Spring has Sprung ....... early!

Well the blossoms in the parks all over here would suggest Spring is already here but calendar wise we are still mid winter!! What is happening to the weather? Anyway these are a few pics of Dixie's first plum blossoms. Next will be the cherry trees and going on the plums I think they too will be early this year!

Jazz, Dixie and the Giant Radish!!

On the way home we passed a vegie farm just down the road from Shin's friend's place and from the window we saw many giant radishes! We stopped to buy one along with some fresh spinach. Jazz and Dixie were amazed at that giant white thing before them!! They licked it but were quite cautious of it.

Lunch with Friends

We were invited to Shin's friend's place on the outskirts of Tokyo today for lunch and had planned to leave Jazz and Dixie at home. But at the very last minute decided to hire a car and drive so we could take Jazz and Dixie along. After lunch we took the girls for a walk in the local park already showing signs of spring!!!

The strange looking creature here is a "Tanuki" a racoon statue that you can see in varying sizes all around Japan at the front door of houses.

Something to Chew!

On the way home from this afternoons walk we stopped in at Pet and You pet shop to but some chewy bones, pigs ears and minty toothbrushes. Dixie chews like no dog Ive known so in order to stop her chewing our things I have to keep a stock pile of chewy things to keep her occupied! Right now Jazz and Dixie are both knawing on white gum bones which they enjoy.

Spinning Top Jazz!

Today Daddy was practicing his Koma (Japanese Spinning Top) skills. The Koma is an old Japanese spinning top that uses a cord wrapped around the conical part to spin it. Children usually play with it during the New Years holiday period. Jazz was very curious about this thing that danced across the living room floor. Dixie on the other hand was scared of it and ran off to hide.

Lunch at Petra

Today was cold and overcast so we took Daddy to a pet restaurant that we discovered a few weeks ago for lunch. We had a very reasonable lunch set that included soup, quiche, salad, main course, dessert and coffee. Jazz especially enjoys our lunches and coffees out as its usually accompanied by some kind of snack!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

These days its hard for me to get a spot on the couch as Jazz, Dixie and Shin have a monopoly on it! I seem to recall that one of Jazz' New Years' resolutions was to "take up less space on the couch" Not following that one I see!

What did you do at school today?

Jazz and Dixie went off to school today and had fun playing with old and new friends. Thursday evenings after dinner are very peaceful in our apartment as both Jazz and Dixie are so tired after a fun filled day that they just collapse onto the couch and sleep!! Needless to say where they are now as I write this!

Paws in Mouth!

A while back we bought Jazz and Dixie a small sqeaky paw toy each which they both were crazy about. There were too many arguments so they went back in the cupboard. Today Jazz was scratching on the cupboard asking me to get them out again! I gave in. This time however Dixie didn't get a show in as Jazz grabbed both and wouldn't let go not even for a piece of cheese!! In fact she is still sitting on the couch with both paws hanging out on either side of her mouth looking rather goofy!

Another Great Winter Afternoon.

What a glorious winter afternoon - it wasn't really that cold out so I didn't need to put on Jazz and Dixie's jackets. We took a long walk in the park and on the way home we stopped in at Pet Love Dog Cafe. Well I had no choice really as when we walk anywhere near that place Jazz pulls me all the way to the front door! Just by coincidence there was a very cute 3 month old beagle there on her dog run debut! Jazz was very gentle with her while Dixie played rough and tumble games. Nala, the little beagle really enjoyed playing with Dixie and vice versa. (Sorry about the pic quality - I didn't have my camera and had to snap these pics in poor light on my mobile phone.)

Tokyo People's Cafe

During our afternoon walk we stopped in at Tokyo People's Cafe, a dog friendly cafe in our area. Jazz generally sits nicely and awaits any treats that may come her way but Dixie is still learning to sit still and stop doing the Hudini act of trying to slip her harness! After coffee Daddy went off to buy groceries and we went on with our walk stopping to sit in one of our favourite sunny spots to warm up a little. Jazz could probably sit there sunning herself till the sun set however Dixie is anxious to keep moving!

Saturday morning up with a lark, think we'll take a walk in the park ....

Since Ive started back at work Jazz, Dixie and I have been taking our morning walks from 6am and its cold and dark outside. On the plus side we get to see the sun rise every morning. Today being a Saturday we all slept in and took our walk from 7.30 and got to enjoy the winter sunshine.

New Harnesses and Mobile Phone Wallpaper

Today Jazz and Dixie's new harnesses arrived. They look very bright and new compared to the old ones! Dixie doesn't like to wear anything now including the harness!! We also received wallpaper for our mobile phones from the photographer that took the girl's photos.

New Year's Resolutions x 2

We haven't really made any resolutions yet so know is as good a time as any to start thinking about what we could work on this coming year.

This will have to be two separate lists:

Jazz:

1. Lose that 1kg that the vet keeps reminding me about!

2. Move around more in the dog run instead of visiting the 'salad bar' along the fence.

3. Take up less of mummy and Daddy's couch space.

4. Make lots of new doggy friends.

5. Keep on watching out for my little sister, Dixie and making mummy happy.

Dixie:

1. Stop chewing up things like CD's, telephones and other hard things that are not mine!

2. Stop playing the cat and mouse game when mummy is trying to put me on the lead for a walk. 3. Give Jazz enough time for beauty sleep!

4. Try to pick up less yucky things on my walks.

5. Make lots of new friends too.

One of our Dogs with Blogs friends "tagged" us and now we tag Girasol Boo fee Cubby Opy - the Original GruffPuppy . You can check Fei's blog spot for how to play Fe i.

Coffee and Cookies

Today was Mummy's last day of her three week holiday before she goes back to work so we took a nice long walk in the park in the glorious sunshine. We stopped in at Fumo Pizzeria for coffee, cookies and dessert. Fumo has a small indoor dog run and balcony seating and most importantly a doggy menu. As it was nice out we took the balcony seating and while there meet another beagle who was even bigger than Jazz.

A Family Portrait

Another one of the photos taken by the professional photographer. There was no escaping for Jazz or Dixie so this photo turned out quite well. Off the the photo shop tomorrow to have it printed up so we can put it in a frame!

A Day Out at Suiran Green Park Dog Run

We hired a car today and set off to Chiba to Suiran Green Park which is an old golf course that has been converted into a series of dog runs and agility courses. We have been once before with Jazz and some of her beagle friends but when we arrived today we found the place under new management and many new dog runs. It was quite cold and windy but that didn't deter Jazz and Dixie who ran around at top speed, played with balls and checked out all the wonderful new smells. We moved about between four of the nine dog runs and the girls had a marvelous time! After all the running around outside we headed indoors to play in the indoor dog run. It was here we noticed a professional photographer taking lovely photos of all kinds of doggies.

We embarked on a 30 minute photo shoot with two of the most impossible models!!! but did manage to come away with some good photos of the girls (well mostly of Jazz). After all the tiring work we went and had lunch in the dog friendly restaurant in the hotel next door. Then it was back to the dog run for one final run and play around with new friends before being loaded back into the car for the trip home.

Lunch with Tora and Mel

Today Jazz and Dixie went to lunch with two of their "Komazawa Dog Run" friends, Tora the Corgie and Mel the Border Collie. We tried a new restaurant near the park that allows doggies. Jazz was reasonably behaved but her little sister, Dixie is working on keeping still for any length of time. Very hard when you are 8mths (today) and so full of energy!! After lunch we all went back to Tora's place for afternoon tea. Tora was nice enough to share his whole toy basket! We all had a nice day.