Eurovision Song Contest

It is the Eurovision Song Contest tonight. I guess I will fall asleep before it is done. I usually do.

Paula falls asleep too, sometimes, while Daniel usually follows the whole contest. We have to hear what he says about it tomorrow morning. 

The Smell of Bacon

When Daniel came home from work, he asked Paula if she wanted to have anything to eat. She did not, having recently eaten. Daniel cooked some bacon for homself.

Later in the evening, Paula did the most weird thing. She complained that it smelled of bacon. How can you complain of such a wonderful smell?

My complaint was that I did not get any bacon. Daniel did not cook very mich and ate it all himself. I loved the smell of bacon, nevertheless. 

If I were to manufacture perfumes, one would be a bacon perfume. I believe it would be a hit. 

Walk Without Me

Paula went outon a walk with her mother today. She did not bring me. This made me quite disappointed. I am always up for a nice walk. Apparently, this did not help this time.

It would have been nice with a walk with Paula's mother as well. She is a nice human, but I do ot see her very often. 

Perhaps I can come next time around?

Thunder

In the evening, we heard thunder in the distance. We had rain, which is common in May, but thunder is more common later in the year, in summer. When thunder is in the distance, it is quite nice.

A Little Rain

It has been a while, a very long time, in fact, without rain. We finally got some today. It was not much, I do not think anything trickled down in the dust, but the trees, bushes, and grass surely needed it. 

There will, hopefully, be more rain soon. The growing things in the garden need it and our well needs it. Sunny weather is nice in its own way, but we cannot live without rain from time to time. 

Europe Day

The 9 of May is Europe Day. This is when we celebrate European unity, through the European Union and other organisations and cooperations. Unity is good, it makes for peaceful relations, to the benefit of everyone. 

Ode to Joy by Ludwig Van Beethoven is the anthem of the European Union. 

Early Sunday Morning

Daniel got up early this Sunday morning as well. He left home early, because he would go down to Skara in Västergötland to preside over a biannual meeting with a specialty club for spitz breeds. This was important, of course, so we let him do this. When he came home, he was in a good mood. The meeting went well, he told us. I am glad it did. Now there will be another two year period with a good board of the club. 

Early Saturday Morning

It is Saturday today, but Daniel got up as early as on work days and let us have an equally early morning walk. 

Daniel did not do this for fun. He said he likes to sleep longer on Saturday mornings. However, he had rented a trailer to load junk from the garden and drive away to dispose of it. This is a good reason to get up early, we want a nice looking garden. I am glad I could get back indoors after the morning walk and get some more sleep, though. 

Sausages

Daniel came home a little late. He was hungry and cooked some sausages for dinner. He also gave sausages to us dogs. This was a fine way of him to appologise for being late.

Sausages makes for forgiveness. It is almost like I wish for Daniel to come home late more often, if this would mean he would give us sausages. There are no sausages every night he is late, however, so I guess life will continue to be like it has been. 

House Watchers

These days, Paula is at home a lot and Daniel works from home rather often. Today, however, they were both away for several hours. They do not need to worry, though. Allof us dogs watch the house.

It is nice to watch the house. It gives us a purpose. Life gets more interesting this way. I believe we could be entrusted with watching the house more often. 

May the Fourth

On 4 of May, some humans praise the movie series Star Wars. This is because "May the Fourth" sounds almost like the tag line "may the force (be with you)".

Star Wars is not a favourite of mine. There are humans in the movies and a lot of fictional alien species. However, there are no dogs anywhere (as far as I know). How can you have an advanced civilisation with no dogs? This is strange and I do not like it. As far as I am concerned, people may like Star Wars anyway, it is up to them.

Constitution Day

The 3 May is Constitution Day in Japan. The current constitution of Japan came into force on 3 May 1947. This is cause for celebration among us Shibas. Japan is the home country of our breed. The Shiba breed is considered a national treasure of Japan. We celebrate this heritage, even if neither I nor Peanut have ever been to Japan. Gunnar says it is a beautiful country with a lot of Shibas. We make the best of it among us here in Sweden, where we do have a great life. It is nice to have two countries to love, Sweden and Japan. 

Late Night Supper

For a lot of different, small reasons, supper was very late tonight. Paula and Daniel just made some warm sandwiches. This is quick and tasty.

Our humans were not very hungry this late in the evening. All of us dogs got to taste some. This was a situation that made everyone happy. 

Working Lawn Mower

Last spring, when Daniel tried to start the lawn mower for the first time, it did not work. He had to send it to service.

This afternoon, Daniel retrieved the lawn mower from winter rest once again. This time, it started and ran perfectly fine. The lawn has yet to start to grow properly, but Daniel used the mower to take care of the leaves of yesteryear. The garden looks cleaner and better now. This is good. 

Walpurgis Eve

On the last day of April, Swedes celebrate spring on the eve of Walpurgis Day 1 May. As a stroke of luck, it is also the birthday of the King of Sweden, so we can hoist the flag for him as well. 

Paula, Daniel, and Piffy went away to a celebration a bit from us. I preferred to stay at home, so I did. It was a nice eve anyway. Spring is worth celebrating. 

Things I Do Not Want to Read

There are things I do not want to know. Hemce, I do not want to read about them. Despite this, I came across an article about average age of different dog breeds. This is not a thing I want to read. I do not want to know my life expectancy, what if it was lower than I thought? I will read other things instead. 

Snoring

It seems like anyone can snore, given the right circumstances. Some dogs or humans snore more often than others, however. This evening, our Chihuahua friend Piffy snores, having gone to sleep earlier than I have. Piffy is one of those dogs who often snores. While it can be annoying at times, if it makes it harder foryou to go to sleep yourself, it is also often a little homely and cute. This evening, I am in a good mood and like the sound of it. Our lives are good. 

Cold Indoors

In the afternoon, Paula and Daniel agreed that it was relatively cold indoors. At first, none of them could figure out why. It turned out that a small window in the kitchen was open. Daniel closed it. 

It is warmer indoors as I write this in the evening. Not that I really care. A Shiba coat is good enough for temperatures well below the freezing point. We had nowhere near such low temperatures indoors. 

No Russian World Championship in Ice Hockey

The International Ice Hockey Federation has decided to withdraw the right to host the 2023 ice hockey world championship from Russia.

Formally, this is due to safety concerns for participants, officials, media, and fans. One can only assume that it is also a way for the international community to sanction Russia for its war against Ukraine. Whatever the true reasons are, the decision is good. The championship should be held elsewhere.

Totte On the Dog Walks

There are times when our cat friend Totte walk with us dogs. He did so this morning again. I like Totte, but does he have to walk so close that you can feel him by your side or have to stop in order not to walk over him? I guess this is a cat thing. Dogs are friendly too, but not in this way. Nevertheless, I like Totte, he is a great friend and part of the family. 

Fatal Boat Accident off the Coast of Japan

At least ten people have been reported dead as a boat with tourists have sunk in harsh weather off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan. There were two children among the twentysix people on board. Apparently, not everyoneis accounted for yet. 

As far as the reports go, there were no dogs on board. I hope no dogs will lose their humans. 

Politics

Daniel was away the whole day today, to discuss politics. They had a meeting in his political party. Among the things they discussed, were new political ideas to evolve the politics of the party. When Daniel came back home, he was pleased with many of the results. There had been good debates and someof his ideas had been approved. I am glad he was pleased, because he is in a better mood. 

The Neighbour Cat

When I got out in the yard at lunch, our cat friends Totte and Malin sat on our side of the fence. Just outside, there was another cat. This was the neighbour cat, who sometimes trespass into the territory of Malin and Totte. I told the neighbour cat to leave. Eventually, he did. We do not want trespassers.

Much Lesser Limp

Daniel make sure Morran come along on the morning walks every day now. She needs to build muscles in a leg where shehas a limp. 

Morran went back to the veterinarian today because of the limp. The veterinarian agreed with all of us that Morran has become much better. There might be another visit to the vet after the summer, but other than that, Morran is on the right track to recovery.

We are all happy for Morran. She is happy herself, having less pain. Life is getting better. 

Cancelled Celebration

It is Paula's father's birthday. The celebration was cancelled, however, when Paula, her sister Mia, and Mia's children all were ill. 

While I am sorry for everyone who does not feel well, and for Paula's father, whose celebration was at least postponed, we got to have Paula with us at home. You always have to try to see the good things, even when bad things happen. 

Pate

It does not happen often, but this ordinary week night, Paula and Daniel had a late night snack. They had some pate and a nice drink.

Kindly enough, they gave a little bit of pate to each of us dogs. We are always up for treats. Pate is a luxurious treat. We thanked very much for it. 

Late night snacks are great, almost regardless of what you eat. I wish we could have it more often. 

Riots in Sweden Become International News

There have been riots in several towns in Sweden. The rioters have used violence to protest a man who planned to burn a book. It was a copy of the religious book Quran of Islam.

Regardless of the claim that it is a holy book, I cannot understand how this could justify violent riots. Riots and violence can never be holy actions, can they?

Unfortunately, the news of the riots have become international news. I wish Sweden would make the headlines of news in other countries for more positive reasons. 

Unloaded Blog Entry

There are days when I am to blame myself for not posting anything in this daily blog. Yesterday was not such a day. I am quite certain I did write a piece on the joy of Easter Day. The trouble is that the blog entry was not published and is not saved, either. You just have to take my word for it.

There will be another blog entry for today, I promise.

Cutting Up Trees

Daniel and Paula's father cut up trees in the yard today. Last Friday, when there was a heavy snowfall, a lot of trees broke and fell. The trees in our yard needed to be cut up and taken care of. This was done today.

It looks better in the yard now, when those fallen trees are gone. 

Bread, Cheese, Sausage, and Crisps

In order to commemorate Good Friday, Paula and Daniel did not give us ordinary food. We got bread, cheese, sausage, and crisps. This special treat made us think about the special day that Good Friday is.

I hope you all had a special Good Friday. It is Easter Day on Sunday, I hope you have a happy Easter then.

Coming Home

Paula has been away from home for a couple of days. She came back home this afternoon. It was great to see her again. 

When one of my humans are away for a while, I do not care where they have been or why they went. What I care about is that they come home. Any time they come home is a time of joy. 

The family is complete again. We can sleep more calmly tonight.

Easter Is Coming Up

This week, we celebrate Easter. I always like holidays, because our humans are at home more and give more candy to us dogs. Easter is the most special candy holiday. 

We all know why Easter is celebrated, so I will not bore you with the details again. It is sufficient to say that all the eggs, candy, and other great things to eat and drink are part of the holy celebrations. May we celebrate the resurection again on Sunday!

Lending a Kennel

It is funny how words canhave different meanings in different languages. In Swedish, "kennel" is just the word for a breeder of dogs. In English, it is also a word for a small cage for dogs, of the kind you stay in when going by car.

One if the dogs bred at our kennel needed to borrow a kennel of the latter kind. Paula and Daniel have a lot of them, so he and his humans got to borrow one from us. This is good, it comes to use.

A Dog Was Brutally Killed

Sad news reached us from Shanghai in China. A Corgi was beaten to death by a health worker, because the dog had lived with a human who had become ill with covid-19. The human had been driven off to a care facility and the dog was lose in the street. Apparently, the health worker imagined that the dog could spread covid-19, even though science say there is a very small likelihood that dogs get covid-19 or spread it.

It is a small comfort that many Chinese who have gotten to know about the killing are outraged by it. This may save other dogs in the future, but this dog was still brutally killed. I hope the health worker will have to answer for this horrible deed. 

A Little Cleaning

It is Saturday and our humans usually clean the house on Saturdays. This was true today as well.

I guess we helped with the cleaning, when Daniel let us out in the yard while he continued to clean. You do what you can to help. 

We also got clean sheets in the bed. This is always a treat in the evening, when it is time to go to bed. Now we will have a nice night. 

A Lot of Snow

We got more than two decimetres of snow tonight. It was wet, heavy snow. Daniel had to struggle for a couple of hours to clear our driveway. A few tree branches had to be removed too, the snow had been too heavy for them, so they had fallen downon the driveway. 

All of us generally like that we have a large lot. When Daniel has to shovel this amount if snow, he still swears about it a little. I can understand that. He likes the size of our lot every other time I ask him about it. 

An Electric Car in the 1990's.

Electric cars are the future now. They provide people and dogs vehicle rides without necessarily making carbon emissions. 

In the 1990's, there was a good electric car mass produced in the USA. However, it was not as profitable for the manufacturer General Motors as they would have wanted. They shut it down, and by doing so may have postponed the transfer to electric cars for years. It is sad, if this is so.

Here is a short but nice documentary of this electric car. 

Queue

Telephone queues are often annoying. If you want to reach somebody over the telephone, you do not want to wait.

Daniel was waiting in a telephone queue for a long time this evening. Meanwhile, we could hear annoying music being played. There was a very slow countdown to Daniel's turn in the queue. I guess he eventually got through, but I stopped caring. 

Guard

We dogs were alone at home for a couple of hours today. We guarded it well, there were no burglaries or any other unlawful events on our watch.

The cats were at home as well. They are not guarding the house against criminals, it is not what cats do. They keep mice away, however. This is also good. 

It can be nice being alone at home like this for a while. The watch duty gives us a purpose. I like that. 

Limp

Morran has had a limp for some days on her left hind leg.

The limp has not grown better. Limps often do, they are often very temporary and heal of themselves, but not always. Thus, Daniel took Morran to the veterinarian today.

Morran got an x-ray and the vet found out her patella was out of place. While the vet could drag it into place again, she was not sure it will stay there. Morran has gotten some antiinflammatory medicine and will go back for a check upin a few weeks. We all hope she will get well soon. 

Tilted Trees

We have a lot of trees surrounding our property. On the morning walk today, we realised two of them had broken off close to the ground. They had not fallen to the ground, however, but stand tilted, resting against other trees. We have to do something about this, before they may fall further down. Paula and Daniel will take care of this problem. 

Unfortunately Not

No, Paula will not start to make candy. This was just my April's fool's joke this year.

It would be nice if she did, though. I would volunteer to taste and to rinse. 

Candy Manufacturing

Paula has cooked some candy. It tastes great. Now she is talking about starting a candy manufacture. This would be great. Making candy sure would help more people than when she works as a nurse. 

Strange Deal by Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean has made a deal with China. This might mean that China can set up a military base there. Australia is concerned. If I lived in the Solomon Islands, so would I be. China is a harsh dictatorship and the Chinese are cruel to dogs. I do not understand why you would want to make a deal with China. Solomon Islands must gain a lot of other things – or so they think. 

The Winding Road to Summer

This morning, we had seven degrees Celsius below the freezing point. This was colder than in many weeks. It is still March, so we were not really surprised.

This is a setback on the road to spring and summer. However, there is never a straight line of ever warmer days from winter to summer. It is always like a winding road, where some parts of the road make you travel backwards for a while. This is the winding road to summer. We know it will get here, we just do not know which day, or even month. Weather is exciting this way, you can never predict it. 

No World Cup for Sweden

In the last attempt to reach the FIFA World Cup in football later this year, Sweden played a play off game versus Poland. The Swedes did a pretty good game, but did not manage to score any goals. The Poles got a penalty and scored, and later scored again. 

It will not be as exciting to follow the World Cup without Sweden, but there are other teams to root for. Peanut will, of course root for England, where he was born. Morran will root for Germany, where her breed is from. Laila will root for France, where her breed is from, as well as Japan, where she was born. I will also root for Japan, where Shibas are from. The Chihuahuas hope that Mexico will qualify, where their breed is from. It will be some exciting games, nevertheless. 

Meatballs

Paula gave us meatballs for food today, and less ordinary dog food. We did not mind. Meatballs are great. 

There are times when my blog posts are really short. This blog åost could have been this way. After all, when you get meatballs, there is no need to explain why this is great. Everybody loves meatballs, don't they? Since this is the case, I could have just ended the blog post after the first, short paragraph. A blogpost about meatballs deserves to be longer, however. Meatballs deserve this. 

I wish we could get meatballs more often. 

We Lost an Hour

Humans are obsessed with keeping time and making sure which hour, minute, and sometimes second it is. This is important for their cooperation with each other, Daniel says. With this obsession, I do not understand why they want to just skip one hour between the last Saturday and last Sunday in March. We now have what is called Daylight Saving Time, which means everything will start one hour earlier for half a year. Then we go back to normal again in the autumn. It is silly, the way that you doubt that humans are the most intelligent beings on Earth, as we would normally think they are. Meanwhile, we have to live with this. 

A Little Cleaning

Part of the weekend is normally spent cleaning. It is in the weekends that Paula and Danielhave more time for this. We all helped cleaning the house today. 

Appart from the cleaning, we spent most of the day resting and just having fun. Life is good whenit is like this. Still, the cleaning was more special, since dogs can rest a bit almost every day. 

We will see what happens tomorrow, the other day of the weekend.

Continuous Trouble

We have no functional wifi. This is connected to the troubles with the telephones which started yesterday, I am sure. 

While I am not very interested in working telephones – as I blogged yesterday – I do care about the wifi. It is easier for me to upload my blog posts, when the wifi works. I can do it without wifi, but wifi is faster.

Paula tried to get hold of our telephone and internet provider today, but she did not succeed. This was a shame. It is certainly not easier in the upcoming weekend. I hope the troubles will soon be over. 

Telephone Trouble

Both Paula and Daniel have had troubles with their telephones today. They did not like this.

If I were they, I would not care much. I think it would just be rather nice, not to be disturbed by the telephone at any time during the day. Sometimes, I think humans live too much in the future and in the past, using their telephones and other devices to plan and to remember. It must be more relaxing to live more in the here and now, like dogs tend to do. On the other paw, I guess this is just another oneof those differences between dogs and humans that make us add our traits so greatly to each other. Life is good this way. 

Hamburgers

Paula and Daniel had hamburgers for dinner tonight. I did not get to taste, which made me a little disappointed.

Hamburgers are not made of ham. The name probably comes from the city Hamburg, and Germans who moved from there to America in the 1800's. Regardless of the origin of the name, the dish is tasty.

I guess there will be hamburgers for me other times. I have to look forward to this. 

Under the Blankets

Our humans sleep under blankets. I always think this would be too hot, but humans have no natural coat, like most dogs have. Our short haired Chihuahua friend Viola also likes to sleep under the blankets. I guess this is because of her short hairs. I am glad that she can do this, when she likes it. She can stand cold winter weather, however.

Our long haired Chihuahua friends do not sleep under the blankets. They would also think this would be too hot. I can relate better to this. 

Spring Equinox

Yesterday we had the spring equinox. Days are now longer than nights. I like this. While dogs have rather good night vision, I still like it better in daylight. Spring is almost here, summer is on its way. The outdoors will be warm again. Life is good, but will be better. 

Start of the Formula 1 Season

The 2022 season of Formula 1 started today. Daniel watched the race on TV. It was a nice race, he said. It ended with a double victory for Ferrari, with their drivers Leclerc and Sainz. Daniel has always liked Ferrari, he hopes they will dominate for the first season in many years, but he doubts it. We will have to see what happens. 

Elected to the Board

Paula has been elected to the board of the regional kennel club of Örebro County. We are very proud of her. Paula will make a great contribution to the club, we are sure. 

Daniel was re-elected to the board. This is also good. 

Refugees

There are a lot of refugees from war torn Ukraine. Paula shared a Facebook post by a dog handler from Ukraine who is now a refugee in France. She held herself out as a dog handler om dog shows. I hope France allows her to get paid for this work. Refugees are not always allowed to be part of the regular work force in the land that they come to, until their application to stay as a refugee is approved of.

It is an honourable work to be a professional handler at dog shows.

Olives

When Daniel came home from work this evening, he brought a sandwich for Paula. She had asked for olives in it, but she thought they had put too many olives in the sandwich. In a way, I can understand Paula. Olives are vegetables, you do not want too much of this. The tuna and the cheese in the sandwich were good, however. 

Sallad

Paula and Daniel had a sallad for dinner. Sure, there was some cheese and pasta in it, but a lot of vegetables. Humans are carnivores, just like dogs. That our humans are having a sallad, with a lot of vegetables, makes me disappointed with them. Carnivores should have meat as their main ingredience in any meal. Mostly, they have, just not today. I do think, and hope, this is not the start of a vegetable trend. 

Home Delivery

It is very rare, but there are times when Paula and Daniel buy food for home delivery. They did this tonight. Paula got a platter of meat and sauce, Daniel got spaghetti carbonara. This was late, all ofus dogs had already eaten. It smelled good, though, and our humans enjoyed the food. They are worth the occasional luxury like this. 

A Special Veterinarian for Humans

Paula visited a veterinarian today. This veterinarian was specialised in human diseases, thus, she was not called a veterinarian, but a physician. I believe that the field where humans see the biggest difference between humans and other animals is in medicine. Dogs and humans are fairly close related. Yet, dogs go to the veterinarians who are called veterinarians, just like cats, guinea pigs, birds, lizards, and fish do. Humans go to this other kind of veterinarian, who are not called veterinarians. I believe those who are called veterinarians are better, because they know a lot about many species. Veterinarians are the medical practitioners for me. 

Pez Dispenser

Daniel is the proud owner of some Pez dispensers. It is not that he always have Pez candy in them, but he likes them. He says Pez has a special place in popular culture.

One of the Pez dispensers is in the shape of Woodstock, the little bird from the Peanut comic strip. There was Pez candy in this Pez dispenser today, and Peanut grabbed it and started to chew onit to get all the candy at once. Daniel went mad and took the Pez dispenser from Peanut. While I understand that Peanut wanted to get to the candy, he did it the wrong way. He should have simply asked for it.

Most of the Pez dispenser made it, but it was torn. Daniel said it would still work. He could not be mad at Peanut for long. It was a short anger, then this day went back to being nice. Life is good.

Sick

Peanut was sick this afternoon. He vomited in Daniel's bed.

Daniel was a little angry, mostly because he got some vomiton himself when taking care of it. 

I felt sorry for Peanut. However, it was good that he was the only one who was sick. Even Peanut himself admitted to this. 

Later in the evening, Peanut felt well again. He did not know what caused the sickness, but hopes it will not return. I guess it will not. 

Watching the House

It is not common these days, when Daniel often work from home, and Paula is often home a lot, but they were both away for a while today. This means that it was up to us dogs to watch the house. We did it well, of course. There were no uninvited guests here. 

You may think there would never be any uninvited guests here anyway. This is, however, just theories. In reality, we are at home, and no uninvited guests come here. We do it well. 

Sunny Weather

We have had beautiful, sunny weather for many days. It would feel like spring, if it would have been warmer, but it has been temperatures below zero throughout the nights and mornings. It is still early March, so it is not strange that winter is hanging on. I do not mind these outdoor temperatures, a Shiba can cope with much colder weather. This makes me feel good. Life is good. 

Chicken

There was chicken for dinner tonight. I got a piece of chicken filet. It was great.

Chicken meat is very tasty. I wish I could get chicken more often. On the other paw, there are a lot of different kinds of meat that are tasty. I would not want chicken all the time.

Meat is great. Did you know that the Swedish word for food, mat, is originally the same word as the English word meat? This is because meat is the essence of food. 

Ongoing War

The war in Ukraine is continuing. People are fleeing. Dogs and other pets are often brought along.

I hope most of the dogs will manage. It is a war, so I make no illusions that every innocent individual will manage, regardless if it is a dog, a human, or any other one. Nevertheless, I hope many will take care of the dogs in need. They deserve it.

Another Norwegian Victory

For the tenth year in a row, a Norwegian skier won Vasaloppet today. Vasaloppetis theoldest and biggest annual cross country ski race. It has a length of 90 kilometres. 

My maternal grandfather Kuro, who was born in Norway, would be happy for this victory. He was always a Norwegian patriot. 

We do rejoice that Paula's father, who is a veteran Vasaloppet skier, finished the race at a time which is great for a man his age.

Fudge

We had some evening snacks tonight, vanilla fudge. This is great candy.

It was a while since we last had fudge. It was worth the wait. Still, I would like to get fudge more often. With the way all of us dogs devoured the fudge, I think we made this point clear to Paula and Daniel, until the next time they buy candy. 

Friday

Thank God it is Friday!

Friday is when your humans come home and spend the weekend with you. Fridays are good.

Decisions Against Russia

The international football federation FIFA and the European federation UEFA have decided that Russia or Russian football clubs will not be able to participate in international competitions until further notice. 

The federations decided this on Monday. I think it is the correct decision, now that Russia wages war on Ukraine. What I would like to know more about, however, is how the last qualification rounds will be played. Sweden was in the same pool as Russia. Will Poland, which would play its first game versus Russia, just go on until the next round? Is this fair, considering other teams ranked as Poland? I have still not read anything about this. I guess we will have to see further on. 

Chicken

Daniel worked from home today. He had chicken for lunch.

Peanut, Morran, and I got to taste some, we all ate quickly. Then Malin the cat got some. She took it slowly, licked and picked. Eventually, she left some pieces. This was good for us dogs, Daniel gave Malin's pieces to us. Cats are too picky, but I do not mind, when I got the spoils. 

Chicken is great meat. 

The British Queen Recovers

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and other realms were tested positive with covid-19 last week. She has now recovered well enough to engage in two on line engagements. 

This is good for the UK. Peanut, who was born in the UK, is happy. Personally, I am mostly happy for the Queen's dogs. The Queen is known for having many Welsh Corgis, and having bred some. When she is healthy again, her dogs must be happy. This is good.

Start of the Election Campaign

Daniel was at a meeting with the political party heis a member of. This was supposed to be a start of the election campaign. There is a general election this September.

I do not know that much about human politics. It does sound good, when Daniel explains the politics he stands for. I hope he will do well, not least for his sake. We will have to see what happens. 

Nothing Special

It is Sunday, and we do not do anything special. How can you be inspired to write anything in a daily blog, when nothing special happens during the day.

The war in Ukraine is still going on. Russia advances, but apparently not as easy as the Russian government would have though. Appart from this, nothing much can be said about this war.

Paula's father completed the open track at Vasaloppet, 90 km cross country skiing, today. This was good, but nothing that I experienced.

There are times when I wish my life would be a little more exciting. Lazy days are good once in a while, but I did not feel like it today. I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

Last Quarter Final

It was the last of four quarter finals tonight in the Swedish qualification round for the European Song Contest. There has not been any great songs this year, but some many grow on me. We have to wait and see in the final in two weeks.

As always, I miss songs that has any reference to dogs.

Quiz

Paula and Daniel went to Brevens Bruk tonight. This is a small village within the borders of Örebro commune, but quite a way away. Kenzo, who was born here, lives there. Paula and Daniel did not go there to see him, but his humans, and to participate in a quiz at a restaurant in Brevens Bruk. They came back home happy, because their team had won and they had had a great time. It was fun hearing about it. It was also nice to hear that they had good news about Kenzo, who is greatly liked by his family and neighbourhood. This was a good start of the weekend. 

War

Russia has invaded Ukraine. I have tried to understand why, but the only real reasons I can see is that the Russian government wants to expand its territory. This has been cause of war many tines throughout human history, but is usually not recognised as a legitimate cause these days. However, might trumps right.

I mostly hope the dogs in the invaded areas survive and will not be injuried. 

Dog Shed Hit By Meteorite On Sale

Auction house Christie's in London has an auction of meteorites every year. This year, one of the additional items is a dog shed from Costa Rica, which was hit by a meteorite in 2019. Luckily, the dog was not hit and is in good health.

Apparently, meteorites can go for a lot of money. This particular dog shed is also expected to yield a substantial amount of money. It is almost so that I wish a meteorite would fall down outside our house, just as long as it does not cause any substantial damage on our property. On the other paw, I do not really want to wish for something that might just as well cause damage or injure someone. Life is quite exciting enough anyway. 

Late News Paper

When we come back home from the morning walk, Daniel always takes the morning news paper from our mailbox. There was no news paper in the mailbox this morning, however.

We researched this and got to know from the news paper company that they had general troubles distributing the news papers today. This was due to the heavy snowfall yesterday and the slippery roads today.

The news paper arrived later in the morning. It was not like this was old news, but it felt wrong not tohave it for breakfast. 

The day turned out fine, nevertheless. 

Heavy Snowfall

We have received more snow today than earlier this winter combined, I believe. It is more than a decimetre of snow on the ground. This makes me want to be a playful puppy again!

The weather has been strange this winter. It has varied from very cold to very mild. Snow has come, gone, come again, gone again. We will have to see how long this layer of snow will last.

I hope the summer weather will be more steady. 

Work on a Sunday

Daniel sat down by his computer this afternoon and put in some hours for work. He has a flexible work schedule, which means he can work less than eight hours some days and more other days. This week, he had worked less than the ordinary time, so he put in the remaining hours this Sunday. While Sunday is a day of rest, I could sense that Daniel could rest more easily when he had done those hours of work. It is a good thing he could do this from home. 

My Birthday

Not that I want to boast, but today I turn twelve years old. Two of my litters were born on the 15 February and the 17 February, respectively. It is a good month to be born. A pup grows up in spring and summer.

We celebrated with minced meat. This is one of my favourites, so it added to the greatness of the day. 

Keeping Seagulls Away

A seaside restaurant in Australia employs dogs to keep seagulls from disturbing their guest. 

Dogs are good at many things. This is yet another example of this. I like it. 

Another Birthday

Today is the birthday of my daughter Soya, Aangenaam Queen Kalla. She was born during the Olympic Games eight years ago, which gave us inspiration for her name.

Relay Gold

Daniel spent the day on the City Council. This means he could not follow the news from the Olympic Games, even though he was at home and participated on a video link.

We told Daniel the Swedish ladies’ relay biathlon team had won the gold. This was a great feat and we liked it a lot.

Later, we could also tell Daniel that the Swedish gents had won the quarter final in ice hockey versus Canada, 2-0. It is always something special to win against the country where ice hockey had its origin. 

This turns out to be good Olympic Games for Sweden. 

Birthday

Nine years ago today, I gave birth to my first litter of pups, the boy Lunar Shore and the girl Lunar Mare. All of my litters where great experiences, but the first is always special.

Happy birthday, my beloved pups! 

Valentine’s Day

It is Valentine’s day, a day when love is celebrated.

For my part, I have already had my Valentines. They have given me pups. This is many years ago now. I let the younger dogs celebrate Valentine, if they want to. Love is great, but now my love is a friendship love for my humans, the other dogs, and the cats.

I hope you all have a nice Valentine’s day!

Boring Day

Sundays are often nice days of rest. Today, however, I would have liked to do something more, like a longer walk. It was not exactly great weather for a walk, but I am not picky. I hope it will be a better day tomorrow. 

Another Rainy Day

We had another rainy day today. It was a lazy Saturday, but the most special thing was that it was a day in February with a few degrees above the freezing point and rain, not snow. 

In the Olympic Games, the Swedish curling ladies lost a game to China. This was an effort of China, which is much lower ranked in curling than Sweden. As a Swedish patriot, and because I dislike that China is a dictatorship and a country where dogs are often mistreated, I would have liked Sweden to win. In sports, however, no results are sure from the start, which is a great part of the charm. I still think Sweden has a better chance at medals than China.

Another Skating Gold

In the Olympic Games, the Swedish skater Nils van der Poel won gold on 10,000 metres today. He won gold on 5,000 metres last weekend. He must be the foremost Swedish participant of these Olympic Games. I have a hard time to imagine who could beat him to become the Swedish athlete of the year.

Fusion Power

Scientists in the UK claim to have made a major breakthrough in constructing a fusion power plant. 

Fusion power is what powers the stars. It is when hydrogen atoms are smashed together to produce helium and energy. It would be clean and efficient, but the construction of a fusion reactor has still not been made. It has proved difficult, even for bright humans. I hope the latest thing really is a breakthrough. 

Late Dinner

Suddenly, late in the evening, Paula realised she and Daniel had not had any dinner. Daniel had not thought of it, either. They realised they were hungry and prepared some food quickly. All of us dogs also got some snacks. These snacks was the best part of the late dinner. It was good that they suddenly realised everybody should have something to eat. It was a nice end of the day. 

Runaway Dog

A neighbour came by us in the afternoon. He asked if we missed a dog. Daniel told him we did not, but went out to see what it was about. 

It turned out that a woman had walked her dog in the forrest nearby, but the dog had been scared of a loud noise and run away. With the help of the number plate of the woman’s car, our neighbour could get help from the police to identify her and call her family. Soon afterwards, the woman came back from the forrest. The dog had run home and was safe. Everything turned out well. 

If a dog run away, it is nice to hear the dog come back home safe and sound. This was better news than another Swedish gold in the ongoing Olympic Games. 

Sami Day

In the northern parts of Scandinavia, the Sami people are indigenouos. They are citizens of Sweden, Norway, Finland, or Russia, but share a Fenno-Ugric language and a common history. They celebrate their national holiday today. Congratulations to them for this! May they and their dogs have a nice day.

A Longer Walk

In the middle of the day, Piffy got to get out on a walk with Paula and Daniel. They were gone for a long time. I would have liked to come along, I like to go on walks, especially in beautiful, sunny weather as we had today. Piffy was lucky this time. I hope I can have that kind of luck next time. Other than this, it has been a good day. 

Olympic Games in a Bad Place

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games have started. So far, I have not watched it. I wish the Swedish and Japanese athletes well. The bad thing is that the Games are hosted by China, a communistic dictatorship where they are evil against dogs. I do not like China, it should not have been allowed to host Olympic Games. We will have to see whether I watch anything, or keep up my boycott. There are other things to do. 

Forgetfulness

Apparently, I gorgon to write anything in my blog yesterday. I cannot remember what happened than made me forget. This must be better. A daily blog is supposed to be daily. 

Stay tuned, the blog will continue to be, at least mostly, daily.

Daniel’s Brother Moved

We got a postcard from Gothenburg today. It was from Daniel’s brother Elias and his family, with their new address. They have moved to Gothenburg. Now they live in south central Gothenburg. This is fairly close to Gothia Towers, where there usually is a big dog show in early January. It must feel good to have so close to a huge annual dog show. Our closest annual dog show is in Askersund, 50 kilometres from here. 

We hope Elias and his family will be comfortable with their new place of living. 

A Little Snow

We had temperatures below the freezing point today. Snow started to fall in the morning. It soon stopped, however. We did not even get a level layer of snow, just a few snowflakes like dots on the ground. 

It is 1 February and winter should continue for at least another month. If so, I want snow. What is the use of cold days, when there is no snow on the ground? We will have to see what happens.