Fast

It is the beginning of something called fast. It has nothing to do with speed, on the contrary, it is about not eating as much as usual and slowing down yor life before the greatest holiday: Easter.

In Brazil, they have a great carnival before fast. In Sweden, we have something much better during fast. It is derived from a plain bun which people were allowed to eat during fast, called semla (semlor in plural) from the latin word "simila" for white flour. However, people began hiding other food stuff inside their semlor. This has developed into the modern day semla, a bun with cardamom cut in a bottom and a top half, filled with almond paste and a lot of sweet, whipped cream. It is delicious!

From old tradition, this Tuesday is the first day to eat semlor. Then you can eat them until Easter.

Walking on Ice

I guess that it would sometimes be advantageous for humans to walk on four legs, like dogs do, instead of two. We walk quickly over ice on four paws, this is more than two. We can have more than one foot on the ice all the time. We walk without the need to worry about falling so far as humans who walk upright. On snow with an icy crust, we do not fall through the crust as easily as humans do - which is also due to our lesser weight.

Off course, humans have other advantages with their hands on their front legs/arms. The hands is something to envy a bit. Over all, however, I think dogs have more advantages than humans do.

Gold

The USA got more gold medals than Sweden, which makes Mum happy. However, aunt Linni says that Sweden's gold medal in men's ice hockey is the most valuable medal in the whole Olympic Games. Kuro says Norway will return in Vancouver 2010 and show the Swedes that it does not matter that you are lucky once in the Olympic Games, Norway is still the very best winter sports country in the world, not least counted per capita. Four years is a long time, especially in a dog's life, but we can look forward to it anyway.

Half Brother!

I have yet another brother. Now I am really the big sister. Dad has got a new son with a bitch on the west coast of Sweden. (Mum says she is not only a bitch in the litteral sense of the word, a female dog, she is also a bloody bitch stealing Dad from Mum.) This pup is consequently my half brother. I look forward to meeting him so I can teach him who is the boss.

Colombia

A couple of days ago, I wrote about all of the different countries in the Winter Olympic Games that I may hope will win. There was, however, one country I failed to mention. Paula was born in Colombia. For this reason, as an example, she and Daniel hope Juan Pablo Montoya will win the world championship of Formula 1 this year. I would hope for Colombian medals in the Winter Olympic Games, if it was not for the tiny little detail that there are no Colombians participating in the games. This may also be the reason that I did not think to mention Colombia in the earlier blog entry. It should not, by any means, be held against me in the question of my loyalty to Paula.

The national anthem of a gold medal winner's home country is played at the ceremony when the medals are given to the winners and first and second runners up. Paula likes some anthems more than others. She has thought of buying a Canadian shiba just because she likes the Canadian national anthem so much. However, she thinks the US anthem is the best, therefore, she is glad to have my American born mother, Sunni, and hope for American gold medals together with her.

Studies

Paula is studying at the university and has an exam today, Friday. Yesterday evening she and Daniel hardly did anything but talk about the subjects of the exam. The computer was turned off. How would I then write my Daily Hailey blog entry? I was a bit disappointed, but Paula's studies are important. I wish her good luck today!

Barking

I bark sometimes when there is noice outside. It is among my duties as a watch dog to tell everyone in my family that there might be something dangerous outside. Paula and Daniel does not always like it when I bark.

Sometimes I am the only one of us dogs who bark. Do the other dogs recognize differences between different sounds that I am yet too inexperienced to do? If this is the case, I am sure I will learn to do so too. I am clever enough to do that. In that case, Paula and Daniel will surely not ask me to keep quiet as often as they do now.

Upcoming General Election

Daniel did not come home until late Tuesday evening. The whole evening sort of got postponed and I did not post anything in my blog. Daniel was at a party meeting. He is member of one of the political parties represented in the Swedish parliament. This autumn there will be a general election to the parliament. There is general elections only once every fourth year, which means that dogs living the average 14 years will only live to see three general elections. This does not matter that much, since we are not allowed to vote anyway. As long as we get sufficient amounts of excercise, rest, food, water, and huge amounts of candy and treats, we do not really care, either.

Evening Walk With Paula

The evening walk felt a bit odd today. Normally, Daniel takes us out on evening walks, but tonight Paula did. It was not that we did not take the same route as usual, Daniel took us on another route yesterday evening as well. There is something undefinably different between the walks with Daniel and Paula. It is not a bad thing, on the contrary. I like it when every day is not like the other. Even this kind of small difference stimulates my sense of imagination. What will tomorrow be like?

The Dilemma of National Competition Once Again

Sweden and the USA were playing ice hockey tonight. Mummy Sunni wanted the USA to win, whereas auntie Linni wanted Sweden to win. Daddy Kuro could not care less, he says that ice hockey is no real sport - probably because Norway is lousy at it. I was stuck in between the opinions of the adult shiba inus, the same problem as I wrote about the other day. Would I care about the sport and the game, or would I not? If I would care, who would I hope would win?

Daniel bought a new battery to the car. That is something nobody can have different opinions about. The car needed a new battery, so everybody thought it was a good thing Daniel bought one. It is a good thing I do not have to ponder every question there is.

By the way, Sweden won, 2-1.

Curling

Japan's Ladies' Curling team in the Olympic Games won over Canada. This was a fenomenal victory, totally unexpected, Japan being the underdog. The game was played in the early morning, Italian and Swedish time, but was sent live in Japanese TV in the early evening. There were ten million viewers in Japan. Even though it was an unexpected victory for most people, shiba inus like me, my parents, and auntie know never to rule out the Japanese! A nation that has created such a great dog breed as the shiba inu can accomplish anything.

My breeder/owner has an official logotype!

Guess who it is LOL Yes - It's mummy Sunni. I bet I have the cutiest mummy in the whole wide world.

The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are interesting and exciting. I have trouble, though, in deciding whom to hope for in the games. I am a Swedish shiba, born and registered in Sweden and living here. However, I am actually half American, half Norwegian, since Mum is from the USA and Dad is from Norway. My parents are supporters of the competitors of their respective country, while only Auntie hope for Swedish victories. Auntie also has a weaknes for Australia, since her father has his roots there. Still, all of the adult shibas say it is nice if Japan wins, as well; our breed is, after all, from Japan. I wonder if there might not be any other country to support?

Cod

We do not get dog food every day. I like most other food better. Today, we got cod. Yes! Cod is a treat. Cod is such a great fish that it even has given name to a peninsula in my Mum's home country. You have surely heard of Cape Cod in Massachusetts on the Atlantic coast of America. Mum comes from the other side of America, near the Pacific Ocean, but she likes cod, nevertheless.

Rumour has it, cod begins to be extinct due to extensive fishing. Given the taste and quality of this fish, it must be in high demand, so I would not be surprised if the rumour was true. I would be sad, though, if all the cod in the world would disappear. Off course, the price should rise to much higher levels if the supply of cod would diminish before final extinction. This should save the cod from extinction.

The Vet

I did not have to go to the veterinarian today. Mum and Aunt Linni had to go, though. They got their regular vaccinating shots. I am sorry for them, but more happy for myself, since I did not have to go. I am not only nice and beautiful, this goes to prove I am healthy as well.

Meeting Jiro

Paula and I met my dear brother Jiro and his family today. Jiro has a good life. His humans are very nice people, but his "big brother" Kenzo thought I was a bit anoying at first. I managed to make friends with him later on. This is a good thing, because we will see each other again. I have a knack for making friends with other dogs and humans. Over all, I am a dog with a lot of talents.

Una Cerimonia d'Apertura di Passione

Or "An Opening Ceremony Full of Passion" in English for all of you readers who are don't familiar with the Italian language.

We had a pleasant evening today. Eating spaghetti Bolognese and looking at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games of 2006 in Turino, Italy. A magnificant show and a lot of good food too at home.

Mummy Paula was especially happy as one of her big idols, the world known tenor, signore Luciano Pavarotti sang an aria of Puccini. I was happy too because when Paula is happy, we shibas get a lot of treats.

Mummy Paula is sick.

But I'm not. I don't like it at all then Paula is sick. Despite my attemps to play, cuddle with her etc she only wants to sleep and get weel. Boring. But both mum Sunni, my dad Kuro and auntie Linni told me to cool down and relax too. Finally, I decided to crawl up into the bed and sleep on Paulas chest. We did so for about 2 hours. Suddenly, I realized how it feels to relax. I enjoyed it...a lot. So did Sunni and Linni who both snored next us to in the bed. Dad Kuro thought it were too much girls in the bed so he slept on the sofa instead.

Im getting older if I enjoy to sleep with the big girls. Yeah!

Smorgastarta?

There is a magnificent Swedish dish that I was introduced to today. I have not found any word for it in English. It is like a mix between a cake and a sandwich, made up of layers of bread interspaced with creamy, cheesy, salty filling and decorated with delicacies. This smörgåstårta (smorgastarta?) had schrimp and eggs in it. It was decorated with eggs, a great amount of schrimp, slices of cucumber and cheese, bits of tomatoes, and lettuce. I really liked it. In my mind, the only problem was that my piece was too small.

Losing the Super Bowl

This is old news today: Seattle Seahawks lost the Super Bowl against Pittsburg Steelers, the night between Sunday and Monday Swedish time. Mum explained the importance of this sports event to me today. I must have written earlier in my blog that Mum was born and brought up in Washington State in the USA. As such, she naturally hoped the Seahawks would win. Instead it was those lousy, no-good Steelers who won. I was not sure what Mum meant by saying "no-good", since the Steelers were obviously better when winning the Super Bowl, but Mum said this was an English expression I would understand when learing more about football.

My Bone Got Stolen

We got some candy bones this evening, to each shiba her or his bone. Actually, it was some kind of dental bones, but I liked my bone. Since I am smaller than the others it took me longer to eat it. I left the bone for a while and suddenly it was gone! Dad had stolen it. He took it with him up in the bed, where I cannot reach. Wasn't that mean? Dad just claimed that he needed more candy bone, since he is bigger than I am. I got back at him when I beat him to the newly filled water bowl later in the evening.

Swapping Bones

Paula and I went to Paula's sister and her dog, my dear friend Kesshi. It is always a pleasant experience seeing Kesshi. We were given bones to chew on. Occasionally, however, I believed Kesshi's bone would taste better than mine, while he would rather try mine. We swapped bones with each others many times. Kesshi thought this was just as good an idea as I did, there were no hard feelings as it may sometimes be when I want to try another bone than my own at home.

Things to Chew On, Things to Leave Alone

I have a lot of toys, and there are a lot of things looking like toys here in our home, despite not being toys. Sometimes, it is hard for me to tell the difference. Many toys are made of fabric, so are socks and other clothes that are not toys. At the same time, some old clothes are turned into toys by Paula and Daniel. Some wooden sticks are toys, while wooden furniture are not. What are toys are there to chew on, the other things are not. No wonder I happen to chew on some things that are not toys occasionally. Given this background, I believe I am innocent of any transgressions of the border between toys and other things. This is certainly true for any pup out there.

Cucumber

I like cucumber. Tonight at dinner at the coffee table, Paula had some deserted cucumber on her plate. Food is made to be eaten, so I helped Paula by reaching up and grabbing a bit of cucumber. She looked at me accusingly, despite the fact that I had actually helped her doing to the cucumber what it was there for. Paula said what I had done was wrong. I just have to take her word for it, because deep down in my heart (and stomach), I disagree.

A Wooden Stick

Dad was chewing on a wooden stick tonight. A very interesting stick. I watched him closely, trying to sneak up to him and take the stick. However, my dad is good at this game. When looking up from the stick, even when standing up beside the stick, he watched it from the corner of his eye. Slowly, oh so slowly, I crawled toward the stick, but dad saw me and quickly seized the stick again. I never got hold of the stick, but it was very exciting to try.