Saturday April 11th~

Life is a great big canvas, and you 

should throw all the paint on it you can...

 Yesterday we got an “emergency” call from

 mom and dad.  Nothing happened.   It was just

 the smoke detector beeping away.  Because it’s so 

high we preferred to go there and change the 

batteries ourselves. A good start of our day.

Can’t have my dad falling down.  While 

we were there we switched out all the batteries for 

them.  My dad bought a bunch of 9 Volt batteries 

so there were even leftovers. There is no one

 as generous as my dad. He tried to give them

 to us, but we told him no thank you. 

He will need it sooner or later.

I made lunch at home. We did some work 

and I caught up on some reading.  Arvid 

enjoyed a little bit of a soccer game.

In the late afternoon we decided we needed to

 get out a little. Of course we went downtown.  Of 

course I stopped by to feed Legacy.  She eventually 

showed up.  At first she pretended I was not there but 

then hunger took over, and she came to the foodies.

Our outing took us to Ford's Garage.  Perfect 

spot for people watching, good food and good

 drinks.  As always we had a good time.

Once back home it was a relaxing evening 

watching TV.  Wishing everyone a good day

 and a happy weekend.  Make it count.

In my next life I want to be a cat. To 

sleep 20 hours a day and wait to be fed...

~Nadiya~

Friday April 10th~

Ah yes… pollen season. That magical time

 of year when the trees express their love by 

aggressively yeeting yellow dust all over

 our cars, our faces, and our will to live...

 Florida days.  Just peachy.  Allergies in high 

gear right now, but it sure is nice and warm.

Yesterday Arvid and I checked out a new place 

for lunch.  Located at the foot of the Cape Coral bridge 

on the beautiful Caloosahatchee River, Slipaway Food 

Truck Park & Marina in Cape Coral offers 10 unique 

food trucks with boat access, waterfront dining, 

cocktails and live music.  It's a beautiful spot.

We enjoyed live music as we were dining.  The

 band was pretty good and the crowd seemed to all 

be having a good time.  It was a bit on the windy 

side, but it was a gorgeous day.  Warm and bright

 blue skies surrounded by palm trees and water.

The food truck all have good food.  Yesterday

 we went for Cuban food.  It was really good.  Arvid 

always has a Cuban sandwich, yesterday I went for 

ropa vieja.  I had enough food for three meals.

By the time we were leaving dark clouds were

 rolling in.  It did not rain, but it sure looked 

like it would be coming down pretty soon.

Back home there was a soccer game going on, 

and of course Arvid had to check up on his "workers."  

Those are the men working on the marina. He gives 

them directions from the bedroom and balcony.  It's

 more directions he says as to how he would do

 certain things.  Not as if they can hear him, but it 

makes Arvid happy.  He and Sniff go back and

 forth from bedroom window to balcony.

A little before five o'clock I went to feed Legacy 

before the rain came.  After a few minutes Legacy

 showed up.  Yesterday she had chicken tenders

 I boiled for her and some leftover salmon 

that I kept for her.  Just boiled in water.

We enjoyed a peaceful evening at home.  

Watching Tv and relaxing.  Just the 3 of us.

To all a good day.  Friday, who know what can 

happen.  Hopefully a downtown kinda day.

If my boss knew how unproductive I am 

on Fridays, he wouldn't want me here either...

~Nadiya~

Thursday April 9th~

You two are the reason I believe in forever...

 Today mom and dad celebrate 64 years

 of marriage.  They make it look so easy, but I do 

that that it has not always been easy.  Especially 

with five daughters and nine grandchildren.  

Mom and dad have always been there for us no 

matter what.  They sacrificed their entire "adult" life

 just to make sure their five daughters had a college

 education and were prepared for life on their own. 

 The values they have instilled in us will forever

 be a part of our legacy.  Like most parents with their

 children, we may not always agree with everything, 

but what is always present is love and respect.

Yesterday was fairly a quiet day.  Had another 

doctors appointment, Arvid continues to work on our 

taxes.  Just a typical day in April.  Sniff slept a lot.

Life in the Sunshine State is always interesting.

To all a very good day.  As always Sniff and I are 

awake early.  He's already eaten, and is now back 

in bed.  His heating bed.  Sniff is a happy boy.

The greatest gift you ever gave us was a happy 

childhood, built on your love for each other...

~Nadiya~

Wednesday April 8th~

Success is liking yourself, liking what

 you do, and liking how you do it...

 Yesterday we went over to mom and dad's to help

 them set up a few smaller details in their new car.  Arvid

 spent time first with my dad showing him all the necessary 

gadgets and how to customize/set up a few things.  

After he was done with my dad, it was mom's turn.

 He showed her the same.  When he wants to, Arvid

 is very patient.  When Arvid was done with his "lesson"

 it was my turn.  I was in charged of the phone setup, the 

navigation and how to navigate the media player.

We were caught in a lot of rain yesterday.  Seems like 

the rainy season has begun early.  No complaints because 

we sure need it.  Too bad that I had a soaking going to 

the grocery store.  Somehow the umbrella that's always in 

the car was not.  Another example of Arvid tidying up.

 I did no see Legacy yesterday.  I went, 

left her some foodies and cleaned up her area.  

So many ants.  People are being kind, but they

 leave food on the ground by her mats all the 

time.  By afternoon it's swarming with ants.

Back home it was more rain in the late 

afternoon early evening.  Made it a cozy evening 

for all of us.  Especially Sniff, he gets to pick 

who he sits with and when.  He's very loved.

To all a very good day.  With the rain the 

flowers are blooming even more prettily and

 our sunrises are always picture perfect.

If you're not watchful, the wonderful

 is made mundane. But on a good day the 

mundane can be made miraculous...

~Nadiya~

Simple Pleasures And Food..

Simple can be harder than complex: You 

have to work hard to get your thinking clean to 

make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because 

once you get there, you can move mountains...

They say that the simple things are the most

 extraordinary things and that only the wise can see 

them.  I guess I am one of those wise ones for I enjoy

 the simple things in life more than anything else.

Some of my favorite times are walking on 

the beach.  When we lived in Fort Lauderdale, it

 was very easy to go for walk on the beach.  It gave me 

time to just be with myself and to just let my imagination 

take flight.  If only for an hour or so.  It revives the soul 

and prepares me to face whatever the day holds.

Arvid and I used to enjoy going to Monty's in 

South Beach.  Not a fancy place but the sunsets are 

impressive.We saw the cruise ships pass by as we enjoyed

 our favorite seafood.  Only restaurant where both 

Arvid and I actually order from the raw bar.

Food makes me happy.  When I eat I enjoy it. 

 Arvid eats because he has to.  For me it's just a 

delicious experience.  Time after time.  At Monty's 

it was just a truly delightful time.  We both love it 

there and it had become "our" spot.  I do miss it.

Many say that food is our common ground.  

A universal experience. I truly believe so for

 laughter is brightest where food is best.  Food brings

 everyone together and puts people in a happier better 

mood and state of mind.  Does it for me, always.

To all a very good day.  You know they say that

 you have to taste a culture to understand it.  I want

 to understand many cultures in this lifetime.  Good food

 is good mood, and I always want to be in a good mood.

A good day to all.  Every so often it makes me happy

 to take a little stroll down memory lane.  There is laughter,

 joy and tears.  I have enjoyed every (almost) chapter 

in my life.  A few I could do without, but over-all, 

 life has been good to me.  And it still is.

Legacy was waiting for me again.  Just

 chilling on her mat. It rained a bit in the evening.  

Her mat will be wet, so today I have to go and hang 

them in the sun to dry out.  Always something to do. 

Life is really simple, but we

 insist on making it complicated...

~Nadiya~

New Week- Monday April 6th~

Begin this week with an 'I get to' mentality 

instead of an 'I have to' thought process...

As the new week begins so does most of my 

doctors appointments.  April and November are

 the months I usually have most of my doctors 

follow-ups.  Arvid also has a few scheduled

 this month.  Combined with a few other things,

 the week will be busy.  Always good, and 

BTW, April is going to be really HOT!

Once again I went a bit earlier to feed Legacy.

 The sky was black and it looked like rain any minute. 

 Luckily she was there.  No Newbie though. She 

was patiently waiting again on her mat.

Our day was quiet yesterday.  Just a little 

walk downtown for some ice-cream, and a

 little stretching of the legs.  Always good.

The new week begins on a positive I can

 do note.  Wishing you all a good one as well.

You can't go back and change

 the beginning, but you can start where

 you are and change the ending...

~Nadiya~

Easter Sunday April 5th~

Take it slow and give your soul 

a chance to catch up with your body...

 Yesterday we both enjoyed a very relaxing day;  

that is if I don’t think about the zoo that grocery 

shopping was. I went to Publix and then had to go

 to Walmart to get some food for Sniff and Legacy. 

Meanwhile this is happening in somewhere near you.

Walmart is the only place I find Sheba pate 

individually sold.  Seems like everyone was at

 Walmart yesterday.  I keep telling myself to never

 go there in the weekends, however that seems to

 be the best time for me no matter what.

 I also pick up my meds from Walmart.  

This way when we go to Branson it’s easy to 

just transfer them.  In Branson one mostly

 gets everything also at Walmart.

On Friday when I went to feed Legacy she was 

not there. A lot of work is going on in the area 

where she lives. It is after all Legacy Marina, and it’s 

in full renovation mode. I went there yesterday before 

we left for the concert.  I was so happy to see her just

 relaxing on her mat. She waited until I cleaned up put 

fresh water and food before jumping up to eat. 

Sniff is acting up with his foodies. He won’t eat

 unless Arvid “begs” him.  Arvid does have this unique

 knack to make him eat.  Glad for that. He's still  puking 

quite often.  Might have to take him to the vet.

Last night Arvid and I went to a concert.  As 

my sister Rima says, “he’s still alive?” He is and 

not a bad performance for an old man.

Today we will take it easy. Our outing will be at home 

and I will be making lunch.  Can’t tell you how happy 

we are to not be eating out.  While Arvid’s brother 

was here we ate out almost everyday. Don’t get me

 wrong, it was good, but we sure got tired of it.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter.

Easter is meant to be a symbol

 of hope, renewal and new life...

~Nadiya~

Saturday April 4th~

Ready to make memories with the new beast...

Yesterday we spent most of the day at a car dealership.
 Mom and dad bought a new car after 22 years. It was 

not easy to let go of their faithful Toyota 4Runner.

 My dad and mom loved this car. To the end, it still 

was running smoothly and looked almost new. They 

always treated this and all of their cars very well.  It was

 sad for them, but also a happy day. They came to buy a

 black car, but mom saw the blue one and that was

 it for her.  She loved it and that’s what they got. 

They were asked if they would like to test drive

 the car. My dad said sure and then said to Arvid, “you

 test drive it for us.”  He did and they all were happy.

The purchase took hours.  Afterwards mom and

 dad took us out to dinner.  Dad asked Arvid to drive 

the car to the restaurant. They were passengers.  I 

followed behind in our car.  Worked for all of us.

We had a very good meal.  Everyone was 

happy and smiling.  A new toy to play with now.

 Definitely a very good day.  If you know my dad, 

you also know he got the top of the line 🚙

It's a beautiful day here. Having lunch 

at home seems like a special treat now. 

 Good day to all and a Happy Easter.

The very first Easter taught us this: that

 life never ends and love never dies...

~Nadiya~