Happy Birthday and a Happy New Year!

It is New Year's Eve. At midnight, we enter 2016.

While I want to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year, there is something else that is more important for me personally this day. Seven years ago today, my first puppy litter was born. From me and their daddy Calvin — we would like to wish Aangenaam A Hero Comes Home "Bagus" and Aangenaam Gentleman As She Goes "Meja" a Happy birthday!

Busy, but Fun

We have had a fun day today. Busy, but fun.

Early in the afternoon, a family came home to us, who are interested in getting a Shiba. I believed we strengthened them in their belief that Shiba is the breed for them. This is not hard, Shiba is a great breed for most humans.

In the evening, Mia, Stefan, and Arvid came by. Arvid is a very nice young human, less than a year old. He and I had a good time. I like him a lot.

It is nice to have time for visitors.

A Hero's Farewell

Please watch this moving short movie from the burial of a police dog in America. It is a farewell suitable for a hero.

Kissing Under Mistletoe

Some human behaviour is strange. I have wondered why humans in the English speaking part of the world hang up mistletoes at Christmas, expectiong couples who meet under them to kiss each other. I read an an article promising to explain this, but did not get any answer. There were a lot of facts about the plant and some facts about old folklore about the plant, including a story about an old habit involving mistletoes and kissing. Still, there was nothing in the article explaining the modern habit with the mistletoe. It is a good thing this mistletoe kissing culture is not a part of Swedish traditions. I would be more annoyed with not knowing the background if it was.

If you happen to know the reasons for kissing under the mistletoe, please write a comment about it.

The Godfather

Paula and Daniel watched the movie The Godfather tonight. They say it is the best movie ever made. I do not understand its greatness, because there there are no dogs in it.

Snow

Hello, Orange here!

Snow is falling , turning the whole world white. This is perfect for red and for black and tan dogs. We enjoy it immensely.

The darker winter night turns light with snow on the ground, on the roofs and trees. It makes us happier when the surroundings lights up with the snow.

Full Moon Christmas

Hello, Karstuhl here!

This has been a nice Christmas. One of the reasons is that there has been a full Moon in the sky. This is rare just at Christmas, since the dates for full Moons vary. Normally, we can just see a full Moon on TV on Christmas Eve, at the end of the Disney short movie about Santa Claus.

The full Moon gives the night sky and the landscape a greatness suitable for Christmas. This is especially good since there has been no snow this year.

I also like the full Moon, because my official name is Aangenaam Full Moon Eclipse. There has been no eclipse this time, but a full Moon is great as it is.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Stockholm

Paula, Daniel, and I went to Stockholm today, where we celebrated Christmas with Daniel's parentes. Daniel's sister Linda, brother Elias, and brother's Chihuahua Sheldon were there as well. I have met Sheldon before, a young ladd who wanted sausage as much as I did. We got good food. It was fun. I also felt special for being the only dog from us who came there. I hope Sheldon liked the Christmas present he got from us.

Christmas Eve

It is Christmas Eve, and we did get saknades to ett. Can you have better Christmas candy? Saknades are like the concentrate of meat taste and nice spices, neatly packad in small pieces and with a great texture. I wish all of you had an equally tasty dinner this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!

Candy in the Making

On the night before Christmas Eve, it is quite all right to stay up late to make Christmas candy.

Daniel is making his as I am writing this blog entry. He has chocolate on his candy. This is not nice to us dogs, since chocolate contains things toxic to dogs, things that our metabolism cannot digest properly, as the metabolism of humans can.

On the other paw, there are many other kinds of Christmas candy being prepared for us. We also got extra tasty food today, with a lot of minced meat. Regardless of the chocolate Christmas candy, you can see that we will have a lot to eat for the celebration of Christmas as well. We are looking forward to it. Celebrations is always fun. Celebrating the birth of Christ the Saviour is even better. I hope we will get a lot of sausage tomorrow.

Preparations

We have spent much of the day cleaning and wrapping Christmas gifts. Christmas is nice, even when you are preparing for it.

You may wonder what I have got for Christmas gifts for others. I will not tell anything about it in my blog, however. The blog is public, so anyone can read it, including those who will teceive the gifts. It must remain secrets until Christmas and the giving of gifts. It is no fun otherwise.

Good Deed

We hard of a Coffee shop in Greece today, which is close at night, but they OpenOffice up for strax dogs when it is darker and cold outside. The dogs are allowing to slemproppen in the soft sofas of the Coffee shop. This is proof of a good hearted Coffee shop proprietor.  This is a good deed, night after night. In Sweden, our health regultions would probably put an end to this. We are not so animal fiender in every way in this country.

Christmas Coffee

Paula and Daniel was at Christmas coffee at Paula's parents. Neither I, nor anyone of the other dogs, were there. This is no loss, coffee is not that tasty anyway. Apparently, they served cakes and fruit salad with the coffee, while I would have liked bacon or sausages better.

We had a separate little celebration of the fourth Sunday in Advent later in the evening instead, with Paula and Daniel, when they were home again.

We wish Merry Christmas to all of the people who were at the Christmas coffee. Paula's parents are good friends of ours, we will meet them soon under other circumstances.

Warm December

It does not look like we will have a white Christmas. It was 8 degrees above the freezing point today. We have had green Christmases before, but I want the white snow for the light and to play in. It is just not the same without snow. I hope something unpredicted will happen and that snow will fall before Christmas Eve.

Gifts

Christmas is coming, and a lot of us wonder what to get to give to our loved ones. I have seen articles and advertisements with ideas for gifts to many different categories of humans. There have been hardly any ideas about gifts for dogs, though. Sure, dog candy is always welcome, but I would like to read about other ideas. It would be nice to surprise my dog friends with something totally unexpected. Dog candy would never be unexpected, however welcome it would be. I guess I will have to brainstorm some more.

Norway Is Great

For the twelfth year in a row, the United Nations has ranked Norway the best country in the world to live in. I am not surprised, my Dad always praised Norway, the country of his birth.

Sure, there are disadvantages, like the high taxes and high prices on many things. When I have visited Norway, I have still found it to be a friendly and beautiful country. There cannot be a country with just advantages. Wherever you look, you can find disadvantages, but let's look at the advantages. Norway is a peaceful, prosperous, rich kingdom with a beautiful nature, friendly humans and dogs and a great cross country skiing national team. It is a great winter sport nation, even though Sweden usually defeat Norway in ice hockey. There is also a great Shiba kennel in Bergen, where Dad was born. My daughter Anzu lives in Bergen and has a nice life there.

If I could not live in Sweden anymore, I think Norway would be a good alternative.

A Short Visit

Daniel and I walked over to Paula's parents' house tonight. Paula was already there, having helped with Christmas preparations. It is always nice to visit Paula's parents. It is not far, but within a comfortable walking distance. It is still far enough that we do not get there every day.

Daniel was given a little food. I was not. I had had food already, but I could have had more, of course. You are not a true dog, if you cannot eat more, if given the chance.

Paula had taken the car earlier in the day, so we went home by car. This was comfortable, but I could have walked. Unfortunately, Paula still has a sore knee after being hit by a car last month, so she preferred going by car. She will be fine, but it might take some time. We will get walks with Daniel anyway.

Moose

We got parts of moose meat in our food today. This is great food.

Paula's father Nils-Olov participates in moose hunts every autumn. He gets a lot of meat from this, some of which he gives to us dogs. This is really nice of him. We could not think of any better present.

Frost

It is cold today. Winter is here, probably to stay.

Another Day at the Show

Paula went to Stockholm and the dog show again today. She did not bring any dogs, which is understandable, because no spitz breeds participated today. She was there with friends who have other breeds, though. I think this is unnecessary. Paula had a great time, however, and I guess this is what matters. Daniel was at home with us, we had a calm and nice day together.

Great Competition

Sweden has a great Shiba population. It was one of the first countries in Europe where there were Shibas and there is a relatively large number of Shibas, Shiba humans, and Shiba breeders here. This is something to be proud of. It also means there are more Shibas of great quality.

At the dog show in Stockholm today, both Gunde and I had more Shibas to compete against than we did in Helsinki last weekend. The quality was excellent over all. Gunde won CAC, but became second best male veteran. I also won CAC, but became third best female veteran. You can always have a slightly different opinion than the judge, I would rather have seen Gunde as class winner, but I cannot say it was unfair that those who did win got the veteran winner titles. Losing to other excellent dogs is alright.

Polly also won CAC, but was fourth in champion class.

Stockholm Show

The biggest and most important event of the year in Sweden takes place in Stockholm this weekend: the Swedish Kennel Club annual international dog show. We will go there and compete.

You did not really think the Nobel Prize ceremony yesterday was bigger, did you? The final of the Swedish ice hockey championships or the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest qualification round are not bigger either. There are much more people participating in this upcoming dog show. There are also dogs, of course, which the aforementioned events lack altogether. Dogs are an essential part of society, no event can be truly great without dogs. All dogs must also be counted in the total number of individuals in every event. The dog show this weekend is the greatest event of the year.

If Gunde and I are lucky, we will each win another set of winner titles tomorrow. Nobody can ever take a victory in a dog show for granted, but we will do our best to win.

Japan Withdraws

Japan withdraws from their spot in the IIHF U20 world championship, division IB. The five remaining teams will still play the tournament, the winner will advance to the higher IA division and Japan will be relegated.

I am disappointed with Japan. Having lived all my life in Sweden, I am interested in ice hockey, but I want Japan to succeed almost as much as Sweden. A country which does not even participate cannot succeed, however.

I do not know what reason the Japanese ice hockey federation might have had for withdrawing. Whatever reason, I am disappointed. Is it too costly going from Japan to France? Perhaps it is, but it should not be. Are there not enough fans in Japan to give the ice hockey federation sponsor money? With one of the most exciting sports, there should be, but what could I do? No matter how much money I would have, it is too late now.

Early Morning

once in a while, Daniel leave for work much earlier than usually. This is when he goes away to other places for meetings. He had a meeting in Stockholm this morning. When this is the case, we take the morning walk earlier than we usually do. This is no problems for us dogs, we can go back to sleep and still fulfill our duties as pet dogs. Daniel may sleep on the train, if he goes by train, but not on the meeting.

I guess it is fun travelling, anyway. I think it is, but then again, I usually go to dog shows, which is funnier than work related meetings.

Another Painting Under Mona Lisa?

One of the most known art works in the world, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, may have another painting under it. The great artist may have used an old painting and re-painted it with Mona Lisa.

Some people are sceptical about the findings. For my part, I am mostly disappointed that the picture of the alleged overpainted portrait looks much the same as Mona Lisa. It would have been a greater story, had the hidden painting shown something altogether different. What if Leonardo da Vinci would have hidden the painting of a dog? This would have been more exciting.

More research needs to be done. The museum where the painting is, the Louvre on Paris, has not yet made any comments. I guess they want to know more before saying anything. I think this is the right strategy for them. Meanwhile, as an amateur, I can speculate if I want to. I think the over painted painting is that of the same person as the famous Mona Lisa. In time, we will get to know.

Home, Sweet Home

I love going to dog shows. I really loved our journey to Finland and the adventures we had there. Regardless of all this, there is no place like home. It felt great being back home again. Just this day, I have taken it easy, thinking that I do not want to go away like I did this weekend ever again. Still, I know I actually want to go to more dog shows, showing the world who I am in the show ring over and over again, and visiting more cities and towns close to showgrounds.

Dog show journeys are the best, even though resting for a day or so afterwards is also great. Maybe I am getting old, thinking like this. So be it, I am sure not young any longer, and I do compete as a veteran. Life is great, as long as I can go to dog ahows once in a while.

Finnish Veteran Winner

Both Gunde and I became Finnish Veteran Winners on the Sunday dog show. Gunde beat me to the Best of Breed Veteran title. There is nothing more to say about that.

Helsinki Veteran Winner

My entry into the showring resulted in success. I was best veteran among the Shiba bitches, thereby winning the Helsinki Veteran Winner 2015 title. This will be added to my other dog show titles. I am really proud of it.

Mum won quite a few veteran winner titles. I am following in her paw steps. This would have made her proud. I am continuing a great family tradition, which makes this title all the sweeter.

Gunde also won a veteran winner title, as the best male veteran. I beat him to the Best of Breed Veteran prize, however. The judge in the veteran final saw greater quality in veteran winners of other breeds, but I was happy to visit the finals anyway.

Different Time Zone

Finland lies east of Sweden. When it was part of the Swedish Kingdom, from ancient times until 1809, it was sometimes called the eastern half of the realm. This means that the Sun rises and sets earlier in Finland than in Sweden every day. Finland has a time zone which is one hour earlier than Sweden. I am still not used to this, which is the reason this blog entry gets the wrong date. I wrote it late at night, just past midnight, Eastern European Time, which is the time zone of Finland.

Apart from this little mistake due to time zones, Finland is a land that I like. We have a nice hotel room in central Helsinki and a nice park for walks just across the street. I feel energized for the show tomorrow. It will be fun.

Long Wait

We had to wait seemingly forever before we could board the ferry to Finland. Oh, how tiresome!

Packing

We have been busy packing and preparing for a trip to a dog show this weekend. I am coming along, which makes me very happy. I have participated enthusiastically in the packing, cleaning, and other preparations necessary.

The show is in Helsinki. We will go by car and ferry. This is always exciting. It is nice to participate in dog shows abroad, showing them how nice dogs there are in Sweden.

Stockholm in the World

The capital of Sweden is a cool place, with a great growth rate. This is reflected in this article, which shows an interesting foreign view of Stockholm.

Daniel is originally from Stockholm. We have visited his family members who still lives there. It is a great city. I would not want to move, though. I find our home town Örebro great enough. We have a large property close to the town centre, which would not be possible in the much bigger city of Stockholm. It is still interesting to read about Stockholm.

No German

Hallo, Morran hier!

Hailey promised me I could write a blog entry in her blog. I wanted to use it to practice my German. I am of a German breed, Affenpinscher, so My mother taught me some basic German. Hailey would not have it, though. She said this blog is in English for as many readers as possible to enjoy. If I want to write in German, I have to start a blog of my own, she said. Well, perhaps I will. I have not decided yet. In the meantime, I write in English. I have American lines in my pedigree and Hailey has also taught me some, so it is not that hard. If you want to see a little German, I was allowed to greet the readers in German, at least. There you have it. I may be back in this blog, it was fun writing one entry.

A Little Snow

When we woke up this morning, there was snow on the ground. This is the second time this season we have had snow. It makes the world look a bit brighter, despite the long nights of late November. I like that. Add the many lights of the chandeliers in the windows at this time of the year, and the world is a beautiful place to be in.

So far, the snow has not been deep enough to play in. I may be ten years old, but I do not think you can ever be too old to play in deep snow. We will see when we get more snow. It is bound to happen some time in the season. I am looking forward to it.

Countdown to Christmas

Hello, Orange here!

This Sunday is the first of the four Sundays before Christmas Day. Thus, it is the start of the countdown to Christmas. It is an exciting time. Christmas is nice, because it is a time for great food.

The only thing I think is a little negativa about Christmas are the colours. Christmas is a red and green holiday, together with the white of show. The other great holiday, Eastern, is purpose and yellow. I would like to have an orange holiday. In American, Halloween is Orange due to the colour of pumparna, but this is not a Swedish holiday. Is there a Swedish holiday that has an orange colour definitivt it? I would like to think so, but I do not know of any. Please tell me, if you know of any.

Meanwhile, I will enjoy the countdown to Christmas, and Christmas itself.

Popsicle

I got a popsicle late this Evelina. Popsicle are good. I shade the tasty for popsicle with Paula. This is good, because she often make sure we have popsicle in the freezer.

Daniel likes ice cream more than popsicles. Sometimes, he eats ice cream while Paula eats a popsicle. I believe I like popsicles better, even though I like ice cream too.

Jubilee

On the 27th of October 2005, I wrote my very first blog entry. I forgot to mention it, when the blog was ten years old. Now the blog is ten years and one month old. Can I have a jubilee now instead?

It has been an eventful life, documented in my blog. I cannot remember everything, but the blog is a good aid for my memory. I have always had the aim to keep it daily, as is its name, but I have not managed to do this all the time. Nevertheless, I think there are a good amount of blog posts throughout the years that the blog has been in existence.

Sometimes, I wish I had more readers. My blog host provides me with statistical information on how many readers I have. The more readers there are, the more your work pays off, doesn't it? On the other hand, I do not write this blog for the purpose of reaching a lot of readers. The greater purpose is to reach the readers who are really interested in my life and my thoughts on this life of mine and the occasional news article I write about. Quality is more important than quantity, not only for what is written, but also for the readers. I like that Paula, Daniel, and their family members often read my blog. I also like that my closest dog friends read it, some of whom help me write it from time to time. I like all of my readers, but the readers who are also dear friends of me in real life have a special place in my heart.

I wish all of you will continue to read my blog. I will continue writing it for as long as I can. When I am no longer around in this life, my daughter Karstuhl will take over. Stay tuned, there are a lot of blog posts still to come!

Back Home

Paula came back home late last night. This morning, she had to go to the hospital again, but this time the problem was solved in a day. She is feeling much better now, and we are all happy for her. I would not want anyone to be hit by a car, like Paula was.

Champions League

We are watching a football game on TV tonight, Malmö from Sweden plays Paris SG from France. We root for Malmö, but Paris has a significantly better team.

It is a game in the most prominent tournament for football clubs in the world, the European Champions League. For Malmö, it is a great achievement just to get this far. Still, they should not just settle for this achievement. The Malmö defence is not good enough. In half time, Paris has a 2-0 lead. Malmö has had some chances, but it is not sufficient. If I would bet on the game now, it would be on an even bigger Paris victory.

Thaw

We got the first snow of the season four days ago. It is now melting away. I guess it is just too early in the season for winter to come permanently. We usually do not get long term winter weather until well into December.

In old times, November was called Winter Month in Sweden. I wonder why. It is seldom winter throughout November, even though winter can make a visit, like it has the last couple of days. Winters would not have been much different back then. I may have to look into this, but it will have to wait for another day. Stay tuned to my blog, and you may get to read what I find out.

Hospital on Fire

A fire raged this afternoon in one of the most prominent hospitals in Sweden. All of the patients in the main building were evacuated and all electricity went out in the whole hospital. Many patients will be transferred from this hospital, in Strömsholm, to a nearby hospital in Västerås. Other patients were allowed to go home.

You may wonder why I do not write "veterinary hospital", but just hospital. This is because I think veterinary hospitals are the general kind of hospital, with their expertise in treating patients from many different species. There are other hospitals which only treat humans. I think these have a more narrow field of expertise, hence, I call them "human hospitals". Humans do often put themselves up as the norm. It is their civilisation that has given us both kinds of hospitals, bit I still think it is best to reserve the plain word "hospital" for the more general institution that a veterinary hospital is.

I hope everything goes well for the patients.

Feeling Better

Paula has left the hospital. She is feeling better. This makes us all feel better. She is still not at home, though, having decided to stay the night at her sister Mia's place. I guess she had an urge to see my granddaughter Soya, who lives there.

Horrible Accident

When Paula was walking to her car yesterday night to drive home from work, she crossed the street on a zebra crossing, but was hit by a fast moving car. She is still in the hospital. She did not break any bones, everything was clear at x-ray examination, but she was very bruised and got a concusion. While she does want to get home, and we would like for her to come home, it is for the best that she stays at the hospital for as long as it takes for her to get well again. Meanwhile, we are holding down the fort at home.

Cakes On TV

We watched a baking competition show on TV tonight. I really do not see the point. You cannot smell it, you cannot taste it, you certainly cannot eat any of the cakes. Then what really is the point of it? I would rather watch Paula or Daniel bake something in our kitchen, smelling it and standing the chance of tasting it. TV shows are weird sometimes.

Diesel, Anti Terrorist Heroine

The Paris police dog Diesel was fighting terrorists today, but was killed by them. She truly died a heroine's death. I wish she would have lived to see the terrorists being taken care of by the police.

Dogs often do a lot for the benefit of mankind, civilisation, and what is right. I do think these terrorists were the kind of Middle Eastern religiois fundamentalists who hate dogs. Showing them how to mourn a dog who died fighting them may, this, teach them a well needed lesson. I am afraid they will refuse to learn anything from this lesson, but I hope they will.

Qualified

Sweden is now qualified to the Euro 2016 football championship. The play off games against Denmark were well played. This is great. Now it will be more interesting following the games of the championship next year.

I hope for the best in the championship, but I think other teams will play the final games and fight for the gold medals. Sweden has a chance now, but it is slim. Still, it is better than nothing.

One Minute of Silence

We observed one minute of silence at noon today, for the victims of the terror attacks in Paris last Friday. The leaders of the EU invited everybody to participate, and we did.

Paris is a great city, capital of France, which is home country of Poodles and many other dog breeds. I have never been to Paris, but Mom was there at the World Dog Show in 2011. She told me a lot about it after coming back home.

I hope the victims may rest in peace.

Waffles

Paula made waffles for dinner. I got to taste a little. Waffles are tasty food.

Some would say meat is the healthiest food for dogs, and I would actually agree, but there are so many other things you can eat that are also very tasty. You must not eat just dog food or just meat. It is nice to vary your diet.

Waffles is a very nice variation. We also had some jam and whipped cream to the waffles. It made them even tastier.

Black Armbands

Sweden beat Denmark 2-1 in the first of two play off games for qualifying to the Euro 2016 tournament. Both teams and the referees wore black armbands, symbolising sorrow for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris Friday night. This was a fine gesture, I think.

Shootings in Paris

What is wrong with the World? What is wrong with humanity? Why do humans have to shoot and kill other humans? They did in Paris tonight. I do not understand it. Dogs can be angry with each other, but we never kill for no reason. Why do some humans do this?

Coronation Day

On the 12th of November 1990, twentyfive years ago today, Emperor Akihito was enthroned in a traditional ceremony in Tokyo. The really traditional site for this would have been in Kyoto. Still, the ceremony was traditional. In Europe, this would have been a coronation, but I believe the Emperor of Japan does not have a crown of European kind. He is the head of the oldest monarchy alive in the world today, dating back at least to around 600 B.C. Shibas were around back then, as well.

Armistice Day

On the 11th of November, at 11 o'clock, the guns turned silent on the Western Front in 1918. The First World War was over. A lot was lost through this war, not just the lives of soldiers and dogs in military service. It was the end of an older, more cultivated era. Gone were the monarchies, replaced with the horrors of communism in some countries, more ordinary socialism in others. One could wish this war would never have started, but it is a day to commemorate that the worst madness was over. This day is today.

Ice Cream for Dogs!

There is one thing I would really like to try, the ice cream specially made for dogs by Hugo & Celine. They have ice Cream with salmon flavour and liver flavour on the menu. This sounds delicious. I like ice cream, I like salmon, I like liver. What could possibly go wrong?

So far, the company sells its ice cream in Stockholm and close surroundings of this city, but I hope they will expand.

The Most Wolflike Breed

According to a recent study published in National Geographic, Shiba is the dog breed which resembles the wolf the most. This is quite cool. It is like we are closest to the original dog. If there would be a modern dog which would be the mold from which other dogs would be made, it would be us. It is yet another reason we Shibas are the best, a clear and simple reason. The original and best. I like that.

Father's Day

Hello, Karstuhl here!

This is Father's Day in Sweden. This year is the first year when I cannot celebrate my Father directly, since he left us earlier this year. Still, I can commemorate his memory.

Dogs normally also have a human "Father". In our case, this is Daniel. We can celebrate him as well, and we have, today.

Daniel also congratulated his father, and Paula congratulated her.

Paula in the Kennel Club Magazine

The latest issue of the magazine of the Swedish Kennel Club, Hundsport, came to us today. Paula is featured there, together with our Affenpinscher Morran. This is because Affenpinscher is the featured breed in this issue.

This is not the first time Paula is featured in this magazine. She was on a picture with me, when I had won my Best in Show Puppy title in 2005. I believe this was a little better way of being featured in the magazine. A show victory is always something else.

Anzu at a Funeral

My dear daughter Anzu, the one who lives in Bergen, Norway, has lost her human. He was an old man even when Anzu moved to him, but he has had friends who has had Anzu at their home many times. Anzu knows them and now she has moved in with them permanently.

Today was the funeral of Anzu's human. Anzu was there. Dogs are seldom at funerals. We are not always welcome to ceremonies in churches. Given how much Anzu and her old human loved each other, I believe it was highly appropriate that Anzu was there at the funeral. It was a fine gesture towards her and to the memory of her human.

If a human who was this important to me would pass away, God forbid, I would also want to be there at the funeral.

Electricity

Electricity is a good thing, when it is harnessed by humans. We have electric light, electric heating, electric communication devices, electric freezers and so on. It helps making life quite easy.

In the early evening today, not long after sunset, all electric appliances in our home stopped functioning. The street lights and the lights in the windows of our neighbours went out as well.

Daniel started a fire, which gave us a little light in the living room. It was actually quite cozy there for a while. It was not long before the electricity came back, which we are grateful for. While it can be cozy and almost adventturous to be out of electricity for a little while, it also makes you think about how much we depend upon electricity in our daily lives. I would not want to be without it for any longer period that the one we had tonight. The control of electric power is a great thing, indeed.

Silly Documentaries

They broadcast a lot of unnecessary, downright silly, documentaries on TLC. Late tonight was a documentary on humans giving birth. Is this not something a really huge part of humanity already has personal experience of? Many of those who do not, have no interest in getting children, anyway. It would have been better to show a documentary on dogs giving birth. This would not have taught me much, of course, since I have given birth to many puppy litters already. It would, however, be educational for a lot of humans, most of whom do not know anything about dog breeding. A good documentary on this would be far from silly.

Facts on Good Food

Here is an article on good food. There are many people warning others about processed food like bacon and many other edible things. Read this article, and think about it. Good food is not so bad for you as some people want you to believe.

So, we can eat bacon with good conscience. It is not so bad for us, and it is very tasty. I love bacon and I will keep eating it as often as I get it. Some people warning others, with little if any facts behind them, would perhaps feel ashamed for themselves. The rest of us can eat bacon all we want.

Waiting

We are up late this Sunday, waiting for Paula, Gunde, and Morran to come back home from a dog show in Denmark. I would have loved to come along, but this late on a Sunday evening, I am glad I am home. Dog shows are great, but the long journeys home may be tiresome. We also heard they had a flat tyre, which made them late. This is supposed to be dealt with now.

I hope we do not have to wait much longer. It is almost midnight now and I feel tired. Still, I want to be awake and grre them when they arrive home. We have to see if I fall asleep anyway...

Silver

We hoped Australia would win the gold in the Rugby World Cup, it being the home country of late Auntie Linni's father. This was not to be, however, as New Zealand were playing considerably better. You have to give the New Zealanders this, they deserved the victory.

Late at night, the James Bond movie Skyfall was on. We did not watch it to the end, because we were tired. Daniel switched the TV off. Javi was annoyed, he wanted to watch the whole movie. He claims it is "his" movie, because his name comes from it: Aangenaam Skyfall. I tend to disagree. My name is MultiCh Aangenaam Lunar Eclips, this does not mean Lunar eclipses are mine. Well, young dogs have so many weird ideas. It is a good thing I can shape things up.

Bronze

Hello, Orange here!

The bronze game of the Rugby World Cup was played today. We rooted for South Africa against Argentina. For some of us, it was just because it is more exciting if you root for either of the teams. Others thought of our kennel prefix Aangenaam, which is a word Paula found in the South African language Afrikaans. I was probably most eager for South Africa to win. This is because there is a great river and a part of the land in South Africa which is called Oranje. Of course I must give the South African team my support under these circumstances.

It was a good game, but one which South Africa won comfortably. I like this. Tomorrow afretnoon we will see the final, Australia versus New Zealand. This is something to look forward to.

Good Bye to Old Things

This morning, Daniel went off with garbage, among this was damaged bricka from the old chimney, the one that was replaced last week. Apparently, you can only dump garbage like this between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. where we live, so he did it before work instead of after work. I say it is good riddance.

Trophies

Hello, Karstuhl here!

A friend of Paula came by tonight with a cardboard box of trophies. This weekend, Paula is going to Denmark with some of us dogs for a dog show. The trophies will get a ride there in our car. I do not really know the purpose of the trophies. They were not for me, however, no matter how much I would earn to get some trophies. I am not going to go to Denmark. Not that this would do me less worthy of a trophy, but I will not compete in anything. On the other hand, I know the excellence of myself without competing or getting trophies. Oh well, I hope some worthy dogs will get the trophies anyway. Perhaps one of the dogs here that will go to Denmark can win one and bring it back here? I would like that. I would then have a little piece of the honour, because I always work to inspire those who do compete. This would be nice.

Fire

Humans can control fire. This is one of the first things wolves learned, when rebranding themselves as dogs and teaming up with humans. Fire gives warmth, light, and cooked meals, to the advantage of both dogs and humans.

In our house, Paula and Daniel has had a new fireplace installed. It was approved by the authorities today and we lit the first fire in it tonight. It is easier to work with than the old, slightly torned fireplace. It also gives better heat and more light. I like it. I wish for all dogs to have a cozy fireplace in their home.

Full Moon

Now there is a full Moon again. The Moon has went around Earth once since the Lunar eclipse. There is no eclipse this time, however. Not much to write about, then. We can see the full Moon every month, as long as there is not overcast weather. The eclipse is a much more rare occurence. If there is a Lunar eclipse, it is news.

Then again, if you want to see a Lunar Eclips, go see me on the next dog show I participate in, or invite me for some good meat, and I will come. A true Lunar Eclips is dark, because of a black and tan coat. I have that from my father. Some people would say I am a more spectacular sight than any Lunar eclipse, but I do not want to be a judge of this. If you would meet me, you can make up your mind yourself. Maybe we will meet in the future.

Worried

We were worried about Calvin this afternoon. He was not feeling well, his stomach was hard to the touch. Daniel took him to the veterinarian, where he was examined. Fortunately, there was nothing seriously wrong with Calvin. All of the samples of his blood showed normal values. He could come home right away with some painkillers, that was all. We have to watch Calvin carefully for a few days, but if he just returns to his normal personality, we do not need to worry anymore. This is good, we want to have Calvin in the happy way he usually is.

Orange Wine

Hello, Orange here!

Wine comes in different colours. Most are red or white. Then there are the rosé wines, which are pink. A few wines are called grey - or gris in French, where they are made - though they are basically white wines.

What I did not know, however, is that there are also orange wines. These are made by a very old process from Georgia in Caucasia, and the process have recently started to spread around the world. The orange wines are made from the green grapes that you would normally use to make white wine, but the grapes are not peeled and the wine is made in much the same way as red wine.

I do not normally drink wine. If I could taste some orange wine, however, I think I would. It feels like it would suit me to have a taste of a form of wine of the colour that is also my name. If the smell would not invite me to taste, however, it would at least be interesting to see the wine and its orange colour. Anything orange looks nice, you know.

Catching Cheese

Humans often like to watch dogs doing tricks. There is one trick I am quite good at. When we were at Paula's parets' place tonight, I was the star of a little show, performing this trick. It is catching cheese. paula throws pieces of cheese, that I catch in flight. Then I eat the cheese. It is a really rewarding trick. I like it very much. It is noce to perform and cheese is tasty. The audience love to watch, roo, so it is a win-win situation of the best kind. I just wish I could perform like this more often, because cheese is so tasty. Maybe there will be another performance in the near future. I hope it will.

Rain

Autumn is normally a rainy season. This autumn, however, we have had many weeks without any rain. Today was the first time in a long while when rain fell. I normally do not like rain, but we need rain to fill up the underground water reservoirs and get more water in our well. A well is a blessing, but you have to have water in it. The rain provides the water, which wilm then slowly run down through the soil, getting cleaner as it goes. I hope there will be more rain in the coming days.

Raising the Taxes

In Swedish, "tax" means dachshund. In English, it is a much more devious thing, the payment humans have to do to the Government for the Government to go around. In Swedish, this is called "skatt".

We will have higher municipality tax in Örebro next year. This was decided today at the city council. Daniel is a member of the city council, representing the Conservatives, who were opposed to raising the tax.

You have to remember a dachshund is supposed to be a dog with a very low wither height. In the same way, the tax is supposed to be low, isn't it?

I do not like the raised tax, it might mean less food and treats to the dogs in Örebro, because such things are always paid with the salaries after the payment of taxes. This is no good. You should have low taxes, so humans have more money to spend on dogs and things for their dogs. Lower the taxes, please!

Fire Place

We have had people here mending our chimney and switching our old fire place for a new one. It is good having this done before the winter. It is also good having it done before the new year, because then the tax rules will change, making it more expensive to have work done on your house. No matter what, it will be nice having a new fire place.

Strange Topic

Sometimes, Paula and Daniel talk about strange things. Occassionally about things I do not want to think about. Tonight, they talked about what would happen to their possessions, if either of them would pass away. It is not likely to happen in a long time, they are healthy and far from old. It is still of interest to them, as they do not have any children yet. If I would pass away, my daughter Polly can inherit my possessions. This is one reason to get pups, if you pass away, you know somebody you love will be able to inherit your belongings. Nevertheless, I prefer not to think too much about it. We will all pass away, but why worry about it way ahead of the day when it happens?

Home Again

Daniel came home again tonight. As I wrote yesterday, he was away this weekend on an important conference. However important it was, it is good that he is back home. Life is always best when the whole family is gathered at home.

There was a lot of things Daniel could tell us about his weekend. Our weekend at home has been nice as well, though not as exciting. This can be good, too. You cannot be productive, unless you take time to relax once in a while.

Conference

Daniel is away on an important conference this weekend. Normally, when he goes away himself and stay away over night, it is for his job. The conference he went to now is much more important. It is a conference for dog show judges on spitz breeds and the judging of these. Daniel is no judge, but a board member of the club organizing the conference.

Can any conference be more important than this? I do not think so. Thus, I am not upset that Daniel went to this conference. On the contrary, I would have been upset, if he would not have gone there. Judging of spitz breeds on dog shows is really something that needs top priority.

Going to the Moon

The European Space Agency, a multinational body where Sweden is a member, will work together with the Russian space agency to put a space probe on the Moon within five years from now. The hope is to go there with humans again, eventually building a permanent settlement.

Establishing permanent settlements on other celestial bodies is a good thing. This must be the future for human civilisation. We cannot stay on Earth alone forever.

I wonder when the first dog will go to the Moon. Wherever humans bring civilisation, dogs will eventually go, of this I am certain. Dogs are an essential part of civilisation. It is just a question of time.

Ice Hockey

Paula and Daniel was away to see an oce hockey game live tonight. They had fun, even though Örebro lost in sudden death against the guests from Växjö. They say it is more intense watching the game live than on TV.

Personally, I just watch sport on TV. Dogs are usually not allowed in sport stadiums when humans play their games. I do not mind. I go there anyway, when it is time for the competitions that really matters: dog shows.

Casting

Casting of film roles can be the subject of debate. I read this long article about some humans being disappointed that white humans are cast in roles as non-white humans. It was somewhat interesting. It did not say anything about dogs, though. It is common knowledge, at least among dogs, that Lassie was mostly played by male dogs, despite being a bitch. Why was this not interesting enough in the scope of the article? I guess it is the normal focus on humans. Isn't this pure focus on humans interesting, when the article is about diversity? Where is the species diversity? It is not that I am complaining, but it would be interesting to know if this pure focus on humans was intentional or not. I guess It was unintentional, but I do not think I will ever know.

Ice Cream

One of the things really making life worth living is good, tasty food. This is why I often write about food in my blog. Whenever there is a certain tasty thing I have eaten, I get inspired to write about it.

Today's treat was ice cream. Paula and Daniel had some ice cream as dessert, and I got to taste some. It is terrific. I love the creamy and cold feeling and the sweet taste. In my mind, ice cream may very well be eaten the year round. Some believe it is better in the summer, but I like it just as well in the winter, at least as long as I do not feel cold, and as a Shiba, I do not feel cold unless the temperature is about twenty degrees Celsius below the freezing point. When you are indoors in the winter, it is just as warm as in the summer, so how can ice cream be wrong? I would eat it anytime.

Frost

This morning was the first of the season when we had frost on the ground. It was just below the freezing point outdoors, so it was not that cold. Later in the day, the temperature rose. We still have autumn, it is far from winter. There are yellow leaves on the trees. Winter may wait for a while, I think.

Verdamte Online Connection

This Sunday night, I am mad about our Internet connection. It would not work before midnight, so I could not write a Daily Hailey blog post for this Sunday. I do not know why this happened. It just feels like it happens randomly. It is bad.

Japan Is Out

Scotland beat Samoa in Pool B of the Rugby World Cup, thereby clinching the second spot in the group before Japan. This means that Japan's last game, against the USA tomorrow, will not make any difference. South Africa and Scotland will have the two spots in the quarter finals from Pool B. We are not that disappointed anyway, Japan has made its best Rugby World Cup ever, and we are confident it can be even better next time.

It might be that next time, in four years, is too far into the future for me, but I will root for Japan for eternity anyway.

Loneliness

Some days, you feel lonely. You feel like there is a part of yourself missing, because you have lost what has been there all your life, supporting and comforting. I am not hurt, but I am sad. Even as I am among friends and family, I feel lonely. The sadness will pass, but there will always be a part of me who will feel the loneliness.

It is a good thing we have each other, when we feel this lonely. You are never really alone with your fellow dogs and your humans. I love you all.

By the way, Sweden won its Euro 2016 football qualifying game against Liechtenstein today. There was not such a Swedish dominance as you would think, against a country with roughly 37,000 inhabitants. Still, a victory is a victory.

Euro 2016 Qualifyer

In the 2016 European Championship in football, there will be twice as many teams participating as before. It would, thus, be easier to qualify for the tournament, you would think. This does not seem to be the case for Sweden and our Scandinavian neighbours, however. While Northern Ireland qualified for the tournament tonight, by beating Greece 3-1, Denmark lost to Portugal and has to rely on the performance of other teams. Sweden has a chance to qualify, but it is slim. I would like to see both the Swedish and the Danish teams in the tournament, and Norway as well. Finland never qualifies for football tournaments anyway. I hope it will be alright.

Pizza

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Generally, I am not that fond of bread. When there is meat and cheese on it, however, it turns into pizza. This is great. There were some left over pizza slices from yesterday that we got as supplement to our dog food today. It was great. I wish we could have extra food like this every day. It would not have to be pizza, though pizza is good, because there are many other things that are also good. I say: more pizza to the dogs!

Late Evenings

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We often have the TV set on until late at night. This was the case tonight as well.

I do not care, I can sleep anyway. So can the other dogs and Paula. Daniel cannot sleep with the sound from the TV programmes on, however.

 As far as this concerns me, I believe Daniel just have to cope with it. The rest of us are a majority who do not care that the TV set is on. If Daniel wants to have a vote, Paula would often vote against switching off. So would I, because I do not care that the TV is on and Then I agree with Paula. It is not our problem Daniel has a problem sleeping.

Early Humans Had Dogs

There are some scientific speculations on why modern humans are the only human species alive. There were others, like the Neanderthals. However, when modern humans arrived in Europe about 40,000 years ago, they soon took over. The Neanderthals had lived in Europe for about 200,000 years, but could not compete with the early forefaghers of modern day humans.

I have a theory myself on what made the present human species the one that survived all others. Humans had dogs. It was about 40,000 years ago that wolves teamed up with humans, eventually becoming dogs. Humans and dogs hunted much more efficiently together than they had done by themselves. dogs are also great at guarding the joint human-dog homes. These factors could have helped modern day humans becoming the only human species alive. Dogs could have helped doing this.

It is just a theory, but it is not improbable, is it?

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Auntie Linni celebrates her birthday today. She turns fourteen years old, an awesome age for any dog.  It is not uncommon that Shibas become fourteen, Mum became older than this.

However, Auntie Linni has lived under a constant threat of getting too much pain from her hip dysplasia since she was young. After X-ray examination of Auntie Linni's hips, a veterinarian warned her that they were so bad she would probably not live a long life. Still, Auntie Linni has never complained and still walks all the walks we walk. You can also see her run happily in the yard once in a while.

Auntie Linni is a true hero. Not only has she constantly beaten her hip dysplasia, she has also been a terrific extra mother for all the pups I have had, and all the other pups raised in our home. Unable to get pups of her own, she has still brought up more pups by these efforts than many biological mothers will ever do. She has always been my best friend.

Happy birthday, dear Auntie Linni!

Fourth

Hello, Milou here!

I made my debut in the show ring today. It was a match show just outside of Örebro, where we live. My dear friend Suri was there cheering for me, as were my humans and the humans with whom my parents live.

My mother Polly and her parents for generations, have all been successful in show rings around the world. I believe they would have been proud of me today. I made it through to the Best in Show Puppy final, where I was fourth among many puppies from all kind of breeds. It was just a match show, but it was my first, and I feel proud of my result. I also won some toys and a bag of food.

Suri and I celebrate tonight.

Motherhood Makes You Better

New science shows that you get more more intelligent, and more able to take care of many different things, when you become a mother. This is something I can relate to. I believe I became a better dog, once I became amother. Science shows this is true for allmammals, humans, dogs, and others. I believe this is true.

Sick

I have been feeling sick today. It has been on and off, but not a good day. I blame the spaghetti I ate yesterday, in combination with what may r emain from my earlier period of having a bad stomach.

At least I had some bacon to eat yesterday. The bacon must have improved the situation in my stomach. Bacon is good on so many levels, it just have to be good for your digestion as well. It is a shame, then, that I just got some ordinary dog food to eat today. Bacon must have been a better choice to get my stomach in a better mood.

Bacon

We got some bacon in our food bowls today. There were spaghetti and pieces of sausage as well, but bacon is something else. Bacon is a salty, tasty, juicy piece of meat. Bacon is food for the best of gourmets. Even though bacon is so good, it is not that expensive. This makes it worth buying often. I wish we could get bacon more often in our food,

Cuttlery

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have a dish washer with a special basket for cuttlery. Most of the dish washer is normally used to wash the food bowls where dog food is served. We dogs eat without needing cuttlery. The humans, however, need knives, forks, and spoons to eat. I have always thought this is rather unnecessary, but I guess it is a consequence of the short noses that humans have. If they would not use cuttlery, there would be more room in the dish washer for food bowls and plates. On the other hand, the basket for cuttlery can be removed. Once in a while, there is no dirty cuttlery, so more food bowls can be washed instead. This is rare, but it can happen. I think the bowls should have priority, but they do not get priority. Well, enough bowls are washed for us to be able to eat every day, anyway, and this is the main thing. Cuttlery is a small thing in this context.

Criminal Investigation Against FIFA Boss

The chairman of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, is under investigation by Swiss police for illegal payments. He still says he will stay on his post until February next year. If he would have been a democratically elected politician, he would probably have stepped down already. I wonder why he does not step down. FIFA is supposed to be run in a democratic fashion. Sure, he is not convicted of any crime yet, but the suspicions of him doing things wrongly as chairman may still harm the good name of FIFA. Well, I guess I do not have the full story. If Sepp Blatter is the victim of being framed, it might be correct not to step down. Meanwhile, we can forget about football, at least during the current Rugby World Cup.

Full Moon Eclipse This Morning

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is a full Moon tonight. In the early morning, there will be an eclipse. When the Moon is full, it is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, hence, the eclipse will be a Lunar eclipse, not a Solar eclipse. It is a full Moon eclipse, just like my official name, SEUCH Aangenaam Full Moon Eclipse.

It is supposed to be a nice eclipse, since the Moon is closer to Earth than usually and thus looks a little bigger than it usually does. I hope the sky will not be overcast. When we were outside this evening, there were a lot of clouds. We will have to see what is visible early in the morning. Keep your eyes open!

High

There are some high shelves in our house, in the kitchen and on the book shelves in the living room. These shelves are high even for Daniel, who is the tallest human in our family. It is quite impossible for us dogs to reach them. The only reason to put things on these shelves, are to get rid of things nobody uses very often. Still, it would be nice to be able to reach them. I do not say I would reach up to these shelves, just because I could, it is just that I would like to be able to.

Life is full of annoying obstacles like this, a bit annoying even though they do not really matter. It is a good thing there are no things I really need on these shelves. I have all I need within reach. There are water bowls and when we eat, my food bowl is also on the right height for me. The sofa and the bed are also not too high for me to get up into. This is good. I guess life has been good to me in this way.

Upcoming Eclipse

Please note, dear readers, that a lunar eclipse is coming on Monday morning next week.

The eclipse is visible in Sweden in the early morning of the 28th of September. You will have to get up really early in the morning to be able to see it. I believe most of you will find that this phenomenon is well worth seeing.

For my part, I am not sure I will get up very early to see the lunar eclipse. After all, if I want to see a Lunar Eclips, all I have to do is to stand in front of a looking glass.

Thunder?

The weather forecast for today said there could be thunder. I never heard any. On the other hand, I slept part of the day, and if there was no thunder close by, I guess I did not wake up.

Thunder is usually a bit annoying. I am far from afraid of it, it is just that the noise is disturbing. It was just as well I did not hear any thunder today, it kept my spirits high.

Artificially Grown Kidneys

Japanese scientists are often in the front of scientific development. A team of Japanese scientists have now successfully grown artificial kidneys that work, when transplanted into pigs and rats. There are many years until there can be kidneys artificially grown and transplanted on a regular basis into humans or dogs. However, I do not think this will make Paula's work as a dialysis nurse obsolete. There will be even more years before kidneys can be grown in such an abundance that dialysis is usually never needed. There will also always be acute needs for dialysis. Stil, I think it is good that Paula is also studying to become an intensive care nurse. Those will also be needed.

Full Force

My trip to the hospital last weekend is almost forgotten already. I am back in full strength as leader of the dogs here at home. Things are back to normal.

It is not easy feeling sick, especially when others depend on you. Being a leader is not easy. If you have no experience of leading, you may think it is. You may think a leader can do whatever she wants. This is far from the truth. A good leader leads in a way that benefits most, if not all, of the individuals whom she rules over. This is not easy. Even a bad leader has a heavy burden, not least because she would have to constantly defend her position. I do think the other dogs here think of me as a good leader. It is calmer now, when everything is back to normal and I lead the way I usually do. Life is quite nice.

Autumn

It was a beautiful autumn day today. The Sun was shining and the weather was nice over all. Leaves are falling from the trees. Insects are disappearing. Whenever insects are disappearing, I think of Dad, who hated insects and thus loved the colder half of the year when insects were not around. This is one of the big advantages of autumn. I hope we will get many more beautiful autumn days like this.

Me on a Diet?

When I got to go home from the hospital, the veterinarian gave special dog food to Paula and Daniel for me, of two kinds. One kind of food was to gove me a better stomach, but this food was very high in energy content, so I got another kind of food that was a diet food. I am not over weight, but the vet was afraid I might become overweight with the first kind of food. The second, diet kind of food was far from tasty, however. There is another important point I have to make here, too. A Shiba does not do diets. Shibas are survivors, we eat proper food. Diet food is the antithesis of food you survive upon. Thus, I refused to eat the diet food part of the food Daniel gave me today. I am a Shiba, I do not do diets.

Home Again

I am home again, after a refreshing detour to the hospital. My stomach got the better of me, but is now back on track.

Except for celebrating that I am home, we can celebrate an unexpected Japanese victory in the Rugby World Cup against South Africa. Japan usually do not do well in the World Cup, having just scored one victory before, against Zimbabwe in 1991. South Africa won the World Cup in 1995 and 2007. South Africa is ranked as third in the world, Japan as thirteenth. This is really a victory for all of us wh root for Japan to cherish. I love it and will eagerly follow the upcoming games of Japan.

Rugby World Cup

Hello, Orange here!

The Rugby World Cup 2015 has started. This is the third biggest sport event in the world, after the Football World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games.

The opening game was played by host England and Fiji. England won 35-11. Javier rooted for England, because he has a brother who lives there.

For us Shibas, the first really exciting game comes tomorrow, when Japan plays South Africa. Most of us will root for Japan, of course, but I am a bit torn. Our kennel prefix Aangenaam is a word from South Africa. What is even more important for me, however, is that there is a river and a province in South Africa which are both called Oranje, just like my name. Would this not be a sign for me that I ought to root for South Africa, even when they play against Japan? I will have to poder upon this question until the game starts tomorrow.

Getting Better

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Mommy is getting better. They have called us from the hospital, telling us Mommy is better of staying there a little longer. We are looking forward to seeing her at home later on, but the main thing is that she will be healthy again.

I am holding down the fort while Mommy is not home. This is good training, since I will inherit Mommy's leader role in the future - hopefully the far future, but still.

Away

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Mommy was sick today, so sick that Paula took her to the hospital. (Humans might call it animal hospital, we dogs just call it hospital.) They called late tonight from the hospital, telling us Mommy is all right. She had a little infection in her body, but nothing serious and nothing that could not be dealt with. We expect Mommy back tomorrow. I am looking forward to it.

Double Digits

Karstuhl has complained that I did not write any blog entry yesterday about myself celebrating my tenth birthday. This is correct, I am ten years old now. I just do not think it is such a big deal. Birthdays have always been a bigger things for humans than it is for dogs, and I am a dog. I also feel a bit sad about the fact that I am older now than Dad ever got to be. Furthermore, I felt the subject of future airliners, that I did write about yesterday, was more interesting for the big audience than my birthday. Now, however, I have granted my daughter Karstuhl's wish and written about my birthday. It is important to be nice to your offspring.

Faster Commercial Flights

Many dogs travel over far distances by air. The aim is to make the gene pool of their breeds more diverse in other parts of the world. My Mum flew from Seattle in western USA to Sweden. My husband Kenny flew from Japan to Sweden. Such flights are often long, thus tiresome for a dog, and there are no dog rest areas on board either. It is positive, then, that future commercial airliners may be much faster than those of today. They can also be more environmentally friendly. This will benefit travelling dogs. It may, thus, also benefit dog breeding, as it makes it easier and will cost less time to have a dog hauled by air from one continent to another. I wish I would be able to see this brilliant future.

Floors

Daniel mowed the lawn yesterday. Today he cleaned the floors indoors. There are some similarities, such as methodically going over an area with the lawn mower or vacuum cleaner. I like cleaned floors better, it plays a bigger role.

Just like there are robot lawn mowers, there are also robot vacuum cleaners. These do not fit under sofas and beda, however, so I do not know how useful they are. Those are places where dust gathers and you got to reach them. With an ordinary vacuum cleaner, you do. There is probably a longer time before we get a robot vacuum cleaner than a robot lawn mower.

The Lawn

Most of us dogs were at home with Daniel today, while Paula and Morran were off having fun at a dog show. It was not very fun for us, Daniel spent hours out in the garden, mowing the lawn and cutting hedges.

I do not really know why Daniel takes lawn mowing so seriously. Sure, with a well kept lawn, there is a lesser risk for us to get ticks. Appart from that, it is just Daniel's idea of keeping the garden looking reasonably nice. I know most humans like well kept lawns. I like them too, they are fun to run at, but in our home, Daniel is the one taking the mowing of the lawn most seriously. Well, it keeps him happy to have a well mowed lawn.

Perhaps we will buy a robot lawn mower in the future, that mowes the lawn by itself. I think this would please Daniel.

Canary Islands

There is a place I would like to visit, unlikely as it may seem, as it is mainly associated with holiday trips to get sun and liquor. It is the Canary Islands, the Spanish group of islands off the North West coast of Africa. The name of these islands actually means dog islands, which is why I believe dogs would be welcome there.

La Palma on the Canary Islands is also perhaps the best place in the world to see stars, due to its geography which makes for exceptionally clear skies. I am not very interested to see the stars, but I have always been fascinates by the Moon, as I am named for it. The Moon must also be very clear through the clear air of La Palma. Perhaps I will go there sometime.

I have never heard about dog shows on Canary Islands, though. Going someplace far away from home without attending a dog show at some point seems a little wasteful. I would have to check whether there are any official dog shows there, before planning my journey.

Back Home

Daniel was away in the line of duty for two days and a night. He is back home now. This is good. It always feels more comfortable, if the whole family is gathered at home.

We have to accept that Paula and Daniel go away even for the odd night. They go in the line of duty and get paid for it. This payment helps paying for dog food and dog candy, two essential things in life. They also let us dogs go away once in a while for our duty as show dogs. It is a matter of giving and taking, where everyone can get some advantages. We have a nice life over all.

3,400

This is my 3,400th blog post. I have not written all of them myself, sometimes having the help of my daughter Karstuhl or of Orange. Still, I have written most of the blog posts and it is my blog.

I believe 3,400 blog posts is some kind of achievement. I am a little proud of my blog. It is not like my puppies, which is my foremost achievement, nor like my dog show victories. Still, it is something that may make a few readers happy. It also gives me some satisfaction to be able to publish stories of my life and thoughts in the blog. All of my readers can be sure that there are many more blog posts to come. Stay tuned!

Horrible Loss

As dog breeders, we do a lot to promote Sweden at international dog shows. Paula and Daniel went to Oslo last weekend for the European Winner Show 2015 with one of the dogs from us.

There are others who can promote Sweden to a much bigger audience, however, which makes their effort important even though it has got nothing to do with dogs. The Swedish national team in men's football is one such group, because they play the sport with the biggest audience there is in the world. It is very unfortunate, then, that this team make fools of themselves by losing on home turf to Austria, 1-4, in the qualification round to next year's European championship. Austria is a silly country, it would not even exist as a separate country, if it was not for the imperial family that the ungrateful Austrians later dethroned.

Sweden should beat Austria, but, alas, did not. There is still a small chance that Sweden makes it through to the Euro 2016, but do we dare hope for it? The team might need new leadership.

Sleepy

I am rather sleepy tonight. It has been a hard Monday after a hard weekend. I guess I stop there for tonight.

Early Celebration

Paula and Daniel went over to Paula's parents tonight, celebrating Paula's mother Gertrud's birthday. It is actually tomorrow, but many of the humans had other plans, including Gertrud.

It is said that in some countries, it is considered to bring bad luck if you celebrate before the actual day. This is not the case in Sweden and I do not see the point in thinking like this. I believe the main thing is that you celebrate, not exactly the day when you celebrate. Thus, I will also take this day for the birthday greetings.

Happy birthday, Gertrud!

Apple Trees

Hello, Orange here!

It is autumn again and time to harvest fruit and berries. We have four apple trees in our garden. None of them will yield any big amount of apples this year. I guess it is no apple year, which is said to be due to the weather during the summer.

I do not care much about apples. I do not eat apples and have no other attachment to apples. If we had orange trees in the garden, it would be different. Oranges do not grow in the cold Swedish climate, however. I have to be the only Orange growing up in our town.

Untimely Rain

When the alarm clock rang this morning, it was nice weather outside. During the time it took for Daniel to make himself ready for the morning walk, it started to rain. The rain fell throughout the morning walk. A little later, the rain stopped. Daniel could ride his bicycle to work without being annoyed by the rain.

Sometimes, the timing of a rainfall or other uncomfortable weather conditions is just so annoying. You know it is just a coincidence that the rain happen to fall when you are going out for a walk, but it makes you wonder if there really is nothing to do about untimely weather conditions. I wish there was, but I doubt there will be in the foreseeable future. The weather just depends too much on random events for anybody to regulate it.

Perhaps the randomness of weather is just as well. Imagine how much humans would fight over what weather they would want, if they could decide what weather there would be.

The Car Is Repaired

Paula and Daniel picked up the Chrysler from the garage today. Now it is working as it is supposed to again. This is good, because we often need the big Chrysler when we go to dog shows. It has room for many of us dogs and a lot of other baggage. I like it and I am glad it is working properly again. Hopefully, I will soon get to go to another dog show in this car.

Talking Back To You

For a little while this evening, a reality show was on when we watched TV. As a courtesy to the one switching this horrible show on, I will not say what show it was. In the show, some city girls went to a farm with animals in the countryside. One of the girls said: "I like animals, because they don't talk back at you."

This quote just shows what little experience this girl had of animals. I do not mind her liking animals, but she likes animals without knowing much about them. Any human who has known dogs for a while, knows we can talk back to humans, especially intelligent dogs like Shibas and other dogs of spitz breeds. I am sure other intelligent animals can also talk back to humans.

Of course, we dogs do not talk with words, the way humans do, but we can make our opinion heard to those humans who knows dogs. Rest assured we can talk back to any human who is experienced enough to hear us! This does not mean we are rude or disobedient, we just make ourselves heard, mostly in the nice manner dogs are known for.

Technical Failure

When Paula and the others were going home from the ferry from Gotland last night, the power steering stopped working. They had to call a breakdown lorry and then called Daniel, who picked up Paula. Mia and her little family were picked up by her parents-in-law.

I am glad there was nothing worse than a technical failure. Nobody was hurt. It was just that they got into bed a little later than expected. I am also glad I could stay at home sleeping, while Daniel went out fetching Paula. They got home in the really early morning. It is Monday, so sleeping through the night until the early morning walk suited me fine.

Now we have to see when the car can be repaired. The garage did not have the item that needed to be replaced. Time will tell when this will happen.

Cleaning

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel spent a great deal of the day cleaning. One of the things he did, was taking away shreds of paper from the living room. We had had fun when shredding this paper and I thought it did not look bad lying around. Still, it can be more comfortable without it.

Sometimes, I think humans are a little obsessed with cleanliness indoors. Of course, we are all house broken and so, but there would still limits to how often the vacuum cleaner is dragged around the floors with its noise, if I were to decide. On the other paw, our humans are more satisfied with the indoor environment when it is clean. This makes them happier, and this is noce for all of us. There really is no reason to complain about the cleaning.

Can I Complain Again?

Is it All right if I use another blog entry to complain that I was not at the dog show today? I went about the day thinking about it, which made my day quite boring. I wish I had not. I wish I had had a lot of other things to occupy my mind. It is just that I could not think of any. Unfortunately, this makes for a terrible blog post, but there really is not much else to write about.

We did have a nice evening in front of the TV, but this is nothing to tell anybody about. The TV programmes were not much to remember, but the company in the sofa was nice. It is just that we missed Paula as well. She will be back tomorrow night. We are looking forward to this.

Visby

The annual double dog show in Visby, On the island Gotland in the Baltic Sea, is held this weekend. I like to go there, not least because there are two shows in a row, so you can get into the show ring both on Saturday and on Sunday. This year, however, Paula went there without me. Soya will be shown, and she is good in the show ring, but I do not get to go. This is so unfair, because everyone in our family knows how much I like to be shown. Well, we did have a nice evening at home, anyway.

Dog Day

Apparently, yesterday, 26 August, is celebrated as Dog Day every year. I did not know this.

I might come up with some clever form of celebrating Dog Day until next year. Then again, maybe I will not. Despite being a dog, I cannot think of any real reason to have a dog day. Dogs are supposed to love and be loved every day of the year. Dogs are also very common in human society and the oldest animal companion of man. Having a dog day under these circumstances is a little like having a human day one a year. You would think a human day would be useless, wouldn't you?

Honour your dogs every day of the year, and we will not need a dog day.

Champions League

So Swedish team Malmö won the return game against Scottish team Celtic and qualified itself for Champions League. It was the second year in a row that Malmö did this. It is good for Swedish football.

I wish the Malmö team good luck. They will need it, because there are some very good teams competing with them in Champions League. There is no need to say Malmö has reached as far as necessary to be satisfied, you must always try to win even in the hardest field of competition. Still, Malmö will have a hard time doing it.

No matter how Malmö will do in the main tournament, it will be interesting to follow what happens. It is football on an advanced level.

Noise At Night

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Yesterday night, Mommy complained in this blog about a car going by, while the driver was constantly blowing the horn. This was a one time incident, however, as Mommy also said. There are other noises that are recurring late at night, such as when Paula and Daniel are playing Wordfeud with each other on their mobile devoces. With each turn in a game, a signal is heard from the other person's mobile. This annoys me a little more than a one time passing car. I do love Paula and Daniel, but not everything they do. Can they not play silently with chewing toys instead, like we dogs often do?

Signaling Late at Night

We had all gone to bed tonight, when a car blasted past in the street, horn constantly signaling. It was quite annoying. You just have to wonder why people do things like this. Driving along at night just for the fun of it is one thing, but why would you have to blow the horn, disturbing people, perhaps waking them up? It is rather selfish. Luckily, however, this happens very rarely in our neighbourhood.

Paula's Birthday

We celebrated Paula's birthday today. It was a nice celebration with a lot of friends invited over.

During the day, Paula was at work. Meanwhile, Daniel and all of us dogs cleaned the house and made it ready for the party in the evening. It was partly hard work, but what do you not do for someone you love and for a party to be a success?

The party was a success. Paula thanked us all. She deserved all the effort we put in.

Terrorist Attack Stopped

A man on a train in France, heavily armed with a Kalashnikov rifle et cetera, was overpowered by four other passengers. He has now been detained by the police. The authorities believes he is from Morocco and has connections to Islamist organizations.

The passengers who interferred are real heroes. Two of them were American soldiers on leave, one was a Briton. All should be commended for their heroism. If more people acted against terrorism, perhaps we would have less of it.

Kebab Chicken

Hello, Karstuhl here!

With our food today, we got to try something called kebab chicken. It was chicken filets with a certain blend of spices. It was a bit odd, but I did not chicken out. Once I tried it, I found out I liked it. Of course, I like most meat, but when the meat is done in a way which is new for me, it is something to be aware of. You have to stop when it is not tasty. This is not chickening out, because you have tried it. There was no need to chicken out ever today.

Police Dog Cut

A police dog in Västerås, Försvarsmaktens Hjalle (Försvarsmakten is the official kennel name of dogs bred by the Royal Swedish Armed Forces) was hunting suspected criminals, but one of them turned on him, cutting him with a knife. Hjalle was badly wounded, but survived. The criminals were caught.

I hope these criminals will be prosecuted and convicted, especially for turning on a police dog. Animal abuse is a serious felony in my mind. The punishment should be hard. I hope it will be.

Scottish Victory

The Scottish football team Celtic defeated Swedish team Malmo today in the Champions League qualification, 3-0. The game was played in Scotland. The second game between the teams will be played in Sweden next week. This is a bit sad for us who hoped for a Swedish victory and advancement into the major tournament. Malmo still has a chance, but it is slim. Swedish club football is not strong enough. I wish it was.

Nothing Special

Some days are a bit boring, nothing special happens. This was one of those days. It was a Tuesday, just your average work day. We had our morning walk and other morning routines, then we dogs watched the house while Paula and Daiel were at their respective work places. We got food in the afternoon, which is always nice, but it was the ordinary dog food today, in the evening, Paula cooked some exciting food for her and Daniel, but nothing was left for us dogs, at least not for us to eat right away. We watched some TV, then it was time for bed. Nothing out of the ordinary happened all day. I do not dislike ordinary days, it is just that they are boring. I am sure I will not remember this day a year from now.

Darkness

The nights are getting dark again. We can feel that autumn is coming. In the Swedish summer time, the nights are never completely dark. Sunlight are coming from the north in the middle of the night, giving us some twilight. This is disappearing now. Still, the weather is nice, with warm, sunny days. I cannot complain. Autumns have advantages too. They are cozyer, in a way. Cozy is nice.

Almost, but not Quite

Calvin was in the Best in Show Veterans' final in the international dog show in Norrköping today. He was among the final seven, but did not get any of the four prizes. This is almost, but not quite, as good as my BIS 4 Veteran title from Avesta earlier this year. I congratulated Calvin, of course. I would have wanted to be there myself, but it is not certain I could have made a better impression on the judge. Calvin did have a great result.

So Be It

I did not get to go to the dog show today. Calvin and Orange went instead. They both did reasonably well, but let the best results go to others. I wish I would have been there. I would have shown everybody how to make an impression in the show ring. Well, I cannot go everytime, it would not be fair to the others. So be it.

Sclera

I am sometimes a little amazed, when I read science stories. There is one now, stating that humans are not the only primates who have white sclera around the irises of the eyes. Some gorillas are the same, bit most are not, having black pigmentarion around their eyes. Other primates also have pgmentarion in their sclera.

Dogs have white sclera. I am not sure this is true for all of us, bit for many dogs it is true. We normally do not show it, but you can see small pieces of it occasionally. Some dogs show more of it than others.

In this way, dogs are more like humans than most primates are. This is amazing.

Meteors

This time of the year, there are often meteors in the sky. They look like shooting stars, and was called just that in old times, when people did not know what it was. I have not seen any, but Daniel told me he saw one this evening.

Old superstition has it, if you make a wish when seeing a shooting star, what you wish for will come true. I already have a great life, so I am not sure what I would wish for, if I had the chance. I do not think I believe in it, anyway. How could it be true? There are so many funny old superstitions around.

Japanese in Britain

When Japan joined the fight in the Second World War, almost noone in Britain knew Japanese. They made sure to teach some young men the language, though. This was a good thing about the war. Knowing the language of others make you understand them better and the post war relations were improved by this. I cannot help bit wonder whether it has had any influence on the breeding of Japanese dogs in Britain, like Shibas. It would be interesting if this was the case, but I am sure it is hard to tell. I have no means to research it, unfortunately. If any of my readers know, please make a comment!

Devaluating the Currency

Mainland China (the one party communistic semi-capitalistic country) has devaluated its currency. It lost about 2 % of its value. This is a result of lesser growth in the Chinese economy.

I am not sad about this. In fact, I think it is good that the Chinese economy runs less smooth, because it can become the cause of necessary political reforms. China needs more democracy, rules and regulations against animal cruelty, and turn down its aggressions towards its neighbours. I hope this will be some of the long time results. The dogs and humans living in China need this.

The Weekend Is Over

It is Monday again, today. For a while, both Paula and Daniel was away due to their work. This is no problem, the rest of us watches our house. At least one of them is always back home fast enough for us not to be left indoors for too long. We have a good life even on work days.

The real disadvantage of it being an ordinary day was that we got our ordinary food. Yesterday, we got a lot of extra tasty left overs. Today, it was back to the dog food we usually get. There is nothing wrong with its taste and it contains all the nutrients we need. Still, it gets a bit dull sometimes, getting the very same food day after day. There is usually more diverse food served in the weekends. There are some days until the next weekend, unfortunately.

Could Kyoto Have Been Hit By an Atom Bomb?

In the final days of the Second World War, the USA dropped two atom bombs on cities in Japan. The old capital Kyoto, with more historical sites than Hiroshima or Nagasaki, was spared. Kyoto was one of the cities the American military leaders considered as targets, but the Secretary of War made sure the bombs were dropped on other cities.

There cannot be anything good about one city being hit by an atom bomb instead of another. Still, if there are degrees in hell, perhaps not as many people and dogs were killed when sparing Kyoto, and more historical sites were preserved. It might have been a little less evil, at least. Still, in the best of worlds, no city would have been the target of an atom bomb.

I hope we will never have to see the use of an atom bomb again.

Show

Hello, Orange here!

I went into the show ring at a dog show for the very first time today. Aunt Hailey had told me it is great fun, and it was.

At first, I got the impression the judge thought very highly of me, because I got the quality prize Very Good. There is, however, a better prize called Excellent. I knew of this, of course, but it had slipped my mind this first time in the show ring. Afterwards, Paula, Daniel, and all of my dog friends have told me I do have what it takes to win Excellent and even getting CAC. It is just that not all judges evaluate dogs the same way. If you really want to have an evaluation of a dog, one show is not enough, no matter what prize the dog gets. There are two shows next weekend as well, I may get revenge then. I hope I will.

Blogger Killed

A blogger in Bangladesh has been brutally killed by a gang armed with machetes. This was not the first blogger in the country, who has been killed for the opinions he expressed in his blog, but the fourth.

So far, only two people have been arrested for the killings. None has been charged. Critics say the government do too little.

I do not know what the government does do to investigate these murders and bring the murderers to justice. What seems to be perfectly clear, however, is that the murders are committed due to the opinions of the victims. This is an attack on the freedom of speech, one of the fundamental bases of a free society. Such crimes must not be tolerated. I do hope the murderers will be caught and tried for their crimes.

We have had debates on freedom of speech in Sweden as well this week. A bunch of people tore down signs with propaganda for the Sweden Democrats, a reformed Nazi party which claims to be democratic. I do not like this party, but I also did not like the act of tearing down the party's propaganda. The latter was also an attack on the freedom of speech. Still, when reading about the murdered bloggers in Bangladesh, it puts these acts in a different perspective. I do hope we are far from murders because people excercise their freedom of speech in Sweden.

Seventy Years Ago

Seventy years ago today, an atom bomb was used for the very first time in war, when dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A lot of humans and dogs died, probably some Shibas.

Three days later, an atom bomb was used for the second and latest time, when dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. A lot of humans and dogs died there too, probably some Shibas.

Luckily, atom bombs have never been used since. I hope they never will. The consequences of the peoples of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have brought one important lesson to humanity, that the atom bomb really is a weapon so terrible that it must never be used.

Some people say the atom bombs of the USA and the Soviet Union kept these two countries from going to war with each other in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. Any war between these military great powers could have resulted in the use of atom bombs, which in turn would have caused a mutually assured destruction. Therefore, the leaders restrained themselves from going to war.

It is never easy to explain why something never occured. If the atom bombs was what kept the World out of a Third World War, we have all the more reason to thank the victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for teaching us the lesson of the horrors of atom bombs. If any memory of victims of a war must live on forever, it is this!

Caught By a Police Dog

A thief in Malmo in the south of Sweden was caught by a police dog, shortly after having stolen a necklace from a man in a street. The thief also had four stolen mobile phones when he was caught. He has now been sentenced to prison by the Court of Appeals of Scania and Blekinge, judgment of the 31st of July 2015 (case no. B 1671-15). After serving his time, he will be expelled from Sweden and must not come back for at least five years.

This is but one of the many ways dogs contribute greatly to our society. Police dogs are heroes.

Sorrow

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We are feeling loss and sorrow today, after my father Kenny passed away yesterday. I now know what it is like to lose a parent, like my Mummy has lost both of her parents.

Rest in peace, dear Daddy!

The Dog, the Myth, the Legend

My dear husband, father of five of my pups, MultiCh Kurokaidou Go Higo Kamishimasou, "Kenny", has passed away today.

He will always stay in my heart.

Reqiescat in pace, father of Polly, Nemo, Zeus, Fumi, and Anzu.

West Bothnia Cheese

Cheese is tasty food. All cheese is good, but some forms of cheese are better than others. Among these are the Swedish cheese from West Bothnia, Västerbottensost, named from the Swedish name of West Bothnia. It is famous in Sweden and the rumour about it spreading around the world. There is a fine piece about this cheese on BBC now, which I can recommend. Whenever you are in Sweden, you can buy and taste this cheese. Do not hesitate to do this.

Blueberries

Daniel took a long walk with Kenny this afternoon, and came back with a lot of blueberries. They can be found in the forrest nearby. Paula was happy about it, saying that they tadted good. I would not say the same. As Daniel cleaned the blueberries from leaves and stuff, one blueberry dropped on the floor in front of me. I snoffed it and figured it might be worth eating, but it was not. Humans do like to eat some strange things from time to time.

Worse Rain Than Here

Many people in Sweden feel we have had far too much rain this summer. We may have had more than average, but it has not resulted in any catastrophes. In South East Asia, however, twenty humans have died due to monsoon rain and resulting landslides.

There are no reports on how many dogs have died or have lost their humans. Still, twenty dead humans are not a good thing, no matter how many dogs were affected.

With tese rainfalls in mind, we do not have to complain about the summer rains in Sweden. We do not have to be happy about them, but it could be worse. No humans have died due to the rainy weather here.

Calm Day

It was raining more or less the whole day today. While Paula was at work, the rest of us took it easy. We cleaned the house yesterday, after coming home, so there were not much that desperately needed to be done. There are upsides with rainy days. Staying indoors taking it easy is one such upside.

In the evening, the clouds finally gave up. This meant we could see the full moon. This is the second full moon in July this year, a so called blue moon. I always enjoy the full moon and its light at night.

There Is No Place Like Home

Daniel, Polly, and I came home from our short trip to Småland and the weat coast. There is no place like home! I like to be home.

We did have a great time visiting Daniel's mother's forrest in Småland and his parents' summer house on the west coast of Sweden, in Halland. Still, I do not quite like long journeys like this, when they do not involve any dog show. I love dog ahows. If there is no dog show, I might often just stay at home. This last journey was fun, as an exception to the rule that just dog show journeys are fun. Still, a dog show would have made it even better. I do love Daniel's parents and his sister Linda, whom we met, though.

Forrest

Polly and I came along with Daniel today and went with his mother to her forrest in Småland in the south of Sweden. Later on, we took a long walk in the neighbourhood of the summer house in Halland. It was a good day for a dog.

A Cake Which Is Easy to Bake

I found a recipie for a cake on the Internet, which only has three ingredients, cream cheese, eggs, and white chocomate. It looks tasty. The origin of this cake is Japanese, which makes me even more.interested in it. I would like to try it, so I guess I would have to convince Paula or Daniel to bake it.

Junior European Winners

The Swedish Ladies' national football team for ladies up to 19 years of age won the European Championships for ladies of that age tonight. The Swedes beat Spain 3-1 in the final.

I would say this is as big as a Swedish dog winning a Junior European Winner title, if you want to put it in perspective.

A junior title is never as big an achievement as the title for adults. Still, it is proof that there is a new, promising generation coming. With the faliure in the FIFA Women's World Cup earlier this year, this is extra good news for fans of Swedish football. The next generation of football players may play for gold in the adult championships as well. I am looking forward to this.

Lazy Day

We had a quite calm Sunday today. Nothing special really happened. It is nice to have days like this once in a while, to rest from the stress of your average working day. This is especially true, since the weather was cold and damp for the season, with a little, annoying rainfall. When rain is falling, it is nice to stay indoors. We did, today.

Knights of Sidonia

Yesterday, Daniel and I watched the first episode of a Japanese animated TV series, Knights of Sidonia. It is about humans fighting aliens in the far future.

I like it, because it is in Japanese with subtitles. However, I dislike it, because there are no dogs in it. I believe that dogs are an essential part of human civilisation, and that wherever humans will go in the future, dogs will go too.

If there are no dogs in a story about the future, I believe the author have missed something. I do not like that. Science fiction can make for great stories, but the stories should be believeable. Can you believe a acenario of the future, if there are no dogs around?

Sunny Weather

It has been a day of sunny weather today, which is rare this summer. We have had a few good days, but not many. There have been more rainy days. We do not like to go out in the rain, even though we have to. It is nice to have dry grass in the yard, for a change.

Sunny weather makes me think of Mum. She was called Sunni, and her love was as warm as that of the sun on a hot summer day. It has been a year now, since she passed away. Not a single day go by, that we do not miss her. Perhaps I miss her the most. I still try to make her proud of me. She was, I know, but she could be more proud than that. I believe she would be.