up to by so many, and idolized for his strength and wisdom.  He will be missed and it is doubtful that anyone will ever be able to fill his shoes the way he did. 

I was actually hoping for a younger pope.  One with a more open attitude toward the church and the world at large.  I am saddened by this new pope's open and judgemental  attitude toward gays, and his not surprising opinion of women priests.  (I am still trying to make my mind up about that one too, but certainly I am open minded to some extent.)

I wish our new pope well.  I wish him a long and happy life.  I wish him much success.  Given his advanced age though, I wonder how much he will be able to accomplish in the short time he will have?  It is with most certainty that he will not accomplish the multitude of things Pope John Paul II did. 

One can only watch and pray that the Lord moves him in the right direction for the church and mankind.

POPE BENEDICT XVI

A NEW POPE EMERGES FROM THE CONCLAVE.  WELCOME POPE BENEDICT XVI!!

THE BELLS ARE RINGING!

JOY IN VATICAN CITY!!

The Old Phone

This is an old one worth repeating.  One of the best I have seen although I doubt if it really happened.  The message is timeless though.
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The
shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she
did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.   My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.  Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a
hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.   The telephone!   Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing.   Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver
in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.  A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

"Information."

"My name is John and I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.

"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.

"No," I replied.   "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."

"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.

I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was.  She helped me with my math.   She told me my pet chipmunk that I had
caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled.

I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "John, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."

"Information," said in the now familiar voice.

"How do I spell fix?" I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.  When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend
very much.   "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.   As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then.  I
appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.

"Information."

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause.   Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed, "So it's really you," I said.   "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"

I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do", she said.  "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle.  A different voice answered, "Information."  I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" she said.

"Yes,my name is John and I am a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said.  "Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick.  She died five weeks ago."

Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was John?"

"Yes." I answered.

"Well, Sally left a message for you.  She wrote it down in case you called.  Let me read it to you."

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.  He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up.  I knew what Sally meant.

She may be the devil's spawn, but she is the love of my life!

Danelle (my daughter-in-law) sent this email to me at work one day last week.  I thought you all would get a chuckle or two out of it!  :)

 

Morning Robyn!
 
I hope your morning went better then mine…..
 
So our appraiser is supposed to come today at 1 pm and I decide to pick up the bbq cover and put it on the beast and do a few other little things this morning in the backyard…When I reach the glass patio door just as I'm about to open it Madi (the devils spawn she is) has just finished pushing down the latch and has locked me out of the house…….I"M LOCKED OUT…so I try beating the glass showing my lovely daughter how to pull the latch up through the glass….she just stares at me like I'm a alien…so I beat on the glass some more she actually touches the latch and then decides toys are way cooler then mommy looking like a fool on the back patio….I proceed to trek around to the front yard in my ultra stylish PJ's which I'm still in since I wasn't planning on anyone but my daughter seeing me for the next hour or so….I proceed to punch the codes into the garage door remote nothing happens I try again…nothing so I pop open the battery door  WOW no battery go figure…Then I start looking anywhere for a key around the house of course no key because that would be to simple….I head to the next door  neighbors rang the doorbell no answer checked their garage door remote for a 9volt battery but of course theirs is behind a screw which would require me to have a screwdriver…let me check my pink pjs and red slippers for that!  We all know the answer there….so I go back to the house and I realize Steve's car is unlocked hmm there might be something in there lets hope…wrong again NOTHING…so as I'm getting out of the car and my humility sinks in that I'm going to have to go to the model home in pjs and red slippers I see a neighbor shaving on the front porch. Is he my savior? Let's hope. I walk to his house and ask him if he has a 9 volt battery he goes and looks and doesn't have one. HOLY CRAP my luck is unbelievable this morning! He then proceeds to ask me what I need it for so I explain that I went into the backyard and apparently my almost 2 year old daughter has learned to the lock the door. So he says he might have a master key forthe locks which could work and he ripped a 9 volt out of his fire alarm so with keys in hand and a battery I go back to the house?Try the keys no luck?.put the battery into the remote garage door opener and pray the code hasn't been lost because NO FRICKING BATTERY WAS IN THERE?.I type the code in and the garage popped open WOOO HOOOO I'm saved?.so how is your morning!

Danelle said that she was locked out for a total of about 30 minutes.  Her house is completely child proof so she wasn't worried too much, but when she did get back in she found Madison standing in the middle of the family room, sucking on her fingers like she does just before she starts to cry.  Guess a 30 minute vacation from mom was almost too long!  hehe  Needless to say that garage door opener has a new 9 volt battery now!

This past week has been one of sadness for much of the world.  First the passing of Terri Schaivo, the 41 year old disabled woman from Florida.  Then the passing of Pope John Paul II.  It saddens me personally for the loss of both of these people, although the reasons are very different and obvious.

May they both rest in peace with the Lord.

In addition, I have found myself drawn to the Laci Peterson case.  I have read BLOOD BROTHER written by Scott Peterson's sister, and now I am reading WITNESS by Amber Frey.  Both are well written books by opposite sides of the fence, however both women are drawn to the same conclusion that Scott Peterson did kill his darling wife Laci, and their unborn child Connor.  After reading both Anne and Amber's accounts, I have found that they are both endearing young women who were thrown into an impossible situation and somehow endured the unthinkable. 

 Good reading for a wet weekend.

Wishing you all a peaceful week. 

Daily Affirmation

Far better is it to dare mighty
things, to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure...
than to rank with those
poor spirits who neither enjoy much
nor suffer much,
because they live in a gray twilight that
knows not victory nor defeat.    
Theodore Roosevelt

PLEASE PRAY FOR POPE JOHN PAUL.  AN ITALIAN NEWS SOURCE IS REPORTING THAT HE IS NOW IN A COMA.

For those of you who just thought you knew everything, here's a refresher course...............Now you know everything :   The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.   No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7) times.   Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.   You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.   Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty (50) years of age or older.   The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.   The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.   American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one (1) olive from each salad served in first-class.   Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.   Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.   Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.   The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.   So did the first "MarlboroMan."   Walt Disney was afraid of mice.   Pearls melt in vinegar.   The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.   It is possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.   A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.   Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush. (I 'm moving mine to the living room now!)   Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first U.S. president whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal." The second ? William Jefferson Clinton (Please don't tell me you're SURPRISED!?!!)   And the best for last.....Turtles can breathe through their butts.   (I know some people like that; don't you?)    

Terri Schiavo has died at age 41

I am quite simply heartsick for poor Terri Schaivo and her blessed parents.  I can only imagine (and dear God, I pray I never have to walk this path) what they must be feeling.

I think if this country is going to get into the business of extinguishing life of any kind, we should at least approach it with humanity.  If the courts and Mr. Schaivo are so hell bent to kill this woman, why not give her a lethal injection and just put her to sleep in a humane and merciful manner?

Why you ask?  Well, I'll tell you why.  Because that would truly be considered murder in every sense of the word, and no one has the guts to do it.  But what difference does it make if we starve and dehydrate someone to death, or put them to sleep?  The end result is death at the hands of people who are not supposed to be brain dead.

Someone will answer for the torture that this woman is going through. 

Karma, my friends is waiting right around the corner for some unsuspecting victim.  I just pray that it is merciful.

Schindlers Were Outgunned by Lawyers Early

In case you were wondering, with so many facts in dispute about the Terri Schiavo case, the answer is relatively clear: The Schindlers, well-intentioned as they have been, were outgunned in the early legal fight that sealed their daughter's fate.

The early legal maneuvering created "facts" that are now beyond dispute in higher courts. One is the unbelievable claim by Michael Schiavo that Terri wanted to be starved and dehydrated to death.

One Florida attorney told the story on Steve Sailer's Web blog (www.isteve.com).

Here's what the lawyer wrote:

"I have been following the case for years. Something that interests me about the Terri Schiavo case, and that doesn't seem to have gotten much media attention: The whole case rests on the fact that the Schindlers (Terri's parents) were totally outlawyered by the husband (Michael Schiavo) at the trial court level.

"This happened because, in addition to getting a $750K judgment for Terri's medical care, Michael Schiavo individually got a $300K award of damages for loss of consortium, which gave him the money to hire a top-notch lawyer to represent him on the right-to-die claim. He hired George Felos, who specializes in this area and litigated one of the landmark right-to-die cases in Florida in the early '90s.

"By contrast, the Schindlers had trouble even finding a lawyer who would take their case since there was no money in it. Finally they found an inexperienced lawyer who agreed to take it partly out of sympathy for them, but she had almost no resources to work with and no experience in this area of the law. She didn't even depose Michael Schiavo's siblings, who were key witnesses at the trial that decided whether Terri would have wanted to be kept alive. Not surprisingly, Felos steamrollered her.

"The parents obviously had no idea what they were up against until it was too late. It was only after the trial that they started going around to religious and right-to-life groups to tell their story. These organizations were very supportive, but by that point their options were already limited because the trial judge had entered a judgment finding that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to live.

"This fact is of crucial importance -- and it's one often not fully appreciated by the media, who like to focus on the drama of cases going to the big, powerful appeals courts: Once a trial court enters a judgment into the record, that judgment's findings become THE FACTS of the case, and can only be overturned if the fact finder (in this case, the judge) acted capriciously (i.e., reached a conclusion that had essentially no basis in fact).

"In this case, the trial judge simply chose to believe Michael Schiavo's version of the facts over the Schindlers'. Since there was evidence to support his conclusion (in the form of testimony from Michael Schiavo's siblings), it became nearly impossible for the Schindlers to overturn it. The judges who considered the case after the trial-level proceeding could make decisions only on narrow questions of law. They had no room to ask, "Hey, wait a minute, would she really want to die?" That "fact" had already been decided.

"In essence, the finding that Terri Schiavo would want to die came down to the subjective opinion of one overworked trial judge who was confronted by a very sharp, experienced right-to-die attorney on one side and a young, quasi-pro bono lawyer on the other.

"Nothing unusual about this, of course. It's the kind of thing that happens all the time. But it's an interesting point to keep in mind when you read that the Schiavo case has been litigated for years and has been reviewed by dozens of judges ... yadda yadda yadda.

"By the way, I'm guessing that George Felos is probably quite happy to work the Schiavo case for free at this point since it's making him one of the most famous right-to-kill -- I mean right-to-die -- lawyers in the country. His BlackBerry has probably melted down by now, what with all the messages from the hurry-up-and-die adult children you've been blogging about."

Taken from Newsmax.com

GROSS!

SAN JOSE, Calif. (March 23) - A woman's meal at a Wendy's restaurant brought a whole new meaning to the term "finger food." The woman bit into a portion of a human finger while eating a bowl of chili Tuesday night at the San Jose restaurant, Santa Clara County health officials said Wednesday.

The woman, who asked officials not to identify her, immediately spit out the finger and warned other diners to stop eating, witnesses said.

"Initially she did put this object in her mouth and did bite down on it and wasn't sure exactly what it was," Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Martin Fenstersheib said at a news conference. "She's doing OK. Initially she was a bit grossed out it was described to me, and vomited a number of times."

Fenstersheib said the finger had been cooked at a high enough temperature to kill any viruses.

Officials said the fingertip was approximately 1 3-8-inches long and a half-inch piece of fingernail was also found. They believe it belongs to a woman because of the long, manicured nail.

Health investigators seized all of the ingredients at the restaurant and are tracing them back to their manufacturer. They believe the finger got into the chili at an earlier stage.

"We have no evidence of any accident within the employees at the facility itself," said Ben Gale of the Santa Clara County Health Department. "We asked everybody to show us they have 10 fingers and everything is OK there."

The restaurant has had only one minor health violation stemming from a leaky vent, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Food safety is of utmost importance to us," Wendy's spokesman Joe Desmond said in a statement. "We are cooperating fully with the local police and health departments with their investigation. It's important not to jump to conclusions. Here at Wendy's we plan to do right by our customers."

03/23/05 22:35 EST

A New Day

It's been awhile, hasn't it?  Christmas has come and gone, and spring is right around the corner!  Why, Valentine's Day is next week!

My spring bulbs are growing so fast!  I have daffodils that are 6 inches high already.  The crocus, the first of my spring collection (or anyones for that matter) should be blooming anytime now.  I have various tulips, some early bloomers and some late that are popping up all over the place.  The yard will be in its glory by April!

The girls, Katie and Sophie are doing fine.  The coolness of a winter's night doesn't thwart their adventures one bit, and every time I let them out they act as though it is their first - searching the yard for that ever elusive squirrel.

Madison is growing like a weed and I must confess is an absolutely beautiful child.  She has brought more happiness into my life than I can put into words.  I finally know what my own mother meant when she said that she loved Steve as if he were her own.  It's true. 

Christmas was wonderful!  Watching Maddie open her gifts with wide eyed wonderment was a joy.  Each and every time she ripped into a package (slowly, I might add) she'd raise those little blonde eyebrows, making her eyes really big and round to match the little "o" of her tiny rosebud mouth.  We laughed with happiness, and to be honest I feigned leaving the room for an instant to fill up my coffee cup so that I could wipe the tears from my eyes.  It just breaks my heart beyond belief that my mother isn't here to witness this angel child.

I have been toying with the idea of building a new house.  I am torn for many reasons, the biggest simply because I can pay my current one off shortly and a new one would still have a relatively small mortgage on it.  The new one obviously wouldn't need any maintence for some time, while my current home will.  Hopefully, I will make the right choice.

Lastly, I am glad to be back!  I needed the break though even though I thought of each of you often.  No!  Really I did!

Wishing each of you a bright, warm and healthy spring!