It's been a busy start to the year but I finally got papa to help me post a blog today. He's been busy with work and has had a pretty tough month given the current economic turmoil...and it's only going to get worse.

Fortunately, there may be hope. Unlike Canada and Japan, the US has elected what appears to be a strong leader in Barrack Obama. Papa and I watched the inauguration on CNN. It was inspiring to hear a political leader with vision and charisma, someone with conviction who is committed to change. Time will tell how his presidency goes, but given who his predecessor is, things can only improve. The meatball we have leading Japan probably scores lower than a snake's belly on IQ tests and the Canadian leader has as much charisma and vision as my stuffed animal friends.

A few weeks ago, mama and papa went to visit mama's parents. It was a beautiful day and they were able to see Mount Fuji during their drive. When they got there, they went to a local temple to pray for a good year. It was packed with people but mama and papa were able to make it close to the front. It's tradition to throw money as a donation into the box near the front of the temple before saying a prayer but mama and papa didn't dare get too close to the front because some of the elderly people didn't quite have the arm to throw coins the 10 or 15 yards required to get the coins into the box. Many of the coins ended up hitting the people near the front of the crowd in the back of the head!
I love this samurai guy! His name was Hijikata Toshizou. Click on the link as his story is quite interesting...

There were a lot of food stalls. The one that papa likes best is tako-yaki.

Speaking of food, I love to sit and watch papa cook. He often "accidentally" drops food which I am quick to gobble up.

Last week, mama and papa got dessert from a pastry shop in Roppongi Hills called L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. They had the cake with espresso. I wish they would share with me :-(

Mama and papa found a new way to keep me busy and out of their hair...



Mama and papa always make fun of me when I'm sleeping. Is there something funny about how I sleep?
A few weeks ago, we went to Yoyogi park to play at the dog run. There were a bunch of Jack Russell Terriers there and so we decided to play tug-o-war with an old glove. We had about 20 spectators cheering us on along the outside of the fence. It was a fierce struggle but in the end, all the practice I get with papa playing tug-o-war paid off and I was victorious!!!



Last night, we finally watched Kung Fu Panda. What a great movie! Papa's niece recommended the movie and sent it to us from Canada. It was a lot of fun to watch and we were surprised at all the famous movie stars who voiced the characters. Papa had to re-watch parts of the movie to listen to the voices so he could see if he could recognize them! Thanks, Lexie!