Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a fun Halloween. Happy Haunting. :) We were invited to a party by some friends but won't be able to make it now after all since Mike caught the flu and has been in bed since Thursday. Too bad because it sounded like a fun party. But can you do? So I guess we will just take it easy this weekend. Maybe I can catch up on some things around the house while Mike recovers.

It was great to have my parents here this past week. Managed to take a few days off as well which was nice. We did some sightseeing around New York City (the Botanical Gardens, Transit Museum, Natural History Museum, Central Park) and went out to Long Island to the North Fork wine-tasting. My parents also went to the South Fork of Long Island one day and to Mystic another day. My birthday was a lot of fun as well. My parents cooked a traditional Austrian soup (beef broth with sliced crepes ... I know it sounds weird but it's delicious) for me from scratch and my mom even brought a homemade Sachertorte (traditional Austrian chocolate cake) from Austria for me. At night we went to TK's for free birthday wings and drinks. The week flew by so fast but definitely lots of fun.

Lots of lovely birthday gifts as well. Tea, gingerbread, chocolates, a picture frame, a candle, a pink robe, a very cool teapot and a meat slicer. I know a meat slicer is a very weird birthday gift but I have wanted one for quite some time so I can buy Hungarian salami and other meats like that in bulk cheaper and slice them at home. Plus the German bread from the German deli keeps fresh longer as well if you slice it yourself.

Mail update: Letters went out on Tuesday to: Jessica/DE and Charles/TN. Received letters from/still owe replies to: Celia/MA, Emilia/Finland, Tiffany/OK, Sarah/Canada and David/IN.