"Til að skilja lífið þarf maður sennilega að lifa því" Tómas Guðmundsson

The quote above is "To understand life, one probably needs to live it"

Another beautiful day in the fjord today, so nice.  Went for a fairly long walk with Freyja this morning and then took her again in the car down to the harbour.

The sun was amazing.  Maggi did the right thing and went skiing, while mum and Disa went to some choir thingy.  Disa leaves us today - goes to Maja's and then back to Rvk on Tuesday.  It has been really nice having her here.  Always good to have visitors and someone new to cook for.  We had foal curry last night - yummy.  

Next weekend sees the referendum on the Icesave legislation - it is almost 100% certain that everyone will vote no.  Afterall it's a referendum about an agreement that has already been superceded by another offer by the Dutch and English which has also been rejected by the negotiating committee.  again check icelandweatherreport for a more succinct and detailed explanation of what is happening here.  I have become one of the apathetic ones, you just get to the stage that when another bit of corruption is uncovered you just aren't surprised - just angry and disgusted and really just don't know how much worse things can become.

Luckily I live in a beautiful small town that is quite removed from the financial crisis in the south, we will however, be just a liable if the government agrees to the demands being made.  Maybe it is time to take self sufficiency seriously...

And then when things get really bad remember those that were here before us and the hardships of the lives that they led, this is my great grandfather, 6 years younger than me when he died..... 

Health - what my friends are always drinking to before they fall down. ~Phyllis Diller

Yep it was another beautiful day in the fjord today!

So there was another Þorrablót last night  - this time with the people from the museum, the heritage trust and the environmental office.  Twas a really good night - Sirrí hired the Kiwanis meeting hall which is down by the harbour, everyone bought some food - this is just what Sirrí and Guðný brought with them.  Guðný and I also made mashed potato, mashed sweet potato and mashed swede.  All of which tasted superb.  I think that this was the first þorrablót where I actually really enjoyed the food.  

After the food bit was over Helgi Páll took out the guitar and singing ensued.  Really really bad singing but lots and lots of fun.

After quite a few beers and landi, Guðný, Svanhildur and I headed to the local bar...... Not pretty.... But had a great time.

The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches. ~e.e. cummings

Vicki left the country on Friday and today it snowed!!! 


The forecast is for major storms this afternoon, a perfect Sunday in my books!  Mum has gone to Reykjavik leaving me and the dog all alone.  It's going to be strange for me and Freyja to be all alone, this also means that I am number one dog walker - which is a good thing in a way... it means that I will be doing some sort of exercise.  


I went for a quick visit to Reykjavik last week, down on Thursday night and back on Friday.  The reason for the trip was a course in changes to the taxation laws, was surprisingly interesting.  Which is a bit of a worry... am I becoming a bookkeeping nerd.  The bonus to this trip was that I actually went shopping and bought some new clothes - a coat, skirt and two pairs of boots.  Totally blew the budget - but hey, it's not like I do this every day! (well that's my excuse).  


Well, time to take a nap

I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three. ~Author Unknown

This post is all about my brother Jon, who turned 60 today!  Happy happy birthday darling brother!!!

I don´t think that I have ever told you how much you mean to me - and this is probably not the appropriate place to say this, but hey, we are not good on the phone and we see each other very infrequently, ie in the future it will probably only be when you get the chance to come to the frozen north.  So, I am taking this opportunity to not only wish you a very happy birthday but to also thank you for being the wonderful brother that you have been!.   Remember all our conversations about the state of the nation, the ineptitude of our political leaders, some more inept than others, our calls for social justice, that will never come to pass???  I loved those chats, I felt like a grown up, I think that you were the first to treat me like a real person in the family - even though the memory was of you slapping me for waking you up (you were then on nights at John Deere)  I was soooo upset - you my hero - telling me to get a grip!!  How could you.... it is only now 40 years older that I realise just how much you sacrificed for our family in those early years in Aus, and the least that I could have done was given you peace to be able to sleep.. For that I truly apologise!

Would you believe that I had to cut and paste to get a photo of the two of us together!!!   Actually, not that hard to believe really - usually you  were behind the camera, and then when I grew up I hardly ever was around to have photos taken of just the two of us.  Still, folk here say we look alike - I can't see it - but then I have always considered you far better looking.

Then, I went through the archives, - excuse me - what time warp were you in - oh yes thats right you are the child of the beatles and the shadows....

Just as well Lóa is in the photo!  What a stunner she was and is!  I know that sometimes things have not been easy in the familial female relationships, however, I know that you love her and love her dearly and for that I love you more.  You know that your sisters were just jealous cos they stopped being the central females in your life... It´s a problem we all have - we don´t like to share.  You and Lóa have produced two wonderful human beings,  Maja and Valdi, two people that I am so proud to be able to call my nephew and niece.  I know that you too are proud of them and their achievements - they would not be who they are today if not for you and Lóa.

You also have a very good sense of humour and I am hoping that this is kicking in right about now.  Remember when you tried to grow a beard??  It was a joke a huge joke and hey Dorian... take a look at your uncle - do you think that you are the only asian in the family??????

Yes, the wonderful men in my life as I was growing up - I knew that I could never reach any of the expectations that I imagined that you had for me (note the pivotal word - imagined), I doubt any of you really had a second thought - but to me I often asked myself as I was about to embark on something new / crazy / stupid... what would dad, Jon, Hilmar think?????

Yes, youngest of the brothers.... you will be next... be warned... but you will have to wait till 2016 when you turn 60 ... and big brother... you will have to wait till 2018...


So, to my darling brother Jon, thank you for being a sounding board, a person that I not only respect and admire, but that I love dearly for being who you are not only a brother but a friend. Take care of yourself and have a wonderful birthday!!  

Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ~C.P. Snow, New York Times, 15 March 1971

So, flickr is unable to take my videos from the singing... Oh well, if you want to hear it you need to come and experience it for yourself!  All are welcome.  Rotten food time is from end of Jan through to the middle of Feb!

Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you! ~Tommy Smothers

So the big weekend of rotten food eating is over.  It was great, although I am still recovering.... Friday nights fest was with the cousins from Akrir, lots of singing and eating and drinking...

My favourite cousins Sirrí and Stína, these two have been my saviours in so many ways on so many occasions, if ever I feel a bit down or bad about myself or life or anything, these are the two that I know that I can always turn to.  I am not only blessed with a great bunch of siblings I also have the best cousins ever!!

I tried to upload a video from the other night too, but it didn´t work, will try and upload it to flickr instead, there are a few videos from the Akrar evening,  I was a tad slack on the S'krók blót so no pictures of videos from that.  The night was good, twas long and took me a full day to recover, food hasn´t seemed like a good idea either... However, tonight we had grilled cod and some veges done in the oven, these were ones we did last week.

A lot more appetising than the sour / pickled old food, however, having discovered pickled whale, I am starting to think that maybe I really am an Icelander of peasant stock.

All sorrows are less with bread. ~Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

The quote is because I have been trying to bake different types of bread, well two, pizza base and foccacia,  So far so good, but practice will make perfect.  Guðný has also been spreading her wings in the bread department and made naan bread the other day (yes we went to dinner at Guðnýs - twas yummy a lamb curry with coconut milk) Vicki provided dessert  - a really yummy baked cheesecake made with mum's frozen blueberries from autumn (which probably were a little too moist - but the proof was in the eating and as I say - it was yumm).  Tonight I am trying a lamb recipe from Marocco.  We shall see how this works... Now lots has happened so there will be lots of photos. and maybe a bit of explanation in between......

The lovely Olga and Ross left us towards the end of Jan, 

I thought that it was about time that an update was made of the photos of mum and the dog, this was taken at breakfast.... Freyja really doesn´t like the idea of being a lap dog...

The sun came back......

I actually got of my butt and took Vicki over to Hofsós and Hólar -  At Hofsós there are some great Bassalt formations on the sea shore... sort of like the giants causway but mini

Vicki rewarded me by cleaning out my pantry... what is it with visiting Australians, they feel the need to clean out my shit - I love it!!! I want more visitors, preferrably on a two month rotation - that way my pantry will remain clean....

See, you can actually SEE the floor, it's not covered in crap meant for recycling - oh another thing the recycling bins came this week, so no excuse - there is no need for me to have a mini rubbish tip in my pantry!!

My brother Helgi, Sigga sister in law, their son Gunni, his wife Þórgunnur, and their two boys came to visit last weekend, this is my great nephew Ari Freyr - what a cutie!!!

And the best of the best, mum finished my cardigan coat - Vicki modelled it for me... Isn´t it great!!! I love it
So light and warm and just amazing... one day I will learn how to knit!