Monday August 3rd

Live for moments you can't put into words...

Today I took a look back at one of our favorite 

times in North Carolina.  Arvid and I rented a boat 

and we took everyone out on a trip.  We all had a great 

time and to this day we always talk about it.  To this day

 Arvid says to me, "maybe we should do it again." 

You never know what life has in store, so maybe

 it might be the case.  The good thing is that most 

of us were there at that time in North Carolina 🦋.  

The "kids" were all so little.  Time sure flies🕥

A new week begins.  What does it hold for us? 

 Maybe more staying at home?  A definite yes to that. 

 This pandemic has gone too far.  I am tired and I 

want to go back to the way we were.  I know that 

will not be the case for a long time to come,

 but being positive never hurt anyone 😁.

The week is yours.  Own it.  The secret of getting 

ahead is getting started.  Dream big.  Work hard, stay 

focused and surround yourself with good people...

~Nadiya~

Memories ~ Sunday August 2nd

Sometimes a short walk down memory lane is

 all it takes to Appreciate where you are Today...

Today's memory lane takes me back to on of our trips

 to Memphis, Tennessee.  We have been there a few times

🎸and each time we always find something that keeps us 

wanting to come back another time.  Hopefully soon we can 

take another trip to this very magical and musical place.

Arvid is most happy when surrounded by music.

Sniff has weathered the "storm" well 😻.  A little
scared at times, but always close to us.  The little
dude is okay and that makes everything else good.

First Sunday in August.  Let's hope August
 brings us better days.  Who knows, maybe the storm
wiped out the virus.  Just wishful thinking 😂.

Sunday is looking good.  Arvid just finished his
calls and said to me, "that was a total of one hour"
 Always a good way to start his Sunday 📞😃.

When it rains it pours, but soon the sun shines again. 
 Stay positive.  Better days are on their way...

~Nadiya~

Fort Lauderdale Now ~

Wake up and smell the rain...

Tropical storm Isaias is here and absolutely

 NOTHING is happening, but that does not stop the

 newscasters from "tracking" the storm 24/7.

Maybe a little flooding is in store for us, 

but that's nothing new.  Whenever it rains here

 there is a flood.  Old news if you ask me.

A few waves, yes.  Some have even gone 

swimming out on the beach today.  Yes it has rained. 

 On and off, and also after the rain comes the sunshine

 and the rainbows.  It is after all South Florida.

And yes the palm trees are swaying back and forth. 

 It is after all a tropical storm.  Floridians have bought

 everything from the grocery stores.  Home depot is

 empty.  You would think we are preparing for a war. 

 It is the same every year at the mention of the word

 hurricane.  On the other hand think Hurricane Maria

 that came to Puerto Rico and Dorian to the Bahamas.

Hurricane, Tropical Storm whatever, it was still a 

beautiful day at the beach.  People didn't miss an opportunity 

 posing for pictures.  Life under all circumstances is good.  

It always up to us to make the most of it.  To live it.

Florida, where you make a big deal out of

 nothing.  It's happening again.  Let's just hope

 i do not have to regret saying this.

We live to fight another day...

~Nadiya~

Hurricane Season ~

Florida... the rules are different here...

As another day begins, we prepare ourselves for 

now hurricane Isaias.  Like I told my mom, "should 

it hit us, we will take off to another place."

Everything is in place for Sniff.  No matter what

 happens he has enough food, litter and love 

to see him through it all.  Always will 💗💚

This is Sniff's first hurricane experience in
Florida.  The last few years we were either in Branson
 or Chicago.  Right now he's calm.   A good sign that
 there is no imminent hurricane coming our way.

Living in Florida 🌴you know hurricane season 

is part of your life.  Most times it's a miss.  Unfortunately

 sometimes, like with Maria in Puerto Rico it is also deadly,

 and devastating.  Hoping for the best as always 🙏, but

 mentally always preparing for the worst.  It's called life.

Hurricane season brings a humbling reminder that despite

 all our technologies, most of nature remains unpredictable...

~Nadiya~

August 1st ~ A Brand New Month

August rain: the best of the summer gone, and 

the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time...

A little under 5 months until Christmas.  

Hello August.  Please be kind to us all.
So far 2020 has not been a great year.

Good things are going to happen  Welcome August.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, 

but their echoes are truly endless.  As a new month 

begins, why not aim to show a little more kindness

 to one and other?  Kindness costs nothing.

Life is good.  Make it beautiful.  Work for a

 cause, not applause.  Live life to express, not to 

impress.  Do not strive to make your presence

 noticed, but make your absence felt.  Hello 💋

August.  Let's make this an amazing month.

Sometime the heart has it's own rules.

It is not joy that makes us grateful.  

It is gratitude that makes us joyful...

~Nadiya~

Friday ~ July 31st

Wishful thinking is one thing and reality is another...

A trip to the Swap Shop is always a treat.  I get

 all the fruit I want and enough to last me a few extra days. 

 Happy as can be. It's the simple things that make me the

 happiest in life.  Always has and always will.

Another quiet day awaits us.  Nothing wrong with that, 

but I am sure looking forward to the day we can live life 

the way we used to.  Seems like a long long time, and

 from the way it looks, seems like it will take a long time

 before life gets back to a semblance of what it was.

Life sure has changed.  I don't know if it will ever

 be the same again, but I hope it gets better soon.  I miss 

doing the little things we used to do.  Small things we may 

have taken for granted, now seem like different life.

When you take things for granted the things
 you are granted get taken.  The things you take
 for granted someone else is praying for...

~Nadiya~

And Life Goes On ~ July 30th

Slow down, relax, take it easy, enjoy life...

San Juan, Puerto Rico — Tropical Storm Isaias 

battered Puerto Rico on Thursday morning as it continued

 on a track toward the U.S. mainland, unleashing small

😢 landslides and causing widespread flooding and 

power outages on an island still recovering from 

previous hurricanes and ongoing earthquakes.

My sister Nirvan is in Puerto Rico.  Again all alone.

 Just about a week ago Kimsy left for Connecticut.  

Due to COVID, Kimsy was home in Puerto Rico since 

March.  Yes, a weekend getaway for her turned 

into an almost 5 month stay in Puerto Rico. 

 Not that she was complaining. 

Kimsy was home with her mom and her dad in

 Puerto Rico and she got a job researching cures 

and vaccines for COVID.  Not bad at all.

Soon we will be getting soaked by tropical storm 

Isaias.  Just another summer day in paradise🌴

If you are a Floridian, you go with the flow.

Other than this not much more happening.  COVID

 continues to dominate the news, but now with tropical 

storm Isaias, who knows?  Something new in the horizon. 

 For all you know it might wipe out COVID 😁🤷

Good morning everyone.  We patiently wait to

 see what the day holds.  The highlight is takeout today, 

Sniff and to see how the new exaggerates everything. 

 Life is good and it sure is time for it to get back to a 

semblance of "normal"  We just have to wait and see. 

Hope is seeing light in spite of

 being surrounded by darkness...

~Nadiya~

Pandemic Times~😬

You are braver than you believe, and stronger
 than you seem, and smarter than you think...

Many businesses are still booming even with the 

pandemic.  Construction is still going on in the 

🏠 downtown area of Fort Lauderdale  If the
clientele is there or not, that's another story. 

 Not so long ago I read that more and more people

 wanted to move out of the downtown area and into

 the suburbs.  Why?  Because with this  pandemic most 

people have had to work from home.  A new norm now.

Many say they prefer not to be in the city because 

of the traffic, noise and other stuff.  They would rather

 buy something in the suburbs, work from home and

 enjoy peace and tranquility.  Of course not everyone 

feels that way, but many do.  To each their own.


Good morning everyone.  The helicopters are already
 hovering over our area.  Looking for another criminal
probably.  Since COVID has surged here in Fort
Lauderdale/Florida, the crime rate has escalated.

Every night on the news you hear of someone 😲
murdered in Fort Lauderdale.  Crime is not unusual
here in South Florida, but to see so much violence,
 murders close to home is something else.  Hopefully
 one day things will be better again.  Has to right?🤷

The things you can see only when you slow down...

~Nadiya~

Tuesday July 28th ~

When a new day begins dare to smile gratefully...

Arvid says every so often he has very blurry vision.

  I say he watches too much TV and stares at the TV 

screen and his laptop too much.  Whatever the reason, 

he feels that wearing sunglasses at night while 

watching TV will help with his "problem"

There are strange people, and then there is Arvid 😁

And by the way, nothing is wrong with his eye, but being 

an adult male, well that says it all.  Extremes are called for.

Sniff is taking it easy and so happy that we are 

back home.  He continues to follow Arvid around more 

than ever and hardly leaves him alone.  At nights 

Sniff is all cuddled up next to us.  Love 💓💜

Nothing spectacular planned for today, but even so, it is 

a beautiful day and I am sure we will have a good one.  

Wishing everyone a happy and safe day.  There are

 so many beautiful reasons to be happy today.

If you cannot do great things, do small things 

in a great way. Give everyday the chance to

 become the most beautiful day of you life...

~Nadiya~

Monday July 27th ~

You have to fight through some bad 

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

I thought it was bad enough being in Chicago and

 having to use our masks all the time.  In North Carolina

 at least you can come out of the house go to your car, go for

 a walk and not have to be using the mask.  Yes, you have

 to use it in all public establishments, and that was OK.

We come back home to Fort Lauderdale, and 

it seems as if in the span of 2 weeks it got even worse.  

So we do have to wear the mask as we leave our

 apartment, but we can take it off in the garage. 

 Could not do so in Chicago.  Crazy world.

The signs are all over the city now.  More than ever.

Now as we drove around a little yesterday in 

the city I have noticed more and more people are 

wearing their masks.  Seems like not everyone feels 

safer using them.  Do they help?  I don't know,

 I do know we also use them all the time.

Ordering take out, not the same now.  Everyone is

 masked up and I think many like it.  I hate it.

The "crap" we brought from Chicago is slowly 

"disappearing"  Not even sure where everything is, but

 at least it's packed away somewhere, and no we have not 

opened many of the boxes nor suitcases as yet.  Then we

 would really have a problem finding a spot for everything.

If you look 👀 really good you can see all the 

stuff scattered all around the living room and the

 bedroom.  That I will deal with today, and hopefully 

find where to put it all.  One can always hope 😉

Monday here again.  July is soon over.  

This pandemic is just getting started.  Life has 

sure changed and I am not liking it at all.  

Check out Arvid with his gloves.

It broke my heart seeing my parents and not 

being able to give them a hug.  We did it for their 

protection.  I hated, hated leaving and not hugging

 my mom and dad.  Horrible feeling😢, but we 

did it because it was the right thing to do.

Always hoping for better days to come.

There are more glorious days ahead, this 

should be your joy for today. Bad days always

 promise a better day tomorrow...

~Nadiya~