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Saturday, October 28, 2017
Martha's Vineyard Birthday Weekend
Hello from Martha's Vineyard. :) Definitely got very lucky again with the off-season fall weather. No complaints whatsoever. Left home on Friday to catch the ferry from Falmouth over to Martha's Vineyard (about a 3 1/2 hr car ride + 45 min on the ferry)
The weather has been absolutely beautiful so really no complaints whatsoever. Yesterday we had lunch at the Black Dog Tavern after arriving on Martha's Vineyard on the 11.30am ferry. Lovely lunch looking out at the harbor. Delicious clam chowder. Then we walked around Vineyard Haven for a bit, bought a few souvenirs before making our way over to Oak Bluffs. Walked around there for a while, looking at all the pretty houses and browsing some shops.
And last but not least made our way to Edgartown. By that time it was past 3pm so we were able to check into our room. Staying at the "Sydney" which is in a neat old historic building and shares the space with a fancy restaurant/bar.
Walked around Edgartown for a bit before having dinner at the Newes, also situated in a very old historic building. It's a lot of fun going to places like this off-season as you encounter more locals and less tourists and it is way less crowded. I don't think I would have much interest coming here during the busy summer months. Just way too crazy and crowded. After dinner we had a couple of glasses of wine at the bar downstairs before heading back up to the room.
Today we explored the rest of the island. Started at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and checked out a few trails there. I always enjoy the marshy areas, so pretty. Afterwards we headed to West Tisbury, Menemsha and Aquinnah. Looked at the lighthouse in Aquinnah as well as the pretty cliffs. Eventually made our way back and had lunch in Oaks Buffs at the Offshore Ale House. Delicious grilled brie and lobster roll. Yum. Then on the way back we stopped at the Edgartown Lighthouse.
Going to head back out in a minute and will stop at a liquor store before having a light dinner. Not ready to head back home tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun.
Oh and forgot to mention my birthday on Tuesday was fun even though I had to work. Went out after work with some friends from work as well as other friends. Had a nice dinner at Ibiza (tapas bar) and some more drinks at Rosys afterwards.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA, Eloine/NY, Carmen/Malta and Eunice/Malta.
Posted by Hanna at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 23, 2017
Pretty October Weekend
Ugh and it's Monday again. I am dead tired too. We went to bed around 11 so not crazy late. But around 4.30 the smoke detector in the other bedroom went off. I still have no idea what caused it. There was no smoke or reason that we could see. But yeah, not a fun way to be startled awake and then of course couldn't fall back asleep again either. Now it's time for work and I am a little groggy. Fun.
The weekend was nice though. Friday I worked from home because I had my x-ray appointment at the orthodontist. Relatively simple appointment. Next up is the actual consult for the braces which won't happen until November 16. So definitely not a fast process but that's ok. I have drawn this out for this long, a few more weeks/months isn't going to make that much of a difference. I really don't want braces but ultimately it's the right thing to do. If I get an implant now (for the broken/missing tooth) then there is no guarantee that it will last due to my bite and the way my teeth are. Just wish all that stuff wasn't so expensive. Ugh.
Saturday we had a vet appointment with Sadie. Just her yearly check-up for shots etc. She absolutely hated going of course. It's amazing how loud she can get since she's usually a pretty quiet cat and just peeps and quietly meows. But once you put her in that carrier she starts to act like a Tasmanian devil and develops a volume that's just crazy. Well, we managed to get to the vet and back without too much issue. Then when we got back she decided to be weird and wouldn't eat but she has snapped out of it again thankfully.
Saturday after the vet we went to Bob's to look for a new bedroom set. We ended up settling on this one - a different one than what I had originally picked out from the website. But seeing it in person we decided that we liked that one better. It also has deeper drawers and more storage which is a big plus of course. We also bought a new mattress since this new bed is a queen size and the one we have now is a full. Looking forward to the new mattress. We went with a Bob-o-Pedic which is basically their own version of a Tempur-Pedic. We tested out a few different ones and liked the one we tried the best. It's also pretty reasonably priced so that's a plus. We will get everything delivered on Nov. 2nd. We could have had it sooner but that will give us some time to declutter the bedroom and get rid of some current items, as well as move the older dressers upstairs into the attic for extra storage. It will be nice to have some extra storage for a change.
Sunday we went for a hike at Weir Farm again. Tried out a different trail this time which was definitely a much less traveled trail but was nice to be out and about and the weather was pretty perfect. Fingers crossed that we end up with decent weather next weekend when we go to Martha's Vineyard. Well, off to work. Let's see what the week brings. I am off on Friday so that's something at least. :)
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA, Eloine/NY and Eunice/Malta.
Posted by Hanna at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 16, 2017
Fall Weather - warm & cold - up & down
Happy Monday. The weather has been so strange for October. This past weekend it was pretty warm and also weirdly humid. We went for a short walk/hike yesterday and the humidity was really high. So strange for mid October. But then tomorrow morning we are supposed to have a frost warning and only a couple degrees above freezing. But then I think it's supposed to warm up again. So weird.
Had a nice and relaxed weekend all in all. On Saturday we slept in late and then went for lunch at 121 in Oxford. Later met up with our friend John and hung out for a bit longer. And yesterday, Sunday, we went for the walk/hike at Weird Farm (it's a National Historic Site, part of the National Park network) We have been talking about going there for ages and finally did. Looks like they have a few more trails to check out. Might be nice when the humidity is not crazy but hopefully not too cold either. We will see what the rest of the season brings.
In the late afternoon/evening we caught up on some more recorded TV until close to midnight and yeah, now it's Monday again. Nothing much planned for this week besides work. Oh Friday I have an appointment for x-rays for my braces. I am finally going to get started on getting those. We will see how that turns out. I will know more after Friday I suppose. Other than that nothing much else planned for the week.
Well, we will see how it pans out. Have to get through Monday first. :) Been contemplating buying a new bedroom set so that's something on the horizon for the future for the next few weeks. That's the one I have been mainly looking at but there are a few others that are nice too. We will have to measure and figure out how it all would fit. We would probably have to move one of our old dressers upstairs into the attic. The old bedroom furniture is truly old (from Mike's parents) so it's definitely time to upgrade. But it's always nice to have some extra storage space so if we can keep one of the older dressers in the bedroom in addition to the new set I'd prefer to that. I know it won't match but I am always looking for storage space so I'd value that over everything matching. Anyway, just something to ponder. Haven't quite decided what we are doing yet.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Eloine/NY and Eunice/Malta.
Posted by Hanna at 07:39 AM in Nature, Outdoors, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, October 09, 2017
Happy rainy Monday
Happy Monday. :) I just got a text from my manager saying there is a slight leak over my desk (it's been raining on and off all weekend pretty much)
and I'll need to move desks until it is fixed. Fun start to the week. Haha. Oh well. Let's hope that's not how the rest of the day/week is going to go.
Weekends always fly by way too fast. Saturday we went to the movies and saw "Victoria & Abdul" which was good. I always enjoy movies based on true stories, especially if they are different and unique stories. Would definitely recommend it if you get a chance. Then Saturday night I put out my fall deco (finally) and puttered around doing a few other things and eventually spent some time reading. Sunday we slept in (I got up a little earlier and watched the new "Outlander" episode) and then went to brunch/lunch at the Barn Door. It's a new restaurant in the Branchville section of Ridgefield, just opened a few months ago maybe. Really enjoyed it. They also have bottomless mimomas and bellinis which is a big plus. :) Had really delicious smoked salmon eggs benedict as well. I'll definitely need to go on a diet again sooner rather than later. lol. The rest of Sunday we spent catching up on recorded shows which was fun and relaxing. And well, now it's Monday again.
Last week Wednesday we went into NYC after work to see Paramore and Best Coast at Radio City. Always love that venue, such a cool place. And the show was great of course. The ride into Manhattan at rush hour (even though we left my work just a bit after 3.15) was just horrid though. Traffic was murder and especially once we got into midtown it was really just gridlock. We eventually got to park close to 6pm. Best Coast went on at 7.30 so we at least had enough time to grab a drink and a snack before the show.
No concerts of theater tickets on our horizon at the moment which is almost weird since we have had so much stuff booked over the last year. Well I am sure something will pop up sooner or later. Still want to see "Hamilton". Just wish it wasn't so expense still. We'll see what happens.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Eloine/NY.
Posted by Hanna at 07:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
Back to the daily grind
Ok I am a little behind on my posting but I guess that's just what happens with traveling, getting over the jetlag and back into the normal every day routine. Well oh well. Today I've already been back for a week and a day. Time does really fly sometimes. The flight back was relatively uneventful when you don't count the fact that I was delayed for 2 hours. Kind of annoying as I got up at 4.30am to get ready and catch the 6am train into Vienna so I'd be at the airport nice and early. Could have slept for an additional 2 hours. Oh well. I made the best of it and had some good food at the airport. Also had schnitzel on the plane. Austrian Airlines lets you pre-order and pay for special meals and one of them is a schnitzel dish with potato salad and a yummy chocolate mousse. Worth every penny. (it's 15 EUR so really not horrible)
Anyway, fighting jetlag was a pain but pretty much standard. I never like it but it's nothing new. Just have to fight through it and eventually your body adjusts back. Work has been busy but not too terrible all things considered. All my coverage people did a really great job and all my files were in pretty good shape when I got back. It still takes time getting caught up on everything though, since you're missing a certain time span and need to get caught up on what happened in those files. Oh well, mostly there now. Just dealing with the normal craziness which is luckily starting to wind down a little bit as we are heading into the less busy season now.
Tomorrow we're heading into the city to see Paramore and Best Coast at Radio City Music Hall so that should definitely be fun. Looking forward to that. This past weekend we didn't do too much. Went to the movies both days. Saturday we saw "Kingsman The Golden Circle" and Sunday "Battle of the Sexes". Two wildly different movies. Enjoyed both but of course very different. Then Sunday we took advantage of the nice weather and sat outside for a late lunch at J. Lawrence (a new place that opened up not that long ago) Definitely will need to go back and try a few more things on their menu. Was nice to enjoy the fall day, being able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. Who knows how many more nice days will be in our future before the real cold hits. Not looking forward to that at all.
Well that's all the news here from me for now I suppose. Better get ready for work and get motivated to face another day. Will have some more tea to help me with that I think. :)
Letter/Mail Update: All caught up with my mail at the moment :)
Posted by Hanna at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)