Of eruptions and other such things.

http://mila.is/um-milu/vefmyndavelar/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/

As I am totally computer illiterate as far as how to add in links I will just put the whole thing in..  The above is a  link to a web cam near the eruption site.. well not near but close enough.


The eruption as it is at the moment is quite harmless, in that so far it is not violent and the ash from it is not full of shit that will harm livestock..... but..... the volcano next door Katla has been known for its devastating effects on life in Iceland.  Also, it has been the usual thing that once the eruptions happen next door then Katla will awaken and unleash her devastating force.....   Who knows...  it's all a part of what the earth or if you like mother nature can unleash.  

Of family and food

Another wonderful family dinner - this time hosted by Steina and Sorin, Sorin was chef and we had a wonderful chicken soup a'la Romania.  So nice and tasty, in addition to this was a wonderful chicken and green olive casserole served with rice and oven roasted chicken pieces.  Steina was dessert queen as usual and made two wonderful chocolate cakes - one white and one dark, yummmmmm... needless to say I am suffering from that well known Icelandic feeling of I am so sad I could spring...   (söd in Icelandic means full and springa means ready to explode).   It was a 100% turnout as well well 99% as  Smári is at sea at the moment somewhere east of Iceland trawling for cod and other goodies.  However, his lovely wife Jóhanna was there and his amazing kids Atli Björn and Odný Sara

.

Jóhanna and Atli Björn... isn´t he the cutest!


There was a special kids table which was then moved into Victoría's room - so they could have "space".  

This is Finnur, Odný Sara and Kristófer.  All just wonderful kids, and the great thing is they are all so different and yet get on so well.  I love cousins, wish I had had more of them in Aus.

Mum and my cousin Guðný... Oh yeh big news, Guðný, Stebbi, Jóhanna and Finnur are all going to Australia this autumn, so they can be my stand ins at Maja's wedding... See she gets four for the price of one!! Lucky her.  Mum still hasn´t made up her mind as to whether she will go or not.  It's a long trip and she feels that if she does go she will then stay for Dorian's wedding, but that means 5-6 months away from home.... still as she says, she will make up her mind when the time draws nearer.  

There were so many of us that two tables were set (plus the kids), Steina suggested that we invest in a dinner set for 30 that can be passed around the family for use at the family meals.... See how light it is outside.... yay... the sun is coming back - just a few more months now and it will be over 20 hours a day!!!

Ingvi, Þórdís' husband has bought himself a motor bike, in Iceland this means you need to get the full body suit as well.... He was almost poured into it... hardly comfortable.  The moustache is because of male cancer awareness month, in Aus its Movember.... in Iceland it's múffu mars or something like that... a lot of workplaces are taking part and they have a web site where all the teams post photos of there facial growths.... I myself hate upper lip hair - can´t abide it really, so I try not to make any comments......  



Apart from that the last week has been pretty uneventful.  Oh except I bought myself a pilates for dummies dvd and did the work out tonight - I now remember that there were some muscles somewhere under the stomach flab.... I also bought a beginners pilates dvd from the UK which seems more to my liking.  Will try that tomorrow, then there is a dvd yoga for dummies.... leaving that till last 'cos I know that will be the one that stays in the dvd player - much more into breathing and relaxing and stretching when the mood takes me.


Guðný is having the next get together at Easter - her daughter will then be joining us from the south (and family), which will be great.  I put dibs on May for when Nicko is here.  


As we left mum and I talked about how extremely blessed we are having this extended family here, and knowing that they consider us as part of their inner family circle.  

'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it. ~Alexander Woollcott

It was a grey day in the fjord today, still beautiful but strong southerly winds and bitterly cold.  Today is my nephew Magnus' birthday.  I should really do a post about him - he will obviously not be pleased... 

To other matters first.  Yesterday was the referendum about the legislation that went through parliament about the Icesave agreement.  I am not going to waste any energy talking/writing about this as so many others have done it already and done it better than me - see Icelandweatherreport for one.  However, the outcome was as expected - an overwhelming majority of the over 60% that voted voted No.  well, what else was possible - you certainly don't say yes to a law that is already no longer applicable - a new deal is on the table and I think that the turnout was largely due to the fact that other Icelanders like me just really needed a platform to vent their frustrations about the whole thing.  At the same time there are so many other issues going on.  The people that owned the major companies that put the country in its current position are still in charge.  The debts accumulated have been written off and it seems that they will get off scot free.  This is what is pissing me of the most.  Now on tv is the documentary "draumaland" - dreamland.  It was made before the crisis - when Iceland was just thinking about heavy industry and creating more and more hydro power stations in order to feed the aluminium factories.  Stuff nature and tourism potential - just put it all under water and make a power station to feed energy hungry industry.  An industry which is well known for its destruction and ability to manipulate transfer pricing, thereby leaving the countries that it has pillaged without the benefit that should be due them.

Again, there are folk in parliament now that say that heavy industry is the only way out of the current crisis - will we never learn.

ENOUGH!!!!

Now back to Maggi

Here he is with his little brother Gunni.... 

Maggi is probably my best mate here in the north, he is one of those special people that you have in your life, not only a relative but a friend.  Without him I would not have gotten my house in the state that it is today - he worked tiredlessly for me when I was renovating.  He has skills beyond accountancy - he can also put down parketry, do plumbing, paint walls and roofs, take down walls and do minor electrical work.  

He has also been, and is, a great friend to his cousins in Australia, even though they have grown up thousands of miles apart Maggi has always been there to help them with their transition into life in Iceland or to show them what living here is all about. He has also been to Aus to visit twice now and I know that he loves the place... he can see why it is a good place to live - not as good as S'krók but almost!

I won't go on too much as those that know him know what a great guy he is and there is no need for me to rave on here.  So have a wonderful birthday dear nephew - thank you for EVERYTHING!  You are a truly amazing and wonderful person and I am blessed to have you as a nephew and a friend!

In other news I continue looking for new ways of making food for those that choose to come and eat with me and to use the raw materials available in KS (believe sometimes it is a challenge).  So last week it was lightly salted cod cooked in the oven with vegies and mashed sweet potato.  

Mum and I actually managed to finish most of this - for once there weren't leftovers in the fridge to be thrown away in the following week.

So for a final view of the shitty weather that has been this weekend:

"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!

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet. ~Edith Wharton

When we still had snow - which seems like months ago, we were blessed with some beautiful skies.  So many  shades of pink.

The dog has found a new love - Vicki is number one hero now as she has been sooo good at walking Freyja

Total and utter contentment!

We went to dinner at Ólafshús on Friday night - Olga and Ross left on Saturday.  Vicki was quite taken with the size of the butter portions that we have here....

And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen. ~Ward Elliot Hour

Again, no pictures,  can't find the camera....

So just a quick run down of life to date.

It's great!!!!  It has been so wonderful having Ross, Olga and Vicki here with us.  Have really enjoyed having them here.  So far, they have had to endure the endless boredom of life in Sauðárkrókur during the winter months,  þorra mat as well - see Olga and Vicki's blog to see all the gruesomeness of that.

Tonight Ross started learning Icelandic online, so I think it will be a matter of weeks before he speaks it fluently... he's that sort of guy..

I read the Tarot for the gang and realised that I am useless at it (hey I think I figured that years ago) nevertheless, it was interesting... We also watched the last show of Dr Who with David Tenant... call me a nerd - but I love the Dr.

Olga and Ross leave us this weekend, it will be sad, it is always sad when we have to say goodbye, even if only for a little while...  It will ofcourse be worse for Freyja when Vicki goes,  I doubt that I will be able to full fill the walking needs that she has, but I guess I will try to do my best.

As a side note, Icelandic real estate folks and others who are supposed to see about selling houses, land whatever - suck!

It doesn't hurt to be optimistic. You can always cry later. ~Lucimar Santos de Lima

No pictures this week, just a run down on what has been happening....


Since New Year we have eaten well, drunk well and basically had a really relaxing time.  For further information see Olga and Vicki´s blogs...


The weather here has been pretty amazing compared with the rest of Europe and the world in general.  Here we are in the plus temps whilst the rest of Europe is wondering how to cope with snow and ice.  Australia on the other hand seems to be having a pretty hot time...  Again, I realise that I picked the right place to live.


Icesave is back on the agenda again ... as usual I won´t be discussing this here - look to icelandweatherreport and elvira's blog that I have given links to on facebook  (www.elvira.blog.is).


I was about to say something about me being a poor host to Vicki, Olga and Ross.... then I realised that they would then comment saying oh no.... so lets just hope that they look at this as a very relaxing holiday - without the umbrellas in the drinks and the warm weather..


Work is good, busy but nice.  Árni is off to Australia and New Zealand to work on a documentary on Icelandic horses in the Southern Hemisphere, an Icelander giving advice to NZ farmers and NZ slaughterhouse workers working in Iceland... Should be good.  Árni is the maker of Kraftur for those who have seen the dvd about the man and his horse.  I must admit that the work that I am doing now is the most diversified that I have ever had... the work itself is basic book keeping but the subject matter of my clients is just so different.  From film maker, small fisherboat man, dairy farmer, sheep farmer, a man with a digger, a block of flats for the elderly to a book about the history of the farms in Skagafjordur...    Such a wonderful variety of folk that I deal with.  I am truly blessed.


Next weekend mum is hosting the family dinner... this time traditional Icelandic winter foods... I promise - there will be photos... ie it's a warning that next weeks content may not be to everyone's liking.

New Year

So here we are at the start of a New Year, full of potential and the unknown.  Last night to see the end of 2009 some friends gathered at my house for a night of feasting. 

Here is Olga preparing the smoked salmon california rolls. 

She did an extremely good job. 

For entre it was the california rolls along with smoked salmon on toast.  There were 11 of us... 

No more photos were taken by me of the food or the dinner table as I was too busy eating and drinking, for main it was smoked back of pig and leg of lamb, dessert was the old favourite - the berry thing.....

After dinner we played a game called party and co - not bad - did not manage to finish it before the end of year comedy was on the television.  This years was pretty good, we all laughed and that is always a good sign.

Once this was over it was almost time to walk up the hill... We decided to go up to the cemetery this year and watch the fire works in town from up there - good decision - the view was amazing.  The fire works lasted for about 20 minutes.

Guðný and Bryndís....

Woke up today just after midday and after the essential cup of coffee, took Freyja for a walk.  It was another beautiful day in Skagafjörður.  The crows were having a bit of a meeting down by the old post office.  These two stayed to let me take their photo.