Saturday October 18th~

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door...

 Yesterday was Music Walk.  Downtown 

Fort Myers was alive with the sound of music.

It sure feels good to be back home.  We have 

missed it.  Not to disappoint, Jesus was there as

 usual.  He cracks me up. A miracle that "Jesus" has

 not been knocked down/beat up by bystanders.

Our first stop of course was Hideaway Bar and Grill. 

 It sure felt good to be back.  We also saw many familiar 

faces.  Temperature wise it was a perfect evening.

The music was very good.  A lot of good artists were 

there last night.  There was a blues band that came

 all the way from Portugal.  Very good music.

It was a very interesting evening as far as people 

watching goes.  So much to see, but my favorite for the 

night was the lady dressed as the flag of the USA.

No matter where you go, ones used to seeing people

 with their pets/doggies, but this was the first time I saw 

someone bring a towel so that their doggie did not have 

to sit on the pavement; and it was a cool evening so the

 pavement was not hot.  Totally pampered cutie doggie.

Downtown was packed, bursting with life.  We loved it. 

 Also two new restaurants opened up while we were gone.  

Looking forward to trying out their food one of these days.

The night would not have been complete without a 

slice of our favorite pizza.  Downtown House of Pizza 

(DHOP), it sure was good.  We sure missed it.

Soccer was on a break for a couple of weeks,

 but back in full force as of today.  Arvid definitely 

is happy about this. A good day to all.

Happiness is not something ready made. 

It comes from your own actions...

~Nadiya~

Friday October 17th~

The happiness of your life depends

 upon the quality of your thoughts...

 Back to the drill here at home in 

Florida. Doctors appointments all week

 long and continues into next week. 

Yesterday started with an Xray of my

 knee followed d by a visit to my Orthopedic

 surgeon. As the doctor said, “not good.” 

 Instead of getting better my knee has

 gotten worse.  I have been in terrible pain

 the last 2 months.  More than ever. 

 Seems like I lost all the cushioning between

 the knee joints (not a usual thing) and now when 

I walk it’s bone grinding against bone.  It really hurts. 

 I started out at 7am from home and was not done 

until 12 noon.  Patience is not a virtue of mine.

That being said I got home and Arvid and I still

 walked downtown.  We went to Ichiban for lunch.

  Yes, it hurt but I have to do a little something.  

Our girl was happy to see us. Gave 

us big hugs and we caught up with what

 happened during the summer.  Her summer

 and our summer. Was a very nice time.

As always the meal was delicious. Arvid

 just can’t resist having his Kirin Ichiban beer. 

For me water with lemon. It was hot but not a 

sweltering heat and the humidity was low.

The fate of my knee is undecided as of 

right now. I need another MRI next week 

to figure out the extent of the damage. 

Otherwise all is good. Today I go to 

the Latin store to pick up some products

 I need for cooking, hopefully guavas, 

red snapper, Arvid's favorite, plantain 

chips, and some other goodies.  

Sniff is doing great here at home. It’s as if

 he was never gone. Back to his spots without

 hesitation.  Friday, back in Branson it was

the boys night out, but tonight Arvid

 and I will be heading downtown.

To all a very good day and may 

the weekend ahead be a great one.

Do and act on what you believe

 to be right, and you'll wake up the next 

morning feeling good about yourself...

~Nadiya~

Thursday October 16th~

 Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, 
we get stronger and more resilient...

Yesterday we went to the house.  Of course we 

also had to freshen it up and make it ready to be lived in. 

When you're gone for months there is lots of "touch up" 

cleaning than needs to be done.  We spent a few hours 

at the house, but left satisfied with the outcome.

The drive to the house is always very pleasant.

Arvid and I must be very weird because as soon as

 we are back in Florida, specifically in our condo, we 

are cold.  It's not as if we keep the temperature very 

low.  During the day the AC is set at 76F (24.4C) and 

at nights it's set at 74F (23.3C), even so we are cold.

In Branson we were warm even though we had 

the same temperature settings.  There we didn't use

 a blanket at nights, here in Florida we do.  

In Branson Arvid went around in short sleeves,

 here in long sleeves.  I always wore tank tops at

 home in Branson, but in Florida I find myself 

wearing a light sweaters at home.  I'm cold.

Sniff of course is back to being on his 

heating bed, but in all fairness Sniff loves 

warm linens/bed no matter where he is.

When we got home, I did an early morning trip to 

our Publix (grocery store) while Arvid slept.  It's less

 than a five minute walk from us.  Even their parking 

lot is lined with Palm Trees.  I love it.  It's Florida.

We have a busy day today.  Each of us having 

a few things to take care of.  Wishing everyone a 

good day.  Is it strange that I am missing Branson? 

 The birds, squirrels and of course Charley?

The past is a lesson, not a life sentence...

~Nadiya~

October 15th~ Back Home in Florida

Florida, some call it a vacation… I call it home...

 We are once again back home in Florida.  Happy 

as can be. I like Branson, but home is Florida.

I have missed our downtown, and I have missed our palm trees.

Sniff is back to being on his favorite spots.  

In Branson he also has many.  I know he will be

 missing the birds and squirrels.  So will I.  I also will

 miss Charley the grey kitty, and Oliver, but they 

both have good homes so that makes it good.

A good day to all.  Lots of cleaning to do,

 even though we leave everything clean, it needs

 a little freshening up.  Yesterday was exhausting for 

both of us.  Arvid and I always want to do just about

 everything in one day, more like in a few hours😭

Palm trees, ocean breeze, salty air, sun-kissed

 hair, endless summer—that's Florida...

~Nadiya~

End of Summer in Branson 2025~ Hello Florida 🌴

I can only live one moment at 

a time, but if I am present in each 

moment, each moment is mine...

Sniff's last day for the summer was 

relaxing until it wasn't.  He saw the carrier.

 Summer 2025 in Branson has to an end.  This

 is the first year we have lived in our latest purchase

 aka condo in Branson. Even though small, Arvid, Sniff

and I enjoyed it and look forward to our next time.

This is the first time Sniff has ever encountered 

steps.  The first couple of days he did not dare to

try them.  Then he did, but he was so wobbly.  Hardly

 knew how to maneuver them. Today he is an expert

at it, and just zip up and down in a flash. The steps

 helped him lose some weight.  Didn't help me😂

We met some very nice people in our "new" neighborhood,

 and even went to Karaoke a few times.  The people are nice, 

but Karaoke is not our thing.  Of the many people we met we,

 mainly Arvid formed a close friendship with two.  One being

 Roger and the other Russell.  I know Roger and Arvid will miss

 their Friday evening time.  Roger definitely will.  I like Roger.

This summer in Branson was extremely hot.  Not

 exactly what we would usually have.  July definitely 

is not the time to be here.  Nor in Florida.  That means 

July is Norway.  That's what we would usually do, but this 

year plans did not go according to what we hoped for.

Thank goodness for Andy's Custard.  Cooled us off.

As I have always mentioned, in Branson we have a

 few good friends.  Arvid and I have met with them and

 enjoyed some good times.  We also made new friends. 

 Arvid had a Friday group, aka, the boys. I know

 he will miss them as they will him. Life.

I also made a few friends in our building.  I talk 

to everyone so it is always an easy task. One of the 

the best things of this summer was Oliver.  I really 

took to him, and it broke my heart when I could

 not find him on the morning of August 20th.  

The most horrible thoughts went through my 

mind. Thankfully, my thoughts were incorrect.

  Oliver was taken by our maintenance man, and

 he now has a forever home.  There is something 

about Oliver that really touched my heart💙

This summer has been pretty busy for us, for me.  

I went to NC in June for my mom's open heart

 surgery.  In August I visited Reshma, Torin and 

Apollo in Seattle, WA.  What a great time it was.

Arvid and I also went to a few concerts. 

 One in Colombia, MO and one in Saint Louis, 

MO plus a few right here in Branson. 

 We also saw a couple of shows here in Branson and

 we took time to go to Chicago.  In between all of that

 we also went back to Florida in July for a few weeks. 

Some of my best times was just watching the birds 

and the squirrels.  Feeding Oliver and Charley early

 in the mornings.  I will miss these simple things.  They

 brought me a lot of joy and peace during our stay.

We enjoyed dining at many of our favorite places, 

and we also discovered a few additional places.

Needless to say, Sniff had a great summer in Branson also. 

 He watched the birds, the squirrels at times also he saw the

 Canadian geese flying high above him.  He enjoyed lots of

 sunshine and lost weight by running up and down the stairs.

Arvid and I are grateful for the time we 

had here this summer in Branson.  We enjoyed good 

food.  Good friends and a lot of yummy drinks.  

There is so much to be grateful for.  We may 

not have everything we want, but we have

 everything we need, best of all we are home. 

The strange thing though, as we were leaving

 Branson yesterday we both looked at each other

 and said how sad it was to leave.  We made some 

very nice friends this year.  Made us a little sad.  Sniff

 is back to his rhythm.  Already on his heating bed.

Home is any four walls 

that enclose the right person...

~Nadiya~

Time to say Goodbye~

Memories even bittersweet

 ones, are better than nothing...

 I have been fortunate these last few days to

 see and be able to feed Charley. Usually she just

 takes off and if I don’t catch her at a specific

 time she’s gone.  I’m already missing her. 

 I said my goodbyes to the neighbors and to friends.

 It was a little sad to say the least. My birdies and squirrels

 have enough food for a long time.  I have scattered a lot

 of food in several places for them.  I even left a

lot of goodies for our Gerald/groundhog

I look forward to going home, but I am also a little sad. 

 Summer in Branson was good and I’m happy to have 

made some more friends.  The day gave us one of the 

most beautiful sunrises, and we've had many. 

I feel extremely lucky, extremely 

grateful, and a little bittersweet, too...

~Nadiya~