The antidote for fifty enemies is one friend. ~Aristotle

Twas an interesting weekend this weekend  - a good one - started on Friday with a day off from work to do some politicising in the fjord, went visiting farms and friends on the other side of the fjord as well as meeting with the staff at Holar and the primary school.  Must admit that I had a great time.  Drank lots and lots of coffee, tea and water, discussed the issues of the day and what people really want to see in the fjord.  Most of the folk that I visited are not going to vote for me - but thats ok.  All great people that I know will stand me in good stead when I need advice on what the real issues are.  Friday night my friend from when I was five took the flight north into the unknown to spend the weekend with me.  This is Bergþóra mín, She is exactly one year older than me and apparently as kids we were unseparable, just like then, she is half my size and a lot more demure than me.  A divorced mother of two she is making the best of the trials and tribulations of her life.  Now studying nursing and working and a full time mum... Got to admire that!.

We had a quiet night on the Friday, went to the shops on Saturday - dropped her off with an old friend in the afternoon and then we had dinner with Guðný and ma.  Twas a good night, even though the picture above would indicate otherwise... 

We went to Mælifell, where all the kids were celebrating their graduation from college, there were also some oldies there (actually older than me! celebrating something else...) Bergþóra gave up on us - umm yes, perhaps I wasn´t behaving as a politician should... However, as I said twas a good night.  Next day we went for a bit of a walk up the hill, through the little forest on the hill.  The picture below is at the "bowl" where all kids of this part of town have had as a hide out - a viewing platform for the town below.  The current generation has actually built a shelter there with old tin, fence posts and moss.. Very impressive.

On the Saturday mum and I went to the graduation coffee being held at my sisters best friends house - her two children both graduated - she is a very proud mum!  More photos on flickr for the family in Aus to check out.  But I thought this one was great - two very proud ammas.  Herdis' mum Ása and my mum.  They are two amazing ladies that have produced amazing offspring for which they can both be very very proud!  Love 'em!!!

Today was a public holiday, so ma and I went to visit friends at Sævarland just north of the town at the base of Tindastóll, they were in the sheep sheds doing the lambing thing.  I took my camera but forgot to take photos!!! bad me... We also went to Tunga and all is well there.  I needn't say that the weather this weekend has been just superb.  Freyja got to come with us - we let her run free where there were no sheep and lambs - she had a very very good day and is very happy with me - and quite tired.    

So tomorrow is work again and more election stuff... the election is on Saturday - at this stage it looks like there is a lot of apathy in the area, folk really can't be bothered voting - even my uncle said he wasn't going to vote.  Although I did comment whether he wouldn't make the effort for his niece - he smiled and asked whether the election was on Saturday.... so maybe he will go and do his bit for me... mind you I can't blaim him.  I so understand this lack of interest... so it will be interesting!  Will keep you informed.

Volcano: A mountain with hiccups

Southerly winds today meant that some of the ash from the eruption headed north.  According to some reports there was some ashfall in Varmahlið - just 20mins from S´krók.

There was a lot of cloud cover tonight and there was also quite a bit of rainfall here today.  The temp during tonights walk was 12°C which made for a pleasant long walk with Freyja to make up for todays meeting madness.

I think I have mentioned this before - the light here at 11pm is just so amazing.

During the walk I noticed that someone has donated 2 pairs of skis to the red cross.  Anyone need any skis?

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu

Went on an excursion with fellow members of my list in the upcoming elections.  Was introduced to places that I did not know existed.  Twas a very good day.  Again was reminded of what a spectacular place I live in.  The photos here are taken from Reykjahóll which sits above Varmahlíð just 20mins south of Sauðárkrók.

The views are amazing and as on man said on the trip - this is the ideal location to view the midnight sun.  So now folks next time you come here I have a new place to go to have a look at the beauty that the fjord has to offer.

Every direction provides an amazing view of the landscape that is Skagafjordur.  Just so amazing.

We also visited the mink farm - talk about amazing.  Not as dirty or smelly as you would imagine and the animals all seemed rather content with their lot.  This amazing animal has I am told the most sort after colour, poor dear. However as the farmer pointed out - they know nothing else - they are born and bred in these conditions, have good food and as he pointed out - if they weren´t happy they wouldn´t continue to procreate.  Their natural nature in nature is not to have kids if things are tough or if they are feeling at all stressed.  Here they are very very productive - as you can see from the photo above.  

It was a very good day.

Mental As Anything - Live It Up (1985)

This You tube thing is going to be another time stealer I can tell.. However, I need to share yet another favourite... I still get a tad weepy with this one.  Twas a major favourite of mine when I was feeling not so good about myself - but it always made me smile - as was Berserk Warriors  the tale of Bjorn and Anna the Vikings.  Such a great band.  Ah the Mentals!  Ah Youth! where are you now...


How can you see looking through those tears 
Don't you know you're worth your weight in gold
I can't believe that you're alone in here
Let me warm your hands against the cold

A close encounter with a hardhearted man
Who never gave half of what he got
Has made you wish you'd never been born
That's a shame cause you got the lot

Hey there you with the sad face
Come up to my place and live it up
You beside the dance floor
What do you cry for let's live it up

If you smiled the walls would fall down
On all the people in this pickup joint
But if you laughed you'd level this town
Hey lonely girl that's just the point

Hey there you with the sad face
Come up to my place and live it up
You beside the dance floor
What do you cry for let's live it up

Just answer me the question why
You stand alone by the phone in the corner and cry

How can you see looking through those tears
Don't you know you're worth your weight in gold
I can't believe that you're alone in here
Let me warm your hands against the cold

If you smiled the walls would fall down
On all the people in this pickup joint
But if you laughed you'd level this town
Hey lonely girl that's just the point

Hey there you with the sad face
Come up to my place and live it up
You beside the dance floor
What do you cry for let's live it up

Let's live it up,
Live it up
Mmm live it up
Hey yeah you
With the sad face
Come up to my place
Come up to my place baby

Hey there you with the sad face
Come up to my place and live it up
You beside the dance floor
What do you cry for let's live it up

You with the sad face
Come up to my place and live it up
You beside the dance floor
What do you cry for let's live it up

Skyhooks - Why Don't You All Get Fucked (1978)

It's all Guðný's fault - she has been looking at you tube for old favourites so here is my favourite band of all time saying it like it is.

Love it.

There are far too many men in politics and not enough elsewhere. ~Hermione Gingold

You know it's funny.  I self edit alot when I write this blog, you don't want to be ranting and raving about stuff that might offend someone.  Now that I have decided to go into local politics I am even self editing the quotes that I use.  Not that anyone in the fjord - apart from close family - know that this thing exists.  My sarcasm is starting to suffer and I am not happy about this.  I really need to re-check this self edit mode that has established itself in my psyche.  But that is an aside.  As I had also previously promised not to write about the local elections, but.... it has taken over my life so it really leaves little else to write about except the tax returns at work, and hey we all know how dull that subject is.

As I am writing this the remake of the Poseidon Adventure is on... I remember the first movie so well, particularly that damn song - there's got to be a morning after... even now I know that this will be going through my head as I try to go to sleep.  Had to check imdb. the original came out in 1972 - I was 10... it must have been the first big budget movie I went to see.  Pretty sure I went with mum and dad, can't remember though whether it was at a movie theatre or the drive in.  I remember crying when Shelley Winters went for the big swim.... oh what memories.  Now this movie - is, to say it in one word, Dreadful!  Bloody Brian Brown, such a stiff - but what was Rutger Hauer doing there? he must have been hard up for cash.

On other news.  The clever Freyja now knows how to open doors, so no longer can the house be left unlocked whilst she is inside... In the process of opening the door to my house she ripped down the crocheted curtain.... she was in the sin bin yesterday.   Now she is lying sleeping peacefully on the sofa, all forgiven and forgotten.

Mum has now cleared the potato patch ready to plant potatoes.  The strawberry patch has been thinned out, manure from Tunga placed in it along with new soil.  She is amazing.  I don't have her energy now, so I doubt if I will be like her at her age.  Also, yesterday was the day of the aged in Iceland - also a public holiday as it was resurrection day (when JC went up to the heavens), so the old folks choir first sang at the church service at 11 and then they had a concert at 2pm.  I gained mega points by actually waking up before midday and attended church, which meant I could skip the later concert - which according to all reports was very good.

Last night the youngsters in the political party that I am now a part of had a social gathering where they subject the pollies to be to certain tests of well.... hmm.... lets see.  The first competition was eating lemons - I won... Hey lemons are good - even without the tequila and salt... then the men had to put a condom on a banana - condom placed in mouth - you know the drill.  Had to eat milk arrowroot type biscuits... talk about dry... eat cocosbollur and then a glass of pepsi (thankfully I wasn´t in this one - recipe for bad reaction), then be fed skyrr by someone blindfolded... the joke here was the the guy that is no 1 on the list was fed by someone not blindfolded hence ended up covered in skyr, then there was a quiz and chirades type deal - we won ofcourse - oh us Jonssons we are sooo good at Geography and Madonna impersonations.  Twas a fun night overall... bit strange but OK.  (ps the modern Shelley Winters survived her swim...)

Well as you can see no photos today - have not taken the camera out for a while - but I really should as now it is 23:37 and it's just sort of twilighty... not light but not yet dark..

Have I told you how much I love summer time in Iceland??????

The only mothers it is safe to forget on Mother's Day are the good ones. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Yep it's Mothers day tomorrow so I figured that on behalf of myself and my siblings... Good looking lot don't you think... (maybe not) anyway I figured my mum deserved a bit of time on my blog.  Mum and dad were quite productive in terms of producing genes for future generations.  I, unfortunately, did not full fill my role in adding to the gene pool but figure that my brothers and sisters have done a good enough job that there was no need for me to try and add to that.  Between the four of them they have produced 11 rather wonderful 

looking people... this photo does not do them justice, in fact - Maja the hero is missing....as are ofcourse the Icelandic contingent as - well they weren't in Perth that Christmas.  I just love this photo hence it is being posted again...

Mum was born on the 23rd of August 1927, in a turf house in a valley not far from here, which now has no inhabitants.  Life was tough in those days, her happiest memories are of getting material for a dress... she didn't have dolls to play with or a room of her own, her schooling was limited - a few weeks a year until she was about 12, then she started to work for herself, first as an au pair here in town and then when she was 16 as a house servant in Reykjavik.  Obviously this was during the war years when Iceland was occupied by the allies.  At this time a lot of young women were involved with the soldiers stationed here, mum was a naive country girl and thankfully she mixed with the Templers,  The advocates of non drinking and smoking, so although it was all happening around her and she has told me many a tale of the girls that she knew in Rvk, she somehow managed to avoid most of the temptations or remained blissfully unaware of them.  She had some bad experiences but those she overcame and came back to Skagafjord and somehow let dad into her life.  Her one proviso being that if he wanted to have any chance with her he would have to stop smoking and drinking... He did.  Boy am I glad that he had more will power than I have.  They got married on mum's birthday on the 23rd of August 1947, she wore a red dress.

This photo was taken on the day that we arrived in West Australia,  She was 41 years of age, still on board the ship that had taken 4 weeks to get there, she had with her 4 children from the ages of 5 to 18, you can only imagine the thoughts that had been going through her mind.... but does this image reveal any of those - to me it looks like someone ready to take on the challenges of what she was about to face and smiling...  Amazing.

This was the life she knew - snow, cold, barren landscape  - but the smile is always there.

I think that a lot of her inner strength came from her mother.  She too had had it rough, I think that I have already blogged about my amma before.  She too always had a smile on her face, no matter how tough things were.  I am privileged to have these women as my forebears.  Strong, happy, resourceful women that took what life gave them and made something of it.  They instilled in us a belief in ourselves and our own true worth.  They laughed and they cried and they cared - not for themselves but for everyone that they came into contact with.

I am twice blessed as my amma on my dad's side was another woman of steel.. Unnur amma, she too had a tough time as a kid.   You can see behind that smile that there is a private joke going on.  The only regret in my life is that I did not get to know her better, I think that she could have taught me alot.

I had to include this photo- it's my brother Hilmars wedding, her lovely boy was getting married - see how happy she is dancing with her darling...   I used to always be jealous of mums affection for him, but as I grew up I realised that it was totally understandable - he is just the nicest guy, (and forgiven for bad taste at the age of 21 and hey it was the 70's)

Today like always mum never sits and watches tv without having something in her hands, whether it be knitting or crocheting and more often than not her cat is sitting on her lap as well.  This is an old photo of mum with my brother Jon's cat Puss.  All animals love mum and mum loves them all as well.  Freyja and I would be totally lost without her.

This photo of Unnur's kids sums it up!

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