“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.

Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes. ~Gloria Naylor

My Dad would have been 85 years old yesterday.  I miss him so much some times.  However, I do know that in his own way he is with me all the time, whether one believes in life after death or not, the dead remain with us in our memories and in our conscience.  It´s not seldom that I think, what would dad have said, or what would dad have done, or more recently with my going into politics - what would dad have thought!

We look so tanned in this photo, so I can't quite understand why we are both wearing Icelandic woollen jumpers..  Must have been the first of the autumn days and cooler weather in Perth.  I think that I have mentioned on this blog before that I feel blessed in having had a lot of time with dad - being the youngest and the unmarried one, I remained at home longer than my siblings. Mum worked full time in a restaurant so often dad and I would be together at home at the kitchen table discussing world events and politics.  It was through him that I became interested in politics and it was he who moulded my views and my moral beliefs.  That you should always aspire to do your best in whatever you do, do it with honesty and integrity.  Sometimes I feel that I am not living up to expectations, but I do try.  Also, no man has ever lived up to the expectations that I have of them - my dad was the blueprint.

I never really understood what drove him to go to Australia when he did, I sort of think I do, but then knowing how complex and layered individuals are and the actions that they take as a result of different forces I sometimes think that  maybe there was more.  I do know though that he did it for us, he thought that Iceland would not give us the opportunities that we would get in Australia.  I certainly don't regret growing up there, I also made the choice like him to come back.  On returning to Iceland the first thing he did was buy himself a little fishing boat.  He was a true man of the sea and loved going out on his little putt putt boat fishing for dinner and just enjoying being on the fjord.  

Luckily for us he and ma came back and spent a year with us in Aus after he got sick, this is one of the last group photos of him with his grandchildren in Australia.  I often wish that they had had a chance to get to know him better, I think though that some of them still have treasured memories of time spent with him.

This photo was taken in June 1993, dad passed away on the 1st of August 1993.  Mum and dad had booked tickets to come to Aus for a holiday later in August, that was just not to be.  Still I know that before he died he had a wonderful trip with my eldest brother on the ship that he was captaining - all around Iceland, quality time spent with the son that was left behind.


I am so thankful for having had him as my father.  A wonderful human being.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? ~Satchel Paige

We all made it safe and sound in the Freyjamobile to the party at Akrar... It was huge!  An amazing spread of food, wine and entertainment.  Svana runs a hotel, there is a community hall on the farm... but no - she got the biggest party tent available and had the party in her back yard.... Sweet.

One am.

Next day - Áskaffi with the lovely Kristín María

Such a great day!

Today in the the forest above town

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land. ~G.K. Chesterton

Another glorious day in the fjord today.  Started relatively early with mum coming in a fluster - she needed to get to the shops before her visitors arrived at lunchtime (her sister and an old friend of theirs).  So I convinced her to come with me and Freyja on our morning walk up in Skógarhlíð.  This is a small forested area above the paddocks that are just above the town.  Freyja and I love it here as we always seem to be the only ones there.

As you can see beautiful blue skies and very little cloud cover.  Just amazing.

This is what an Icelandic forest looks like.  Most of them have been planted quite recently and when they are planting them they tend to plant the trees very close together - this gives them a chance at survival - by giving each other a bit of protection from the winds.  Once established though,   they continually need to have areas cleared so that the bigger trees can grown even taller.  (at the moment the tallest trees there are around three metres)

After the walk and the shop I decided to go to the Freyjamobile and do some well needed cleaning.  Ended up with a spray disinfectant used by restaurants and solariums to clean down surfaces - I think this was a good move, also borrowed electricity and the vacuum cleaner from the Minjahús to vacuum the carpeted surfaces - which are EVERYWHERE.  Do you know how much I hate carpet???

Freyja came along to make sure that I did a good enough job.  I am not sure how she will go as a passenger in the car, tonight will be the big test.

This is an unfortunate angle as the table top makes her jowls look rather strange.  She looks a tad concerned.

Then she found her prime position - I am just waiting for her to jump on top of the dash and sit there. 

Stay tuned - if I have time tomorrow I will post about tonights adventure on the farm (Svanhildur's 40th).  Mum, Freyja and I are going in the Freyjamobile.  Mind you I am also working at Áskaffi tomorrow, will take my camera there too.

A small town is a place where there's no place to go where you shouldn't.” Burt Bacharach quotes (American Composer and Conductor, b.1928)

Its been a busy few weeks here in the North.  So I have been rather slack with the blogging business.  The main reason though was that I had the cold from hell.  It is still hanging in there - but thankfully getting better.  On one of the worst days I decided to make a big vegetarian dinner..... Which ended up being for just me and ma......  Not to worry - the no showers got to eat it as left overs.   The reason for the vegatation dinner was that Jon's wife Libby is not fond of red meat.  Can't understand it myself but I am thankful to her for making me stretch my kitchen limitations and learning new techniques with veges and pasta sauces.  

Here are the happy couple - well I think they are happy.... Libby used the opportunity and went to my cousin Þórdís the hairdresser for a bit a new look.  I think that it looks rather lovely!

Sunday the 11th was museum day - and as a part of the celebrations the local farmers brought out their done up refurbished tractors.  There were at least 8 of them from various decades of the last century.  The minister for agriculture and fishing joined them and drove one of them to the museum.  The crowd was amazing over 1000 visitors which is a new record.  On the same day cousin Sirri the museum administrator was down at the presidents home awaiting the results of who would get the honour of being named "museum of the year", unfortunately hers lost out to the museum of modern art.  I can't understand it myself but hey - such is life!  I know for a fact that her museum, Sirrý herself and her staff really really really deserved the recognition!  Maybe next time!

In other news I have new neighbours.  A bunch of wasps have decided to make their home in a tree that is just outside my lounge room window - am not happy!  However, the exterminator guy is currently bed ridden after a back operation.  So they will get to live a few more weeks.  It grows daily - am waiting for them to start making nests inside the house....

Another not so welcome animal is now on display at the minja hús across the road.  This is Jón Viggó the polar bear that lost it's life on the nearby mountain pass.  They look so cute until you zoom in on the teeth and the claws.

I decided to enjoy the good weather and take Freyja for an extended walk in town and to take some photos for you guys to see what is currently happening in the town.

Robert the baker is painting the bakery - the concrete building is a nice chocolate brown whilst the older wooden portion will be cream with chocolate brown trimmings.  It's starting to look rather good.

Ma is now the church warden from 4 to 7pm during weekdays.  Here she is on the church steps ready and willing to show guests our cute little church.

This one is for Vicki - her post office looking all nice and fresh.  Maybe this time round her offer will be accepted.  

Went passed Jóhannas where she was outside with the grandkids enjoying the sunshine.  As you can see the weather is rather nice.  Mind you headwear is necessary in the cold north wind.  

We went a little further to check out Steina's new lawn.  Looking rather good.

Then I decided to check out Herdís' shop where she is now taking handicrafts from local craftsmen and selling them on commission, the variety is amazing as are the materials that people are using to make stuff out of.

For instance this amazing brooch, made from fish leather and horse hair!!!

Even more stuff that utilizes the fish leather that is produced here in the fjord, yes those cards have pictures on them made from fish leather!

Local business persons.... Robert the baker and cousin Herdís owner of the craft shop and the proprietor of the best little coffee house north of the 66th parallel!

Any committee that is the slightest use is composed of people who are too busy to want to sit on it for a second longer than they have to. ~Katharine Whitehorn

It's been a busy busy week and a bit in the land of Ice.  Well, especially here in the north.  To brighten everything up on the weekend we had lummudagar.  This is the second year that this has been done - and I think that it is here to stay.  Friday night was a fire and singing down by the waters edge, remember last year - when Troy went swimming for a ball???  No such heroics this year.

In other news mum bought herself a mobile home... Needs a new paint job - but according to those that know it was a good buy.  So, expect me ma and the dog to be on the road for the rest of summer and autumn.  

Some random people enjoying the evening outside Kaffi Krók.  As you can see the them is blue for the old town.

Meanwhile back in the garden we had a family grill party with the neighbours from across the way.  Twas all very civilised with table clothes and cutlery.

Bjössi and Rúna and Atli Björn.  Uncle Bjössi had just come back from Reykjavik where the doctors had been having a shot at doing some prodding and cutting.  So far there is no definitive news on the situation - but he is as he always is stoic and the loveliest man (next to dad he is the best!)

As the evening progressed the drinking slowed down - see no alcohol on the table.... 

During the height of the festivities folk piling into the old town to check out the wares.


Mum is currently on holidays - yes mum goes on holidays away from me and Freyja.  It is organised by a fund that is specifically for housewives.  Anyone who has ever been an unpaid wife and mother is eligible to apply and go on holidays for a very good price - 15.000 ISK for 3 nights away from home complete with food and accommodation and organised tours.  I think that she is somewhere near Borganes checking out the western bits of iceland.