Bed

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

The consent forms teenagers must get signed by their parents before using a tanning bed could soon change. The State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is recommending that the form include a clearer and more focused warning about the dangers of tanning beds, including the risk of cancer. Parents will also have to show a government-issued ID when signing the consent form for their children. The form will expire six months after being signed.   The health department was trying to better inform parents as they make the decision whether to allow their children to tan, said Dr. Clifford Mitchell, director of the state's Environmental Health Bureau.

Late July is the height of vacation season, but instead of a week at the beach or a trip to Europe this year, many Americans are still opting for the staycation or choosing to visit friends or relatives for a long weekend. Whether you find yourself bunking at your sister's place in San Francisco or are in the position of hosting out-of-town guests yourself, one thing is for sure: You'll soon understand the importance of a well-appointed guest room. An uncomfortable guest room sets the stage for a memorable visit — for all the wrong reasons.

Sunrise Senior Living asked interior designer Emily Henderson to redo the apartment of resident who uses a wheelchair resident at its Washington facility. From that experience, Henderson created tips and advice for other seniors who are downsizing. "The biggest issues are storage and organization," she said. "But the important thing is that your home should look like you at any age, and you should have your favorite things around. " Henderson was given free rein by the resident, Fran Ferguson.

In state-of-the-art homes teeming with technological toys, the notion of a daybed is almost anachronistic. Even the word seems oddly old-fashioned. But despite its quaint label, the daybed has been inching its way back into the design lexicon and retail stores for the last few years. Often deeper than a sofa, or slim as a twin bed with or without sides, it's more a generous settee than a one-sided chaise. Designed for more than sitting, it beckons. Whether you sit, sprawl or flat out nap on it, the daybed is the ultimate piece of cocooning furniture.

A proposed tax on hospital and university beds would be "disproportionate" and "unfair" to Loyola University Maryland, which would shoulder more than one-fourth of the $4 million in taxes the measure would generate, a university leader told City Council members at a hearing Thursday. The university would pay more than $1.1 million if the proposed $350-per-bed annual tax were imposed, Loyola Vice President Terrence M. Sawyer told members of the council's taxation and finance committee.

A pillowy seat, a cushy pair of shoes, a soft, enveloping blanket -- we crave sweet comfort and contentment. And nowhere do we appreciate them more than in our beds at night. And while we don't all have a wonderfully comfortable bed, we certainly should. Studies have shown what a positive effect a restful night's sleep can have on one's mood and productivity. So, in your search for a comfy bed, consider the new EuroBed by Tempur-Pedic. The Swedish bed offers pressure-relieving comfort from Tempur material quilted into a soft cover.

Child Life is a forum for parents to ask child-rearing questions and share tips with other parents. Call our answering machine with any advice or questions you have. Please check the end of the column for the toll-free number and today's question from a parent who needs your help.Q: My 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son both have a problem with bed-wetting. We have tried many things, and now I am at a loss for solutions. Any suggestions?-- S.H., ReisterstownA: Hardly a day goes by that we don't get a call from parents of children from age 3 all the way up to 12 desperate to find a cure for bed-wetting.

Child Life is a forum for parents to ask child-rearing questions and share tips with other parents. Call our answering machine with any advice or questions you have. Please check the end of the column for the toll-free number and today's question from a parent who needs your help.Q: My 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son both have a problem with bed-wetting. We have tried many things, and now I am at a loss for solutions. Any suggestions?-- S.H., Reisterstown, Md.A: Last week's column covered causes of bed-wetting.

"Lying In Bed," by J.D. Landis. 296 pages. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, $19.95Solitude can do some strange things to a person, but John Chambers is perhaps a bit stranger than most.Chambers' father, a respectable criminal court judge, calls him "utterly worthless and . . . abjectly murcid," although he leaves his son enough of his hard-earned cash to live a languid life of intellectual introspection in a New York penthouse apartment. Chambers begins describing himself as a rhetorician ("someone who studies the power of language")

A bill that would have required the state health department to report to legislators on the effectiveness of a new online registry of psychiatric hospital beds did not pass this legislative session - but the review will be conducted anyway. On April 4, Del. Peter A. Hammen, a Baltimore Democrat and chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee, wrote a letter to health secretary Joshua Sharfstein - in lieu of moving the bill out of his committee - requesting the health department conduct the review and report back to his committee before the 2014 legislative session.

My dog wakes me up at 5:30 every morning and won't leave me alone until I get up for her walk and breakfast. I want to sleep in during the week - how can I get her to sleep later? Unfortunately, you've trained yourself an excellent alarm clock, and the fastest and easiest way to turn that clock off is to put it in another room the night before you want to sleep late. Be warned that asking her to wait a little longer to eat won't cause any damage, but asking her to hold it when she has to go out can have messy consequences.

Leonard Sachs and Lainy LeBow-Sachs have turned their world outside-in. The renovations and additions to the Baltimore power couple's Reisterstown home make it ideal not only for entertaining large groups, but for entertaining birds, too. Fond of plants and flowering shrubs as well, Leonard commissioned a solarium that defies Mid-Atlantic winters. And the flagstone that was once the exterior of the house is now part of the study and den and informal dining area, giving the house a rustic, masculine quality.

The Maryland Attorney General's office in conjunction with the federal government and 46 other states has reached a $48 million settlement with a Texas drug company that marketed an ointment to treat bedsores even though it wasn't approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Healthpoint Ltd and general partner DFB Pharmaceuticals marketed the drug Xenaderm to nursing homes. The ointment was modeled after a drug made prior to 1962 that the FDA never reviewed. In the 1970s, the FDA determined the principal ingredient in Xenaderm was "less than effective.

A Baltimore lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would require all Maryland hospitals to participate in an online psychiatric bed registry meant to expedite care for the mentally ill. Del. Samuel I. "Sandy" Rosenberg said the registry can help hospitals more speedily transfer mentally ill patients who arrive at emergency rooms. "I'm doing this to make better care available to people," Rosenberg said, "not to harm the hospitals. " The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday that some hospitals have been reluctant to take part in a new registry launched by state health officials.

Carl Edgell doesn't enjoy going to the hospital. But he doesn't want to hurt anyone, either. The 44-year-old homeless man has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. At times when he has felt that he has reached a breaking point, he has taken himself to a local emergency room. Each time, he says, the experience has been different. When he has been referred to a psychiatric unit, he says, he has found the physicians and nurses "compassionate.

CHANGSHA, China - The way Fang Yaolun sees it, his problems began when the workers at the factory realized what they were building for him. Fang, a self-taught engineer and inventor with 15 patents, came up with an innovative idea for a product not long after his divorce in 1995: an adjustable bed whose design, he believed, would aid sex and exercise. The bed would be a high-tech Craftmatic for the Kama Sutra set. With an expected price tag of more than $5,000, it is targeted at a fast-growing sector, the millions of urban Chinese with money to burn.

The operator of a dump truck was killed yesterday when the loading bed collapsed on him as he tried to free the tarpaulin covering that became entangled in the bed's gears, police said.Eugene Black, 41, of the 3600 block of Brehms Lane in Northeast Baltimore was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident in the 5400 block of Belair Road, said Detective Cliff Macer.Macer said Black, a driver for Pulaski Roofers in Perry Hall, and a co-worker were working in the rear of the 5400 block of Belair Road about 4: 30 p.m. when the tarpaulin became entangled in the loading bed's control gears, preventing the loading bed from moving up or down.

State officials were right last week to postpone approval of a Department of Juvenile Services contract to increase the capacity of the privately owned Silver Oak Academy juvenile residential treatment facility in Carroll County. The department wants to double the number of beds there, from 48 to 96, in order to reduce the backlog of youthful offenders awaiting treatment in overcrowded lockups. Getting more troubled young people out of detention centers and into treatment where they can receive the help they need is certainly a worthy goal.

More than 40 percent of all speed camera tickets issued to drivers in Maryland highway work zones have been doled out between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., times when crews often aren't on the job. That picture emerged when The Baltimore Sun graphed, hour by hour, all million or so work-zone citations generated by the State Highway Administration between December 2009 and June 30. Over 24 hours, the tally rises and falls like a wave. The highest number of tickets was issued between 11 a.m. and noon - nearly 102,000.