Paula and Daniel went shopping for the New Year celebrations today. This is important. The celebrations involve a lot of good food. This is good. Good food is great. I am looking forward to the celebrations because of all the good food.
Considering the pandemic in 2020, I am sure 2021 will be a better year.
It is late in December and a rainy day. We have had a few days with temperatures below the freezing point, but not really any snow. This seems to be a dull winter, without any snow. We will have to see what happens in January.
It is the second day of Christmas, and we have taken it easy. The days between Christmas Day and New Year are often nice and calm.
In the evening, however, we heard a cracker. Probably the most stupid of traditions is using crackers to make noise around New Year. The background is old superstition that you would scare off evil beings for the new year. Now people just doit to waste money and scare innocent animals. I cannot believe a cracker was fired as early as today. Do people not have better things to do?
I killed a mouse today.
Our cats Malin and Totte kills mice once in a while. I am tired of hearing the praise they get for this, however well deserved, when I can be just as good att killing mice.
It should not matter that the mouse I killed was a toy mouse.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. It is the day when we celebrate Christmas the most in Sweden. We spent this day cleaning and preparing for Christmas. It feels better to celebrate in a clean house.
I wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas!
The washing mashine is a good invention. With it, Paula and Daniel cleans dog beds, sheets, plush toys, and their clothes. It did not work properly today, however. There seemed to be something clogging the drain. Daniel incåvestigated and cleaned, and think he took care of it. I sure hope he did. It would be bad if we would have to buy a new washing mashine in order to have clean dog beds et cetera.
We had some sunshine in the middle of the day. Thenit became overcast and we had rain.
This is typical for the December weather this year. It also means that there was no chance for us to see the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn this evening. Daniel would really have wanted to see it, he said. I am not as disappointed as he is, but it was not fun. We sat indoors watching TV instead.
Today, we have all really taken a day off. I have been able to focus most of the day on my favourite passtime: sleeping.
One of the great things about the holidays is that you can take some time off and really relax. I love this. I wish there were more days like this.
There is just half a month left of this year. It is one 24th of the year. It has been a year when the pandemic has been the most important thing. The virus is bad, but vaccines are on its way. We can look forward to a better year in 2021. I believe it will be better.
Paula and Daniel had some glühwein to drink this evening. They do sometimes, around Christmas time.
I do not like glühwein. It is warm, sweet, sticky, and generally weird. Taste differs, however. I recognise Paula and Daniel likes glühwein and let them have it.
The 13 December is celebrated as a feast for Saint Lucia in Sweden. The main reason is not the saint from Sicily in early times of Christianity, but that this was the winter solstice during the 18th century, when celebrations were first held in parts of western Sweden.
I like the Lucia buns with saffron. Special tasty things to eat are the best things about feast days.
Daniel stayed up until really late this Saturday to write Chrstmas greeting cards. He will put them in the mail and hope they will reach the receivers before Christmas. I hope so too.
Most of us dogs sleep in the bed with Paula and Daniel. The cats do too, when they are not outdoors hunting throughout some nights.
There are times when I sleep in the sofa beside the bed, but this is just to get more space.
Tonight, the Chihuahua pup Piffy is allowed to sleep in the bed for the first time. She really likes it. I can understand her. It is in the nature of dogs to wish to be near the rest of the pack, dogs and humans alike, and cats, when you have got them. I am sure this will go well.
Welcome to the bed, Piffy!
It is the anniversary of the passing of the great Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel. He had no children, and gave his fortune to a foundation who give the proceeds out as the Nobel prizes each year. This day is normally the day when the prizes are awarded. This is, however, not the case in this year of the covid-19 pandemic.
Malin the cat says we can all celebrate her name day today, instead. She has a point.
This evening, Paula realised neither she nor Daniel had used any car today. They were both at home all day. I like this. It is unusual that they are both at home all day, especially a weekday. This is the advantage of the pandemic, when Daniel can work from home when Paula is free from work and at home. This is life at its finest.
Gunde is gone now. I loved him. I wish him all the best and I hope to meet him in the next life.
There are times when I wish no loved ones would never pass away. At the same time, we get pups and grandpups. If no old loved ones would leave, there would be no room for new loved ones. This way, you can have more loved ones throughout your life. Perhaps this is how it is meant to be?
There are Aangenaam dogs living Finland. They can celebrate the national holiday of Finland today. Finland is a nice country, a good friend of Sweden, and where dogs are held in high regard. Long live Finland!
We got our cats early this year. They were born one year ago today, as kittens in the same litter.
The cats, black female Malin and striped male Totte, have become good friends of all of us. I really like them, even though they are not dogs. There are differences in how we communicate, but not so large that we cannot get along.
Paula and Daniel gave our cats their names from childrens’ books characters.
Happy birthday, Malin and Totte!
It is now one year since my dear mother Hailey passed away. We all miss her. It might be that Imiss her the most. After all, she was my mother.
I took over the blog on the same day that Mommy passed away. Hopefully, it makes her proud in her heaven. I do believe I have done her justice, even though I think I am not quite as good as Mommy. With more experience, chances are I will get closer. Let us hope so.
We had a debate today on whether you should spell ”count down” or ”countdown”, in the headline of the blog entry for yesterday. I argued that if you are uncertain in English,you should write the two parts of the concept as separate words. Peanut agreed with me. He is from England, so heis good at English. Allof us did not agree, however. English is not always easy.
Daniel got an Advent Calendar from Paula. It has chocolate and marzipan from Anthon Berg in it. Daniel loves this. Both Paula and Daniel refuse to give us dogs chocolate, they say it is unhealthy for us. Apparently, humans has an enzyme in their body to digest chocolate, which dogs do not have. I am still not quite sure if this is the real reason, or if humans just want to keep all chocolate for themselves. Paula does not really like chocolate, though, so this is a reason the story about the enzyme may be correct. I let it go, there are so many other tasty things, anyway.
It is the first Sunday in Advent, the four weeks before Christmas.
Paula and Daniel celebrate that this is the day when they became a couple. We all celebrate this, and that Christmas is close.
I love Christmas, because you get so much good food and so many treats. It is a wonderful season. Life is good at Christmas.
Laura left us, when her pups had left. She lives her day to day life with another family in Örebro.
I will miss Laura on our dog walks. Most walks are with Javier and Peanut. When Laura has also joined this walk, it has made for a better balance between bitches and dogs. It is not that I cannot handle Javier and Peanut myself, but it has been a little easier when Laura has been around too. We will have to see when Laura will be back. Chances are there will be another litter from her, them she will be here again. Time will tell.
The pups have left us today.
Viggo was the first to leave, the second to be born eight weeks ago. He will get a great home with the family of my half sister Meja in Småland.
Kenji left later in the day. He will stay in Örebro with a nice young couple who lives not far from us. We are glad there will be yet another Aangenaam shiba who lives his life in our home town.
Laura’s pups went to the veterinarian for their check up the day before yesterday. The papaerwork could not be finished, however. Daniel went to pock it up today. I think this is the first time paperwork for a puppy check up has not been finished at the visit there. We are still very satisfied with our veterinarian clinic.
The pups passed the check up. This is good, it is yet another litter from our breeding that passes.
I hope the next litter will be grand pups of mine.
It is the end of the month, and the humans pay their bills.
Daniel always become comcerned, when he is about to pay the bills. He is more relaxed afterwards, even though he is never happy. Paula got around this problem this time, because she asked Daniel to pay her bills as well, from her account, which he did.
I am glad I am a dog and do not have to pay the bills.
Paula was away last night. It has been a while since. There was a time when Paula often worked at night, but it was a long time since last time.
Now Paula is back home again. We all enjoy this, not least Paula herself. We all enjoy the nights the most, when everyone in the family is at home. Life is good.
It seems like it is rare, but we had sunny weather today. It was sun in November.
The sunny weather should have made us happy. Paula did not feel well, however, and this made us sad. You cannot be really happy, when your favourite human does not feel well and feels sad. We hope she will get better tomorrow.
This was a Sunday when both Paula and Daniel stayed at home the whole day. It is uncommon, but I really like it. Having the whole family at home all day is great. I wish more days would be like today. We just took it easy most of the day, although there was some cleaning going on now and then.
Tomorrow is Monday. Paula has already talked about going away for some important things she needs to take care of. I guess we need to wait at least until next weekend, until we get a day like this again. It is worth waiting for, though.
The battleof Narva was fought between Russia and Sweden on this day in the year 1700. It was a great Swedish victory. Unfortunately, the rest of the war against Russia did not turn out equally good. Sweden lost the war and had to give up Estonia and many other provinces to the east and south of the Baltic Sea. This was to the detriment of both Sweden and the inhabitants of those provinces. Sweden had a policy towards the people that was much more free, liberal you could say, than the enemies who seized these territories. Nevertheless, the victory at Narva is worth celebrating.
Paula’s niece Nadja turns four years old today. As a human, she is still a young child at this age.
Paula and Daniel went to celebrate Nadja this evening. I would have wanted to participate, but was busy at home. I congratulate Nadja this way instead. Congratulations, big girl!
Daniel bought new winter tyres for the new car today. It is good to have them, and compulsory when winter comes. They were expensive, but I guess this is just fitting for an expensive car. The tyres are important for traffic safety, so you must not buy too cheap tyres. These tyres will sirely protect us for many winters to come.
We watched Vetenskapens värld (The World of Science) on Swedish TV tonight. It was a very interesting episode on what the modern science knows about dogs.
There were, of course, a few mistakes in the show. For one thing, they brought up that some breeds have health issues, but failed to stress that good breeding programmes within the realms and regulations of national kennel clubs is the best way to diminish these problems. Most of the show was very good and informative, nevertheless. I would recommend that those who did not watch it follow the link and watch it on SVT Play.
Both of Laura’s pups are spoken for. They will both leave us when they turn eight weeks old.
I was never worried that we would not agree with new families to take care of these pups. We have never had so many people asking for pups before, as we have had this year. One of the families visited uslast weekend, itis the family of my half sister Meja. The other family visited us yesterday evening, they live in our town and seem like great people.
The pups are doing well. They are cute, but it will be a little more calm at home when they have moved. I wish them all the luck.
The new beds that Paula and Daniel have bought were delivered today. They are really comfortable. I think I will sleep tight all night.
The walk in the forest will also add to my sleep.
Paula took me and Javier on a ride in the new BMW today. We went up to Blackstahyttan and took a long and relieving walk in the forest. The car was great, but I really liked the walk better.
The ballots for the presidential election in the US State of Georgia will be recounted by hand. The Democratic contestant narrowly won the State over the Republican. Regardless of this, the Democrat already has won so many States and their electors, that he will win. Thus, I cannot really see that the reasons for a recount are so great that this needs to be done. It will be better when this election is finally over.
This evening, I was outdoors with the pups and their mother Laura.
The pups are well behaved. One of them walked up to me, which is nice. He came too close, however, so I growled a little. As soon as I growled, he backed off. Laura has reared the pups well.
It is about two weeks and a half before the pups will leave for their new families. We have already agreed with one family that they will come in the morning of the Saturday when the pups turn eight weeks old. This is splendid, good for the family, the pup, and for us. Although the pups are cute and well behaved, it will be more calm here once they have left.
My father Kuro chan passed away five years ago. I often think about him. I miss him, especially on a day like this, whenit is father’s day in Sweden.
Daniel’s father passed away last year, so he knows how I feel.
Paula and Daniel went to see Paula’s father this afternoon. Paula is lucky to have his father around.
We had visitors today. The family where my older half sister Meja lives where here to see the pups. They were nice people and decided upon one of the pups.
Now it is time to find a home for the other pup. We have had many inquiries, so the trouble is not finding a family, the trouble is picking a family. I am sure Paula and Daniel will make a good job with this. They usually do.
Paula and Daniel had eggs, among other ingredients, for dinner. I like eggs, so I kindly asked if I could have a taste. It turned out, I could not. I had to leave the dinner. Itis not that I was hungry, I was just feeling like having a little egg.
The American presidential election is not yet finished. Votes are still counted in some States.
As my dear late Mommy would say: why do they not have a monarch instead? It works very well with monarchs in Japan, Sweden, and many other countries. With a monarch, you do not need an election for a president.
It is election day in the USA, the home country of my maternal grandmother Sunni. Granny’s breeder is interested in politics and has firm opinions. For granny’s and her sake, I hope her candidates will win. I do not just think of the presidential election, which is the focus of international news, but also the elections on State level. We will see what happens, when we wake up tomorrow morning. None of us are so interested that we will stay awake throughout the night to follow everything. Following it will not change a thing. It is better to get a good night’s sleep.
This evening, Paula and Daniel just cooked some spaghetti and had cheese with it. This is easy, quick, but fills the stomach. It is also quite tasy, for being so easy and cheap. Sometimes, the easy solutions are really good.
There are small, black bugs inside our house. They are not more than a few millimetres long, they make no sound, there really are not that many, but they are around. They are bugging me. Paula and Daniel get rid of them, when they find them, but it seems like there is a constant influx of a few more all the time. We wonder where they come from. We hope all of them will soon be gone. Perhaps they will be gone soon. I hope so.
This is a day when we commemorate our lost loved ones.
Mommy have been gone for almost a year now. Daddy Kenny for many years. Grandmother Sunni and Grandfather Kuro even longer. Auntie Linni is also a lost loved one; not a relative, but definitely a loved one. I miss all of them, and others.
We make new friends throughout our lives, but we never forget old friends. I believe our hearts grow with each new loved one we get. We lose loved ones, but not our love for them. Love is one of the things that makes life worth living. Love is good.
The new car can be run on electricity. We charge it with a cable from the barn. This is nice. I have never liked the exhaust fumes from cars and mopeds that run on petrol.
We will have to see when the time comes for me to try the car out.
Throughout this day, I had this eerie feeling that I had forgotten to write any blog entry yesterday. I could not quite remember, however. Now that I open up the blog app, I can see that my feeling was a representation of a truth. I really did forget to write anything in my blog yesterday. Still, I cannot recall why this may have happened. The memory is strangely bad once in a while. I am glad this is not common.
There is water on the Moon, more than previously thought. This bodea well for future manned missions to the Moon.
Just like Mommy, I have a registered name which is inspired by the Moon. Mommy was always interested of the Moon. I guess I am as well, but there will be at least decades before dogs go there. It will not happen in my lifetime. It would be a sign of progress, however, when this happens.
Paula made one of her signature dishes tonight: fish pate. It is really tasty, I know from previous times. It also smells great. However, I did not get any tonight. It was a bad night, that way. Paula and Daniel were both in a happy mode, so were many of theother dogs, I could not really be in a bad mood myself. Life has its ups and downs, sometimes at the same time.
We reset the clocks today. We do not have daylight savings time anymore, this year. This is good, it makes for a few more mornings when our morning walks are in daylight.
Paula and Daniel went cruising with the new car today. This was not just for fun. When you have a new car, you need to get to knowit, to be able to handle it in the best possible way. Cruising with a new car is, thus, something that is done in the name of traffic safety.
I wish I would have had the opportunity to come along on the cruise. It will be interesting to experience a ride in the new car. This is bound to happen, eventually.
We have a new car. It is not really ours yet, however. There was some issue with a tax return or something, that the seller would get. Bureaucracy can hamper you, it did this time. We will just have to see when the car can really be ours.
We have had a lot of rain lately. It rained on our morning walk today.
It is not fun when it is raining and you are outdoors. We have to think of the good things about the rain, our well is filling up. Water is a necessity. It is just that I wish it would fall from the sky at night, when we are all indoors sleeping, anyway.
The chimney sweep was here today. He was a nice fellow, not perplexed or affraid by us dogs.
The chimney was in full working order. The chimney sweep did take some ash away from the chimney, but not much. Now we can go on using the fire place. This is one more thing which is in order for winter.
We have had a lot of ash in our fire place. Tonight, we cleaned this out. The chimney sweep will come tomorrow. It is good to have the fire place reasonably clean before the chimney sweep comes. When the chimney sweep has been here, we will be able to continue using the fire place for the whole winter. This is good.
Daniel is at the city council today and tomorrow. They are discussing the economy for the city and how the economy will be next year. This is important, but I believe it is really dull. Paula agrees with me. I am glad Daniel does not think so, though, because while it is important, it is good that some smart people think it is interesting.
Sundays are days of rest. We had a little rest today. All of us slept for longer than usual in the morning. For a while in the afternoon, Paula and Daniel went away for some errands, then all of us dogs could rest. It has been a good day.
We watched the Hollywood movie The Last Samurai tonight. For being an American movie, I believe it gives a good image of 19th century Japan. I like it.
At an elk hunt in the north of our county (Örebro län), a hunter had to shoot and kill a wolf. Authorities have investigated the case and found that the shot was justified. The wolf was attacking a hunting dog and the hunter shot to save the dog.
While the death of a wolf is always a sad event, I must also find the shot justified. A wolf should not attack another member of its species. If it does, killing the wolf is justified, if nothing else works in the heat of the moment.
I am glad that the dog was saved. In a fight, both dog and wolf may have been mortally wounded.
We have had two kittens since last winter. They are almost young adult cats now. Both cats have become nice members of our family.
Cats are kittens for a longer time than dogs are pups. A cat is a kitten for twelve months, while a dog is a pup for nine months. It remains to be seen if our cats can ever be so mature as adults as all of us dogs are.
A man in the USA has become ill with covid-19 for the second time. This is very rare, but not unique. He is the first known person, however, who has become more seriously ill the second time.
The case raises questions on immunity and how certain it can be. People who have had the disease are therefore encouraged to still keep the same social distance as if they would not have been infected.
I hope there will be an effective vaccine soon.
Rumour had it, we would get new beds today. The delivery lorry did not show up in the afternoon, though. I guess this was what Daniel talked to the store about in the morning. He told them Paula felt of a cold and did not want them to come. We have to wait for a week or so.
New beds are always nice. Paula and Danielhave often purchased new beds for us dogs. They have had the same beds for the,selves since before I was born, however. I think, since before Mommy was born. They deserve new, comfortable beds.
We have to see what the new beds are like, once they come.
There are days which just pass by, when it seems like nothing of any importance happens. This was such a day. It is not that I disliked this day, it just did not give me any special feelings at all. Ihope tomorrow will be a more exciting day. You are welcome back to the blog tomorrow, to see if there is anything more exciting that I can write about then. I do think it is. Truly uneventful days are not very common, fortunately.
Sweden has lost many games in Nations League in football now. This evening, the Swedes were defeated by Croatia, 2-1.
We are disappointed that it does not work out better. Football is a great sport and we would like Sweden to be successful in it. Nations League is not very important, but the results still matter for more important tournaments. Any game affects the ranking, which in turn affects which team Sweden may face. With a higher rank, Sweden gets to face less formidable opponents.
Hopefully, it will be better in the UEFA Euro 2020 campionship next year.
Laura’s pups are one week old today.
There are times these days when I miss having pups of my own in the litter box. It was a feeling of satisfaction to take care of them, unparalleled by other feelings. I am very happy with other tings, but different things are satisfactory in different ways.
It will be interesting when the pups are so old the rest of us can meet them.
Paula will get a new car, another Mini, instead of the car which she had an accident in last Friday. The insurance company will pay for the difference. This makes us happy. I am looking forward to seeing the new car. I hope I will have a chance to ride in it soon, too.
Insurance may seem expensive, but imagine how much more money Paula and Daniel would have lost, had the car not been insured. It is almost as important to have a good insurance for your car, as it is for your dogs.
The Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada, often known simply as Kenzo, has passed away. He died from covid-19.
Humans are lucky that they can change clothes if they want to. They could all wear Kenzo clothes, looking a little more Japanese. Dogs need to be born of a Japanese breed. Shibas are, of course.
This morning, we had 14 millimetres of rain in the rain-gauge. This is a fair amount. We also had some rain today.
The well almost ran dry a little while back. We are happy for every millimetre of rain. I hope for a rainy autumn.
Black and tan Shibas are not fully black in the black parts of our coats. There are lighter hairs underneath, that shine through. The blackness of space is also not really, fully black, there is background radiation and stuff. The objects which are the mostly black we know, are black holes. This is because they have such a high gravity that not even light can escape them. (There is a theory that even black holes can emit some particles, however, but I am not quite sure how.) This year’s Nobel Prize in physics go to scientists who have proved the existence of black holes. As a black and tan Shiba, I like this.
They called from the garage. Paula’s Mini Cooper is too damaged to salvage. The car was insured, but we will probably get a new car i stead of getting this car repaired.
I never get to go with this Mini Cooper. This makes me a little sad. Morran told me it was comfortable. I wouldhave liked to experience this myself. Even if we get another Mini Cooper, it will not be the same car.
We willhave to see what happens.
The 4 October is celebrated as Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden. Auntie Linni, a wise old Shiba, would have turned nineteen years old today, had she survived this long. She had a hard curled tail, something which is not optimal for a Shiba, if you read the breed standard. This kind of tail is sometimes called a cinnamon bun tail, because cinnamon buns are curled in the same way. Linni was not very fond of this coincidence, she did not like to be reminded ofher cinnamon bun tail every birthday. Nevertheless, cinnamon buns are quite tasty and Linni was a great old lady, so I think both deserves to be celebrated. Cheers to the memory of Linni and to cinnamon buns.
This morning, our friend Laura gave birth toher first litter. There were two healthy red male pups.
It is always nice to be able to greet new Shibas welcome to the world. This is the X litter of Aangenaam.
Late in the afternoon yesterday, Paula had an accident with her new Mini. The car ended up on its roof. Paula was taken to the hospital, but x-ray examinations showed shehad no broken bones. She came home the same evening.
Our local news paper reported from the accident on its web page, with a photography of the car lying upside down. It was interesting to read about it, but I would rather have read about happier news involving Paula and her car.
Paula went back to the hospital today for further examinations. She has a concussion and will stayhome from work for a couple of days. Other than that, she is fine. The car proved to be safe. We will have to see what the garage can make of the damages on it.
Seventy years ago today, the first strip of the comic strip Peanuts was published. One of the main characters of Peanuts is, of course, the Beagle Snoopy. Peanuts is a great comic strip and Snoopy is a great fictional dog. This jubilee is worth celebrating.
A technical glitch halted the trade at the Tokyo stock exchange today. Officials stressed that this was not caused by some malicious attack. Trade will resume tomorrow.
I believe, and I hope, the Tokyo stock exchange will come out of this with a reputation at least as good as before. Japan needs this. Shibas in Japan need this. Japan is a great country and should not get a bad reputation because of something like this. Do continue to trade in Tokyo, if you are used to do it.
Paula and Daniel had a little bite to eat in the evening. I asked if I could have some. Daniel said I had already eaten today, and did not need anything. Paula gave me something, anyway. Paula understands me. Daniel does, too, most of the time, but not quite as often. This evening, Paula understood, Daniel did not.
For the first time this autumn, Daniel wore a reflective vest on the morning walk. Dawn came during the walk, but it was not much light at the start of it.
In the evening, the darkness was fully upon us, when we went outside around eight o’clock in the afternoon (really more like seven, since we still go by daylight saving time).
There is something cozy about this darkness. I like it.
Paula is feeling sick tonight. She could not even stand the smell of food. This must be awful.
Meanwhile, Daniel had sat down to eat. He was hungry. He could not really do much for Paula, but fetched her some water.
I hope Paula will be alright. She said she was getting better.
As a Shiba, I am interested in Japanese culture. In Japan, there are people who live in cupboard sized flats. These do not look great, but I canunderstand that you save money by living in them. I hope, however, not many dogs need to live their lives in flats as small as this.
Paula and Daniel had some cheese as late night snack tonight. This is great, since I got to taste some. Cheese is such a marvelous invention, tasty, healthy, and easy to eat. I wish I could get cheese more often.
China has plans to launch a digital currency, DCEP. This will be a digital version of the Chinese currency yuan. It will be controlled by the central bank of China, thus by the Chinese government and the Communist party.
In my mind, there is no need to explain why nobody in the free world should use this currency, as it is controlled by communists. Using it would also mean transferring personal data to China, so it would be illegal for any controller of personal data in the EU/EEA to use it. I hope the DCEP will be a complete faliure.
Hello, Gerstuhl here!
I went to have an ultra sound examination today. Unfortunately, I am not expecting pups. Mum has told me, over and over, how great it is to have pups. It is not that I know, this wouldhave been my first litter, but I trust Mum on this. She has to wait a little longer before she becomes a granny for the first time. We hope it is better luck next time.
Paula and Daniel went grocery shopping in the new car. Dogs are not allowed in grocery stores, for some unfathomable reason, so I did not come along. It is often better to stay at home, anyway. Now, however, I missed another opportunity to ride in the new car.
I hopeyou do not get tired ofmy rants about the new car. You have to comment, if this is the case. I will write about other things in upcoming blog posts.
Daniel went to Stockholm and back today, in the new car. I still have not travelled in it. I guess I will, eventually.
Laila went to the veterinarian today. She has recurring problems with her right ear. It needs to be cleaned, because it is so narrow and has a lot of hair growing in it. This is not Laila’s fault. It is not Paula’s or Daniel’s fault either, they take good care of her, as they do with all of us.
I definitely do not envy Laila for the visit to the vet. However, she got to ride in the new car. I envy her for this.
Daniel gave Paula a ride to her work today,in the new car. She could not drive herself and park there, because she had not register the registration number of the new car in the parking system. In the afternoon, when Daniel went to fetchher, Morran got to follow. She was, thus, the first of us dogs to ride in the new car. I envy her a little. My turn will come, eventually.
Paula has bought a car. It is a little car, with the fitting name Mini. The model is Cooper S. This will be good when she needs to go to and from work in the dark seasons that are coming.
Peanut likes the car, since it is British. Morran, however, who has German roots, points out that Mini is owned by German car manufacturer BMW. My foremost concern is that itis a good car, and from what I have learned so far, it is. I am looking forward to riding in it soon.
Late tonight, Daniel went out to the barn with some stuff we did not want to keep indoors. The cats took the opportunity to sneak out. Paula, who had planned to give them a late night snack, tried to call them back. This was tono avail. Daniel said the cats just went further away in the darkness of the night.
The cats will come back inside tomorrow morning. They always do.
A glass fell off a table today and broke. Daniel picked up the pieces and threw them away. I am glad noone put theirpaw or foot on any of the pieces, before Daniel picked them up. Broken glass is often sharp and can hurt you really badly. There may be some small pieces of glass left, but I do not think so. I hope novody will find out the hard way.
Two kittens moved in with us earlier this year. They have grown and are more like adult cats now. This also means they are on more equal ground to us dogs, who are all adults. Paula and Daniel have started to let them in to our bedroom during the nights, they are no longer afraid that some kitten would happen to come to harm. This is nice, the cats are interesting and friendly fellows. I like hanging with them, when I have the opportunity. The kittens are a nice addition to our household. Dogs still hold a majority.
There are mornings when the morning walk is a little shorter than usual. Thisis usually because Daniel is in a hurry. This morning was one of those mornings, but it was not the fault of any of us dogs. While it is better with the usual length of the morning walks, I also like that we do not take the same path every morning. This is the advantage with the shorter morning walks. I try to see the positive angles of these walks. It usually works, so I do not mind the shorter length, and it worked today. The rest of the day was a good day, nevertheless, and this is the main thing.
There are new rules on how to win Oscar awards for movies. You now have to have diversity on and off screen in order to be eligible for awards.
I guess the mostly historically correct film Patton, about white men who fought the Nazis in the Second World War, would now be ineligible for Oscars. It won the Oscar for best film, and several more Oscars, in 1971.
It is nineteen years ago today that Paula and Daniel got married. We celebrated them with style. This is one of the most important anniversaries for all of us dogs. If it were not for the marriage of Paula and Daniel, who knows what would have happened tous? Who knows if I would have even existed? I love Paula and Daniel! Congratulations on your day!
It is Paula’s mother Gertrud’s birthday today. She is the one whose name my daughter little Gertrud got. Paula and Daniel was there to celebrate yesterday. I would have liked to come, but I was busy. I heard the celebration was a success, I hope the true birthday was as well.
Hello, Gerstuhl here!
It is my birthday today. I turn three years old. It has been some great thre years so far. Since I live a good life, I believe the next three years and many more will also be great.
I had a nice birthday.
Sweden lost to France in the Nations League in football, on home turf, 0-1. It was close, but a lost game is still lost. France is the reigning world champions, so it is not really shameful. It is still a result we cannot be happy about. Sweden will hopefully do better in coming games.
Daniel went outside to chop wood for a while this afternoon. Not fun for us, who were left indoors, but good preparations for the cold days of winter. When winter is here, our humans sometimes light fires to make the house warmer and cozier. This is one of the great things about having humans: their control of fire. Winter will be good.
Paula and Daniel came home this evening after running some errands. Paula was very happy about a new bed she said they have bought. They did not bring the bed home, though.
The new bed is due to arrive next month. I believe in it when I see it. A new bed may be nice, but just talk about it does not really convince me. I want to try it out, to rest in it, before I am sure it is here and that it is a good purchase. We will have to see when it arrives.
There are days when nothing special happens. This is one of those days. It is Thursday, normally a working day. Paula was free from work today, however, and Daniel was working from home. Due to the pandemic, it is not odd that he sits at home, while at work. It is nothing special. There you have it, a blog entry about nothing special. I believe I can have something more interesting to write about tomorrow.
India has banned over a hundred Chinese apps over security concerns. Even though these are not banned in Sweden or the EU, this is a strong signal you have to be very careful before ever using them. I would advice against it. China is a dictatorship and they have little concern for the wellbeing of dogs or humans. We should not support anything from China.
Our Toy Poodle friend Laila has problems with her right ear. Dirt often accumulates in it, and Paula and Daniel have to clean it for her. We are lucky to have our humans, who do this. Even though Laila is uncomfortable when her ear is cleaned, she feels much better afterwards.
I am lucky to be a Shiba. Our standing ears have much lower risk of getting in the kind of trouble that Laila’s right ear has.
It is the last day of August. This is commonly seen as the last day of summer in Sweden. By the calendar, summer is June, July, and August.
Of course, many of the days of these months are colder than what you would like from a summer day. This is because Sweden is a country far to the north.
I like the other seasons of Sweden as well, but I often miss those warm summer days more, because they are so few and far between. This summer, there were warm days in June and in August, but not in July. Weather is often funny this way.
Daniel took down some bushes outside of one of our kitchen windows. It already shows that more daylight come in now. I like this.
There are times when I wonder what Mommy’s driving force was, whenit comes to this blog. What made her commit so much time and effort to it?
When I write this blog, my prime motive is to honour Mommy, to keep the blog as daily as she made it. She did not have this driving force. Was it just that she liked it so much? I believe she liked the blog more than I do, and I still like it. Well, no matter how well you know your parents, there will still be questions you would like to ask them after they are gone.
Be that as it may, the main thing nowis that I have my own driving force. This is enough for me.
Just as Gehrstuhl, my dear daughter, wrote in the blog yesterday, she went home today.
It has been an experience having Gerstuhl back. I love her, but she can be a pawful.
I hope Gerstuhl is expecting pups. It would be lovely, being a grandmother.
Paula's mobile telephone seems to be broken. It will not charge. A mobile telephone needs charging about once a day. Paula says she must buy a new telephone tomorrow. I am sorry for her. This is an expense one would rather not have.
Autumn is coming. Before Daniel and Morran went to fetch Paula at work around nine in the evening, Daniel lit up lamps. It is now so dark at this time (with the weird daylight savings time) that we need lamps to have light.
I do not mind the dark evenings. Each seaason has its charms. It can be cozy to have darker evenings.
The Indy 500 race in Indianapolis is ranked as one of the top racing competitions in the world, perhaps the single most important race. This hear, Japanese driver Takuma Sato won, for a second time after his 2017 victory. Takuma Satoused to drive in Formula 1, but never achieved much success there, despite some impressive drives. His victories in Indycar, however, prove how skilled he is. He makes me proud for my Japanese heritage.
Paula celebrated her birthday today. This was the first birthday in three years that she was able to celebrate the way she wanted to. Last year and the year before that, she was a patient at the hospital for different illnesses. Those birthdays, she had to celebrate at the hospital. She is much healthier now. The best thing about this birthday was just this, that she was not at the hospital celebrating it. Life is better for her now. This makes it better for the rest of us in the family, too. It was a good day, today.
It is Paula's birthday tomorrow. We got her a birthday card. She received it today, because she wanted to.
It makes me a little uncomfortable that Paula got her card a day in advsnce. If she wants to, I guess it is OK anyway.
Hello, Gerstuhl here!
There are chances I and Peanut will get pups in 63 days or so. This is what the older, more experienced Shibas say. We will see what happens.
Mum says it is very gratifying having pups. I do not know about this, at least not yet. It will be interesting to see.
There are times when we get leftovers as addition toour dog food. This is usually very tasty. Today, however, we got some rice. It is not that I dislike rice, my Japanese heritage would not allow for that. Still, there are many things more tasty than just rice. I do not complain, it is just that it makes me think of different kinds of leftovers. Meat and fish are the best, I think. We will get this another day.
Paula was free from work today. It makes sense that she can have days off from work in the middle of the week, when she works in the weekends.
One would think it would be nice to have the day to spend with Paula. It was far from it. She said she was tired and then proceeded to sleep all day. She hardly did anything else. Even though I like to sleep or rest too, this was quite a boring day.
With days like this, Paula might just as well be at work. This is not fun.
Hello, Gerstuhl here!
I am having a lot of fun with Peanut. He is a nice boy. We trash plastic waste together, which is fun. We also play in other ways.
Mum says Peanut may become her son-in-law. We have to see avout that.
My dear daughter Gertrud is back with us for a while. She wrote about this yesterday.
It is amazing that my youngest daughter is already old enough to be considered as a mother of pups of her own. Time flies. I love my daughters, but sometimes, I still see them as the small pups that they omce were. It may feel different, omce I see Gertrud’s pups.
Hello, Gerstuhl here!
Today, Paula and Daniel came by. I got to comr with them back to kennel Aangenaam. This is, apparently, because I have started to be in heat.
It feels good to be back here. I like it here, even though I mostly like it even more at my present home. Nevertheless, a little change now and then is always good.
We are still not sure how long I will be here. This depends upon how long I will be in heat. We will take it from there.
We have had sunny weather for many days now. It is almost as if we have forgotten how to have rain. Well, not quite, but it was a lot of days ago we had rain. It is about time soon. The growth in our garden needs rain. Our well needs rain. We will see when it will come.
Rumour has it, Paula and Daniel went to a hamburger joint to eat lunch today. None of us dogs got to come. No left overs were brought home. Still, the rumour persists.
I wish I had got to come. I would have enjoyed hamburgers. I would not have made a scene or in any other way made the visit to the hamburger joint hard for Paula and Daniel. This did not happen, though. Perhaps we will never know if the rumours are true.
Daniel worked from home today as well. In the afternoon, we annoyed him vy barking a lot. It was not our intention to annoy him, of course, we just wanted to allert him to the many odd sounds outside. Then Nils-Olov stopped by, so we did get a visitor. If it had not been forus dogs barking, Daniel would not have realised so quickly he had a visitor. He must be happy we bark, at least somewhat happy.
While Paula was working a day shift, Daniel was at home today and working. He is still able to work from home as much as it suita him and fits with his work. We enjoy this. Even though it is quite boring that Daniel is just sitting at his desk working, it is still much better than if he is away from home, at the office. The more family members at home, the merrier, we think. It makes life easier.
We watched this old, black and white Swedish movieon TV this afternoon, with a story from the 19th century. One poor working man was envious of a woman who owned a farm. He said that if he owned a farm, he would never work. I guess he did not know anything about the responsibilities of owners of farms orother enterprises. The owners often work much harder tham any employee. Perhaps it was this naivete that kept him poor? They say humans are the most intelligent animal, but I am not sure this is true for every human.
Paula’s parents, sister, nephew, and niece were here today, helpimg out with some gardening and looking around in the yard and in our buildings. It was nice to have some help. We have a big garden, so it needs quite a lot of gardening.
I would have helped, had I had the time. Totte the cat helped, anyway. This was well done of him.
The lawn was mowed this Saturday. It needed to be shorter, it had grown tall for way too long. It is easier to walk and runon a well mowed lawn. It also diminishes the risk to get ticks, because ticks climb straws of grass in order to attack innocent mammals. We are lucky to have humans who mow the lawn and who remove the odd tick that we still get. It is soon autumn and the tick season will be over. So will the lawn mowing season, because the lawn give up growing. In this way, autumn is better than summer.
It is Friday night. For dogs, it is the end of a working week as watchers of the house. In the weekend, our humans are at home more of the hours of the day. The weekend is a good time of the week. Friday night is the start of the weekend, thus, we are having a good time. Life is good.
