A Day in Hanna's World

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day to everyone in the US. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.  We are having a very laidback weekend at home. Decided we have been pretty busy lately so a nice laidback weekend at home was just the right thing. 

Yesterday I worked in the yard for a bit (It was soo humid though) and then played the Sims for a bit, caught up on some emails and other web stuff. Today is pretty much just more of the same. :) Slept in late again. Mike's watching the Mets game on TV right now while I am surfing the web. Might make myself some tea and sit outside for a bit with a book in a little while. I should do more yard work but feeling lazy today. 

Tomorrow we have to work but hopefully should be a quieter day. We will see. Then Tuesday will probably be pretty busy. The day after the holiday always tends to be a little crazy. Wednesday I should be off again since I am working next Saturday. 

Only a little over a month now before I head to Austria/France. Time is definitely flying. Still a lot to do before I go but it's a nice thought for the back of my mind anyway. :)

Mail Update: Received a letter from Carmen/Malta, Celia/MA, Charles/TN and Lotte/Denmark. 

Busy, busy - Upcoming Memorial Day

Another busy week. My friend Anneliese left on Thursday, May 10th. The rest of that week was still pretty busy. That Saturday we had to work. And then Sunday the 13th we went down to NYC again, this time to meet up with my Danish friend Lotte and her sister Carina.  Had a great time catching up, eating pizza at Arturo's and strolling through Manhattan.

This past week was semi-busy at work due to the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Lots of preparation, making sure all the delivery schedules line up and everything works out as planned. This week will be even busier in that regard since it's the last week before the holiday. Lots of reminding and keeping track of schedules that needs to happen.

Last weekend we had off which was nice. Saturday I had another dentist appointment (ugh) in the morning but the rest of the day was spent vegging out on the couch catching up with our recorded TV shows which was nice. Then Sunday we slept in, I worked in the backyard for a bit and in the afternoon we were invited over to a friend's house. Had a yummy meal there, enjoying the nice weather on the deck. After that we all stopped by a local bar to meet up with a friend who was celebrating his birthday there. 

Let's see what this week brings. I am sure it will be plenty busy at work. My parents are currently in Corsica and I am definitely jealous about that. :) At least my next vacation isn't all that far in the future. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from Charles/TN and Lotte/Denmark. 

New York City, Washington DC & more

Time is just flying by. Anneliese is only here until Thursday this week, can't believe it's almost been two weeks already. We have definitely been keeping busy though. 

Wednesday & Thursday last week we spent in NYC. On Wednesday we did all the uptown sights (Empire State Building, Guggenheim, Central Park, 5th Ave, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Hard Rock Cafe, Grand Central, etc.) and Thursday we did everything downtown (Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport, SoHo, Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.) Friday she stayed home and relaxed a little while we went to work.

Saturday we left for Washington DC. Managed to fit a lot of stuff into our 2 nights there too. Walked all around the mall and saw a bunch of the monuments (Capitol Building, Washington, Lincoln Monument, White House, Roosevelt, Vietnam, Korean War, 2nd World War, Martin Luther King Monument...) Had dinner at the Grillfish in Dupont Circle. Then Sunday we went to the zoo and had lunch at the Hard Rock afterwards. Sunday night we saw a baseball game at Nationals Park which was fun. Then Monday we had breakfast at Eggspectations in Silver Springs, MD and then headed home to CT. 

Today it's back to work for Mike and me. Tomorrow we will leave work a little early and head down to NYC so she can see New York by night as well. Will do Times Square and probably also the Empire State Building. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from Jessica/DE. 

Niagara Falls Weekend & More

So Anneliese arrived on Thursday last week and the days she has been here have definitely flown by. Thursday we picked her up from the airport, Friday was a shopping day at the mall. 

Then Saturday we left for Niagara Falls, about a 7 1/2 hour drive from where we are. We looked at the falls quickly, then had dinner at the Hard Rock. On Sunday we spent the whole day sightseeing, did the Maid of the Mist boat tour in the morning and the Behind the Falls tour in the afternoon. Did some shopping and went to the hotel to relax for a bit. Then at night we had some snacks and dinner to wait for sunset and after that we went to look at the falls again after they were illuminated. They look really neat at night when they are all lit up in different colors. 

Tomorrow is going to be another quiet day for her at home while we catch up a bit at work. Wednesday and Thursday I plan on taking off from work, showing her around New York City (Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, ... all that) So we are definitely keeping busy. Should be fun though. :)

Next weekend we are heading to Washington DC Saturday-Monday so that should be busy and fun too. And we also want to head to New York City for a night view of Times Square on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week as well. Keeping busy. :)

Mail Update: Letters went out today to: Lotte/Denmark and Charles/TN. Tomorrow a letter is going out to: Kimber/Halifax. 

Two Steps Chili Cook-Off

Had the whole weekend off which was nice. On Saturday I did some work outside, cleared a bunch of the yard (a lot of the trees which were already on their last breath fell during the freak October snow storm last year) of broken tree limbs, branches and other stuff. Worked for about three hours. Then I came inside and cleaned some stuff in the house. We are getting close to my friend Anneliese's visit so we are using that as an excuse for a good spring clean in the house. :) 

Today we slept in again and then went to the annual chili contest at Two Steps. They had 14 different people making chili so it was fun to taste the different kinds and hang out. Went grocery shopping before that and now we are home catching up on some of our shows. The weather has been god awful all day, cold and rainy, but it doesn't really matter all that much. I know we need the rain. 

Only a few more days until Anneliese gets here. Really excited. :) Not too much else going on otherwise. Friday night we were invited over to one of our bosses' houses which was interesting. Saturday night we went to Bluu and ran into our friends John & Jana by total accident which was fun. Had dinner with them before they went to catch a show at a local theater in Brewster, NY. So all in all it's been a fun few days I suppose. 

 Mail Update: Received letters from: Kimber/Halifax and Lotte/Denmark.

 

Spring Weekend

What a gorgeous weekend. Had to work yesterday but today we were able to enjoy the beautiful weather. Decided to take advantage of the nice weather and went to Rizzuto's for lunch on their patio. Had a lovely salad. Yumm. Tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 88F (31C) but then it's going to go back down into the 60ies (16C) midweek which is more normal for this time of the year. After lunch we ran some errands, grocery shopping etc. Then did a few things around the house, taxes, etc. Will catch up with our recorded shows in a bit.

Enjoyed the rest of our stay in Rochester last weekend. On Monday we took a drive along the shore of Lake Ontario on the Seaway Trail. Lots of pretty views. Had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls and then drove way back to Rochester. Monday night we went to see "Of Monsters and Men". A really good show. And then on Tuesday we drove back to Connecticut.

Only a week and a half to go before my friend Anneliese from Austria gets here now. Looking forward to her visit. Good excuse for a nice spring clean for our house too. Will do that over the next week to get things nice and ready for her stay. It's the first time for her in the United States so it will be fun to show her around, take her to New York City etc. WIll also do weekend trips to Niagara and Washington DC. Should be fun. :)

 Mail Update: A letter went out to: Sanya/Japan on Wednesday and one is going out tomorrow to: Celia/MA. Received letters from: Kimber/Halifax and Lotte/Denmark.

 

Happy Easter from Rochester

Hello from our weekend trip to Rochester. So far it's been a very nice weekend. We left on Saturday morning around 7:30 and made it to the Finger Lakes by lunch time. Had a delicious lunch at Dano's Heurigen (you can click here for a picture of my schnitzel  -- yumm). It's right on Seneca Lake with beautiful views over the rolling vineyards and the lake. 

After lunch we continued to Rochester, another hour and a half or so. Checked in at the hotel for a bit, relaxed and then went to dinner at Tap and Mallet. After dinner there we went to the Solera Wine Bar, had a few glasses of wine there and then back to the hotel.

Today we decided to go for a walk along the Genesee Riverway Trail. Ended up doing about 5 1/2 miles roundtrip. Lots of pretty views, boardwalk over the water, marshes and also out to the pier on Lake Ontario. Then afterwards we went to the zoo in the afternoon which was also fun. Great weather today so definitely can't complain.

Not sure what we are doing during the day tomorrow. At night we have the "Of Monsters and Men" show. Then on Tuesday we are heading back home. 

 Mail Update: Letters should go out soon to: Carmen/Malta and Charle/TN (just need to find a mailbox). Received letters from: Kimber/Halifax, and Saya/Japan.

 

Lost Voice Weekend

Another weekend gone by too fast. It doesn't help that I have been dealing with a sore throat/cough since Thursday. On Friday at work I could barely talk at all which isn't good when my work day normally has a large part of phone work involved. Instead I tried to focus on some other things, work on spreadsheets etc. It's a little better now but it's still bothering me, especially the cough. Super annoying. 

On Saturday we slept in really late and then worked on putting our new blinds up. As usual it was a huge pain. The installation instructions that came with it were useless, one of the drill bits broke and it was just a huge hassle. I need to go to the craft store tomorrow and look for some sort of bead type thing we can put on the end of the cords (the ones you use to pull the blinds up and down) We cut them because they were way too long and were getting tangled all the time. But now I need to find something new to put on the end of them.

Today we slept in again, then went to have breakfast and ran some errands, grocery shopping etc. Now we are back home and will catch up on our recorded TV in a bit. The weather has been cool and rainy so really not great outdoor weather. Hopefully it will be nicer next weekend when we go to Rochester.

Mail Update: No letters have gone out. Received letters from: Carmen/Malta, Kimber/Halifax, Saya/Japan and Charles/TN.

 

Crazy weather changes and some other mishmash of stuff

The weather has turned more normal for this part of the season/month but since it has been so beautiful this past week and a half this cold rainy weather really doesn't make me happy. Today it's not raining at least but very windy so it feels even colder. And tonight it's going to drop down below freezing with frost. All the plants that started blooming will be very confused. 

Had to work Saturday but wasn't too bad of a day. On Sunday we originally wanted to go for another nice long walk but the weather didn't really cooperate with that. So instead we decided to have lunch at The Olive Market in Redding. We had a $20 Groupon (only paid $5) for it and our bill for lunch was only $5.50. Not bad. :) After that we stopped at the Little Pub for some dessert and drinks. I always enjoy the atmosphere there and since the weather was cool/rainy they also had the fireplace going which was nice. 

After that we headed back to Danbury. Stopped at Home Depot and Lowe's since we were looking for some new blinds/shades for the living room. We eventually found some nice looking blinds. They are a darker brown, made out of plastic but are supposed to look like wood. The ones made out of real wood were crazy expensive. These ones were still expensive considering we needed three for the three windows in the livingroom. Hopefully they will look nice. I will take pictures when we put them up. For now you can look at the link here. 

Tonight we are going to New York after work so I can attend the monthly "Austrians in NYC" get together organized through the consulate. Haven't been in ages so it will be fun to go and hang out with people. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment to get some fillings done. Busy, busy. 

Mail Update: Letters went out today to: Jessica/DE and Celia/MA. Received letters from: Kimber/Halifax, Saya/Japan and Charles/TN.

 

Happy Spring!

It's officially the first day of spring. :) The weather has continued to stay very nice so definitely matches the spring feeling.

Had the day off today since I am working Saturday so I thought it would be a good idea to get some things done around the house. Got our spring bedset out since it's been so warm and the heavy covers really weren't great at night. Also changed the rest of the decorations around the house to match the season. After all that I had to vaccum, did three loads of laundry and then went outside to work in the yard for a couple of hours. Definitely a busy day.

Took a shower now and just working on some things on the computer. Updated the layout/design of my website to match spring as well. Will check on my emails in a bit and maybe read a few chapters. When Mike gets home we will walk to Two Steps for dinner. It's been so nice out so we have been taking advantage of that and decided to get more excercise by walking to the places we can easily walk to. I think I will definitely sleep well tonight. :)

Mail update: No letters have gone out. Still owe replies/received letters from: Jessica/DE, Kimber/Halifax.