Reykjavík Fashion

Me and Bella have never been afraid to stand out of the crowd, first with our backpack and as of today we have biking shoes.

Sporty for sure and they even match our bike trailer! Bella was dancing to begin with and launched herself forward over any obstacles at home like a steeplechaser.

Once outside, she made sure to look lika an old pro, the envy of other dogs. We even overheard one woman tell her son how nice shoes "the dog" is wearing. Of course blue isn't Bella's colour (which even my fiancé pointed out) but with the trailer as the main accessories, she rocks the colour anyway.

Once we got home we had to admit that we were a little tired, especially Bella, after biking to baby Magnus's daycare and back home. It has also been really super hot this past week and the owner is overdue on stripping the overcoat to sport a summier look.

Yay! Backyard agility with homemade equipment!

Bella wasn't really feeling the agility vibe after our biking but once I had completed a pair of jumps she decided to show that annoyingly silent and overly obedient border collie who was watching from above how we rock agility as well. Nevermind the owner's crouching position, I was being overly leading into the jump. It's a terrible habit! In my defence I have never let her loose in our backyard before and Bella was rather lazy so I had to lead her to almost all the way up to the jump before letting go.

Now our backyard arsenal consists of weave poles, a tunnel and four jumps. This is so much less distracting than going to agility class, I love agility but the stress level it puts Bella at is so enormous that neither of us truly enjoys going... yet.

Longer days

Summer finally arrived after this long cold winter.  We are already enjoying it, staying out on our lawn or going on the bike. I often ask myself why I still live in this cold and windy country but I really love summer in Iceland. Well, at least on those days when it's not rainy and windy.

I have been rather busy lately, a week long vacation, then my fiancé left me and Bella for two weeks. Now things are gearing up for the long summer days and at the end of this week I stop working office hours and return to working shifts again. I'm going back to the steering wheel for the summer. It's nice trade, a bit of a change while I wait to go on my vacation.

Still Alive...

It's well past midnight and before going to sleep I just wanted to do something completely trivial and finally post something on this blog.

I have spent the last 11 days or so writing over 30.000 words on top of my fulltime job. My wrist and fingers are incredibly sore but it is finished now and I am going to try and never write with such a steep deadline again.

Tomorrow, Bella and family time. Ah, I am going to enjoy that. A bottle of sparkling wine as well.

A Quiet Moment

After Eight Years

I've been feeling heartsick lately, especially after returning from my holiday since a big decision awaited me. It has taken me over two months to bring myself to make this decision, hoping I might find other options. Most recently things have happened that render other options impossible.

That's why today I finalized the arrangements and my horse will be put down next Tuesday.

The final straw was that he collapsed from under his own weight on Easter Sunday. My friend was there and she said she has never seen anything like it. He was running in a paddock when he crashed really badly, so badly that he lay flat on his side after the fall. Whatever has been causing him to stumble in perfect condition is just getting worse, he stumbles some every time I exercise him. Stumbles in good conditions with only his own weight to carry.

My horse, whose name is Nökkvi, is the first and only horse I have had the pleasure to own. I have gone through so much of my life with him. It has, in fact, been my entire adult life. He has taught me so much about responsibility, persistence, training, companionship and not to mention my own personality.

However, I think he hasn't been well for a long time. The stumbling has been persistent for a few years now with no solution despite my attempts to find a cause. Now he seems to be detoriorating something awful. He's not safe to ride anymore and if he gets any worse I fear he may be a danger to himself. He already seems to be.

I don't really know how or what I'm feeling exactly beneath the numbness. I think this is the best I can do for now:

:(

Return From Frisbee Heaven

Me and Bella are baaaaack to civilization and high speed internet! We spent a week in the country where there was no tv and what was even worse, in the area we were staying dogs were strictly forbidden. Woops! Not the best thing to discover the day we arrive.

So we smuggled our good selves in and out of the house and to areas that allowed dogs. Yet another example of strange dog prejudice in Iceland, where the mentaility is that it's best to ban things just in case.

Anyway, we found a fabulous spot near a lake where we could frisbee lots and lots. Bella loves frisbeeing and she's getting really good at it. Her one eye doesn't seem to bother her frisbeeing.

She's getting very accurate in predicting the direction and taking a direct route even if the disc is going in a curved manner.

BEWARE: BRAKE TEST!!!

Bella always takes the frisbee back to me no matter who has treats.

Sometimes it's a bit hard running full speed with a terrier sized frisbee.

That's why a clever little dog improvises.

Much easier this way!

She's even so clever that she found a way to get a treat and still keep the frisbee claimed as hers!

A clever little terrier like Bella doesn't take long to figure out that she can steal frisbees from others to hoard and then run off like the wind!

I think this has to be one of the most awesome holidays I've been on. It did snow for one day out of seven but it didn't matter, we all had so much fun as a family. Frisbeeing was just one of the many great things we did. Bella was a really happy dog, even if she was an illegal immigrant in the area! She did a great job of being there without being there! I don't believe I've ever cleaned any place I've stayed at as well as this house. Maybe me and Bella should move to a more dog friendly country someday. I believe Iceland must rank lowest of the western countries when it comes to a friendly dog culture.

Until then, we will enjoy being able to frisbee in areas outside the city we call home.

Freedom

Today brought more action, we went fishing, did some tracking (proving to my fiancé she can do it) and played frisbee. We also met a Vizsla that Bella thought appropriate to bark at. Bella also ran into water a little deeper than she expected.

Unfortunately I need to be picky with photos as I'm on expensive 3G internet during my holidays and can't upload much.

I'm really enjoying the photo opportunities I've had so far. Bella still seems a little sore in one leg since one week ago, I am pretty sure she's limping a little after we go out but it's barely enough to notice. However if it persists I am going to have a vet look at it.
One thing I wonder if I should have some shoes for her in case she does get sore. I have no experience with such things though so if any of our doggy friends know something me and Bella would appreciate any advise or recommendations. Same with what's best to do if she does get sore.