Rain

It may seem boring to read about the weather in this blog. I still want to tell you that we had a lot of rain today. This is good for our well. We need water in the well, so it will not run dry. In dry years, it can run dry, We rather want rainy summers than dry summers, for the sake ofour well.

Growing Things

Many things grow a lot in our garden. We may have to cut a lot of it. Perhaps not, the garden is rather nice anyway.

Leif and Billy

Paula has a new favourite comedy show. It is a Swedish show about two brothers, Leif and Billy, who live in the Swedish outback up north. They are lazy, unemployed, but manage somehow anyway. It is funny. I just think they should have had a dog too.

Eggs

Late at night, Paula had some boiles eggs. There are occasions when I have heard that boiled eggs are breakfast food. I guess eggs go just as well as a late night snack.

Unfortunately, I did not get to taste any of the eggs. Itis not that I was hungry, but there is always room in the stomach for tasty food.

Forest Fires

There have been forest fires in the vicinity of our home town. The warm and dry weather makes the risk of forest fires high. I hope there will be few, if any, and just small such fires for the rest of the summer. We want the forests to be preserved and we want it to continue to grow and draw carbon dioxide out of the air, not to release it in fires. I hope for the best.

Summer TV

It is a Tuesday after midsummer. Swedish television is true to its traditions, airing a concert from Skansen in Stockholm and a new season of the British Midsomer Murders. This is summer. The best thing about Midsomer Murders is that the main character has a dog. Unfortunately, the dog just had a small part in today’s episode, but made a great performance, nevertheless. It may be better further on.

Bacon Crisps

Bacon is a great food. Crisps are great food. What could be better? Bacon crisps are better!

Paula bought some bacon crisps today. We feasted on them tonight. There are not words strong enough to tell you how tasty, how good, bacon crisps are.

Lifeis great, when you have bacon crisps.

Regaining an Area

Paula and Daniel went to Lindesberg this Sunday. It was the first time since last summer that they went there. Last summer, Paula spent months at the hospital in Lindesberg due to illness. She wanted to go to Lindesberg in order to mentally regain this territory, to make sure she can have other memories of Lindesberg than those from her summer at the hospital there. When they came back, Paula was happy and confident that she had managed to regain Lindesberg. We are allhapoy for her about this. This is yet another of her many steps back to a fully normal self. Life is good.

No Canadian Fighter Jets

There are times when you read stories about facts you did not have a clue about. For instance, I did not know Canada had had a shot at building state of the art fighter jet airplanes in the late 1950’s. The programme was cancelled due to the high costs. In Sweden, an even smaller country, fighter jets were built by Saab. I guess it was the wish of Sweden to have its own jets as a country outside of military alliances that made the difference. Canada was and is a member of Nato. I wonder what would have happened, had the programme not been cancelled.

Midsummer Eve

We have celebrated Midsummer today, at Midsummer Eve.

It is customary for Swedes to celebrate mostly on the Eve before a big holiday. We do this at new year, Easter, Walpurgis and Christmas as well.

Midsummer is a nice holiday. It never becomes completely dark at night. This is fascinating. It is also usually a rather warm weather, and warmer than usually this year. We had a good Midsummer Eve.

Sleepover

Paula is not at home tonight. This is not because she is at work, but because she is on a sleepover at her sister’s house. This sounds fun. Paula’s sister is nice and it would be fun to visit her. Sleeping is something I am really good at. Perhaps I could join Paula at such a sleepover in the future? You never know.

Iceland

It is the national holiday of Iceland today. Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, which was independent since 1918, but which became a republic on this date in 1944. I have never understood the advantages of being a republic, but some humans see advantages in it. Sweden has a king, Japan has an emperor, this is good enough for me. Nevertheless, I congratulate all the humans and dogs from Iceland on this day, regardless of its form of government.

Rain At Last

We finally got some rain today. It was not a little rain, either, but quite a lot.

There has not been any rain for a long time. We have almost had a draught. This is worrying, not least because our well might dry up. Our luck with rain may have changed. It might be a lot of rain in the weeks to come, we will have to see.

Chips

We got chips in our food today. I like this.

Chips are called pommes frites in Swedish, a word borrowed from French. The word chips in Swedish means that which is called crisps in English. Human languages are funny this way.

It is better with meat, but we did not get meat added to the dog food today. You cannot get this every day, I suppose.

Negativity?

Daniel came across a great meme today.

The creator of the picture is not mentioned, so I hope it is free for all to spread.

The Lawn

Daniel mowed the lawn today again. It needs to be mowed often at this time of the year. Even though we have had a draught, the lawn is growing, almost like weeds. I am glad the lawn is mowed, it keeps ticks away.

Moomin Bisquits

Paula purchased Moomin Bisquits today. They came in a metal jar, so we can keep the package when the bisquits are eaten. I like that.

Summer

Summer is here to stay. We have had a couple of sunny days with rather warm weather. The forecast today said this will continue through the weekend. It may even be warmer.

It is dry, there have been warnings of fires in the forests. I hope this will not happen. We would need some rain, preferably at night. Rain is also summer weather. We will see what happens.

No Solution

The police investigation on the murder of Sweden’s Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 has finally ended. It has become the biggest investigation in Swedish police history, yet nobody knows who committed the murder. The investigation leader believe it was a man who died long ago, but the evidence to support this is bleak and would very likely not have held up in court. I guess we just have to say that whomever did it, got away with murder.

Åland Islands

The 9 June is the National Holiday of the Åland Islands, when they got a form of home rule after Finland’s independence from Russia. We congratulate all Ålanders today.

🇦🇽

Healthy Car

Daniel went to have a check up on the car today. This must be done regularly in Sweden, mostly every fourteenth month. The car was without flaws. This is good. Now we know we have a safe car and we do not have to put money in it to make it so.

It is good that cars must have regular check ups, it makes traffic safer. We can feel more safe when going by car, knowing this, which is good. Some regulations are good.

Boiled Eggs

Paula is normally a person who loves good food. There are days, however, when she wants nothing of the sort. Today, she just had three bolied eggs for dinner. Granted, she and Daniel had had a very nice Sunday lunch. Eggs are not bad. Still, I believe a dinner of just boiled eggs is too poor for Paula. I wish I could convince her to get more food for dinner. The more food she prrpares, the greater is the chance that I can get a taste of it.

National Holiday

It is the National Holiday of Sweden today. We are celebrating Sweden’s independence from the Kalmar Union, which was dominated by Denmark, and the old constitution of 1809. If we would have had a flag pole in our garden, we would have flown the flag of Sweden. We do not have a flag pole, but we have celebrated anyway. Sweden is a good country to live in.

Friday Night

We are all spending a nice, calm Friday night at home. Paula and Daniel discussed going out for dinner, but ultimately decided against it. I like their decision, it means we were all at home tonight. It was a good evening.

Friday Night

We are all spending a nice, calm Friday night at home. Paula and Daniel discussed going out for dinner, but ultimately decided against it. I like their decision, it means we were all at home tonight. It was a good evening.

Peter the Great?

There was a documentary on TV tonight about Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia. He was the one who modernized Russia around 1700 and who defeated King Karl XII of Sweden, bringing an end to Sweden’s days as a great power. It was a well made documentary about this horrible subject. I guess it is as Daniel says: the world would have been better off without Peter the Great. Then the Lutheran Estonians, Latvians, Swedes, and Germans in the Baltics would have been ruled by the Lutheran Kingdom of Sweden instead of the Orthodox Empire of Russia. Sweden is also a much better country for dogs than Russia is.

Sick Leave

Paula is resting at home, having sick leave fromwork after having an operation in her right arm yesterday. Her arm hurts, but she knows it will be much better than before the operation. We support Paula in the best way dogs can: by helping her to rest and by giving her a lot of love. This will make her get better soon.

X-ray Examination

Peanut has been x-rayed today. An x-ray examination of your hips is necessary, if you are a Shiba in Sweden and want to become a parent. The result can be anything from A, which is excellent, to E, which effectively disqualifies you from getting pups. The hip status is inherited and you should not let pups inherit very bad hips.

Peanut would want to become a father in the future. Now he just have to wait for the result. It will take a few days for a qualified veterinarian to examine the x-ray image. We hope Peanut will pass. A black and tan Shiba with his mentality would make a great father.

Summer Times

We are entering June with a splendid, sunny, warm day. It really feels that summer is here now.

If my dear late mother would still be in charge of this blog (that she created), I am sure she would write that the best feature of summer is cancelled this year. Mommy loved dog shows and summer is the peak of the dog show season. In order to minimize the spread of covid-19, however, the Swedish Kennel Club has decided that there will be no dog shows until at least September. Mommy would be quite angry.

Personally, I have never been so fond of dog shows myself. I thought it was enough to go to three dog shows in my career and pick up my title as Show Champion on the third of them. I enjoy summer for the warm weather.