You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted. ~Ruth E. Renkl

So todays post is about a day in the life of moi... well not really its all about a road trip, that starts with breakfast at mums with both the dog and cat in attendance. those of you who are offended by our breakfast table habits... get a life...
Freyja always gets to drink the rest of the milk from my cereal, mum insists that she also gets a tablespoon of cod liver oil. Snotra the cat decided to join us this morning so she got some cream, but as you can see from the look she is giving the dog, she is not too happy!

the start of the journey out of town, the sands to my left.

the old bridge that is no longer in use, just as well, as I have two one lane bridges to cross after this one.

On the other side of Hegranes, this is "austanvatna" eastern waters. Skagafjordur has Hegranes as a central point, it was once an island - back in the day when the waters were at a higher level than now... I wonder whether this was due to global warming...

there is a single lane bridge at the end of this road... this is where I usually break the 90k per hour rule...

the sands to my left as i burn at 120k´s

on the other side - you can just about make out Drangey the island in the centre of the fjord.

the road to Holar... Under those clouds and at the foot of the mountain is my workplace.

Work... my office is in the main school building on the left.

Home again home again jiggety jigg.. or whatever... this is the holar road back to the main highway.

A review mirror look back at the mountains.

the bridge.. on the way home.

What a beautiful day it was today... Tindastólll - my favourite mini mountain on the right.

Mælifell the little peak in the centre of the photo - these are the eastern waters.. before going over Hegranes

Another mirror shot - I do like these - the ones out the front window are crap as you will see.. one day I will wash my car.

oh... its lambing time in Iceland - I will be eating those little lovelies at Christmas... yes a carnivore that can still appreciate cute.

Ah yes the dirty windscreen and the view to S´krok. these are the Western waters

Crossed the bridge and Drangey now on my right... Almost home

Mælifell again - its the one with the most pyramid shape.

Saudarkróks international airport.....

What people in Sauðarkrók appreciate more - the stables and equestrian centre.

ah yes, the village, next turn right and I am home! Lame post I know, but figured Maja and a few others might enjoy the scenery..
The drive to work takes between 21 to 30 minutes, depending on the level of lead in my foot, as you can see from the photos the traffic is definitely not heavy - I meet maybe 10 cars in transit, most of them people that I work with - their place of work is in town while they live at Holar. It is amazing how countrified I have become - recognising cars and number plates and knowing when to lift my hand in recognition, mind you half the time I am in some sort of dream state and notice nothing. Well best to finish.

Words have meaning and names have power. ~Author Unknown

So on the weekend we went to Reykjavik for the baptism of my second great nephew. He was named Ari Freyr. Both names are actually norse..
From Wiki... the source of all knowledge these days:
'Ari' is a somewhat common name meaning "Eagle" or "fast flying one"
Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey)[1] is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with agriculture, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals".
Interpret as you will, as I shall not - self editing at work

This is Aron Ingi, elder brother hanging onto his afi Helgi´s leg. He is sooooo much like his dad and his afi. Has a mind of his own and no one will bend it. A cutie and basically a great kid.

The feast.. What is a familly christening - it is a chance to eat lots and lots of great cakes and savoury delights.

Uncle Maggi and amma Sigga

Reynir and Kristin... perhaps the source of my next great whatever...

Langamman... a great word ... the long grandma. Mum and her second great grandchild, I don´t know if you can see this from the photo-but the boy has really BIG hands... amazing. As I said to Kristín and Reynir, its obvious he is going to be a big man - afterall puppies with big feet are a sign of large dogs to be (this is the dog owner in me.. I have no idea about human children)

Amma and her newest grandson, Sigga is a great amma, she loves it and she is soo good at being one.

Apart from stuffing our faces at the christening, we also updated my mobile, got a card for mums new mobile (must take a photo of it as it looks more like a calculator - majorly large numbers for the sight afflicted, no sms options, four numbers in the phone book... all a 81 year old needs.. She is really happy. We also visited IKEA, don´t need to tell you that I bought stuff that I "sort of" needed... and we went to KFC. Oh and ofcourse we did the Laugarvegur circuit.. What more do you need to do in rvk...??? Probably lots, but I have realised that I have become terribly "sveito" (country bumpkin,,, in the full sense of the idea)

Wine is bottled poetry. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Now I just ranted in a comment about the new add from the grog shop so am including the link here - cos I don´t know how to take a you tube video and upload it here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoY7YbUd5nY

So I hope that works, anyway I really like it - probably because of the music, but considering that it is the state run alcohol shop (ie the only outlet) behind it makes it even better.

Ah yes, responsible drinking - we Icelanders know all about that

Torture numbers, and they'll confess to anything. ~Gregg Easterbrook

Went for a walk with the dog and the camera tonight so am going to share the shots with you. The stats quote is because I spent the whole day working out statistics to use as a basis for working out the economic impact of Holar on the local community. Totally engrossed - completely forgot lunch and the fact that I had promised a kid a ride to town for basketball practice...
Freyja as usual is totally engrossed in all smells that cross her orifactory senses.

A view towards work... My workplace is in the valley across the fjord. The weather tonight was excellent, no wind fairly warm (around 7 degrees C) and the fog was just starting to roll in.

Now this fairly bland building hidden one street off the main road takes a good % of my income - it is now called the wine shop - "vín búðin", however, it is still colloquially known as "ríkið" which means "the state". Alcohol shops are still 100% owned and run by the government and hence are not into advertising their wares - because we all know alcohol is very very bad for you.

This is a shot of the primary school if you look on the hill you will see a series of gates - these are the gates "to heaven" - our cemetary - I know that I will be dead when I am dead - but hey thats the place I want to be dead in.

Suðurgata, one of my favourite streets in town, and boy do I love that mountain.!

The post is moving and so the old post office needs to find a new existence - any ideas for potential businesses?

For Maja - in case you didn´t know - Rúna Birna is now in the neighbourhood, she bought this house last year.

A view from Skógargata at the rear of the old telephone exchange, Kaffi Krók which had a fire in Jan is still a ruin with no one wanting to make a decision about its future.. Such a pity.

Home again home again jiggety jig... my shed - the back house.

Poor Tara - she belongs to a cousin who is working outof town at the moment, am not sure anyone is walking her at the moment. Must talk to the kids and see if they want me to take her on my walks with Freyja.

Skógargata - the site of many an accident in my youth.

Sundið - the alley where my abode is... See those mountains, one can so easily ignore whats directly outside the door when one can look a little bit further towards the horizon.

Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. ~Spanish Proverb

So this weekend was an extra long one for me.. I took friday off to have my nails done (toes) and the tyres on my car changed. Also managed to do one or two other things. Like clean the spare room - it is now habitable for guests.
On saturday night maggi and i hit the town.. and as usual probably drank too many reds before leaving the house.. Anywhooo my ritual is usually that on my return home I need to take the dog for a walk. This way I can be ensured a long long lie in. Freyja did as she should was waiting for me at the door when I got home. So of we went.

What met us was an amazing sunrise... yep sunrise.. 3am.. I love this place - sunset is sometime after midnight and sunrise is not long after.

Twas such a nice night. Again a reminder that no matter how blotto you are - you can still appreciate a good sunrise/sunset!!!!!!!!

“It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.”

I think it may have been the fifteenth glass when i did the tarots for myself and Guðny. From what i can tell there is a lot of "love" in my life, so many cups... ah if only that were the case. Nevertheless here are some shots of some lovely summer days in Iceland.. These are actually taken on the "first" day of summer (according to the Viking calendar), a week later we had snow!

my pretty little town.. My place is behind those rather large trees.

Overlooking the centre of town and here dead centre means exactly that. The photo is taken from the cemetary and what you are looking at is the deadest centre of town ever... if not for the Shell station and video store, no one would ever stop there.

She is just so pretty!

I promised shots from the weekend event of the year... Geiri´s dance... here you can perhaps see the male choir heimir. Twas a good night overall. Unfortunately i did drink one too many reds... but i think that I did not do too much to disgrace myself.. had a really really good time.

this is my nephew maggi and Bryndis.... a good friend

Mum, on the left - party girl... whilst I recovered on Saturday she made herself all ready for the accordian dance on Saturday night... aparently she got home at 2am... Oh to be like her at 81 years of age. The woman she is talking to is a relo... distantly related on my fathers side. Nice lady works in the local KS

My main drinking buddy in S´krók and also one of only two forensic pathologists.. or whatever one calls an archeologists whose main interest is bones and what they tell us of how the folks died... very balanced, and a good mate.

Yes, I did drink too much red, but I also danced and had a really good time. I really need to practice looking good for a camera, unless ofcourse there are jobs for the most unphotogenic...

Procrastination is like masturbation. At first it feels good, but in the end you're only screwing yourself. ~Author Unknown

I love these quotes...
Now this picture is of brother#2 - Jon, this was the band that he played in - and as you can see (or not) from the date on the photo this was taken in July 1966. So had the familly not moved away he might have been celebrating with Geiri...(or not).
Another photo from the archives. Would you believe that I still have this shirt? Found it last night when I was going through the cupboards - yes I have finally filled some bags and taken them to the redcross clothes bin across the street...

ho hum. 16:12 - time for one fag and then off I go to make myself presentable (and to walk the dog - who will no doubt be mightily pissed off at being left home alone AGAIN)

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

Ah yes, 1979, I think that this is the longest my hair has ever been - and see how shiny it it! This is before red wine and cigarettes became diet staples.
I am not in the mood to do work, so am basically living in the past, which is not a bad thing to do every now and then.
What is making me even more nostalgic is that tonights big festivity is the celebration of 50 years of Geirmundur... Now who the f is Geirmundur? Well, he is a bit of a local icon. http://www.randburg.com/is/skifan/quarashi.html
So tonight, in the sports hall, the whole town (well a large proportion of it) is showing up to honour this bloke who has been entertaining the locals since well before I was born.
To quote a myspace icelander "in the evening I went to a party, but ended up at a dance with Geirmundur Valtýrsson, where I had a fucking blast. on those kind ofdances there are mostly older people getting really drunk, I look at it as a Cirkus of strange human behavior. I was probably the youngest there exept for the doorman. "
The quote probably sums it up. There will be a lot of "older" folk, a lot of "drunken" folk and therefore a large number of "older drunken" folk.

I will however, not be dressed up as bam bam - no matter how cute i may look in a dead sheeps clothes.
I shall report anon as to how the evening progressed (or digressed or degenerated). Mum is coming too - yes I am the one of those daughters that takes her 81 year old mum drinking and boozing with the masses.
Later

Faroes - all over the place

This is going to be all over the place - but hey who cares, limitted readership means suffer baby

On arrival at the Faroes, God was with us in the form of Pastor Dalla and her husband Agnar and the State Heritage folk were there too - Þór Hjaltalín

Our tour directors, on the left Nanna Hermansson - tour guide extraordinaire and Sirrí choir foreman, cousin and all round great person!

This is the view from the hotel window. Hotel Faroya is high up above the main town. It has a grass roof and the longest corridors that I have ever walked.. Still twas a nice hotel.

It also has the bonus that you put your bevvies out the window for instant cooling

I promised grass roofed houses! I have now decided that I will paint my house black with white windows! I think it will be great - the house will look smaller but that just means that the tardis effect will be even greater!

Downtown Thorshavn at Tingsnes the area where the old parliament in Faroes was. If I were ever to live in the Faroes this would be where I would like to live

We had dinner in this area in the tiniest of tiny houses. Laura was our host ( a Faroese actress who is also a farmer in Skálavík). The food was excellent - apart from skerpu kjöt - an aquired taste... I was full for two days after that (and had the worst wind I have ever ever had) Nevertheless it was an excellent evening and the ambiance was amazing.

the next day was a trip to gjogv and the Island of Oisterey - Eastern Island. Amazing scenery, amazing roads and also a great lunch was had - apart from the pilot whale meat... call me useless - like icelandic shark - I am not good with food thats off...

This is Gjogv. an amazing little inlet where they used to pull up the fisherboats.. a great natural harbour but at the same time quite treachorous this is the dog I met at Gjogv... he has an underbite... I thought he didn´t like me - shows how much a facial expression influences first impressions.

the choir I was travelling with had a concert in the church at Götu. An amazing building with wonderful accustics.. the choir was excellent as was the Faroese choir that hosted them. We had a soup dinner in the kindergarten with the other choir and lots of singing and drinking ensued.

This is both choirs doing rehearsals together. They sounded ok but when the church filled with people the sound became amazing.

It was a great trip, great people, a wonderful country and will leave an everlasting memory.

Faroes - last day

This is going to be one of those dragged out blog posts - if it ever finishes, so I am starting at the end. On our last day we decided to walk down to the centre of Thorshavn, a little later than planned, as I had slept in. Not my fault ofcourse, never is.... had a few drinks the night before and was in bed at around 3am and woke up at 10.30 - too late for breakfast but we still had time to check out the town before our bus trip to the airport at 2pm

On the way we met this Icelander, sitting in the one flat spot in his garden in the suburbs of Thorshavn, seemed a tad sad, but looked healthy enough and he still had grass to graze on...

this is the flight in to Faroes, yes it was our last day and yes we were supposed to be flying to Iceland, not back to the Faroes, what happened was that after our bus to the airport boiled over (someone forgot to check the water in the radiator) we got on the plane and took off... then 20 minutes later we were advised that due to electrical problems (the main AC power supply had died) the pilots decided to turn back to the Faroes and check out the problem there rather than fly to Reykjavik and perhaps be stuck there for however long it would take to fix the problem... Now I never got a photo of the airstrip at Vaga - but believe me, it is very short, built during WWII by the Brits for their planes (ie not current type transport jets), it sits atop a mountain and hence the landing strip has big drops on both sides... not fun, it also requires the airplanes to do 180´s around mountain tops to get a straight bearing on the strip.. Not recommended for those not happy in small planes in tight places. We made it down and made it back to Iceland (duh.. since I am writing this from home) Nevertheless, this flight has made me think twice about further air travel... yet another reason why my next trip to aus will be many many years from now.