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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Frankenstorm ... a.k.a. Sandy


Facebook_-952436804....  so another year another storm or something like that? Last year we had hurricane Irene at the end of August and almost exactly a year ago the freak snowstorm in October. Both caused massive power outages throughout the area and major havoc all around. Now we have Sandy coming up and this one seems massive covering a 900 mile radius up and down the US East Coast. It's supposed to start some time tonight here in Connecticut, then get increasingly worse until Tuesday and not taper off until Tuesday mid morning. We will see how it plays out I suppose. A lot of schools have already cancelled for tomorrow and Tuesday which will cause a mess for our delivery schedules at work. I also have a new person who is suposed to start work tomorrow. Not sure how that will go either. We will have to see how it goes, if we lose power (massive power outages are predicted), how bad the flooding gets (our office is close to a river that is prone to flooding) with regards to the roads etc etc.

We will just have to wait and see. Right now it's only cloudy with slight showers. The calm before the storm so to speak. We will have to see how it develops and go from there. Nothing much else we can do I suppose. Let's hope it's not as crazy as the weather people on TV want us to believe. 

Mail Update: Owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Nina/WA and Caroline/Scotland.

Posted by Hanna at 06:13 PM in Weather | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Birthday Post

HannaAnd today it's already back to work and reality in just a few minutes. I am really not looking forward to it. But I guess all good things have to come to an end eventually. It's just the way of life. 

Can't complain too much though. Our little birthday escape to Newport was absolutely lovely. Was happy with the B&B we stayed inn, definitely a little quirky but it worked well for what we needed. Being off season helped a lot too. Everything was so much more low key and less crowded than during the busy summer season. Had a great time visiting the Breakers & The Elms mansions, wine tasting, walking along nature trails etc. The weather cooperated nicely too. Tuesday we had very nice weather most of the day. Yesterday was a little dreary but at least it wasn't a full downpour all day so we could still enjoy some outdoor stuff without too much trouble. 

Had some nice meals while we were too. Breakfast at the B&B was delicious and our dinners at the Fastnet Pub and Brick Alley Pub were good too. The Brick Alley was a neat place, a little cheesy and probably a place to avoid during the high tourist season. But it was fine for what we wanted Tuesday night. After dinner we had some wine at the 22 Bowens Winebar & Grille which was a nice way to finish off the evening. 

Then yesterday we toured the Elms in the morning and then headed back to CT. Were planning to stop at a vineyard in Westerly, RI on the way but when we got there we found out that they were closed mid-week for the season already. Not a big deal though, at least it was a nice and scenic ride. Continued on to Mystic, CT where we had lunch at Harp & Hound before driving home to Danbury. Had a get together for my birthday at TK's, our yearly tradition (yummy free wings).

Now it's back to work and reality. But I can look forward to the weekend (or at least Sunday) when I plan on fully checking out my brand new Kindle Fire. (Mike's birthday gift) Also received some other lovely gifts from various people here and around the globe. Wine, tea, chocolate, stationery/stickers, .. all very neat stuff. :)

Mail Update: Letters going out today to: Jessica/DE. Celia/MA and Eunice/Malta. Owe replies to: Carmen/Malta, Nina/WA and Caroline/Scotland.

Posted by Hanna at 07:31 AM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Lovely Newport day

BreakersAnother beautiful day. Wouldn't it be nice if all days could be vacation days?

Had a yummy breakfast at our B&B this morning. Delcious French Toast. Then we went to tour the Breakers Mansion, former summer home of the Vanderbildt family. Wow. I have a hard time imagining living in a place like that. Just gorgeous. 

After the Breakers we went to check out to 2 trails at the  Sachuest Point Wilife Refuge which were really pretty, hugging the coastline. And after that we went wine tasting at 3 different wineries in the area. Definitely a very fun day. The weather cooperated too. In the morning it was nice and sunny, perfect fall weather. Then during the later afternoon it started to get a little more cloudy. But not a big deal since we were done with our outdoor stuff. 

Tomorrow we will have another yummy breakfast, pick another mansion to tour (we bought the Breakers plus 1 package) and then head back towards to CT. Might stop for lunch somewhere on the way. And in the evening we will have a small getogether with friends at TKs for my birthday.

Mail Update: Wrote a letter on the way here to: Jessica/DE. Owe replies to: Celia/MA, Carmen/Malta, Eunice/Malta and Caroline/Scotland.

Posted by Hanna at 04:29 PM in Food and Drink, Travel, Wine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, October 22, 2012

Hello from Newport

IMG_2409And here we are in our cozy B&B room in Newport, Rhode Island. Very happy with the room and the place so far. We left work a little before noon and got here around 2.30pm. Were able to check into our room right away and have been relaxing in the room for a bit since then.  

In a little we will go have dinner at the Fastnet Pub. Then we will come back to the room and relax some more (yay for jacuzzi tubs). Planning on having a nice relaxing few days. Tomorrow we will do a tour of the Breakers mansion and will visit a couple of vineyards and possibly a stop at a wildlife refuge with some nice trails. We will see how it goes and what we can fit in. 

Very glad to be away from work for a bit, even though it's only 2 nights and only 2.5 hours by car. Still feels like a nice break. :)

Mail Update: Wrote a letter on the way here to: Jessica/DE. Owe replies to: Celia/MA, Carmen/Malta, Eunice/Malta and Caroline/Scotland.

Posted by Hanna at 04:09 PM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Sunday, October 21, 2012

It's starting to feel like autumn/fall

Romantic-autumn-daydreaming-18932448-1024-768 ... definitely has been feeling like fall lately. Today is a pretty nice day. Mostly brisk blue skies, breezy, leaves blowing around and crunching under your feet when you walk. I really do enjoy this season. Just wish it wasn't followed by winter. :) The weather has been pretty nice all week. We had some rather cold days but also some warmer days. Friday was dark and rainy all day but other than that it's been fairly nice.

The weather is supposed to be pretty good for our Newport, RI trip. Working 1/2 a day tomorrow and then we are off to Newport for 2 nights for my birthday. Staying at the Cleveland House and I really can't wait. It's just 2 nights but it will be nice to be away from home/work for a bit. Plus I really like Newport, such a nice town, and I love being near the ocean. Rhode Island in general is a nice state.

Work's been busy as predicted. The beginning of the week was crazy, then it was sort of ok during the middle and busy/crazy again on Friday/Saturday. We will see what next week brings I guess. Will be nice to be away for a bit of it anyway. We will be back on Wednesday night and will have our annual TKs celebration with free wings for my birthday on the 24th. At least getting older means more wings. :)  

Mail Update: Owe replies to: Celia/MA, Carmen/Malta, Jessica/DE, Eunice/Malta and Caroline/Scotland.

Posted by Hanna at 02:01 PM in Travel, Weather | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sunday, October 14, 2012

What a week ...

Zoo ... yeah it's definitely been a week. All started last Sunday night. We were happily asleep in bed when the phone rang at 4am (pretty much Monday morning at that point I guess) Mike is on call for tech support for work for our delivery drivers (they carry hand held computers, sort of like the UPS or FedEx drivers) Anyway, the phone rang and halfway asleep I turned over to turn on the light on the beside table but since I was only half awake I didn't realize how far I was already on the edge of the bed, plus the blanket was wrapped all around me, so long story short I went down, hitting my lip on the way down (I think on the bedside table or on the pet stairs we have for our older cat) resulting in a busted/cracked lip and also a very bruised/scraped knee. My lip was bleeding pretty badly for a bit. 

It's a week later now and I am much better all in all. But it wasn't a fun week. Drinking/eating was rather difficult, had to use a straw for drinking anything and cut up all foods into tiny pieces. My knee is black/blue/purple and still hurts but of course things could have been a lot worse. 

Work was very busy all week too. So yeah it wasn't a fun week. Had to work Saturday till about 1pm. Then we went to TK's for lunch and caught up at shows at home later. Today we went to the Connecticut Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport and afterwards had lunch at the Flipside Burger restaurant in Fairfield. 

Now we are home and will catch up on some more TV shows. Tomorrow is another week and I have a feeling it won't be a calm week either. Already know a bunch of things we will have to deal with. But trying not to think about it until tomorrow. 

Mail Update: A letter is going out to: Charles/TN. Owe replies to: Jessica/DE, Eunice/Malta and Caroline/Scotland.

Posted by Hanna at 06:59 PM in Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sunday, October 07, 2012

Relaxing Sunday

Sadie-ollieIt's been a very dreary day outside. One of those dark fall days. Perfect day to stay indoors. This morning it was a little lighter outside and I spent some time outside in the yard puttering around, mowing the grass in the back, cutting some bushes etc. Even though it was cool outside it was still nice to be outside. The air had that typical fall smell to it and it was nice to be outside for a bit. 

After that I came inside and continued to do small things around the house. Put out all my fall scented candles (I am currently burning "Warm Apple Cider"), attached two plastic hooks in the closet I have been meaning to put up for ages and some other small things like that. Also read for a bit and had lots of tea. The cats also enjoyed the day running around, playing and then sleeping for hours to make up for it. :)

Mike went to the BrewFest at the Mohegan Sun casino with two of our friends. I am not a big beer person (more into hard cider or wine) so I decided to stay at home instead. Turned into a nice productive and also relaxing day for me so can't complain. 

Let's see what next week brings. Will probably be another busy week at work. I don't mind all that much since we just booked a 2-night getaway for my birthday. So something to look forward to - yay. :) Will be staying at the Cleveland Inn Bed&Breakfast in Newport, Rhode Island Oct. 22-24. 

Mail Update: Owe replies to: Jessica/DE and Charles/TN.

Posted by Hanna at 05:09 PM in Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Busy, Busy, Busy

40146-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Busy-Kangaroo-Office-Worker-Buried-In-Paperwork-At-His-DeskSorry it's taken me a little longer than usual for my update here on my blog. Last week was just crazy busy with everything at work. Had a new employee starting Tuesday so spent a lot of time training her. Also covering for someone who is on vacation Tuesday-Friday this week (payroll/cashier) so I had to sit with her on Friday last week and Monday this week for a few hours to refresh my knowlege on everything since it's been about a year when I last covered for her. Don't really have to worry about payroll too much (the dates she picked worked out nicely where she was able to get things ready before she left and will be able to pick things up again when she gets back), "only" the cashier/balancing part. Doesn't help that we have a lot of new delivery drivers at the moment who aren't really familiar with things. Definitely feels more like guess work at times, trying to piece together various pieces of a puzzle.

On top of all that also had 2 people out sick yesterday and one today. It's definitely been a busy 6-day week last week and a crazy start to this week.  Sunday we had originally talked about going to the Garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY but decided against it. Sunday morning it was really dreary and rainy out and after a super busy week for both of us we decided to just go back to sleep and get up later. Went out for lunch instead and then caught up on our recorded TV shows when we got back.

Tonight I am at home. Brought a few things home from work and finished up a couple of spreadsheets so I am not already behind at the start of tomorrow's day. In a little bit I am going to make more tea for myself and read. Definitely over today. Going to have tea, read and then go to bed early. 

Let's hope the rest of the week turns out better.

Mail Update: Owe replies to: Jessica/DE and Charles/TN.

Posted by Hanna at 07:18 PM in Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack