Unfortunate Coincidences

At a horse race in Cheltenham, Great Britain, three horses died. Two of the horses died of cardio-vascular causes, the grounds of which is still to be determined. Another horse sustained fatal injuries after falling at a fence.

It is sad to read about this. It isimportant to note, nevertheless, that none of the fatalities had the same cause. The fact that there were three deaths at the same race was just due to unfortunate coincidences. Race horses are treated well and get regular veterinary care. Horse races can go on, despite these unfortunate fatalities. 

Almost a Full Moon

There was a full Moon yesterday. The overcast sky prevented us from seeing it. This evening, we have a clear sky and a fine view of the almost full Moon. 

Nights with a clear sky heralds a cold morning the next day. We are prepared for this. There is heat in the radiators and wood to be burned in the stove, if our humans want to. It will be cozy indoors tomorrow. 

Pepe Went Away

Pepe went on a holiday today. He will live with a couple of other Chihuahuas for a couple of days. 

This is not the first time Pepe is away. We miss him a little already.

I wonder what Pepe is up to. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say, when he is back. He is not much into talking about such things, however. We will have to see, when he is back.

Nothing Special

There are days when it seems like nothing special occurs. This was such a day. 

Some of the days when nothing special happens, I write blog entries about some news article or things like this. Hailey and Polly often did, when they were in charge of this blog. Once in a while, I cannot find anything interesting that I want to write about. This is such a day.

If you want to read anything new in this blog, come back tomorrow. There is probably something more interesting to read about tomorrow. 

Old Mexican City

Here is an interesting video of what an ancient Mexican city might have looked like. This city was hidden by nature, but rediscovered.

We wonder what the life of dogs were there. Perhaps there were some fore-mothers of modern Chihuahuas. 

Chicken

Paula cooked chicken for dinner today. Some of the chicken meat ended up in our food bowls. We liked this.

Chicken meat is tasty and healthy. It was also well seasoned. Life is good, when you get to eat chicken. 

Working from Home

Both Paula and Daniel worked from home today.

When Daniel does this, he just gets access to the office on line, and works on his computer from home.

It is more difficult for Paula, who works as a nurse, she usually have to be close to her patients. Today, she spent the day reading, however. She studied important documents for work. It was great that she could do this, so everyone could be at home simultaneously. It was a good day for us dogs. 

Father’s Day

This is Father’s Day in Sweden.

We hope our respective fathers are doing well, wherever they are. Not all fathers are still here on Earth.

Celebrations were had for Daniel, who has the role of father in our family. He appreciated this. We appreciate him, so this was good for all of us. 

The Name of the Blog

This blog is still called Daily Hailey. It is a daily blog. The second part of the name is the call name of the dog who started the blog. I never knew Hailey, but I knew her daughter Karstuhl, who inherited the blog and managed it until she passed away. Then I took care of the blog.

Paula asked me today why the blog is still called Daily Hailey. The answer is that it is a homage to the dog who started it, and it rhymes, so it is a good name. 

There is a risk there will never be a decendant of Hailey who can take over the blog. We might get back to this subject in the future. It may still be a blog of a dog at this home. I hope I manage to do this, at least. Stay tuned, and there will be more blog entries. 

A Little Help

We are at home with Paula this evening, while Daniel is away. Paula has a cold, so she is more tired than usual. This is of no great concern, she gets a little help from us dogs. We are good at helping our humans. She'll get by, with a little help from her friends.

Ongoing Talks

People still talk about the American presidential election, even though it took place the day before yesterday and the result was in yesterday morning, Swedish time. Politics is a human activity I will never fully comprehend. I just wish for the new administration to be positive to dogs. 

No Pastries

The 6th November is a day when Swedes commemorate the late King Gustavus II Adolphus. He was killed in action on this day in 1632. The commemoration often consist of eating Gustavus Adolphus pastries. We did not have any of those here at home though. This may be just as well, since the main part of these pastries is a chocolate portrait of the King. Chocolate is said to be poisonous to dogs. In this case, I’d rather have something healthier, like minced meat or sausage. Life is good anyway. 

The Cats

The Cats stayed outdoors last night, but came in this morning. They enjoyed getting in from the cold, they said.

I have never really understood why our cats often want to stay out for so long, even when it is cold outside. They like to hunt mice, they say, but this cannot be the full explanation. Dogs rather spend time in the warmth indoors. This is proof to me that dogs are smarter than cats. 

Coming Home

We were away for the weekend, but now we are back home again. It feels nice to be back in the comfort of our own home, sleeping in our own bed.

Paula made it through important parts of her trainee sessions to become authorised as a ring steward. At the same show, Daniel worked as a ring steward. We dogs were there to keep them company and boost their morale. We believe we did this well. Paula and Daniel were happy to have us there. It was a good trip. 

All Saints’

We commemorate the spirits of the dead today. Long live their memories. 

There are a lot of dogs we have known, who are no longer with us. Our thoughts go out to them today, more than usual. 

Rest in peace, everyone!

Winter Month

In the old days, I have been told, people did not call this month November in Sweden. They called it vintermånad, which means Winter Month. This is a little strange. It sure gets colder in this month, but I would not say it is winter. This is despite my Mexican heritage, which makes Sweden a relatively cold country. I wonder why the old Swedes called November Winter Month. 

The Feat of the Year

The Swedish Kennel Club has named the German Shepherd Otiz winner of the dog feat of the year. Otiz allerted his family at night that there was a fire. Thus, he rescued a lot of cows and calves. Allof these animals survived and the family business could go on. 

While nobody wants a fire to get out of paw, if it ever did at our place, I hope I would have the sense to wake up my family. This is not to win a prize, rather to save lives and property. Still, it would not be a bad thing to win a prize for it. 

Floods in Spain

Floods have caused many deaths and a lot of destruction in Spain. 

We are sorry to hear about this. We hope dogs have made it and have not lost their humans. 

There have certainly been floods before, but in modern times, we hear about them more often than people did years ago. We wonder if there are more or less floods now than before. 

Winter Tyres

We got the winter tyres put on the car today. It may be temperatures below zero this weekend, so it is about time.

I don’t mind going by car, but it is better when the car feels safe. When we have cold months like in the Swedish winters, it is good to have winter tyres. 

Japanese Election

The Japanese Prime Minister lost the election yesterday. His ruling Liberal Democrat Party is still the largest, but hasn’t got a majority. The opposition is divided. It remains to be seen what will happen. 

Hailey and Polly, who had this blog before me, knew much more about Japan than I do. As Shibas, of a Japanese breed, their interest came naturally. They would surely have more to say about the election. I just mention it, in their honour. 

Rain and Leaves

Daniel had planned to use the lawn mower to mulch fallen leaves in the garden. Rain stopped him from doing this. He said he needed the leaves to be dry. 

It is interesting that the things that leave the branches of the trees in the autumn are called leaves. This is probably just a coincidence, but an interesting one. 

Wrong Blog

Daniel has a blog in Swedish, where he writes mainly political thoughts. He just happened to write a blog entry in this blog, in Swedish, about politics. I erased that blog entry. 

Last Day of Daylight Saving Time

Humans have watches and clocks to keep track of the time. Since they are almost always busy with this and that, this is understandable. I cannot for the life of me understand, however, why they change the time by one hour each spring and each autumn. Tonight, they will do it again. I hope some humans like this, my humans do not. 

Not Connected

Daniel was on line up until the moment I borrowed his tablet to write the daily blog post. Just at that moment, the program objected and I got the error message the device was not connected to the net. It is strange how things like this can happen so suddenly. It only lasted for a little while, but it was enough for me to change the idea I was going to write about. Connections should be safer, I think. 

Julmust

We had the first julmust for the season. Julmust is the Christmas pop of preference for most Swedes. It is sold from October, because people love it so much. We enjoyed it, too, today. 

Some people say other brands of pop is the prefered pop for Christmas in other countries. As Swedes, we cannot understand this. How could any drink be better than julmust for Christmas? We prefer julmust. 

Just a Few Issues

Daniel is a member of the City Council. They had a meeting today. It is possible to follow the meeting on line. For some reasons, they had so long debates that they did not have time to finish more than a few issues. There were some of the other members of the council who just wanted to get up and talk over and over, even though they did not add much to the debate. There is a freedom to speak in the council, of course, but it seems like some of the members could be better at seeing when they have much to add or not. We do not envy Daniel for sitting through these meetings. It seems like he thinks they are more interesting than we do. 

Minimum Age

Paula and Daniel discussed the rules for dogs to become Show Champion today. It was not a lengthy debate. They just discussed what the minimum age to become a Show Champion. This is easy to see, if you just look it up in the Rules for Dog Shows and Championships. The dog needs to be two years old in order to become a Champion. Reading the rules is a good thing. 

Meatballs

Paula and Daniel cooked meatballs for dinner today. Some of the meatballs found their ways to us dogs. Meatballs are great food. These meatballs were better than most, because they were home made and Paula had seasoned them well. I wish we could have meatballs more often. 

Another Step

You may wonder how it went for Paula, when she made her first trainee day to become a ring steward. She did very well and was approved.

It was a Dachshund specialty. Dachshunds have complicated rules with working classes and special rules on how to become a champion. When Paula has managed to do this, the rest of the trainee days must be easier. It is good to start with the worst kind of show.

In a few weeks, Paula is on it again. We believe she will make it. 

Preparing

Paula has spent the evening preparing for a dog show tomorrow. She will take her next step towards being a ring steward, at a dachshund show near our town. We have helped her review the rules. She will make it, we are sure.

Pancakes

It is Thursday, which is Pancake Day in Sweden. We do not get pancakes every Thursday, unfortunately. Daniel says one of the reasons is that pancakes are mostly lunch food and we seldom eat lunch together. This Thursday, we got pancakes for dinner. All of us dogs got a lot of it. Pepe and I really enjoyed it, while Morran was less fond of it. Even she agreed it was a treat, however. Thursdays can be very good. 

Origins of Columbus

Christopher Columbus was the man who led the first Spanish expedition to the lands now known as the Americas. There has always been disputes of his origin, as this is not quite known and people of many places want his fame to spill off on them. New DNA studies have now shown that he was of Spanish and Jewish origin. 

While this is interesting, we would also like to know if Columbus had any dogs, and if he had any, of what breeds these dogs were. This would tell us a lot about him, we believe. 

Frost and Fire

We had frost outdoors this morning. Daniel lit a fire in the fire place in the living room.

It is nice to have a fire to add to the indoor heat, when it is colder than usual outdoors.

I believe I have written about this before, but dogs are well off, having humans to control fire for us. 

Shrimp Sandwich

It was the Shrimp Sandwich Day today. Paula, Daniel, Totte, and the three of us dogs shared a shrimp sandwich.

Shrimps are tasty. I wish we could get shrimps more often. Totte, Morran, and Pepe agreed with me. Daniel was more undecided, however. I guess we will have to see if our wish makes him change his mind further on. 

Coming Home

Daniel was away this weekend. He came home this afternoon. This is great, because Paula has been rather boring all weekend. She has not been feeling well, so she has an excuse, but it is still better when Daniel is also at home. We hope next weekend will be better. 

Dog Without Family

The South east of the USA has been struck by a tornado. This is common in the autumn. Some humans have died. We are especially sorry to hear about the dog Benji, who survived, while his humans died. We hope he will get a new family soon. 

Rain in the Morning

It rained in the morning. This meant we just went out in the garden for a while, but there was no need for a morning walk. It is good that the weather may play a role in decisions like this one on the morning walk.

Funny Claims About Weather

With the recent hurricane that has struck Florida, there have been people who have suggested the hurricane was created by humans who manipulated the weather. This must have started as a joke, but apparently, some people believe in it. Humans are good at many things, but they cannot control the weather. We had a good time talking about this joke here at home. 

Sushi

Daniel got home late tonight, after a business trip. However, he came home with sushi. 

Sushi is good food. Morran got more sushi than Pepe or I. She said this is because sushi is from Japan, her breed is from Germany, Japanese civil law is based on the German Bürgerliche Gesetzbuch, thus, Japan would be nothing without Germany, and she represents Germany, which means she has a certain right to eat sushi. Neither Paula, nor I or Pepe understood this line of reasoning. Daniel said he understood, but I am not sure he really did. Nevertheless, Morran got quite a lot of sushi. I wish I would have gotten more. 

Cheek to Cheek

There are instances when humans dance cheek to cheek. Dogs very rarely dance at all. A few dogs dance in the freestyle sport, but this is rare. We can, however, lie cheek to cheek with a human. Paula and I lied cheek to cheek tonight. We both enjoyed this. Life is being close to your family. 

Perhaps a Little Milder

It was not quite as cold this morning, as most mornings last week. It is the name day of Birgitta and Britta, which is the origin of the Swedish word brittsommar. This means a warmer period in the middle of autumn, around this day. The phenomenon is called Indian summer in English. Even though the morning temperature was a little higher than last week, I would not say this phenomenon has come this year. It does not come every year. We just have to accept that we are steadily going towards winter. 

The Telephone Came Back

Paula found her missing mobile telephone. It was lying in the bedroom, about where she thought she had lost it. 

It is good that the telephone is back. Paula gets happier, and by consequence, so do we. 

Appart from this, we had a good day today, taking it easy. 

Lost Telephone

Paula has missplaced her telephone somewhere at home. She has not been able to find it, and has been whining about it. We do believe she could have tried harder to look for it. Then she would surely have found it and we would all have been happier. 

It is a sad thing mobile telephones do not have any particular smell. We dogs could have found Paula’s telephone by searching forint with our noses, if it had. 

Frost

We had a little frost on the ground this morning. It was slightly colder than the freezing point for water.

It is autumn, so this is not surprising. Winter will come this season too, regardless of how badly we would want it not to come. In a way, this is reasuring, at least. Some things are what they always use to be.

German National Holiday

It is the 3 October and Morran is celebrating the national holiday of Germany, home country of her breed. It was on the 3 October many years ago that East Germany merged into West Germany to form modern day Germany. 

We celebrate with Morran, of course. Every reason to celebrate is a good reason.

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit! 

Morning Walk in the Dark

It is getting darker every morning and evening. This morning was the first this season when Daniel used his reflective vest on the morning walk. This was because it was still dark outside at the start of the walk. Daylight arrived during the walk, but it was still safer to wear that vest from the start. We have lights inside, anyway. Lights are good. 

A Just Fight

When I got mad at Pepe today, Paula and Daniel would not accept it, and took me away from him. They did not see how Pepe provoked me. It was a just fight on my part. This does not matter, if your humans do not see anything but your response to the provocation. I wish I could convince them I was right all along.

Nevertheless, Pepe and I are friends again. We usually are. This is good. 

Bath

Morran got a bath today. Daniel saw to it that she got it. He and Paula agreed that Morran needed it. Then he dried Morran under the fan.

I am happy that I did not need a bath. While it can feel better afterwards, it is an ordeal to go through. 

Later, we all got some ham as snacks. This was tasty. This was an advantage of giving Morran support when she had to take a bath. 

Cookies

When Daniel came home this evening, he brought a package of cookies.

Normally, I would not like cookies very much, but these were sweet and tasty. They were the great thing of this night. If I were to decide, we would have cookies like this more often. 

New Japanese Prime Minister

Hailey and Polly would probably have commented in this blog that Shigeru Ishiba is the new leader of the ruling party LDP in Japan. While LDP hold the majority in parliament, he will become the next Prime Minister. 

I do not know much about Japanese politics. The new leader promised to clean up his party, which has had scandals lately. This sounds good. I hope he will be the right leader for the humans and dogs of Japan. 

Scones

Daniel baked some scones this morning. Paula found them delicious.

It is no surprise that a human can like bread that way, bread is a considerable part of human food. What did surprise me was that Pepe also found the scones delicious. He wanted more and more from Paula, and she gladly gave him more. There must have been some part of the taste of the scones that Pepe found tasty, but I did not. Taste is such an individual thing, but I was still surprised that Pepe loved the scones like he did.

Needless to say, Pepe said he wanted Daniel to bake scones more often. We will have to see if Daniel does. 

Run Away Pig

A pig was on the run in our home town today. Some people thought it was a wild boar, but it was a tame pig. We hope the owners of the pig will find it. Otherwise, it would be a waste of good meat. Bacon should not be running free. 

In the Bed

We all usually sleep in the bed. This evening, Paula asked Daniel who was still down on the floor. This was a strange question, since all of us were in the bed. This was also what Daniel told Paula. He then proceeded by pointing everyone out to her. Paula was calmed by this answer. I just wonder why she asked the question. She never tolkas what made her think one of us were on the floor. Perhaps we don’t need to know. Life does not always have to come with all the answers. 

Three Months Left

It is exactly three months, a quarter of a year, left until Christmas Eve today. We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve in Sweden. Paula and Daniel started to plan Christmas today. 

Christmas is a great time of the year. There are a lot of candy and treats on Christmas. I look forward to it. 

Fever

Paula has got a cold. It is so bad, she has got a fever.

It is strange that humans can have a cold and be hot from fever at the same time. I am glad dogs almost never get sick this way.

We hope Paula gets well soon. 

Long Morning

It is Sunday and we all slept until late. It is so nice to be able to do this once in a while. Furthermore, once we had gone out for the morning, we all went back to bed again.

Sunday is a day of rest. This was a Sunday that really lived up to be a day of rest. We all like this. 

I Cannot Remember What Happened

Looking back at the blog for the last couple of days, I realise I never wrote any blog entry the day before yesterday. Strangely enough, I cannot remember what happened that day, that made me forget to write any entry in the blog. 

The memory is a strange record. Sometimes, I can remember things from way back in detail. Other times, I cannot remember what happened the day before yesterday. 

What ever did happen, and caused me not to write anything in the blog, I hope it does not happen again. 

Autumn

It is autumn and the mornings are getting colder. We had a fire in the morning, it was nice.

Bed Control

Our bed can be raised and lowered by electric motors. These are controlled by apps in mobile telephones. 

Daniel got a new work telephone today. He had the appen his old work telephone. Tonight, he downloaded the app again. Downloading the app to the telephone was no problem. Connecting the app to the beds were a different matter. Daniel struggled with this for a long time, cursing angrily at the app, which he called illogical. Eventually, however, he managed to get everything to work. Then he turned into his ordinary, happy self again. We were all happy it worked. 

Radiators

It has been some cold nights and mornings. Even though it has been warm outside in the afternoon, this has made it colder even indoors during the nights and mornings. This morning, Daniel turned on the heat for the season. We will have to see for how long the heat will be turned on. Perhaps it will be all the time until spring next year. It feels good to have warm radiators. 

Cough

Both Paula and Daniel have had coughs today. They have had colds. 

Daniel has been able to work from home. Paula had to call in sick, it would not do to have a nurse coughing in front of her parents. 

The good thing is that the whole family has been at home. This is always something we dogs like. 

A Walk in the Sun

We took a Walk in the afternoon sun, Paula, Daniel, Pepe, and I. It was quite nice. It is amazing that we can have such great and warm autumn afternoons in Sweden. The autumn air smelled fresh and crispy.

Our country lies so far north on Earth, yet we have a nice and fairly warm climate. It could not be this warm on these latitudes straight north of Mexico, where Chihuahuas are from, or straight north of Japan, where Shibas are from. We like it here. 

Orange Went Home

This afternoon, Orange went home again. Her humans had come home from a journey overseas, and Orange could come home from her holiday at our place. She made a great contribution to our family, so t is a little sad that she left, but I can understand that she wanted to go home. Paula and Daniel said she was very happy when she got home.

We will have to see if Orange will visit us again. I would not mind. 

No Preparations

Both Paula and Daniel were supposed to go and help construct the dog show ground today. Eventually, only Daniel went. Paula told us she was too tired from work. It must be an exhaustive work she has these days. 

The good thing was that we got to have Paula’s company at home. 

The plan is that they will both go to the dog show tomorrow. 

Beef

Paula gave us some ground beef pieces today. I got hold of the largest piece. I may be small, but I have got nothing against eating big pieces of tasty beef.

This beef was made of minced meat and a tasty blend of spices. It was great. I will have to remind Paula to get us this kind of beef again. 

Preparations for Another Dog Show

There is a dog show this Saturday. Daniel worked with the preparations almost all evening.

We hope that the dog show will be a success. I will not go there, I rather stay at home, but there is no reason I would not hope for the best. 

This time, it is an unofficial dog show. It is still important. The preparations are bound to be good. 

Peaches from the Fukushima Region

Peaches are now sold in London, at Harrods, from the Fukushima region in Japan. This is in an effort to restore trust in produce from the region after the Fukushima nuclear power plant was destroyed by the tsunami of 2011. 

I am sure Hailey and Polly, who were the former writers of this blog and of the Japanese breed Shiba, would have wanted me to write about this. 

Not all of the toxic waste from the power plant is taken care of, but work is in progress. I am sure the Japanese will manage. 

Chopping Wood

When Daniel came home from the office this afternoon, Paula was still tired from her work. She said she just wanted to rest for an hour. Daniel accepted this and went out to chop some wood in the meantime. This summer, he has chopped a lot of wood. He still must think it is not enough. I wonder if he knows something about the upcoming winter, or if he is just taking precausions. I would assume the latter. We cannot know about the winter weather yet, as far as I know. However, even with a mild winter, iris nice to have wood. You can also save wood until the winter after the next. There is not many downsides to chopping wood, I guess. 

At a Restaurant

Hello, Orange here!

It feels a little strange to be back where I was born and lived my first few years, after the years with my present family. Not bad, fairly good, but strange. 

This evening, I got to go with Paula and Daniel to a restaurant. We sat on the porch by the restaurant in the warm and sunny weather. I got to taste some meat. It was a good time. 

The worst thing was that there was a construction worker doing something with the building across the street, and this made a huge noise. We wondered why he worked so late on a Sunday evening. It did not last the whole time we were there, though, and it gave us omething to talk about. What annoys you a little, will at least make life less boring. 

Birthday

Paula and Daniel was away a lot today, celebrating Paula’s mother’s birthday.

Earlier in the week, Paula said she would bring Orange to the birthday celebration. She didn’t. Orange told us it was just as well, she rather stayed here, now that she cannot be home for a week. I agree, I also rather stay at home. When Paula and Daniel came home, they told us they had had a great time. Still, there is no place like home. 

Orange

Orange came home to us today.

Orange is a Shiba from Paula's and Daniel's breeding. She is nice. We will get to know her better.

Locked Door

Daniel was at a meeting this evening. Meanwhile, Paula and us dogs went to bed, because it was getting late. Before she went to bed, Paula locked the door. She forgot the key in the lock, so when Daniel came home, he could not unlock and get in. He had to bang on the door to get Paula to go and open the door for him. It could have been more pleasant than it was with those bangs on the door. 

Controversial Judicial Proposal

The ruling political party in Mexico has pushed for a change in the way judges are appointed. They want them appointed by popular vote. It is controversial, because judges are supposed to be professionals and be able to rule against laws which go against the Constitution etc. Parliament should be elected by popular vote, judges should be appointed based on their professional capacity.

Daniel, who is a lawyer by trade, is critical of this change. He says this would be a kind of popular vote that would make the democracy weaker. There must be a balance between the popular vote, electing the parliament that makes the laws, and the judges’ professional interpretation of laws. 

We are concerned about Mexico, the home country of our breed. Mexico is a great country, it did produce us Chihuahuas, but it must have a great juduciary too. We just have to hope this change will not go through. 

Suicide and Killing

A 17 year old Japanese girl in Yokohama jumped of a tall building to take her own life. This would not be much of a story, if it were not for the fact that she hit another human down below. The other human, a 32 years old woman, also died. 

Why do some humans take their own lives? Dogs never commit suicide. I cannot understand why you want to take your own life. There are so many joys in life, like meatballs. I would never need to take my own life 

Small Meatballs

There are times when Paula and Daniel buy meatballs, instead of buying the ingrediens and making them themselves. Factory made meatballs are often rather big, too big for us Chihuahuas. The other day, however, Paula bought some smaller meatballs. We got to taste these today. Both Pepe and I were very happy. These meatballs were just the size for us. We may be huge in spirit, but we have small bodies. Many small meatballs are better than a few large meatballs. 

Going Back with Things

Quite a few of the items that Daniel brought from the barn yesterday, he brought back to the barn today. Some things were left in the kitchen, but I guess all was not needed. If it just went back to the barn, I wonder why iris kept at all. Perhaps it would be better to just throw most of these things away? On the other paw, what do I know? Humans save so many things and I cannot always understand why. I believe it is better not to own so much, as dogs usually do. 

A Few Things from the Barn

We have some old things stores in the barn on our land. Daniel brought some of these things into the house today. He was happy to have found some of these things. Apparently, he had forgotten where someone these things were.

It is always nice to find things that you have lost. I do not store old things out in the barn, however. This makes it less likely my things get lost. I am happy for Daniel, though, that he found those lost things. Life is easier as a dog, we do not put things away in storage like that. 

Late Night Rain

When we were outside for the night, it was nice weather. Daniel was still not at home, since he was at a meeting tonight. Once he came home, it had started to rain. Consequently, Daniel was rather wet. When he got home, Totte the cat came inside with him. Our cats Totte and Malin are often outdoors this time of the year, but when it rains, they often want to come inside. I can understand that. Malin is still outdoors, I guess she has found another place to get out of the rain. It feels good to have a roof over your head when the rain is falling. 

City Council

Daniel was at the City Council all day. He told us a little about it afterwards. It seems to me it was very dull. There were a lot of issues that were discussed at lenght, but not a single one of them were about dogs. What is the point of discussing so many issues for a whole day, and yet no issue has got anything to do with dogs? Humans are strange sometimes. 

A Deer Here

We have three dog yards on our little piece of land. One big just outside the door, and two smaller to the side of it. 

When we went outdoors this afternoon, a deer had found its way into one of the smaller dog yards.

It was a shame it was not the big dog yard, where we were, so we could take care of it for food. 

Paula took us indoors again and called Daniel on the telephone to tell him about the deer. Then Paula waited for Daniel to come home, hoping for the deer to go away. When Daniel came home, he told us the deer was gone. 

This was not much of an adventure, but it was more unusual than most of the things that happen at our home. It will be remembered. Life is good, when it is filled with events worthy to remember. 

Lights On

It is getting darker earlier in the night and full darkness throughout. Paula wants the light on in the bathroom, so it will be easier to find your way there, if you have to go in the middle of the night.

This is unnecessary for us dogs. We have better night vision than humans and we go outside, not to he bathroom. We can also wait until next morning much more often, before we have to go. 

Despite this, we are not at all opposed to the light being on in the bathroom. If Paula wants to, we let her have the light on. It does not disturb our sleep in the bedroom. 

Horse Competitions

Paula, Daniel, and I went to Segersjö to the south east of Örebro today. There were horse competitions by Segersjö Manor and a lot of different companies and organisations were there to promote different goods and services. We were there to help Örebro County Kennel Club.

It was fun to meet a lot of different people, who were all interested in dogs. There were also many other friendly dogs there, and a few less friendly. Over all, it was a nice event and I am glad we went there.

Our Kennel Club will probably be there next year as well. If this happens, I hope I will be there too. 

Not Much Happened

It is Saturday today and not much happened all day. This is the way we often like our Saturdays. There is a lot of work to doin the workdays, so we deserve to take it easy in the weekends.

Life is good, when you can just relax and take it easy.

Birthday!

We celebrate Paula’s birthday today. 

Paula thinks she is getting too old. We believe Paula is of just the right age. She can take care of us and everything else, so she is neither too young, nor too old. She is of perfect age. 

Let us all hail Paula on her birthday today! 

Rain

We had rain again today. We wonder whether the rain over the last few days will mean the lawn will grov more.

When Daniel mowed it last Saturday, he hoped it was for the last time this season. In this way, he hope autumn is already here. On the other paw, Daniel also hopes it will stay warm outside for several weeks longer, so he will not have to turn the heat on indoors. Warm days with rain will surely cause the lawn to grow. There is a downside to any alternative. 

Broken Bag of Garbage

Daniel was about to go out with the bag of garbage in the kitchen. Unfortunately for him, it was broken. A lot of the garbage spilled out on the floor. 

We did not help Daniel clean up. The smell was bad. We were glad he did, though. 

Life would be much better without garbage. Dogs do not produce nearly as much garbage as humans do. In fact, the little garbage we do produce, could just be left in nature and would fertilize that which grows there. I guess garbage is something you have to accept, for living in a house with modern facilities. Perhaps in the future, science will find ways to get a modern life without producing garbage, but I would not bet on it. This would be long past our life times, anyway. 

Pancakes

Pancakes is traditionally eaten on Thursdays. We had pancakes today, however. This was because we had milk that needed to be consumed, before it would get too old. Milk is a main ingredient in pancakes. 

Paula fed us dogs some pancakes. While she and Daniel enjoyed the pancakes, we did not really fancy it. We did eat some, but we are carnivores and would rather eat meat. 

Pancakes can be served with meat in them. This is called crepes. Perhaps we can get crepes sometime. I think we would like crepes better. 

Cold Morning

On the morning walk today, it really felt like autumn. It felt cold, for the first morning in a long time. Both Paula and Daniel wore jackets.

It is still August, summer, and the warmth did come in the afternoon. The evening felt like a summer evening. We still know that autumn is coming. The cold morning was a premonition of this next season. 

Autumn is a beautiful season in many ways. It is just that I am not fond of the colder days. There will be a new summer next year, though. 

A Trip That Was Perhaps a Bit Useless

Paula, Daniel, and Pepe went to a dog show today. The aim was not to show Pepe, but to meet a friend who could help train Pepe for future dog shows. This could be a good thing. It is important to know what to do in the show ring, to get the best possible result.

The friend never showed.

Paula, Daniel, and Pepe went home again. They had had a good time. However, since the main purpose of the trip was not fulfilled, they felt a little sad when they came home. We had a nice evening and by late night, everyone was quite happy again. All is well that ends well. 

Meatballs and Minced Meat

Daniel cooked meatballs today. At first, we figured we would get some, but we got plain minced meat instead. This is better, it does not include onions, which some say are not healthy for dogs. I think I prefer the taste of minced meat as well. 

Totte also had some minced meat. Our cats Totte and Malin are usually more picky with their food than we dogs are, but Totte likes chicken meat and minced meat. We understand why he likes it.

Our regular dog food is good, but it is nice to get some extra luxurious food like minced meat once in a while. 

Chicken

We got to eat grilled chicken today. Daniel gave us some. We told him it was so tasty, he gave us more and more.

It is a good world we live in, where things can taste so good as chicken meat. We were all quite satisfied with the taste, but would have loved to get even more than the bits we got. We wish we could get chicken more often. 

The Club House

We took a trip to the club house of the Örebro läns Kennel Club today. There were some things Paula and Daniel needed to do after the dog show last weekend. I got to come as well.

It is fun to go with Paula and Daniel to the club house. This makes me feel special. I can also help Paula and Daniel with the things they have to do. 

This is probably not the last time I go to the club house. We just have to wait and see when the next time will be. 

Crawfish

We had a crawfish 

Chopping Wood

Daniel spent a lot of the day chopping wood. We have wood in large chunks, but it needs to be chopped to burn well, Daniel says.

Dogs have been around for millenia. We use humans to control fire for us, something we cannot do. For me and my companion dogs, we are happy that Daniel and Paula can control fire and that they prepare for fires next winter. Life will be warm in the winter. 

Kennel Club House

We were at the Kennel Club house today, to bring back things from the dog show last weekend. It is always fun to be there. I made sure Paula and Daniel did the right things when they put things back in the storage rooms.

It is a good thing I was there, this way everything was put in the right place.  

Successful Show

The dog show in Askersund had its second and final day today. From what I have understood, it was a success. Paula, Daniel, and Pepe, who were there today, were too tired to talk much about it, though. They were happy when they came home, which is a sign of success. I guess they will tell us more tomorrow. 

Show

There is no good word for "dog show" in Swedish. When you talk about Best in Show, we have no good term in our language. I wish we had. We call it Best in Show, even though this is not Swedish. It works well anyway. The main thing is the result. For us this weekend, the results are good. Life is good. 

Building in the Rain

Daniel and some other people was building the dog show ground this afternoon, in the rain. We did not envy them. It was better to stay indoors, which we did. It is nice to have humans to work for us. 

Preparations

We have made preparations for the dog show this weekend. It is the greatest annual event in the whole of Örebro County. With all the preparations that we and others have made, it is bound to be a success, I believe. 

It will be a busy weekend, but a lot of fun. 

Lost the Quarter Final

The Swedish gents in handball in the Olympic Games lost their Quarter final to Denmark. It was close, but Denmark was a goal up when the match was over. The Swedes fought bravely, but, alas, not well enough. Denmark is a good handball nation. They have won the last three World Championships and handball is originally a sport from Denmark. I guess you could call this an honourable loss, if you believe in such losses. 

Weasel

In a part of France, they hunted a suspect who was thought to sabotage fibre cables. After a long search, it was found out that the culprit was a weasel. The police ended their search. 

It is not that I like sabotage against fibre cables, but if such sabotage would happen, I would also want the culprit to be a weasel. 

Another Gold

Armand Duplantis won the Olympic gold medal 🥇 today in pole vault. He defended his gold from the previous Olympic Games. Then he continued and set an Olympic record, then a new World record. With this, Duplantis must be one of the greatest Swedish athletes ever. This made it even better to follow the pole vault live on TV. Sports can be great entertainment. 

No Place Like Home

We have been on a journey to the south of Sweden this weekend. It was interesting to see new parts of our country and to live a few days at a hotel. We had fun. 

Paula and Daniel visited the wedding of Daniel’s niece Isabella. They told us it was a fine ceremony and a nice dinner afterwards.

We came back home this afternoon, and it feels very well to be back. We sleep in our ordinary bed tonight. The journey was nice, but there is no place like home. 

Dog Park

We visited a dog park tonight. Paula and Daniel took me, Pepe, and Morran there. We were the only dogs in the park at the time, so we were allowed to roam freely across the fenced in park.

Our own yard at home is great, but it was very nice to run around for free on a different lawn. We all enjoyed it very much. 

There should be more dog parks like this across the country. 

Equestrian Jumping Team Final Without Mexico

In the Olympic Games, there was the equestrian jump team final. Mexico was qualified to participate, but could not put a team together. Pepe and I were very disappointed. This was all the more tragic, because Germany participated, so Morran could root for Germany. Of course, we could root for Sweden, but it would have been better, had Mexico been there, too. You never know what could stand in the way of participation in a competition, though. I wish all the best for everyone in the Mexican team. 

Touch Screens

Touch screens on tablets or mobile telephones can be annoying. Today, I did not think I touched the screen, yet, a blog entry was started, and then I started another one. 

I deleted the first blog post. There was no need to write two blog posts the same day, just because I happened to start two by mistake. 

On other occasions, I have touched a touch screen, but nothing has happened. This is also annoying, until you manage to get the screen to react. 

For the most part, however, touch screens are good tools on good communication devices. There is seldom reason to complain, which somehow makes it more urgent to complain once something does not work as expected. I actually like the devices most of the time. They are nice. 

Gold

Sweden got its first gold medalist in the current Olympic Games today. It was Sara Sjöström, who won the 100 metres free style swimming. 

If dogs were to compete, we would dog paddle. I know how to, I have done it. I do not think any dog would be as fast as the human competitors in free style swimming, though. Many dogs would outperform the humans in the athletics running competitions, though. The Olympic Games are only for human competitors, however. I think this is just as well. Dogs have our own competitions which are good enough for us. 

Smoke

When Paula and Daniel was cleaning today, they put some garbage in the fire place and lit it. It started to produce a lot of smoke, so much that the fire alarm in the kitchen went on. The garbage was too damp, so it would not brun properly, this is why there was so much smoke. Eventually, though, Daniel made the glow start to burn and the smoke disappeared. It is good that our humans know reasonably well how to handle fire. 

Mowing the Lawn Again

Daniel mowed the lawn again. This is good for small dogs like us. When the lawn is cut short, there is less risk that we get attacked by ticks. Ticks like high straws of grass, we do not have that now. I like a well mowed lawn. 

A Long Walk

Paula went for a long walk today. She did not bring any of us dogs.

We were fine with this. While we enjoy a short walk, long walks are nothing we fancy. It is cooler just to stay at home. We also fulfilled our duty as guard dogs, which we take pride in. It was good to stay at home. 

Ring Steward

Daniel is authorised to work as a ring steward at dog shows. This is important work. He does this in Ransäter this weekend.

Paula is on her way to become authorised. We all hope she will manage to be this soon. She was about to do some trainee sessions this weekend in Ransäter, but had obstacles in her way. There must be things she can do to finish the whole thing. We will support her the best we can.

Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

The 2024 Olympic Games, which are held in Paris, had its opening ceremony today. It was a spectacle.

Some of the Olympic tournaments have already started, of course. Football and handball are examples of this. 

I wish I was around when the Olympic Games were held in Mexico. It would have been nice to see the TV broadcasts from the home country of my breed. 

Preparations

Daniel will work at a dog show this weekend. He read tonight about the rules on the dog breeds which will be shown in his ring. 

It is important to prepare for a show this way. I often prepare for things myself. It takes a lot of preparations to stay allert and cute, the way I am. 

Damp Lawn

We have had showers of rain now and then today. It is best to stay indoors when the rain is falling.

We cannot get away from the rain drops that stay on the lawn, though. The lawn is damp because of all the rain. For small dogs like us, this does not just make our paws wet, a tummy of a Chihuahua can also get wet from the damp lawn. We do not really fancy this.

It is nice that it is always dry indoors. 

Trip to a Lake

We did not go to a lake today, but Paula did. She spent the day with her mother, sitter, niece, and nephew at a lake some kilometres outside of Örebro. We have been there too, but I like it better when I can stay at home. Baths is not my thing.

In the afternoon, when Paula came home, she was happy. It has been a good day at the lake. I still believe I had a better day at home. There is no reason to take a bath, if you do not have to. 

Music of Different Kinds

Paula played a lot of different songs tonight, talking to us about the significance of most of these songs in her life. It is fascinating how much music can mean to humans. I like good music, I just do not think music means so much. To each her own happiness, however. We got minced meat for dinner today, thisis among the things I like the best. 

A New Axe

When Daniel was chopping wood yesterday, the axe broke. He purchased a new one today, and it worked better than the former, he said. It also comes with a 25 year warranty, which is good. 

I am glad Daniel chops wood for us. Dogs let humans control fire for us. Chopped wood is one thing that is needed for fire. Life is good with controlled fire. 

A Walk in Wadköping

Paula, Daniel, and I went down to the town today. We went around among the old houses in what is called Wadköping. It was sunny and hot weather, so hot that we decided not to stay to eat lunch there. It was a nice walk, anyway, but I would have preferred istid it were not quite so hot. 

Sausage

We got a sausage for dinner, Cutugno into small pieces so we would all get some of it. Morran says sausages are the best food there is. She says this with her experience as a dog of a German breed, while Germany is a country well known for its sausages. Sausages are civilised food, Morran says, because it utilizes parts of the eaten animals which we might otherwise just dispose of, and makes this tasty and healthy. The sausage we got tonight was very tasty, so I do not argue with Morran about this. The sausage really made this a better day. This is good. 

Howling

Once in a while, Paula sings. Pepe enjoys to join her by howling. Daniel does not like the noise that he says is caused by Pepe, when Pepe howls. While Daniel has never objected to Paula singing before, he does now, because of Pepe’s howling. I think this is unfair to both Paula and Pepe. If they want to make music, they should be allowed to do so. I do not mind. It might be that I am just more open minded than Daniel. Whatever Daniel says, however, I think there will be more songs and more howls in the future. He just have to accept this. 

Floods

We have had a lot of rain in Örebro, even floods in the centre of the city. 

There were even worse floods in Toronto, Canada, however. Roads and cars have been flooded. 

Our car at home here in Örebro have made it. We are safe from the floods. This feels good. 

Meatballs

Paula made meatballs for dinner. This was great. First, we got to taste some of the minced meat. Then, we got to taste some of the uncooked meatballs. Finally, we got to taste some finished meatballs. It was great. 

Meatballs should be served more often, to all dogs. It is one of the greatest human inventions ever. 

Short Showers

We have had rain on and off this afternoon. It has been heavy rainfalls, short times, but more than once. 

Luckily, we were all indoors when the rain fell this way.

In Sweden, rain is as much summer weather as sunshine. The rain is fairly cold and it stays wet for a long time. We have to be thankful for the water, anyway. Much too dry weather is even worse. 

Spain Won

Spain won the Euro 2024, with a result of 2-1 in the final versus England.

Pepe and I rooted for Spain. We are of a Mexican dog breed, so a Spanish team feels more close to us than an English team. Paula also rooted for Spain, she usually does, because of her Colombian roots. We celebrate now. 

Daniel and Morran wanted England to win. They agreed, though, that Spain deserved the victory. 

The Lawn

The lawn was mowed again today. Paula, Pepe, and I went or to check on Daniel, when he was mowing the lawn. He said he had about these quarters of an hour left. It turned out he was right.

It sure is better to have a well mowed lawn, especially for us small dogs.

A Simple Dinner

This evening, there were just a couple of sandwiches for dinner. This can be just as good as an advanced, cooked meal. 

Well, there was also a sausage that was shared among us dogs. This was the real treat, but also a simple dinner. 

It is a nice Friday night. 

Peace Talks

We had to have some peace talks today, when our cat friend Totte suddenly came up in the bed and demanded a place for himself. Unfortunately for him, he got up just where Morran had made a place to lie down. When Morran growled, we had to step in and peace talks came about. Now we all have a place each in the bed. It all turned out well. 

I wish peace talks in international human politics would be as easy as it is by us. 

The Other Semi Final

The Netherlands played England in the second semi final, and scored first. Then England got a penalty and scored. For a long time, it was 1-1, but England scored a second goal when there were just a few minutes left of the game. England will face Spain in the final on Sunday. It will be interesting. 

Semi Final

If you are from Mexico,or your breed is, you have a certain feeling for every country where people speak Spanish. There is one such country in Europe, Spain, and it played in the UEFA Euro semi final in football tonight. The opponent France scored first, but Spain scored twice soon after the French goal. 

Even Morran rooted for Spain. She says Spain beat Germany, which she rooted for, and it is better to lose to a team that goes far. 

The game was exciting to the end. Eventually, Spain won, 2-1. It was a good game. 

Tuna

We got some tuna inpudra food today. It was mixed into a sauce and it was really tasty.

Fish can actually be really good food. While beef and pork is great, fish is, too. It is suitable food for carnivores like us. I could eat tuna more often. 

Damp Lawn

There has been a lot of rain lately. There were 17 mm yesterday and last night. The lawn has been so damp that Daniel has not been able to follow through with his plan to mow it. 

We like well mowed lawns, but if it cannot be done properly, I guess we will have to wait. Daniel will work in the week to come. We may have to wait until next weekend to get a well mowed lawn. The weather will make the difference. We will have to see. 

The Other Quarter Finals

Tonight, the quarter finals of England v. Switzerland and the Netherlands v. Turkey was played.

We had different opinions on the first game. It went to penalty shots, where England won. Daniel was pleased with this result 

In the other game, we all rooted for the Netherlands. We were happy that the Netherlands won, 2-1. There are dogs in the Netherlands who have Aangenaam dogs in their pedigrees and who are happy for this result. 

Quarter Finals

The first quarter finals were played tonight. First, the host nation Germany played Spain, then Portugal played France.

Spain won, 2-1, after over time. This means the host nation is out. Morran always roots for Germany and is sad now. 

France and Portugal had 0-0 after over time, a dull game. It went to penalties, where France won. 

No Fireworks Here

It is a good thing we don’t have Americans living close by. They often shoot fireworks on the 4 July, their national holiday, today. While I do not care about the noise, many dogs would be scared. Wildlife too. 

In Sweden, we often have fireworks on New Year’s Night, and crackers then and at Easter. It would be better not to. It would also be better for the Americans not to have it this day. For the sake of dogs and wildlife, I wish this would stop. You can celebrate without this noise.

Happy 4 July to all American dogs and humans! 

Being Petted

There are moments when I just want to be petted for a while. Luckily, I am a pet. My humans like to pet me. Whenever they are around and I want to be petted, they pet me. This is a great perk of being a pet. I believe most dogs have it like this. At least I hope so. Being petted is great, when you just want to. 

Vaccinated

Pepe went to the veterinarian today to be vaccinated. This is something all of us dogs have to do once in a while. Paula drove him there.

Pepe said it was a good trip. There were other dogs there, one of which barked at him, but he did not care much. However, he thinks there should always be treats served afterwards, and it wasn’t. I tend to agree with Pepe on this. Above all, it would be nice for those dogs who do not like shots. Pepe did not mind the shot and was happy when he was back home again. We all got treats later. 

Back to Work

Daniel has had two weeks of vacation, but went back to work today. This meant the alarm clock went off in the morning. It is a good thing for us dogs, that we could go back to sleep after the morning walk. 

Sometimes, I would also like to have a vacation. As a dog, we can often sleep in the mornings, but we are constantly on call. We are always on duty as watch dogs, companions, etc. On the other paw, I wonder what I would do on a vacation. My duties are always there, but I like them and I like my life. I would never want to trade it with the life of a human, even though humans have vacations. 

Favourites

England was the favourite playing Slovakia, and Spain was the favourite playing Georgia.

England had a hard time winning. They tied the game in the very last minute, then won by scoring the only goal in overtime. 

Georgia, just like Slovakia, also scored the first goal of the game. Spain came back sooner, and scored many more goals. 

Both favourites won, but England did not impress. We will have to see how far England can go. 

Final Sixteen

The UEFA Euro 2024 has started the final sixteen games. Tonight, we have seen Switzerland versus Italy and Germany versus Denmark.

Morran always roots for Germany. She is of a German breed, this is why. 

We can conclude that there will be a new European champion. Italy won the last tournament, but Switzerland won their game tonight. This makes the rest of the tournament a little more interesting. 

Germany won the game versus Denmark. This made Morran happy and we are glad for her sake. 

Music in the Distance

There is some kind of concert going on at some distance from us. We hear the bass of the music. Paula thinks it is a little annoying. For my part, I can sleep anyway. 

Music in the distance makes you hear a concert without paying for it. I do it think I would pay to get in to the concert. It is quite enough for me to hear it from a distance. 

Appart from the music in the distance, we have had an ordinary day at home. Life is good. 

Warm Days

We have warm and sunny days this week. This is no problem for us Chihuahuas, we are from Mexico with its warmer climate.

Summer in Sweden is great. You cannot complain about these temperatures.

Battery

When I am writing this on the Ipad, its battery is running low. There is just 10 % of it left. While I know that this is usually more than enough for me to finish a blog post, it still makes me a little uncomfortable. I would not want to run out of energy before I am done with the blog post. It would be easier if the telephones and reading pads would have better batteries. Chances are they will have in the future, but it is probably years from now. Nevertheless, I managed to finish this blog post with the battery power that was left. 

SUP

We went to a lake today, where they have a beach where dogs are welcome. This is great, even though I am not fond of taking baths. I just swam for a little while. 

When we arrived, there were two women there with one of these Stand Up Paddle board, SUP board. The younger woman tried to use the SUP board for a while, and the other woman supported her. Apparently, it was not easy. The younger woman could not steer properly and fell into the water a few times. She gave up rather quickly.

If it is this hard to use a SUP board, I cannot see the allure of them. You sit down in an ordinary canoe and it is quite easy to learn how to use it and to steer. Why, then, would you want to use a much more difficult SUP board? If you want to learn how to use it, why give up so quickly that the younger woman did? Humans are strange sometimes. 

Important Meeting

Daniel was at a meeting this weekend. It was very important, because it was about the dog show in Askersund in August. A lot of the preparations are already done, but there are some things still not done. We all hope everything will work out fine. 

We may all go to Askersund and the dog show. These plans are still not set. 

Pepe Came Back Home

Pepe has been away for a couple of days. He came back home today. This means everyone is at home now.

Malin stays outside tonight, but we know she is close by, which means she is really at home. She may stay outside, when she wants to. 

I like it this way, when everyone is at home. 

Back Home

Daniel came back home today, after a few days away. We were all happy to see him.

Then we celebrated, but not that Daniel was back home, but that Paula had her name day today. Name days are good things to celebrate. They are also celebrated in Mexico, but according to the Catholic name day calendar. I am not sure if Paula is celebrated on the same day. We celebrate on the Swedish name day, of course. 

Midsummer

Midsummer Eve is a day of celebration in Sweden. We celebrate the longest day and the summer solstice. There are a lot of good food and treats. We like this.

Merry Midsummer, everyone! 

Just a Few

Pepe went away for a while today. He will come back home in a couple of days. Malin and Totte spend most of their summer days outdoors, as cats tend to do. We are just a few at home. It has advantages, there is more focus on each one of us. While I like it better when everyone is at home, I cannot say I dislike this. Life is good this way as well. This is good. 

Rain and Thunder

We had rain, lightning, and thunder today. It feels good to be indoors when the rain is pouring down.

Some dogs do not like thunder. None of us here at home care much about it, though. It is just a sound of nature to me. I feel for the dogs who do not like it, and I wish them the best. To me, I can see no reason to worry, however. Life is good. 

Euro 2024

The UEFA European Championship in football is played now. Sweden does not participate, due to bad performance in the qualification games. Mexico does not participate, because it is not a member of UEFA. 

Morran roots for Germany, the home country of her breed. In the absence of other teams to root for, I guess I can do the same. My heart is not fully into it, however. 

I hope Sweden will qualify for the next World Cup. Mexico is one of the hosts, so we will be able to root for Mexico. This will feel better. 

Candy Cars

We had some of this specifically Swedish candy, which is called cars, and has the shape of old cars, tonight. Candy can be tasty, and I like this, but I prefer meat. 

Paula and Daniel are not fond of us saving candy. If we try to, they take it away. This is a little annoying. 

Taking Care of the Home

When one of our humans are not at home, we need to take better care of it. When both are not at home, even more so. Today, Daniel went away. This means we have to step up and take better care of the home, until Daniel is back. We always rise to the challenge. Life is exciting and good. 

Sewer

Water got stuck in the basin in our bathroom today. Daniel had to unscrew the drain and clean it.

There was a lot of dirt inside the drain, and this dirt had clogged the drain. It was rather easy to get rid of the clogging dirt, however. Then the water could flow freely down the drain.

We hope it is a long time before the drain needs to be cleaned again. 

Colombian Ship in Stockholm

A grand sailing ship from Colombia visited Stockholm this week. Colombia is the country where Paula was born, so she has a special relationship to Colombia. If we would have lived in Stockholm, we would probably have gone to see the ship. It would certainly have been a magnificent sight to see. 

Board Meeting

This was a special evening. Paula and I accompanied Daniel to a board meeting with the regional kennel club in the club house. I got to sit in the lap of Daniel for a large part of the meeting.

There were many good decisions made at the meeting. I believe my presence was inspiring for all the dog people at the board, so I guess the decisions were improved thanks to me. It feels good to make a contribution in this way. 

About to Forget

There have been days when I have forgot to write in the blog. This annoys me afterwards, since it is supposed to be a daily blog. Hailey and Polly did not quite keep it daily, either, but this is hardly an excuse. 

I almost forgot today. It is rather late when I write this. It just hit me, that I had not made any blog entry. Here you go, today’s blog entry. It may be boring, but stay tuned. Some future blog entries will surely be better. 

Cold June

For a dog of a breed from Mexico, the weather in Sweden is not always what I would like. In the winter, I can understand it. In the summer, like now, one would think it could be warmer. Nevertheless, we have had such a cold and damp weather now that we turned the heat on for a while. We turned it off again after a while, but consider that we had the heat on in June, and you realize what a cold summer it is, so far. If you could lodge a complaint against the summer weather, I would. 

EU Parliament Election

There was an election for the EU parliament today. Daniel went around to some of the places where people voted, because he is a member of the communal election authority. I did not quite understand what he did, but he seemed positive with the results.

I have tried to find out more on the policy about dogs in the EU among the political parties, but not much have been said. Whether this is good or bad, is hard to say. It might be good that the politicians do not want to regulate much about dogs. I hope this is the case. Time will tell. 

Mowed Lawn

Everything green grows fast this time of the year. Daniel mowed the lawn again today.

It feels better for small dogs like us, to have a well mowed lawn. There is less risk for ticks, as well. 

In the afternoon, we had rain. Daniel had already mowed the lawn, so he was quite happy about this. 

Bird Flu

A man in Mexico has died from bird flu, type H5N2. This is the first time a human has been diagnosed with this type of bird flu. It seems like it has not been transferred to other humans.

I hope it has not been transferred to any dogs either. 

I Stayed at Home

Despite the plans I wrote about in the blog post yesterday, I stayed at home today. I let Paula and Daniel go by themselves. They can do it. I also thought my presence might take the focus from the dogs who would compete. I did not want to deprive them of their place in the sunshine. 

Paula and Daniel came back in the afternoon, happy with the day. I was happy with my day. It is nice to be at home. 

Preparations

Paula and Daniel went away to the kennel club grounds to prepare for a kind of celebrations of the National Holiday tomorrow. The most beautiful dog show winner will be named, and a lunch will be served. My plan is to come, but to stay out of the competition. You want there to be a fair fight, you know. 

Garbage

Paula cleaned the house today and went out with garbage. There were a lot of old and tattered clothes and stuff, that was not worth keeping.

I helped Paula. The other dogs did not want to come, but I did. I believe my help was valued a lot. 

It is satisfying to make a difference like this. 

Washing Machine

The washing machine has not functioned properly over the last weeks. It got really bad last week. However, Paula and Daniel have managed to take care of it. It is washing properly again, thanks to their joint effort.

It is easier being a dog. Our coats never need to go through the washing machine. 

Upcoming Election

There is an election next Sunday, for the EU Parliament. Swedes vote for people from Sweden.

It is possible to vote in advance. Daniel voted today, while Paula has said she will vote tomorrow. 

I will not vote. Dogs are disenfranchised. Paula and Daniel always say they consider dog policy and dog rights in politics, however. We like this. 

Summer and Thunder

It is warm weather and there were times when we heard thunder in the distance. This is great, it is nice summer weather. While I am comfortable with thunder close by as well, it is cozier to hear it on a distance. We willhave to see if thunder and rain will come all the way to our place in the remaining days of warm weather. 

Hair Dye

Humans do not have shows, the way dogs do. When Paula died her hair today, there is no risk she will be disqualified from a show. 

My coat look good as it is. I have no need to dye it. If Paula wants to dye her hair and feels good about it, it is fine with me. To each her own.

Our Own Veteran

Our Affenpinscher friend Morran liked that I wrote about dog veterans yesterday, on Veterans’ Day. However, she had expected that she would have been mentioned in the blog post. After all, Morran is nice years old and is, thus, definitely a veteran as a dog. 

We celebrated Morran a little extra today, instead. There were pieces of sausage and bacon with our food. There is no better way to celebrate, than to have a decent amount of meat to eat. It makes life good. 

Veterans' Day

It is Veterans' Day and a flag flying day today. This means we can celebrate all dogs who have turned eight years old. They are all veterans.

The day is actually instated for veterans of the armed forces, who have protected Swedish freedom and values through their service. Some of them are dogs. I still believe we can note veterans of all kinds on Veterans' Day. 

Hurrah for all the veterans out there! 

Random Letter

There are times when I have a lack of inspiration for this blog. Then I may just chose a random letter and try to write about whatever comes to my mind with this letter. I tried this trick today. The letter was L. However, it made me think of the randomness of it all, so I chose the headline Random Letter. It might be that I can help someone by letting them know of this choice of a random letter. It would be nice if I could help someone this way. I hope so. 

Heavy Rain

It has rained today, quite heavily now and then. There were a little lightning and thunder in the afternoon, too. As long as we can stay indoors, this is a rather nice weather. It feels cozy to stay indoors, when the rain is falling outside. Life is good. 

Bronze

Sweden won the bronze game in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship today. It was the first time since the gold in 2018 that Sweden has won medals, so it was about time. Sweden is one of the foremost nations in ice hockey throughout history, being one of the ”big four” together with Canada, Czechia (formerly Czechoslovakia), and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union). 

Sweden played very well in this tournament except for the semi final, where the team lost to Czechia. It is not very bad to lose to Czechia, but the loss was 3-7, which is too much. It is, however, good to beat Canada in the bronze game. 

We believe Czechia will win the final against Switzerland. Czechia is the higher ranked team and has home turf. Switzerland won against Canada in the semi final, has become better and better over the last decades, and it cannot be ruled out that Switzerland may win. 

Newly Mowed Lawn

Daniel mowed the lawn today. He said it was long over due. We agreed with him. 

For small dogs like us, it is better with a well mowed lawn. It also prevents ticks from jumping at you. 

I guess a well mowed lawn looks better, too. Daniel thinks so, anyway. 

A Little Rain

For the first time this week, we had rain. It rained a little in the morning, when we got out. It was not much and by afternoon, the ground was dry again. So far, there is no drought. All the trees and bushes and the lawn grows. Green groning things are everywhere. It is quite nice. 

Sausage slices

Daniel worked from home and made a sandwich for lunch today. He had sausage slices on the sandwich. Each of us dogs got a slice of sausage. This was a great lunch. It was also part of Daniel’s birthday celebration. I wish we could have lunch like this more often. 

Happy birthday, Daniel! 

Flashing Lamp

The lamp in the ceiling by the entrance to our house is broken. It has given away flashes of light on random instances. Paula and Daniel did not know where the flashes came from at first. They did not ask me, so I did not get the chance to tell them. Eventually, however, they discovered that it was the lamp in the ceiling. It will be replaced. 

No New Election

Ukraine is under heavy pressure by the war, where it defends itself against Russian aggression. There should have been a presidential election, but all Ukrainans seem to agree that the election can wait until after the war. It would be difficult to hold an election with about a fifth of the territory occupied by Russia and many citizens as refugees abroad. 

Ironically, it seems like the only critique against Ukraine for not having a presidential election come from Russia. Russia has a worse record as a democracy. The Russians should look to themselves before accusing others of having a flawed democracy. It is Ukraine that fights for freedom and democracy. 

Results

Daniel put a document together tonight with the results from the group finals and finals from the dog show last Saturday. There was a Chihuahua who became best in group 9 in one of the age classes.

Pepe or I might have won, but we did not participate. 

What Remains to Be Done

The garden needs to be attended to. Over the last days, the lawn has gone wild, dandelions has spring up here and there, and there are old leaves and tree branches here and there on the ground. Daniel extracted dandelions from the ground this afternoon. He says this is most important. We would also want a shorter lawn, to avoid ticks. This will come, Daniel promises, just not today. The garden will look better further on. 

Dog Show

Paula and Daniel worked at the dog show today, while we dogs stayed at home watching the house. We got news about what happened. Paula did a very good job as a ring steward. Daniel also made a good job with the administration of the show. It was surely a good show, but I was happy to stay at home. 

By the way, they solved the question of replacing a ring steward, that I wrote about yesterday. 

Late Cancellation

A ring steward to the dog show tomorrow cancelled tonight. 

Daniel is responsible for contracting ring stewards. Sometimes, there are valid reasons for a ring steward to cancel with such a short notice. It was, this time. 

We will have to see if it is possible to get hold of another ring steward. 

Updates

It is disturbing when you want to use your electronic device, but it says it needs an update.

Electronic devices are inferior to brains in this way. You never have to download new brain software and install it, then restart you brain. Of course, we have to sleep sometimes, but electronic devices also go to sleep a short time after you stop using them. 

On the other paw, without being disturbed by the habits of some electronic devices, I would have less things to write about in this blog. This is a good thing about the disturbances. Life is pretty good, after all. 

Cat On the Roof

Our cat friends Malin and Totte are outdoors a lot of the time this season. Late in the evening, we heard rumble from the roof. It must have been one of the cats. We know they like to be on the roof once in a while. Cats are better at climbing, than dogs are, we have to admit this. It is good that rumble like this is not very common. 

City Council

Daniel served at the city council today. He does this about one day every month. There are just a few people who have seats in the city council, Daniel is one of them. He thinks it is interesting, but he enjoys other things more, whenit comes to things he does away from home which is not work.

We are proud that Daniel has a seat at the city council. 

Sorry, I missed

Sorry to my readers, I missed writing a blog entry. It is now a little past midnight. I have been bad at being daily this month. It will get better. Say tuned! 

The Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest was held yesterday. We were disappointed with the songs. There were no song lyrics involving dogs. We would like to have more songs involving dogs. This is not just in this Song Contest, but also on other scenes were music is played. Dogs are important, this should be reflected in songs. 

A Little Cleaner

We cleaned our house today. We often do, when it is Saturday and Daniel does normale to work with the things that paus him money. Cleaning is also work, but the reward is not money, it is a more pleasant house to live in.

Quiet Day

It was a holiday yesterday and Daniel took the day off today. We have had a nice and quiet day when everyone has been at home all the time. I like the occasional quiet day of this kind. Life is good. 

A Lot of Songs

There are a lot of songs that a lot of different countries compete with in the Eurovision Song Contest. They are so many, that there are qualification rounds twice, before the final on Saturday. Unfortunately, many of the songs are rather bad, or very bad. Do people really believe these songs can win? I don't. 

Mimi the Cat Was Saved

A block of flats in our home town caught fire today. The fire fighters got there and started to put the fire out. They also got inside and fetched the cat Mimi. She was saved from the fire and turned over to her human. 

We celebrate the rescue of Mimi the cat today. 

Statue

We have had a small statue of a Chihuahua in the living room window. Paula and Daniel has moved this statue outdoors. It is of a material that can stand any weather. This is a good thing, it may show anyone who come to visit us that nice dogs live here. 

Eastern Easter

Apparently, the Eastern churches celebrate Easter today. There are Swedes who are members of these churches. Their dogs can get Easter candy two times, both when most people in Sweden celebrate Easter, and when their humans celebrate Easter. This would be nice. For us, it has just been an ordinary weekend, no extra candy. Easter candy is good. 

Late Friday Night

We stayed up late tonight. It is Friday night. Friday nights are fun, because you know you can sleep in Saturday morning, so you can stay up for as long as you want. Life is goodon Friday nights. 

Doughnuts

Paula purchased a few doughnuts, so we had those for a late night snack. Pepe and I enjoyed our bites. Morran did not want any, though. She is not fond of sweet bread of this kind, she told us. She would rather have minced meat, fish pate (like the other day) or any other food for a carnivore. I would agree that the food she mentioned are even better, but I like doughnuts too. Just because other things taste better, you do not have to say no to good things. It was a good late night snack. 

Tax Return

Daniel put in a couple of hours to review everything in his tax return for 2023. Then he finished it and signed it electronically, without making any further changes. It must be complicated, the Swedish tax system, when a tax payer can put in many hours to review what he is supposed to play in taxes, only to conclude that he will not do any changes.

All of us dogs are happy we do not have to file tax returns or pay taxes. 

Celebrating Spring

It is the Walpurgis Eve, the last day of April. Since times immemorial, Swedes have celebrated spring on this date. This may seem late in the year for people from other parts of the world, but not this far north. 

This also happen to be the birthday of the King of Sweden. This is why it is a flag flying day, but it has been a day of celebrations for much longer. 

We had a great meal with medium rare cooked meat. Allof us dogs got to taste a few bites. It was great. We wish we could get meat like this more often. 

Films from the Second World War

Paula found a new documentary with films from the Second World War. 

As Chihuahuas, Pepe and I are not very interested. Mexico did not participate in the war.

Morran is of a German dog breed. She says that while she might have rooted for Germany in the First World War, she would never have done it in the Second World War. In this war, Germany was ruled by nazists, who had among the most horrible ideologies ever deviced by humans. 

The Second World War was an important part of human history. I guess the films are good for everyone who is interested. I would rather see documentaries on dogs. 

Fish Pate

Paula cooked fish pate yesterday. This is a dish which is best served a day after it is cooked. Consequently, we ate it today.

The fish pate was really tasty. I rarely fancy fish very much, but Paula’s fish pate was great. I wish we can get it again soon. It requires some work, but I guess it is worth it, at least once in a while. 

Snow Again

There was snow again this morning. I am getting fed up with this long winter.

Fortunately, the snow melted away today as well. 

Will spring really be here soon? I sure hope it will. 

Snow

We do live far north, compared to most of the world. It was still a surprise that snow fell this morning. 

It was not a lot of snow, just a centimetre, but it was there for a while. Then the snow disappeared a little later today. 

Daniel told us there can even be snow in May, though this is rare. I would not want to experience this. 

Sadness

We mourn our friend Viola, but we support each other in our grief. Paula needs our support, and she supports us. 

At the same time, life must go on. We do what we can to let it go on. Life will never be the same again, but it will continue. 

Rest in peace, Viola!

Candle

We lit a candle for Viola tonight. The light shone for a long time. Our memories of Viola will live forever. 

Shogun

There is a new Shogun TV series, based on the book by James Clavell. While I do not have much to write about it, I believe Hailey and Polly would have. They were of a Japanese breed and naturally interested in anything Japanese. The TV series has been praised as a very good production. I believe Hailey and Polly would recommend it. You have to make up your own mind. 

Memorial Statue with Dogs

The first memorial statue of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom has been unveiled. It has two dogs of the breed Welsh Corgi at the base. The Queen was also known as a breeder of Welsh Corgis.

I love the fact that these dogs were added to the statue. It adds a greater depth to the image of the late Queen and it highlights the importance that dogs had to her and has to humans in general. It is a great memorial monument of the Queen. 

Viola, My Friend

Complications after giving birth. Our dear friend Viola passed away suddenly this afternoon.

Her son is still alive. We hope there is some other bitch out there who can take care of him. 

A Pup!

Viola gave birth to a pup today. They now live by themselves, so she can take good care of the pup. 

I am eager to get to know the pup, but it will have to wait. 

Brazilian Music?

Daniel was at a lodge meeting today, where they had a band who played Brazilian music. I like the fact that it was Latin American music, but I would have preferred Mexican music. You cannot get everything you want. Daniel said it was good anyway. 

New Consolidated Regulation for Non-Commercial Movement of Pets

The EU has issued a new consolidated version of the Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on the non-commercial movement of pet animals and repealing Regulation (EC) No 998/2003. This is good to know for all humans who go on trips between EU countries and EEA countries with their dogs. 

Prison for Pup Smugglers

The Swedish Göta Court of Appeals, in a judgment 15 April 2024 (case no. B 73-24), has sentenced a man to prison for smuggling pups from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Sweden. The man had travelled in a bus in the lane for nothing to declare, but had several pups without passports or pedigrees in the back of the bus.

The pups are said to have been Bichon Frisé pups, but without pedigrees, we cannot be certain.

It is good that he has to go to prison, even though I do not agree with the fact that the court of appeals lowered the sentence. 

St. Patrick

Swedes are weird sometimes. While all of the Catholic world, which includes Mexico, celebrates St. Patrick on the day of his death, the 17 March, Swedes say that the 16 of April is his day. This is today. I would follow the example of the Irish, whose patron saint St. Patrick is, and celebrate on the 17 March. 

Half of April

We are half way through April, and Sweden shows that we live close to the North Pole. We had frost in the morning. There is often winter weather here half of the year.

You should know that the reason people can live a reasonably nice life here in Northern Europe is thanks to the Gulf Stream, which takes warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic Ocean to the west of us. Just like the best dogs come from Mexico, Chihuahuas, the warm water that brings reasonable temperatures to this part of the world come from the Gulf of Mexico. A lot of good things come from Mexico. 

Hope

The meteorologists have said it might be snow again. We had rain today. We hope there will not be any snow.

As long as there is rain, we have hope there will be no snow. Hope is the last thing we have, but it is good. 

What ever happens, we know summer is on its way. It is just that we do not really know when. 

Dust By the Window

Daniel rain the vacuum cleaner around the house today. He even used it by the window in our bedroom. There was some dust there, which was promptly vacuumed away. You can see dust by the windows easier now, when the spring sun is shining. It was good to get rid of that dust. 

I Don’t Wanna Dance

Daniel says that one of his favourite songs is I Don’t Wanna Dance by the artist Eddy Grant. In a way, I can fully agree with this. I don’t want to dance. Dance is for humans, not for dogs. We are too dignified to move our bodies in dance. We walk, run, hunt, or sleep, but we don’t dance. We leave dance to our humans. 

Wolves, Dogs, Foxes

Archaelogical evidence in South America suggest humans there kept foxes as pets, like modern humans keep dogs. Some foxes were buried together with humans. 

Dogs and wolves are the same species. Foxes are closely related to us, but are of a different species. I am not surprised humans do not keep foxes as pets any longer. Dogs are just much better as pets. It is still interesting to read that foxes have been pets in earlier times. 

Meeting

Daniel was away from home last night. He came back again this afternoon, just to leave again. We did not mind, he had an important board meeting to go to tonight. The regional kennel club, where Daniel has a seat, had a meeting. We got to be with Daniel a little later instead. Life is nice. 

A Big, Big World

There are times when I wonder about the size of the world. It must be very big, especially compared to small dogs like us Chihuahuas. I have travelled for long times by car, and cars travel much faster than I can walk. It is still said that these long journeys are short compared to the whole world. Then there is space above us, much more than the size of Earth. I cannot fathom the size, but I do not think there is ever an end to it, because what would be beyond this end? It is a big, big world we live in. 

Total Solar Eclipse

There was a total Solar Eclipse in North America. Here is a film from Mexico, where you can see what it looked like. 

Hailey and Polly were both named for Lunar eclipses, but I believe they would have written about a Solar eclipse as well. The nice thing for me is that the film is from Mexico, where my dog breed is from. I would not have gone to Mexico just to see the eclipse live, though, as I have understood some humans do. There must be better causes to visit Mexico. Meeting more Chihuahuas would be one of them. 

Japan in Focus

The cherry blossom was here later than usual in Japan now. It is one of the things Japan is famous for.

This Sunday, there was the Japanese Grand Prix in Formula 1. This also put Japan in focus.

I assume Hailey or Polly would have taken the opportunity to write about Japan on a day like this. They were proud of their Japanese roots. I understand this, as I am proud of my Mexican roots. I do not know much about Japan, unfortunately. This is about as far that I can write about it. It is still a blog post highlighting Japan, which I believe is something Hailey and Polly would have liked. There will be more on Japan in the blog in the future, at least once in a while. Stay tuned!

A Kind of Anniversary

It is fifty years ago today that Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest for the very first time. It was ABBA who won with their song Waterloo. There is a concert with ABBA songs on TV to commemorate this event. None of the four members of ABBA participate in the concert in any capacity, however. We believe there is no point in watching the concert, when this is the case. There are other things to do on a Saturday evening. 

Deep Snow for the Season

Spring is still at least days away. This morning, snow fell. We got so much snow that Daniel went out to shovel some of it away.

We had thaw in the afternoon, but a kotor the snow is still there on the ground.

We will have to see when spring will finally come. 

Croissant

Paula had a croissant tonight. She gave me part of it. Then Viola came along and tried to steal my piece. I fought back. She put up a fight. Daniel separated us. Everyone went mad with Viola. 

Viola is a dear friend, but she needs to be better at knowing the difference between what is mine and what is hers. 

Not Yet Spring

Snow fell yesterday. You may think it would vanish immediately, but it did not. We have had temperatures below the freezing point for two nights and two days now. 

We long for spring and summer. Chihuahuas are made for Mexican climate, which is warmer than Swedish. There may be snow there as well, but not to the extent that we have in Sweden. Of course, Chihuahuas are tough, we can cope with Swedish winters, but we do not have to like it. Summers feel better. 

No Common Holidays

No, there will be no common holidays in the EU. What I wrote yesterday was an April’s fool’s joke, of course. We will keep our different national holidays and Easter Monday will still be a holiday.

It is fun to make up April’s fool’s jokes, when you get nice ideas. Life gets funnier this way. Humour is healthy for us. It makes life more worth living. 

Stay tuned, and stay funny! 

Keep Easter Monday as a Public Holiday!

There is a suggestion in the EU to further unite the union by having the same public holidays in all countries. This would make it easier to trade between the countries,. You would not have to worry that you work on a day which is a public holiday in the other EU country you trade with, or that you do not work when someone in another EU country want to trade with you.

The public holidays on national holidays will be replaced by a common public holiday on Europe Day, the 9th of May.

Easter Monday will no longer be a public holiday in those EU countries where it is. This is a bad suggestion, in my mind. Easter is an important holiday and I would rather see Easter Monday as a common EU public holiday. You do not have to be Christian to want this, just remember how much Easter candy you will not be able to eat, if you have to work on Easter Monday instead of staying at home and taking it easy. Keep Easter Monday as a public holiday! 

Easter

A lot of candy!

Lynch Mob

In a small town in Mexico, a woman was accused for the death of a little girl, and a lynch mob beat the woman to death. People have protested against the police for not doing their job. 

There are times we do not feel proud of Mexico, the land our dog breed Chihuahua come from. Thisis one of those times. People accused for the death of others must be investigated and put on trial in a court of law. 

We can only hope no dogs were hurt in the violence. 

Long Day

This Friday is called Long Friday in Sweden. It is because it feels long, when you do not do much, but commemorate the torture and execusion of Jesus. In English, the day is called Good Friday. This sounds better, I believe. The story is the same, of course. 

We had a discussion on whether God’s sacrifice on the cross was just for human sins. We believe so, because we cannot say that dogs sin. 

Dogs Understand Words

Every dog, and every human with a dog, has known this for millenia. Human scientists have now proved it. Dogs can understand words. 

It is curious how human scientists sometimes research things that are common knowledge. 

Nothing Much Happens

There are days when nothing much happens. This was such a day. Daniel was at the office all day, and when he got home, he sat by the computer to play bills. Nothing much else happened either. These days can be nice sometimes, but I felt like doing something today. For some reason, I did not do anything, anyway. I was just bored. We will hope more will happen in the days to come. Easter is coming up, so chances are there will be more to do. 

Totte Occupied a Spot

There are nights when Totte, one of our two cats, occupy a spot in bed, just like we do. This was such a night. Totte claimed a place on top of Daniel. None of us dogs could get closer than Totte did to Daniel. We accept this, because Totte is our friend, and he does not do this often. There are times when it clashes with my wishes, but this is the way a pack works. You have to yield sometimes, when another one has occupied a good spot. 

Late Night

Daniel came home late tonight. He was at a meeting with the encampment in the Order where he is a member. It was a good meeting, he said. We do not really believe him, because there were no dogs at the meeting. Any good meeting is a meeting where dogs are present. 

Bird Watchers

Paula and Daniel went away to Lake Tysslingen today, to watch migrating birds. These birds often have this lake as a stop over on their spring migrations.

I am not sure about the appeal of watching the birds, but humans tend to like it.

What makes birds migrate also puzzles me. It is better just to live in one place, I believe. The migrating birds must have their reasons, but I do not think anyone of them would ever be able to tell me. I guess it will stay a puzzle to me.