At Christmas, all roads lead home. ~Marjorie Holmes

 Yep, I baked bread.... boy am I getting domesticated in my old age.  We had a bit of a "lobster" well langoustine feast the other night - soup followed by a cream cheese concoction with langoustine tails.  Have worked out how to make it better  - so all is not lost and the left over bread was used the next night for bruscceta - so badly spelled  - apologies to all italian speakers or lovers of that language...  

 My niece Olga said the most appropriate thing on her blog the other day (she always does - she has a gift that I don't - ie one for language and it's correct use)... We are living in a Christmas card... This was taken tonight after my walk with Freyja... and as you can see - all roads in this neck of the woods lead home - to my place... where if you are lucky you will get langoustine soup with home made bread...

All are welcome - at any time.

As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is. ~Eric Sevareid

We all wish that we could be this content...  and I think I am - if my lack of Christmas angst is anything to go by then this is probably the look that I have at most times.  Although, today, I think that I actually realised that Christmas is less than a week a way.  I have done NOTHING, no cards sent, no major cleaning done, no planning made for the days of the festivities... figure it's coming whether or not I write a card, clean the floors or do any more baking.   So, to all my friends and relations reading this - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year... no doubt I will blog some more over the festive season - so I will keep this mantra going and hope that it will be a sufficient replacement for the lack of cards or presents being sent.  Pretty lame - but that is Sigga in 2010.

 The tree outside my lounge room window.  The first of the winter blizzards came through last night.  Twas quite nice, I really do like a blizzard every now and then.

 The lights on the tree - I think that I do a pretty good job of providing the neighboring restaurant with a bit of festive cheer.

 Tonight (and last week), Glaumbæ and Áskaffi had their yearly Advent fest, where people can come and visit the old farm house and experience what Christmas was like not that long ago here in Iceland, in the old house there is no electricity, so only candle light to light the way down the dark turf halls and the cold seeping in.  In Áskaffi, my cousin Herdís puts on a feast with all the old traditional cakes and cookies that all Icelanders know and associate with this time of year.  To wash it down she provides the best hot chocolate with whipped cream, if hot chocolate is not your thing - you can have a great cup of coffee or malt and apelsin.

 My cousin Gýgja's daughter Karen has been helping Herdís out.   She is a lovely girl, quite shy

 After the the old house tours are done the volunteers came down to partake in the offerings at Áskaffi.

 A really really nice way to spend the day.  Unfortunately this year there were not that many visitors to Glaumbæ and Áskaffi, or should I say fortunately - you see I ended up with a lot of the leftovers.   Anyone want to come over for coffee?  I could possibly make a cup of hot chocolate - not as good as Herdís but not bad....

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

We had a thanksgiving themed dinner at Steina's tonight, she made pumpkin and pecan pie, the side dishes were sweet potato and pumpkin and other autumn goodies.  Instead of turkey we had lamb and for that we are extremely thankful.  A turkey in Iceland costs over 12,000 isk. Thats 120 dollars to you down there and over there... 


Not much to report - apart from the fact that budget work is in full swing and we have even less money at our disposal.  So it's belt tightening and trying to do as much as possible for as little as possible.  Ah, the joy of being a part of politics.  I also did a first the other day - stood up and gave a little talk at the litlujól.... talked about Christmas in Australia - as you do.....


Will leave you with lots of photos from tonights dinner..

All happy and well fed we are...

 Olga and Steina in the kitchen discussing things motherly perhaps???

It´s amazing how we manage to fit into whatever space is available.

 The stars of the night - pecan and pumkin pie.... were very very tasty!

 Cousins destroying things - as you do..... Atli Björn and Finnur.

Halli, such a cuty - this is a first - he usually tries to avoid Þórdís - now she has won him over - and how did she do this - well the way all women win over men - she fed him!

The boys are back in town!!

So it's that time of year again - my most favourite time!  So the boys are out and on the shelf.  This year I was super lazy and decided that it was possible to have my normal clutter plus christmas clutter and that all would be well with the world.  So the boys are competing with pictures of mum and dad and grands on dad's side.... a good mix as far as I am concerned... 


Today was also the day that they turned on the christmas tree.

The kids and helpers are switching the "on" button... 


As a part of todays festivities there were businesses and others holding markets and stuff for folk to spend the day in the old part of town.  There is an enterprising bunch of women that work in the local primary and after school care that have created a club called maddömur... they took over an old house here in the old part of town that no one seems to own and have created a little handicrafts shop (only open on special town occasions) and today they opened their little hut and provided free meat soup to anyone who cared to imbibe.  Well, after the cold at the tree lighting ceremony I decided to give them a visit and partook of the soup (anyone who knows me knows that lamb soup is not a fave... however today - I really really really did enjoy it)... My cousin Guðný - newly arrived from her Australian holiday is one of these enterprising women and so I grabbed this great shot of her...

Just like the angel that she is - I really am so blessed with the family that I have here!

Previously I went for a walk with Freyja and took some shots of the town and of horses... 'cos that's what you do - 

yes ok.. there is a bit of evil eye happening there.....

This is a standard... a view of my little hood.....

and then to end things off... mum... she is a classic.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Big wedding weekend happening.  My wonderful, beautiful niece Maja is getting married to her Jason and my cousin Beta is marrying her Benni.  Both get married on Saturday.  I am feeling a tad bad and sad about not going to Aus, but time, money and distance was in the way of that happening - also - I have too many wonderful nieces and nephews down there and so to attend one should really mean that one should attend all... ( well that is my excuse!) I also know that the important thing is not the being there on the day but being there for all the days after... there are more than enough people at these events.... and basically I am a selfish person - when I next see Maja and co - I would rather have them to myself and not have to share them with others.....  

So, I am off to Reykjavik... this will be the third trip this year (records are being set).  The weather is crap so am not looking forward to the trip down, however, I am not having to drive down - am hitching a lift with the father of the bride.  Mum is already there having gone on Wednesday - that way able to spend some time with number one son and daughter in law.  Mum and I would have to be the slackest people in terms of spending any time in Rvk.  Thankfully my brother and his wife have come to accept this as a part of who we are.  


It's budget time in local politics so most of the days are spent in meetings trying to find ways to make ends meet.  The funds that are coming from the national government are being cut and we are running over budget this year.  The aim is to retain all jobs, and not increasing costs for locals... but that is a tough target.  We shall see.   

When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste. ~Laiko Bahrs

A first in the house of Sigga - I did some baking yesterday - the last time this was attempted was before Christmas in 1987,  Unnur and I thought we would try and be Icelandic and bake cookies and things.  Well, it was a disaster.   This time round I thought it time that I made the brown layer cake that is my favourite (for Christmas).  Thinking that I would need to do it a couple of times - well for a first attempt it wasn´t so bad.  I used mum's recipe - problem with recipes from mum - they often don't come with instructions - just ingredients......

This is the dough which then gets baked for about 10-12 minutes (I think I may have over baked it as it ended up too dry)

The next step is to put in the butter icing - yes it's just butter, icing sugar and eggs, - I forgot the vanilla essence - it wasn't listed as an ingredient - but is apparently a requirement.... oh well, next time  - the burnt offerings to the right are my biscuits - we made ginger nut and chocolate and coconut (they ended up very large...... again - will know better next time)

This is the final result - the taste is good, but there is a lot of room for improvement.

In other news Uncle Andres came today with the reward for all the work Olga and Ross have been doing - 4 lambs are now nestling in mums freezer... oh, except for the back that we are having for dinner tonight - yummy!!!  There will be lots of lamb on the menu this winter.... I also ordered half a pony the other day.  So, there is no chance that any of us will be short of food this winter.

Have a great week people.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin

Yes there is definitely a change in the weather coming -  

Wind in Iceland is measured by metres per second... those dark purple colours are 22-24 metres per second... In Aus it would be cyclone weather.  The forecast has actually toned down a lot over the last 24 hours, on Thursday the forecast said that Saturday was not a day for travelling - as a result a lot of things planned for this weekend have been cancelled.  I chickened out of driving south to Borganes today - worried that I would end in difficulties on the mountain pass home.  I am not the most confident of drivers in the snow.  In hindsight I could have gone  - bet then I would only just be getting home now.. So I am glad I didn't go.

In other news am transferring some photos to flickr, none recent recent, as the batteries in my camera seem to last about 5 seconds... so I have "borrowed" a charger from work and will be more "green" in my picture taking.

We have had an amazing autumn so far which even included a walk on the beach - barefoot..

I will also upload some photos from when Unnur and I went with the cousins to Akureyri - what a great weekend that was!

I am not sure about this photo - I think that we are all looking a tad strange.... 

Will leave this for now....

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia. ~Charles Schulz

Update


Another weekend is over, gee they go quickly these days.... where did it go and what have I done since last Tuesday....

Big news is that Olga and Ross have both started work at the fish factory, the above photo is borrowed from the Fisk Seafood website from when the president and his wife came to visit.  Olga is working at a workstation just like this.

While Ross is threading fish heads that will then be hung out to dry.  The technique is called Seila. 

I am still in semi procrastination mode, so there is not much to report from my neck of the woods.  Mums car was put into the garage over the weekend to de-frost, hopefully no damage was done, however the temps did go down to minus 10 on Thursday night.  Tomorrow or Tuesday Maggi and I will take the car to its winter home, where it will be kept warm and dry until next spring when I promise I will be a better daughter and take mum out on weekend jaunts in the Freyjamobile. 

The slaughter season is almost over and so the winter duties commence, beginning with working out to which Christmas buffet one must go.  So far I have two on the burner, one with work over on the other side of the fjord - have decided to take ma, and we will stay overnight.  This is at Sveitasetrið see the details on http://hofsstadir.is/hotel/ This one is planned for the 10th of december.  The other one that is in formulation is on the 4th.  The extended family will be going to Miðgarð, where there will be feasting, entertainment and dancing.  Should be good.  

In other news Ross and I are trying to make our own wine.... the start wasn't good, we read the instructions - but forgot to follow them.  Stay tuned over the next four weeks to see how that all turns out.

Maggi leaves for Aus this week, yet another to attend the wedding of Maja and Jason, I will be there in spirit and look forward to all the updates on blogs and facebook as well as hopefully lots of photos from the event and the trips of Maggi, Jóhanna, Guðný, Stebbi and Finnur.  

On the political front, things within the council are hotting up.  One of the minority party reps lost the plot last week.... I will devote more time to this as things unravel.

stay tuned... or not....

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~Don Marquis

Well, I have been rather slack with this old blog of mine.  Not because there is nothing happening.  More like there is soooo much happening.


Now my cousins Jóhanna and Guðný are almost reaching Australian shores.  The last I heard from Jóhanna was that they were experiencing 40 degrees C and wet weather in Singapore...  do I envy them... no sorry, not at all...  But, I am so glad that they are better travelers than I.  I know that they will have a wonderful time with my siblings in Aus... I would be there in a heart beat - if I could travel in the time that it takes the heart to beat.  Slack... yep, that is the main thread in this blog.


I even can't be bothered uploading any photos - probably because I haven't taken any... again another sign of slackness on my part.


Olga and Vicki have both posted on the horse feast of last weekend so I won't go on too much about that, only to say that it improves with every year and will be a part of my annual social calendar for as long as the horse feast is being faired.  


Work is getting more relaxing - so now it is time to do the fiddly bits, reconciliations and all that stuff - including writing to the tax office about things that aren't clear or not correctly reported in the past - you know the stuff that you put off till you have time - now I have it so no more procrastination there... 


Politics is fun, yep - not an oxymoron.  I was at a conference of local councils discussing things financial last weekend - it was quite interesting - but the thing that hit me the most was the fact that there were over 300 people there from local councils throughout the country and I thought - hmmmm could this be a very top heavy management system thing going on.  Shouldn't perhaps the first economical rationing thing be the coalition of councils... the most obvious being on the south west corner - ie the greater Reykjavik area where there are 5 different councils that could quite easily be one major capital city... Then here in the North there are opportunities for more consolidation of resources and administration.  It will no doubt all happen in the next few decades, but perhaps it is time to get things moving a little quicker.


Vicki is here and will be placing an offer on the post office AGAIN, lets see if the powers that be will actually be receptive this time....  Olga and Ross have a job at the fish factory.. not the most glamorous of jobs, but a decent place to work,  things will be fine for them.  It will take time, but it will at least be a start. 


What a dull and boring post this has been.   Freyja dog has gone to bed so I think I should probably join her.  She is not too happy with me at the moment either - it's been quite a while since we have gone for a long walk.  I don't feel all that guilty though as I know that Vicki, Olga, Ross and ma have been doing a fine job for me.  


In other news, it's getting darker sooner every day - time to get mums van ready for the winter - the first frosts were last night so we need to empty the water and do other stuff... probably would be good to find a home for it for the winter.....


With the first frosts come the northern lights so I will give you a link to a photographer that has taken some wonderful shots of the northern lights just east of here.


http://www.parrikar.com/blog/

enjoy

Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst. ~Willaim Penn

Yes it's been a while since I last visited here.... Where does the time go.. where do I waste it and where is it being well spent.  Well, for the last three weeks I can say it has been well spent.  

My most favourite person in the whole world has been here with me.. My big sister...   Like most folk I forget to tell the people that matter most how much they mean to me.  She will shortly be on her way from London to Perth.  A long and painful trip - the one I haven't taken for over ten years now..... It was so so good to have her here.   

In other news, Ross and Olga are now both here and looking for work, which I think will be banging on the door within a few days.  Although things in Iceland are not so good at the moment and the national government is making all sorts of irrational cuts to health and other local organisations in the rural areas, I refuse to be pessimistic, this is a great place with huge potential - it is just a matter of getting people to work together as one and to try and let national politics not get in the way.  We need to think of the local community - what we have and what we can build on.  Like most things political - easy enough to say but extremely hard to actually invoke.   What we do have in our favour and what we have plenty of is sheep....

Which is a good thing..... if Icelandic sheep farmers are able, then there is a world market out there just waiting for them.  Icelandic lamb is unique in that after birth in May they go up to the mountains and stay there in pastures green, with herbs and berries to eat until early September when they are brought down and sorted and slaughtered..... Sad, but true - lamb that you eat is never older than 6 months old.  Hence, always prime lamb, none of your almost a year old but still passes for lamb stuff.  

But as everyone knows - you can't live off a sheep's back.... now what was that historians name????  I know that Prof Black is very very ashamed of me at this moment ....    

So, with the budget cuts to the health establishments, the next few days will be spent protesting and attending local shire meetings to try to get the message to the politicians in Reykjavik that they can't just make budget cuts according to some excel sheet projections based on communities of 320.000 somewhere in another part of the world.  This is a small country and yes, there are opportunities for rationalisation and centralisation of services, but in matters of health and services to the elderly then it is better to have a more localised approach.  The human factor also needs to be included in the excel sheet.  

Stole the photo from Olga - aren't they the greatest.... love them so much!!!!!


So, such is life, it's a good life.  


Will try and be more conscientious with my blogging... but hey, if I am not...........

“If someone wants a sheep, then that means that he exists” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

So it was sheep mustering time in Skagafjordur last weekend, one excuse for my lack of blogness... Vicki has a great blog with videos on vickitheviking.blogspot etc.  well worth taking a look at.  It all started rather sedately with there being a hold up due to fog on the mountain.

So, the sister, the cousin, the aunts and I had a fairly relaxed time... had coffee and chatted to the locals... below is a picture of the sheep that I drew all on my lonesome.  They don´t look like much... but notice - they have horns.  Also, please note - I only took photos when I had nothing to do, after the herd came down there was no time for photo taking or chatting or anything else - except try to entice my uncles sheep to go into their enclosure.  He has around 1,000 sheep - which is not a lot for an Australian sheep farmer, but not bad for one in this neck of the woods.  Now all we worry about is whether they are heavy enough and will they be of the best quality in the slaughter house.  One day I will do a post about sheep farming in Iceland, the quality control, the government subsidies, how the lambs are slaughtered and where the meat goes.  For those not aware - the Icelandic lambs are only slaughtered at this time of year, so September and October are the only months that you get fresh lamb.  Also, the New Zealanders have arrived - seems to be a totally fresh lot, as have the swedes and the poles.  Sauðárkrókur is cosmopolitan again.

For those of you with a queasy stomach I suggest you stop reading now... you see what happens is that your thighs become quite bruised during the whole dragging of sheep by the horns business (best done when you are holding said horns in front of your legs and dragging the sheep between your legs).  The sheep had revenge - as I was getting one into our coral another decided that the side of my knee needed reconfiguring.  So I have a slightly looser tendon on the inside of my right leg.  Not to worry - had a great great time.  Don´t know when the next post will be - possibly after my adventures at the annual general meeting of the harbour authorities which will be held on the 23rd and 24th... or hang on no, it will be sooner, big sis, who is here on holidays has a birthday on the 19th... have I told you how great she is...?????  and Olga and Ross arrive on Thursday... life is so so good.

Again.... you were warned,

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson

My sister Unnur arrived last week, this is my excuse for not blogging (it may not be the truth - but it is my excuse).  There has been a lot happening both at home and at work, all of it good, all of it fun (well, again a stretch - most of it good and most of it fun).  Stebba came north with Unnur, this is an amazing woman for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration.  Stebba was diagnosed with cancer years ago, she is stubborn and resilient and refuses to let it hinder her in her quest for fun and a good life.  She made a spur of the moment decision to come to Iceland with Unnur, am so glad she did - as I say an amazing human being.  I hope that if and when I have to face tough times I will remember and call on some of her strength of will and joy of life.

Another excuse  - which is also a false excuse is that Olga is here and she is always on the computer (liar liar pants on fire)....  It is soo good having Olga here and I think that she is enjoying her job at Áskaffi (I mean how could you not!!!)  She is off back to London next Sunday - Snowman the band has one more big gig to do and then she and Ross return to Iceland - to settle down for a bit with us here in the frozen north.   I know that all will work out well for the both of them and that having them here will not only be a bonus for me and the rest of the family but for the town and the district as a whole.

This weekend was action packed in terms of politics.  Friday was the annual meeting of the local district councils of the North West of Iceland.  It was a totally new experience for me - met councillors from the neighbouring regions to the west - there were over 50 of us there.  Lots of mutual topics of interest were discussed such as the fact that the road works authority has decided to ignore the needs of our districts and that the ministry for the environment has decided that they can stop local councils from planning their areas in the way that the law prescribes.  All to messy and painful to discuss on this blog, but there are a lot of frustrations felt by us all in the dealings between the federal government and local authorities.

This was a two day meeting, with a dinner on the Friday night.  The folk from the majority in Skagafjordur didn´t stay overnight (we drove in one car over, and came back home to sleep - it's only a 35min trip).  Interestingly the minority parties who want the council to save money wherever possible stayed the night and some of them asked their spouses to join them... 

Last night was the big bash for the political party.  Dinner and entertainment and dancing - read Olgas blog for details.... mum had a great time.  I also enjoyed myself quite a bit and trust that I did not do anything to disgrace myself.

Tonight was the family dinner.... those that read this blog have a pretty good clue about what this is all about.  Family, food and just enjoying each others company.  

The food, as usual, was excellent and we all ate too much - hey what can you do -

My wonderful cousins Guðný and Jóhanna - they will be going to Aus to attend Maja's wedding in November - Guðný has a fear of flying - but she is going to suck it up and do the deed.  I am sure that they will have a wonderful time!!!  Both of Guðný's kids have been to Aus and stayed for a few months, so it's about time that she and her hubby see it for themselves.

Atli Björn is Guðný's grandson - he is such a cuty - and before he left he gave everyone a big hug and kiss - such a sweety!!! Most kids would have made great grandma and grandpa do, but not him - he was a total hero!

So the week ahead - vat/gst/vsk tax for farmers deadline on wednesday, council meeting on tuesday, I think that that is as far ahead as I can think...... 

fun times!!!!!

To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. ~Jane Austen

The last week has been absolutely amazing - the weather has been so good.  Work was fine, although it was the first week back after holidays, it went by very quickly and I was able to take plenty of time off when I felt like it in order to enjoy the sunshine and all the beauty that the fjord has to offer at this time of year. 

My niece Olga arrived last weekend, flew in from London on Saturday and took the evening bus north.  Olga has a job at my cousin Herdís' cafe and started on Sunday at lunch time.  There is a great picture of her and ma on her blog (if you don´t have it you can get there via the list on the right).  Freyja is really happy with this development as it means that there are two of us taking her for the evening walk.  We went for a bit of longer walk the other night and I managed to get stuck on top of a fence... not a very clever country girl am I.

There was barbed wire - well that was my excuse... Having gotten off the fence, we proceeded along the top of the old coast line,  the town looked so nice and the weather was so balmy (well for Iceland!)

I think that anyone who has ever read my blog in the month of August will know that this is the start of the berry season, so far we have gone at least 5 times and that means we have had berries and cream for dessert on at least 5 different occasions.  We went to Holar on Sunday, to check out the berries there and also to give the Freyjamobile a bit of a spin.  Olga took this photo of mum and the dog while we were driving back from Hólar.

Monday today, and back at work.  The sun was shining and it was so hard to concentrate on the things that needed to be done.  I think that I need a job where I can have the whole of August and September off!  Politics is starting again, will spend all day Wednesday in meetings me thinks, ah well, I guess the relaxation had to end at some stage.