Ears

Hello, Orange here!

I have had an itchn one of my ears. Daniel helped me clean it. This was far from comfortable. It is almost that I would have wanted it not to happen at all. I guess the ear feels better, though.

The Sofa

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

I may e litte, but I grow, and today I jave learned how to get up in the sofa in the loving room myself. This feels like a huge achievement for me, though the older dogs do not care.

My next goal is to learn how to get up into the bed in the bedroom myself. This will be an even better achievement. I love being in the bed, especially when the others are there. It is comfortable.

The sofa is a great piece of furniture.

Otto

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

This Sunday, I got to visit Otto, Karen's son who was born a week and a half after me and whom I got to now grewing up. He lives not far away from us with his family. It was nice seeing where he lives and catching up on what he has been up to.

While the humans had coffee and cake, Otto and I got a chewing bone each. Otto did not need his, so I took it from him. They were tasty.

On the way home, we passed by Paula's mother. She is also called Gertrud and I have been named in her honour. It was nice meeting her too.

All in all, ot was an eventful and nice Sunday.

Dark Nights

The nights will be dark again now. Daniel has taken down the Christmas ornaments and lights today. It is tradition in Sweden to do this on the 20th day of Christmas. I believe it will be easier to get a good nights sleep, when it is darker without the Christmas lights, many of which have been burning day and night, according to tradition. I like the Christmas lights, but there are advantages of taking them away. They will come back next season. Now it is time to sleep.

Editing

My granddaughter Gertrud is a great addition to our pack. She also writes blog posts in my blog from time to time, which is good. It makes my job maintaining a daily blog easier, when Gertrud, Karstuhl, or Orange writes blog posts.

Unfortunately, Gertrud's blog post for yesterday had a few spelling flaws. I have edited it and corrected the flaws. Gertrud was probably just a little too quick writing the blog post, not proof reading it before posting it. She is actually just as good as I was at her age at writing. At her age, I already had this blog up and running. I will have a talk with Gertrud about the importance of correct spelling and proof reading. It will improve things for the future.

Evil Growing Things

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

Paula invited us to taste some banana today. Dogs are mainly carnivores and bananas are herbs. It was possible to eat bananas, nevertheless. Daniel hate bananas. He says it is the most disgusting thing that you can buy under the name food. I still ate banana, I thought it tasted all right. It might be evil, anyway. Daniel says bananas are evil. In this case, I guess it is good killing and eating them. I did with great joy.

Bad Reception

I often borrow Daniel's Ipad to write my blog post. It does not work well today. Somehow, it is bad reception and when we try to load something on the Ipad, it takes a lot of time. I hope I can manage to upload this blog post. It will not be longer than this.

Bun

Hello, Karstuhl here!

I got a semla today. This is a very tasty Swedish pastry with whiped cream and almond paste. Paula put it in front of me, essentially giving it to me.

I ate it in a hurry, because I was not alone with the semla. It was great. Tasty food always tastes better when you eat it quickly.

Later on, the other dogs got dog food. I did not get any, Paula and Daniel said I had already had my share of food for this evening. I think this was unfair. Why would I be denied the ordinary food, just because I had been given a semla? Couldn't I have had both?

Crowd

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula and Daniel have a huge bed. It is still crowded every night, because all of us dogs want to share space in it. Sometimes, I get tired of it all and lay in one of the dog beds instead. Many of the others do this much more seldom. I guess I am more independent than they are. Shibas are supposed to be independent, free spirits. Maybe I am more true to the breed standard than the others in this way?

False Earthquake Warning

This Friday, people in Tokyo got an early earthquake warning. It was just that it was a false alarm. The early warning system probably misread two minor quakes as one bigger quake.

Japan is one of the most seismic active areas of the world. People on Japan are used to earthquakes. Still, it is important that the warning systems work properly. I am sure the ingenious Japanese will learn from this mistake and finetune the system. The false alarm will, thus, make future false alarms less likely. This is good for the humans and dogs of Japan.

Silver

So the Swedes won silver in the Junior World Championship in ice hockey. This is a good result, even thoug gold would have been better, of course.

Winning silver is like being Second Best in Show at a dog show. You cannot say it is anything but a good result, even though the initial disappointment at not being the ultimate winner is understandable.

I congratulate all the players in the Swedish junior team. They will be proud of the result, just give them a little time.

Junior World Championship

Sweden will face Canada in the final of the IIHF Junior World Championship in ice hockey.

Sweden beat the USA in its semi final. Mum would not have liked that. Calvin did not like it. For my part, despite being half American, I always root for Sweden. Calvin agrees with me that Sweden should beat Canada, however. Mum would also have done so.

The final game starts at 2 a.m. Swedish time, since the championship is played in Buffalo, NY, USA, and it is played in local area prime time. We will have to see whether we will get up to see the game or not. I believe not.

The Bed

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

Sometimes, I am not lifted up into the bed. I am still not big enough to get up there on my own. I wish I were. Fortunately, I can often convince Daniel or Paula to lift me up. Sleeping in the bed makes for the best sleep ever.

Another New Year Party

Paula and Daniel celebrated the new year once again tonight, together with Paula's parents, sister, and sister's family. This was because they could not make the celebration work at New Year's Eve. I think this was a good solution. If you need to wait, but then still can have a party, so why not? A party is still a party and a good thing. Happy new year!

Potentially Lethal Cake

In Japan, one New Year tradition is eating mochi, a certain rice cake. It is big and sticky and if not cut or chewed properly, it you can choke on it. I guess Japanese people like the thrill. Hopefully, of mochi is served to dogs, it is first cut into small pieces.

Happy New Year!

My precious blog post was meant to be published before midnight, thus yesterday and last year. I discovered that I must have missed publishing it. How annoying, not just because it was around the turn of the year, but also because it looks like I was a day late congratulating my own pups Meja and Bagus on their birthday. I actually was not, it just looks like it. Well, I hope my blogging will be better this year!

Happy new year, everybody!

Happy Birthday!

My very first litter of pups were born on New Year's Eve 2008. Happy birthday, Meja and Bagus!

Regrowing Bones

A dog in Scotland has had her leg saved by a new method to regrow bone. The method will now be tried on humans as well. Medical science is amazing, whether it is ordinary (veterinary) or human medicine. It speaks for an even better future. I am glad for the dog.

End of the Year

We are closing in on the end of the year. It will soon be 2018 instead of 2017.

The date for the new year is actually a random date. There are a lot of historical reasons why the 1 January, ten days after the winter solstice, is new year.

Tradition says this is the date for the new year, but there is no need to fear anything. Nevertheless, superstitious humans fire crackers many days before and after the clock strikes twelve on New Year's night. I call these people superstitious, because thefiring of crackers goes back to old superstition that you should fire crackers to scare away demons, who could haunt you in the new year if you did not scare them away. These days, all the crackers do is scare innocent animals who do not know they are mostly harmless.

I wish humans would stop firing crackers to scare the demons away.

Getting Old

Humans do a lot of research in medicine, aimed at making themselves live longer, healthier lives. This is good. It does not say so in the article, but I think the research can benefit dogs as well. They have done research on mice, for example, and dogs are not that different to humans or mice.

The older I get, the more interested I get in living a longer and healthy life. Mum lived until she was many years older than I am now. Her mother became even older. I hope I can live to be old and stay healthy.

Back to Work

Both Paula and Daniel are working these days between Christmas and New Year. This means we dogs have to work at home as well, watching the house from time to time, when we are alone at home. As dogs, we are superbly equiped to keep watch. We have excellent hearing, we can scare people off, and we are very loyal to our family. It is not an easy task, but we like it, and it has to be done. Granted, we are not alone much, and never for long, but it is still a vital task that we take seriously. Anybody who has loyal dogs can be sure they will watch the house.

Boxing Day

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

This is the Second Day of Christmas. Apparently, it is called Boxing Day in English speaking countries. Nobody seems to know why. I asked the older dogs if the name meant we could have some mock boxing fights, but they did not approve of the idea. It has been a nice day, anyway, with both Paula and Daniel at home. I guess the only downside has been the mud in the yard, it does not feel nice getting dirty paws. Over all, a good day, despite not having any boxing fights.

Christmas Day

It is Monday, but a holiday, since it is Christmas day. It is the birthday of Christ. We all took the day off as a day of supreme rest. Such days are great to ave once in a while.

I hope you all have had a great start on this Christmas season. It does continue until January, even though the last dayay vary from one country to another.

Merry continued Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas Eve, the greatest day for Christmas celebrations in Sweden. We have cleaned and decorated the house. We eat good food. We have a good time. Over all, Christmas is a good time of the year. The only thing I would want is a thick layer of snow, even though we mostly do not have snow at Christmas. You cannot have it all, however. It has been a good Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bath

Our Poodle friend Laila took a bath this evening. I do not envy her. She is a Poodle, however, so she needs to take baths more often than Shibas. In this way, Shibas have a better coat than Poodles. I am glad we do. Laila actually wishes she had the same, on all of the instances when she needs to take a bath. It is nice, however, to be clean in time before the Christmas celebrations that start tomorrow.

Cleaning

We are cleaning and tidying up for Christmas. I was so busy cleaning that I forgot to write a blog entry before midnight. This is strange. Cleaning is not much fun, so I usually remember taking a break. This was not the case tonight. Oh, well, it gets cleaner, at least.

Heartless Woman Gets Her Case Before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Sweden has decided to hear a case (decision on the 18 of December 2017, case no B3079-17) on whether a woman convicted of a fellony can get free of prison time, because she has got small children to take care of.

The woman and her husband, the father of the children, are both convicted of smuggling dogs from another country to Sweden. This is a crime that only heartless, ruthless people will commit. Taking advantage of helpless, live dogs, and paying no attention to disease control, shows a lack of compassion and a fundamental flaw in the mindset of the human doing this. How this woman could be considered fit to take care of children at all is beyond me. The children should be removed from the care of her and the father and put in foster care for the rest of their childhood years, regardless of when her time in prison is over. I hope the Supreme Court will not cut her sentence short.

Belgium to Appoint First Female Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

According to local mass media, Belgium is about to appoint its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Ms. Dominique Mineur, to Saudi Arabia. There has never been any country sending a female ambassador to Saudi Arabia before.

The news media also reports another female will become Belgium's ambassador to Iran, Ms. Véronique Petit.

This is true feminist foreign policy, unlike the policy of the self proclaimed feminist cabinet of Sweden.

Belgium is a nice country. Dad's father was from Belgium.

Christmas Cards

We have written Christmas cards and sent them by mail. We have also received some. As usual, we receive some cards from people to whom we have not written, whereas some people do not send us cards, even though we send cards to them. I was especially pleased to get Christmas greetings from my son Bagus, and a little sad that we have not yet sent any card to him and his family. It seems like Bagus is doing well, which pleases me. We do have some cards and stamps left, so there are opportunities,

Terrible Train Crash

A new train has derailed and crashed south of Seattle in Washington State. There have been a lot of casualties and injuried people.

Washington is where Mum came from. I am concerned about the welfare of any dogs affected by the crash. There may even be relatives of mine who are affected. I hope there are no news of this kind, but that dogs have made it.

America needs more passenger trains. I hope this crash does not affect the public support for it.

Thaw

So the cold weather came and went in a day. It has been thaw again today. Most of the snow is still around, but drops of water has come down from the roof and from the trees. I guess we will jave to ait for yet another couple of days before there is a real winter.

Snow

We have got snow now. Just a few centimetres, but it is many degrees below the freezing point, so it will stay for a while. It makes the days brighter and the nights more Christmas like. I love it.

Moomin Bed Sheets

Paula and Daniel have new bed sheets. They have pictures of Moomin trolls and other characters from the Moomin Valley. The Moomins are great and the bed sheets look really nice. It is hard to even say anything that can live up to the greatness of Tove Jansson's Moomin literature. We love the new bed sheets.

Weird Weather

The weather is weird this December. The temperature jumps up and down around the freezing point. There are snow, rain, snow, thaw. We still have our hopes up for a white Christmas.

Flowers for the Queen

The Labrador Yama was supposed to give flowers to the Queen of the United Kingdom. The Queen visited Canine Partners, an organisation which has placed 400 dogs with disabled owners. However, as can be seen in this video, Yama dropped the flowers on the floor right in front of the Queen.

The Queen loves dogs. She has bred Welsh Corgis. She did not mind the little mistake. She is a great woman.

A Blister

I was hurt a little today. I started to bleed a little on my left front paw, so I limped. It was not dangerous, but would have healed. I guess I just stepped on something sharp.

Daniel and Paula saw my limp, however. They cleaned the wound and put some ointment on it to help it heal and kill bacteria. This will make the small wound heal faster, which is great.

Humans are good to have in so many ways. It is not only that they give us food to eat, water to drink, a warm house to live in, they also tend to us when we are hurt. I love this.

Music Help

It is the time of the year when "Musikhjälpen" is broadcasted on Swedish radio. This is a way to make people help other people. I wish the theme would be to help dogs. Maybe it will be in some years.

Name Day

Hello, Gertrud here!

Daniel has name day today. There are some humans and some dogs who have their names in the almanack. This is because we have names of saints or other holy people. Daniel has a name from one of the prophets in the Bible, I have the name of a prominent saint in early European Christianity. Neither Mum, nor Grand Mum, have name days. This makes me feel a little special.

Nobel Prize

Sweden is in focus in the world today, the Nobel Prize is given to the laureates. It is one of the most presitgious prizes in science and literature.

I might be a productive blog writer, but I do not believe this will ever make me become a Nobel Prize laureate. The vast majority of writers around the world do not win any prizes. I just hope my work amuses some readers.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Missiles for Japan

Japan is planning to get medium range missiles for their fighter aircraft.

The plans will spark protests in Japan, whose constitution states the country must be pacifist. Still, there are military threats against Japan. The object is to arm Japan against the threat of North Korea. There have also been tensions between Japan and China.

If the government of Japan believes these missiles are necessary in order to preserve peace, then I am all for it. You often need to arm yourself in order to preserve peace, thus staying true to thr pacifism required by the Japanese Constitution.

Lights in the Night

We always have lights on throughout the nights at this time of the year. It is tradition, a way to commemorate the time before and during Christmas. It is coz and nice. It may make it a little harder to sleep, but the advantages are bigger. I like the upcoming holiday, it is so full of joy and good food.

Rain and Ice

It is cold outside now, but it is raining. Then the rain on the ground may freeze. Nothing is more slippery than this. I wish no one will fall and get hurt. By Christmas, I wish there will be snow.

Readers

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

There are logs on the number of readers of this blog. My blog posts have fewer readers than the blog posts of Grand Mother Hailey. She says the readers will come to me too. She is actually quite supporting. I can still see the numbers, but I trust Granny. It will be better. This is good.

In the Bed

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

Life is unfair. I must not be in the bed, while the others may be there. The official reason is that I am too small, because I am not yet big enough to get up into the bed on my own. The theory is that if I cannot get up myself, it is too dangerous, because I would not be able to get down from bed without hurting myself. I say this is slander. Of course I could be in the bed without falling off or hurting myself. Oh, well, I guess it is a passing problem, anyway, because I am getting bigger.

Dog to Work Against Cheaters

A lot of work is done to counter cheaters in cross country skiing, cheaters who uses unallowed substances to boost their own performance in the track. A new method will soon be active, the Springer Spaniel Molly, who has been trained to discover many of the substances that are not allowed.

This is a good measure. Cross country skiing is a high endurance sport, where cheating by using different unallowed substances can make a huge difference. Working against the cheaters is important, to make the sport legitimate in the eyes of the spectators. Using a dog in this work is great.   This is but one of many instances where dogs contribute a lot to society.

There should be more dogs in society. We all contribute.

The Emperor Will Abdicate

On the 30th of April 2019, Emperor Akihito will step down from his duties as Emperor. His son Naruhito will take over the Chrysantemum throne. This is in accordance with a special law allowing the Emperor to  abdicate, which was enacted at the request of the Emperor due to his health issues.

Long live the Emperor, even after his abdication.

World Cup Groups

Sweden will start the FIFA World Cup in a group against Germany, Mexico, and South Korea. Japan will start against Poland, Senegal, and Colombia.

Germany mist be the favourite to win the group where Sweden plays. Sweden does stand a good chance to be second and continue in the World Cup. Japan will have a hard time, at least against Poland and Colombia. It will be interesting.

What Is Christmas?

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

What is Christmas? I have heard the others talk about the upcoming Christmas with great anticipation. I still have not figured out what it is, The others say there is supposed to be a mystery about Christmas before we get there. I am not sure if this is true, or if they are just pullong my leg. I guess I will have to do some research into the matter myself. It sure sounds interesting.

Last Day

Daniel made his last day at work today. He will start at a new job on Friday. Formally, he is still hired at his last job to orrow, but he has a day off.

The good thing is that he gets a higher salary. This means he can buy more and better treats. This is the great thing about it. If it was not for thins, I think he could just as well have stayed at his workplace.

A New Guy

I have met a new Shiba. He has moved here from Japan. He is handsome, but I do not know him yet. I am always a little careful when making new acquaintances. There is time to get to know him, of course. When I get to know him well, I may write more about him in my blog.

Going Inside

Hello, Li'l Gertrud here!

When we have been out in the yard for a while and Daniel lets us in, he always wants us to go straight into the living room. The other dogs usually do. I do not. I just do not see the point. If I want to be indoors, in the warm and dry surroundings of the house, I can just as well stay in the entrance hall. I may change this behaviour later on, and I may not. It is fun not to be too predictable. We will have to see what happens.

Home Again

Paula has been to Spain for a couple of days. She is back home now. We have all missed her, but now everything is all right.

Fourth

The political party that Daniel is a member of had a meeting today. They decided upon whom to put forward in next year's election to Parliament. Daniel came in fourth. I am not sure this will mean anything. The incumbents were the first and second candidates last time around. You are not getting very famous and you do not get any records that can result in a title in the pedigree. Come to think about it, humans do not even have officially sanctioned pedigrees, the poor people. Becoming Best of Breed or Show Champion is much better.

November

It is November. We have had snow, and it has melted away again. We have had frost in the morings, but not all mornings. It is colder than the freezing point tonight, but no snow. Typical November weather. The snow would make the dark mornings and evenings a little brighter, but as usual, we have to wait at least until December to get a layer of snow that lasts. Still, November has its charm. When there is sunshine, even a November day is beautiful. I like this.

Thomas

Thomas never stood a chance. He did not have hip joints on his skeleton. RIP, dear Thomas.

Punctuality

Punctuality is a very human problem. Humans believe time is very important, and being on time is almost as important. They do not just divide the day up in morning, midday, evening, but in equally spaced hours, minutes and seconds. Trains must go on time and arrive on time, to make sire all the humans going with the train knows when to get to the starion to board the train and when their train journey is finished. Interestingly enough, though, it seems like different countries have different standards on what time is "late", and how this is measured. Only humans think this is important. When it comes to time, dogs are much more laid back. This also mean we are less stressed and I believe we are happier because of it. I suggested to Daniel that he would try the dog approach to time, but he would not hear about it. I guess it is his loss.

Candy Santa

Hello, Gertrud here!

Today, I got hold of a marshmallow Santa Claus, what we call "Skumtomte" in Swedish, or "Skumtomtar" if we mean more than one. It is a very tasty snack. I ate it by myself by the front door of our house.

From what I have heard, Paula has not reaf the Daily Hailey for many weeks. I hope she reads it tonight. I would like humans in my surrounding to know I like Skumtomtar. I believe this may lead to me getting more of them. I sure hope it does. Skumtomtar are very tasty.

Fire

We lit a fire in the stove tonight, for the first time this winter season. It gives a nice heat in the living room and also makes the rest of the house a little warmer. I like it.

Pup Little Gertrud was interested when Daniel lit the fire, but he lofted her away. Fire can be dangerous, but she has not learned this just yet. The knowledge of this will come. It is good that she is curious, but there are still limits to what we can allow her to do.

Snow

We got a little, little snow on the ground today. Most of it is still there. It is not enough to be fun, just enough to look ugly when we have run all across it. The world gets a little brighter even with a little snow, however. There will probably be more snow in the not too distant future, now that winter is on its way.

Calm Day

Paula slept all day after her night shift.

Daniel was at home, since it was an ordinary Saturday, but he kept quiet. He spent most pf the time at his computer, working on this and that.

The rest of us spent most of our time in the company of Paula, also sleeping or resting. This is among my favourite pass times. It was a wonderful way to spend the Saturday. More days should be like this.

Night Shift

Paula is working on the night shift tonight. Daniel is at a lodge meeting in the International Order of Odd Fellows. This means we dogs have a night shift too, watching the house. We are good at it. Nobody needs to worry.

Japanese Top Students Stopped from Studying Swedish

There are Japanese top students who study Swedish. Many of them have come to Sweden to work on their Swedish language skills. These students have done this for twenty years. None of them have posed any problems for Sweden. Now, however, the Swedish authority responsible for issuing visas, Migrationsverket, has decided not to allow these students to come to Sweden. The reasons are unclear. Any reasons must be weird. There are only advantages with Japanese people learning Swedish. Migrationsverket should change its decisions.

Economic Growth in Japan

Japan has a long streak of economic growth. It is the longest stretch in 16 years, and it seems to continue. So far, consumers are still not willing to spend a lot. However, this also shows that there is potentially more growth to come, when consumption rises.

Japan is the home of the Shiba Inu. Most Shibas in the world live in Japan, though we are increasingly popular across the world. It is good for all the Japanese Shibas that the Japanese economy is strong. I believe it will be even stronger. Shibas help, we are constantly aiding our humans, thus helping the economy too. Things are only getting better right now.

Fetching Paula

Apparently, Morran os the dog who come with Daniel, when he fetches Paula at work in the morning, after her night shift. I have always been the one who come along, when Daniel fetches Paula late at night. I hope I still am. I guess there are differences between fetching in the morning and in the night. I believe I would be the best one to come along regardless of the hour, but other dogs need their moments in the lime light as well. There are advantages with staying at home resting as well.

World Cup

Hello, Gertrud here!

Grand Mum Hailey is very happy today. Sweden has qualified for something called the FIFA World Cup in football. We watched the game against Italy. I think it was rather boring. What is the point of watching some men playing with a ball? It must be more fun playing with the ball yourself. I am still happy for Grand Mum and the others, I can sense that this qualification feels important to them. The World Cup is far into the future, in something called summer, which I have yet to experience. The future is exciting.

The Only One

Hello, Gertrud here!

Perhaps there can be only one? One pup staying here, I mean.

My brother Harry left for a new home and family in Upsala last week. The other pups, who had Karen as their mother, left yesterday. The first one left in the morning, he will live not far off here in our hometown. Then the two other left for Helsinki and Stockholm, respectively.

I will stay here, as the only pup of my generation. All of the other dogs are adults. Perhaps there can only be one pup at a time staying on. I am glad it was me.

Victory

Sweden won against Italy yesterday night. There is a second game in Milan, Italy, on Monday.

This is just like at a dog show. You can win the class, but you still have to win the best of bitches. You can win best of bitches, but you still have to win Best of Breed. Then there is best in Group, then Best in Show. You always have higher goals to achieve. I hope the Swedish national football team achieves one step on Monday.

Play Off Game

It is the final chance for Sweden to get to the FIFA football World Cup tonight, and another game soon. Sweden is playing Italy, a formidable foe with four World Cup gold medals to their name. It will be a hard task for Sweden, but we hope for the best. We root for Sweden in front of the TV set. This time, none of us dogs would rather see Italy win, which feels good.

Pups Get OK

Karen's pups of her current litter went to their veterinary check today. They all went through with flying colours. I was more happy about the great results for Polly's pups, but this is just because I am a grandmother of all of Polly's pups. I am happy for Karen's pups too. This is not just for the sake of the pups and Karen, kt also adds to the good name of our breeding. This is also a good thing. Being an Aangenaam dog is a badge of honour.

Meat

There was some fresh moose meat today, but only some of us got any of it. Daniel told me there was not enough to go around. I can understand this. What I do not like, however, is that I did not get any meat. I am the alpha bitch, why am I not guaranteed meat? Well, Daniel told me I usually get tasty stuff, even though there is not enough for everybody. This time, he thought others were worth it. There are few instances when I think there are too many dogs in our pack, but this was one of them. Oh, well, I hope I get the good stuff next time.

Lunch

Paula was away all day. She is back now, but was not around during the day, like we have gotten used to this autumn. Daniel came home at lunch and took us out and gave us lunch. We have had routines like this before, so it was not strange. It is nice eating lunch. Once Paula got home in the evening, we were all happy, however. Everybody is at home now, as they should be. This is relaxing.

Pen Names

When the world gets more and more connected through the Internet, a lot of people want to create an online persona with a somewhat fancy name that stands out in the crowd.

I did this myself at an early age. As soon as I started my blog, as a pup, I called it the Daily Hailey. My official name is Aangenaam Lunar Eclips, but I have always been called Hailey. Adding the word daily said something about the blog, but also gave it a ryhme. I have never considered changing the name of my online persona, it is good as it is. My daughter Karstuhl, who will eventually inherit my blog, has said she will keep the name of the blog. There is a lot of value in a good name. I can understand those who struggle to create a good one. I never had to struggle. fortunately.

Since this blog is daily, you are welcome back tomorrow.

New Neighbours?

We have received a letter from the town that says someone has asked for a preliminary building permit just next door to us. There is now public land there, undeveloped, where humans never walk. Daniel has written a long letter to the authorities explaining why he opposes the preliminary building permit. He had a long list of reasons. The most important reason is that there is no zoning law governing this piece of land, bit there will be in a few years. No building permits, not even preliminary permits, should be given before the work is done with the zoning law. We hope Daniel's letter will help. It is better if there are no other people living really close by our yard. We will see what happens.

Visiting Tombs

This evening, Paula and her family visited the graveyards here in Örebro where their deceased relatives are laid to rest. They always do on the first Saturday in November, it is a Swedish tradition.

I paid my respect to the memories of my parents, Mum and Dad. Blessed be their memories. I often miss them both, even though I do have great company of my daughter Karstuhl, her daughter Gertrud, the other dogs around here, and our humans.

There is always a piece of your heart dedicated to the lost loved ones. However, the more loved ones you ve had, the bigger is your heart, meteaphorically speaking. I have loved and lost many times, but I also love many dogs and humans whom I have not lost. This makes me feel good.

Growing Up

Hello, Gertrud here!

My brother Harry moved away from us yesterday, to a family of his own. In a way, this means he is growing up. He is becoming an adult dog with a family of his own.

I will stay here. I will not move. Mum says she never moved, either. This must mean it is possible to grow up, without moving to a new family. Does this mean I am also growing up? I guess it does. In this case, I am glad. Growing up seems to be a good thing, making you more confident and strong. This is good.

Harry

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My son Harry, of this latest litter, has moved tois new family today. They are nice people, but live a way away, in Upsala. I am sure Harry will get a good life with them. Naturally, I miss him, nevertheless.

Gertrud, my daughter, will continue to live with us. I like this. I have always wanted a pup to stay on, like I did myself. Now this happens, with what might very well be my last litter. Better late than never. Gertrud is a kind and terrific daughter.

Therapy Dog

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My brother Nemo has become a therapy dog. One of his humans, Maria, is working with the social services and uses Nemo to treat children who are distressed and who are often affraid of dogs. Nemo is a very kind dog and can help many children with his gentle manners. I am so proud of Nemo. It fits him, helping out children in this way.

It Is Tuesday

I had a talk about which day it is today with Paula. She was a bit confused about which day it was. This is in large part due to her irregular schedule at work and the odd hours she works. I guess part of it may also be the jet lag of changing from Daylight Saving Time to normal time. It is Tuesday today, I told Paula. She knew it was, she just did not feel like it was. I know that feeling, when you know something, but just cannot feel it is so. I am glad I could help.

Brightness at the Morning Walk

We have turned the clocks back to normal time. There is no daylight sacings time any more, not until next spring. This means we have daylight again, when going on the morning walk. The daylight is not saved until later.

I have never understood why humans turn the clocks twice a year. Daylight saving time is nothing for me. I would rather have normal time around the year.

World Champion

Lewis Hamilton secured this year's world championship title in Formula 1, at the Mexico Grand Prix today. Our Affenpinscher friend Morran is happy that he did it in a German car, her breed is from Germany.

Lewis Hamiltons top contender this year was Sebastian Vettel, but he has not secured a second place in the championship yet.

I do not know whether Hamilton or Vettel has any dogs. If either of them has, I would root for him. I may do some research into this until next year.

Historical Events

We watched a documentary on TV tonight about Henry VIII of England and his wives. I have seen documentaries and dramatised movies about this before. I wonder what it is that make Henry VIII so fascinating that there have been so many productions made about him. Is it not more interesting to tell the story of a king or queen that people have not heard about many times before? I would say it is.

Japanese in India

A professor in English in India has travelled across this vast country to record as much as he can about languages spoken there as mother tounges. He recorded up to 780 languages, and this is still a lesser number than some decades ago.

It is amazing how many different languages humans use. Dogs around the world use a common language. On the other hand, our language is far from as complex as human languages.

An interesting fact was that there are some people in India who use Japanese as their language. This was just mentioned in the article. If I would like to know more about this, I guess I have to do some research.

Dog Shelter

Paula and Daniel paid the monthly bills tonight. Paula also paid a gift to a dog shelter in Scania in southern Sweden. This was a good thing to pay, I believe. There are so many dogs, too many dogs, who need aid and need dog shelters. We who are more fortunate need to help them. This must be the most good hearted gift of them all.

Deep Sleep

Paula is working night, so she slept during the day. When Daniel came home, we greeted him with the normal, happy barks. Paula did not wake up, however, but kept sleeping. She must have had a very deep sleep. She also told us later, once she was awake, that she had had a wonderful day's sleep. She felt a bit confused at first, when she woke up, bit then she felt fine, because she had had a good, deep sleep. I know the feeling, I have had it once in a while. It is a noce feeling. I am happy for Paula's sake.

Winter Tyres

It was cold outside this morning, around the freezing point. It may get slippery from frost, snow, and ice further on. Daniel changed the tyres on the BMW, so we have got winter tyres on it now. There are winter tyres on the Chrysler already. It is safer this way, now that winter is coming. We are prepared.

Pups Who Fight

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Pups always play with each other. Sometimes, they are a little too wild, so they may hurt each other. As a good mother, I make sure the pups calm down before anything like this happens. My two pups aref ull of energy, but they are friends and well behaved.

Karen's pups are not as well behaved. Karen does not seem to care, at least not enough. If these were my pups, I would have raised them differently, but I cannot interfere with Karen as a mother. She has to have her rules for her pups. I do believe my rules are better, but what mother would not think so? My pups will be the best dogs ever.

Apple Pie

The visitors who were here to see pups today brought an apple pie. Everybody thought it was very tasty. It must have been tasty, because there were no leftovers for me or Calvin, who held the humans company when eating the pie. I would have liked to have some pie, but, alas, I had to do without. It is not like I am starcing, anyway.

US Grand Prix

This weekend, the Formula 1 Championship comes to America. The race is held in Austin, Texas. Mum lived in Texas for a while in her youth, so I watch the qualifications and the race with an extra interest. The USA is a fascinating country.

Blood Pudding

I do not get blood pudding every day, but when I do, it is great.

Readers of my blog may remember that I was diagnosed with having too few blood cells in my veins this summer, The medicine was blood pudding, to boost the iron levels and, thus, the production of blood cells. It was tasty and effective.

I have not eaten bllod pudding every day lately. I got some with my food today, however. It was as tasty as ever. It is great to have such a tasty food that is also this good for your health

Bad

Hello, Karstuhl here!

With my pups, I reside in the bathroom. It is nice to ave a door shut towards the other dogs. I like them, but I do not trust anyone of them with the care of by pups.

Living in the bathroom does not make me take more baths than I usually do. I am not fond of bathing and the excellent coat of Shibas does not need many baths.

There is also another factor to consider, before taking a bath. The Swedish wird for bath is "bad". This gives you a hint that having a bath is a bad thing, doesn't it?

There are often more important things to do than taking a bath, such as eating, drinking, going on walks, resting, sleeping, playing, etc. In short there are good reasons not to take manyaths, not even when living in the bathroom.

Robots

I do not believe much in the benefits of robots. There are some jobs that they can do, however, that nobody else should have to do. At the wrecked nuclear power plant Fukushima in Japan, robots are cleaning up the debris. This is good, it means no living thing have to be affected by the high radiation levels. The Japanese are good at manufacturing advanced technology, like robots. This is advantageous now, when robots are really needed. No dogs or himans need to be affected by the radiation, which is good.

Cutter

Paula has purchased a new hair cutter. She tried it on the Poodles today. They became very fine in no time. As Paula put it: this was the best hair cutter ever, well worth the money.

I am glad Shibas never have to get oir coats trimmed,

Floors

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel cleans the floors more often than usually these days, here in the bathroom where I have my pups, and in the guest room, where Karen and her pups are. The floor in the guest room needs to be cleaned more often. It is no surprise to me, that my pups are doing better than Karen's pups.

Cake

Soon to be humans of one of the current pups here were visiting us today. Paula and Daniel served coffee and cake. I like cake, and I got to taste a little. It was a very good cake. When visits result in me getting to try cake, I am all for it. I would like to jave more visits like this.

Ears

Our Toy Poodle friend Laila always has problems with her ears. She has narrow ear canals and a lot of hair in them. This causes dirt to accumulate, if nothing is done to take the dirt away. In the dirt, bacteria and fungus may thrive, if nothing is done. Laila does not like it, bit Daniel often cleans her ears before we go to bed at night. I am glad Shibas never have problems like this.

Is Dad Back, in a Way?

In the current litter that my daughter Polly has, the male pup looks similar to Dad in this age. I could not tell myself, not having known Dad when he was a pup, but Paula is quite certain, and Daniel agrees. If this pup grows up to be a copy of Dad, I would be very happy. I loved Dad. He always took very good care of me. I will take very good care of Polly's pup, to the extent I can. Life is full of hope right now.

Sandwich

Daniel was in Stockholm in the line of duty today. When going there, he usually buys Paula a sandwich from her facourite sandwich maker. He bought two today. Unfortunately, Javier got hold of one and stole a little piece of it. I guess this was not such a big deal for Paula after all, she was mostly mad at Daniel for calling out to Javier, telling him to stop. Well, most of the sandwiches were saved, anyway, so I understand. Yelling is not nice,

No Fear of the Rain

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My pups have been outdoors in the rain for the first time. They do not fear it. They do not even think it is that uncomfortable. I am not sure whether I should be proud of their fearless behaviour towards the rain, which is Shiba like regardless of the danger or inconvenience you face, or concerned that they do not care about the rain and getting wet, which is not really Shiba like. A true Shiba never fears the weather, but will avoid uncomfortable weather such as rain whenever it is possible. I have mixed feelings about this. Regardless of this dilemma, though, I love the pups very much.

Fashion's Waste of the Environment

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The human fashion industry generated a lot of money. Humans buy a lot of clothes, not using them very much. This makes the fashion industry one of the industries causing the most negative impact on the environment. The reason is that so many clothes are manufactured and transported over the world.

Dogs have very little guilt in this. There are just a few dogs who ever wear clothes, and this is in the wintertime when going outdoors. Most of us make do with our coats.

Humans, of course, do not have natural coats. Thus, they must wear clothes in temperate and colder clomates to stay warm, and in sunny climates to protect their skin. Still, I believe they could make do with fewer clothes. If they had clothes of the quality of Shiba coats, these would not need to be washed or changed as often as humans usually wash and change clothes. This would help the environment and would save money for many humans.

I guess it would be hard to start such a fashion, though, there are so many humans who like to change clothes often. On the other paw, I believe humans change clothes often, because they do not have clothes nearly as good as Shiba coats. They are probably a little envious. I can bear that.

Community Economy

Daniel was at a long meeting tonight. He is a member of the city council, and they discussed the budget their political party would suggest for the city. It seems really boring. I am not even sure I want to write anything more about it. It was just a little annoying it took longer for him to get home than it usually does. I am glad not all night meetings are this long.