It is dawn when we go out on our morning walks now. Spring is coming.
I like the light and the warmer weather. I just wish we would not have the bugs and other flying insects.
It is easier to wake up, when there is sunshine outside. Still, I like to go back to sleep for a while after the morning walk. Why not have the best of both things: a nice walk in daylight and a nap in the late morning?
There was supposed to be aurora borealis visible on our sky tonight. I did not read about this until after we came back inside for the last time. I never looked for the aurora borealis in the sky, because I did not know it was there to look for. It may be there some other time. We will have to see.
One of the best kind of nights is the kind when Paula and Daniel have changed sheets in the bed. Clean sheets are very nice to rest and sleep upon.
Paula and Daniel changed the sheets this afternoon. I could not wait to go to bed. When it was time to goout for the night, I hesitated until Daniel lifted me down from the bed. As soon as I got back inside, I walked back to the bed and occupied a good spot in Daniel’s bed. He was not as fast as I was, so he had to take the outer rim of the bed. Now we can all sleep well tonight.
There was an interesting article in the news paper today. It explained why time moves slower on the Moon than on Earth. This is due to the lower gravity on the Moon. I do not really understand all the details, but it can be interesting anyway.
This article cannot be found on line. I found something about the issueon time on the Moon here.
The Ipad I often borrow to write my blog entries needed to be charged. The battery had no energy. I asked Paula if I could borrow her charger, but she needed it for her own mobile. Then I asked Daniel. He had a charger, but had to get it. I was a bit impatient, but eventually, I got the charger. While I have written this blog entry, the battery charge has gone up from 1 % to 4 %. More charge is necessary, but it will come. Life is better with electricity.
As soon as the alarm clock goes off in the morning, Daniel gets up and lets is lut in the garden. Then he gets ready and dressed, and it is time for the morning walk. I decided to skip the morning walk today. I had just been out and did not think I need a walk as well. Daniel let me stay inside. It was a pleasant morning. Until tomorrow morning, I will consider whether to do the same then.
Paula’s young nephew Arvid celebrates his eighth birthday today. A dog by this age would become a veteran. Arvid is still a boy.
Humans live much longer than us dogs. I do not envy this, however, because with all the work they do, they do not live life as fully as dogs do.
Congratulations go to Arvid today. We hope he can live fully this day.
It is Shrove Tuesday, the last day before lent. It is the first day when you eat the traditional Swedish pastry semla, in a season that carries on throughout lent. The origin of the semla is said to have been the plain white bread you were allowed to eat during lent, but people started to secretly full them with other tasty stuff. This evolved into the almond paste and whipped cream of today.
In parts of the English speaking world, this is also Pancake Day. This suggests the English speaking people are poor, who will just eat pancakes once a year. In Sweden, every Thursday is Pancake Day.
Personally, I prefer minced meat. I would like to have a Beef Tartar Day.
The Chihuahuas got their claws cut tonight. They were not happy about it. I was, however, because it was not my claws. They were a little more trouble for Daniel, who cut the claws, than necessary, I think. I mean, you may protest, but why would the other Chihuahuas protest on behalf of the Chihuahua whose claws were cut? The only times I have protested because someone else would have her or his claws cut, is when it was one of my small pups. Small pups need protests like this from their mother, but this is about it.
It was the last day of the biathlon World Championship today. Swedish gentlemen won the gold and the silver in their last competition, and a Swedish lady won the gold in the ladies’ last competition.
Biathlon can be quite exciting. Paula usually watches it, when she can see the live broadcasts on TV. This is a great way to experience winter sports, in the comfortable warmth of your home. Life is good.
The third qualification round (out of four) to the Swedish qualification competition to the qualification round to the Eurovision Song Contest was held tonight. There were no really good songs tonight. So far, we think none of the songs are Eurovision winners. Sweden has a grand history of victories in the Eurovision Song Contest, but it seems like we will not have a chance to win this year. We will have to hear the songs of the next qualification round, but I am pessimistic. It seems like Sweden will have no chance of winning this year.
Paula has got a cold. She feared it might be covid-19, so she went and took a test, but it was not. The conclusion is that it is a common cold. She will be well soon. This is good.
Covid-19 is still around, so it can be wise to be cautious.
We waited up for Daniel to come home late last night. He returned after midnight. This is when I realised I had not written anything in the blog. This is, thus, the blog entry for yesterday.
Daniel was in Arboga, a neighbour town to the east. There is another lodge there in the order he is a member of, and he visited it. He must have had fun, staying until so late. This is good, he deserves it, even though I like it better when he is at home.
It is Valentine’s Day, a day for love. I have had my Valentines when I was younger. My pups were great results.
Viola and Pepe are each others’ Valentine. They are suited for each other. I wish them luck.
Powerful earth quakes do not only kill people and demolish constructions. They leave scars in society that will be there for a very long time. People in Japan still feel the effect of the earth quake and tsunami of 2011. The people in Turkey and Syria may learn from them. I wish they do, and take good care of the dogs.
We were supposed to good a walk this afternoon. Paula cancelled it, however. She must have had a good reason, but she did not tell me the reason.
It is not that I need any walk I can get. It is just that if you have been promised a walk, you get disappointed if you do not get this walk.
I love Paula, nevertheless.
Daniel lit a fire in the evening, when we went to bed. The downside is that he might have to get up to put more wood on the fire. The upsides are that it is cozy, brings warmth, and is generally nice. Wood is biofuel, so we do not add to the greenhouse effect either.
I hope Daniel will keep the fire going for a while. We will have to see.
There have been many articles on the Earth quake in Turkey and Syria. A lot of humans have died or got hurt. I would want to read about the dogs affected. As usual, there are no reports about the dogs.
Dogs are an essential part of human civilisation. We are not treated as such by most journalists, however. This makes me sad.
Apparently, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has a lack of cities that want to host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games. Thus, the IOC asked Sweden.
Sweden has asked to host the Winter Olympic Games many times, but the IOC has always given the honor to host the Games to other countries. This is reason enough for me to say no to a Swedish vid to host the 2030 Games. If the IOC has wanted other countries so many times, let the IOC pick another country for 2030 as well. We do not need another bid that the IOC will finally say no to.
We do not always get to be this many participants on afternoon walks. It was me and Peanut, who are usually participants. Then both Daniel and Paula came along, which is not common. Pepe also joined in, Pepe liked to go on walks last summer, but he does not usually join us since it got colder and Darke in the autumn. Once we got out, Totte, who was already outside, joined us as well. It was a good walk, with so many participants. The more, the merrier. Life is good.
Modern day telephones and tablets need to be charged with more electricity now and then. We have a charger in the bed room that has worked well, but it is now barely charging. We do not know what has happened to it. There are no visibel damages anywhere on the cord or other parts of the charger. It still charges just a little at a time. What has caused this charger not to charge? Life is full of mysteries.
Sundays are days of rest. They are, thus, often nice. There are Sundays, however, that grov too boring, Sundays where too little happens. This Sunday was such a Sunday.
There can actually be too much time to rest. Dogs generally like to rest, and I am a typical dog in this respect. However, too much of the good stuff is just that: too much. I wish we could have done a little more things today.
Beanbags are a kind of mix between chair and pillow that humans use sometimes, and it has become a sort of symbol for when you want to be lazy. In Tokyo, a popup store will sell wearable beanbags. With these, you carry a beanbag around and can rest in it anywhere. They are ugly, but surely comfortable. If I were ever to wear anything myself, a wearable Shiba size beanbag would be it.
Daniel came home very late on Friday night. It was past midnight. While waiting for him, I had fallen aaleep and there had been no blog entry. Daniel had had fun at the lodge where he is a member. I like him to have fun, but it would be even better if he would not be quite so late that he was.
It was really cold outside this morning, about -8° C. We still took a morning walk. Halfway through the first part of the walk, Morran and I agreed that it was not nice enough. We turned back home. Totte joined us. Daniel and Peanut had no choice but to join us, as well.
This was a walk to my liking. We got to do what we had to do, but then we got back into the warm house again. Warm insides of houses in the winter are great. If you want to look at the beauty of a snowy landscape, you just have to peak through the window.
Scientists who have analysed remains from Viking burial grounds in Britain have found that some of the bones were from dogs and horses. The animals were buried in a way that suggests they were companions of the humans. The chemical compund of the bones shows the animals came from Scandinavia. They must have sailed with the Vikings to Britain.
All of this shows that Vikings cared a lot about their dogs. This proves, in my mind, that they were cultural and sophisticated people. Humans who care about dogs are not savages.
These dogs must have had exciting lives.
