Tuesday January 11th ~ Cold Morning in Branson

 I alone cannot change the world, 

but I can cast a stone across the 

water to create many ripples...

Early morning in Branson.  Very cold and frost everywhere.

Where are my palm trees?  My sunshine?  Maybe this is a hint
 as to where we should be?  Stranger things have happened.

What's so very strange is that when I think of home the

 image that comes to me is Puerto Rico.  I know it's the last

 place we have lived, and all that went on there makes it a place

 I will always think of as home.  It is where I grew up after all.

That being said, at the end of the day, Florida is where

 I call home, and it's where one day we will return to.

The above are the pelicans always to be found on the pier at

 Lauderdale by the Sea.  Somedays I am not sure where home is.

Good morning all.  Hopefully you are having a warmer

 day than we are.  Sniff is smart to know that if he stays by

 the vent of the floor the heat will warm him up.

You may be disappointed if you fail,

 but you are doomed if you don't try...

~Nadiya~

New Week. January 10th~

 Never let the fear of striking out 
keep you from playing the game...

Yesterday was much warmer than the days we

 have been having, yet for me it felt as if it as was 

 the coldest of days.  No matter what I did, I could 

not seem to get warm.  I can honestly say, I

 do not have the proper clothes for winter.

All of this being said, I have been looking to buy

 a winter jacket as in a proper one, but since it’s only 

online shopping I am doing, I can’t seem to find any.  

Maybe I should stop reading the reviews.  Wool 

irritates my skin. That I know for a fact.

Arvid and I went around for a little drive at sunset.  

Along the Branson strip.  As always we had to stop

 at my favorite site.  The Branson Ferris Wheel.

  It’s always a pretty sight. Especially at sunset.

New week here. My goal is to secure a Pet sitter

 for Sniff.  Not an easy task because when it comes

 to someone watching him I am extremely

 particular.  He is after all my little boy 💙

Wishing everyone a week filled with positivity

 and all things good. I am missing my PR kitties so

 very much.  My sister and Kimsy.  More so this past

 week for some reason.  Can't stop thinking of them.

 This week will be better. I tell myself that everyday. 

 Words are good, but life is more than words.

When you reach the end of your rope,

 tie a knot in it and hang on...

~Nadiya~

January 9th ~

 In order to find stability in the world 
we must first find it in ourselves...

Unfortunately the snow has just about disappeared.  Just a

 little white dusting was all that was left early yesterday 😭. It is also

much warmer, so the icicles on the rocks is also just about melted.

 Not much happening right now.  Waiting for warmer

 weather to come this way.  I know it will be months, but every

 so often we have a "warm" spell.  Makes it seems as if winter

 is on it's way out.  That is until the next freeze hits 😂

Sniff is happy here in Branson, so is Arvid and I,

 except when it's really cold.  Then Arvid gets a little antsy. 

 The key is he has to be busy, and there is no one like Arvid

 to "make" work and stay busy.  Right now he loves to

 inform me of all things related to climate change.  This

 is keeping him very busy.  Guess for now that's good.

Let's see what his latest is today.  With Arvid everyday

 holds something new/different. You can say that this is good

 (?)  Keeps you on your toes and most of the times keeps

 you guessing what it will be from one day to another.

Good morning everyone.  Me I just want to stay put in 

one place 😂 without having to pack up and leave again.

Stability is everything.  Being it emotional or physical.

You need a solid ground to build anything on...

~Nadiya~

Saturday January 8th ~

 The only time you should ever look
 back is to see how far you've come...

January 2018, Branson Missouri.  Temperatures

 reached a low of 8F (-13C).  Arvid forgot that it could

 get this cold.  Says he blocks out quite a few things.

The above and below pictures are from January 2018.  We also 

had snow.  At the time we had a "job" running 2 hotels.  Today 

it's much more relaxing.  When it's cold we just stay in.

Looking back at times is OK as long as you don't

 dwell too much on the past.  Even though I tell myself this, 

I can't stop myself from looking back, and the memories come 

rushing. I look back too much too often on the time in PR, 

and the kitties I left behind.  Somedays it hurts like hell.

It's warming up so today we can maybe get out a little,

 even if it's only to go to Home depot and the grocery store.

Good morning and a good day to all.

You will face many defeats in life, 

but you never let yourself be defeated...

~Nadiya~

Friday January 7th ~

 Life is what you make it.  You can make of it. You can 

make it easy on yourself or you can make it hard...

With the cold we have been having, Arvid says he's so ready

 to go back to a warmer climate.  I don't mind the cold, and I told

 him before we came that it will get cold.  I am definitely

 not wanting to move right now.  Cold or no cold.

Most of the times when it's this cold we hardly go out, 

unless it's an emergency.  So far we have not had an emergency.  

We do exactly the same we would do were we in Florida, Puerto Rico 

or anywhere else.  The difference is the cold and the scenery.

Lot of time is spent watching TV.  Sniff prefers the 

warmth, just like we do, but we always stay nice and 

toasty.  Also it never hurts with a warm beverage. 

Life is not always perfect, but it's always what you 

make it.  So make it count, make it memorable,

 and never let anyone steal your happiness...

~Nadiya~

First Snow ~ January 6th

When snow falls, nature listens... 

The grounds are covered with a light layer of white.
  Not much, but it sure looks pretty. Arvid will not be so happy.

  All of his doomsday theories will surface.  Again 😂

I did not walk this morning.  The low 20'w and 

snow was a little too much, and truth be known, I 

do not have the right clothes for winter as I thought. 

 My clothes are all summer gear with a few long 

sleeves.  Not good enough for this kind of cold.

I did buy a hat yesterday in preparation for

 my morning walks, but will have to be put to 

the test another day, since I'm not that 

brave to go out for long periods.

I did venture out for some pictures, but now my 

fingers and my feet are frozen, but was worth it.  I felt

 the snow on my face and was able to get a few pictures. 

 Now to hibernate indoors for the rest of the day.

Sniff is amazed by the falling snow.  His eyes dart

 back and fort as it falls.  At one point he tried to 

catch a snowflake.  Sniff is just adorable.

To all a good day.  I am hoping for more snow,

 but does not seem like I will be granted my wish.

  Even so, I'm happy we had a little today.

To appreciate the beauty of the snowflake

 it is necessary to stand out in the cold...

~Nadiya~

January 5th ~

 If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles...

Aside from it being cold, there is not much more to say.

  Just staying in.  Staying warm.  Coming from the warmth 

makes this temperature a little shocking to our system. 

 Mostly to Arvid's, but since we are indoors mostly,

 we hardly feel it.  Nice and toasty inside.

This morning's walk was much warmer than yesterday's. 

 Mid 30's today compared to yesterdays mid 20's.  Happy day here.

Accentuate the positive, Eliminate the

 Negative, latch onto the affirmative...

~Nadiya~

A Cold January 4th ~

 You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind...

My sister and her family in Virginia are loving the snow. 

 Having lived in California the last five years, they are 

so happy to be back in the land of winter and snow.

I am still waiting for the snow to come our way.  Arvid not.  

The most we have had are flurries and some icicles.

Soon even the icicles will melt 😞 because it's warming up.  

My hopes are on Thursday.  It is predicted to be really 

cold and maybe snow.  One can always hope.

There are icicles everywhere, and they sure capture my attention.

I ventured out in the cold this morning.  Did my 

first early walk.  Nothing like Puerto Rico, but was not bad.  

No kitties here to friend, but hoping to see the deer one of these

 days during my walk.  I heard them, but didn't see them.

Sniff has been enjoying his heating pad and also

 he loves when we cover him up.  He's not taking 

any chances on being cold.  Good morning all.

Positive anything is better than negative nothing...

~Nadiya~

January 3rd ~

 Time heals almost everything.  Give time time...

We stayed in all day 🥶 not bad.  Lots of TV, reading, 

brushing Sniff and just relaxing doing absolutely 

nothing 🤬.  Just watching the snow flurries.  Sniff 

was also fascinated by them.  Happy time for him.

I was hoping for lots of snow, but it didn’t happen.

  Hopefully we might get some this week.  I love the

 first snowfall.  So clean and white, after that I want

 it gone.  I will never forget the first time I saw snow. 

 My sister and lived in New York.  I loved it.

For some reason yesterday I didn’t have a such

good day. Can’t pinpoint the exact reason, but I have

 an idea.  It started out with me looking at an album. 

 Brutus and Shadow. Then the memories come back.

So many memories. Then I got a little video of Marbles,

 and MacGyver in Puerto Rico. Of course I was happy,

 but after that I don’t know what happened.  I spent a lot

 of time crying. I miss them.  I have not heard anything of 

Rocco 😢, Senior, Mama.  I got a picture of Baby in

 the afternoon next to Marbles. That really threw me in a 

turmoil. I don’t know why, but I had a very crappy day.

Sniff came to me and stayed close to me.  Always 

love him by my side. I just don’t understand what really

happened, but yesterday I missed PR very much. Missed 

my kitties and I was sad.  Some days will be like that.

Today will be better. It’s still cold, but truthfully the

 cold does not bother me.  I have the right clothes unlike 

Arvid who just has a summer jacket and refuses to buy 

another. Says this is our only winter here.

I take no chances of being cold so I bought all the

 gear I will need. My Uggs are super warm and

 my feet are always toasty when we go out.

Wishing everyone a good day.  The year is young and 

with every new day I know it will be easier 🙏

There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy...

~Nadiya~

January 2nd, 2022

Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart...

2022 started out on a good note for us. I talked to

 all of my family.  Always a good start. My parents

 always call us early. Our family, including extended

 family is large so my dad starts the calls early.

Arvid was very happy because there were many

 soccer games to see.  He was not that happy with 

some of the results, but he enjoyed the games. More 

games to follow today ⚽️  He will be happy

Our first outing for 2022 had us having 

chicken wings. Delicious as always and for us it 

was a perfect and delicious start of the year.

The next few days we won’t be going anywhere

 🥶 it’s cold and getting colder. Strangely we 

have not had any snow. Wish we would.

The other day I saw Fatboy and some deer.

 Made for a happy time. Both Arvid and

 I enjoyed watch the deer eating. 

Sniff as usual is slacking off. Taking it easy.

 He has his heating bed up and running and will

 have it for the week ahead. Too cold for him.

It’s going to be a quiet Sunday.  Hot chocolate,

 a good book, soccer and movies on Netflix.  

It’s cold outside, but nice and warm inside.

Happy Sunday all and I hope 2022 so far is

 being good to you.  Remember you can't wait for 

things to happen, you have to do something in 

order for it to happen.  Don't take the "easy" 

way by saying "God has a plan for me."  

Every mile is two in the winter...

~Nadiya~

Hello 2022! 🍸

Let the rain wash away the pain of yesterday.
  Let the sun shine on today's happiness...

Here in Branson, Missouri we begin the New Year with 
some rain.  I view this as good.  It's as if the rain is washing

 away all the leftovers from 2021.  Also washing away 

our sorrows and pains.  Always OK to think positive,

 unlike so many who only see the negative in life.

Happy New Year to all.  Last year we said 2021 was 

going to be the best year ever, for many it may have been a 

good one.  For others the most terrible of times.  Let's hope for 

2022 to bring us all better times. 2022, let's try this again.

The best way to predict the future is to create it...

~Nadiya~