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Monday, October 26, 2020
Birthday Weekend Recap
And another Monday. It's been a chilly, dreary day too. But I can't complain too much since I had four days off in a row and the weather was mostly
pretty nice as well.
Wednesday night after work I met up with my friend Susanna and we had some delicious tapas and wine at a Spanish tapas restaurant in town.
Then Thursday Mike and I took a day trip out to the east of the state, near the coast. Went to some cute New England-y towns (Deep River, Chester, Guilford, Madison) Started the day at a neat independent coffee shop, walked a nature trail and found a great shop selling various olive oils and vinegars. Finished with a great lunch at a wine bar called Ballou's. The weather was super nice that day as well, perfect sitting outside weather. Had a great leisurely lunch. From there we headed back towards home and stopped at Lucas Local for dinner. Saw our friend Larry who was bartending and it was great to catch up.
Friday we took a trip up to Framingham, MA (Boston suburb) to have lunch at Legal Seafoods. Yum. There was also a Cost Plus World Market just across the street so I was able to stock up on a bunch of international goodies which was great. Chocolates, gingerbread, jams, pickles, olives, pate, sausages and whatnot.
The "Little Cottage on the Coast" blog entry "Halloween Gingerbread House" features a fun and inventive do-it-yourself project perfect for the Halloween season. The author offers three ways to make a gingerbread house: starting with a pre-assembled kit and working your way up to a handmade creation made out of a cardboard box and graham crackers. The article offers a thorough how-to for putting the gingerbread house together and decorating it with homemade chocolate royal icing. The author makes it clear that these gingerbread houses are not meant for eating, but rather for exhibition. All in all, the article provides a creative and entertaining method to add a cherished holiday custom to Halloween décor.
Saturday was my actual birthday and I started the day with a massage at Massage Envy in Brookfield. This was actually my first ever massage and I am glad that I finally decided to give it a try. I really enjoyed it and actually signed up for a membership which gives you a massage once per month.
After that we hung out at Rosy's for a bit and later headed down to Darien to meet up with John & Jana and their friends Maya & Eddie for fondue at the Melting Pot. I absolutely love fondue so I was very happy this worked out. We had a few different cheese fondues, some steak and of course chocolate to top it all off. So good.
Well, that's all the news here from my end. Now it's Monday and back to work. At least the day is coming to and end. I do have some things I should be taking care of but I may just make myself another big mug of tea and curl up on the couch with my book.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Nina/WA, Lotte/Denmark and Kimber/Canada.
Posted by Hanna at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Happy Tuesday
Happy Tuesday. Not sure why I didn't end up posting yesterday but somehow the day just got away from me. No real reason either. Worked from home and after work I made a General Tso's Cauliflower with scallion rice and snow peas dish that was pretty tasty. Watched another episode of Poldark and started a new book. Paula Hawkins "Into The Water". She is the same author who wrote "The Girl on the Train" so I thought I should check it out. Only got a few pages into it though and then ended up calling it an early night. So yeah, nothing super exciting really. Haha.
So now it's Tuesday. Going to meet up with my friend Susanna after work and go to Ibiza (tapas bar) so that should be fun. Then tomorrow I am going into the office. Been doing that about once a week now just for a change of scenery. There really aren't very many people there at all but it's nice to just get out of the house and break up my routine for a bit. I mean don't get me wrong. I do enjoy the convenience of working from home. Sleeping later, rolling out of bed and starting work without a commute at all. It does have its perks for sure. :)
Anyway, Thursday and Friday this week I'll be off. Took two vacation days and originally we had talked about going somewhere for a long weekend. We were floating around a few different ideas, the latest of it was Boston. But the Monet exhibit I wanted to see at the Museum of Art in Boston now doesn't start until November so we decided to just scrap the trip. Still taking the time off but we will just do some day trips. Will see what we come up with. On Saturday (24th) which is my actual birthday I have a massage booked in the morning and for dinner we are meeting our friends at the Melting Pot in Darien for fondue. Really looking forward to that. I love fondue. :)
Alright, well that's about all from me for now. Will have more to write next week hopefully after my birthday week has come to a close.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Nina/WA, Lotte/Denmark and Kimber/Canada.
Posted by Hanna at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 12, 2020
Dreary Monday Musings
Dreary, rainy, chilly fall day today. It's been raining on and off all day. Shouldn't complain too much as we still need rain quite a bit with drought conditions here in CT. We really haven't had very much rain. But yeah, just not very motivating on a Monday but oh well. My work day is almost over so that's good anyway. Been able to log out earlier with working from home as I am able to log in earlier without having to worry about the commute to the office.
Anyway, really not a whole lot new. Last week was relatively non eventful. On Saturday we went to Sherwood Island park and walked the trails through the woods and along the beach. Last time we were there it was the height of summer with people picnicking and spending their days on the beach. This time it was more low key. There were still people there but mainly people going for walks, walking their dogs, jogging etc. The weather was nice and sunny, a bit windy but pretty warm so it was great weather for a walk. Logged close to 4 miles and afterwards went to lunch at Rizzuto's. Later also stopped at Centrico for a minute and when it got too cold to sit outside there we went to Two Steps where we ran into our friend Jack who we hadn't seen in a really long time so that was a fun surprise.
Sunday we slept in late and then headed to brunch at the Marketplace. Had the most delicious brunch burger (sunny side up egg, Applewood smoked bacon, arugula, avocado, siracha aioli on a brioche bun) So freaking delicious. Terrible for my attempts to eat healthy-ish I am sure but I got a side salad instead of the fries to make myself feel slightly better. lol. I know that hardly makes that huge of a difference but hey every bit helps I guess.
After brunch we went grocery shopping and then made our way home. Watched the SNL from Saturday we had recorded and then binged the rest of Schitt's Creek. Didn't get to bed till almost 1am and really sad that we are all done with Schitt's Creek now. That show definitely grew on me, such great characters.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Nina/WA, Lotte/Denmark and Kimber/Canada.
Posted by Hanna at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 05, 2020
October Fall Weekend
Hello October. In my mind I am still in March somehow but of course that's not really accurate. We have been having pretty nice fall/autumn weather these days so can't complain. Although we are in desperate need of some rain with drought conditions in CT. The weekend was sunny and nice.
Saturday we drove to Westport and had lunch at Rizzuto's and then stopped at Centrico before heading home and starting on season 6 of Schitt's Creek. I will be really sad when we are done with that show. Sunday we decided to take a fall foliage ride even though the color ended up being pretty subdued. I don't know if it's going to still get brighter and more colorful or if it's the drought conditions that are messing with the foliage. Either way we still had a nice ride and stopped at two vineyards - Hopkins and Haight Brown. Had lunch at Hopkins (some bread, cheese, crackers, dipping oil, olives, etc) Haight Brown also had live music on their patio. When we got home we watched the season premiere of SNL as that had recorded the previous night. It was fun to see them back in the studio.
What else? I won't even get into the whole Trump-Covid mess. There is just way too much to say about all of that and really all I will say is that every time I think it can't get any crazier with everything going on, yup it does. Ugh.
Anyway, that's all for now I guess. Will curl up with another mug of tea and read the rest of my book (Mr. Malcom's List).
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Nina/WA, Lotte/Denmark and Kimber/Canada. A letter went out to Celia/MA yesterday.
The district encourages kids to start their day with a free school breakfast, and this event is scheduled to coincide with National School Breakfast Week. In addition, they are planning a cereal drive, hoping to gather one hundred boxes to give to the neighborhood food bank and their Blessings in a Backpack initiative. To promote school spirit and a sense of community, several dress-up days and kindness challenges are organized throughout the week. The article highlights the value of encouraging student unity and backing significant programs like the provision of wholesome food. The main goals of Spirit Week are to honor National School Breakfast Week, spread kindness, and involve the Bunker Hill school community in an enjoyable and significant way.
Posted by Hanna at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)