A Day in Hanna's World

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. 

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.

 

Spring is in the air

I know it's not officially spring yet but the weather has definitely been very spring-like, especially yesterday. It's supposed to be nice and warm pretty much all week I think. Can't complain about that. :) 

Saturday I had to work but yesterday, Sunday, I took the opportunity to go out in the yard and work on some things. Dug up a bunch of weeds/vines. It's very slow progress and sometimes I feel like I will never get there but it was nice to be outside anyway. Felt nice to be outside in the sun.  I can definitely feel the after effects of using my arms a lot yesterday though. Maybe I need to get in better shape. :)

Now it's Monday and back to work. In more fun news we just decided to see "Of Monsters and Men" (an Icelandic band we recently discovered) in Rochester, NY on April 9th. It's a Monday so we will probably leave on Sunday and come back Tuesday. (about a 6 hr drive) Will be nice to be away for a couple of days again. 

Mail update: Letters went out last Thursday to: Tiffany/OK and Charles/TN. 

Hello again from Indy

Having a really good time here in Indiana. Yesterday, Sunday, we went on a little scenic drive to Bloomington, Indiana. Walked around Bloomington for a bit and had lunch at the Irish Lion. Hung out there for a bit and then went to the Oliver Winery a bit outside of town. A really neat place. They have huge grounds in the back, a lake, patio, etc. I can see where it would be very pretty in the warmer months, having a picnic lunch out back. We did the wine tasting and really enjoyed all the wines we tasted. I have to say it was one of the better wineries we have been to. Ended up buying a case of wine to bring back to CT. Comes in handy to have a car sometimes. After the winery we went to Nashville, IN, walked around there for a bit and then back to Indianapolis. Had dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery and some after dinner wine at the Tastings Wine Bar next door.

Today we had breakfast at Einstein Bagels, then walked to the zoo which is just across a bridge from downtown (about a mile and a half). Spent some time at the zoo where we saw a cute tiger and a bunch of hyper meerkats among other things. After the zoo we walked back downtown and had a snack and some drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Now we are back at the hotel for a bit. In a little while we will head back out to walk towards the section of downtown where the theater is where we will see the Kooks later. Going to have dinner at Barcelon Tapas beforehand. 

Tomorrow we are off to Pittsburgh. Going to stop in Dayton, Ohio on the way to see the Airforce Museum. Definitely enjoying our time away from work.

Mail update:  Yesterday letters went out to  Celia/MA, Lotte/Denmark, Jessica/DE and Emilia/Finland. Still owe replies to: Tiffany/OK and Charles/TN.

Hello from Indianapolis

And here we are in Indianapolis. It's been a long day of driving but fun. We set the alarm for 2:45 and left the house about 3:30. Got here right around 4:30pm.  Long  day but at least it's still early enough where we can freshen up in our room and then head out for dinner and get a decent night of sleep afterwards.

Will probably head to the RAM Brewery & Restaurant for dinner. It's just three minutes from the hotel. Maybe we will stop at the Hard Rock Cafe for a drink afterwards. We will see.

Very happy to have today and the next four days off from work although we did already receive three work calls today driving here. But it's still more fun being away from work, makes things easier. :) Tomorrow we will probably take a ride out to Bloomington and Nashville, Indiana. Not sure what we will do Monday yet.

Mail update:  On the way here I wrote letters to:  Celia/MA, Lotte/Denmark, Jessica/DE and Emilia/Finland. Still owe replies to: Tiffany/OK and Charles/TN.

Oscar Weekend

And almost the end of February already again. Time flies. This week was fairly uneventful which was good I guess. I was off on Tuesday, was semi-productive (washed our current bed set and put a different one on) and also finished reading Stephen King's 11-22-63. What a great book. I would recommend that to anyone looking for a good book to read. It's totally different from Stephen King's normal horror books too. Anyway, definitely something I would recommend.

Since I was off on Tuesday I had to work on Saturday. Was a pretty quiet day all in all though. After work we went over to our friend Tim's house to hang out there with a few other friends. Tim made a delicious dinner (bruschetta, steak, pasta & sausage) and we had a good time hanging out eating, drinking and talking.

Today we slept in late, then went grocery shopping and for a late lunch at TKs. In a bit we will catch up on some of our recorded shows and then later we will watch the Oscars of course. Always neat to watch. We bought some cheese and crackers and will enjoy that with some wine.

Next weekend we will be off to Indianapolis. We will leave really early on Saturday as it's a 13 hour drive. We will spend Saturday night, Sunday and Monday in Indianapolis. IN (Monday we have tickets to see The Kooks). Then on Tuesday we will head to Pittsburgh, PA with a stop in Dayton, OH to visit the Airforce Museum. Wednesday it's back home to CT. Should be a fun roadtrip. It's always fun to get away for a few days.

Mail update:  A letter went out to Nina/WA. Received letters from/owe replies to: Celia/MA, Lotte/Denmark, Jessica/DE, Emilia/Finland and Tiffany/OK.

Happy New Year's from New Hampshire/Maine

Happy New Year's from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It's a pretty dreary rainy day today but that's ok. Was the perfect weather to sleep in. Going to have lunch in a bit at the Coat and Arms British pub, then going to head over to York, Maine to go to the Stonewall Kitchen store and to see the lighthouse there. After that we will head back and see what time it is. We have dinner reservations at Mombo at Strawberry Banke at 7pm. Should be a delicious dinner hopefully. :)

Yesterday we left Danbury around 7:30am, stopped in New Hampshire at one of their massive liquor stores they have right off the highway (no sales tax-yay). Got a couple of bottles of wine and a bottle of sparkling rose for New Year's. Then headed to Kennebunkport, Maine for lunch. As always Federal Jack's was great, yummy lunch. Afterward we headed back to New Hampshire and checked in at our bed and breakfast in Portsmouth. Relaxed in the room for a bit and then walked into the town center for an early dinner. Had some yummy food at the Portsmouth brewery and then some wine at the Black Trumpet wine bar.

Tomorrow it's already time to go back home again. Can't believe it's already 2012 tomorrow. Hope all of you have a great New Year's and a great start to 2012. Anybody have any New Year's resolutions? Mine are the same as always. Lose some weight, try to work on our backyard, cook more at home, exercise more. Yeah, we will see how that goes. :)

Mail update: Letters going out soon to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Jessica/DE. Received letters from/owe replies to: Nicki/OZ, Celia/MA and Sayaka/Japan.