A Quite Quiet Sunday

We had a fairly calm and quiet Sunday today. This is good, since Sundays are supposed to be days of rest. Paula and Daniel were away for a while in the middle of the day, but that is all right. We dogs are all grown ups and know how to handle being without them at home. Paula and Daniel thinks it is a bit annoying that I usually barks when they leave, but this is not anything that I keep up for long. I just want to tell them that I do not want them to leave, especially not without me. There is a difference between finding it all right to be alone at home and liking it.

I got to go with Paula to her parents later in the afternoon. That was fun.

Paula Came Home

We cleaned the whole house today, to have it in great shape when Paula got home. It was really nice to see Paula again, as always. We had pizza for dinner. All in all, it was a day that I am rather pleased with. April did not do so well on the dog show in Norway, but this only goes to prove that Paula should have taken me instead.

Dog Show Without Me

Paula went to Norway for a dog show, but did not bring me. It is supposed to be April's turn in the show rings now. If I was sad yesterday, I am even more sad now. I want to go to dog shows. Dad did not get to go either, despite being born in Norway. We guess Paula thinks she can make it in Norway without Dad's expertise; after all, she has been in Norway many times before. However, Dad is not glad that he did not get to follow to see the land where he was born. We have to try to make it through the weekend anyway.

Things to Be Sad About

Sweden made it to the Euro 2008 in football in the final qualifying match yesterday. Dad is sad, though, because Norway did not make it.

April got to go with Paula to Mia and Kesshi. I am sad I did not get to go too. Auntie Linni is a bit sad that Paula did not stay at home.

Paula gave us food in the middle of the day. Mum is sad Daniel knows about this and will not give us more food. Mum loves food.

However, Mum could not care less about the qualifications to the Euro 2008. She does not care about sports where Americans do not participate.

On the other hand, we all have a lot of things to be happy about, too. So many things, in fact, that I will not enumerate them here.

At Paula's Grannie's

Paula, Daniel, April, and I went to Paula's grandmother Gullie today. She feels a little lonely, since she recently became a widow. She likes us dogs, but she said she is too old to be able to take care of a dog herself. Paula said that we could come to visit her often.

April, I, and the other dogs had bought a pair of socks for Gullie with toy animals' heads on them. They looked nice and were warm and comfortable. April thought they looked so much fun that she wanted to play with them, but it was not our socks anymore, so she could not. She did not quite get what it means to give something away, but maybe she learned it today. Gullie gave us some liver pate to eat, it was such a good treat that I took some of April's. That was only fair, to show her what it is like to be the victim when someone takes what is rightfully yours, just as would have been the case if April had taken Gullie's socks.

Requiescat in pace

V

Gunnar Nelvin

22nd of March 1918 - 26th of October 2007

Paula's grandfather

Always loved - never forgotten

Laid to rest today

A Population in Decline

The Japanese population is in decline and there are an increasing portion of elderly people. This is of great concern. If there are fewer Japanese humans, will there also be fewer Japanese dogs? It says in the article that I have linked to that, "in some suburbs, one young mother said, it was easier to buy clothes for the latest must-have accessory - a little dog - than for a small child." While it is not bad that dogs are a must-have, there is also something fundamentally wrong to a society where you buy clothes to your dogs and treat them as accessories. Also, if the population dwindles in size, there are less people who will become dog owners, if the percentage of dog owners will no rise very much, which I doubt it will. Since the largest population of Shiba Inus in the world is Japanese, this decline in the number of Japanese humans concerns me. I hope the Japanese will find solutions to this problem. They are smart people (as showed partly by their love of Shiba Inus) and I hope and believe some solutions will come.

New Stove

We bought a new stove today, but not from the store I comlained about yesterday. The stove looked fine when we got it from the store, but when Paula started to unwrap it, she saw that it was badly damaged under the wrapping. There were several large holes in the white paint. We could not know whether this reflected faults on the inside as well, chances are it did, and nevertheless, we did not want a stove that looked like that. Daniel called the store and got to go back and change the stove for another. We did not get any extra compensation, though. Well, we have a new stove now, and it works very well. Paula and Daniel cooked a nice dinner on it tonight.

Stove

I went with Daniel to buy a new stove today, but it was easier said than done. Stoves must be shipped and it can take up to a week. In the store where the stoves seemed to be cheapest, they did not have any list of the prices of the stoves not displayed on site. An employee in the store asked Daniel to go home and look up the prices on the Internet instead. Daniel did so, only to find that you have to order the stove in the store! What kind of service is that? The stove that seems to be the best buy comes from that store, but you would think they would have a little better service.

Bored

I have felt a little bored all evening. Paula went away to yet another dog show without me, but that is not the only reason. I have had troubles figuring out what to write in my blog tonight. I take pride in trying to keep this blog daily, in accordance to its name. Normally, it is rather easy. I find some news to comment or just comment on something that has happened to me during the day. Today, though, nothing special has happened to me and I did not feel like reading any news. It is just one of those days when I feel bored without really knowing why. I finally decided that this would be the subject of my blog post for today. It may be boring to read, but in that case, it is just a splendid way for you to get a feeling on what I have felt today. I have hopes for a better tomorrow, though.

Summit

The Japanese Prime Minister is visiting the US President in Washington. They are the most powerful leaders of two of the most important foreign countries in my life, my dog brees home country and my Mom's native country. It is widely known that US President George W Bush's father was President before, but perhaps less known that Japanese PM Yasuo Fukuda's father was PM before, in the 70's. It is not only monarchs' high positions in human society that are inherited. I believe it is only natural for the older generation to lay the best possible foundation for its children, thus enabling them to get to high positions as well. My parents have helped me a lot in life.

Lost Pants, Lost Lawsuit, Lost Job

This summer, I wrote in my blog about the American judge who lost a lawsuit about a pair of lost trousers. He did not have a life long appointment as a judge and it has now been confirmed that he did not get reappointed. His lawsuit on the trousers was dismissed by the judge hearing the case. Whether the lawsuit had anything to do with him not being reappointed is not clear from my news sources. It may have played a part, since it seemed like a rather frivolous lawsuit, thus putting his judgment into question.

The Heat Is On

The heat is on in our house again. It has been off since last week. The reason proved to be an electrical fault, probably due to the stove breaking down. I have not cared much, my coat is thick enough that I do not need much heat indoors. It is still better that the heat is on, because our humans feel better then, which makes them happier and that benefits all of the dogs in the family as well. I wish the heat will continue to work properly for very long now.

Away in the Evening

Paula went away from home during the day, and I was not allowed to come along. However, she came back and took me as her only company to go to her mother's house. It is boring not to get to follow, but nice to be selected the next time. I believe I am such a good company that I could come along every time, but Paula and Daniel want to make it even between us dogs. I guess that is OK.

Dog Camera

In Lancashire in England, some police dogs have cameras. These cameras are strapped to the dogs' heads and may help the police for instance during gun sieges. Follow the link to see a picture of this.

At first, I thought it would be nice to have a camera of my own. I could, for instance, film a dog show from my own perspective, granted that the judge would allow me to wear the camera. Perhaps cameras of this type will be on the market in a while. The downside is that it would probably be uncomfortable to wear such a camera on your head. On second thought, I believe I would not want one. I will leave it up to Daniel and Paula to keep taking my pictures at dog shows.

Snow and Extended Parliament Session

We got some snow this evening. It is not more than a centimetre, so it is not enough to play around in. Since it is so little, I think it is of no use what so ever. It might as well have come as rain, like that which fell earlier today.

In Japan, the Parliament has extended its current session by 35 days. It was supposed to end this Saturday, but will go on so that there can be a vote on a proposal to extend a Japanese refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that helps the US troops there who wage a war against terrorists. The opposition, which has the majority in the upper house of parliament, is opposed to this mission and claims it violates the pacifistic constitution of Japan. There are two opposing interests here for me: to uphold the constitution - if it is to be interpreted in the way the opposition believes - or to help the USA to fight terrorists. I am glad the decision is not up to me.

Dogs Honoured in Nepal

For the moment, I would like to be in Nepal in central Asia. They have a national festivity there where dogs are specially honoured on the second day of the feast. Do I need to say more?

Another Japanese Formula 1 Driver

The Japanese racer Kazuki Nakajima has signed for Williams for the 2008 season, after a great debute in the last race of this year. We wish him good luck! As Shiba Inus, we always hope for the Japanese drivers. We hope for Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto too, but they drive in cars that are not as good as Williams. In a team like Williams, Kazuki Nakajima has the opportunity to make good results.

Just Another Day

It is Tuesday, and I don't know what to say. Nothing in particular has happened in my life today.

We could, of course, celebrate the Swedish victory in the battle of Lützen of the 6th of November 1632, but the Gustavus Adolphus cakes must have been sold out when Paula went to the grocery store rather late in the afternoon. Daniel says this tend to happen, stores often do not stock enough such cakes to match the demand. Well, we had a nice evening anyway.

A Visit

Paula, Daniel, April, Mum, and I visited Mia and Kesshi tonight. Daniel cooked dinner. The stove in our house is very old and broke this weekend.

Sweden is mentioned in international news today, because the legendary footballer and football coach Nils Liedholm has passed away at an age of 85. He was four years younger than Paula's grandfather.

In Kopparberg

We went to Kopparberg today, Paula, Daniel, April and I, together with Paula's mother. Kopparberg is about 80 km north of Örebro. We went there to visit Mia's boyfriend Emil. Mia and Kesshi were there when we arrived, so April and I had him to play with. Emil's parents were there too, and his mother gave us some dog candy. There is a woman who knows how to win a dog's heart. Over all, it was a nice stay, even though I did not get to taste the nice looking smörgåstårta that the humans had to eat. I would consider going there again.

Leaves and Wood

Daniel came home early today. He only worked for half a day, since it is All Saints' Day this weekend. It is fitting to remember the deceased loved ones when the nature around us is dying in the late autumn. For the first time, there is one deceased loved one that I can remember: Paula's grandfather. He held me in his hands when I was just a day old, though that is something that has been explained to me later. We will commemorate him and others this weekend.

Daniel spent the afternoon in the garden, raking leaves that had fallen from the trees. After a while, the handle of our old rake broke. He continued for a while, then he went on to chopping wood. It is nice to have a lot of chopped wood, if the winter will be cold. The wood, which comes from dead trees, will warm our bodies like the memories of our beloved ones will warm our souls.

Cold Outside, Warm Inside

It is November, late autumn, and the days are getting colder. Paula and Daniel has started to make fires in our stove. It is cosy and makes the inside of our house warmer. I hope there will be snow soon. Snow is the best thing about winter, it is so fun to play in. Daniel wish to finish raking the leaves from the garden before the snow falls, but that is not such a big concern for me. We will have to see if it will be a cold winter or not. Regardless, it will be warm in our home.