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Sunday, October 31, 2021

Happy Halloween


SnoopyHappy Halloween :) Look at me updating on a Sunday. Figured I would try and get ahead of the game. No big Halloween plans for us. Just having lunch at Rizzuto's and going to stop at the store later to get some grocery shopping done and watch some TV. We caught up on all of our recorded TV yesterday. Anybody watching "Ordinary Joe" on NBC? I am going back and forth on it and I think they are obviously trying to have "This is Us" vibes, I am guessing as this will be the last season for "This is Us" so they are looking to have something to replace it. The other new show we have been watching is "Ghosts" which I thought was really campy at first but now has kind of been growing on me. Oh and "La Brea". That one has serious Lost vibes going on. Going to start "Only Murders in the Building" tonight I think. 

On my last post I wrote that we were coming back from our mini getaway Tuesday. In fact after I wrote my post, we packed up and checked out of our room. But when we got outside we realized how crazy the weather actually was. It was sideways blowing rain, windy, just crazy. And no end in sight either. Gale warnings, the ferries stopped etc. So we decided it just wasn't a good idea to drive back 3 hours in that weather so we ended up booking another night. Hung out on Tuesday at Bedell and then had lunch at Greenport Brewery. Hung out there for a while as the rain was blowing around outside. Then made another stop at Lenz, had some cheese, crackers and prosciutto as a snack before heading back to the hotel. 

Wednesday morning we got up at 5.30am and left the hotel just a bit after 6am as I did have to work. Rush hour traffic was of course a pain and I didn't get to the office till about 9.30am but at least we didn't have to drive in the crazy rain. 

The rest of the week was busy but uneventful otherwise. Yesterday, Saturday, we went to brunch at J. Lawrence. It was their last day yesterday which was bittersweet. We have really enjoyed going there these past few years and have become regulars. The people who bought the restaurant are supposed to open in about 4-5 weeks and are going to keep most of the staff on so hopefully it will be an ok transition. Wishing the family very well of course and would be fun if we get to see them at the new place but on the other side of the bar. :) 

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

Posted by Hanna at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

North Fork Birthday Getaway

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Here we are Tuesday morning. And the last day of our mini getaway/vacation. Still have today off at least so we will make the most of it even though there is heavy rain in the forecast today so the drive home won't be very pleasant but what can you do? At least we had pretty nice weather on Sunday and Monday so that's something, right? 

Last week was another busy week at work but honestly when is it not these days? Saturday we went for a nice walk around Tarrywile Park in Danbury in the morning to get some fresh air even though it was a bit drizzly but sill nice to get some exercise and be outside. Also stopped at Rite Aid for our flu shots and then headed to Westport to Rizzuto's for lunch. Said goodbye to our friend Andy who works there and is moving out to Victoria in Canada this week. Of course very happy for her and wishing her all the best but will be kind of sad not to see her on a regular basis. 

Sunday was my birthday and we started with a delicious diner breakfast at Elmer's. Yum! From there we made our way out to the North Fork of Long Island. Our first stop was Kontokosta. Got there around 12.30pm and hung out outside on their lawn for a while. Then stopped at Coffeepot which is always a highlight. Always fun to see Laura who runs the place along with her husband. She always has so many interesting stories and it's always great to see her pug Beasley. He is getting pretty old now and has some issues walking so Laura bought him a laundry cart so he can still hang out in the tasting room and be greeted by everyone who comes in but doesn't have to struggle with walking. 

Yesterday, Monday, we went to Starbucks and hung out there for a while before continuing on to Paumanok. The weather was pretty cooperative especially in the morning with almost being 70 already at 11am. Hung out for a while with some wine and a delicious fresh baguette with some olive oil. From there we continued on to a little nature trail where we were able to get a little bit of exercise in and some more fresh air. Then stopped at Osprey and One Woman. We have been coming to Osprey for a while now and One Woman has become one of my favorites as well as they have Gruener Veltliner which is an Austrian grape and always exciting to me to try it when I see it somewhere here. Ended at Coffeepot which as always was fun and interesting. Laura had some people there from local wineries who were celebrating a birthday so we somehow ended up getting wrapped up in that celebration, even eating birth day cake and all. It's honestly part of why I always enjoy stopping there because you just never know what the visit will bring. Always interesting people to talk to and a fun time. 

Today we are going to pick up a couple of bottles of wine to bring home and maybe stop at one more, maybe Bedell as they have a covered deck from what I recall so that may work out considering the weather. And then we will need to make our way back to CT which will probably be a longer ride considering the weather conditions. And well tomorrow it will be back to work and normal every day stuff but I will try and not think about that just yet. At least it will be a shorter work week which is also nice. 

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

Posted by Hanna at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

New Haven Pizza Lover's Tour

1634640042870Alright already Tuesday morning. And brrr it's chilly this morning. 41F right now (5c). Going to be around 63 today I think (17c) I guess it's typical fall weather where it can get pretty nice during the day especially if you are outside in the sun. But mornings and evenings can be downright chilly. I guess it is what it is obviously. I do like fall/autumn. But I always say it's bittersweet because it is just the beginning of what is to come, which of course is winter. I hate cold, ice and snow and I also especially hate when it's cold and dark in the morning when I get up. I have a much easier time getting up and getting ready for the day/work if it's light outside and nice and warm. The dark doesn't bother me so much at night although in the dead of winter it can be kind of depressing when it's dark before 5pm. But no use complaining about it, of course not going to change it. I guess I pretty much go through this cycle every year though. 

Anyway, had a nice weekend. Saturday we didn't do too much. Slept in a bit and then headed to Westport for lunch at Rizzuto's. Our friend John also met up with us there. Our friend Andy who works there is going to be moving to Canada soon and of course we wish her all the best on this next adventure. But it's going to be kind of sad to not see her every week or every other week. She used to work at the location in Bethel and also at another place close by Rosy's so we have known her for quite some time. But will be fun to see what she does next. Always good when people have the opportunity to branch out and spread their wings and try something new. 

On Sunday we went to New Haven for the Pizza Lover's Tour. I had gotten this for Mike as a Christmas gift some time ago I think and we finally managed to book it. I have to say it was quite the epic day, started at noon and ended a little after 6pm. Lots of eating, drinking and walking. Definitely a long day. They took us to four different pizza places (Pepe's, Modern, Next Door and Sally's) At each place they had three different types of pizza (a tomato, a mozzarella and a specialty pie) There was also plenty of beer and lots of walking in between. I think all in all we walked a little over 4 miles (6.5 km) Lots of history about the city, the origins of the different pizza places, the Yale university campus and more. We had about 17 people in our group and everyone was pretty fun so it was a neat while kind of exhausting day. I definitely enjoyed trying all the different pizzas. New Haven is kind of famous for their pizza so it was fun actually trying some of these places for myself, without needing to stand in line. Modern was my favorite. Their tomato pie was actually amazing. Kind of crazy since it doesn't have the cheese but the sauce was so flavorful and delicious. Their cheese was really good too though. 

And well yesterday was Monday. Nothing special to report on that. Just trying to get through another week. :) My birthday is this upcoming Sunday (24th) so I took Monday and Tuesday off next week and we'll head to the North Fork for some relaxing and wine tasting. Should be fun. 

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

Posted by Hanna at 06:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday, October 11, 2021

Van Gogh Immersive Experience - NYC

TempFileForShare_20211011-204423And here we are again, Monday night, another start to another week. Had a nice weekend but of course it flew by. 

On Saturday we had a great in NYC. Our friends John & Jana picked us up around 9.15am and we headed down to NYC to see the Van Gogh exhibit there. We had bought tickets a while ago and I think originally were supposed to go in early August but then ended up having to re-schedule and exchanged the tickets for a date in October. I was really looking forward to it and it definitely did not disappoint. I am a big Van Gogh fan anyway but I have heard a lot of people say, even if you aren't into art at all, this is the exhibit for you, and I definitely agree. The first two rooms are more normal museum type rooms with some paintings and plaques on the history of Van Gogh and his life. But then the third room is a huge warehouse type space where his art is projected all across the walls and floor so it feels like you are being totally immersed. The art is animated as well so it really does feel like you are inside the paintings. It's hard to describe but I promise it was a very cool experience and I would definitely recommend it. 

After the exhibit we took the subway to Union Square to have brunch at Lillie's. Hung out for a while and eventually took a cab back to Vessy Street where we had parked. Got home around 7-7.30pm I think and just hung out at home watching some TV and relaxing. 

Sunday we slept in which was really nice and then had lunch at Rizzuto's in Westport. The weather was kind of iffy so it was a good excuse for a low key day. Watched more TV in the evening (finally getting to the last season of Lucifer) and well here we are, now it's Monday. Had a busy day at work and tomorrow is looking busy as well. I am guessing one of these days things will start to slow down, just not quite sure when yet. 

 Mail Update: No letters at the moment - all caught up :)

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

Monday, October 04, 2021

Random Stuff

SnoopyHello October. I really don't even know where the time is going but then I seem to say that all the time and the older you get the faster the time seems to be flying. 

We had another nice fall weekend with beautiful weather so really can't complain about that. Today was a dreary, cool, rainy, dark Monday which really did not put me in the mood to get out of bed in the morning or have any energy. But I guess better that way and a nice weekend rather than dreary weather on the weekend. 

On Saturday we went for a nice walk at Sherwood Island and then for lunch at Rizzuto's in Westport. Also caught on some recorded shows in the evening. And on Sunday we dealt with some errands and stuff in the morning and then had lunch at Broken Symmetry, fun place to sit outside so we took advantage of the nice weather to have a leisurely lunch outside. Also decided to get ice cream at local ice cream place afterwards and eventually headed home and caught up on more DVR TV and also watched "Cinderella" on Amazon Prime. 

And well now it's Monday and I made it past the day. A busy day and will be a busy week in general as I am covering for a coworker on vacation. Can't complain though since she covered for me for 2 weeks while I was away so obviously it's only fair. :) Will make it through the week one way or another, always do. 

Other than that not too much new really. Had a dentist appointment last week on Thursday and have a few more coming up in November for a cleaning and to finish my implant and whatnot. This coming weekend we have tickets for the Van Gogh exhibit in the city so that should be fun. Not sure what the weather is going to bring but doesn't really matter too much since the exhibit is indoors obviously. 

Mail Update: No letters at the moment - all caught up :)

Posted by Hanna at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)