Dog Day Out

Jazz and Dixie haven't been anywhere exciting lately so we thought it was about time that we took them somewhere. We almost cancelled this morning when we awoke to rain but after checking the weather forecast which predicted a fine day to follow we went ahead. When we arrived at Dog Field it was partly sunny with a cool breeze blowing. The girls were very excited to be back at dog field and had the whole place to themselves for two hours. I took one ball and Shin bought another there for Dixie but soon found that no matter how many balls we have Jazz always ends up with them all! She is obsessed with balls and could retreive them endlessly. While we were there the clouds cleared from Fuji- san to allow us to see how much snow still covers this majestic volcano. It was nice to be out in the countryside and breath some fresher air than Tokyo air.

At School, Pink Snow and Pottery

I haven't had time to post this week so this is three posts in one! Firstly Jazz and Dixie had a great time at school on Thursday with their great pup pal Ingo. I wonder what happened in the last two photos as all the four dogs were looking away and in the next shot all of them were looking directly at the camera.
Although the simple 5 petal cherry blossoms are gone, the double and late flowering varieties continue to bloom and are only starting to lose their petals in the strong winds we have been having. I only had my mobile with me but I wanted to snap J and D sitting in the pink petal carpet.

Today was my pottery class's Ceramics Exhibition - the last one in a series that ran over ten years. I have been in my pottery class for about 4 years now but have never put any of my pieces in the exhibition as I din't think they were good enough. My sensei encouraged me to put in some pieces this year as it is the last exhibition.

A New Beagle!!

Yesterday I added a new beagle to the Beagle Shrine! It is a beautiful beagle made by Steiff and both the girls were very interested in it. I'm sure Jazz was thinking about all that plush white stuffing inside and Dixie had to be held for the photo as she was ready to run off with it!

Back to School and a Present

Jazz and Dixie returned to school today after a month off and were so happy to see all their friends. Everyone was glad to see Jazz and Dixie too.

Jazz and Dixie's beagle friend Nala's uncle gave them a little present from Zojoji (above), the main temple of the Jodo Buddist Sect in Tokyo. These little charms are called "Omamori" and are supposed to bring good luck. This one in particular is for the good health and happy life of Jazz and Dixie. Thank you.

The Beagle Bagels Are Back and a Festival

Last night all was quiet while we were watching TV and when we looked up at the girls we found that the Beagle Bagels had returned, side by side and ready to eat!

Today I went to the Kanamara fertility festival at a shrine in Kawasaki. It has become a very popular festival with tourists but originally started out in the Edo period with maidservants of the Kawasaki Inn praying for prosperous business and prevention of syphilis. Today people go there to wish for children, relationships and prosperity of grandchildren.

A Trip to the Vet

Today we had to take Jazz and Dixie to the vet for their Rabies shots. Dixie was a good girl but Jazz still freaks out a bit especially when the vet goes anywhere near her ears. To pair a bad experience with a good one we went next door to the burger shop for the best club house sandwiches in Tokyo (so far). I thought my cappucino was cute so I took a pic. The other pictures here are of Senzoku Pond which is looking quite beautiful at this time of the year. Jazz went there a few times in her younger days but Dixie has yet to go. Senzoku Pond is like a little oasis in the midst of suburbia and is where I used to live about 5 years ago.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie.

Shin snapped these shots before work on Wednesday. I know I've posted a few times about Jazz and Dixie's sun fetish but these photos are so cute I couldn't resist posting again.

The Girls in Action!

It has taken a while but I have managed to add a video clip of the girls after their afternoon walk. Most days we come home from our walks Jazz gets down and commando crawls up and down the hallway while I'm opening to door. She also does it while we are out walking and I stop to talk to someone or when she meeets children. I was very surprised the other day to see Dixie doing it too! Sorry about the quality of this vid, its a mobile phone job!