Awake ~

I can get a call at 2 A.M., and the person on the other end is like:
 'Sorry, did I wake you?' and I'm like: 'No, I'm wide awake.'...

I'm awake, but at the same time I know I should 

still be in bed.  Asleep like Arvid.  Sniff woke up and stayed

 with me for an hour, but finally he gave in and went back 

to sleep with his dada.  Exactly what I hope to do.

Little too early to have coffee, but what the heck. 

 Already had a cup and I think I will soon be ready

 for bed again.  Busy day here again today.  

March has gone by so very fast.   Strange month. 

The first couple of weeks it was just beautiful, but the 

last 2 weeks it was wet, windy and fairly unpredictable.  Even 

so, it was always warm.  We have had quite some rain in 

the last few days. I like rain.  Made everything clean.

Life with Sniff is very good, but I will be honest, I miss our 

Brutus so very much.  Every place we have moved to, Brutus 

has a special section.  In Arvid's office there are tons of pictures

 of Brutus.  There is also a spot where Shadow loved to sit.

In our apartment here in Florida and the one in Chicago,

 Brutus is the first picture that was hung and the first you 

will see as you enter.  He will always have a special place 

in our hearts.  The other day Arvid said to me, "I think 

of Brutus very often."  I also think of him very much.

I wish we would have had more than 9 years with Brutus, 

but I am so grateful for the time we had.  I hope Sniff is with

 us for years and years to come.  He is just the most loving kitty.

Good morning all.  I think I will try to get some more sleep.

I am the biggest enemy of my own sleep. On the 
nights I can’t sleep, like that one, like so many recently,
 I wish I could just turn my mind off like a lamp...

~Nadiya~

Feeling Good ~

I really live a simple life and don't need very much to feel

good and happy. Don't get me wrong; I believe you should get 

what you earn. Sometimes you have to fight for it...

Home again.  Busy again.  Happy as can be.  Best

 of all the 3 of us are together again.  Sniff was super 

happy when we got home as were we.  I really

 do not like leaving him for so long.  

It's just not right.  I just don't want to think of leaving 

him all alone for 3 weeks this summer.  Breaks

my heart.  Same as when we left Brutus.

Back in Florida life is busy.  In Chicago we took it easy, 

and just relaxed and for a change it was a vacation.  

Yes, we did do work in the apartment, but most

 of the time we walked around the city.

Good morning all.  A brand new day awaits us. 

Let's make the most of it.  Happy Thursday all.

You will never get everything in life but you

 will get enough.  Hard work makes you feel good 

because you have accomplished something...

~Nadiya-

Back Home~

There is no place like home...

Finally we are back home, and we couldn't be happier.  There

 is no place like home. We have had some very good times with family. 

 No questions about that.  Memories made that will last a lifetime.  

As always time spent with family is never wasted.

That being said, I could not wait to leave Norway.  It is definitely not 

my cuppa tea.  For me being in Norway is similar to being in limbo.  

Yes, that's how boring I find it.  This is definitely not an accurate 

description if you were going to Norway as a visitor.  

I am 100% certain that anyone who visits Norway will absolute fall in

 love with this beautiful country.  It is scenic beyond words.  For 2 

days I had a glimpse of that beauty.  It was just breathtaking.

So why is it I find Norway boring?  The minute we land we are 

on the run.  There is not time to even get over the jet lag before 

we start running from one place to another.  Don't get me wrong,

 family is great, but how many spend their almost 3 weeks

 every year just running from place to place?  We do.

We land exhausted and when we leave we are even more exhausted.

This summer in Norway was HOT!  There is no air conditioning

 anywhere.  Being used to a few more amenities here in the

 USA made for a very uncomfortable time weather wise.

No matter where we stayed we had no Internet.
 You tell me how would you like to go to a foreign country,
 and not be connected to everyone.  Though there was Internet
 access at the places we stayed, the signal was so weak we
were unable to connect.  That alone is a nightmare.

That being said I just LOVE being home.  Arvid, Sniff and I.
 It's quiet.  As Arvid said we can enjoy what we like at our own pace.
 The best of all is that it's peaceful, quiet and relaxing.

The other side to this is that, we had excellent times
with all the family.  Nothing will ever take that away.
 For time spent with family is always good.

I am grateful for all the good times shared with family.
  For the new experiences I have had and for being part of
 Michelle and Emil's wedding.  All of that was wonderful,
but NOTHING beats being home in the USA!!!!

Home is where you hang your heart...

~Nadiya~

June 5th ~ And The Days Go By ~

I think of you in silence.  I often say your name.  

But all I have are memories and your picture in a frame.

I can't believe that our Brutus has been dead 

now for 2 years and 7 months today.  Shadow has 

been dead for 2 years and 3 months.  

The agonizing pain is definitely less, but missing my

 Brutus is something that never stops.  I sometimes feel so guilty

 because without realizing it, I often call Sniff Brutus. 

 I am so heartbroken when I do this.  Sniff is not Brutus. 

 He is Sniff and I so love him.  One thing I know for sure

 little Sniff loves his mama (me) very much, and he

 just dotes on his dada.  He is a special gift.

My memory is very good.  I can picture every moment 

 had with Brutus.  When I see I picture, I know exactly where

 we were and what we were doing that day.  Sometimes a

 good memory is a curse.  The images are too vivid.  That dryer

 in our apartment in Florida.  It kills me everytime I hear it.  

Life with Sniff is good.  He loves to "talk" and he follows

 us around like a puppy.  He sleep next to me in the mornings and

 warms me up.  And on those days that he does not come,

 I feel as if something is missing, so I go looking for him. 

 Life has changed so very much.  Not all bad.

As the minutes turn into days.  Days into weeks.  

Weeks into years.  I learn to live with the hole that exists 

in my heart reminding me always of you.

The mind replays what the heart can't delete.

Most of the time, when we are up late at night, 

the company we are left with are memories...

~Nadiya~

Here Comes The Rain Again ~

Do not be angry with the rain; 

it simply does not know how to fall upwards...

Our day in a nutshell.  Rain and more rain, and it does not seem 

as if we will have a break from it for the next few days. 

 Maybe even all of next week as well.  Pretty dreary looking 

right now, but even so I do manage to get pictures.

I left home yesterday morning in the pouring rain.  Of course Arvid stayed 

home until it got a little better.  As he says, "I'm not getting wet."

  

Yesterday I finally managed to convince Arvid to have Thai food with me.

At first he did not want to try anything, but somehow I managed to 

convince him to try a few of the different things brought to us.  

Suddenly he smiles and he says, "you know since we moved to

 Branson I have eaten so many different things."  That he has, I don't 

know if he will continue to do so when one day we move back to Florida.

Sniff still has the sniffles.  Still not eating like he should, but at

 least he is alert and loves being brushed no matter what.

Another wet day in store for us, but as we all know

the nicest thing about rain is that no matter what it always stops.

Hello Wednesday.  How did you get here so fast?

Rainy days should be spent at home 

with a cup of tea and a good book...

~Nadiya~

Life Is Good ~

Because when you stop and look 
around, this life is pretty amazing...

Every turn I make I see Spring.  I feel it and I can also smell it. 

On one of my walks in the neighborhood I saw all the flowers blooming. 

 New life coming up.  What a pretty sight and, I am really liking it.

Unfortunately, it is still on the chilly side.  One day we are in the 70's
and the next day we are as low as the 30's.  It's a miracle that we are not
 sick with this temperature fluctuation.  Not consistent at all.

The week is already flying by.  Pretty soon we will be going to
 warmer climates.  Right now it will be welcomed.  Sniff will be cared
 for by Tiffany and Almost Home is also in good hands with her and Chris.
  Yes, life is good and everything as Arvid says is "falling into place."

One of the best things in the world is watching things finally start 
falling into place after having watched them fall apart for so long...

~Nadiya~

Our Sunday So Far ~

I'm in a flip flop state of mind..

So far our day has been relaxing  and peaceful.  Today Sniff and I slept in

 a half hour longer than Arvid.  Sniff refused to move so I just stayed put.  

Love the feel of him next to me.  He loves his morning sleeps.

After the usual Sunday routines, we took a trip to 76 INN.  Making sure all was 

good.  Then we took a drive to Arkansas.  Believe it or not it's just a half 

hour if not less to cross over from Branson Missouri into Arkansas.

We went to check out a car.  Felt like "old times" all over again.  There we met

some very nice people.  We were introduced to their llama, Bandit the black

 kitty and a few of their roosters.  I had a ball, taking pictures of everything.

The day is beautiful.  Warm and sunny, yet cool in the shade.  

It's not over as yet.  If it stays this way we most definitely would 

like to spend the rest of the afternoon somewhere by the water. 

Hope your Sunday is also a beautiful one.  

Enjoy and make lasting memories.

I'm on a very tight schedule of not getting anything done..

~Nadiya~

A New Era...

Regardless of who wins, an election should be a 
time for optimism and fresh approaches...

America has spoken!!  Between my parents, sisters, nieces and nephews we had a very 

tense night.  We were/are not in aggreance as to the same candidate, but even so we

 spent hours and hours chatting online.  Making our predictions as to the winner.

  Some of us are very happy about the outcome, and of course some aren't.

The world is in shock.  Russia is happy Trump has won.  China is shaking and many
Americans are seeking citizenship in Canada.  The country is is an uproar.

Stock markets around the world have plummeted, but things will stabilize soon.
  Always change brings fear and change brings uncertainty.  A new family is
 about to leave a Manhattan penthouse and head to the White House.

Everything predicted a Hillary win.  But I guess the people decided to seek change in
the last minute. America has spoken and Donald John Trump is our new President.
Now everyone deal with it and move on.  He may not have been the best candidate, but
 now he's President.  Sorry Anna,  Reshma, Danielle, Max, and all the others who voted Blue.

Donald Trump's Accepting Speech

To all a good day and like everyone says, let's all hope for the best now and hopefully
 we can all work together as a team and make America a great country.

You win some, you lose some.  This is not the end of the world.

~Nadiya~

Sniff Sniff

Yesterday ended last night.  A friendly reminder that today is another day...

Sniff Sniff is still  not up to speed.  Too many different sounds for him to register, 

and from the way he is acting, I will say a little too overwhelming for the little one.

We got here Thursday night.  He did not eat nor drink that night, but that was to be expected. 

 But it's non Sunday and he still is not eating nor drinking unless I syringe feed him.  

Brutus is who comes to mind.  Brutus over whom I agonized for every and all things.  Now

 I am doing the same with Sniff.  I am worried because it's just so out of character for him.

 Yes, I know for at least a day he would have been "acting" up due to a change 

in his surroundings, but now it's going on 3 days.  My stress level is up.  

I have already called his vet and have spoken to a few people who deal with animals,

 and of course I have done my research online.  Though everything points to stress, and

anxiety on his part, I just can't stop worrying.  He is after all our little Sniff Sniff.

At 3:30 Saturday morning we heard water running.  Both Arvid and I were in deep sleep,

 but of course we jumped right out of bed to see what was going on.  Sniffer was in

the bathtub and had opened the shower door and had turned the water on.

Yesterday we met with a 17 year old girl in the building. She is a potential candidate
for pet sitter for Sniff.  We have another lady in the building we will be meeting in the coming
week.  Just like for Brutus and for Shadow, Sniff deserves the someone who will take
good care of him and make sure he is safe and protected when we are not around.

I don't say it too much to Arvid right now, but how I miss my Brutus.  How I wish he was
here and that I could hold him and never let him go.  How I miss him.  For me Chicago has
lost some of its appeal.  Yes, I am making more memories with Sniff and one day who knows?

Sunday.  Not sure what or where we will go today.  For now it is good to just sit, and
enjoy the view, a good cup of cafe and play a little with Sniff.  Always something to be
grateful for and always a reason to give thanks.  We may not have all we want, but there are
others who have so much less and always find the time to be thankful and grateful.

June 5th  just a normal day.  For me it is 7 months since Brutus died.  3 months since
Shadow died.  Three months since we have had Sniff.  Circle of life.  You just have to move
 forward.  I try honestly i do.  Everyday I remind myself that we have a good life and
even with all the sadness in it, one has to keep up a positive attitude and always
 look forward.  I try.  Everyday I do.  For I know that no matter what I say or
do nothing will bring my Brutus back to me.  My Brutus is dead and gone.

I just wondered how you are and if you miss me at all..because I miss you a lot.
Each night I put my head to my pillow I try to tell myself I am strong,
 because I have gone one more day without you...

~Nadiya~