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I can’t believe we are midway thru July. The last ten days have flown; it’s probably the lack of sleep.

The Schmooze is doing pretty well, but she has to go to the bathroom alot and that means sleeping in 2 hour stretches,  if you’re lucky.

I am still working really hard on the nipping.

She’s a terrier, so she’s naturally mouthy but it’s the one characteristic I hate and especially upsetting when you have a puppy who will grow up to be a strong English Bull Terrier. We’ve been trying different toys to distract her and alot of discipline. Hopefully the penny will drop soon, before she’s bitten holes in more of my shorts.

***

I was quite amused by the fuss made over the cover of The New Yorker magazine showing Barak Obama in muslim dress and his wife sporting a machine gun. The whole point of the article was to dispell the silly myths about the Democratic Presidential nominee-in-waiting.

This is part and parcel of the problem the press has with Obama. Some say they are being too easy on him but anything negative can be taken as racist.

Even the producers of the Letterman show say they can’t find anything funny to say about Obama and hope he selects a comedy-rich running mate.

Jon Stewart made a joke about Obama a week or so ago and the audience didn’t respond so Stewart reminded them, “It’s okay to laugh at Obama.”

Nobody really has yet…and I wonder if the same would have been true if Hillary Clinton was the nominee. Would comedians be as willing to tip toe around allegations of sexism as they are around allegations of racism? And whatever happened to freedom of speech anyway?

Just wondering…..

Mary Ellen Beninger

Let me start by thanking everyone for their kind words about The Schmooze.  She is a really lovely dog, but still at the handful stage-literally-I can pick her up with one hand.

That won’t last, but as long as it does, I am enjoying having a portable dog. It makes it easier to get down stairs when somebody really has to do their business.

So far, so good.

She knows her name and is dragging the leash around the house so soon we should be walking. 

Just 2 minor accidents indoors, and that’s because we didn’t get to the door on time.

And a breakthru today. The Schmooze only whined non-stop for 15 minutes when she was put in her crate.

I am dreaming of when I can sleep thru the night. (Don’t I sound like a sleep-deprived new mom?)

****

The Christie Brinkley divorce is making tabloid headlines in New York.  I can’t believe her husband cheated on her 35 times!

At first when I heard about his infidelity, I had a moment of schodenfreud. You know, when you think “Hah! Even super models don’t have a perfect life”.

Then I got worried, and wondered if she couldn’t keep her husband interested what hope did average women like me have?

But I am heartened by a new study that found when you are in love you aren’t interested in other people; in fact, you are visually repelled when shown pictures of attractive potential mates.

I think that’s true. 

My husband doesn’t notice when women are flirting with him.

I usually inform him after the fact, like when the woman moves to another country.

Whether love is blind or he’s completely oblivious…I win.

Mary Ellen Beninger

I spent the 4th of July in the U.S. and boy, they know how to celebrate a holiday.  We were driving to Kentucky to pick up our puppy and all along the interstate there were fireworks lighting up the night sky. It was spectacular.

I was really impressed with what we saw of Ohio and Kentucky, just beautiful, rolling countryside. And the pot of gold at the end of the trip was our puppy “The Schmooze”.

She’s just 7 weeks old and was really good for the long car trip home. She’s starting to adjust to her new life, enjoying exploring the yard and the house.

The Schmooze was a little uncertain about a statue we have outside, convinced the Buddha was  a real person who was ignoring her.

And I know I sound like new parents everywhere when I wonder how something so small can cause such a big upheaval. I also can’t wait to sleep longer than 2 hours in a row. At least with a puppy, the transition isn’t as long as with a baby…plus, it’s not against the law to put a puppy in a crate!

Anyway, here’s a picture of The Schmooze relaxing at her new home.  Enjoy!

Mary Ellen Beninger

Happy Canada Day!

OK, so it’s a day early but I have tomorrow off.  It’s weird when the stat falls midweek because it’s hard to adapt your schedule, especially when so many people have taken the Monday.

It’s countdown to puppy at our house. I have to bring the beds and toy box up from the basement;  place all tempting chewables up and out of harm’s way and buy a few things like puppy kibble and dental dinosaurs.  They are perfect for training puppies. Substitute a chewing toy for a chair or a pillow and it helps cut down on destruction.

It’s been 13 years since I’ve been thru this and I have to admit, as adorable as puppies are, I would rather get a dog that was house trained.  At the same time, it’s kind of nice to have the chance to imprint on the dog during its formative weeks.

Still, I remember when Willy Bumpers was a baby.  She ate almost anything leather, but would only eat one shoe out of every pair.

Her favourite snack was a very expensive leather watch.  She ate the band and spit out the rest and I found it lying perfectly arranged on the bedroom floor.

Oh yeah. I have to get Bitter Lemon…gallons of Bitter Lemon.

 Mary Ellen Beninger

Gas prices went down overnight to about $1.30 a litre.

It’s interesting that this is now considered a bargain. Prices at the pumps have been rising steadily for the past year.

If all those surveys are right and we do “care” about the planet, we should be happy about the high price of gas.

Rising gas prices mean we won’t drive as much and thus not pump as much pollution into the environment.

Rising oil prices also drive up the cost of almost everything since you need energy to make and ship consumer goods.

So higher prices should mean we won’t buy as much stuff since we can’t afford it and that too will be good for the environment.

What about all those lost jobs at Air Canada because of the cost of fuel and at GM because they can’t sell gas guzzlers?  Hardcore environmentalists will say that’s cost of caring for the planet.

Fewer planes flying and shuttered factories will mean less greenhouse gas emissions as well.

We are finally coming to grips with the idea of “No pain, no gain” when it comes to the environment.  Many politicians have been trying to convince us we can have it both ways, change a few lightbulbs, turn up the AC a degree and things will be fine.

That doesn’t work. Our lifestyles will have to undergo some drastic changes, not just a little tinkering.

And there are no simple answers. Every carbon tax here can be negated by a new factory in China.

And here’s a great story to show how the whole environmental issue is a can of worms.  Americans are driving less because of the high cost of gas.  But that’s not necessarily good for the environment, because the U.S. government uses deisel and gas tax to pay for transit.  Fewer drivers means less money for transit.

I’m glad it’s the weekend.

Mary Ellen Beninger  

You know summer is here, even unofficially, when there is nothing on television.

That isn’t completely true this year. There are a couple of interesting series that I have sampled. I love “Mad Men” on CTV. It runs on AMC in the U.S. where it’s already into it’s second season. It’s set in a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the 1960s and is so politically incorrect, you almost cringe.

The men publicly assess how the women look and dress. The women talk about “making it” by marrying a doctor. My favourite moment was when a doctor lit up a cigarette just before doing a gynecological exam!

It feels like ancient history and yet it was just half a century ago.

We have come a long way, baby!

****

The other new series is called “Swingtown” and is set in the 1970s. I love the horrible fashions and brown and avacado appliances. My favourite bit was when a character popped open a tin of Tab cola, remember that?

I can’t imagine how much the series pays for music rights but the soundtrack is terrific.

“Swingtown” is kind of like a cross of “Boogie Nights” and the “Ice Storm” for the small screen and suggests key parties and wife swapping was rampant in the suburbs.

The creator maintains he’s based the series on his parents’ circle of friends.  He lived in a much different neighborhood than mine.

I remember my mother being upset because my best friend was Protestant and her mom wore sleeveless blouses in public!

The only swinging in my childhood was on swing sets in the backyard.

But I appreciated the freedom my friend’s parents allowed the two of us. We would go for ice cream in their convertible.

We got to stay up late and watch frowned upon tv shows like “Peyton Place” in colour!

And on Friday night sleep-overs we were allowed to bunk down in the living room and watch Fright Night horror flicks. It was then I developped my affection for Joan Crawford in “Straight Jacket” and Boris Karloff as “The Monster” in ” Frankenstein”.

My friend is long gone but my affection for that relationship lingers on.

Mary Ellen Beninger

Barak Obama is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Hillary Clinton finally conceded over the weekend.

Neither she nor Republican John McCain made much of the fact Obama is the first black man to reach this level.  That’s a shame.

This was an opportunity for both to embrace this paradigm shift in attitudes.  There was a great article in The New York Times on Sunday underlining how important a moment this was in American history.  For the first time, Americans of all colours could embrace the idea that it was possible for their children to grow up and become President of the United States.

Hillary Clinton’s strong second place finish also makes that dream more of a reality for young girls.

That said, I doubt Obama will choose Clinton as his running mate.

Not only would he appear to have been pressured into it by her prolonged and less than graceful concession, but he would have to deal with Bill Clinton. The first couple’s “2-for-1″ equation will not work in their favour. 

Hillary Clinton would have to agree to be vetted and that would mean a close scrutiny of her finances. That includes a second look at how Bill Clinton, who left office deeply in debt, has enmassed so much money.  There have been questions raised about him using his profile as a former President to foster trade deals with dubious characters.  There are also questions about contributors to the Clinton Presidential museum.

If Barak Obama really wants to underline his message of change he should choose another relative Washington outsider.

But he hasn’t asked my advice, so who knows…..

***

And for everybody whose been asking, the puppy should be ready to come home in about 3 weeks. Schmooze passed her hearing tests. (One puppy we had chosen earlier turned out to be deaf and was placed with an owner used to dealing with hearing impaired dogs.)

So far, so good.

By the way, here’s the latest:

Mary Ellen Beninger

Dr. Sheila Basrur has died of cancer.  She was 51 and was the calm, collected, rational face for the City of Toronto during the SARS crisis.

If you needed an answer, she was there to explain in layman’s terms.

If you needed reassurance, Basrur was there to calm anxiety, especially among health care workers.

I hope the city and the province do something to publicly honour her and health care workers who fought on the front lines during SARS.

I was deeply moved a couple of years ago when I went to Hong Kong.  In this beautiful park right downtown, they have a memorial to health care workers who died fighting SARS.  It’s in a lovely calm garden, a great spot for quiet contemplation.

I would like to see the same kind of memorial built here.  Knowing Canada,  it will take years and a Royal Commission to get approval.

The frontline workers during the SARS crisis, including Dr. Sheila Basrur, deserve better.

Mary Ellen Beninger

I can’t believe it’s already June.  I still have alot of gardening to do, in part because the weather hasn’t been great and also we are adding a garden around the side of our house.

There is nothing I like better than trolling garden centers for the best plants and best deals. I am currently looking for a selection of peonies. They will go great with my Oriental themed garden.

***

This weekend was a little weird because my husband had laser eye surgery. He’s worn glasses since he was 6 and he can’t believe how strange it was to wake up and see the time without having to put on his glasses.  It will take a while to adjust.

I am looking forward to the fact he can no longer say he doesn’t see the dirt on the floor or the dishes on the counter.

On the downside, I’ve always said a husband’s hearing should improve with age, and his eyesite should get worse, so you always look the way you did the day you got married.

Mary Ellen Beninger

I had to laugh when I read about the comments from a member of the Russian Communist Party.  He wanted to ban the new Indiana Jones movie in Russia saying it was anti-Soviet.  He worried teenagers would be misinformed about the 1950s.

Apparently he thought the Soviet Communist party was warm and cuddly and didn’t want anybody to get the wrong idea.

Try telling that to the victims of Stalin, who arguably killed even more people than Adolph Hitler. It’s a bloody business trying to figure out who was the worse mass murderer.

***

And for all you wanting to know what’s going on with my puppy, here are a couple of pictures.

We decided against the boy dog, Spock.

He is so beautiful, but my husband wants a girl. He likes their personalities-a credit to the past two girl dogs we’ve had, and me, I hope.

So we waited till last weekend and a new litter and here’s our newest member.

***

And finally, we are in for a warm weekend. That means I can plant my bouganvillas. Tish Iceton and I have a kind of competition going on over whose will flourish.  I have a secret weapon. I am going to over-winter mine at my dad’s. Not only does he have a kind of green house attached to his house but he has the greenest thumb I know.  His poppies are big enough to raise the suspicions of the RCMP Drug squad!

Mary Ellen Beninger