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. 

Sausages and a Great Little Dog

Daniel and I watched this nice video on Youtube on a sausage stand in Stockholm. The best part was when a Chihuahua went by and made a success with the film crew.

I would like to get one of those sausages. They seem tasty. 

Theft of a Dog

A man in Ljusnarsberg, a bit north of where we lived, stole a little dog outside a shop. The dog’s humans tracked it down and took it back. The man who stole the dog has now got a suspended sentence and had to pay a low amount of fines. We believe this sentence is too lenient. He should have been put away in prison for a couple of years, at least. The theft of a dog is a serious crime. 

Tyres

Daniel went to change tyres on the car. It now has summer tyres instead of winter tyres. This is a good sign that it is now spring. We just have to hope there will not be any more snow on a day when we have to go anywhere by car. 

Early Morning

We got up earlier than usual today, because Daniel had to go up early to catch a train to Solna. His employer has another office there, and he was scheduled to do a presentation at that office. He came back home in ordinary time.

It was still dark outside when we got out this early. We are used to darkness on the first time outside every day during the winter, but this has changed and the morning light has come back. It was just today that we got up too early for the morning light.

We could go back to sleep, Daniel could not, so he is the one I felt sorry for. 

My Way

Viola saker me today why I do not write blog entries on news stories as often as Polly or Hailey did. In a way, she has a point. This is not my blog, I am just a custodian of it until an heir of Polly moves in with us and take over. This means I should write the blog in the manner of Hailey and Polly. Still, I have to do it mainly my way. The most important part of my custody of the blog is to keep it going. I cannot do this in a good way, if I have to mimic the way Hailey and Polly blogged. My blog entries must be written my way, otherwise I cannot go on. Viola does not want to take over the responsibility for the blog, so she may keep her critique to herself in the future. She is a great friend, nevertheless. 

One Less Responsibility

At an annual meeting tonight, Daniel was not re-elected to the board of the local party organisation. It was his own choice not to stand for re-election after fourteen years. He is glad it is over, even though he has not ruled out a come back some time in the future. Time will tell. We are happy for Daniel, who thinks it is nice to have one less reaponsibility. 

Saint Patrick? Saint Gertrud!

Some people write about Saint Patrick on social media. He is the patron saint of Ireland. However, Daniel tells us that in Sweden, we celebrate Saint Patrick on the 16th April. Today is the day of Saint Gertrud in Sweden. This is especially important in our family, since Paula’s mother is called Gertrud. Paula and Daniel have congratulated her on her name day. National traditions are important, and may vary from country to country. In Sweden, we stick to Swedish traditions. 

Chocolate

Paula got some fine chocolate today, when she was thanked for ending a few years on the board of the regional kennel club. She liked the chocolate.

There was no chocolate for us dogs, because chocolate is not healthy for us. We did not care much, because we got other Saturday candy instead. 

The kennel club is important. Paula will continue to work for it, not just on the board. There are a logic other things she can do to contribute. We are sure she will keep doing a good job.

Daniel is still on the board. 

Something Else

There are times when I would like to do something else, be somewhere else.

On the other paw, I quite like it where I am. Life is good.

Band Aid

Daniel cut his thumb on a knife today, when he cooked dinner. It was not a big cut, but needed a band aid to help stop the bleeding. The trouble is that the band aid sits just at the small area of the thumb, which Daniel uses on touch screens. I am glad my paws hold up better, so I won’t need a band aid on the part of my front paw that I use on touch screens. Band aids are good, but the ability to use touch screens is impaired. I guess the cut is healed tomorrow. 

Wednesday the 13th

Some humans say that Friday the 13th is a day of bad luck. There is, apparently, some sort of event in European history that took place on a Friday the 13th one year and which was the root for this superstition. Today is Wednesday the 13th. I have never heard anything about bad luck on a Wednesday the 13th. I am not superstitious, we dogs are not. It is just that I find it odd that it is just the combination of the 13th and a Friday that would bring bad luck. Why not a Wednesday? Humans are odd in their beliefs sometimes. 

Cheese

We got some cheese as a late night snack. 

Cheese is one of those processed foods that make me glad I am a dog. Our humans make cheese for us, through their ingenuity. If our foremothers had not joined forces with humans, to become dogs, instead of wolves, we would never enjoy cheese. Sure, the meat that wolves eat is great, but as a dog, you have a more diversified diet. This is tastier and, I dare say, healthier. 

I wish we would get cheese more often. 

New Job

Paula is starting a new job today. We wished her good luck before she left. 

The first work day was short. There will be longer periods without Paula further on. We are prepared for this. It will be all right. 

Qualification Final

A paid of Norwegians won the Swedish qualification round for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was a rather nice song and we hope this will give us a lot of Norwegian votes. We are not sure on what grounds people from one country can compete for another country, however. This has happened many times before. We guess there must be some rules connecting the artists, song writers, producers, or anything like that to the country they compete for, but perhaps it is enough to enter and win the qualification round of the country you compete for.

There could be more cross country skiers from Norway competing for Sweden. 

International Women’s Day

The 8 March is International Women’s Day. Among humans, men have often ruled in society.

Women should be more like bitches, because among dogs, bitches always rule. 

Formally a Member

From today, Sweden is formally a member of NATO. This was anticipated, but it has taken a long time. Two countries have stalled: Hungary and Turkey. (These country names make me hungry for turkey, but the names are in the pile of positive facts about these countries.) I believe Sweden will not be great friends with the two of them, among all of the other members of the alliance. Stalling what most members want is just silly. It will be different now. 

Up and Down

The temperature is going up and down around the freezing point. At night, we have winter, during the day, we have spring. Most of the snow is gone, but there is still frost some of the mornings these days. 

It seems like the weather cannot decide on whether there should be winter or spring. 

We will have spring, eventually. 

Wolf

A wolf has been seen close to us. Pepe says that we should be careful. If we Chihuahuas were as big as wolves, we could fight them and win, he says, but we are not. Chihuahuas are great, but in an immaterial way. We could not fight wolves. 

On the other paw, why would we fight wolves? They will never enter our yard. We do not need to fight them. Life is great as it is. 

Up and Down

Our bed can be folded, so a human can lie down in it or sit up in it. This can be fun. It may also be disturbing for us dogs, if Paula or Daniel decides to rise or lower the bed, when one of us is comfortable on the part which will be moved. For the most part, though, I lie down on parts of the bed which is mostly not moved. It is a bigger problem for Morran, who likes the parts of the bed that are more often moved. She continues to chose those parts of the bed, so I believe her complaints are not very sincere. Going up and down can be fun. 

Vasaloppet

The great Swedish cross country ski classic Vasaloppet was held today. Norwegians won both the gents’ and the ladies’ classes. There have been a lot of Norwegian victories in later years.

We want a Swede to win next year. Morran, as an Affenpinscher, would also like to see a German victory. For us Chihuahuas, we would also be happy if a Mexican would win, but to be fair, this seems very far fetched. 

Paula’s father participated, as he usually does, as a hobby skier. He finished far from the top, but at his age, just finishing the race is a great effort. We congratulate him for this! 

Feeling Bad

Paula is not feeling well today. We feel sorry for her and take it easy around her. We wish her well. It is easier for all of us, when everyone is healthy and sound. This is especially true for the one who is feeling sick for the moment, to get well. It must be better soon. 

Spring?

There are times when the year is evenly divided into four seasons. By this division, spring is March, April, and May. Thus, today would be the first day of spring.

We do have temperatures above the freezing point, but some snow and ice is still left on the ground. There may still be more cold weather and snow. 

We want spring, but we know we may not really get it yet. Time will tell what happens.