The End of Summer

It is the last day of August, the last of the three summer months. By the calendar, this is, thus, the last day of summer 2016.

I like autumn as well as summer. The colder weather does not bother me, my coat is always enough in autumn. It is just very cold winter days that may be too cold for me.

Even though I like autumn, it is a little sad that we leave summer behind. It will be darker and there are many weeks of work before longer holidays. There may be summer heat some days in September too, but there may also be frost in the mornings. We will have to see what kind of autumn there will be.

Well, summer will return next year. I know it will. It will be nice.

Paying Bills

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is the end of the month and bills are paid.

I am glad our humans pay the bills. Dogs could pay bills, if only we had the money. Under human law, however, dogs are not entrusted with money. If we were, we would certainly earn a lot of money, making it easy for us to pay a lot of bills. As it is, we do not have to pay bills. I guess there is some advantages to this, too.

Rain

It has been a rather dry summer, but it started to rain last night. This morning, rain fell constantly. We were out on our morning walk, but then we went back to sleep in the dry, warm rooms of our house. Paula was working afternoon at the hospital, so she also slept until rather late.

Rain is a good thing. It boosts all the things that grows in the garden. It makes the water level in our well higher. It washes the houses and the cars. It is, however, not comfortable to be outdoors in the rain. Rainy weather is best experienced from indoors. Then it is cozy. We had a very cozy day indoors today.

Ceasefire in Colombia

The far left guerilla group Farc, also known to earn money on drugs and kidnappings, has announced a ceasefire. This will take effect at midnight, local time, which is 6 a.m. Central European time.

We have a special relationship with Colombia, because Paula was born there. It is our favourite South American country.

Peace talks have been going on for years. It now really seems like there will be peace between Farc and the Colombian government. We all hope so. We believe a Colombia in peace will be more prosperous. Certainly, a land without a criminal, far left guerilla group must be a better place to live.

A peace treaty may be signed in a few weeks. We hope ot will be so.

No Show

I did not come along to the dog show today. It was an unofficial show where I would have helped our Affenpinscher friend Morran. Now she had to do it on her own.

Morran did well, but she was only third in her class and did not get any honorary prize. I believe she would have done better, had I been there to coach her. You cannot be sure, of course, but I still believe this.

In a way, it was nice to stay at home. No matter what would have happened, I would not have gone into the show ring. I cannot, on an Affenpinscher specialty. It is going into the show ring that is really fun. If I do not do this, I would rather stay at home. I did today. It was a nice day of rest.

Paula in an Advertisement

Paula's employer is searching for more people. The advertisement is illustrated with a photography of some of the people working there. Paula is one of the four people in the picture. This is sweet. It must be fun to get an extra aknowledgement for the work one is doing, by being seen in an advertisement like this.

Lethal Mobile Game

Nintendo's new game Pokemon Go has become a hit this summer. I do not know why. It turns some humans insane. They focus on the game and its virtual additions to reality, rather than reality itself. If it has not gone too far before, it must have gone too far in Japan now. A man was driving his car while playing, and hit two woman pedestrians, killing one and seriously hurting the other. He has told the police he did not watch the road carefully.

Not everything from Japan is great. A mobile game making a man to cause an accident where another human is killed cannot be great. It is bad. I hope the Pokemon Go frenzy will soon come to an end. It would not be a good solution to ban the game. Bans must be a last resort.

Hamburger

This evening, I went with Daniel to fetch Paula at her work. On the way home, I got a hamburger. It was great. Hamburgers are always great.

Paula's Birthday

We are celebrating Paula's birthday today. She is a truly extraordinary person, well worth anything we can do to celebrate her.

Happy birthday, Paula!

Typhoon hits Tokyo

A great typhoon has hit Tokyo. There have been hard wind, massive rainfall, and a lot of cancelled flights.

This kind of wheather is not uncommon in Japan. After all, the word "typhoon" comes from Japanese. It is a disaster, nevertheless. Just because you are used to bad wheather, does not mean you like it.

New TV Set

Our old TV set broke down two days ago. We now have a new one. This is good.

It is never good when a piece of machinery breaks down. On the other hand, if you replace that which is broken, you may get something better instead. I believe we did this time.

A Second Swedish Gold Medal

Sweden is a country with a relatively small population. We cannot compete with the most populous nations in the number of competitors in the Olympic Games, nor in the number of medals won. Today, however, Sweden won a second gold medal. It was Jenny Rissveds who won gold in the ladies' mountainbike race. This is great. I like it all the more, because it was an unexpected gold medal. Unexpected successes have a special sweetness.

Crayfish Feast

Paula and Daniel went away to a crayfish feast tonight. Eating crayfish in August is a Swedish tradition. The humans love it. I think it is overrated. There is too much shells vis a vis meat.

Japan v. USA

There was a wrestling game on TV from the Olympic Games today, where a lady from Japan was wrestling a lady from the USA. I had mixed feelings about this.

Mum was American, but our whole breed is from Japan. My dear husband Kenny was born and raised in Japan, so my daughter Polly is half Japanese.

It was an exciting game. Wrestling is a sport which is rather easy to understand. In the end, the American won and got the gold medal. I was happy for her and sorry for the Japanese. The Olympic Games brings feelings.

Coaching

It will not be the upcoming weekend, but Saturday of the weekend after this, I will get to go on a dog show again. It is a breed specialty for Affenpinschers and Schnauzers, so I will not go into the show ring myself. I will be there as a coach to our Affenpinscher friend Morran. With my experience, I believe I have got a lot to give in a coaching role. It will be fun. Stay tuned for reports on the day of this show.

Dad Would Have Been Pleased

My Dad was from Norway, as longtime readers of my blog know. He always rooted for Norway in sports.

The Swedish ladies' team in handball played Norway in the Olympic Games today. Norway scored about twice as many goals as Sweden. As a Swede, it was embarrasing to watch. Dad would have been pleased, though.

I miss Dad. He passed away too may years ago. Life was better when he was around.

Affenpinscher Club

Daniel participaten in a telephone meeting tonight. We could hear what he said, and it became clear it was not the Spitz club, where he has been a member of the board for many years, but the breed club for Affenpinscher. This is fun for our Affenpinscher friend Morran. Somehow, I still think it would be more useful to do more for spitz breeds, I believe. Nevertheless, working for any dog breed club is a great thing to do. It is not a waste of time.

Second Day of Dog Show

There were no Shibas shown at the dog show in Askersund today. In a way, this is good, because then I do not need to be disappointed I am not there, participating.

Daniel was there working again.

Paula worked night last night and tonight, so she spent most of the day sleeping. This is an hoourable way of spending your day. You sleep because you have to. If you rest without sleeping, you may be lazy, but sleeping is a way of restoring your body and brain. Sleeping is as important as working, eating, and other such essential things you do.

I spent the day overseeing us dogs watching the house. This is my duty as alpha bitch. I enjoy it, but it is tough work at times. I would rather go to a dog show.

Dog Show at Home

This weekend, our regional kennel club hosts its annual dog show in Askersund. It is not next door to us, but it is still our home turf, since this is the regional kennel club we belong to.

Daniel was there, working as a ring steward. He usually does.

Paula was also there. Rumour has it, she showed a Shiba, but none of us got to come along. If she did show a Shiba, I wonder whom that might be. I guess it was someone with our kennel prefix, or at least a close relative of some of us.

I would have loved to go myself. My show career is over, successful as it has been, but I would not mind a comeback. Dog shows will always be my favourite thing to do.

Bad Sportsmanship

A competitor in the Olympic Games in judo from Egypt was defeated by a competitor from Israel. The defeated man then refused to shake hands with the Israeli, as is customary. This is bad sportsmanship.

Judo is a Japanese sport. In Japanese culture, politeness is essential. You should not compete in a Japanese sport, if you cannot behave properly.

The Olympic Games is about friendly competition across all political borders of the world. Refusing to shake hands with a competitor from another country is an affront to the Olympic ideals.

This Egyptian should be disqualified from further competitions in judo.

Bad Harvest in Champagne

The 2016 grape harvest in Champagne, France, will be very bad. Frost, rot, and mildew have caused this. The harvest will be the worst in decades.

This is not good for lovers of the sparkly champagne wines. I am not one of them, but Paula is. She will manage, of course, but I feel for her.

For my part, I mostly just drink water.

Booing at the Olympic Games

There are spectators at the Olympic Games who are booing. This is bad, it is no sportsmanship. There are never booing at dog shows, the crowd there must be better at sportsmanship.

Evidently, there are many reasons for booing. I do not care. I believe there are no reasons that can justify booing. If you do not like one competitor, just do not applaud. Every competitor deserves this much respect.

Running Away to Get Home

In this evening's episode of the Midsomer Murders, the dog Sykes ran away from a dog day care unit to get home. This is the right way to go. If you run away, it is in order to get home.

Olympic Competition in Trick Filming

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We are watching the men's team competition in gymnastics. It is obvious that the participants do things that are not physically possible to achieve for a human. This is proof that they are not actually doing it. The competition is actually a competition in trick filming – this is the only reasonable explanation, thus, it must be true. It is nice to watch, nevertheless.

Silver

The Swedish Olympic team got its first medal today. Emma Johansson won silver in bicycle. She won silver in the Olympic Games eight years ago as well, and has been called "Silver Emma" ever since. The new silver medal will reinforce this nickname. (Four years ago, she came sixth.) We did, of course, hope she would win gold, but silver is still an excellent result. It is also a nice twist on the nickname.

Squash Soup

Nils Olov came by for a lottle while this evening. We all love him and wish he would have stayed longer. He brought some home made squash soup. I am not fond of soup, but I know Paula loves this soup. It was nice thinking of Paula and giving her some soup. Next time, perhaps we get some moose meat or other things that I love to eat. I have hope.

Dogs in the Olympic Games

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games starts officially today – or early morning Saturday, Central European Time.

I have always been of the opinion that there should be some dog sports in the Olympic Games. Agility is a dog sport close to the equestrian sports that has been included in many games. Dog sled racing should be included in the winter games.

There is an old April Fools Joke about Poodle clipping being an olympic sport in the 1900 Olympic Games. This is not true. It would not be a good olympic sport either, involving just Poodles.

The Olympic Games are interesting, nevertheless.

Ice Cream

We had some ice cream tonight. It was good.

Home Again

We went home again this afternoon. It was nice to visit the west coast, but there is no place like home.

I like going places and smelling new things. The best trips are when there is a dog show or two. This trip was fine, but there was no dog show. On the other hand, you cannot have all the fun any time you go somewhere.

I like to thank Daniel's family for a nice time.

Her Own Forest

Daniel's mother owns a forest estate in Småland, where she was born and reared. She inherited it from her father. We visited it today and ran around there for a while. It is very beautiful there, with a lot of beeches.

It is always nice to walk in the forest, but there is a special feeling when you walk on your own land, or the land of your close family.

Orange Colored Sky

Hello, Orange here!

We are visiting Daniel's parents at their summer house. I really like Daniel's mother. She taught me there is an old jazz song by Nat King Cole called Orange Colored Sky. (The song title is in American English, this is why you should spell it "color".) We listened to the song on Youtube. It was great, not just because the song title had my name in it. Look it up and listen to it, I am sure you will like it!