The greatest love is a mother's; then a dog's; then a sweetheart's. ~Polish Proverb

My life may be complete...

In other news.,.. the dog fight.  I took Freyja for a walk the other day and we met up with another female dog in the neighborhood.  They had met the day before outside my house, when Freyja was on a leash in the garden, they seemed to get on - ie no barking, biting or fighting, so I figured that maybe she would be ok.... Well, I guessed wrong, so she and said dog got into it, when the leash that I had somehow broke and so Freyja went for it - big time.

Next scene me - holding Freyja by the collar and turning her around and around to keep her out of reach of the other dog, whose carers saw fit to screech and run for the hills when Freyja went into attack mode.

Next scene, the folks in the house next door to where we were came running out to help... Thankfully one of them is a colleague from work, she grabbed the other dog and took it to the owners, while I stood there with Freyja held by the collar up in the air... Am amazed I hadn't choked her to death...

She felt so sorry for herself, as did I.... I am such a bad dog owner.

After a few days of gunk coming out from her eye she was ok.  Things weren't made better by her being on heat...  She is not happy with being indoors and leaves her scent wherever she can..

In other news, it's gst, vat, whatever valued added tax time you have in your country... well it's that time for farmers which means that work is quite busy - which is good.  Politics is politics and I realise yet again why I hadn't gone into it before.  Grandstanding and pontificating people really piss me off.  We are a small community and should be working together to try and get things done, not looking for a platform to make oneself bigger than one is... URGH.

I also said I would tell about mum and my trip in June, we are going on a river cruise... from Strassbourg in France to Amsterdam along the Rhine... http://www.baendaferdir.is/baendaferdir/sumar/sumar-2-fljotasigling_a_rin is the link for those that can read Icelandic.  It's fully booked.... probably because 14 members of my family are going.... It started with me and ma, I told ma's sister maja about it - thought it might be nice to have her and her hubby along... He wasn't interested but she was - so two of her daughters and a son in law said yes... We were six, then another sister heard about it.... and another.... we were eight, then the children of the elder sister heard about it... we became 14.

It will be a trip of a lifetime...  I will take mum's dictaphone with me.. I really should update my camera so I can capture the moments as they happen.  

No more silly eating seasons ahead.  All we can look forward to is that the sun is shining earlier every day and setting later... This is the best time of the year!  Also we have had some snow and no winds for almost two days.....  Wonderful wonderful winter weather, and you can almost guarantee that there are northern lights happening somewhere - if not outside my front door!

take care folks... life is good and can only get better!

He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well. ~English Proverb

No major blog today, am only filling in time between meals - well that's what life feels like at the moment.  Yesterday was cream bun day - today eat till you burst pea soup and corned lamb.

Life is good, very good, but very busy.  Work is pretty intense as is the political arena...

Will update shortly on the major trip that mum and I are about to undertake in June, should be good, a river cruise from Strassbourg to Amsterdam... with 12 other relatives... long story... but all my mothers sisters and some of their children are joining us.

The bloke made the pea soup and corned lamb.... he got extra brownie points for that.

Bed time!  promise to write a proper blog and post soon... In other news my nephew Henry is the cutest little boy ever! and in other other news, Freyja has recovered from her dog fight last week....

What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child? ~Lin Yutang

I've been a tad slack with the blogging business, mainly because most weekends have been taken up with the annual month of Þorri, where Icelanders all around the country get together in their old county groups and eat the food of our forefathers.  To some it is all that is yucky and inedible, I am getting more and more used to it and am actually starting to like some of these special "delicacies" 

 Pickled, fresh, on the bone or in a jelly - how do you prefer your sheeps head? These were taken in the second big blót that I went to - this one with Skaga folk, the first was with Skarðshrepp (my uncles farm belongs in this one)

 Host on the first blót was Bjössi Svavars and his wife Ebba (top photo with their daughter)

 The Skaga blót host was Jói á Hrauni, he's on the left with Bjössi the captain. Jói also prepares a descent shark.... yep the one thats cured for 6 months until most of the uric acid has gone out of it - whats left is a rubbery amoniac tasting piece of meat that is an acquired taste - which I am actually starting to appreciate.  We stayed overnight at Jói's house, which is situated at the north end of the fjord on the western side.

 The men had arrived on skidoos, so they had to make their way home in the same way.  I think they had a really good time - as did I - Skaga blót is very very entertaining.

 The next weekend was the Króksblót .... Freyja by this stage was unimpressed with all my going out and being away .....

 Again, the heads, the jellies, the whale (pickled - in the white icecream container), the pink stuff is beetroot salad - made with cream....the stuff in the jar is shark.

 The neighbours and friends.  Óli Begga and Árni..

 The final þorra meal was last Thursday at my cousin Rúnar's house, - there was a full moon...  one of these days I will have a good camera that can capture these moments.

 Again, the usual suspects, smoked meat, turnip mash, potatoe mash, breads, pickled rams testicles, head jellies and the dried fish and ofcourse shark...

 Rúnar and Eyrún are perfect hosts, the glasses were kept full and we stayed and talked and looked at photos and ate and ate and ate.

 Mum and cousin Guðný looking in old photo albums.

 Cousin Jóhanna and Þórdís (Eyrún and Rúnar's daughter - and my hairdresser) discussing some particularly interesting photos taken in the eighties...

 The really old albums then came out - after which Eyrún showed us her collection of eye glasses....  she had some brilliant ones from the late 70's / early eighties...