Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age. ~Victor Hugo

 It's been a while since my last blog so be ready for a long one - with lots of photos, hopefully not too wordy.  Where to start - well berries ofcourse as they mean autumn, this year the berry picking was a tad hap hazzard so the freezer is not full of berries as it usually is.

 My lovely sister Unnur and her husband Thor came for an extended visit and with them came Isabelle and Kerry.... Kerry is Unnur's friend from teachers college - so basically I have know her forever and her daughter Isabelle I last saw when she was around 5.... time flies..

 Autumn also means the gathering of the sheep - the first gönger were on the weekend before the big snow storm.  Some sheep as still being found - alive - buried under 1 metre of snow - it's been 31 days since the snow storm.... the report is that there are around 4.000 sheep missing from this area alone - not good for sheep farmers that are already battling hard times.  Mum came to the round up and a sheep decided to deck her..... She broke a bone inside her knee and was first in hospital for a few days, while Thor fixed things here so that she could move in with me......  I am so grateful for the fact that big sis was here - she really made things so much easier for me!

 In other news I went with Árni as designated driver to feed some men that were building a road for ski-doos to use in winter..... three legs of lamb for 8 men - I think it was a little over catered - a good evening though.... Nice guys and quite entertaining.

 During the last month I also went to the Westman Islands to attend the bi-annual conference of harbour masters and harbour managers.  I am the forman of the committee that oversees the harbour here in the Krók, tis always fun.  I haven't been to the Westman Islands since I was 17 so it was great to visit this unique island group again.  This church gate sits the the memory of most Icelanders that remember the eruption in the Westman Islands in 1973.

 Another thing that the islands are well known for here in Iceland is the puffin colony.  Just google puffins and Gordon Ramsay.... it's a hoot.  Anywho, this is a photo of a baby puffin - it still doesn't have its colourful beak nor does it yet look as dignified as it's parents...  Apparently this takes two years.  The young puffins often get lost and go towards the lights of the town when they leave the nest so the towns folk gather them up and take them to isolated beaches where they let them go - to start their long journey in life.

 One night of the conference is devoted to eating and drinking - the local harbour is the host and provides the food, drink and entertainment - this was probably the best conference I have ever attended - the people of the Westman Islands are such such good hosts!  These are our hosts singing a local song that demands that people jump onto chairs during the chorus.

 We stayed in a guest house that belongs to a local politician... the story behind this arrangement is a long one - one of these days I may relate it here on the blog, but not today....

 This is the house - rather cute don't you think?

 This is the view from the front door!  Pretty special - the rock in the foreground also has it's own story - it's an elf stone....

 As I said Kerry and Isabelle came over with Unnur - so nice to have them here - missed them heaps when they left.

 My darling sister and her beautiful grandchild Henry - I so feel for her having to say goodbye to such a wonderful wonderful child....... still it means that she will visit more often - which I like (alot), I think that this visit was one of the best.

 As I said autumn is here and winter approaches with rapid speed, snow on the mountain, leaves falling off trees and the sun is setting sooner and rising later.

 Thor busied himself with concreting up holes in Olga and Ross' shed.

 Northern lights have been really really really impressive - not like my photography!

 Other things that have been happening in town - painting of old buildings - finally Bifröst is no longer orange but a semi art deco green and purple.  Mixed feelings in town over the colour choice made.... still anything is better than orange....

 My good friend Björg turned 60 in September and had a party to celebrate it on the 6th... We went to Hólar and had a wonderful time - great food - goose (smoked and grafið) followed by Puffin, yummy

 She is a member of the left green party - here's me with the foreman Bjarni Jóns and Úlfar.... all good in local politics here...

 Another meeting I had to attend was on the southern part of the west fjords at Reykhólarhrepp about water safety.  Twas actually unlike many meetings rather interesting and worth while attending.

 It's cancer month... so our church is lit with a pink floodlight... rather nice during this month of transition - the darkness is descending upon us.

 Thor and Árni chopped down the tree that was breaking the wall in Olga and Ross' shed..... good job and done rather quickly.

 Henry not happy - but wearing his new jumper that mum knitted - here you can see the thing that she needs to wear on her broken leg.  Having to sit all day in front of the tv means that there has been plenty of knitting done, jumpers, socks, mittens, you name it she has been at it.

 My birthday day.... yep 50..... will I cope - I think so... My wonderful cousin Sirrí came to the early coffee with the oldies - she and Herdís were heading south as they left the land on Sunday to visit the black forrest region of Germany.

 My brother Hilmar phoned - here I am promising that I will blog!

 My uncle Þóri and his sister my aunt Maja.

 Siggi, Þóri, Mum and Guja the eldest of the clan.

 Henry and his new jumper on his favourite new toy - mum's walking frame.

 On Saturday night I had a dinner party for the people that I remembered to invite...... pre dinner drinks a'la Árni - green for the folk that vote for the party that I represent... blue for those that are further to the right - orange for the people that would rather not get blotto...

 The room before the people came.... I think I did ok in the decorating

 My wonderful friend Guðný was master of ceremonies - here she is telling a whole heap of lies about what a wonderful person I am......  love her to bits!

 My cousin Herdís made not one but two cakes...... we are still eating cake number two - in the background a pavlova and an afmæliskringla.....

 Cake two which is still being eaten.....

 The stayers!

 oh, and here is me making  a speech - doesn't happen often and the 16 year old me is in the background watching..... who would have thought I would have made it this far.

 and the aftermath.... my kitchen on Sunday with the left overs and other crap!