December 2017 – The Run-Up to Christmas

Bjarki’s yule-tide guitar recital went well, as he’d done a really good job practicing while I was away.

Emma got her yule-tide haircut.

… but was unwilling to pose for photos afterwards.

I switched to Thinking fast and slow for my coffee-break read at work. Look at the photo… then look again knowing that the “B” and the “13” are the exact same shape. That’s your automatic brain system interpreting the world for you. You’re welcome.

This was Celebrate Yule Day at work. We were encouraged to either wear Ugly Yule-Sweaters, or dress up. I chose the latter, and showed up in a dress!

A few santas showed up.

Bosses then handed out the official Christmas gift, i.e. prepaid Visa cards.

Lunch was broken up into slots, and we had entertainers play songs for us!

After work I participated in a yule-beer tasting, which as usual was mostly wasted on me, as I really only like dark beers.

The selection this time around!

Santas showed up for Emma’s last sports-school session before yule.  (Photos by Finnur.)

The school is basically a new obstacle course each Saturday, encouraging the kids to use muscles and practice skills that often go unused and unpracticed.

It’s customary for santas to bring clementines (the sweet ones!) as treats.

This time juice was also included.

Just before 1 pm I went to pick up the car I’d left at work the day before. The sun illuminated the front in such a way that old-but-gone logo-signs (from when acquisitions had their own) under the main logo were visible again.

I took the kids swimming, and was too tired and hungry to say no to their whining about ice cream afterwards…

The view out the window while waiting at a red light. There wasn’t a lot of snow this December at all.

Cosy coffee break at work. Regrettably, this fireplaces seems to use a lot of gas, so it’s most often non-functional, even though it’s cool-looking.

At work, a big internal software change meant that a bunch of processes were “frozen” as of this Friday, which prompted a couple of people to create this piece of art! It did end up thawing before the internal software freeze did…

Anna’s hilarious snapchat face reply to seeing the above art.

Anna and I went hunting for yule-tide dresses after work. Our favorite dress-store came through as always, but we decided not to get the coat.

Emma making oatmeal for lunch in a fancy dress. As one does.

An unexpectedly creepy face appeared on the pan.

Later day day, we held a tiny birthday celebration for Anna, and her cousins, Ylfa and Iðunn for my side of the family. As it happens the lion-share of the extended family was abroad or busy, but we had a nice time nonetheless!

Bjarki playing Rudolf on his guitar.

Jóhanna is a great cake decorator!!

Ylfa blowing out her 8 candels, Iðunn blew out her 6 candles a little while later.

I think Anna decided not to blow out any candles… she’s getting old!

Father and daughter.

Excitement over candle blowing.

Jóhanna with her Breki.

Iðunn!

I attempted to take a group photo, but it didn’t go so well.

The annual “dress the kids up and take photos” photo-shoot was performed in record time, as I needed to finish the annual calendar and send it off to the printers.

Anna.

Bjarki, trying to be patient.

Sisters.

Siblings.

Dabbers.

Anna and Bjarki.

All three.

Me and Finnur, wondering how he got roped into this madness, yet again.

Bjarki sitting with his team-mates, while a huge group-photo is being set up.

Gerpla photo-shoot!

Finnur’s recipe for yule-nog.

My blue baby getting new windshield wipers.  The weather required it.

Wishing bon voyage to Pétur and Signý.  This is taken from inside one of our meeting rooms at work. The company is busy overhauling all the office spaces to look like this.

Enjoy the heat? Ah, Pétur and Signý went to sunny lands for Christmas! This is the pool where Emma took swim lessons. It’s in the basement of a retirement community.

Anna in her yule-dress about to go to the yule-ball at school.

December is choc-full of kiddie birthdays. We attended a party Steinunn’s and Einar’s after work, for two of their boys.

Cosy people on the sofa.

Clapping post-candle blowing.

After the party I went gift-shopping, as almost all the stores stay open until 10 or 11 pm the week before Yule. This is a sample of what Anna’s been reading lately.

Emma’s artwork from daycare. This includes early attempts at writing her name.

It rained so hard that the drains couldn’t keep up!

I held an “everything bought from the store” sewing club, which went down well.

December was my month to host, but jetlag-recovery and general busy-ness kept pushing the club back. Happily we ended up only missing two ladies, which was pretty good this shortly before Yule.

Bjarki really got into the holiday spirit, still wearing his robe at 5 pm!

Again I went out shopping gifts. I must admit I was surprised by how few people were at the local mall at 8:30 pm.

It’s become a bit of a tradition to have Holla and Óli over for Thorlaks’ Mass (Þorláksmessa), aka The Evening Before Christmas. Like before, we made ginger bread, ginger bread houses, and for an added twist, Icelandic twisted doughnuts (kleinur).

Anna decorating the yule-tree.

Emma contemplating ginger-bread forms.

Finnur managed to make dinner that did not use the oven!

Good stuff!

Twisted dough.

Anna cutting dough.

Finnur cooking doughnuts.

Watch your fingers!

The first batch came out a little overdone, but still yummy!

After our guests departed, I went about assembling our home-made ginger bread house. This year I decided to be ambitious and recreated our half of the duplex we live in.

Waiting while the icing hardens.

The garage out front, and the nook with the balcony out back, along with all the bedroom windows.

The view from the back.

Anna decorating a pre-fabricated house from Ikea that we’d bought the year before. Ahemm!

Our house, in ginger-bread form!

Some hastily decorated ginger-bread cookies at 00:45 am.

The two houses, completed. Now Yule could come!