Regular Life Rhythm Restart
[Photos taken 16 – 31 August 2021, posted online 23 December 2021. Record number of Covid-19 infections yesterday, restrictions have been moved down to 20 persons per room, 200 max and masked at organized seated events with official negative rapid-test, and 2 m distancing instead of 1 m. Zero snow on the ground, and the officially-no-longer-erupting volcano is shaking again. Never a dull moment!]
With summer vacation from work officially over, life began resuming some sort of a rhythm.
In the spring, Emma had managed to squeeze out of me a week of half-days at a “petting-zoo” in Mosfellsbær (a 20 minute drive from our house) so this first week back at work involved a lot of driving. Thankfully, Anna now has a driving license, so we split up driving duties.
With covid-19 levels running rather high, but waning, Finnur and I worked mostly from home. Walks were taken, the garden was harvested, parties were attended (!), we filled house #2 to the rafters with people one night, Bjarki got vaccinated, schools restarted, and I caught some cold or other that was not covid. (45-ish images total)
Monday 16 August 2021
Vacation (Zero)Whale-Watching, Riding & 2nd Hike
[Photos taken 13-15 August 2021, posted online 19 December 2021. It’s still 8C/45F out, diagnosed covid-cases are again ominously close to breaking daily records, new regulations expected this week.]
Finnur returned to work mid-week, as he’d started his vacation a little ahead of me, but I still had a few more days and a strong need to Do Something.
The newspaper had a report that whale-sightings had been going unusually well, so I booked our first whale-watching tour ever. The weather was excellent, sun and no wind, but apparently all the sea mammals were done showing off, and we only saw one pod of dolphins that zoomed past and were in no mood to play, and one minke whale that also scampered off quickly. Deeming the tour a ‘miss’, the operator gave us free tickets for another ride good for two years, which can also be used sailing out from Akureyri in the north.
The following day we tried out yet another horse rental operator, this time by the edge of the city area. They offered a three-hour ride for experienced riders and a two-hour ride for novices, departing an hour apart, so that suited us well. Again the weather was exceptionally good!
On the last day of my vacation I went on my first long-ish hike with the walking group, 12 km/7.5 miles, which took up most of the day. It was really fun! (60-ish images total)
Friday 13 August 2021
Vacation Park-Life, Staining & 1st Hike
[Photos taken 09 – 12 August 2021, posted online 18 December 2021. It’s unseasonably warm outside (7C/45F), and we await the oncoming Omicron Covid storm, while crossing fingers we don’t end up in quarantine over the holidays.]
Our last week on vacation arrived way to quickly, and the weather forecast was good enough that Finnur had reason to stain wood at house #2, and me at house #1. The kids were told to hang out with the friends so we had time to work!
We did make it to the farm-animal and family park, Bjarki’s room renovation project continued, I slathered wood-oil on some of our fence and decks, and I went on my first formal hike with the hiking group I signed up with. (35-ish images total)
Monday 09 August 2021
Vacation Swim, Horses, Forest & Room Renovation
[Photos taken 01 – 08 August 2021, posted online 12 December 2021. We had snow, but now it’s almost all gone. Also, I hitchhiked with two friends to Tenerife for a week in November, and just didn’t have the energy to touch my laptop while there.]
Of course, as luck would have it, Covid-19 cases began ballooning in Iceland just as Anna finally went on vacation. Again, for the second summer in a row, it put a big damper on making and executing any travel plans.
We managed to do a bit of work at house #2, I took the kids swimming, on a forest walk, and then organized two simultaneous (slightly overly complicated) horse-rental outings. Back in town we went bowling, and then I began renovating Bjarki’s bedroom as he’s firmly a proper teenager now. (70-ish images total)
Sunday 01 August 2021
