Tired Puppies!

Jazz and Dixie really enjoyed their little holiday and were very

tired at the end of everyday. Here they are relaxing on holiday

just as they are now at home!

Doggy Getaway

The lodge we stayed at in Yamanakako.

Dixie was right at home in the snow.

Jazz checking out all the scents that lay beneath the snow!


Dixie taught herself to walk the plank and Jazz overcame
her fear of it with the help of a handful of snacks!



The room we stayed in had its own little garden which Jazz
and Dixie were allowed to run free in.

The action shots are a bit blurry because the girls were
running so fast and I didn't have a chance to set the camera
to sports mode!

Checking out the scents of previous guests.





Jazz and Dixie have fun as always at their favourite dog
run, Dog Field.

Jazz and Dixie each got a new tennis ball at the dog
run but Jazz liked them both and couldn't choose
between them.

On Friday we all set off for Yamanakako for a long weekend. On the way there we stopped in at our favourite dog run, Dog Field. It is guarenteed that Jazz and Dixie will have fun there chasing each other around like crazy in the huge open space!
After two hours there we set off for our accomodation for the weekend, a place called Caro Foresta (check it out at http://landsinjapan.blogspot.com/) near Lake Yamanaka, 100kms north west of Tokyo. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived to find our lovely, dog friendly digs complete with little garden for the dogs, even if it was covered in snow!!! The garden opened on to a big woodchip/snow covered dog run which Jazz and Dixie loved. Jazz was a little causious at first on the snow that crunched beneath her feet but Dixie was racing around on it like a snow bunny. In the evenings our delicious meals were brought to our room course by course and served over an hour and a half and in the mornings we all dined in an adjoining cafe.
This was by far the best dog friendly accomodation we have stayed in - dogs allowed everywhere, lovely furnished suite rooms and great food. We all had a great little getaway.

Merry Christmas

We started our Christmas Day with Japanese style Xmas cake for breakfast and then Shin went off to work as it is not a holiday here! That left just Jazz, Dixie and I at home so we decided to go out for lunch. We discovered a new Dogs Ok cafe and had lunch there, then we dropped by a pet shop to buy the girls some snacks, after which we went to Pet Love Cafe for a Macha Latte and lastly back to our local dog run for a bit of fetch the tennis ball. We were out for about 3.5 hours! Shin arrived home at 10.30pm for dinner. Jazz and Dixie did well to wait until 11.30 to open their Christmas stockings and boy were they excited! Dixie managed to open the packaging on a chewy stick in no time at all while Jazz played around with the soft toys she loves so much. Then Dixie discovered her favourite Chuppa Chups for Pups and couldn't wait till Dad opened that one by which time Jazz had discovered that she too had a nice chewy stick from Grandma. They were both so happy with all their little pressies, Dixie so much so that she didn't know what to play with and ended up carrying around three things in her mouth! I think it was worth waiting for!

Pre-Christmas Celebrations

While we were away in Shikoku visiting Shin's family, Jazz and Dixie stayed at their favourite Pet Hotel, Dog Inc. From these photos and from what I was told I see that Jazz and Dixie enjoyed their little holiday. On returning home however Jazz did her usual "You left me so I'm not going to say hello to you" but soon after showed me how happy she was to be home. Both Jazz and Dixie are back to their usual selves this morning after a nice walk around the park. Shin has to work today so it will just be the girls and I. I will post later about Jazz and Dixie opening their presents. Merry Christmas!

We Got Elfed!!!

A friend of mine from Oz sent me an amuzing Christmas email. Jazz and Dixie have turned into elves!! Check this link to see Jazz and Dixie dance up a storm. http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1586906826
You can make your own clip after watching us dance. Lets spread the Christmas cheer!

We are going to Shin's home town for Christmas and Jazz and Dixie will stay at Dog Inc. We will be back blogging on Christmas day so until then Happy Holidays to everyone!

A perfect way to spend a winter day!

Today Jazz, Dixie and I met with a friend of mine and her 5 y.o. son and 2 y.o. daughter in the park. We went to the dog run so her children could walk Jazz and Dixie and play ball with them. It was quite cold out today so after a while we were feeling the chill so we all went to the park side cafe, Nico for hot cocoa, coffee and hot waffles with maple syrup!! Jazz and Dixie certainly got their share of waffles!

When we got home Jazz and Dixie thought it would be fun to play around with the new blankets Shin got for them. First he ordered two to try and see what they were like. They are a very soft double thick blanket that both Jazz and Dixie like to play with and snuggle up under. Being very reasonable and keeping our girls very warm Shin got a few more.

Christmas Cooking!

Today I was invited by a friend to join her at ABC Cooking Sudio in Tokyo Mid Town for a "Cake Event". She is a member of this cooking studio and today we both made a festive cake called "Berry Merry Christmas" as you see above. I'm not that good at cooking anything let alone a light and fluffy chocolate sponge filled with strawberry yogurt, raspberry cream but under the careful eye of our teacher and with a very easy to follow recipe with lots of pictures I managed to make the cake look just like the one on the brochure, well almost! We could sample a cake made from the left overs and got to bring this cake home. Jazz and Dixie were disappointed when I told them this cake was not for them!

Celebrating

Today Jazz, Dixie and I went to Pet Love Cafe for
lunch to celebrate the beginning of my winter holiday!





YUMMY!!!


I had Tako rice and Jazz and Dixie each shared a piece of banana cake and a fromage cake. They had to wait till I was finished my lunch but the cakes were gone in seconds!

Sisterly Love

Now that it is getting colder Jazz and Dixie can often be found sleeping together or sitting side by side keeping each other warm. As I grab the camera to snap a cute pic they usually wake up though.