Monday, January 02, 2023
Goodbye 2022 .. Hello 2023
Hello 2023! I know it is all a bit arbitrary but in a way early January always feels like a clean slate to me. Like anything is possible, curiosity to see what the year ahead will bring and a positive outlook for the months to come. I guess we will see how 2023 will shape up. 2022 was kind of a blur to me in many ways. I was promoted to team lead in February of 2022 and the whole year at work was a bit of a whirlwind trying to grow into the new position while being short staffed and trying to keep up with the day to day tasks. Things have started to look up towards the end of 2022 so I am hoping that 2023 will be a good year at work, turning some things around. Fingers crossed and all of that.
Vacation wise we didn't really go on any big trips in 2022. I went to Austria twice, in April and in September, which of course was nice but is more of a home visit than an actual vacation, seeing sights and all that. Went to the Finger Lakes over Memorial Day and to the North Fork in October for my birthday but yeah that was about it. 2023 is shaping up better trip wise as we have the Barcelona/Lisbon trip booked for February. So we are off to a good start. Hopefully we can find some other things to do later in the year too. Would love to go to California again. Last time was in 2019. Our last Europe trip together (Mike + I) was also in 2019 (Croatia + Austria) So hopefully in 2023 we can get back to traveling more. Now that Mike is a bit more settled at his new job I think things will start to fall back into place more.
Let's see, anything else new? Last week at work was a short week. Busy with coverage and random stuff but we made it through. Had a half day on Friday and also today off due to it being a federal holiday (since the 1st fell on a weekend) Been doing some stuff around the apartment, watching some Jamie Oliver, reading and whatnot. Nothing earth shattering. A nice quiet veg out day.
New Year's was nice and quiet too. We had lunch in Westport, then headed to Chuck's for dinner and had a delicious meal and some wine (also ran into our friends Maryellen and Rich which was nice) Left there around 8.45pm and then spent the rest of the night on the couch watching CNN's Times Square New Year's coverage with Andi Cohen & Anderson Cooper. Opened a bottle of rose prosecco and stayed up till just after midnight. lol.
New Year's Day we went for brunch at Craft. Delicious food and bottomless mimosas/bellinis. And later started watching "Wednesday" on Netflix. I know, I know, a bit late to the party. But we managed to get through 3 episodes and definitely enjoyed it.
Well tomorrow is the first work day of the new year and mostly every body will be back (a lot of people took off time for Christmas/New Year's)
Mail Update: All caught up!
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Monday, December 26, 2022
Christmas Post
And another Christmas done and in the books. Just a few days until 2023 now. It is weird thinking about 2023. In my mind the whole Y2K Year 2000 thing is really not that long ago and somehow we are almost 23 years removed from this now. Where has the time gone? I know, I know. It's my go to line 'where does the time go?' and it does always feel like it's flying from one week to the next. But then at times like New Year's it becomes even more apparent. It really is crazy and makes me realize I am getting old. Haha.
But anyway, is what it is right? I am on day four of a four day weekend which has been nice. I had Dec 23rd and Dec 26th off due to the 24th and 25th falling on the weekend this year. No complaints of course. Friday (23rd) I did a few things around the apartment, had a curry sweet potato turkey soup for lunch and in the evening was invited over to my friend Jana's house. She made some yummy food and we had a bunch of prosecco and watched various movies. A fun night.
Saturday, Christmas Eve, we went to Westport to have lunch at Rizzuto's. Actually before that we went to Stew Leonard's and bought a bunch of yummy food (shrimp cocktail, cheeses, crackers, pigs in a blanket and more) After lunch we stopped at Rosy's for another drink before heading home and watched "Glass Onion", the second Knives Out movie on Netflix. I wasn't really sure what to think of it at first but did end up liking it.
Sunday, Christmas Day, we slept in a bit and then went to the movies at 11.15 to see "Babylon". It was over three hours along but we didn't have anywhere else to be so it was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I did like the movie, didn't love it but it was a fun watch. Afterwards we came home and hung out at home for the rest of the day. Had our Christmas feast and binged the second season of Ted Lasso on Apple+. Was a fun way to spend the day.
Mike and I decided not to really do gifts this year. I bought a Kindle Paperwhite for myself during the Black Friday sales and we also booked the Barcelona/Lisbon trip for February during Black Friday sales as well. And we are also looking to get Broadway tickets for the new year. Just waiting to figure out Mike's schedule as it may change after the new year. So instead of buying random stuff we didn't really need we decided to just leave it for this year.
Today I am just vegging out and will probably curl up on the couch with some tea and a book for the afternoon.
No big plans for New Year's. I am working Tues, Wed, Thur and half a day on Friday this week. New Year's Eve falls on a Saturday so we will likely have lunch at Rizzuto's in Westport again and will probably have dinner at Chuck's and then head home and watch some New Year's stuff at home.
Mail Update: All caught up!
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
NYC Christmas Weekend
Just a few days till Christmas. Time is of course flying.
This past Saturday we went down to the city to see Ingrid Michaelson & the NY Pops at Carnegie Hall. Went to Rizzuto's in Westport for lunch and then took the 4.01pm train from the Westport train station which got us to Grand Central around 5.15pm I think. When we got off at Grand Central we were faced with a really busy train station so I had a good feeling that midtown was going to be pretty slammed with people which turned out to be very true.
Sooo many people. Haven't seen it like this since way before Covid. We made our way to a bar/pub a couple blocks away from Carnegie Hall and had a few drinks and a snack there before heading over to Carnegie Hall for the show. The concert was absolutely amazing and reminded me how much I love seeing orchestras live. And Ingrid Michaelson was of course great and the whole combo was just really fun.
After the show we made our way back to Grand Central and thought it being later in the night that stopping by the tree at Rockefeller Center would be an easier undertaking. Nope. Even at 10.30pm there were still crowds and crowds of people, absolutely crazy. But we snapped our picture and then made our way back to Grand Central. Had to wait for our train for a bit but that may have been a good thing because at least that way we were able to get a seat. 11 car train close to midnight and still it was pretty much full. Ended up at home in bed probably somewhere between 1.30 and 2am.
Sunday was therefore a low key day. :) Went to Rosy's and Mike watched the World Cup final game. And eventually headed home to catch up on some recorded TV.
This week has been busy gearing up for some time off and helping team members prepare for their time off as well as coverage. Our office is closed on Friday and Monday (23rd + 26th) so that will give me a 4 day weekend. And then next week we also have a 1/2 day on Friday so next week will be just a 3 1/2 day work week. No complaints. :)
Mail Update: All caught up!
Posted by Hanna at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
10 days to Christmas Eve ... time is flying as usual
Happy Wednesday - 10 days to Christmas Eve from today.
Had a good couple of days off last week, Thursday through Sunday. Didn't really do a whole lot but was a nice couple of relaxing days. On Friday I wrote 2 letters and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie. Saturday we headed to Rizzuto's for lunch and later watched some recorded shows. Finished Dickinson on Apple TV+. Really enjoyed that show, too bad it's done now. It's all about Emily Dickinson's life and set as a period piece but with a lot of modern elements. Hard to describe but I thought it was really well done.
On Sunday we went to the movies and saw "Violent Night" with David Harbour from Stranger Things. Definitely not a movie that will win any awards but it was entertaining for what it was. Definitely very violent though. Afterwards we had brunch at Lucas Local and saw our friend Cait and eventually headed home to watch the SNL we had recorded (with Steve Martin & Martin Short) plus some other stuff.
Monday and Tuesday were regular busy days at work and today I am off again as I had an eye doctor appointment and still had a sick day to use up. All fine with my eyes but getting an updated prescription and some new glasses. It's been 3 years since I last went so it was about time.
After my appointment I went to Mothership Bakery where I am hanging out now for a bit. Eventually I will make my way home and will probably read some more of the Christmassy book I have been reading. I am sure tomorrow and Friday are going to be super busy at work again. Going to be a bit nutty until year end I am sure.
For the weekend we have tickets for Ingrid Michaelson & the NY Pops at Carnegie Hall Saturday night so that should be fun. No plans for Sunday but I am sure we will be home late Saturday (or early Sunday morning however you want to look at it) so we will probably just have a low key day on Sunday.
Mail Update: All caught up! Letters went out yesterday to: Celia/MA and Eunice/Malta.
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Thursday, December 08, 2022
Random Stuff
Already December 8th, basically just 2 weeks away from Christmas. Where does the time go? I know, I know I say it all the time but really,
Nothing too eventful last week. The weekend was pretty low key too. Saturday we went to Rizzuto's for lunch and later hung out at Edison for a bit. On Sunday we were going to go to the movies but then ended up scratching that plan because nothing we wanted to see was playing at any good times so we went to Flipside in Fairfield instead and had lunch there and hung out for a while. And met up with John at Rosy's before heading back home to watch the recorded SNL we had. So yeah low key weekend
Beginning of this week had been busy but then when isn't it? We had another new person start on Monday. Lots and lots of training going on all around. And I am actually off today and tomorrow. Just hanging out and burning some leftover vacation days that I can't carry over into the new year. Mike still has to work so I am just doing stuff at home. Slept in a bit and finally vacuumed which was way overdue. Watched the Diane Sawyer 20 year Love Actually special I had recorded - can't believe that it's been 20 years? And yeah somehow the day went by pretty quickly without really doing much.
No big plans for tomorrow either but some down time and relaxing isn't a bad thing. Been feeling a bit under the weather with a cough and congestion so been having a lot of tea with lemon and honey. Have 2 letters I need to answer so I may do that tomorrow. Other than that no big plans. I have a Hallmark Christmas movie I recorded and also reading a Christmassy book right now so I should keep myself entertained without too much of an issue.
Oh I forgot to mention that I received a delicious Imperial Torte from my ex boss in Vienna. It's been 20+ years since I have worked there but I am always super thankful for the delicious Christmas cake when it comes. So yum.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Celia/MA and Eunice/Malta.
Posted by Hanna at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, November 28, 2022
Thanksgiving Weekend Recap
And here we are, Thanksgiving is done and over and we are just a few days away from December. I honestly don't
know where this year has gone but hey, here's to 2023. Just a little over a month away now.
Thanksgiving was nice and low key and really my whole Thanksgiving break (Thursday to Sunday) was nice and quiet. We ended up with no real big plans so it was just a lot of relaxing, watching TV, reading and whatnot.
Thursday we slept in a bit and I finished up most of my Christmas cards in the morning. Then around lunch time we started watching the newest season of Manifest on Netflix before heading out to the Hopkins Inn for our 4pm reservation. Had a lovely delicious dinner. Our table was right by the fireplace which was nice and cozy. I had Wiener Schnitzel and Mike had the scallops, both with all he traditional Thanksgiving sides like mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggies, cranberry sauce and so on. After dinner we headed home and watched "Spirited" on Apple TV before binging more Manifest.
Friday I wrote a few letters and Mike wanted to watch the US - England World Cup game at 2pm. And later we finished up Manifest. Saturday wasn't very eventful either. Had lunch at Rizzuto's and later in the evening I put up our Christmas tree so that's done as well.
Sunday we went to the movies and saw "The Fabelmans" which was a neat movie, followed by a late lunch at Newsylum. And eventually headed home and watched more TV, starting on the most recent season of Dickenson on Apple TV. So as I said was a pretty low key and quiet few days.
In more exciting news we took advantage of a couple Black Friday deals. I treated myself to a new Kindle Paperwhite and we booked a great travel deal. Heading to Barcelona & Lisbon for 7 days (3 nights in each city) in February. $650 per person including all the flights and hotels. Definitely a great deal. It's been a while since we have been overseas together (Croatia in 2019) so that should be fun for sure.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Celia/MA. Letters went out today to: Carmen/Malta and Kimber/Canada.
Posted by Hanna at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, November 20, 2022
Not a great week but a fun brunch to close off the week
And already the weekend before
Thanksgiving. This year is truly flying by. This week has been a bit of a blur and not necessarily in a good way unfortunately.
Been a bit under the weather. Both Mike and I have been battling an annoying cold all week. We have both tested multiple times for Covid (Mike pretty much every day at work) so we know it's not that. Just an annoying bug. Started with the sniffles/congestion which turned into a cough. Mainly just been tired.
Friday I got my Omicron Covid booster shot which made me even more tired but I am glad that's done. My arm hurt a lot for a day and a half and I had the chils overnight but all is well.
The other thing that put a big damper on the week is that Mindy passed away on Tuesday. I know I had mentioned she was in a bit of a downward spiral again but things progressed rather quickly unfortunately. We had a vet appointment for her Wednesday but Tuesday she passed away at home. I guess in a way it's good she wad spared another car ride to the vet and she took the decision out of my hands. We would have tried to get her another steroid shot but clearly she decided she had enough. I do miss her dearly. But it is what it is of course and just part of owning pets.
Let's see how next week goes. It's a short week with Thanksgiving on Thursday. We have reservations at the Hopkins Inn so that should be good.
Today we met up with Shannon & Erik (our niece & nephew) for brunch. It's been a while since we have been out with them so that was fun.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta and Kimber/Canada.
Posted by Hanna at 06:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Klimt NYC Exhibit, my mom's birthday and other random stuff
Alright behind with my posting again so here we go trying to catch up. First things first it's my mom's birthday today so happy birthday mom. :) I spoke with her earlier and sounds like they had nice weather and she was even able to sit outside in the sun for a while.
Last weekend on Saturday we went to NYC to see the Klimt Immersive Exhibit Gold in Motion which was a lot of fun. Neat experience and besides Klimt they also had some Hundertwasser as well. Very cool. After the exhibit we walked to The Penny Farthing for lunch. The weather was super nice (70ies and sunny - very strange for November) so we walked instead of taking the subway. After our lunch we also walked back up to midtown where we parked. Lots of walking but the weather was definitely perfect for it.
Sunday we went to Rizzutos for lunch and eventually caught up on some TV at night. And since then a whole week has already gone by again. Nothing too exciting to report. Was supposed to get my bloodwork done for my upcoming physical on Thursday morning but when I got there they didn't have the order from my doctors office so I had to reschedule that. Ended up doing it this morning instead after the doctor's office called in the order to Quest.
Also got some of my Christmas cards done this morning. I know it's early but especially with the international cards it's best to get them in the mail early. Nowhere near done but got most of my international ones done so that's something. Will just need to continue doing a few at a time to get them all done in time.
We may go to the movies tomorrow. No other big plans. A bit worried about our cat Mindy again these days. She had plateaud there for a while but I am worried she may be slipping again. We might have to bring her to the vet again for another steroid shot. I guess we will just have to see how it goes.
Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta and Kimber/Canada.
Posted by Hanna at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 31, 2022
Halloween Weekend
I wrote the below yesterday but then had trouble posting so just getting that done now.
And already Sunday night again. Why do weekends fly by so fast? I really don't want it to be Monday tomorrow. But what can you do, right?
Our little North Fork break was a lot of fun so can't complain too much. On Tuesday after checking out from the hotel we went back to the bagel place for breakfast and then headed to Clovis Point. Hung out there and then continued on to Paumanok where we had some lovely baguette with olive oil and hung out for a while before eventually heading back to CT. Work Wednesday to Friday was busy as usual.
Saturday we went to Rizzutos for lunch and from there went to John and Kim's Halloween party. It's been such a long time since we hung out with them so it was fun to catch up with them. Stayed till after 10pm.
Today, Sunday, we slept in and then went for a walk around the pond at Wooster cemetery. And from there to lunch/brunch at Red Rooster. Now at the Quarter and eventually going to head home and watch some recorded TV.
Let's see what next week brings. We do have tickets to the Klimt experience in NYC next week on Saturday. I am really looking forward to that.
Mail Update: All caught up with my my mail.
Posted by Hanna at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
North Fork Birthday Getaway
Yup really behind with my updating once again but do have some free time this morning so figured I should
try and get caught up. :) Last thing I posted about was the Garlic Festival. Really not that much to report after that I suppose. The week after that was pretty uneventful, usual work stuff. Trying to remember what we did on the weekend. Oh yeah, Saturday (15th) the weather was pretty nice and we went for a walk at Sherwood Island at the beach before having lunch at Rizzuto's. And I think Sunday we went to see a movie. Trying to remember, oh yeah, "Don't Worry Darling". Was a decent movie, not amazing but not bad either. After the movies we had lunch at NewSylum. Always delicious pizza for sure.
And the following week was another normal, busy work week. Saturday (22nd) we met up with Robin & Ashley at Rizzuto's which was a lot of fun. We always say we need to make plans to meet up more often but then it doesn't seem to happen. But either way it's always fun to see them and catch up.
And that brings us to Sunday (23rd) and the start of little birthday getaway. We started the day off with breakfast at Elmer's, always very yum. And after a quick stop at Starbucks from there started our drive to the North Fork of Long Island. Went all the way out to the furthest winery Kontokosta and got there around 11.30 or so. The weather was dry for most of our drive but the rain started soon after we got there. Been raining on and off, sometimes more, sometimes less for the whole time we have been here. Oh well. It does seem to have stopped now so we should at least be able to drive back without rain later today which is good.
After Kontokosta we headed to One Woman but unfortunately due to the rain they didn't really have anywhere to sit as they have a super tiny tasting room so we just bought a bottle of Gruener to bring home. :) Then went on to Lenz which is always nice. Got a bottle to enjoy with some cheddar and olive oil crackers. They had the door open but we were inside and could watch the rain dripping down outside, kind of cozy. From there we went on to Bedell. Got a couple of glasses and sat outside on their covered deck. It was a bit chilly I have to say but still nice to hang out for a while. Last stop of the day was Coffeepot where we got to see Laura & Beasley the pug. He is so old now but it's always a pleasure to see them both. Hung out there for a while before driving to our hotel. This time we are staying at the Hyatt Place instead of the Indigo because the Indigo's pricing was through the roof for some reason. The Hyatt doesn't have a real bar but there is a restaurant/bar called "Jerry and the Mermaid" literally next door so it's been fine.
Yesterday, Monday, for my actual birthday we started the day at a bagel place with a delicious hearty breakfast. From there we went on to Pellegrini Vineyards and hung out there for a while and then stopped into Ev&Em which is the old Laurel Lakes vineyard but rebranded. They are now all about sustainability which is neat. We also met somebody who used to work at One Woman and recognized us which was fun. From there we headed to Osprey which was super quiet, I guess being a Monday and all. Stopped at Coffeepot one more time to pick up some jam and also got to meet Adam, Laura's husband and winemaker, which was fun. After that we were off to dinner. The original plan was to have a seafood dinner at A Lure but when we got there we realized they had switched over to their fall hours and weren't open on Mondays. So instead we went to their sister restaurant A Mano. Had a yummy dinner before heading back to the hotel.
And here we are, Tuesday morning, just catching up with my blog. In a bit we will head back to the bagel place for breakfast and then pick up some more wine to bring home and stop into one or two more wineries before heading back to CT. Not ready to face reality just yet but we do still have today to enjoy before it's back to the grind tomorrow.
Mail Update: All caught up with my my mail.
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