The thirteen year old mixed breed is thought to have contracted the virus from his owner, who tested positive with the flu himself earlier in the month.

The dog was brought into the vet after his owner suspected pneumonia, but with a critically high temp of 103 degrees, blood tests confirmed he had the flu. After a stay in the pet hospital the dog has fully recovered and isn’t thought to have passed it on to anyone or anything else. Though the swine flu has been known to pass from humans to pets, there has been no indication that pets have passed it on to people.

Dog and cat owners who have been ill with the H1N1 virus themselves should keep an eye on their pets for flu-like symptoms such as lethargy, loss of appetite, sneezing, coughing, fever, discharge from eyes and/or nose, and changes in breathing.

[image: sxc]

Post from: Blisstree

New York Dog Diagnosed with Swine Flu

Elizabeth Cady Stanton home at the Women's Rights Natinal Park, Seneca Falls, New York

You’ll get to “meet” the women via a group of bronze figures created by sculptor Lloyd Lily.  The figures include Elizabeth Cady Stanton (who was one of the authors of the Declaration of Sentiments that declared that all men and women are created equal), whose farmhouse is also on the site.  Rangers lead tours of the farmhouse, sharing information about the life and writings of this rather radical (for her times, at least) woman.

The park also includes a Visitor’s Center, the Wesleyan Chapel, where the first convention took place, and the homes of two of the other women organizers, Jane Hunt and Mary Ann M’Clintock.  You can see the park by participating in ranger-led tours, or wander about on your own.  Dial and Discover, and audio tour available using your cell phone, will guide you through five of the park locations.

It’s hard for me to imagine a world in which women couldn’t vote and didn’t have freedom.  A visit to this national park seems a must for anyone who wants to understand the struggle for women’s suffrage, and the efforts of five women in launching a movement that continues to this day.  There are important stories and lessons to be learned here.

Photo credit:  National Park Service

Post from: Blisstree

Visit the Women’s Rights National Park

Although the idea of roommates worked amazingly well in college and probably the first few years after college when you were still interested in constant companionship, I want to address the issue of an age where roommates are no longer the best option.  As we grow older and move away from our college years, we develop more into a unique and amazing adult.  It might seem a little daunting to have an apartment completely to yourself, but it could be an important key to your lifelong happiness and personal development.

Regardless of how long you have known your roommate or how much you enjoy their company, there comes a time in your life when you need to challenge yourself to establish a space that is completely your own.  You might have to downsize and sacrifice some of the luxuries that come with the apartment that you can afford with a roommate, but I see a great importance in adult development in living by yourself.

When you live by yourself, suddenly you are forced to understand your importance in the world without recognition from anyone else.  You will become strong and independent to know that you can be successful in life on your own.  It is a great challenge to live by yourself for the first time, but it is healthy and extremely strengthening.

If you are single and plan on getting married someday, embrace the opportunity that you have to live on your own.  You get to make all of the decisions, spend time by yourself, and create a space that is completely your own!

Image: Flickr Creative Commons

Post from: Blisstree

Are You Still Living With A Roommate?

Hot dogs have been part of the national diet since 1870, when German immigrant Charles Feltman began selling sausages in rolls at Coney Island. Though the creation of the hot dog itself is long-disputed, with some claims going back as far as 1480, the summertime favorite was an instant hit in the States.

The original Feltman shop even spawned one of the more famous hot dog shops — Nathan’s Famous in New York City. Apparently, Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant and a worker of Feltman’s, was encouraged by a couple of celebrity clients to start up his own place using a hot dog recipe created by his wife Ida, and he undercut his new competition by selling his dogs for only five cents each, whereas Feltman was selling his for ten cents each. [wikipedia]

Much like pizza, New York and Chicago both have a long-standing “feud” over who has the best food. Make a dog of your own and judge for yourself!

New York hot dogs are pretty simple. Typical toppings include only mustard, sauerkraut and sweet onions.

Chicago, on the other hand, goes all out, and can include any or all of the following:

~ Mustard
~ Catsup
~ Sweet relish
~ Chopped white onions
~ Chopped green pepper
~ Hot peppers
~ Dill pickle spears
~ Cucumber spears
~ Tomatoes
~ Shredded lettuce
~ Celery salt

What’s your favorite hot dog topping? What’s your favorite hot dog brand?

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

It’s National Hot Dog Month

If you are fan of board games and/or playing board games with strangers, then this might be the dating venue for you. GameNightOut.com is now hosting Game Nights in New York City and Chicago, with events to follow in New Jersy, Connecticut, Long Island, Upstate New York and Los Angeles.

Here’s an example: on 5/12/09, a group of “Single Professionals,” aged 25-35, will meet at a Midtown Manhattan location that is to be announced at a later date, probably after you are registered and paid up.

More May events are scheduled for Catholic, Jewish, and “Mature” singles, but it looks like they stick with the age range of 25-35. 

For more information, take a look at GameNightOut.com

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

Game Night Out.com

“It’s strange for there not to be doughnuts on a Saturday, is it not?”…harped one white-haired, but beautiful woman recently. I think I suggested she buy a cake instead. Although the doughnut line seemed poetic, somehow.

I can always tell what time of day it is by the increase of older customers in the store: Sunday, church is out…it must be 1:00pm.

Immediately after my encounter with my new friend, I started to wonder what kind of older person I will be. Will I be alone? Will I be kind? Sour, bitter, energetic, valued…? Will I cook? Will I travel…have a dog?

I hope I become like one of those fabulous women who’ve decided to write a novel at 60…get it published and then end up on the (older) Oprah show. I’m thinking I’d like to start a foundation of some kind.

And I do plan to be living in New York or England, and stroll the avenues together with one of my other fabulous older women friends.

And I hope to be kind. With lots of doughnuts.

Post from: Blisstree

My Older Self

I’m going to try to illustrate that there are times in every relationship, during which small gaps occur: gaps in expectations, gaps in promises, responsibilities, trust and perhaps a gap in adoration. It is also intended to demonstrate that sometimes we have to put our ambitions aside for the sake of our partners.

“Mind The Gap”, is also used on the London underground transit system, to remind riders to be cautious of the gap between the train and the platform. How prosaic, right?

Several years ago, my husband’s firm, a large New York based financial services corporation, offered him a temporary position in London. I was invited to join him. I recognized this to be an extremely important opportunitiy and insisted that he had to take the position. We convinced each other that it could only be helpful for his career moving forward and that it would be great for me as well.

At that time, I was an up-and-comer at an ad agency in New York and loving every minute of it. The job, the fancy restaurants, the attention, I was like Carrie Bradshaw of the ’80’s…only not as cool. Because I was so impressed with myself and my career and the big city…I wasn’t the most attentive wife on the planet. Stayed out late, worked late, got home late: not fun for him.

I knew in my core that I’d owed it to my husband to shift the focus from my career priorities to his. My own guilt forced me to make a decision.

And so, after all the farewell parties and mementos of New York from well-wishers, we packed everything up, rented our home to a stranger, and moved and cross the pond.

We were both petrified, we had to find a place to live (with cable hopefully) and he had to get up that Monday and go to work. I had to go to my…go to the…go nowhere! I was alone in a strange city, no friends or colleagues, surrounded by people who don’t really like Americans all that much (or at least that’s the feeling I’d gotten).

Don’t get me wrong, we travelled all over the place, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Spain…attended the best British shows ate at some of the finest restaurants …it was the opportunity of a lifetime, with lots of fun times. But every Monday morning I faced an entire week of solitude. And my intense obsession with British History wasn’t helping all that much.

I walked every street in London, went to every museum, shopped at the most famous department stores in the world. But I was deeply and profoundly unhappy. I had been working for so many years, I didn’t know what to do with myself–I felt useless…so I, did what every young woman would do who is fortunate enough to live in an exciting city, in the best part of town, with the potential to do anything she wanted — I found a job!

I thought that would make us feel normal, back to the two job household: goodbyes in the morning, cocktails in the evening. It didn’t. Nearly the end of our trip and I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to come home, I missed New York — I arranged to rent a small studio apartment in NYC, got back to my agency job, and corresponded with my husband long distance. What a horrible, selfish wife I was, I’d left the sweetest, most generous guy all alone. I felt so guilty.

I do recognize the irony….it was guilt that sent me to England and guilt that traveled with me on that plane ride back to NYC.

This long, long story reminds us that the “…for better or worse…”, can sometimes mean sacrifice and minding the gaps…what is your story?

Post from: Blisstree

Mind The Gap