A Nice Trend Is Broken

Ever since 1993, Sweden had managed not to let in any goals in football, when playing Bulgaria. The teams have met many times, bit Sweden has always won without letting the Bulgarians make any goal. In the World Cup qualifier tonight, this nice trend was broken. Bulgaria scored 1-0 against Sweden in the beginning of the game. I am sad they did. I like nice trends.

Sausages

We got sausages for dinner today. It was very tasty. Meat is better, but sausage is a close second. Meat is a main ingredient in sausages, of course.

Oil

The car needed oil today, so Daniel got some. I do not really know what it is for, but it makes the engine going, anyway, along with the petrol. This is good enough for me. I keep going on meat and water, I think this is easier.

Thorax Intensive Care Unit

It is a bit strange, that you are sometimes interested in reading about something you are very familiar with and know a lot about. Tonight, Paula said she was going to read about the thorax intensive care unit. This is the unit at the hospital where she is working. Thus, she knows about it. Still, she reads about it. I guess it is like when I read anout dog shows, despite being a dog show professional, or read about dog behaviour, despite being a dog myself. It is odd, I admit that. I guess it is common, nevertheless.

Future Family for a Puppy

Puppies will soon be born here. both Karstuhl and Karen are expecting pups. We received visitors today, a human family who is interested in becoming the new family of one of these puppies. They were very friendly, interested, and informed for not yet having dogs. These are the kind of humans with whom you want puppies to move in to.

An interesting thing was that this family did not have a car. Most dog families have cars. They told us, however, that they live within walking distance to one of the biggest veterinary clinics in Sweden. Not having a car will, thus, never jeopardise the safety of the puppy. This is good.

If more humans were like these, more puppies would be needed.

The Lawn

In the dry summer that we have had, the lawn has not grown as much as it usually does, The positive side of this is that Daniel dåhas not had to mow the lawn as often as he usually does. Over the last couple of weeks, we have had rain, however, and the growth of the grass has increased very mich. Daniel had to mow the lawn today. It looks better when it is newly mowed. The best thing is, however, that it gives less opportunities for ticks to get onto us dogs. The lawn is mowed now. This is good.

Towards Autumn

The nights are getting longer and darker. Autumn will soon be here. It is getting more damp outside and a little more chilly. There are fewer bugs around. I rather like autumn, apart from the dark mornings that will come. Autumns are cool, autumns are nice. I hope there will be a lot of rain, our well would need it,

Qualified

The small Swedish football club Östersund, from a small town up north, has qualified for the Europe League.

This was very unexpected, a pleasant surprise for all of us from Sweden who have hoped, but have not really believed. It is always nice when Swedish clubs come far in the international club leagues. I believe so about every Swedish team. Daniel does not agree, when it comes to a few teams which he does not like, such as AIK. I still believe it is good r Swedish football. It is even better when the Swedish team is an underdog, like Östersund.

We wish Östersund all the luck in the League. The team will need it.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

It is the birthday of the best human I know: Paula.

Paula has been with me for all my life. She is my idol, my heroine, my human love. Today, she turns forty. She will continue living when I am gone, humans live longer than dogs. I will be with her as long as I can.

Happy birthday, Paula!

Preparations

It is Paula's birthday tomorrow. We have prepared the celebrations today. More preparations will be made tomorrow, but now it is time to rest. The present is ready.

Solar Eclipse

There has been a Solar Eclipse, visible from North America.

I believe Lunar Eclipses are much more important.

Candy

Sunday is always a holiday. Daniel had bought some candy and ice cream, fitting for a Sunday evening. We also continued celebrating a little from the dog show successes yesterday.

There are always some things worth celebrating. Sometimes, you have to think for a while, before you think of a reason to celebrate. With our show successes yeaterday, we did not need to ponder what to celebrate.

Good Results

We actually planned to go to Eskilstuna and the dog show today, to give my granddaughter Soya a chance to get her final CAC and becoming Swedish show champion, alternatively giving Karen a chance to get her first CAC. Soya have injuried her paw, however, and passed, because she would just limp in the show ring. Karen is expecting pups and should not go into the show ring for the sake of her pups.

I was entered in veterans' class, because we would go to Eskilstuna anyway. So was Gunde (a.k.a. Cookie). When Soya and Karen had to stay at home, however, Gunde and I had to defend the colours of Aangenaam. We did it properly. Gunde won best of breed, and I was Best of Opposite Sex. There were other excellent Shibas at the show, but we beat them.

Gunde was not placed in the Veterans' final or the Spitz breeds' final, but he did a great job, nevertheless. We are very satisfied with the results today.

Show Tomorrow

We are foing to a dog show tomorrow. I will participate in veterans' class. It was a while since there was a show where I participated, Going into the show ring has always been among the favourite things I know. It will be so much fun. Stay tuned for results!

Terrorist Attack in Barcelona

A van has been driven into people in central Barcelona, Spain. Police is treating it as a terrorist attack.

Our thoughts go to the victims and their families, including dogs.

It is terrible that things like this can happen. Humans can be so cruel. I wish the war on terror will be won soon.

A New Flower

Scientists have discovered a new flower on the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland. It is not just that the flower has been described by scientists for the first time, it really is a new flower. The original species was introduced in Shetland from overseas about two hundred years ago. Since then, a mutation has caused this flower to become bigger than its ancestors. It is, thus, a new flower. Compared to the time span of floral evolution on Earth, this flower has just appeared. It is younger than many dog breeds. This is fascinating.

More Pups

Karen went to the veterinarian today for an ultra sound examination. It turned out she is expecting at least three pups. Just like last autumn, we will have two litters of Shiba pups here. Polly's pups will likely be born before Karen's pups. Polly is my daughter, so I am sure her pups will be the sweetest.

Soon There Will Be Pups

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula said today, she believes I will get at least four pups. She said my tummy is that big.

I know what I think, but I will keep this to myself until the pups are born. There are not many weeks left now. I am looking forward to seeing the pups.

Cucumber

Calvin got some slices of cucumber today, but he did not want them. The offer passed to me. I accepted with a wagging tail. Cucumber may be a vegetable, and vegetables are generally neither very tasty, nor very healthy, for carnivores like us dogs. I do like cucumbers, however. I cannot quite describe why cucumbers are tasty. Taste is hard to describe in words, I believe. It is sufficient to say I like cucumbers. Calvin may think I am a little crazy because of this, but that is his problem, I know I am perfectly sane. We all have our personal preferences, when it comes to taste.

No Home Dog Show

Our own regional kennel club, Örebro läns kennelklubb, has its annual dog show in Askersund this weekend. None of us are shown there this year. This is a shame. It is so fun to go to dog shows and there is a point in going to the show of your own regional club. We will have to come back next year instead. This year, Daniel goes by himself, working as a ring steward. He is having fun.

Athletics

The World Championships in athletics is on in London. There are a few Swedes making an impact, one of them got a silver medal. The Americans are doing great. I root for Americans as well, since Mum was from America and I am thus half American. I can also root for athletes from Japan, Norway and Belgium. It is nice being able to trace your roots to many different countries, when international competitions are on.

Chicken

Apparently, cooked chicken is not healthy for dogs. If we swallow cooked bones of poultry or pork, it might split inside us and cut us up. I still do not see why we cannot have more chicken filet, now that Paula and Daniel had chicken for dinner. Life is full of small disappointments.

Birth Control App

There is an app that can help humans not getting pregnant, if they not want to and still want to have sex. It works on measurements of body temperature and algorithms. It has been found to be quite effective in clinical studies.

The app can also be used to pinpoint the time when humans are most likely to get pregnant, if they want to.

I figure it would probably be possible to evolve the app, so it can be used for dogs. This would be a great help, when the male is living quite far away from the female. It would suggest what day would be the best to travel to the male. This could prevent long, unnecessary trips to be mated. I hope such an app will come.

Godzilla Actor Dies

One of the most famous Japanese contributions to popular culture is the giand lizard monster Godzilla. The very first actor who played Godzilla n 1954, and returned to the role in eleven sequels, Haruo Nakajima, has died at the age of 88. 

Horror movies are not my cup of tea. It is still interesting to note that probably most people around the world has at least heard of Godzilla. The Japanese are good story tellers, regardless of how high cultural value the stories may be deemed to have. If the original actor behind Godzilla dies, Godzilla will still survive for the foreseeable future. This is cool.

Partial Lunar Eclipse

There was a partial Lunar eclipse at Moonrise this evening. We do not have a good view of the eastern horizon from our garden, there are tall trees in the way.

I did not look for the Moon, eclipsed or not. After all, I am a full Lunar Eclips all the time, a partial Lunar eclipse is not so much to see compared to this, is it?

Joke aside, I hope there were many people interested in celestial events who took the time to watch the eclipse. It is special, even if it was just a partial eclipse this time.

Rain

At last, this weekend, we have received a lot of rain. We got twenty millimetres yesterday and a lot today as well. It is still far from an annual average, but it is a start.

I have written a lot of blog entries lately about the laxk of precipitation since last autumn. We had just a little rain throughout the late summer and autumn, not much snow in the winter, and just a little rain in the spring. This summer, we have hardly had any rain at all. By the start of summer, experts said to the newspaper we needed to get at least hundred millimetres of rain in the early summer. We never got that. Months have passed with hardly any rain. This is why about forty to fifty millimetres of rain this week is just a start. It is a good start, but we still need a lot of rain in the days and weeks to come.

Let us hope for even more rain, even though it is uncomfortable being outdoors when it is raining.

Upcoming Pups

Hello, Karstuhl here!


Daniel asked me and Mommy why none of us wrote a blog entry yesterday about the result of my ultra sound examination.


The examination confirmed to Paula and Daniel that I am expecting pups. There will be at least two pups, perhaps three.


Well, there is a simple answer to Daniel's question. Both Mommy and I already knew I was with pups. I knew it from the start, of course. Mothers know this, and I have had litters of pups before. My own mother soon suspected the same, and I confirmed it to her. Consequently, the confirming result of the ultra sound examination was not news to us. It was, thus, nothing to write a blog entry about.


It is good that we have ultra sound examinations. They show our humans whether we are expecting pups or not.

Weekend

It is weekend, starting with Friday night, today.

The best weekends are those when we go to dog shows. This is, however, not common enough for my taste. The second best weekend is when both Paula and Daniel stays very mich at home. The upcoming weekend is not such a weekend.

Daniel will be home most of this weekend. Paula wil, however, not. She is working tonight, coming home early tomorrow morning. Then she will work the next night as well, Saturday to Sunday.

It is good that Paula and Daniel are working. They earn money from it, with which they buy dog food, treats etc. Still, parts of me cannot help wanting Paula to be back home. We will greet her with great joy, when she is coming home tomoorow and the day after tomorrow.

Final Teams Decided

In the UEFA Women's 2017 tournament, there were semi finals tonight. Denmark played Austria and the Netherlands played England. Javier rooted for Denmark and England, because he has got brothers who live in those countries. Denmark beat Austria, but the Netherlands beat England. It will e an interesting final game this Sunday.

Romans

Europe may have been founded, culturaly, by the Roman empire. It ruled all of the southern part of Europe, and more, from Rome and then Constantinople. A new, spectacular archaelogical discovery of Roman houses has been found outside of Lyon in France. it is an area of about 7,000 square metres with very well preserved remains.

I wonder if there are any remains showing dogs.

Is This a Boring Blog?

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It happens that I ask Mommy why she writes this blog on a daily basis. The statistics provided by the blog host shows there are not many people who read it. There are very seldom any comments on the blog posts.

Well, the answer I get is that Mommy thinks it is fun. She writes down her thoughts as much for her own sake, as for the sake of her readers. She likes her readers, but could have a journal without them.

I guess this makes sense. It must make sense for any writer. No matter how many readers you have, you must think it is fun writing, for your own sake, as well as for the writers.

So, is this a boring blog? Is this why there are not many followers? I do not think so. I believe there is just so many things out there on the World Wide Web to read, that a blog by a dog is just so odd it gets few readers. It is far from boring. I know, I enjoy reading it.