Good News Tuesday for June 28, 2022: US Passes Gun Safety Law, Mexico City Bans Bullfighting, Canada’s Sets Deadline on Plastics, Home Safe, and a 40-Year-Old Mom Sets Triathlon Record

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

US Passes Gun Safety Law with Bipartisan Compromise

The US government has passed the first major gun safety bill in almost thirty years. Fifteen republicans joined democrats to pass the bill in the US Senate on Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the bill on Friday, and President Biden signed the bill on Saturday. The new law will toughen background checks, help states implement red flag laws, strengthen mental health programs, and seek to keep guns from domestic violence offenders regardless of marital status. AP has details.

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Bullfighting Banned “indefinitely” in Mexico City

“A judge has extended a ban on bullfighting in Mexico City indefinitely, raising the likelihood that the season will be cancelled at the world’s largest remaining venue.” From ABC News

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Canada Sets Deadline for Plastics

The Canadian government’s ban on making or importing plastic bags, takeout containers, straws, cutlery, and more will go into effect by the end of this year. Exporting non-reusable plastics will be banned by the end of 2025. Good job, Canada! Here’s more from CBC News.

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Home Safe

In personal good news, we went to the mountains for the weekend – David, Marley, and Me – and made it home safe, in spite of our husky mix slipping out the front door and taking off to race through the unfamiliar neighborhood 300 miles from home. I prayed HARD and was able to catch up with him in the car. He got in with the offer of going, “home.” This motivates me to be more alert and diligent with our training. There’s no place like home. My gratitude is overflowing.

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40-Year-Old Mom Completes Triathlon in Under 8 Hours

Nicola Spirig, a 40-year-old mom, became the first female Olympian to complete a full triathlon in under 8 hours. This was after breaking three ribs, fracturing her collarbone and puncturing a lung in a cycling accident earlier this year. Good News Network has the story with the following video.

Got Good News?

Feel free to share your good news in the comments!

Marley and Dave (It Feels Like We’ve Adopted a Teenager)

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday, is…..  “rest” to use any way we like and enjoy!

Rest has become more important to me as I get older. That doesn’t always mean I get enough of it. There’s always something to do, but that’s nothing new. Rest, as in stretching my back out flat, is in some ways more important than sleep. But I’ve read that sleep is important, too.

The two “men” in my life, David the husband, and Marley the pitsky (husky/pitbull), have more energy than I do. They are often “on alert” and busy when awake, but they sleep well. Marley has made slow progress in his training. In the house, he’s a sweetheart – well-behaved and loveable, though even my golden retriever didn’t shed this much.

We are still keeping Marley and Mama Cat separated. Marley has a high “prey drive.” He’s getting better when I walk him in the back yard as we reinforce the fence and only occasionally lunges at squirrels out of his reach. I watch him closely to anticipate a lunge by planting my feet and holding on to the leash with both hands, but like I said, he’s getting better in the yard. He LOVES to play ball on the long leash, throwing the ball in the air and starting to let me get it from him if he gets a training treat.

A few nights ago, David was taking Marley on his nighttime walk and right out of the gate, Marley lunged at a neighborhood cat, catching David off guard and catching two fingers in the leash. The next day, David went to the doctor. They had to cut his wedding ring off. 😦 But that can be fixed. His ring figure has a small fracture, and his pinky finger popped a tendon. It’s good it’s his left hand, but still. On Wednesday, he’ll have surgery,

Apparently, Marley needs more serious training. I’m watching a video program for “reactive dogs” but I’m also researching more local training. We did five sessions with a woman who I like, because she is laid back and not bossy, but maybe I need someone more serious without being bossy. I bet dogs think we are bossy. No, we are just pack leaders. Huskies are notoriously headstrong, and pit bulls are tenacious. Both breeds are loyal and affectionate. Good thing David loves Marley. When I asked him how he felt about Marley after the injury, David said, “It wasn’t his fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” I’m sure glad I got my “must love dogs” wish from my soulmate wishlist. It makes me love him even more.

David is going to have to give those fingers a rest. Marley will probably chill out in a few years when he’s ten. Even though he’s six, he acts more like a two-year-old dog. I feel like we’ve adopted a teenager. At least I don’t have to worry about him going out and partying, especially since we got him neutered and keep close tabs on his whereabouts. Marley keeps us from becoming too sedentary.

Mama Cat, now she knows how to rest.

I’m trapped on the couch by MC while Marley and Dave are back in the man cave

I love this picture of Marley waiting for Dave to come home and take him for a walk. It was a few weeks ago. You can see the Christmas tree lights reflected in the window. I finally took the tree down.

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For more on Stream of Consciousness Saturday,

visit our host, Linda Hill by clicking HERE.

SoCS: Trees! Plus, a New Family Member

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ….. “tree.” Use the word “tree” or write about a tree. Any kind of tree. Enjoy! You can learn more about Stream of Consciousness Saturday and find more streams at the blog of our excellent host, Linda Hill.

Woohoo! I get to write about trees two posts in a row. So many possibilities, but I’m not to plan. Hmmm. There’s a sycamore in my yard close to the house. Who’s been leaning for years since a hurricane whose name I’ve forgotten. She’s sent up a slender new trunk, there’s probably another name for this skinny spike, not really a trunk, but the point is, for balance. In 50 years, it might be another trunk. The tree leans over my neighbors back yard mostly, not her house, and has survived and stood strong for many subsequent hurricanes. I bet the roots go under my house and her house, maybe even across the street, joining with other roots of the many trees in my urban forest.

I’ve been reading the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Understory. Almost finished. Slow reader. It’s disturbing and beautiful. At first, being trained first as a technical writer (well one class), I thought the book was wordy. I’ve had to look up a word almost every time I pick it up. But now, it’s become poetic. The book is about several people from all over the country/world who come to love trees and desire to save them. The scientist writes about how trees communicate with each other in the air and underground, which brings us back to my urban forest. So many leaves on my pathways now, making them soft and covering tiny animals and plants.

The larger animals, like squirrels, who have had the run of the yard for a couple of years since we have not had a dog and Mama Cat lives inside. Now we have adopted a dog. A big one. Bigger and more energetic than we would have chosen. It’s a longish story and related to the fact that my daughter and her fiancé already have two big dogs in their apartment. Marley is their brother. Their mother, Leilu, my grand dog, just crossed the rainbow bridge at age 7 due to cancer. Marley’s first adopter called Ayla to say she could no longer care for him for financial reasons. Last night was his first night here and he whined enough for David to go get him from his crate (which he supposedly has slept most of his 6 years) and slept with him in the spare bedroom. Marley is going to be a challenge, especially where Mama Cat is concerned. I’m reading about that, scheduling obedience consultations, and we go to the vet Monday.

Yesterday, during his first run in my backyard, Marley rolled in the leaves and something very stinky. I’m glad my daughter gave him a bath. He’s a husky / pit bull mix (a pitsky), very energetic and LOVES to be with people. He’s very curious about the smell of the other animal in the house, but we’re taking that slow. Marley is not allowed in the cat side of the house.

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  Marley with floppy ear

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  Marley is a good boy.

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  Thanks for the bath, Ayla

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  Mama Cat’s New Catio
  with reinforced fencing over the screen.

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  Mama Cat on her catio looking at wildlife

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  Mama Cat in her room

SoCS: It’s Never Too Late to Have a Happy Childhood, featuring Raggedy Ann, Flo and Eddie

The Prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “yarn.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

My mom grew up during the Great Depression. I don’t know if that contributed to her depression as an adult, but she got better after menopause. She told me that when she was a child, she had to put pieces of cardboard in her shoes to cover the holes. As an adult she had a lot of shoes.

“We don’t throw away food,” was her mantra in restaurants. I remember her wrapping leftovers in a napkin and putting the bundle in her purse to take home. Did they not have “doggie bags,” in the 60s?

One of the things my mom wanted as a child was a Raggedy Ann doll. She never got it during her childhood. One year my dad got her one for Christmas. Seems like I was about 9 years old, so that would’ve been in the 60s, too. When she opened the present containing Raggedy Ann, she cried, because she had always wanted one. Maybe she got both Raggedy Ann and Andy from my dad. They both had red yarn for hair and red and white striped legs and Ann wore an apron if I recall correctly. Maybe they had red triangular noses like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz.

Personally, I don’t see the appeal, though my mom and I both had red hair. Mine’s still reddish, blond with a little grey blended in. I’m trying to imagine wanting a doll that badly and not getting it until you were in your 40s. Maybe they were expensive, or maybe they were just that poor and the dolls were an extravagance. When I think about all the toys I had as a child and that my grand daughter has, it makes me wonder if we had/have too much. But I’m glad my mom got her Raggedy Ann doll later in life.

I only wanted a pony as a child, and did have my own horse for a while in my twenties. Horses are a lot of work, but they gave me a little stability during a crazy time of my life. Speaking of horses, my grand dog went to the dog park and met a couple of great Danes. Leilu is a husky, so she’s big, but not as big as the Danes, named Flo and Eddie, or was it Eddie and Flo? – They were named after the leaders of the old rock and roll group, The Turtles back in the 60s?

First I’m going to share some photos of Leilu, my grand dog, with Flo and Eddie who I could not tell apart, though one is bigger than the other. Leilu looks crazy because she has blue eyes and a big smile which is real, not enhanced. She just got her stitches out from being spayed, so we didn’t have to worry about any hankypanky from the boys. She lives with her two sons who are also bigger than her, but that’s another story, or maybe it’s a yarn.

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And here’s a video of the Turtles, including Flo and Eddie, from when they were on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1967 singing, “Happy Together,” a song on the playlist for my wedding reception.

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For more streams, yarns and rules for Stream of Consciousness Saturday, visit:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS June 5, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

Good News Tuesday for May 4, 2021: Teacher Appreciation Deals, Adaptive Pants, Trash Collecting Sailboat, Good Gardening, and Two Baby Rescues

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Teacher Appreciation Week: Deals, Freebies and Discounts

These restaurants and stores are giving special deals to teachers this week: Sonic Drive In, Buffalo Wild Wings, McAllister’s Deli, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Office Depot, Costco, and SheerID which provides deals to verified teachers, students and first responders. Visit Good Morning America for Details. THANK YOU, TEACHERS!

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Adaptive Pants for Amputees

Many of us have never thought about the challenges of putting on a pair of pants with a prosthetic leg. Erica is a successful entrepreneur who has not only thought about it, but experienced it. So she created pants that work much better. Click here to meet Erica.

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“The Manta” Sailboat Collects Plastic to Use for Power

A professional yacht racer designed a boat powered by the waste it collects. A conveyor belts (along with shallow nets) collect trash which is sorted and incinerated. Gases from melting plastic are used in a turbine to power the electric motor. Read more about the innovative vessel at the Good News Network.

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Gardening and Wellbeing

A study from Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) shows a connection between regular gardening and wellbeing. This might not be news to some of us, but it is reinforcement. Here’s more from GNN.

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Gentle Husky Finds Baby

Terry Walsh was walking with his dog, Hel, at a Birmingham park in the UK on April 22 when the husky found a baby. Mr. Walsh said he thought it was just a blanket, but Hel ran over and lay next to the baby who then started crying. The dog nudged him gently with her nose. Here’s more: “Gentle giant” husky dog praised for finding abandoned newborn baby in Birmingham park | Central | ITV News

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Bystander Jumps off Bridge in to Save Baby after Crash

A man who wants to remain anonymous was rescued with the baby he rescued after jumping off a bridge into a bay in Maryland.

Got good news?

Feel free to share your good news or a link to your GNT post in the comments!

Good News Tuesday: Saving Lives in Dallas, A Husky Makes it Home, and a Grateful Reunion with a Veteran

A Team Effort Saves Lives in Dallas Apartment Fire

Quick thinking by neighbors and first responders saved the lives of everyone in this raging apartment fire.

Rain in California

Yes, the rain in California could increase risk of mudslides and complicate searches, but it also brings relief from devastating fire and hope for healing. I didn’t find a news story about the rain that didn’t give equal or more attention to the risk of mudslides. It’s a real risk, but can we just take a minute be thankful for the rain?

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A Husky Named Sinatra Makes it Home

Sinatra the Husky disappeared from his home in New York some time after his human sibling, 16 year old Zion, was killed. He was found in Florida 18 months later by another teenager. We don’t know how Sinatra got from New York to Florida. But I can’t help but wonder if he was looking for Zion. His rescuers and friends of the family made sure he got home. It’s a touching story.

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Thanksgiving to a Veteran, to All Veterans:

Thanksgiving is not over. We can give thanks every day.  Donna Caye wrote a letter of thanks in 1970 to a soldier serving in Vietnam. She recently got to tell him thank you again in person.

 

 

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Good News Tuesday seeks to add a touch of balance, one Tuesday at a time.

What’s your good news?

One-Liner Wednesday: Nookie to the Rescue!

Nookie is the nickname for Nanook, a free spirited husky mix who wanders around Alaska rescuing  lost or injured hikers. The following video gives a detailed account of how Nookie saved a solo hiker who fell down a mountain and became submerged trying to cross a freezing river.

 

And here’s the ABC News version of the story including a reunion between Nookie and Amelia and a focus on the SPOT device that helped human rescuers find them:

One-liner Wednesday is brought to you by Linda G. Hill. For more information, visit Linda’s blog here:

https://lindaghill.com/2018/08/01/one-liner-wednesday-who-who-who-who-who/