« February 2018 | Main | April 2018 »
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Maine Easter Weekend
Happy Easter from Maine. :) I am really not even a big Easter person but it's a good excuse
for a quick getaway as I already had 1/2 a day on Good Friday so I took that 1/2 a day off and we were able to go away for a long weekend to Portland, Maine.
Yesterday, Friday, we drove up from Connecticut and stopped in Kennebunkport, Maine for lunch. There's a neat brewpub there called Federal Jack's. It's been a little while since we have been but it never disappoints. Always fun to go back. Had delicious lobster bisque & a crab and havarti cheese sandwich. Very yummy. We hung out for a bit and then continued on to Portland.
Staying at the Portland Harbor Hotel (found a deal on Travelzoo a while back and I'm really happy with the hotel - it has a neat nautical and old timey theme and feel to it) For dinner we went to a place called Central Provisions. It was tapas style food with an open kitchen which was really neat. We sat at the bar and I was able to watch all the prep and cooking being done. Almost like a live Food Network show. Very cool. The food was delicious as well. Then we headed back to the hotel bar and had some more wine before heading back to the room.
Today we had breakfast at a local diner called Becky's. Had to wait for about 20 min. but had a good diner breakfast. Then headed back to the hotel to get the car and drove over to the Portland Head Light. Took some pictures of the lighthouse and scenery. Worked out because the weather turned sunny today so that was good. Still a bit cool and breezy but the sunshine made up for it. After the lighthouse we headed to a tasting room of a Maine winery called Cellar Door (at Thompson's Pointe - very fitting) Hung out there for a bit. Really neat tasting room (urban chic) I am really enjoying Portland. It's very industrial but new at the same time. Lots of hipster tendencies and neat renovated warehouse spaces. Very fun city.
For dinner we will try to check out a place called "The Thirsty Pig". Hopefully they have room. It's close to the Stonewall Kitchen store. So we will stop by and see how it goes and figure it out from there. Tomorrow we will probably sleep in and then have lunch somewhere on the way back. We'll see how it goes.
Letter/Mail Update: Received letters from/owe replies to: Celia/MA and Nina/WA.
Posted by Hanna at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Where is spring?
So it is now officially spring but I think nature didn't quite get that memo. We had more snow and another Nor'Easter this week. To be fair we didn't get nearly the amount that they forecasted for our area but it's just annoying needing to deal with ice and snow at all at the end of March. I am really over it. Ugh.
I am ready for some nicer weather, sun, spring flowers and for nature to wake up again. I guess it will happen sooner or later. Next weekend is Easter and we are going to head up to Maine. Got a deal on Travelzoo for a hotel in Portland, Maine so that should be good. Just 2 nights but it's always nice to be away for a bit. I have a 1/2 day off for Good Friday and decided to take 1/2 a vacation day so we can head up to Maine on Friday. We will come back Sunday. No real plans as the weather looks a bit iffy but I guess we can play it by ear and see how it goes.
Annoying it's already Sunday again but I guess at least I will have a 4 day week next week which will be nice. Also it's only a month now until I leave for Europe. Looking forward to going. My parent's cat passed away earlier this week which is sad. It will be weird going there and not having him around. He was a Maine Coon and such a sweet and friendly giant cat. RIP Jumbo.
This weekend we mostly relaxed. Ran a few errands, had lunch. My new Galaxy S9 phone also got delivered. But I didn't realize it uses a different charging cable than my current S7 so I am ordering more cables before I activate the phone.
Letter/Mail Update: All caught up at the moment :)
Posted by Hanna at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, March 19, 2018
Kevin Hart, St. Patrick's Day Weekend
So tomorrow is the first official day of spring. It really does not feel like spring though. Right now (at 7.15am) it is 26F (-3C) and feels like 19F (-7C) according to the Weather Channel. The high later is supposed to be 40F (4C) And I don't think tomorrow is going to be a whole lot better. And for Wednesday there is snow in the forecast again. Not a lot, about 1-3 inches is what they are saying right now (2.5-7.5 cm) But still. Just ugh. I am really just over winter and the snow/ice/cold. I am ready for some warmer weather. Well I guess, patience is a virtue. It will come sooner or later.
This weekend we went to Bridgeport on Saturday to see Kevin Hart's standup at the Webster Bank Arena. Definitely a lot of fun. Saturday was also St. Patrick's Day. I am really not a big fan of the holiday, especially here in the US. Everyone seems to go a little crazy. We ended up at an Italian restaurant prior to the show. (to avoid the St. Patrick's Day crowds) We originally decided to go to a place called Milano Wine Bar but weren't too thrilled with it. After we finished our drink, we left and then we saw another Italian place across the street called Trattoria 'A Vucchella and went there instead. Neat little place with really good food. Lots of Italian people working there as well which was a good sign. I had lasagna and it was pretty yum. Anyway, we hung out there for a while before heading to the show. Luckily the weather wasn't too terrible. It was cold but no rain or snow so the 10 minute walk back and forth to the arena from the garage wasn't too bad.
Sunday we went to the movies and saw " Annihilation". All in all a good movie even though I am still not a 100% how to interpret the whole thing. I can't really say too much about it without giving things away but anyway I'd recommend it. It was different and interesting enough. And I always enjoy Natalie Portman. After the movies we had lunch at 121 in Oxford. Then stopped at the store for some stuff and eventually caught up with some recorded shows. And well here we are and now it's Monday again.
We'll see what this week brings. I am really not in the mood for more snow on Wednesday. Normally that would be the best day as I usually works from home on Wednesdays but I decided to go into the office this week for a meeting. Let's hope it doesn't end up cancelled. Well, we shall see I suppose.
Letter/Mail Update: All caught up at the moment :)
Posted by Hanna at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Is it spring yet??
I am so over winter, I really am. We ended up with about 14 inches of snow in Danbury last Wednesday (some neighboring towns got as much as 28 and more) and I am really just over it. Some of it has melted but definitely not all. And they are forecasting another storm for Monday night into Tuesday. Right now it doesn't look like it will be a major one but I don't want another 4-6 inches on top of what we already have. I am ready for spring. Well enough complaining. At least we didn't lose power as a lot of people lost power the Friday before that due to heavy winds/rain and then also on Wednesday with the winds/heavy snow bringing down a lot of trees.
Had another quiet weekend as Mike had to go to NJ (Princeton) on a last minute business trip. So I ended up having a very quiet weekend with the cats, lots of reading, drinking tea, etc. Friday night I watched "Not Another Happy Ending" Was a fun indie type movie set in Scotland. It had 2 actors in it who also starred in Outlander (Stanley Weber & Gary Lewis) which was a happy coincidence as well as Karen Gillian who I really like. So that was a fun movie to watch.
Also been doing a good amount of reading. Let's see, just finished "The Accidental Empress" by Alison Pataki. It's historical fiction and based on Sisi/Elisabeth, the Austrian empress. I really enjoyed it. There's a second book/sequel that I just checked out from the library as well. I also read "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walters and that was really good as well. Different people and settings as well as decades (now, 60ies, Hollywood, Italy, Scotland and more) all intertwined. Went to the library earlier today and checked out 3 more books. Definitely on a roll with my reading so far this year.
Well tomorrow is already Monday again. I've been tired all day and I blame it on the fact that we switched over to Daylight Savings time. That always makes me feel out of sorts. And I hate that we switch so early in the year now (legacy from W. Bush) 2 weeks before Europe. Annoying. It was just starting to get light out in the morning when I have to get up and tomorrow morning it will probably be pitch black dark again. I hate getting up in the dark, one of my least favorite parts of winter, well besides the cold and the snow and all that.
Well this seemed like a pretty bitchy post altogether today. I do apologize for that. Hopefully the next one will be a bit more cheery. Fingers crossed.
Letter/Mail Update: A letter is going out tomorrow to: Celia/MA.
Posted by Hanna at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, March 05, 2018
Oscar Weekend
And now it's March. I am really over winter and was hopeful that we might end up with an early spring considering some of the nice days we have had. Well, seems like it's not meant to be as they are forecasting a relatively big snow storm for Wednesday this week. Ugh. Last Friday we had a mix of rain and snow and tons of wind which caused a lot of issues all over the area. Luckily we were fine, didn't lose power or really encounter any other major problems. But I know a lot of people in the Northeast had to do deal with flooding, power outages, down trees etc. There is a tree down at the end of our street but luckily it didn't cause any real problems.
I am definitely over winter and the snow/ice and ready for spring. I can't wait. well, in the meantime I'll cross my fingers that Wednesday's storm doesn't turn out too bad. I am already scheduled to work from home on Wednesday so that's nice at least. I do have a check up appointment at the orthodontist Thursday morning though. I'll need to figure out what to do with that. I guess I'll keep an eye on the forecast and decide tomorrow. I was planning on walking to the orthodontist and then walking to work but if it's the morning after the storm the sidewalks may not be in the best of shape yet. Guess we'll see.
This past weekend was pretty low key. Saturday we went to the movies and saw "Game Night". Not the best movie ever but it was entertaining enough. Had lunch afterwards and I spent the evening reading. Sunday was Oscar Day so we ended up watching the Oscars which was enjoyable. It always does seem to drag on forever but it was still fun to watch. Jimmy Kimmel did a good job as the host and all in all it was pretty fun to watch. Had some cheese & crackers and chips & dip as well as some wine. Enjoyable night.
Let's see, what else is new? Oh I got tickets to the Outlander Convention in New Jersey. It's not until August so still some time away but should be a fun day. I am going with my friend Falguni. Never been to any convention/ComiCon type thing so should be interesting. Not usually a fan of big crowds but should be fun, people watching, seeing the actors, etc. I haven't purchased any of the autograph or photo ops tickets though. Just have a hard time justifying the money for that.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA.
Posted by Hanna at 07:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)