December 23rd ~

 I put so much thought into your gift that now 

it's too late to get it.  Merry Christmas anyway...

My sister sent us this the other day.  Now I'm

 thinking she meant me, since just about everything I text

 seems to be misspelt. In my defense there is this so annoying

 auto correct thing, and the fact that I do not see well. 

 Of course I could take some time and check what

 I wrote before sending it out, but I don't 😂.

Sniff has gotten a heating bed.  He loves it and now I 

don't know it it was such a great idea because he wants to

 be on it all the time, and not spend time with us in bed. 

 I figured that I will only give it so many hours before

 it times out, then he has to come to the bed.  He did

 that this morning so it seems to be working.

Yesterday Arvid and I had lunch with two of his former

 tenants, now friends.  We had a good time, good food and

 conversation.  Always nice to catch up with what's going

 on in everyone's lives and to spend a little time together.

It's two more days before "the day" Christmas day. 

 Naughty or Nice wishing everyone a happy Christmas. 

 Enjoy everyday always.  Make everyday Christmas.

As long as we have wine the holidays will be fine...

~Nadiya~

Saturday December 19th ~

 It's OK, the year will be over soon, just keep smiling...

I cannot believe how fast December has gone by. 

 In just a few more days it's goodbye 2020 🏃

I can tell our time is coming to an end here in 

Puerto Rico. Little excited to be going going home.

  Tons of doctors appointments, vet, dentist and lots

 I need to take care of, at the same time not too

 happy about leaving.  Caught in the middle.

When I look at pictures from home in Florida, 

then I miss it.  The above is sunset on the canal.

 Definitely not a shabby view either.  Home 😍

I continue to go for morning walks every so often. 

 "My" kitties are always waiting for me.  They know 

my schedule now.  Yesterday as we were coming 

back home my Shy Boy was waiting.  I always 

have food in the car , so he was fed again.

Sunrises here in Puerto Rico are always spectacular. 

 I will never get tired of them, and that is anywhere

they are beautiful always.  Same as the sunsets.

Good morning to all.  Make it a weekend 

to remember.  Not many left in 2020.

We are like a snowflake.  All different in our 

own beautiful way. Be happy, be bright, be you...

~Nadiya~

Friday ~

 Don't wait for the perfect moment,
take the moment and make it perfect...

Friday is so different these days from what our "typical" 

Fridays used to be.  Back home it meant going to the 

DownTowner Of course Covid changed that.

We moved to Puerto Rico to "escape" Covid, but 

there is no escaping it.  Covid is everywhere and surging 

like crazy.  Compared to being in Fort Lauderdale,

 where we actually did nothing from mid March to 

August, Puerto Rico is our little paradise.

Since coming to Puerto Rico we have been able to 

eat out, walk around the beach, swim and have our Friday

 outings.  Now with the surge of cases, we have decided 

we need to be a little more cautious.  Compared to being

 in Florida, we are still doing great, and can still do many

 things we would not do back home in Florida.

I enjoy staying updated to what's happening around 

the world, and the fact that Arvid is Norwegian I always 

give him the latest news happening in Norway.  Just for fun. 

 Most times he just looks at me and says, "I don't really care,"

😲 but I still do it because after all he is Norwegian even

 though he is actually more Floridian than Norwegian.

Norway, home of our two little granddaughters and 

family.  So I think it's important that Arvid knows what's

 going on  in his homeland.  Thank you google.

I was in Norway once for Christmas.  It was white, 

cold but beautiful.  So much snow that year.

Christmas this year in Puerto Rico.  The governor

 of Puerto Rico had implemented tons of new restrictions.

  Puerto Rico is now on partial lockdown.  Again.

There are talks of a full lockdown as of January 1st, 

 only because if it were implemented now most would most 

likely violate it.  Due to the holidays.  Welcome to the 

world of Covid 19.  The new norm as it is known.

Governor Wanda Vazquez is considering several 

recommendations to control COVID-19, which

 include closing common spaces in shopping centers, 

using outdoor areas in restaurants, as well as guidelines 

to reduce the time consumers spend in supermarkets, 

pharmacies, and gas stations, among others.

The island of Puerto Rico is looking at another lockdown 

if the numbers keep going up.  All over the United States

 measures are being taken to control COVID-19,

 that is everywhere except the Sunshine State.

For now we feel safe and better being in Puerto Rico.

 Christmas is the island is a party, but this year nothing will 

be the same anywhere.  But for now we are enjoying the little

 freedoms we have in the middle of this terrible pandemic.

To all a happy day.  The month is already

 winding down.  Before you know it, it's Christmas 

day, and best of all my mom's birthday.

May you never be too grown up to

 search the skies on Christmas Eve...

~Nadiya~

Thursday August 6th ~

Whatever the mind of man can 

conceive and believe, it can achieve...

Loving my mornings with Sniff.  He gets his

 brushing, and i enjoy my cafe.  Nice and quiet before

 Arvid wakes up, and then the hustle bustle begins.

What's planned for today?  More of the same.
 Staying home.  Watching TV.  Soccer is back on, so
at least Arvid has more things to watch, not that this
is ever a problem.  When it comes to watching TV 👀,
Arvid can watch just about anything and everything.

Life with Arvid is not boring.  He's been
watching TV with sunglasses now for over a week.
Says he needs to protect his eyesight 😲

Good morning everyone. All good here.  Hoping
to soon be able to go out a little more.  Experience
life again.  Missing very much our outings.

Life offers you so many doors, it is up to
 you which to open and which one to close...

~Nadiya~

Friday Hits Differently ~ July 10th

Grief never ends...But it changes.  It's a passage,
not a place to stay.  Grief is not a sign of weakness,
nor a lack of faith...It is the price of LOVE...

That not so good feeling lingers on.
  My thoughts are elsewhere 💔

I have lost a loved one.  At the time, I thought I would
never see the light of day again 💔.  I never listened
when people said to me, "one day it will be better."
I did not believe any of it.  The loss consumed me.

I mean how would anyone know what it's
like to lose someone you love, if they have never
 lived through something like that?  One can only
imagine what it's like, but no one knows what
grief is unless you have experienced it 💔

I lost my first husband 27 years ago.  The first 5
years after his death is still hazy.  I lived with
grief every single moment of my life.  I never
thought the day would come when that dark
cloud that followed me would be gone.

Eventually one day I was happy again, I
 have to say every once in a while that grief
 reappears in my life like a bad apple.

Then one day Brutus died.  Once again I was
overcome with grief.  The pain of losing Brutus
is still there.  Not as agonizing, but every so often it
 creeps up on me.  Then the grief of the two losses
blends together.  Makes for a pretty good cry.

All I'm getting at is that everyone navigates their
grief in their own ways.  Everyone deals with it in their
own way.  There is no set rules on how grief works.
 You can be having the best of days and suddenly, just
a smell can throw you off and set you back.  The
good thing is that it does not last very long.

Michelle has lost two parents in less than 2 years.
  That is an overload of loss.  When she most needed her
mom, her mom died.  As a mom herself to two little girls,
Michelle never expected her mom nor her stepdad to not
be a part of their lives.  Michelle's stepdad lived for them.

Now they are both dead.  How cruel can life be to
Michelle and family?  And why?  People say there is
 a GOD, when Paul died, when Brutus died and
when Shadow died, Michelle's mom and stepdad
died WHERE WAS GOD??? Where I ask?

Yes, I'm angry, and every time a loved one experiences
 a loss, unfortunately I relive the losses I have had
 vividly.  I have a picture perfect memory for
certain things.  Not always to my advantage.

Getting through the loss of a loved one takes
 time and everyone's journey to healing is unique,
everyone is different and sometimes the journey can
seem more than we can bear.  Many times it is.

 When this happens, we should remember to be
 grateful for the time we spent with our loved ones
 and try to believe that they are in a better place.

Sometimes all you can do is lie in bed 
and hope to fall asleep before you fall apart...

~Nadiya~

Thursday June 18th ~

Be happy with what you have.

Be excited about what you want...

It's takeout day, and today I'm having Indian food. 

 Arvid and I always have something different.  He does

 not ever want to switch from pizza, and I want something 

different most of the time.  On Thursdays this is possible.

On Tuesday we finally made it to the Swap Shop.

 I stocked up with all the tropical fruit I was missing, and 

of course I had to have my coconut.  It was a great time.

Arvid also visited the Norwegian store and stocked

 up on a few things he needed.  He bought meatballs, 

hot dogs and some different jams.  I do not eat any of

 those meatballs nor hot dogs.  Don't like them one bit.

I made Arvid his meatballs and a hot dog yesterday.

  After he was done eating he said to me, "this food is 

really bland, actually tasteless when compared to the

 food you make."  Arvid is a smooth talker for sure.

And yes, masks have to be worn while at the

 Swap Shop also, that is unless you are eating,

and in my case I was.  Yay. . happy me.

It's already raining.  The last few days we have had
to walk in the parking lot.  Yes, rain and more rain.

You deserve to be happy.  You deserve to live a life you 

are excited about.  Don't let others make you forget that...

~Nadiya~

Friday May 15th ~

Stay positive.  Better days are on their way...

Being home all day long has made me come

 to enjoy being out in the balcony even more.  Before 

this Stay at Home order, I would just go in and out.  

Now we sit for hours, and it's not bad at all.

Just about everyday a new boat passes along. 

Keeps us entertained and quite happy.  Arvid continues

 policing the waterways, at least for us. Interesting.

Yesterday morning we saw a near collision.  

The diesel boat  (above)  that passes a few times every 

day almost crashed into the dock.  The driver of the boat

 had to do some fast thinking to avert the near crash.  

Kept us entertained for some time.  Happy Arvid.

Almost everyday we see this older gentleman speeding 

away in his yellow scooter having a blast.  Always 😉

smiling, always happy.  We even met him during our walks, 

he stopped, and I just had to tell him how cool his scooter was.  

He said, "best thing I ever did" and sped away again😛

Of course Arvid later said to me, "when I turn 82 I

😃 want one of those." Who knows maybe I will get him 

one and we can enjoy a different phase of life together.

Arvid went to the Norwegian store the other day.

We had shrimp and I also made crab and lobster tails, 

the best part was the chocolate.  Of course I ate the entire 

thing in one sitting 😂 To my defense, it was small.

Yesterday as usual was takeout day.  Arvid 

back to pizza 🍕and I back to Thai.  He never gets 

tired of pizza, and as of right now I am not tired

 of Thai food. So both of us are happy 👏

Sniff is still exploring the balcony a little everyday. 

 Unfortunately for him, there is some wind.  Not much, 

but enough to make Sniff run back in real fast 🤷

You may not be able to control every situation and  its outcome,

but you can control your attitude and how you deal with it...

~Nadiya~

How We Spend Our days ~

Every day is not a success. Every year is not

 a success. You have to celebrate the good...

Long leisure walks.  Take time to 

always stop and enjoy the sights.

Make new friends.  Always a pleasant part of our walks.

Sniff is a little confused at times, but handling it 

like the champ he is.  He sees boxes and boxes of Chewy 

coming in and gets happy.  Another box to play with.

 Enjoying the sights, always something good to see.

The boats everywhere keep us entertained.

But the best part of our days are now spent on the 

balcony where the views are unbeatable.  If one has

 to be quarantined, then not a bad place to be.

To all stay safe.  Stay home and be calm.

Though Arvid is more "scared" than I am, he 

sure knows how to relax better than I do.

The biggest adventure you can take

 is to live the life of your dreams...

~Nadiya~