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Monday, August 28, 2017
MoMa, NYC, movies and more
Hello Monday ... again. Time really does fly by. I know, I know. I literally start every post this same way. Maybe I need to start writing posts on a
different day. Because writing them on Sunday afternoons/evenings or Monday mornings always gives me that feeling of "ugh another full week ahead, the weekend gone AGAIN". Well we will see what the week brings. The weather has been really nice these past few days and I think is supposed to continue like this for at least a few more days. We've had highs of around 75-80F (23-26C) with no humidity and a slight breeze. At night the temps go down into the 50ies (10-15C) which makes for nice sleeping weather. Really can't complain. I would take this weather all year round if I could. :)
Saturday we spent the day in NYC which is always fun. Went to MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit which was pretty neat. We have a membership at MoMa even though we don't go all that much. But as long as we go twice a year the money for the membership is made back plus it's money spent for a good cause. After we saw the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit we also quickly looked at the other floors with their permanent collection. We've seen those quite a bit but it's always fun to see some Monets or Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
After MoMa we made our way back to midtown and had a late lunch/early dinner in the theater district at Osteria al Doge. We've been going there for ages. It's actually where we officially got together in February of 2000 when I visited Mike in the US. So we've been going there for 17+ years and nothing much ever changes. Delicious food, good wine. They have the absolutely best lasagna ever. Mike gets a spinach ravioli in a butter sage sauce that's also pretty yum. Before and after the theater it can get pretty crowded and without reservations on the weekend you don't have much of a chance. But since we went during a more off time it was not crowded at all and actually really nice. We may need to try that again another time. We usually tend to go before or after a show and I guess so does everyone else so that's when it's really, really busy.
After we were done at Osteria al Doge we stopped at Madison&Vine for some wine before eventually taking the train back to Connecticut. Definitely a fun Saturday even though it's always tiring and a long day but still a lot of fun of course.
Sunday we slept in and and then went to the movies to see "Ingrid Goes West". Really makes you think about today's world and social media. The perfect commentary on all of those things in a way. Would definitely recommend catching it if you have the chance. After the movie we had a late lunch at 121 in Oxford and later caught up on some TiVo before watching the MTV VMA's. We recorded those too so we fast forwarded through the commercials and boring parts. Nothing too spectacular I suppose.
Well let's see what this week brings. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we have tickets to see Green Day in Hartford so that should be good. The last time we saw them I think was on their American Idiot tour, so quite some time ago. Going to shows mid week always makes me feel old because I am always dragging like crazy the next day but oh well, such is life I suppose.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA.
Posted by Hanna at 07:22 AM in Food and Drink, NYC | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, August 21, 2017
Summer Walks
Hello Monday. Why do weekends pass by so quickly? I feel that I write the same thing every week more or less but it really does feel the same every week. Oh well. I guess I'll manage to make it through another week. We are slowly making our way towards the end of the summer which is sort of bitter sweet I suppose. I am looking forward to the end of the summer in one way since it will get less busy at work again. Well, in theory anyway. :) But at the same time, as much as I love fall (I think it may be one of my favorite seasons) it is always followed by never ending winter and I am definitely not looking forward to that. I guess one day at a time, no sense in getting ahead of myself.
For now there is another summer week ahead of me right now. Few more days of vacation coverage as well. We also have a new person starting today and another new one next week. So once they are all trained and up and running that should hopefully help. Guess we will see how it all turns out. Today there is also the solar eclipse here in the US. Where we are it's not a total one, I think it will only be about 60% where we are. Our company has provided us with glasses so I will need to see if I can track a pair down and go outside in the afternoon to take a look. Good excuse to take a quick break from work. :)
Other than that not too much else new. On Saturday we went to the movies and saw "Brigsby Bear". What a weird idea/concept for a movie but oddly it worked pretty well. Surprised that the movie showed up at our local AMC though. After the movies we went to the Hurricane Grill in Newburgh. And yesterday, Sunday, we decided to go for a walk. The weather was still a bit muggy/humid but not as bad as it had been. Felt nice to be out and about and get some exercise. Had lunch at 121 and later ended up catching up on a few shows. The new fall seasons of a lot of the shows will be starting up again pretty soon so we are trying to get caught up.
Well that's all for now. Let's see what this week brings.
Letter/Mail Update: Received a letter from/owe a reply to: Celia/MA.
Posted by Hanna at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, August 14, 2017
Broadway Weekend
Good Morning Monday. Ugh, I hate Monday mornings. I guess it's just the fact of the weekend being over and having to start a new work week. Fingers crossed it turns out to be a decent week. It's still busy at work but I guess that's a given with it still being summer. I am partially covering for someone else on vacation at the moment but I am only covering some of her files/accounts so it's not so so bad. Hanging in there and doing my best. I guess summer will be over soon enough. Kind of sad to be wishing summer away but I guess it's an occupational hazard in my job now.
This summer has been kind of weird weather wise anyway. We have had some crazy hot days but mainly it hasn't been so bad. Especially the last few weeks it has always cooler down to a nice temperature (60ies, sometimes even mid 50ies = 12-15 Celsius) at night which has made sleeping pretty nice. Kind of unheard of in August usually but I am ok with it. We will see what the rest of the month brings. Don't get me wrong, we have had some hot and also plenty of humid weather but it definitely hasn't been the unbearable weather we had last summer.
On Saturday we took the train down to NYC to see "The Great Comet" again on Broadway. Decided to see it again since it now has Ingrid Michaelson in it. Well it did. Sunday was her last show but she was in it for about 8 weeks I believe. Enjoyed the show a lot and really wish it wasn't closing on Sept. 3. I have seen it three times now and I would be happy to go see it again. Little crazy I know. Oh well. I do have the soundtrack/cast recording so I can always listen to that if all else fails. :)
After the show we had dinner at Madison & Vine, eventually took the train back and stopped at Two Steps for a couple more drinks and to hang out. Then on Sunday we went to see "The Glasshouse". Enjoyed the movie but it's so crazy to think that most of it was actually based on a true story. What a strange way to grow up. Anyway, I would definitely recommend seeing the movie. After the movies we had lunch in Oxford at 121 and eventually stopped at the store for groceries and then caught up on some TiVo. We are finally sort of getting caught up. Kind of funny since a lot of the fall shows will be starting up again in the not too distant future.
Letter/Mail Update: All caught up on my mail at the moment - yay :)
Posted by Hanna at 07:23 AM in NYC | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sunday, August 06, 2017
And it's August ...
Time really does fly it seems as it's already August. Work continues to be busy so that definitely makes the work days go by fast. I really often wish there were more hours in the day to getting everything done. :) But so far I am hanging in there and hopefully August will pass with too much of an issue. I have a vacation coming in September so there's something to look forward to with that. Going to be visiting with my parents in Europe for 10 days. Going to be flying to Croatia to meet up with them there and then head to Austria afterwards My dad has been struggling with his health a bit so I hope he continues his upward cycle and is in better shape by the time I get over there. It's definitely not easy being that far away at times. I do look forward to seeing them and to spend some time and of course to eat a lot of delicious food. Also looking forward to getting my hair done when I am in Austria. Will need to decide what color(s) I want to go with this time.
To stay with the travel theme for a minute - I can't wait for my trip with Mike to the Azores in November. I think I wrote about this on here when we booked it but now I can't quite remember if I did or not. We found a great deal for a package that included the flight and hotel and afterwards we also found a good deal on a rental car so we are all set now. It's over Thanksgiving week so still some time away but I am definitely looking forward to going.
Mike's on his way back from L.A. tonight. He was originally supposed to come back yesterday but American ended up changing his flight. They did give him a night in a hotel and also a $400 travel voucher. So maybe we'll be able to use that to go somewhere fun during the winter, maybe in January or February when it's cold out. Would be nice to go somewhere warm then. We will have to ponder. Ideas right now are Santa Fe, New Mexico or Mexico City. We'll see what we decide.
The week has been ok otherwise. I managed to catch up on my mail so that's good. Was getting pretty behind and managed to get 7 letters done during this week and weekend. Also been reading and watching a few movies (watched 'Basketball Diaries" and "Cafe Society") Been a relatively relaxing week and weekend. Today Kristina (my sis-in-law) and I went to Panera Bread. Haven't been there in ages so it was nice to go, sit outside and take advantage of the cooler/non-humid weather. During the week we got Thai food delivered. Oh and also yummy breakfast food from a local diner. Definitely ready for Mike to be back though now. It gets lonely sleeping in the bed by myself. Well, the cats kept me company of course but that's still not quite the same. :)
Letter/Mail Update: Letters have been written and already went out or are going out on Monday to: Lotte/Denmark, Laura/Spain, Eloine/NY, Michele/CA, Carmen/Malta, Kimber/Canada and Nina/WA.
Posted by Hanna at 06:41 PM in Austria , Food and Drink, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)