Life ~

You have to fight through some bad 

days to earn the best days of your life...

These babies live in California.  Their mama is my best friend Anna,

Her Taino is 17 years young as she says.  His birthday was October 1st.  Anna

has 2 other kitties as you can see, but her Taino is her heart and her baby.

Taino is slowing down a bit, his mama is worried.

He is after all her baby, and her baby is 17 years old.

My week has started with a bang.  Guess it will be
another week that will fly by before we know.
Difficult days and decisions lay ahead.

We woke up to very cold temperatures this morning in Branson.

Anna.  Remember hope is the only thing stronger than fear.
 We love you!  I know these are difficult days you face. Wish I was there
 with you, but know that my thoughts and prayers are with you

Baby it's cold outside...

~Nadiya~

New Week Again ~

Be grateful for all you have,

but never settle for less than you can be...

On any given Sunday you can find us relaxing and enjoying ourselves at The Landings.  

Be it for a good meal or just browsing around, there is something for everyone.

Arvid never gets tired of checking out the cars.  He always buys

 the raffle tickets, so far we have not had any luck, but you never know 

what can happen.  It already tagged with Florida plates. 

 Would be sweet to win it and drive it home.

The Branson Fountain at sunset is always a favorite with me.  No matter 

how often we go there I always have to take pictures of it.  Always a beautiful sight.

The next few days we will be waking up to very cold temperatures.

Good thing is that as the day progresses it will get warmer and 

the sun will be shining. Could not be any better.  Loving it!

Sniff Sniff never wastes a chance to catch the rays.  He can fall asleep in the 

blink of the eye in just about any spot.  But his favorite is always to be as 

close as possible to me.  As soon as I sit Sniff makes himself comfy, 

closes his eyes and is once again in dreamy land.

Good morning everyone.  May this be the start of a great new week.

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. 

 The time will pass anyway.  Mondays are for fresh starts...

~Nadiya~

What's Your Day Like? ~

In the blink of an eye everything can  change.

So forgive often and love with all your heart.  You may 

never know when you may not have that chance again...

Most weeks fly by but somehow this week seemed to have dragged on and on. 

 Guess it did not help with both of us not feeling our best.  We are both 

better now and in "good"  shape again.  Earlier in the week we had freezing 

weather, then heat wave.  Today back to cooler temperatures.  Love it.

This morning I spoke to my sister in Puerto Rico.  Once again she is 

without power.  Like most of the island.  That she deals with.  Not easy

 but you do the best you can under the circumstances.  But then 

she told me that there is no food.  She has not eaten a hot 

meal in so long.  When she had power for those 

few days there was no food in the grocery stores.  

This morning she made the lines at a grocery store for a few hours. 

 When she finally got in the shelves were empty.  How do you 

deal with the fact that someone you love has nothing to eat?

Here we take it for granted we will eat.  We have many favorite spots
 and all we have to do is choose a place and there we are.  Food is served.
 Nirvana, now is just happy to have a can of cold soup, some crackers.  She told
me today, "even if I did not like it before, if I can get some I will eat it."

If anyone knows of a way I can get supplies to my sister, please let me know.
You know my email address.  Best way to contact me.  My brother in law is an executive
 in J&J and the company is going to help them getting some supplies to their families.

Nirvana falls in this category.  Hopefully some of the supplies Nina and David
 will be sending will get to her.  Simple things, soap, batteries for the lamp.
She lives in darkness.  Yes most of the island does, but this is my sister
and right now my concern is HER!!!  She has water.

Lucky her at least she gets to take cold showers.  Yes we take for granted
 so much.   What we take for granted someone else is praying for.

Be grateful for another day.  Not everybody made it, so don't take it for granted.
It could all be gone tomorrow.  Don't forget that.  What are you grateful for...

~Nadiya~

Friday 13th ~

It may be Friday the 13th, but it is still Friday

and a reason to dance.  13 is just a number...

Finally I can actually see that my hair has grown.  Usually it grows in width,

but now I can see the actual length as well.  Happy as can be.  Yesterday

when I had a haircut I almost told the girl to cut it all off.  Almost. 

We have warmed up quite a bit again.  Everyone now complaining how hot it is.

Everyone except Arvid of course.  It's a heat wave here..again without the humidity.

Here at Almost Home I am already planning our Thanksgiving gathering.  The tenants

all look forward to their turkey with all the trimming meal.  Will have it catered, but

many have already said they would like to bring something.  That's OK with me.

Friday the 13th.  Could not be a more beautiful day here in Branson.

Happy Friday the 13th.  Have a killer day.

What did Saturday the 14th say to Friday the 13th?  

I'm coming after you.  Don't make me have to go all Jason on you...

~Nadiya~

Happy Birthday Lilly ~

A wise person knows that there is something to be learned from everyone...

Yesterdays sunset.  Beautiful sight no matter where you are.

Eyeballs all ready for Halloween.

Getting all set for the weekend.

The gray skies belong to us here in Branson.  We woke up to cold temperatures.

It has already warmed up a bit, and will continue to do so.  Believe it or not

by the weekend we will be having a heat wave.  I'm enjoying this weather.

  Sunny skies belong to California.  That's Lilly Vade going to

school with her dad.  She is a happy little girl and I love her

with all my heart.  Lilly Vade is the definition of LOVE!

A niece is a little girl who grows up to be a friend...

~Nadiya~

Chilly Wednesday Begins ~

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful

Start each day happy...

We woke up to very cold temperatures.  As you can imagine Arvid is freezing. 

 I am actually chilled, but liking it.  Sniff came to the bed of course

 and was huddled close to us.  Mornings he is mainly cuddled 

up next to me.  Nighttime he is daddy's boy.

The life of cat cat.  Nothing to worry about all day long everyday.

Already had my cafe and banana for breakfast.  Time to get ready

 and go to "work"  Outside is definitely looking like fall right now.  Saving grace 

is that the sun will come out and we will warm up a bit, but like

 I mentioned, I am pretty OK with this cold right now.

To all a good day.  Stay warm.  

Bundle up and have some hot chocolate.

One small positive thought in the morning 

can change your whole day...

~Nadiya~

Cold Moving In ~

Cold never bothered me anyway...

Temperatures are dropping fast here in Branson.  The next 2 days

our lows will be in the mid to low 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  How sweet is that? 

Yes, I am happy for the cold weather right now.  Arvid not so much,

but the good thing is that it will be in the mid 70's during the days.

  At night the cold makes for good sleeping.

Hotel business is doing good.  Arvid still has the cold and a heavy voice.

He says I am the least sympathetic person he knows.  Maybe he's right.

  One of my tenants who has been here for many years came today and told me

she will be going back to Florida next month.  Of course I am happy for her,

but at the same time sad.  I have grown attached to many here. Branson

has been her home for over 20 years, so it is with mixed feelings

that she says she will be leaving us by next month.

One of the hardest moments will be when one day Arvid and I leave.

Not happening for a while, but I have grown attached to everyone here.

How lucky am I to have something

that makes saying goodbye so hard...

~Nadiya~

New Week Begins ~

I never lose.  Either I win or I learn.
Think positive and positive things will happen...

Another week has gone by.  Soon it will be a year since Arvid, Sniff

and I moved to Missouri.  We have had a dramatic change in lifestyle and

what we have learned in the last year has forever changed us. 

We have experienced more than we imagined.  The good and the not

so good. Goes hand in hand in this business, but most of all we have learnt

from the people.  Here it is not about what you have that matters, it's about 

how you share what you have.  It's about helping your neighbors. 

It's about giving and not expecting anything in return.

This has been a good week.  We had a friend visiting from Florida

and managed to spend time with him.  We showed him around and took

him to our favorite place.  Seeing Arvid and him together was good they

both miss each other very much.  One day we will be back in Florida,

and things will be "normal" again.  For now though life here is good.

We enjoyed a quiet and relaxing day at home yesterday.
Both Arvid and I were more than happy to not go out.  Having the "manflu"
definitely puts a damper on going out.  New week begins, still not feeling 100%, but
 better than Arvid right now.  He is hoarse and his voice sounds pretty dreadful.

In Vermont, Reshma, our niece went home for the weekend.  Long weekend
and all college kids go home to their parents for a little pampering.
 At least she did, and in the process they have been checking out on some
adorable golden retrievers.  Now I'm in love and I also want one.

In California, our nephew Riley celebrated his 15th birthday.  All he
wanted was to see Coldplay inn concert.  Wish was granted
and he saw them in San Diego.  Lucky kids.

Happy new week to everyone.  Today is Columbus Day.  Many have the day off,
fortunately for me the malls are still open and I think I will visit one of them.

Life is like a camera.  Focus on what's important.  Capture the good times. 
 Develop from the negatives, and if things don't work out take another shot...

~Nadiya~

Happy Sunday ~

There are many beautiful reasons to be happy...

Sunday.  Peaceful.  Quiet and relaxing.  That's what we look forward to the most.

  Arvid has the cold/flu symptoms.  Not to say anything, but I have had it 

for quite some time and I still have to do what needs to be done.  He

 walks around wrapped in a blanket and with a heavy/hoarse voice.

A beer or 2 on Friday actually seemed to help Arvid.  Better yet when

 we have a good friend with us.  Of course we had to go to our favorite wing 

place here in Branson.  Back home in Florida that's  what 

we would have done.  A little outing by the beach,

 beers for Arvid and some chicken wings.

Our day started good.  We had a little over an hour today to Skype
 with the girls.  Can't ask for a better start of this beautiful Sunday morning.
 As you can see Sniff is always part of Skype, even if he's soundly napping.
He wants to be close to us.  Beautiful and happy day to everyone.

Don't let the silly little things steal your happiness...

~Nadiya~

End Of Her Summer Here In Branson ~

A mind that is stretched by new experience

can never go back to its old dimensions...

Through the course of the last few months, Branson has seen quite a number

of international workers.  Our hotels have housed students from many countries.

  Every summer Branson has an agreement with different countries

to bring in foreign students into their work force. 

I have seen quite a few and have met even more.  I have been in contact

with one young woman from weeks before she was leaving Romania

to come to Branson. We messengered and we talked making

arrangements for her and some friends to stay at 76 Inn.

This young woman, just to use he as an example, came to Branson. 

Worked 2 jobs and in her spare time visited just about everything

worth seeing and doing.  Her job in Branson has come to

an end, but she continues to see as much as she can

in her last two weeks here in the USA.  

Her first stop has taken her to The Bellagio in Las Vegas. 

From there on as she puts it, "anything and everything is game" 

Boy I know when I was younger we did not have these opportunities. 

This young girl just barely 24 years of age has probably seen more

of the USA than most people living here in the USA.  She has visited

just about every country in Europe and she is just 24.

Today's destination takes her to Arizona.  The Grand Canyon.
She and friends are definitely in for a treat.  An amazing sight awaits them.

Back in Romania she is a software test engineer.  Summertime she

chooses a different state to visit and to work.  After she is done with work

she takes 2-3 weeks to visit as many other places here in the USA as

possible. To be young again... No matter age, opportunities are endless.

  All it takes is for us to want it enough and determination.

Life is a journey with problems to solve, lessons to learn,

but most of all experiences to enjoy...

~Nadiya~