Saturday November 15th~

An ocean breeze puts a mind at ease...

 Greetings from Fort Myers Beach, Florida.  Arvid and I

 decided to take a couple of days at the beach. The last time we 

were here, it was so beautiful we almost ended up buying a 

place, fortunately we came to our senses (for now)

 and decided to first try it out with an Airbnb.

So many places have re-built after hurricane Ian.  

Checking them out makes me happy.  We are staying right

 on the beach, and I love it.  Temperature is a bit cooler 

than we would like, but that's what jackets are for.

To all a very good day.  Greetings from sunny Florida.

Let the waves carry away your worries...

~Nadiya~

Friday November 14th~

Meet me where the sky touches the sea...

 Arvid and I will be taking a couple of days

 to ourselves.  I'm sure by the pictures you can

 tell where we are going to be going.  We have 

never had a bad experience at the beach.

We will be having a little late anniversary celebration.

 We have been together for 25 years.  Married for 24 of

 those.  It has had its ups and downs, but there is no one 

I would rather spend my forever with than with Arvid.

We are both looking forward to some relaxing 

days.  I'm looking forward to walking on the beach

 and getting salt in my hair.  I love the beach.

Sniff is home, but well cared for by Gail.  To all a very

 good day and may your weekend be a happy one as well.

  They say that A day at the beach restores the soul.

My sense of direction leads me to the beach...

~Nadiya~

Thursday November 13th~

Everyone must take time to 

sit and watch the leaves change...

 The colors of Fall, just beautiful and since we also 

have a place in Branson, Missouri I am always happy 

when someone posts a picture that takes my breath away.

  In fact most do, but this one posted by Scott Pratt in 

Branson is a favorite because Arvid and I have 

frequented this place several times.  

Big Cedar Lodge.  Beautiful spot and it's also 

where we always enjoy a good frozen custard.  

We enjoy the scenery and how relaxing a time

 it is.  It is also where we always see deers.

The day ended with another gorgeous sunset and 

best news for the day, F23 laid her first egg for

 the season.  Hopefully another egg to come.

To all a very good day. Everyday with these 2 is a good day.

If a year was tucked inside of a clock, 

then autumn would be the magic hour...

~Nadiya~

Wednesday November 12th~

We are here to add what we can to life,

 not to get what we can from life...

 Today is still going to be a really cold day

 for us Floridians, but come tomorrow it will 

gradually warm up again.  Florida in the 

winter time, the place to be. Can't beat it.

Yesterday we went once again to my mom and 

dad's home.  Arvid finished assembling my dad's 

office, we had a delicious lunch, and then Arvid 

began hanging pictures/paintings on the wall.  

The house is taking shape.  Thankfully it is 

not as big as their home was in North Carolina.  

Less work and easier for them to take care of.

Today hopefully we will just stay at home.  I 

have a few things to take care of as does Arvid.  Also

 I want to spend some time with Sniff.  Seems like we 

are constantly on the move even when we aren't.

To all a good day. Still chilly but it is surely

warming up nicely already.  Looking forward to

 a day "off"  Yesterday's sunset from our balcony.

The Northern lights, seen in Florida, Branson 

and many other places last night.  What a sight.

Whenever you want to see me, always

 look at the sunset; I will be there...

~Nadiya~

Tuesday November 11th~

A successful marriage requires

 falling in love many times, always 

with the same person...

 Yesterday Arvid and I celebrated 24 years of marriage.  

It has been a very good run so far.  I will not lie and 

say perfect, nothing in life is perfect, but together

 we have learnt so much from each other and best

 of all is that we complement each other.

Neither one of us is easy.  We come from different

 backgrounds.  I am Indian/Hindu. Arvid is Norwegian. 

Whereas I am outgoing, Arvid was an introvert, but 

much better now.  I talk to everyone, he usually

would try to "pretend" they are not there.

With all our differences, and yes there are 

many more, yet we somehow see eye to eye on 

what's really important in life.  Like I said it was 

not always this way, but through the years we 

can actually tell what the other is thinking.

One of the biggest turning points in our 

relationship was when we got Brutus.  I saw

 a side of Arvid I had not seen before. A softer,

 gentler side. Brutus made him a better man. 

The way Arvid loved and cared for Brutus will 

forever be one of the main reasons I love him 

so much.  He is the same today with our 

Sniff.  Brutus will always be special.   

Temperatures have dropped a good 30 degrees

 from what it was yesterday morning.  Everyone here 

is bundled up and Sniff is no exception.   We woke 

up to 42 degrees F (5.5C)  For us that is very cold.

The greatest marriages are built on 

teamwork, a mutual respect, a healthy dose 

of admiration, and a never-ending

 portion of love and grace...

~Nadiya~

Monday November 10th~

 Your present circumstances don’t 
determine where you can go; they
 merely determine where you start...

Sunday morning was a busy one for me. I did 

my Trader Joe’s shopping.  Only place that sells

 the bread Arvid likes. Got a few other things 

and walked around a few stores for a bit .

After that I went to Publix and got some lamb 

chops for mom and dad, and a few steaks for 

Arvid and I.  Always fruit and fresh vegetables 

on the list.  I like going to grocery stores.

Got home, Arvid was watching soccer and he was 

not happy because his team Liverpool was trailing.  

They ended up losing the match to Manchester City.

Thank goodness for Sunday outings to cheer him up.

This week we will continue to assemble furniture

 for mom and dad. Hopefully we can do it all in one

 day. My dad’s office furniture has a million parts.

  Thank goodness he didn’t get it from IKEA, otherwise

 we would have five million parts 😭to deal with.

As usual Arvid and I had a very relaxing outing 

yesterday.  As I always said, nothing like being

 by the water to soothe the mind and soul.

Life is very interesting, in the end some of your

 greatest pains become your greatest gains...

~Nadiya~

Sunday November 9th~

Every day may not be good… but 

there's something good in every day...

Yesterday after breakfast and  while Arvid watched

 soccer I went over to mom and dad’s. It’s about a half

 hours drive from us.  Not the worse. I was there for a 

few hours, helped with some unpacking of a few

 boxes, chatted and enjoyed their company.  

It is so nice to have them here in Florida

 and to know that they are just a short drive

 away from us.  A big comfort and relief.

I got back home, soccer was still going. I then

 proceeded to make lunch. Arvid will be the first to tell

 you he’s no good in the kitchen. Sometimes I would

 love to come home and have lunch/dinner already

 made for me.  So far it has never happened 😭 but,

 he makes me laugh and he makes me happy.

We’ve been having beautiful weather, but

 that is all about to change  this coming week we

 will have a 50-60 degree drop in temperatures

 in Florida🥶, but as Floridians we all know

the cold will only last for a few days. 

Last night we went downtown and what 

a great time we had. I love seeing so much life 

everywhere around us.  People everywhere. 

 It was just so alive. We love it there.

We enjoyed a few drinks. People watched and 

of course towards the end of the evening made our 

way to toe pizza place.  It's a must.  The night is not

 complete without that one slice of pizza.   We had 

a great outing.  Got back home and watched a

 movie with Sniff all curled up by our side.

To all a very good day.  To Arvid a Happy 

Father's Day.  Today is fathers day in Norway.

If I can say I had fun, it was a good day...

~Nadiya~

Saturday November 8th~

I'm so tired that even my tiredness is tired...

 Yesterday neither Arvid nor I were in the mood

 to go downtown.  Well we were, but I really did not 

feel so good.  For some reason my knee was hurting 

all day long.  I had a terrible night, and when I woke 

up it didn't really get any better.  The pain I mean.

Also Arvid had a few thing to take care of, we had 

the maintenance people come and clean out the vents

 in the dryer, so we stayed busy for most of the morning. 

 In the afternoon Arvid watched a soccer game, Sniff slept

 for hours and I watched a few episodes of my shows.

Nothing takes away the blues like a good sunset.

Today there are many games for Arvid.  Usually

 weekends are full of soccer. I like it because I go see 

mom and dad for a few hours, then come back home and 

make lunch.  It's a lot of rushing around, but I like it.

A good day to all.  Ours has begun beautifully.  Again.

Don't stop when you are tired; 

stop when you're done....

~Nadiya~

Friday November 7th~

Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A

 man should do his job so well that the living, 

the dead, and the unborn could do it no better...

Yesterday we had a long day working at mom 

and dad's.  Well Arvid did most of the work.  He's 

assembling their office furniture, and trust me when 

Arvid works he takes no breaks, but even he could not

 finish all yesterday.  To be continued another day.

  Mom always makes Arvid's favorite whenever we 

go by them.  She makes the best scalloped potatoes, and

 makes so much that I usually have an extra 3-4 meals for

 Arvid.  That he does not mind me bringing back home.

Once back home we were both tired. A good shower,

 a cup of tea and in the evening we watched a few of our

 favorite TV shows.  Sniff "stole" Arvid's chair again so 

Arvid moved to another,  Within minutes Sniff moved 

to be with Arvid.  It was a good evening at home.

A good day to all.  Hoping to just be home and 

take care of things we need to do here as well.

Morning is here and a beautiful one it is.

Yesterday ended last night, today

 is a brand new day, and it's yours...

~Nadiya~

Thursday November 6th~

 Hardships often prepare ordinary
 people for an extraordinary destiny...

Yesterday I went over a little to mom and 

dad's to help with some unpacking.  Basically 

mom unpacks, but we get the boxes to her. 

 There are MANY boxes left.  Mom spoke to

 a friend here in Florida and the friend told her 

that they moved from Orlando to their new place

 here in Florida some five years ago, and they still 

have tons of boxes in their garage still unpacked.  

Remember, there is nothing new in an old box.

Yesterday I also went to my endocrinologist. 

All appears to be okay, except she found some growth

 tissue where my thyroids used to be.  Follow up in six 

months then maybe another biopsy.  Depending

 on what she finds, then we go from there.

On my way home I had to take a picture of the

 car in front of me.  Yes, we were stopped at the 

red light. Have not seen this one too often.

Today Arvid and I go back to mom and dad's. 

 Arvid will be assembling some office furniture, and

 we have a few more "chores" to do.  Next week 

he will begin hanging their paintings. 

A good day to all.  Good things are happening

 today.  Hope the same goes out to all of you.

Let's celebrate something today...

~Nadiya~