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Monday, July 26, 2021

Great Weekend

IMG_20210724_123720_005It's hot and humid and annoying again weather wise but over the weekend we actually had one nice weekend day (Saturday) where the weather was IMG_20210724_123941_882 pretty perfect. Not too hot, not too cool, low humidity, no rain. By Sunday it changed to being humid again with unstable weather but hey we got one day. I will take what I can get. 

The week itself was pretty busy. But then that's every week these days. Just basically putting one foot in front of the other and doing my best to get from one day to the next. Wednesday I was supposed to have my appointment to finally get the implant/crown finished but my dentist called last minute needing to cancel because a part they needed didn't come in. I need to call them back to follow up to re-schedule but just haven't found the time to do that. 

Saturday was a truly great day. Tiring but great. We picked an early start and left the house a little after 6.30am. Got to Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT around 8am and spent a little over two hours there, walked close to 6 miles. I didn't realize it is quite so big. We checked out a lot of the trails but there was one we didn't get to I think. So there's a good reason to go back. Weather was beautiful and it was fun to be out and about getting some exercise. 

When we were done there we headed to Saltwater Vineyard in Saltwater Farm Vineyard in Stonington, CT - right by the RI border. Had some delicious wine and were able to sit outside enjoying the pretty scenery. Definitely a place to go back to. From there we headed back west and had lunch at Chamard Vineyard in Clinton, CT. Always a great spot. I love their French bistro and the wine is great as well. Had a nice leisurely lunch before heading back towards home. Our last stop was at Centrico in Bethel, CT. Was the perfect night to go there since they have such a beautiful outdoor area with sand, palm trees and a firepit. Was great to sit outside, have a light dinner and some yummy margaritas (papaya was their seasonal one and was absolutely amazing) 

So yeah, was a tiring and busy say but definitely worth it. Sunday was more low key. We slept in later and had lunch at Rizzuto's in Westport. And eventually caught up on some more TV. Watched the first episode of the 2nd season of "Ted Lasso" and also started "Schmiggadon". And watched the season finale of Charmed which threw me for a bit of a loop. I won't post any spoilers but yeah, if you watch the show, you can always message me. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Celia/MA, Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK and Kimber/Canada.

Posted by Hanna at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, July 19, 2021

Unstable Weather and some random stuff

20210716_065706_resizedAnd more unstable weather, that seems to be the story of this summer. It's either super hot, crazy humid, pouring rain, cool or a mixture of all of it. We haven't had many days were it has been truly nice. Also in unrelated news every week when I update my blog I tell myself that I will get back into my letter writing and answer my outstanding mail. It's been a struggle. And now everything has been so busy with work that I usually just don't feel like it when I finally do have a free moment. Hopefully everybody will be understanding when i finally do get to it. 

Not all that much new really. Had another busy week at work last week covering for people on vacation plus just the usual summer craziness. But it's really just take it one day at a time, all we can do right now. 

The weekend was relatively uneventful. Saturday we went for an hour long walk at Sherwood Island in Westport. Was really humid and hot so kind of exhausting. Had lunch after at Rizzuto's. Hung out for a while and when I got home I watched the latest episode of "Universum" (Austrian nature show) about Wales and their animals. And then read some more of "Echo in the Bone" (on an Outlander re-reading spree to re read all the books before the new one comes out in November) Some crazy thunderstorms with lightning and thunder very close by that night as well. 

Sunday I had a massage in the morning which was perfect timing cause I had some pain in my lower back that was really annoying. Love my massage therapist. As usual she managed to work some magic and I am feeling like new. Afterwards headed to Newburgh, NY for lunch at Hurricane and when we got home we started binging the Apple show "Ted Lasso". We only have 3 episodes left of the first season and I think we will get those in tonight. The second season releases pretty soon I think so that's something to look forward to. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Celia/MA, Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK and Kimber/Canada.

Posted by Hanna at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, July 12, 2021

Movies/TV, Nice Walk, US Wedding Anniversary

PixlrHow are we already in the middle of July? Time is just flying. I don't want to wish the summer away (because before we know it it will be cold again and I will be complaining about how much I hate the cold and the snow & ice) but right now I am definitely over it. It just gets so busy at work and especially this summer has been kind of the summer on steroids since we didn't really have a true summer last year. So everything is just going crazy and spiraling. 

Not really all that much new I guess. Last week was a shorter work week because of the holiday on Monday. On Saturday we went for a nice walk around downtown Danbury before heading to lunch at Rizzuto's. Definitely some hidden gems in the downtown area. Had fun getting some exercise in and seeing some pretty things along the way. After lunch in Westport we headed back and stopped at Two Steps for a little bit before heading home. Started "Dickinson Season 2" on Apple + TV (finished it on Sunday) Really enjoyed it and am very much looking forward to season 3. It's a fun mash up of period and contemporary with some neat music and just an overall fun feel. 

Sunday we went to see "Black Widow" at the theater in Southbury followed by lunch at "Good Old Days" in Newtown. Was the first time there and we were very happy with it. Definitely should be going back. Yum pizza and a relaxed atmosphere (very funky/retro) Watched the Euro 2020 Italy-England soccer match and eventually headed home where we finished "Dickinson" and started "Tiny World" (a neat documentary show narrated by Paul Rudd) 

Today is our US wedding anniversary. We are a bit unique with having the two wedding anniversaries since we had two wedding ceremonies (the original/official one in Vienna/Austria in Feb 2001 and the US one in July 2002) Crazy how time flies by. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Celia/MA, Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK and Kimber/Canada.

Posted by Hanna at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

4th of July Weekend

IMG_20210704_190744_365Fun long weekend and here we are and it's already Tuesday again, which is my Monday this week since I was off yesterday. Happy belated 4th of July to IMG_20210704_191143_184 everyone here in the US. :) Hope everyone had a good weekend and nice Monday if you had it off. I never used to have holidays off and especially not days after holidays at my old job but hey I will take it. 

Saturday was a wash out for the most part, pretty cool and raining most of the day. I didn't mind too much though 'cause after the crazy heat we had during last week I didn't really mind some cool air. We went for lunch at Rizzuto's in Westport and stopped at Rosy's for a bit before heading home and watching some TV. Then on Sunday we decided to head into the city. This was the first time in NYC since before March 2020 and the pandemic. Was really nice to be back. NY was a weird vibe going on still though. Especially in mid town there are a lot of places still closed, Broadway is still all closed up (re-opening in September) We didn't really hit any traffic going down and the city just felt oddly quiet somehow. 

We went to MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) which we also have been wanting to do for a while since they renovated and made it bigger. They currently have a Cezanne exhibit and also a neat automobile one. Plus all their regular stuff and some other temporary exhibits of course. Was fun checking everything out. After the museum we headed downtown to have lunch at Lillie's. We discovered Lillie's uptown when going to a Broadway show a few years back. But their uptown location is currently closed so we decided to check out their downtown Union Square location once. It is interesting because they really look almost the same inside, pretty neat. Brunch was delicious and we hung out for a while before heading back uptown and driving home. Definitely a fun way to spend the 4th. 

And yesterday we went to a couple wineries in Wallingford, CT - Gouveia and Paradise Hill. Always a fun way to spend a day. The weather was pretty overcast, especially in the morning. But it was still nice to sit outside and enjoy some wine and snacks. Eventually made it back to Danbury and stopped at Rosy's for a late lunch/early dinner before heading home and binging some more of "Lucifer". 

And well now it's Tuesday morning and off to work in a few. I am back at the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday every week going forward. Our office is officially re-opening starting today. I am curious how many people will actually be there. Everyone pretty much had the option to decide if they wanted to go back in or do a hybrid model or stay fully remote for now. Will be interesting to see how everything goes. Anyway, not really looking forward to the day after the holiday (tends to be crazy) but is what it is.  

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a response to: Carmen/Malta, Celia/MA, Nina/WA, Tiffany/OK.

Posted by Hanna at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)