Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween to all our friends. Jazz and Dixie were their usual cooperative selves when I tried to dress them up. Jazz can tolerate it for a few moments while I bribe her with snacks but Dixie really can not! So this year Jazz is Count Jazzula and Dixie well maybe she could pass as Rupunzel?? I bought Jazz and Dixie some Halloween ccokies from Three Dogs Bakery and some new toys. Jazz carried her stuffie all the way home from the pet shop!

Last weekend Shin went to Okayama with work to entertain clients at the World Touring Car Championships. He had bought a new lens for our good camera and took many great colourfufl photos. We are taking J&D out on Sunday so we will try the new lens out on them!

Its been a while......

Its been almost two weeks since I blogged or visited our friends :( Work has been taking up a lot of my time. Anyway this weekend Shin was away in Okyama on business so I took the girls out for afternoon tea yesterday and breakfast this morning. Yesterday we went on a big walk and walked past a cafe with a little outside terrace that we have walked past many times before. There are no 'Dog OK' signs up but today I stuck my head in the door and asked if it would be ok to sit on the terrace with Jazz and Dixie and they said sure. They didn't have a dog menu or water bowls but the lady bought out some water in a small salad bowl. Their dessert menu was extensive and specialised in dessert pizzas so I chose a Mont Blanc Pizza which was quite good. It came with ice cream with made Jazz and Dixie very happy! Sorry about the mobile pics!

Yokohama

Shin came back from Paris on Saturday evening so he hired a car to drive home and to use on Sunday. On Sunday we set out for Dog Field but once we got on the motorway we realised it was a mistake because being a long weekend there was a traffic jam kilometers long! Our usual one hour trip would end up being over two hours so we decided to get off at the next exit and headed down to Yokohama instead. We parked the car and all headed down to Yamashita Koen which just happened to be hosting an international food fair. Well Jazz and Dixie were in there element with all those delicious food smells not to mention the tasty morsles they managed to score before I could get them away. Anyway Shin bought us some kebabs which we sat in the park to eat. A guy next to us put down his curry and nan to photograph it and was quite shocked when Jazz lunged for it. Obviously he doesn't know beagles! Luckily for him she didn't manage to get any. After that we took a walk down the boardwalk and on the way met a man walking a very large cat on a leash. Jazz and Dixie were very interested but not as interested as the three Sibes at the table next to the one that the cat and his owner sat down at. I was immediately reminded of our great friends at AO4, Only one red head sibe was missing! We walked along the board walk taking in the views of the marina and ending up at an October fest event which we decided to stay away from with Jazz and Dixie! All in all the weather was great and we had a nice morning in Yokohama before heading back home.

East Meets West Wedding

On the weekend we left Jazz and Dixie at Dog Inc Pet Hotel so we could fly to Shikoku and attend one of Shin's childhood friend's wedding. This is about the 5th wedding Ive attended here. Japanese weddings are generally a blend of traditional Japanese and western customs. This wedding had a traditional wedding ceremony that only the family attended where as all the others i attended had a chapel service where friends were also invited. Unfortunately it was raining on Sunday so the ceremony had to be done indoors instead of at the shrine. After that ceremony there is a reception for all guests in a big banquet hall in a hotel or wedding hall with many courses. On Sunday we made our way through 11 courses! The bride and groom don't actually eat that food or drink much of the beer or wine that is being poured for them by the guests. They spend a lot of the ceremony getting changed into different clothes and having their hair done in different styles. The more times you change the more money you have. I was so pleased to see the bride and groom in traditional kimono as most people just opt for the western wedding dress. This was the first time for me to see the wedding kimono. The cake is cut at the very beginning of the ceremony and sometimes you don't even get to eat it but at this wedding it was our dessert. Each guest also gives an envelope with money that is usually not an even number that can be divided into an equal number of notes. This money usually pays for the food and the goody bag that each guest gets. There are many things in a Japanese wedding that I am yet to understand but with time and experience I may. Anyway while we were away Jazz and Dixie were having a great time at Dog Inc and that makes me very happy to know that they are being well looked after.

A Fun Day Out

Time got away from me again as I meant to post this on Saturday when we got back from a day out with Jazz and Dixie. We hired a car and took them to Dog Field, a dog run that they have grown to love. There was a Italian Greyhound/Mini Pincher met going on when we arrived but J&D were not really interested in playing with them as a few were quite agressive and quite noisy. J&D were content to play with each other and with dad with the ball. One the way home we did something we have never done, we stopped in a huge outlet mall complex. At first we thought we'd be an hour and leave J&D in their crates to rest in the car but Dixie was whining that she wanted to get out so we took them with. We sat in the outdoor eating area to have a quick bite before having a look at some of the shops. If I wanted to look in a shop Shin held the dogs outside and vice versa. They were of course allowed to go into the pet shop! Everyone thought J&D were so cute and they got many pats and heaps of attention plus a few stray fries! They were so excited and seemed to be in their element. We spent some time chatting with other dog owners too.

Farewell to a Friend and Awards

Today at school Jazz and Dixie and other Thursday regulars said farewell to Nami, the black lab. She is moving to England so as a last farewell all her friends got together today for a photo shoot (click collage to enlarge)outside Dog Inc. Dixie was being her usual uncooperative self, moving around all over the place! Actually I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Dixie really liked Nami because whenever she meets black dogs she barks and tries to bite them!! Goodbye and Good Luck Nami.

We have been a bit slack in posting yet again but really wanted to thank our friends for the following awards. We received the first 'I love your blog' award from Stormy and Mango and the second from Gus,Louie and Callie. We love these three blogs and all the others we visit and would like to pass on the award to all our blogging friends who are yet to receive these awards.

The Smallest in the Class!

Like a lot of other dogs, the ever curious Jazz and Dixie like to counter surf or peer over things. Dixie however is sometimes just that little bit too short! Its been a while since we posted or visited but we will get some time this weekend. Things here have been a bit hectic!

Awww!

Some of the cutest pictures of Jazz and Dixie with other dogs have been taken by the lovely staff at Dog Inc. Last week I was given this adorable picture of Dixie kissing her boyfriend, Ingo.

A Brilliant Award

I have been back at school a week now and have been quite busy but when I jumped on line yesterday I found that Amber of AO4 had given us the Brilliante Weblog Award. Thank you very much for thinking of us Amber in that big thinking session you had!

The rules of the award are:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you

3) Nominate 7 other blogs

4) Add links to those blogs on your blog

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

So we nominate:

Amber Mae, Girl Girl, Harry and Cassidy, Gus,Louie and Callie, Pippa, Gus and Oliver, and Noah.

Rainy Day Fun

After seeing the weather forcast for today which predicted 100 percent chance of rain all day we were a little uncertain to go ahead and pick up the hire car. We decided we would and stay local so we took the girls to Yoyoji Park Dog Run. The big dog run was flooded so we opted for the one for small dogs between 3 and 12kgs (actually Jazz is 13kgs!! but anyway). It was pretty muddy in there but Jazz and Dixie got to run around a bit and play with a Jack Russel and another Beagle that were also braving the mud! After that we took a walk around this wonderfully green park. Before putting the girls back in the car I washed them off a bit. It was really clouding over so we thought we'd head for an indoor dog run which we couldn't find even with the help of the Navi. By now it was raining so we headed home for a bit of lunch and a nap.

In the afternoon we headed back out because it had stopped raining. This time we took Jazz and Dixie to Rinshinomori Park known as the "oasis of calm in the heart of Tokyo" , with many tall majestic trees, some of which are rarely seen in other metropolitan parks. The park started its life as an experimental nursery, established in 1900 by the Agriculture Agency but was later donated to the Tokyo Parks Department and was opened to the public in 1989. It really was beautiful to see such huge trees and very dense vegitation right here in Tokyo. We came across a few sign boards telling us about all the species of bird, insect and reptile that lived in the park as well as the usual 'dog manner' signs. Jazz and Dixie also met some of the local park stray cats which weren't at all bothered by Jazz and Dixie's presence! Then it started to pour with rain so we dashed to a nearby foot bridge and sat out the worst of it before heading back to the car. When the thunder started Dixie was even more anxious to get back while Jazz moped along at having to be out in the rain! Anyway between the down pours we managed to have a good day out and about right here in Tokyo.

Beijing Olympics

Last weekend while the girls and I were out trying new restaurants, Shin was in Beijing to attend the Olympic Closing Ceremony. He said it was a great experience and snapped many photos. Coming home his flight was delayed two hours and his baggage was missing! When it was delivered two days later Jazz did the customs dog act and checked out every inch of the bag!