Monday, January 17, 2022

Same stuff different day - more winter blues

FB_IMG_1614441916245And yes you guessed it, another week gone by. Nothing all that much new. This part of the year truly is my least favorite part. I hate the weather, the cold, snow, ice, it's dark and just not very exciting. Today was another super gloomy and dreary day. We had some snow last night overnight into this morning which then turned into rain which made everything a big mess and it stayed dreary and gloomy all day. I know this kind of weather is normal for this time of year and I generally do like the idea of four seasons but just not a big winter fan. Never have been. 

Work is still super busy which probably isn't helping my general mood. And yeah, just don't have much to really share or say that's exciting or new. Had a dentist appointment last week and another one tomorrow, also with the orthodontist. My dental work feels like one of those never ending stories but I guess one day it'll be sort of done.

The weekend was pretty quiet. Saturday we had lunch at Rizzuto's in Westport and stopped at Two Steps on way home before catching up on some shows at home. And Sunday morning I met up with my friend Jana and we hung out at a local bakery/coffeeshop called Mothership. Really neat place. Had some great tea, avocado toast and spent some hours just hanging out, catching up and relaxing. Sunday night Mike and I caught up on some more Tv and well here we are, Monday night already. Once I finish this post I am going to get ready for bed, grab my book and spend some time relaxing and reading. Also kind of dead tired so it may end up being an early night for me. Guess we'll see. 

Sorry for this dreary post but I guess it just reflects my general state of mind at the moment. I'll snap out of it again. 

Mail Update: Currently caught up with my mail. 

Posted by Hanna at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Winter Blues

FB_IMG_1543346597296And somehow it's already Tuesday night. I don't even know how we got here or why I was delayed with my posting. Usually I am good about posting Sunday or Monday nights but I never did on Sunday and yesterday just turned into a mad day at work and when I was done with it I was just done with all computer stuff and wanted to log off, curl up with the cats and continue reading my Sophie Kinsella book. So yeah, that's it I guess. 

Anyway not a whole lot new I suppose. I am pretty much over winter and it's barely mid January. We had our first semi significant snowfall of the season last week on Friday (about 5 inches) and now the weather has turned super cold (our high today was something like 17F which is minus 8C. And the low is going to be somewhere around 5F which is minus 15C and with the windchills it of course feels way way colder. Ugh. Not a fan. 

Last weekend was pretty low key. Saturday we didn't do much, just had lunch at Rizzuto's. At night I made chili and had a veg out night reading. On Sunday we went to see "Nightmare Alley" and had a late lunch at Newsylum and then met up with Maryellen & Rich at Michael's before heading home and catching up on our recorded TV. 

Monday was just a blur of a day. Busy day, And today not that much different. Not all that much else going on this week. Thursday I have a dentist cleaning appointment and well just looking forward to the weekend. So that's about all the news I got for now. :)

Mail Update: Currently caught up with my mail. 

Posted by Hanna at 08:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, January 03, 2022

Happy New Year

1641260214800Hello 2022! I am really not sure how it's already January and a new year but I seem to say these things pretty much every month don't I? And time just seems to fly faster and faster the older you get I think. But anyway, I guess let's see what 2022 will bring. I am feeling a bit indifferent towards it I suppose. I want to have high hopes and great optimism but I am not really too sure. I guess we'll see how it goes. I miss traveling (and with that I mean just regular tourist travel, not visiting family) and also traveling without all the restrictions, needed tests and all the ever changing regulations and required entry forms for various countries. I guess one day things will go back to somewhat normal but I am not too sure when that will actually be. Or I guess maybe we'll just get used to it and accept this as the new normal and learn to deal with it better. I don't know. 

Covid cases are spiking a lot in our area again at the moment but I guess it was to be expected after the holidays with people having gatherings and parties and all of that. Hopefully things will calm down and the surge will stop again relatively soon. Our office has been shut down since before Christmas and is still closed till January 7th with everyone working from home. I am not sure if they will extend it beyond the 7th - it wouldn't surprise me but I guess we'll see. 

Other than that really not all that much new. The week between Christmas and New Year's was a busy week with a lot of people off at work, covering and all that. It's always a bit of a weird week. But we made it through and then I had 1/2 of the 30th off as well as the whole day on the 31st plus the actual weekend. On New Year's Eve we went to the movies and saw "The King's Man" - was pretty good but not as good as the first few in the series but then I guess that was to be expected. At night we stopped at Rosy's and then had a yummy dinner at Chuck's Steakhouse. Spent some time with our friend John and also ran into two of our friends, Maryellen and Rich, who we hadn't seen in a really long time so it was great to randomly run into them. Ended up getting home around 9.30pm and watched Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN for their New Year's Eve coverage which was entertaining. Got to bed probably around 1.30am. 

New Year's Day was a quiet slow day. Went to Rizzuto's in Westport and at night I just curled up on the couch with some tea and my book and had a quiet night in. Then yesterday, Sunday, we went to the movies again and saw "Licorice Pizza" which was neat and then had a late lunch at Flipside in Fairfield. Stopped at Centrico for a bit and then went home to watch "Thor Ragnarok" which we somehow hadn't seen yet. And here we are, Monday night. Nothing too much going on this week. Just trying to catch up from the holidays. 

Mail Update: Currently caught up with my mail. 

Posted by Hanna at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, December 27, 2021

Christmas Post

IMG_20211225_121831_558Monday night but I actually had the day off as well as Friday so it's been a nice long extended 4 day weekend. Merry Christmas to all my friends who celebrate :) This week is a bit of a weird one between Christmas and New Year's. The way the holidays are falling this year and the additional days we are getting off from work I am actually only going to be working 2 and a half days this week. Tomorrow, Tuesday (28th), Wednesday (29th) and half day on Thursday (30th) and then I am off the 31st and back working again on Monday 3rd. 

Christmas was nice and low key which really made it enjoyable. I had Christmas Eve off and we went to Stew Leonard's  to pick up a bunch of goodies for Christmas Day (shrimp cocktail, brie, baguette, cheese, crackers, pigs in a blanket) and then had lunch at Marketplace. At 3 I went over to John and Jana's house to meet up with Jana for baking. John's mom also joined us and the three of us spent some hours baking Christmas cookies. Then around 6 - 6.30 Mike and John joined us and we had dinner and later ate cookies and also watched a Christmas movie (Noelle) Got home around 10.30pm. Definitely an enjoyable day. 

Christmas Day we slept in a bit and I had a low key morning reading more of Diana Gabaldon's new book. We didn't do a big gift exchange this year which is fine. Mike wants a ride in an open cockpit World War 2 type plane which we will do in the spring/summer. And I said I wanted tickets for the upcoming Broadway musical "Mr. Saturday Night" starring Billy Crystal so we'll get tickets for that. Neither of us really needs or wants more stuff so that was a good compromise. :) Then we went to see the new Spiderman movie at 1.30pm and when we got home just vegged out on the couch for a long time watching more movies and TV and eating our delicious feast of stuff and drinking wine. A very low key day, nice and relaxing. Yesterday, Sunday, was low key as well. We slept in and went to Westport for lunch at Rizzuto's and then stopped at Centrico for a bit before heading home and having our leftovers of our feast food. :) Plus more movies/TV. We watched "Don't Look Up" on Netflix as well as 'Encanto" on Disney+ and finished "Hawkeye" as well as other various recorded stuff. 

Today, Monday, we had another low key day. I checked on some work stuff in the morning and we then went for lunch. Originally we were supposed to meet up with Mike's niece and nephew Shannon and Erik but that fell apart last minute as Erik wasn't feeling well and Shannon banged herself up sliding down some stairs last night. So we postponed our lunch to this coming Sunday instead. Not a huge deal. 

Now just having a low key night at home. Going to make dinner in a bit and then going to spend some relaxing time on the couch reading more of "Bees". Even though I am only working for a few days this week I am sure it will be pretty crazy since a lot of people took the week off between Christmas and New Year's so not really looking forward to tomorrow. But for now I'll just relax, sip my tea and read my book and will try not think about tomorrow just yet. 

Mail Update: Currently caught up with my mail. 

Posted by Hanna at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, December 19, 2021

One week till Christmas

IMG_20211219_154324_115Happy Sunday. And already the end of the weekend again. I really don't even know how that happens. And I had a long weekend too because I had Friday off. I had a sick day left to use that I couldn't carry over into the new year so I requested the day off and made it a mental health day for myself. 

Anyway not really much new since last week. It's just one week until Christmas now. I am mostly done with my shopping so that's good.  We aren't doing anything big which is fine. We really aren't huge holiday people.

Last week was another busy week at work. Thursday night I had a massage and then Friday off. Mostly just spent the day relaxing. 

Saturday we went to Rizzutos for lunch and then stopped at Rosys and ended up staying way later than I had thought we would. Was a fun night though.  And today we were going to go to an early showing of Spiderman but then realized this morning that it was actually sold out (honestly wasn't thinking of that since we haven't had that problem since prepandemic but I guess it being a Marvel movie and the weekend just before the holidays and just having released too and getting great reviews it makes sense) So we ended up having breakfast at a diner and then seeing a slightly later showing of West Side Story. It was very well shot and done.  The story is a bit depressing to me, very Romeo and Juliet but still glad we went to see it. 

Now we are at Newsylum Brewery and just hanging out for a bit. Probably going to stop into Centrico before heading home and catching up on some recorded TV. 

Mail Update: Mailed a letter on Saturday to: Celia/MA. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Relaxed Weekend

IMG_20211212_150250_696Happy Sunday. Sunday Funday. :) Figured I'd get my weekly post done today. Just hanging out at the moment waiting to hear from our friend John. We agreed to help him with the move of his mom, just some unloading of some heavy things. So just waiting to hear when they are going to be arriving in town. In the meantime we went for brunch at the Marketplace in Brookfield. Just a pretty chill and non eventful Sunday which is fine by me. It's been so busy at work and also with personal stuff, always having something to do, getting my cards done, the tree, the packages to be mailed out and ordered etc. 

Last night I actually gave myself a nice quiet night at home and watched "A Castle for Christmas" on Netflix, had some gingerbread and tea and relaxed. Watched another Hallmark movie after that and had some wine and just enjoyed a nice quiet nothing evening/night at home. 

Last week was a busy week and I have a feeling the next few weeks until the year is over is going to be just as busy. But will get through it, always do. Nothing too much new otherwise really. 

Yesterday earlier in the day we went to Rizzuto's for lunch and then later in day I spent time at home relaxing. 

No big plans for Christmas really. We will probably have some family time in the morning and maybe we'll go to the movies and we should probably stock on some snacks to have later in the day. We'll see how it goes. Nothing big planned for New Year's either. We really aren't big holiday people.

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, December 06, 2021

Christmas Tree, cards, booster shot, etc.



IMG_20211204_124635_134Happy Monday and all of that. I am getting pretty tired so this may be a quick post. Got our Covid booster shots today and so far I can't complain too much about the side effects. I am pretty tired and my arm hurts. With the last shots I developed a fever for a short time overnight so I guess we will see what happens but so far it isn't too bad. Just tired and kind of out of it.

Other than that, let's see what else is new? Not too much I suppose. Put up our tree last Friday night (Dec 3) and also managed to get all my Christmas cards done now. Need to get them into the mail tomorrow. The international ones I already mostly mailed out at the end of November but this is my domestic US batch. Also mostly ordered gifts for people. Not 100% done with my shopping at all but not in terrible shape. Always try to focus on my international stuff first as that can take longer with shipping and whatnot. 

The weekend kind of flew by. Saturday we went for a walk at Sherwood Island in Westport and then had lunch at Rizzuto's. Spent the night writing my cards and then watched some TV. And Sunday we went to the World Market in West Hartford as I wanted to get some gingerbread and other international goodies. Had lunch at the Cambridge House, hadn't been there in quite a while so it was nice to see they still exist and hang out there. Spent Sunday night catching up on more TV and starting Hawkeye on Disney +. 

Oh I also received a delicious Imperial Torte straight from Vienna, courtesy of my ex boss at my old job in Vienna. It's a bit of a tradition that he send one every year - always very much appreciated!!

And well here we are Monday night. Another busy day at work. I have a feeling it will be busy until the holidays are over. Guess we'll see how it goes. One day at a time right?

Mail Update: A letter is going tomorrow to: Carmen/Malta. Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA. 

Posted by Hanna at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, November 29, 2021

Thanksgiving Montreal Weekend

IMG_20211128_220510_700 IMG_20211128_220722_318Here we are, it's Monday night again. Last week was just a blur it feels like. Monday through Wednesday was super busy at work with the short work week and also covering for a co-worker on vacation. Plus we had a newbie start I am mentoring so yeah everything all at once. But somehow I made it through, always do, right?

Monday we also had our PCR test scheduled as we needed that for travel to Canada and had to be within 72 hours of arrival. We went Monday afternoon and got the results back mid morning on Wednesday. Didn't book a hotel until Wednesday night after work and left Thursday morning. So all was a bit last minute but we didn't want to book a hotel and then find out last minute we couldn't go because the results didn't come back in time or a false positive or a break through case. You just never know these days. But luckily it all worked out

We left early Thursday morning and got to Montreal around 12.30pm. Checked in at our hotel (the Holiday Inn in Chinatown) and then walked to the old town to have lunch at Les 3 Brasseurs - one of our favorite places and always great to go to. Had the most delicious poutine and some popcorn shrimp. After hanging out there for a while we wandered around a bit and also checked out the Christmas Market before having drinks and a small dinner at The Farsides - what a funky, trendy, 90ies inspired placed. Hung out there for a while before heading back to the hotel. The hotel bar and restaurant wasn't open due to Covid but luckily everything else was mostly open. 

Friday we went to check out a museum in the morning and then walked around a bit before lunch. The weather was pretty miserable that day. mostly rain and a snow/rain mixture all day so chilly and wet. But we made the best of it. We went to a pub for lunch and then afterwards headed to the Biodome. We had originally planned to take the metro and walked to the station, bought our tickets, only to find out that there was a problem/issue with somebody on the tracks. Lots of announcements in French which we couldn't really understand so we eventually ended up grabbing a cab and made it to the Biodome about 30 min past our ticketed time slot. Luckily that worked out ok and we had a nice time checking out the exhibits. It was completely redone from when we went the last time and they really did a great job I have to say. When we were done we made our way back to the hotel and then had dinner in the old town (back to Les 3 Brasseurs) followed by some wine at Maggie Oakes. By the time we left there the snow had started to stick a bit and while it was a bit slippery of a walk it also did look very pretty.  

Saturday we slept in a bit and then had breakfast at Allo mon Coco with somebody I work with. I have worked with her on the same account for a few years now so it was a lot of fun to actually get to meet in person. We don't work for the same company but partner companies but work together quite a bit. Had a yummy breakfast and then in the afternoon walked around the old town some more. Went to a market and had a few drinks at Pub Brewsky followed by dinner at Taverne Gaspar. Absolutely delicious ribs and a fun place for sure. On our way back we decided to randomly stopped at a place called "NELLI CafĂ© + Vin nature" at Hotel Nelligan. We were just looking for a not too crazy place for another glass of wine and this turned out to be a pretty neat place. 

Sunday we had breakfast at Eggspectations and then headed back towards the US. We spent way too long in line at the US border but what can you do? We did eventually make it back around 6.30pm and stopped at Centrico for dinner where we met up with our friend John. 

And well here we are, Monday night. I do need to work on my US Christmas cards but that will have to wait another week I think. Also need to put up our tree but again that may just have to wait a bit. Will get there - eventually. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Carmen/Malta. 

Posted by Hanna at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Christmas Cards, Outlander Launch Event and more

PeanutsSunday afternoon. And the weekend before the Thanksgiving week. Crazy times ahead. :) I am covering for a co-worker on vacation next week plus we have a new employee starting who I will be mentoring, It will be ok. It always is. :) We have tentative plans to go away for Thanksgiving, Thursday to Sunday. It's all a bit TBD at the moment. We are thinking of going to Montreal and need a PCR test to enter Canada. We are vaccinated but there's always a chance of a break through case of course so we decided to not book a hotel until we get our test back. So we'll see how all that pans out. I do hope we get to go. It's been over 5 years since we were last in Montreal. 

Was supposed to have a dental cleaning appointment this past Tuesday but that ended up getting cancelled as my insurance is maxed out. Rescheduled that for January when the insurance resets. I do have an appointment this coming Tuesday but that's for a crown and veneers and either already paid for and/or not covered by insurance anyway. 

Also started my Christmas cards yesterday and finished all of my international ones so I can get those into the mail asap. I don't trust the postal system very much these days but I guess let's see how it goes. I do still need to write all my US domestic cards but there's a little more time for that at least. Yesterday we also got to see our friends Robin & Ashley who we haven't seen in forever. So that was really nice. Was great to hang out and catch up for sure. And today we went to see "Belfast" at a movie theater in Trumbull followed by lunch at Flipside in Fairfield. 

And tomorrow from 7 to 10pm is the launch event for Diana Gabaldon's new book "Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone" It's a virtual event via Zoom but should be fun. As a huge fan of the Outlander series I am very excited for the new book. The book itself releases on Tuesday 23rd. I have a copy ordered via Kindle and will also receive a signed hardcover copy from that launch event. Good times. :)

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Carmen/Malta. 

Posted by Hanna at 03:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, November 15, 2021

Random musings

SnoopyMonday morning. Not sure if I am ready for another week but here we are. I am just not a fan of Mondays. I actually did go to bed pretty early last night, around 9.30pm. Often my problem with Mondays is that I end up staying up late cause we are watching TV and whatnot but I don't even have that excuse today. Still tired and dragging nonetheless, maybe a little less than if I had gone bed at midnight but guess we'll see how the rest of the day goes. 

Not all that much new really. Last Tuesday I had my first dentist appointment of a few in a row - two more to go - in hopes of finishing up things with my implant and crown. The appointment this week is actually just a normal cleaning one, then next week something else and I assume will need at least one more before all is said and done. But the way things go with me, I am sure it's just a matter of time before some other project ends up happening with me and the dentist. But at least this particular issue seems to finally be coming to a close so that's something I suppose. 

The weekend was nice and mostly uneventful I guess. Saturday it actually ended up being pretty nice in the morning. Wish I had realized how warm it was out so we could have taken advantage and maybe gone for a walk or something. Oh well. Had lunch at Rizzuto's and later watched a bunch of stuff on TV. Finished the "Murders in the Building" show and also watched the new Ryan Reynolds /Dwayne Johnson/Gal Gadot movie "Red Notice" on Netflix. 

Sunday we went to the movies in the morning and finally saw the new Bond movie. It was pretty good but definitely too long. They easily could have cut out 45 min to 1 hr and it would have been still fine. But glad we went to see it I guess. Then we had brunch at Lucas Local. The first week they were having brunch there so was nice to try it. And stopped at Centrico for a bit after to say hi to Cait. And then watched the SNL we had recorded. Originally we had talked about watching something on Disney + after (we signed up again since it was only $1.99 for a month) but I was starting to fall asleep so we postponed that idea. 

And well here we are, Monday morning. So let's see what the week holds. I have my dentist cleaning appointment on Tuesday and my yearly physical appointment on Friday. Other than that all as usual. 

Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Carmen/Malta. 

Posted by Hanna at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)