Monday, August 17, 2015

Back to the daily grind - fun NYC Sunday

Collage_20150816193536258Back at work. It's Monday and I have a lot to catch up on. Worked Friday & Saturday last week as well but there's still a lot for me to catch up on. Just the way it goes. Plus now we are right in the midst of all the schools getting ready to start up again so lots to organize and take care of as well. Need to make sure everyone is aware of our new policies, product line, etc. since the switch.

The flight back Thursday was uneventful and I am slowly getting over my jetlag as well. Mostly back to normal now which is good. Always sucks to get back into a normal schedule after having been away for two weeks, plus dealing with the 6hr time difference.

Sunday we went into NYC to see the indie movie "Ten Thousand Saints" starring Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld. Really enjoyed the movie. Had some drinks and a snack beforehand as well. Always enjoy spending time in NYC. Was kind of neat watching the movie in the East Village (which was the setting of the movie - just in the 80ies) 

Well now it's Monday and one of many 6 day work weeks ahead of me. Need to start training someone new soon as the person I did hire is going back to school. Too bad really as he was working out pretty well. What can you do? Just start over and try again. At least I'll have someone semi trained available who might be able to fill during school holidays/breaks if needed. 

Mail Update: Mailed letters today to: Charles/TN,  Caroline/Scotland and Nina/WA. Received letters from/owe a reply to: Kimber/Canada.

Posted by Hanna at 01:25 PM in Austria , NYC | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Time to leave again ... where do the weeks go??

IMG_20150812_194253And here we are. Already time to leave again tomorrow. My cab for the airport will be arriving at 3.30am (joy!) So not a lot of sleep for me tonight. Ugh. 

Had a nice stay in Austria but of course time flew by. Went into Vienna a second time on Monday to meet up with my friend Andrea. Had a nice day even though it was crazy hot.  

Met up with my friend Anneliese Tuesday (who did my nails) and today Wednesday I got my hair done. Got some reading done, had some yummy food and spent time hanging out with my parents and relatives.

Tomorrow I am heading back to the US via Germany  (Dusseldorf) and then it's back to work and every day life Friday.

Looking forward to see Mike. I am glad he is ok as he was rear ended in a car accident today. Not a lot of damage to the car and he's ok mostly too. But just a lot of crap to deal with. More annoying than anything else. Ugh. Just glad he is ok.

Mail Update: Received letters from/owe a reply to: Kimber/Canada, Caroline/Scotland and Nina/WA.

Posted by Hanna at 02:35 PM in Austria , Family, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, August 09, 2015

Hello from Austria :)

Vienna-collageFinally updating from Austria. :) Left northern Germany on Thursday and stayed about halfway Thursday night. Then drove the rest of the way on Friday and arrived at the house around 7pm. Picked up some Chinese for dinner and unpacked the most necessary items. 

Yesterday, Saturday, I took the train into Vienna to meet up with my friend Lydia. Austria is currently experiencing a crazy heatwave so it was super hot. Having temps in the 90ies (30C) on a day to day basis. But Lydia & I still managed to have a nice day. Met up right downtown in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral and went up to the rooftop terrace bar of a fancy hotel. Nicest views from up there. Of course the drinks aren't cheap but it is worth the views over the rooftops of Vienna. 

Afterwards we walked over to the square in front of City Hall where every summer they have the big international culinary festival. Lots of stands with foods from various countries. I chose the Croatian stand and had yummy cevapcici. Absolutely delicious and it's been a while since I had them. After City Hall we walked around some more and found another nice spots for a drink and snack before we had to part ways again. Always enjoyable spending a day with Lydia, as she enjoys good food and drinks as much as me :)

Today, Sunday, I am currently sitting in the garden in the shade, while the heat is still somewhat manageable. It's already getting pretty warm but not so so bad yet. Definitely manageable especially in the shade with a light breeze every so often. Will maybe try and catch up on some of my letters later or read some more. Eventually I will probably have to move indoors though as it's just going to get too hot, even in the shade probably. 

Tomorrow, Monday, I am heading back into Vienna to meet up with another friend. Have a few other people I would like to see but just not enough time on this trip. As much as I would love to see everyone I also didn't want to stress myself and run around the whole time I am in Austria. 

Well, that's all from me here from heat wave plagued Austria. Hope you're all staying cool if it's hot wherever you are as well. :)

Mail Update: Mailed a letter to Lotte/Denmark yesterday. Received letters from/owe a reply to: Caroline/Scotland and Nina/WA.

Posted by Hanna at 04:18 AM in Austria , Family, Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Another busy week, Hopkins Inn and packing

IMG_20150725_190905So another crazy week. I really don't know when it will end.  It does seem to have gotten a tad better but there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out. Lots of small things that are causing problems. I honestly feel bad leaving on Wednesday, not knowing how things will go 

In more positive news I did spend the week training a new employee and things seem to be going ok. He is the younger brother of someone who also works there.  His sister started out in my department as one of my employees many years ago and was honestly one of my best people. Eventually we promoted her out of my department and she now runs our payroll along with HR and some accounting. So there's hope her brother can be an assett as well. :) Fingers crossed. :)

Mike will be at work while I am away as well. So hopefully he can keep an eye on things and help with some of the tasks that I usually cover. 

Saturday we had to work but had dinner reservations at the Hopkins Inn at Lake Waramaug. We usually try to go there every July around our American wedding anniversary (July 12) but it hadn't worked out yet this summer. So Saturday the weather worked out and we enjoyed a delicious dinner on their porch overlooking the lake.  

Today we slept in (we both needed it, just been so drained from all the work stuff), ran some errands and are now at 121 in Oxford for lunch. 

Eventually we will head back and I will start my packing for my Europe trip. I don't leave until Wednesday but I want to get some stuff arranged, update my music, find all my chargers and adapters etc. Also need to pack up some of the things I am bringing with me for people. Always so much to do. So I figured I would have more peace of mind starting tonight. That way if I do need to go out and get something I can always do that Monday or Tuesday. 

Mail Update: Received letters from/owe a reply to: Caroline/Scotland, Nina/WA and Lotte/Denmark. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:35 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Outdoors, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Busy, busy but hey it's almost summer

ImagesAnd another busy week. Lots of changes coming up at work over the next few weeks/months so there is a lot to do to prepare and take care of things. The short version is that the company we work for is changing suppliers. Doesn't sound so bad but the new company we are going to be partnering with is located in Pennsylvania which is a a bit of a ride from Connecticut/New York so all of our scheduling will need to be updated accordingly. Lots of things to figure out in our system, to coordinate and take care of things so the switch happens relatively seamless. The official change over will take place around July 12.

Good news (for me anyway) is that I leave for Europe on July 29. So  I have a very busy month and a half ahead of me but at least then I get a 2 week break. :) I will need that break because as soon as I get back I will need to get into full on preparation for the school start up. And not that long after that someone in our accounting/payroll department is due for maternity leave. So yeah, no dull moments for me in the near future. :)

Worked yesterday, Saturday. Mike hasn't been feeling great with a stomach bug of some sort so we have been taking it easy. Caught up on a bunch of TV shows yesterday and just hanging out and doing the same today. Worked from home for a bit today, went to the store and now going to catch up on some more TV stuff in a bit. 

Bought some ice cream so going to have that as well. :) The weather has definitely been very summer like these past few days so taking advantage of that by eating ice cream and lounging around in shorts and tank tops. Very happy with it after the awful winter we had. 

Mail Update: Letters went out on Friday to: Lotte/Denmark, Charles/TN and Carmen/Malta. And a letter is going out tomorrow to: Laura/Spain. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:38 PM in Austria , Outdoors, Work Stories | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Eurovision in Vienna - Sweden 12 points

Collage_20150523191044118Had a busy week at work as usual leading up to the Memorial Day holiday. Always a lot going on and pretty hectic trying to make sure everything is arranged correctly, orders are placed and nothing falls through the cracks. Of course no matter how hard you try there is always something that ends up not working out. But all in all it went ok I guess.

Mike and I actually have a three day weekend which is very nice and very rare so we are appreciating it. :) Today we relaxed a bit because Mike's not feeling too great, dealing with seasonal allergies plus a cold. So we slept in and stayed home. I made some lunch (yummy Serbian rice dish from a packet I bought in Austria) and afterwards we caught up with the rest of the current season of "The Big Bang Theory". 

After that it was time for Eurovision. Mike watched some "Parks and Rec" episodes while I caught up with friend Joanne from the UK to watch the Eurovision Song Contest online. I was excited to be able to catch the ORF Austrian broadcast live stream of the contest while chatting with Joanne online. It was fun to talk about the various performances and voting afterwards. Definitely a lot of fun. 

Austria sadly didn't get any points at all which is kind of disappointing since their performance actually was quite good I thought. But it's ok, we're used to it. :) I am still in shock that we actually won the contest last year. Only the second time in history and first time since the 60ies. It was definitely exciting to watch a song contest in Austria and to be able to see Vienna as the host city. Originally I had planned on going to Vienna for it but it ended up not working out. Oh well. It was definitely fun to catch it online with my friend though. :)

Now I am just lounging around, having some tea and being lazy. Feels like it's been a long day. I guess Eurovision is exhausting. lol. :)

Mail Update: Received mail/owe a reply: Laura/Spain.

Posted by Hanna at 08:19 PM in Austria , Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Performances | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Monday, March 30, 2015

Spring? Hello? Why is it still snowing?

WinterSo it's Monday again. Another week already gone by. I am so over the cold weather. Technically it's not winter anymore, according to the calendar anyway. But it snowed all day Saturday and this morning we woke up to a dusting as well and had to clean off the car. So over all of that. I just want some warmer, nice days where we can do stuff outside, go for walks and so on.

I did see the geese (Canada Geese like in "Fly Away Home" ... I love them) at work  Saturday. And that's usually a sign of spring when they come back. And on Sunday we saw a robin and they migrate as well. So them being back means it's spring even though it might not feel like it. 

Not too much else going on. My dad is still in the hospital but seems in good spirits. I am planning a trip to see them over the summer and to go on vacation with them to Northern Germany near Warnemuende, about 2hrs from Hamburg, by the sea. Will need to work out all the details. 

Mail Update. All caught up for once. Let's see how long that lasts. Letters went out on Thursday to: Caroline/Scotland and Nina/WA. 

Posted by Hanna at 09:05 PM in Austria , Family, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, March 22, 2015

First Day of Spring?

Snow-sucks1So Friday was the first day of spring and what did we get? Snow. And more snow Saturday. It wasn't that much all in all and more annoying than anything else. But really, it's just the fact that it was snowing AGAIN. I am so tired of it and so over it. I mean as pretty as it looks, the big puffy white snow flakes (it was the really pretty, wet kind of snow) that is just not spring weather. 

It's sunny outside right now but only 31F (just a tad under 0C) and only supposed to get a few degrees warmer later. So again, not a really spring-y day in my book. I guess we will see what the rest of the month brings. It's going to have to get nice eventually or so I hope anyway. :) 

My dad's surgery this past Monday went well so that's good anyway. He is still in the hospital but out of intensive care. Going to be at the hospital for another 2 weeks probably. And rehab/physical therapy to get him back into shape after that. My mom's doing ok at home, with help of my aunt and some friends and neighbors. So all that's good, relatively speaking.

Not too much else going on here with us. Just really ready for some nicer spring weather. Can't wait to get out and go for some walks and enjoy some nice scenery. Hopefully soon enough. Really ready for it. 

Mail Update. Letters went out on Thursday to: Laura/Spain and Carmen/Malta. Received letters from: Caroline/Scotland and Nina/WA. 

Posted by Hanna at 02:34 PM in Austria , Family, Weather | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Christmas Post

Collage_20141225114354115_20141225115228571Merry belated Christmas everyone. Been meaning to update but just haven't gotten around to it.

We were busy at work right up until Christmas.  Christmas Eve I managed to get most of my staff out by 2-3pm and then finished up myself.  After work we had some food and then went to the movies to see "The Imitation Game". Well that was the plan anyway. The projector in our theater broke so we ended up seeing "Into the Woods" instead. We had planned on seeing that anyway as well so no big harm done. 

When we got home we watched "Grumpy Cat's Christmas" and eventually headed to bed. Christmas Day morning we opened our gifts with Mike's sister, niece and newphew. Lots of lovely gifts. Mike got me a cool cat print by Matt Inman (the guy who does The Oatmeal) plus some DVDs. A bunch of cat themed gifts plus tea, chocolates and other stuff. 

Went to see "The Imitation Game" Christmas Day and afterwards headed to a neat pub in Norwalk (B.J. Ryan's) for a bit before heading back home. Definitely a lovely Christmas. 

My dad was released from the hospital on the 25th and my mom was able to go home from the rehab on the 24th. She is now back there again until the 20th of January but at least had some nice days at home. 

Mail Update. A letter is going out tomorrow to Nina/WA. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:36 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday, December 14, 2014

It's beginning to look a bit like ...

IMG_20141214_164840And here we are .. back in the US and back to the daily grind. Christmas Eve is only ten days away. Time is definitely racing by. So much left to do at work still. Sort of getting ready with the holiday prep at home. A lot of the gifts were already mailed before we left, some were delivered in Austria and a few more I have ready to go here for people. I still need to get things for a few people, gift cards and such, but all in all I am getting there.

Today I spent the afternoon decorating the apartment. Not going crazy with decorations this year but did want to make it look somewhat festive at least. So we went out today and braved the crowds for a bit to pick up a Christmas tree. It's just a small, cheaper one but it will do for this year. I am happy to have it in the window so you can see it from the outside. It fits with our Victorian style house. :) 

Yesterday we had to work but were able to get in a nice 5 mile walk along a trail after work in the afternoon before it got too dark anyway. So that was nice. Always nice to be able to be out and about and get some fresh air. 

My mom started her new rehab session this past Tuesday and so far things seem to be going well. She will be there until January 11th but gets to go home for the holidays at least so that's nice. My dad is feeling a bit under the weather at the moment too so he has some tests scheduled to check everything out to make him feel better as quickly as possible again. Never fun to be feeling crappy but especially not fun at this time of the year. 

Mail Update: Letters were mailed on Tuesday to: Charles/TN, Katie and Jessica/DE,Tiffany/OK and Celia/MA. The letter from Nina/WA is still in US postal mail purgatory somewhere. 

Posted by Hanna at 05:04 PM in Austria , Holidays | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack