Wednesday July 22nd~

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet...

 Yesterday was a very relaxing day. Woke

 up relaxed, fed the outdoor kitties. Took care 

of Sniff and then did some cleaning.

Went over to mom and dads and decided to

 take Thai food with me for our lunch.  I love Thai 

food and there is a place just seven minutes from

 us. This is my second time going there since 

Arvid is  not home.  Pretty good I must say.

It was a very warm day. Thankfully no

 thunderstorms nor rain. We still need a

 lotta rain to end the drought we are in.

Another bit from my Vancouver outing. One

 day we went to Grouse Mountain. There we rode 

the cable cars.  We went on a trail looking for

 bears. Sadly we did not see any, but some of the

 new friends we made did.  This couple from New 

Zealand had taken beautiful pictures of them.

Of all days this was the coldest. The weather 

in Vancouver was beautiful.  Always sunshine 

and blue skies. Except on this day. Didn’t matter,

 we were having a good time.  There were food

 trucks all over the mountain and we did enjoy 

a few hot chocolates and nibbles. Best times.

One of the things I really enjoyed was 

how we always took time for a little pick me

 up coffee break.  Sounds silly but it was nice to 

stop in the middle of all the hecticness and just 

sit, have cafe lattes, a cappuccino and just relax.  

Simple but one of the things I loved.  Arvid 

never sees the point of just sitting and enjoying 

coffee or a pastry. It’s just not his thing.  Once he 

has his meal for the day, he’s done with food.

  With my girlfriends we tried so many different.

 things. Didn’t matter if we had already eaten.  It was just 

so good.  I loved it. I loved all the coffee shops we went to. 

I loved all the pastries we samples. It was delicious.  

A few extra pounds, but who is counting?  Not I.

It's a beautiful day here in Fort Myers.  Gotta

do something.  Wishing everyone a good day.

All is well with us.  All kitties happy and fed.

At the end of the day, let there be 

no excuses, no explanations, no regrets...

~Nadiya~

Tuesday July 21st~

Friendship is born at that moment

 when one person says to another, 'What! 

You too? I thought I was the only one...

 Yesterday I was super busy, plus I am also

still so very tired.  I have never felt this way

 before.  Not this tired. Even so, I went to feed

 the kitties both in the morning and afternoon. The

 baby kitties come out in the mornings, and if I am

 lucky so does Legacy.  In the afternoons, that's my

 usual time for Legacy.  I do stop by the babies just

 to leave clean water and more dry food as well.

I had so many things to do, and i between there 

was cleaning.  At some point I took a little time 

for me and had a mani-pedi.  Felt good to just

 sit and do nothing.  Just getting pampered.

Sniff follows me everywhere.  More than ever. 

 Making sure I am not taking off again.  So cute.  He 

sleeps really close to me at nights,; to the point where 

I do not have any sheet to cover with.  Now I understand 

how Arvid feels when he says I pull everything.

Today I will tell you about our experience whale 

watching.  My friends and I were looking forward to 

this for a very long time.  Did not disappoint.

We saw many humpback whales and Orcas.  

I never actually got a good picture they were way too 

fast as they jumped out of the water.  Our tour guide

 did take pictures of our tour and share it with us.

Another very busy day awaits me.  As always I

 enjoy my quiet mornings and my coffee time with

 Sniff, my thoughts and me.  Always very peaceful.

To all a very good day.  Tomorrow I will tell you

 about another tour we took in Vancouver.  Everyone 

was amazing and we have made forever beautiful

 memories.  Hopefully we continue to do so.

No matter how far you travel, the

 sweet relief of returning never changes...

~Nadiya~

Monday July 20th~

Canada, capturing the nation's diverse 

landscapes, welcoming spirit, and cultural identity. 

 Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual 

curiosity, and never stop learning...

 As the new week begins I am still very tired.

  Usually after a trip I am tired a bit, but this time I am 

more than just a little tired. In many ways it is good

 Arvid is not around right now because yesterday 

I slept most of the day.  Had he been here, 

that would not have been possible.

My trip began in Fort Myers to Houston to 

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  The return

 took me to Denver, Colorado then back home to

 Fort Myers.  Delays were a given.  One of my

 girlfriends did not make it out of Canada until 

the day after.  Nightmare.  This is when you hate 

travelling all over again.  Until the next trip.

Our Canada trip has come to an end.  As always

 when my girlfriends and I take a little getaway

 trip we try to see just about everything possible 

even if it kills us. This trip was no exception.

On day one we all arrived at different times.  

We waited for the last person to arrive at the

 Fairmont Hotel at Vancouver airport. We had 

something g to eat and of course yummy drinks. 

It was so good to catch up with everyone. 

Always when we get together it seems like time 

stands still. Such a good time. I love this time we share

 and I really hope we can do it more often.  There is 

another meetup planned for October and this time 

everyone will be meeting in Florida.  Depending 

on where we are I would love to also make it.

Aside from our common ground, NYC EMS, 

we have also discovered so much more. All our lives 

are so different, yet somehow we all for those few 

days just relax and enjoy each others  company.

Our days were so full  it always began early 

in the mornings.  Packed with fun filled activities,

 restaurants and a a pub in between.  No rest.

Afternoon coffee at the waterfront, more 

exploring, and once exhausted we would go back 

to the Airbnb and have wine until the wee hours 

of the morning  needless to say we were always

 exhausted.  The good thing is I developed a 

taste for one of the many wines that

 was bought.  Was really good.

Before we began our daily adventures I would 

get up very early and find a nice little cafe for 

coffee and breakfast. Yes I could have it in

 the Airbnb, but what’s the fun that? Lorraine 

and I always like to get out in the mornings.

Being on my own gives me more leeway loved 

every moment.  Arvid never wants to go out for coffee

 nor breakfast.  The other girls did not want always to 

do that, but I was ok with that because I had my 

own time to just enjoy an hour or so before the

 day got busy.  I really enjoyed this trip.

Vancouver is a beautiful city  lucky for us we 

stayed in an almost perfect location  we had water

 views from all corners of the apartment it was 

stunning.  What a view we had for those days.

I remember opening the door to our Airbnb.  It took

 our breaths away.  What a great vacation we had.

The morning views  the night views  all of 

it was breathtaking.  We were close to so many 

gorgeous places one being Vancouver Lookout,

 Canada Place and so many more  it was a great 

time, but it was also good to get back home.  

All four of us have fur babies, and some have 

children, but the ones that were missed were 

our fur babies.  No one talked much about their 

kids but we all talked about our pets and shared 

our pictures.  I love talking about my Sniff.

So much we did, but I think the whale watching will

 go down as a favorite  especially since we saw so many

 Orcas  it was not easy to get the pictures, even though

 I tried  they were too fast  the tour guides did take 

professional pictures of our tour and shared them 

with us.  More about Vancouver another day.

My flight back to Fort Myers from Vancouver had

 a stopover in Denver, Colorado.  I sure made the most

 of that stop, but my favorite stop was/is the one that 

brings me home to Sniff.  I missed him so much.  

The unthankful heart discovers no

 mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in 

every hour, some heavenly blessings...

~Nadiya~

Saturday July 18th~

Beauty does not reserve itself for

 special elite moments or instances; it does

 not wait for perfection but is present

 already secretly in everything...

 Everywhere I go, I find beauty and something 

good to always carry with me.  I love to travel, but 

only on short trips.  My most favorite times.  Unless 

of course there at times when one stays a little 

 longer in a certain place because that place 

is where the ones you love are.

That being said after all the journeys, all the 

destinations my most favorite place of all is being

 home with Sniff and Arvid.  I have been away for 

some days now from Sniff.  I sure miss that little 

rascal and can't wait to see him.  Don't want to think 

of having to leave him for weeks soon.  For now I 

am happy that soon I will see my Sniff Sniff.

I had been told that the training 

procedure with cats was difficult. It’s not. 

Mine had me trained in two days...

~Nadiya~

Friday July 17th~

People come into your lives who you

 have a good time with, and time goes by 

and you still have a good time with them...

 Today we have an open day, even though we do

 have a few ideas as to what we want to do. No time to

 make a long blog post because we are busy having fun.  

Stay tune for more Vancouver adventures once I return

 home and am able to sit peacefully by my laptop and

 go over all the pictures.  For now it's just four girls

 having a great time without a care in the world.

While we enjoy discovering Vancouver 

during the day, we also enjoy the nightlife. 

 To all a very good day. Make it amazing.

If you're not having fun, 

you're doing something wrong...

~Nadiya~

Thursday July 16th~

 Every encounter will leave you

 in awe of the ocean's beauty...

With the new day comes a new adventure we 

have not done before.  Neither one of us four girls 

have ever gone whale watching.  Today we do.

Once whale watching was in the picture it was 

a fast yes from all four of us.  Hopefully today we

 see Orca.  Hopefully we don't get eaten by Orca.

I can't wait to see what the day hold and

 fingers crossed we get to see a few whales.

Whale watching in Vancouver runs primarily 

from April through October, with peak season 

spanning June to September when orcas, humpback

 whales, and minke whales actively feed in the Salish 

Sea. Tours usually last 3 to 5 hours and depart from 

Downtown Vancouver.Let the good times roll.

We share this planet with magnificent beings 

and  the greatest minds on earth live in the seas...

~Nadiya~

Wednesday July 15th~

 The world is filled with adventure.
  All you have to do is find it...

We all made it to Vancouver, British Columbia.  What 

a diverse group we are.  Jennifer is part Irish, Nancy is part 

German, Lorraine is part Italian and I amd of course Indian

 and part Chinese.  You would think we won't get along

 great, but we do.  Something that connects us all is our time 

working with New York City EMS.  That in itself was the 

best adventure of my time in New York.  Loved every 

minute and the friends I made remain close to my heart.

From our trio to San Francisco we realized

 that when we do the Hop on Hop Off on the first

 day we get a better idea of where we want to go back 

and explore some more.  Today we begin with

 the hop on hop off and see where it goes.

I love these trip with just the girls.  Don't understand

 why it took me so long to realize how much fun it

 is.  To all a very good day.  Can't wait to see what 

the day hold for us.  Whatever it is, I'm ready.

May your adventures bring you closer together,

 even as they take you far from home...

~Nadiya~

Vancouver, British Columbia July 14th~

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all...

 What an adventure awaits us.  Not only do

 we get to see a new place, at least for me and I 

believe the same for my girlfriends.  Best part we 

get to spend almost five days together doing what 

we want.  How does it get any better than this?

Two of my girlfriends depart today as well 

from New York City, the third one just moved to 

Florida so she goes back and forth.  Nancy and I 

leave from Florida, different airports.  Our group 

chat has been crazy.  So many things we want to 

see and do.  Just have to wait and see. How lucky 

we are to soon  experience  A Little of Vancouver

Vancouver, a bustling west coast seaport in 

British Columbia, is among Canada’s densest, 

most ethnically diverse cities. A popular filming 

location, it’s surrounded by mountains, and also

 has thriving art, theatre and music scenes. 

 Stanley Park where we will be staying, is a 

world-renowned 1,000-acre green oasis bordering 

downtown Vancouver. Visitors highly rate the destination 

for its spectacular 8.8-km Stanley Park Seawall perfect for 

biking and walking, majestic old-growth trees, indigenous 

Totem Poles, and panoramic mountain and city views.

  Just so you know, I don't see me hiking.  Not like 

we did in San Francisco.  I LOve San Francisco.

I love short trips.  My Sniff is not home alone for

 too long.  Once gets to see and do more is a short trip 

sometimes when compared to an extended trip.  I'm

 loving it.  Can't wait for our adventure to begin

Vancouver, where the mountains 

are high and the clouds are low....

~Nadiya~

Monday July 13th~

 Each new day is a blank page in the diary of

 your life. The secret of success is in turning that 

diary into the best story you possibly can...

Yesterday I took my parents out to dinner.  After all

 it was Sunday and I still enjoy my Sunday outings.

  We went to a Cuban restaurant.  One of their favorites. 

 I gotta tell you the drinks are amazing.  It takes me 

back to when Arvid and I lived in Puerto Rico.

I have a busy week ahead.  A very good 

busy.Lots to do today to prepare for the week 

ahead.  The food at Gandules Grill is so very

good.  We each always get the same thing.

My days are quiet and calm.  I do enjoy it,

 but at times I miss Arvid's laughter, his voice 

and his unique sense of humor.  When I talked 

to him yesterday he again sounded so lonely. 

 Said he really misses me.  Made me sad.

Sniff  and I are doing good.  I am enjoying

doing a few things on my own, and that makes 

me happy as well.  Obviously I do enjoy it 

much more when Arvid and I are together, 

but for now I am grateful for this time.

Wishing everyone a great week ahead.

  Make it count and always remember to do 

something that makes your soul happy.

The joy of life comes from our encounters with

 new experiences, and hence there is no greater 

joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon,

 for each day to have a new and different sun...

~Nadiya~