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Sunday, September 23, 2012
Back to reality - R.I.P. Nanny
And here we are, back to every day life and reality. The rest of our stay in Virginia was a lot of fun. Had a nice time. Monday we went to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's estate) and on Tuesday we went to the Virginia Aviation Museum in Richmond and also the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Wednesday it was back home to CT for us. My parents stayed in Virginia until Saturday and returned home to Austria on Saturday. They are back home now - safe and sound.
The picture shows all the wine we brought back from Virginia, 34 bottles, in total. We had some Austrian wine my parents brought from Austria, plus some wine my parents bought in the DC area, plus a bunch of wine from local Virginia wineries from wine tasting. We had also ordered 6 bottles of wine from an online special deal before we knew all of this would happen. So yeah, lots of wine. :)
Had some bad news today. Mike's grandmother passed away. She actually passed away on Tuesday but in a huge mess of things we somehow didn't find out until today. She was in a home and apparently actually died in the hospital but we weren't notified of any of that. She was 90 and had Alzheimer's, had been staying in the home for a while, so even though it's a shock to all of us of course it's different in a way, because we had all been grieving for her in our own way since she got sick and hasn't been home with us. Either way it's of course something we have to deal with and sad in its own way.
Work's been very busy since we got back. Next week will be busy and difficult in its own way because I will be training a new employee. Let's see how that goes.
Mail Update: Mailed letters to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Nina/WA. Still owe a reply to: Jessica/DE.
Posted by Hanna at 08:11 PM in Family, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Vacation Update
Already Sunday night again. At least we don't have to go to work tomorrow so that's something positive. But only 2 more days here (Monday and Tuesday) and then Wednesday we drive back up to Connecticut. Thursday it's back to work. Trying not to think about that just yet.
Had a nice stay here so far. On Friday we went wine tasting which was a lot of fun. Went to five different wineries on the Chesapeake Wine Trail, bought 8 bottles of wine plus a bottle of garlic infused Greek olive oil. Yesterday we went on a day trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Such a pretty region. Went to the Wright Brothers site and also to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
Today we went to Virginia Beach and explored some nature trails in the morning, then had lunch at the Yardhouse and in the afternoon went to the aquarium. The weather has been perfect for most of the time we have been here. The next couple of days it's supposed to be a little unstable though. We will see.
Tomorrow we will head to the Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, about a 2 hour drive from where we are.
Mail Update: Mailed letters on Friday night to: Carmen/Malta, Emilia/Finland, Celia/MA and Received letters/still owe a response to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Nina/WA.
Posted by Hanna at 09:15 PM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Hello from Virginia
Arrived here yesterday and today we spent the day in Colonial Williamsburg. The weather has been great so far. Had a perfect day today strolling through the historic area. Toured the Governor's Palace, the Capitol and watched some of the staged performances in the revolutionary city area (reading of the "Declaration of Independence" etc.) I really enjoy walking through the area and feeling like you are stepping back in time. One of these days we will have to come here at Christmas time when everything is decorated for the season.
Tomorrow we are following the Virginia wine trail for some wine tasting. And on Saturday we are planning a day trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Will see what we do the rest of the time we are here. Staying until Wednesday next week.
Definitely been nice to be away from work and just to enjoy some down time.
Mail Update: Have letters written and ready to mail to: Carmen/Malta, Emilia/Finland, Celia/MA and Received letters/still owe a response to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Nina/WA.
Posted by Hanna at 07:51 PM in Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, September 10, 2012
Let's play ball
Had a good time yesterday. The weather was super nice and really a perfect day out for watching baseball. No humidity and about 78 as a high. We were sitting mostly in the sun so sometimes it got a little hot but there was also a slight breeze and a few clouds so that wasn't so bad. Really nice weather all in all. It was nice to be out and about. Was fun hanging out with our friends John & Jana as well. It was Jana's second baseball game ever and the first one was about ten years ago. She had a lot of fun even though the Mets lost. But in a way that was expected I guess. They really haven't been doing that well this second part of the season. Oh well. :)
After the game we headed back into Manhattan (the stadium is in Queens) and from there back to Connecticut. Ended up having dinner together in Danbury before heading back home. Mike and I watched the MTV Music Awards we had recorded from last week before going to bed. They really weren't that great. Oh well.
Now we have two more days at work before leaving for Virginia. Seems like my parents are having a good time on their trip so far. Went to a couple of wineries yesterday and took some scenic drives. Helps that the weather has been cooperating for them as well for the most part. Not looking forward to these 2 days at work. Lots and lots that needs to get done before we can leave Wednesday morning.
Mail Update: Received letters/still owe a response to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN, Celia/MA, Nina/WA and Emilia/Finland.
Posted by Hanna at 07:41 AM in NYC, Outdoors, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Cancelled Taste of Danbury, Tornados, Work ...
Woke up this morning to a "tornado warning". How weird. We don't usually have tornados in our area so it's definitely very strange. I don't like them at all, really freaks me out. I know it's not anything like what they get in other areas of the country but still. We originally were going to go to the "Taste of Danbury" later this afternoon but it was actually cancelled today due to all the severe storms in the area.
Well I guess it's better today than tomorrow since tomorrow we are heading into NYC for a baseball game. Going with our friends John & Jana. So that should be fun. And the weather for tomorrow looks pretty nice too.
This week has been absolutely horrible at work. Monday (the actual holiday) was pretty quiet and Tuesday actually wasn't so bad either. But Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were just terrible. Now that all the schools have started in addition to scheduling problems/new drivers it's just been one mess after another. Spent some time on the computer at home today helping to fix some issues from yesterday.
Good news is that on Wednesday we will be off to Virginia. My parents arrived in Washington DC on Thursday. Spent some time sightseeing in DC and are now on their way to Williamsburg, VA. We will meet up with them there on Wednesday and stay for a week. Can't wait for some vacation time.
Mail Update: Received letters/still owe a response to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN, Celia/MA, Nina/WA and Emilia/Finland.
Posted by Hanna at 01:46 PM in Outdoors, Travel, Weather, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Labor Day Weekend
Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone here in the US. :) Most people probably have a 3-day weekend this weekend. I actually am working today, Saturday, and will also be at the office on Monday. That's ok though. I will receive comp days (meaning I can take another day off in the future) and we didn't have any plans for the weekend anyway. Doing anything/driving anywhere on a holiday weekend can be maddening anyway. So I don't mind having to work all that much. Plus we will be going to Virginia in about 2 weeks to meet up with my parents who will be there on vacation. Looking forward to that.
This week has been absolutely crazy busy here at work but it's the same every year, with schools starting up, the Labor Day holiday and everything else so not a huge surprise. I am hoping it will get better mid-week to end of next week. Basically all the schools have to settle in and things have to fall into place/develop a routine.
Not too much else new really. Hoping for a laid back relaxed day tomorrow.
Mail Update: Received letters/still owe a response to: Celia/MA, Nina/WA and Emilia/Finland.
Posted by Hanna at 01:50 PM in Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack