Friday October 16th~

 People wait all week for Friday, all 

year for summer, all life for happiness...

Yesterday was a good day, most days are good 

days, but when I don't have to cook the day is even 

better. Since it was Thursday we had lunch out.  

No cooking, no cleaning.  I do prefer home

 cooked meals, but it is also nice to go out.

The most difficult part of cooking is figuring

 out what to make for Arvid.  Since I can have

 chicken most days, that leaves me looking for option

 #2 for him. Making two different meals every 

time makes for a lot of clean up afterwards.

Today 11 years ago Brutus came into our lives.

 We had gone to the Broward County Shelter 

a few days before and on this day in 2006 we

 picked him up and our lives changed forever.

 I will never forget that day nor all the 

happiness he brought into our lives. Today

 I am thinking g of him a lot and missing

 him.  Brutus took a piece of me, of us.

Yesterday Arvid and I went to Almost Home. 

I got to see a lot of my old tenants and had time

 to talk and catch up with everyone. I also met

 new ones while Arvid helped/showed Kurt 

with a few things.  Overall it was a good day. 

The temperature has dropped.  Big difference

 from yesterday afternoon to right now, and it 

will continue dropping.  Nice change from the 

heat; of course now we are "complaining" that it

 is too cold. Thank goodness for the weather.

It gives us all something to talk about😂

Yesterday we went once again to Andy's. Who

 knows we may not be able to go back for this year. 

May be too cold for us, and you know we are not 

fans of the cold.  To all a good day and a happy start

 of the weekend.  No plans here. The temperature will 

drop quite a bit; staying warm and cozy at home 

sounds like a good way to spend the evening.

Friday: The golden child of the weekdays...

~Nadiya~

Thursday October 15th~

 When life gives you rainy days wear 

cute boots and jump in the puddles...

Yesterday it sure rained a lot, but in between

 we had a few rays of sunshine and bright skies.  

Weather in Branson is not exactly what one expects. 

 Within minutes it changes.  Truth is the same

 happens in Florida.  You go with the flow.

Sniff is doing his thing. Looking for birds. 

 Watching the squirrels.  Running and hiding from the 

thunder. He's loving it all and having a good time.

I woke up this morning and found Sniff in time out. 

 Yup, he chose it all by himself. After a few hours he got tired

 and decided to take a "proper" nap on one of his beds.

As we sit and have our meals, I get to watch

 the color change on the trees around us.  Fall, 

just a really beautiful time of the year 🍂

To all a very good day. More rain in 

our forecast today.  We do need it☔

Thursday is the bridge between 

the hard work of the week and the 

sweet reward of the weekend...

~Nadiya~

Wednesday October 14th~

How beautiful it is to do nothing,

 and then to rest afterward...

 Yesterday was a quiet day spent at home. Was 

very relaxing. Though the day began on a bit of the

 cooler side, by afternoon it was very hot. By  6 pm 

yesterday it was still very hot to be outside.

Even being in the heat for a short period wears

 you out.  I had to go out for a little, and by the

 time I got home I was so tired.  Does not help 

of course that my knee hurts all the time.

Sniff loves the sun, and wherever it goes he 

finds it and takes a little nap.  Sniff is a happy boy,

 and enjoys every aspect of his life in Branson.

My days are made even better by watching a 

few of the Ai cat videos.  They are cute, funny and 

full of love and tenderness.  They make me smile.  I am 

also enjoying fall colors right now.  By the weekend 

I probably will be saying that it's too cold 😂

Already halfway through the week.  Time is

 going by way too fast.  Just the other day our niece 

Lilly Vade turned 19.  I remember holding her as a

 baby.  I have no idea where 19 years went so fast.

The morning begins with rain and thunderstorms, 

which will be going on all day long. Though not cold

 as yet, the cool down is coming.  For now we enjoy

 a cozy day at home.  Sniff is already running back

 and forth not sure if to hide from the thunder or stay

 close to me.  He has a bed under our bed as well.

The best part of the day is

 before the world gets loud....

~Nadiya~

Tuesday October 13th~

And when it rains on your parade, 

look up rather than down. Without the 

rain, there would be no rainbow...

Another very beautiful sunrise at the 

start of the day followed by a sunset with 

rainbows. How lucky I am to be living in 

a world of sunrises and beautiful sunsets.

Not much going on so by afternoon we were a 

little restless, so we decided to pay Andy's a visit. I 

sure will miss this place when we go back home,

 but for now we get to enjoy it a few more times.

Sniff as always catches up with lots of sleep during 

the day, and he also sleeps all night long.  He has

 not had the zoomies since that last time.  I'm sure 

it will be back. Sniff is my happy place always.

As always the mornings are quiet.  Sniff ate and 

is back in his bed with Arvid.  Yesterday was a fairly 

quiet day.  Today looks to be the same.  To all a very 

good day.  Remember, even the quiet days count.

Everyone needs a place to retreat; a spot where 

the world grows quiet enough for the soul to speak...

~Nadiya~

Monday October 12th~

It's not what happens to you, but

 how you react to it that matters...

 Another week begins.  Another chance for us

 to right the wrongs we did last week, and another 

chance to shine and give it our all.  Life is simple,

 sometimes it is us who make it more complicated than

 it should be.  It is a series of natural and spontaneous 

changes. We should spend more time being happy.

Arvid and I had a another very good outing 

yesterday. We sure are enjoying these beautiful 

days here in Branson. Fall at its best 🍂

As the new week begins we don't have much 

planned to do as of right now.  I am hoping to go

 to Almost Home one of these days, and hopefully

 see a few of our old tenants.  Also, to meet the 

new office manager.  Aside from that, the usual 

chores, but with us that can change suddenly.

 Some days we simply need a reminder to be

 gentle;  with ourselves and with the people

 around us. Be Kind To People For No

 Reason - Choose Kindness Always...

~Nadiya~

Sunday October 11th~

Life does what it does, and half the

 time we are just hanging on for dear life...

 Yesterday morning as I was driving to the

 grocery store I saw a whole lot of dead creatures on

 the road, and I mean a lot. There was a dead deer, 

dog, cat, several raccoons, a bunch of armadillos 

and even a few skunks. Broke my heart. 

When Arvid drives I close my eyes to not see 

them, but when I’m driving they are right there in 

front of me.  I know all about nature and survival

 of the fittest. Still not easy for me to see.

We’re having really nice weather, but still

no birdies. The other day as we were returning

 from one of our outings we saw hundreds of

 birds in the sky, but none next to where we

 are.  Fall sure  is beautiful in Branson.

I’m sad because soon we will leave. I bought

 a lot of bird food;  and I leave food out for them 

every day, and I will still scatter it around when we 

leave, but I sure wished we would see Fatboy, Daisy,

 Pigeon, and the rest of the “gang” before leaving. 

I have not seen PiP Kara's cat around either😭

Yesterday evening we went to  Lake Vibez Branson 

 formerly known as Area 71.  There is always some

 kind of live music going on, and for sure it is a 

very cool place.  We met up with Roger and a few

others from Star Bar. It was a perfect evening.

The music was more toward country, but it was not bad. 

We met some new people and found out they had Norwegian

 backgrounds.  It seems many of the people we meet have some

 Norwegian in the.  Strange if you ask me, but it's true.

After Lake Vibez we decided to go check out

Cheeky Monkey   Last time we tried it was so packed 

there were no seats, but last night it was better.  Lots 

of people, but Roger got there before us and saved

 us a spot.  That place was ALIVE and kicking.

I may have mixed my drinks a bit too much, but I

 guess it helped me have a good night's sleep.  Happy 

for that. Arvid had quite a few Bacardi and coke. Roger

 also had quite a few, but we had a great time definitely 

worth it. Everywhere we go, everyone knows Roger.

  He's like the local celebrity. He told us that he had

 lunch yesterday with Dean Martin's daughter.  She

 lives in Branson and is good friends with Roger.

To all a very good day. Today we most likely go to 

The Landing and have a quiet and relaxing outing.

Sunday is the perfect day to refuel your soul and 

be grateful for every one of your blessings...

~Nadiya~

Saturday October 10th~

Life is inherently risky. There is only 

one big risk you should avoid at all costs, 

and that is the risk of doing nothing...

 When in doubt go to Home Depot if only

 to get some light bulbs. Make it an experience,

 at least that’s what we did yesterday. Arvid walks 

around as if he were in a toy store. We walked

 around and he looked while I was wondering wha

t the heck we’re doing here.  We needed nothing.

 Also did a little run to Petco for some food

 for Sniff, before you knew it it was time for 

lunch and since I did not want to rush home and 

cook I decided to get us Panda Express.  Both of us

 like it very much.  We had a good lunch then came

 home to Sniff, who has been puking too often lately.

By 4pm we were restless, and since it’s 

Friday we had to get out a little. This time we 

did not go to The Landing. We decided to

 check out Point Royale Bar and Grill.

Point Royal happens to be just about five minutes 

from where we live. We did ask Roger to go with us 

but, unfortunately he has the flu.  Last Tuesday Roger 

asked us over for Taco Tuesday and a movie at his 

home together with some other people. He has asked

 before. So far we have not been able to make it 😱.

Another early start for Sniff and I.  Not by choice.

If there’s a single lesson that life teaches

 us, it’s that wishing doesn’t make it so...

~Nadiya~

Friday October 9th~

Happiness is seeing the nephew

 you once held in your arms grow

 into an amazing man...

 Our nephew Riley turned 24 this week. 

Arvid always calls him "the professor" and said, I 

can't believe he's already 24. We held him as a newborn 

in our arms, and today that little boy is 24.  Where

 did the years go by? Riley is celebrating his birthday

 with a three day weekend in The Big Apple, NYC

He and his best friend Katie are going to

 see  the Broadway version of Wicked.

Arvid and I had a good outing.  As long as 

I have a day without cooking, it is a good day,

 does not matter that food prepared at home

 always tastes better.  At least I didn't have

 to clean, and "slave" over the stove.

Arvid enjoyed his Cuban sandwich and

 I for a change did not have chicken. We were

 both very satisfied with our food choice.We

 have been to Castaways before, and Arvid 

did have their Cuban sandwich at the time.

 He always remembered how good it was.

As we drive around I keep taking pictures

 of the trees as they change colors. Flowers are

 still blooming beautifully.  The stunning

 contrast in colors is an amazing sight.

To all a very good day.  Another week is almost

 over and done with.  Soon we will be heading

 home to Florida.  In the meantime we continue

 to enjoy our time here in Branson, Missouri.

Life is like a road trip, enjoy each 

day and don't carry too much baggage...

~Nadiya~

Thursday October 8th~

3 AM is the ideal time for a concert.

Zoomies across the hallway. Crying into the

 void.  Knocking things off the counter for 

acoustics. Apparently, sleep is optional...

 Sniff usually sleeps through the entire night

 without having any of the so called zoomies most

 cat owners say their cats have.  He goes to bed with 

us, sleeps next to us for an hour or so then hops 

onto his bed which is right next to ours.

Last night that changed.  Around 4:46 in the morning 

I heard him running up and down the stairs. This went on 

for a good ten minutes or so.  Of course after that I got 

out of bed to see if everything was alright with him. All 

was. My guess is he probably slept too much the day

 before so he had to release some pent oy energy.

It's Thursday and on Thursdays I do 

not cook.  Have not decided where we will be

 going as of yet, butArvid has a craving for a 

Cuban sandwich.  Wherever we go, I know 

will most likely have the chicken dish.

To all a very good day.  It's 57 degrees 

Fahrenheit (14C) right now, but according to the

 weather forecast it will get to a hig in the 90's

 (32+C)  How do we dress for the day?

This hot and cold weather is 

the reason I have trust issues...

~Nadiya~

Wednesday October 7th~

It’s alright if I feel quiet today. 

Quiet is where gentle things grow...

 Yesterday was a quiet day spent at home. 

It was nice not to have to do anything. Caught 

up on some reading and of course there is 

always cleaning to do. These days I try

 to only do one load of laundry a day. 

As we were having breakfast we saw many

 birds flying around.  First time seeing so 

many since we got back in September.  

Always hoping that today will be the day

 the come and eat.  Yesterday one little birdie

 came to the feeder. Made me happy and gives 

me hope more will come before we leave.

Sniff keeps waiting as well.  Then

 he get tired and falls asleep in the sunshine.  

Either way, he's happy doing his thing.

Cooler mornings are here.  Loving it and

 enjoying it while we can. I spoke to one of my 

friends back home in Florida, and she was telling

 me how hot it is.  Hopefully by the time we

 go back cooler air will be around as well.

The quieter you become the more 

you are able to hear. Some days we

 just need to turn the quiet up...

~Nadiya~