You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

Cousins are the most wonderful people on the planet - not only are they related to you they often make the best of friends! I was so lucky to get to know just a few of these wonderful individuals during some of my stays here in Iceland. From those early encounters true strong solid friendships evolved. I would hate to think what my life would have been like if I had never gotten to know these people and more importantly than that - have them as my friends.

Johanna, above is the most beautiful of human beings. She has had a few rough times in her life, but has bounced back so magnificently and is someone that I admire so much. I know that she is there - solid as a rock for me at any time wherever I am in the world. I love her to death!

This is a portion of the extended family on my dads side, a lot of these people I really don´t know - I know who they are and I know we are related, but like in all big groups of people there are often only certain people that you know you have a special affinity with. Johanna and her extended family are like that for me.

This is mums oldest sisters family, I am fairly good mates with Krisín (middle bottom) and Olína, they basically managed to save both my mother and my mental health when I came to Iceland as a 12 year old. We will get to whiny sig in a later post. Anyway I missed my dad dreadfully when we were in Reykjavik and made life hell for ma - who probably missed dad just as much if not more than me. Anyway the solution and a good solution it was - was to send me to the country to my aunt and uncles farm. There I learnt to ride a horse and to shovel shit in the cow shed - twas a very good education.

Now these people have been extremely influential in my life - my hero Sirrí is bottom left, she runs the local museum set up here, writes educational materials on the early habits of Icelanders as a hobby, and has basically helped her mother and father bring up the 8 other brothers and sisters. These cousins took me and Tracy in when we were here in our teens, they made our stay in Rvk just so amazing... They took me in when I came back in the 80's - helped set me up in work in the bank and also when they deserted me (they moved north), made sure that I still had a safety net of friends in Reykjavik. Solid friendships were formed and are now such an integral part in my life that I could not imagine being here without them.

So as you can see, although I lived thousands of miles away - friendships were born and grew and became stronger over the years. I have people here in Iceland who know me as Sigga frænka í Ástraliu (Sigga cousin in Australia) - they are not my relations - but to them that is who I am. This is often the cause of much consternation... but are you related? - no... but in a strange way I became related to all their relations - through proxy. I loved it and still do.

Now a new generation of cousins is growing up way down there in the southern hemisphere and wonderfully they are all really really good friends.

Olga and Maja became better friends when they spent time together in Iceland, living with my mum. I think I can safely say that their friendship grew and blossomed whilst they were here. Such gorgeous girls.

This is the group (sans Maja - she was otherwise engaged), this was taken during my last Christmas in Australia, it was a wonderful day. They are beautiful people who, through blood are family but as friends they are greater than the sum of all of us.