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We're in an Arizona rest area almost in California trying to catch up with things while we have some cell service. We're going to Joshua Tree National Park next.

You Can Take Your Dog to Work

NPR has a great story on this subject (see link below).  Turns out it's good for people to take their dogs to work.  There aren't too many places where "normal" people can do that, but it's a possibility for people with psychiatric disabilities.  Not only service dogs, but also emotional support animals, can be requested to accompany a person with a psychiatric disability to work in the U.S. as a "reasonable accommodation." See http://www.servicepoodle.com/useful-links-1/dogs-in for links to relevant .gov web pages.

You can read the National Public Radio Story at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/03/30/149684409/take-your-dog-to-the-office-and-stress-less?ft=1&f=1128&sc=tw

Joanne Shortell, Maeve's Service Human

servicehuman@servicepoodle.com
www.servicepoodle.com
www.facebook.com/servicepoodle
www.linkedin.com/in/joanneshortell
call us using "call Maeve and Joanne" at http://www.servicepoodle.com/contact-us

Joanne and Maeve (her psychiatric service poodle) help people with psychiatric disabilities discover their rights to emotional support animals in no-pets housing without pet deposits or pet fees and their rights to service dogs

What if water cost a quarter?

That's what we paid for it in Gila Bend, AZ at this water dispenser.

How much would it cost you if you had to buy a week's supply for all your indoor use? According to the EPA the average family of four would be popping 1,960 quarters into the machine -- $490 for a week's supply.I'll bet that would change your water use habits!

I don't scrimp on water for drinking at all. The vast majority of water goes into me, Maeve, and Sibol as drinking water. I use extremely low water use personal hygeine and cleaning methods and I use a dry composting toilet. It would cost me only $2.50 for a week's supply for drinking, cooking, and cleaning for me, the cat and the dog.

Want to see where your 1,960 gallons goes? Here's the link to the EPA site.

Joanne Shortell, Maeve's Service Human

servicehuman@servicepoodle.com
www.servicepoodle.com
www.facebook.com/servicepoodle
www.linkedin.com/in/joanneshortell
call us using "call Maeve and Joanne" at http://www.servicepoodle.com/contact-us

Joanne and Maeve (her psychiatric service poodle) help people with psychiatric disabilities discover their rights to emotional support animals in no-pets housing without pet deposits or pet fees and their rights to service dogs

Great video on ADA rights to public access for people who use service dogs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLVMIO5P5H8

It's slightly out of date as it was made before the Department of Justice limited service animals to dogs and miniature horses, but otherwise it is accurate.

There is no life worth living without risk

Just the other day I made a reservation for this tour and then drove to my mom's for a week's visit. Look at the lead story in her local newspaper yesterday. She was good; she didn't make a fuss.

Following my bliss and my blisters

I have been receiving signals about my life choices lately. All of them approve of my spending time outdoors. The night before my first real camping trip in the Maevemobile, I saw a spectacular green-tailed meteorite break into several pieces above the desert behind my Mom's rv park. The night before I headed to Yuma to have a solar system installed and then to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, I saw another meteorite in the skies over Tucson. Today I was less than half watching a PBS program, but heard one phrase clearly: "Follow your bliss," a quote from Joseph Campbell. The reason I was not really watching was that I was browsing a book on national parks in the southwest, looking for destinations.

The quote resonated in me and evoked memories of my recent experiences in the Coronado National Forest and at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. In both places I felt a deep peace like nothing I had ever felt before. It was not a hypomanic high or a giddy, in-love emotion. When I looked it up in wikipedia, there was another quote by him in response to accusations that he was promoting hedonism (he was not). The quote was, "I should have said follow your blisters."

Take time to smell the cactus

We're in the Sonoran desert and the cholla are starting to bloom. So far I've seen yellow orange and red flowers on different types of cholla. They smell good too.

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We're at Organ Pipe Cactus National Park near Ajo AZ