Celebration

Paula's sister with family and Paula's parents came by this afternoon. They spent some time here, then  they, Paula, and Daniel left. Paula and Daniel came back in the evening. They ad a late, special celebration for Paula and her fortieth birthday. Paula told me it was a very nice evening. I am glad she enjoyed it. For me, it was a calm evening that I also enjoyed.

Friday Fun?

Neigher Paula nor Daniel felt well this evening. They both had a cold. They coughed and sneezed.

On Friday nights, you want to hve fun. It is the start of the weekend. It is, however, not that fun, when both your humans are feeling low and cold. We dohelp up their spirits, however, Dogs are great at that.

New Family

A couple of humans were here visiting us tonight. They will become the new family of one of the current pups, probably one of Karen's pups. I studied them thoroughly and came to the conclusion they are nice people. The pup who will get them as his new family will get a good life. This feels good.

It is great when people interested in becoming the new family for a pup come here, so we can get to know them. It is not just about Paula and Daniel getting to know them, the way they act towards dogs is something that the dogs here can, quite naturally, be better judges of. We were today. These humans passed.

Meeting the Grandpups

I met my grandpups of Polly's most recent litter for the first time today. It was not that interesting. Having pups of my own was fun and very rewarding, but I have been there, done that. Polly's pups are very cute, but in a rather boring age. It will be more fun in a few weeks, when they have started to play for real and go outdoors. Until that time, I am fine with just seeing them for a little while, letting Polly do the work. This is a perk of being a grandmother.

Archaeology

There was a documentary on archaeology on TV tonight. Most of it was about human remains, some about horse remains. There was not a single word on dog remains. The excavations must have been made from very poor societies. If a society does not have dogs, it must be a poor society. Dogs are an essential part of human civilisation.

There Is a War Already

North Korea accuses the USA of declaring war against them.

This is silly. North Korea and the USA are already at war with each other. They have been since 1950. There was a cease fire in 1953, but no peace treaty has ever been negotiated, much less signed.

You cannot really declare war on a state which you are already at war with, can you?

It is said that Andorra did not show up at Versailles in 1919 and never signed the peace treaty with Germany after the First World War, so when Andorra followed France and declared war in 1939, they found thenselves fighting two world wars simultaneously. This ended with a separate peace treaty in 1939 with regard to the First World War, while the Second World War was allowed to continue. This is an exception to the rule. The USA and North Korea should both know that there is, actually, a state of war between them. The question is rather who might break the cease fire first. I hope none of them do.

Upcoming Event

The political party that Daniel is a member of will hold a national event here in Örebro later this autumn. Daniel spent part of this day reading documents about suggested policies for the party, suggestions that is up for decisions at this event. Daniel will not take part in the event, but he will be at a meeting before the event where he will discuss the ideas. I still think it is a little waste of time, if Daniel will not be there coting for or against anything, but he thinks it is interesting. We all have our own hobbies, I guess.

Saturday

We have had a cool Saturday today, generally taking it easy. Both Paula and Daniel have stayed at home most of the day (though Daniel took a detour to the grocery store). I like days like his, days when we can just take it easy. It is among the best of days. If we go to a dog show, it is better, but cool days are second best. I hope for more days like this.

Washing Machine

Hello, Karstuhl here!

When I have small puppies, like I have now, I spend my days with them in the bathroom. This is where we have the litter box. I am quite fond of the bathroom. The downside is that the washing machine is here. I dislike the sound of the washing machine, when clothes and other things are washed in it. I wish Paula and Daniel would wait until the puppies are old enough before washing, but I cannot expect them to actually do this. I guess I have to endure this noise, then. It is not nice, bit I can manage. My puppies help me through this, they are so cute.

Karen's Pups

I guess I should mention that Karen has had a litter of pups, parallel to my daughter Polly. Karen's pups were born on Saturday evening. They are cute, like all Shiba pups. As a grandmother, however, I believe Polly's pups are a little cuter.

Karen got three sons, no daughter, in this litter. There are already plans for their future, we have a number of different families who are eager to get a Shiba from here. We have a good reputation. Karen and her pups will benefit from this. I think they will add to it, as well, which is good.

Shiba pups are the greatest, but they are not for everyone. You have to know enough about us and be prepared to treat us with the dignity we deserve. If you do, you will get a faithful companion for eternity. This is great, isn't it?

Vulnerable, but not Endangered

The snow leopard is not at such a high risk of extinction any longer. It is no longer an endangered species, but it is deemed vulnerable. This is not bad, although more work has to be done. The great carnivores are important in the ecology, they need to be preserved. I hope they will survive.

Grandpups

Humans talk about their grandchildren, who are children of their children. For us dogs, it is grandpups. I have not heard or seen this word anywhere, but I am sure it must exist. If a dog has had pups, who have become adult dogs and have pups, these pups are grandpups. It is a splendid word, telling you how grand the pups are. My daughter Karstuhl has newborn pups again now, these are my grandpups. So far, they are too young, but I cannot wait to meet them. It will be great.

Gertrud

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My most recently born daughter will be called Gertrud. This is a fine name. It is a Medieval name, meaning spear and force. Saint Gertrud is the patron saint of travellers.

My daughter Gertrud will stay with us, our family will be her family. This is great. I have longed for having a puppy who stays with us.

She can also be called Gerstuhl.

Sleep

Hello, Orange here!

We had one of these great days of rest. Paula worked night between Saturday and Sunday, then she came home to sleep. We kept her company in bed, and slept when she slept. There are times when life as a companion dog is pretty nice.

More About the Pups

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My pups of the latest litter are doing great. They are a week and a half old now and really cute. It is a boy and a girl.

As is the case with most of the very best Shibas, they are black and tan. If you do not believe me that black and tan comes with being one of the best Shibas, ask Mommy. You could also have asked Daddy or my maternal Grandfather, as long as they were around. Of course, all Shibas are great dogs. We are, after all, the very best of breeds. However, black and tan Shibas are the best of the best.

So far, the pups are blind and dead, but this will not last for long. They will open up their eyes and start exploring the world in just a couple of days. This will be nice.

Twelve Years Old

It is my birthday today. I turn twelve. We celebrated this evening. A lot of things have happened during these twelve years.

Some would say I have passed my peak, that I am old enough that I am on a downward slope now. I know I will not see another twelve years in this life, but I still believe I am on top of my peak. I believe I have been at the peak for a long time. For me, it is an elongated peak, like the top of a long ridge, rather than the tip of a mountain. I can still see this elongated peak continuing way into my future. This feels nice.

I wish to send congratulations to my brothers Jiro and Kiko as well!

Nice Looking People

Paula and Daniel had this strange debate about nice looking people. Humans claim looks are important, when chosing a mate, I have never understood this. For dogs, the smell is most impotant. You can smell if you are in heat and if the male in your vicinity would be a good father of pups or not. Why would you need looks. The smell is so much more decisive. I guess humans go by looks, because they lack the sense of smell that dogs have. It is just that the smell tells you so mich more than the looks do. If you can smell him and find he is good, he is. Kenny was my love, I could smell it.

Tagliatelle

Pasta is always good. We had some tagliatelle tonight, the elongated, flat kind of pasta. Paula made an easily made but tasty sauce. I got a rather huge part of it. Calvin got more than I did, but he is a nice guy and can deserve this once in a while. It was a good evening.

Doughnuts Instead of Flowers

A bride in Australia surprised the wedding party by having bouquets of doughnuts instead of flowers. Everyone was pleasantly surprised, as far as the story goes. I understand them. I would also much rather have doughnuts than flowers, anywhere, in any capacity. Dogs do not have wedding parties, but if I had, this is the kind of bridal bouquet I would want.

The Noise

We figured out what it was that went boom in the night. It was most certainly the sound of Swedish artillery at the military training field at Villingsberg. The sound came from that direction and the army is involved in a big excercise for the moment.

The sound of Swedish artillery is a good sound. It is the sound of our army preparing to defend our land, if necessary. We hope it will never be necessary, but the army is there to prevent the necessity as well as responding to the necessity, if necessary.

We cannot hear any explosions tonight.

Distant Explosions?

Things went "boom" in the distance this afrernoon. None of us knew what it was about. It was far enough away, that I and the other dogs did not react by barking at it. Paula and Daniel did discuss possible origins of the sound, though. Daniel though somebody was causing explosions in projects to build something. Paula was not so sure. I was not either, humans usually do not work on building sites on Sundays. Whatever the origin of the sound was, it was not causing us any harm, however. I guess we really do not need to know what it is, then.

Rain

We have had quite a lot of rain over the last couple of weeks. This is good for the amount of water in our well. It is raining again this evening. As long as you are indoors, and can just listen to the sound of the rain falling on the roof, it is really rather cozy to have rainy weather. I like it.

Anniversary

Paula and Daniel celebrated their anniversary as married today. I do not really see the point. I like it that they live together, and have us dogs, but living together with just one partner like this is not the dog way of doing things. I loved Kenny above any other male dog, but he was not my one and only. Dogs generally do not have any one and only. I guess there are just some differences between us and humans that I cannot quite comprehend. Nevertheless, Paula and Daniel are happy, so I congratulate them!

Good Food

Hello, Karstuhl here!

One of the fringe benefits of having puppies is the extra food you get.

Taking care of your small puppies is, in it self, the best reward there is. They are so cute. Beside this, there are fringe benefits. One is the extra food.

Today, I got smörgåstårta during the day and a hamburger with chips in the evening. I really enjoyed both dishes. This was great.

Puppies

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My pups were born tonight. It is one boy and one girl. They are among the best puppies ever. The only other puppies this great are my former puppies – and myself, when I was a puppy.

Darker Outside

It is getting darker outside. We had the lights on outside, when we went out for the final time tonight. It gives you an additional feeling of autumn. Even though it was relatively warm and almost no rain today, darkness tells us it is autumn. The full Moon rose above the treetops, this was a nice thing to behold.

Cold

Paula is having a cold and a fever. The fever is a reaction to the cold, making her warm. She sleeps to get rid of the cold. We help her, by lying close by, sharing our body heat with her. This is a good way of helping someone with a cold getting better. We all hope the cold will disappear soon.

Giving Paula a Ride Home

Paula worked the night between Saturday and Sunday. Daniel went to pick her up by car, giving her a ride home, and I got to come along. Our humans usually bring one of us dogs as often as they are able to, we are a great support in anything they do. Picking Paula up went very smoothly, I guess my presence was a help. I hope I can come along more times. I am experienced at picking Paula up.

World Beard Day

The first Saturday in September has been named the World Beard Day. It is a day in honour of the beard and bearded individuals, in a humourous way.

We honour the day by paying special attention to our Affenpinscher friend Morran, who has got a beard. Schnauzers and other bearded dogs should also get special treatment this day, we believe.

I am not certain if the humans who started World Beard Day considered paying special attention to bearded dog breeds. We do, nevertheless.

Autumn

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is. September, and the almanack says it is autumn. The weather is just like yesterday. Humans and their wish to control everything. The almanack is one such way. It is funny..

The great thing about the almanack is that the humans keep track of birthdays etc. Celebrations are always great.