Hikes, Hail & Housework

2021-09-15Us Standard

[Photos taken 15 – 30 September 2021, posted online 16 January 2022. A little bit of snow outside, brightening up the sullenly dark sky. About a month to go until daylight really gets going.]

My organized walking group met up twice in the latter part of September. First was an evening walk out in Hvalfjörður, and the second was a whole-day excursion up and down Kvígindisfell.

Meanwhile, daily life plodded ahead. House #2 got visits, school hobbled along (I can’t even remember if and what kind of restrictions were in place), the first hail came and went, I tried aqua-zumba, kept visiting the gym now and again, and even went to the theater! (85-ish images total)

Wednesday 15 September 2021

Are you kidding me? Such a gorgeous view from the start of our walk/hike on Þyrilsnes in Hvalfjörður.
Setting out. There were so many people in attendance that we were split into 2 groups.
You can only hike out there during certain times of year, because access is forbidden during bird-rearing season.
My partner in crime, with the mountain Þyrill behind her. A little to the left (not pictured) is the old whaling station, and white tanks from the second world war with that kept oil reserves.
Proof I was there, and the weather was balmy… to begin with!
Fjords are good for immersive mountain views.
By 8:30 pm headlamps had been turned on, and I discovered the one I’d grabbed from home was a bit crappy.
The city-glow on the left is from the capital area.
By 9pm it had started wind-raining, but we made it to the ‘peak’!
All done by 9:40 pm, and the weather made us happy to finally get inside our cars!
Here’s the route according to Strava, 6.5 km total.

Thursday 16 September 2021

Took the new car in to hopefully get them to change the auto-light settings to be always on (to be legal), and have the darn car stop changing the speed automatically when using cruise-control and it detected and follwed the off-ramp lower-speed signs…
The trip was mostly a total bust, but a few months later the auto-light setting finally got approved by VW and now I’m always legal. The auto-speed-changing turned out to be these settings, horribly mis-translated in the graphical user interface. I’m sorry but “Preview” does not indicate that you’re about to actually change the speed of the car automatically!!
Also on this lovely day I went in for my breast cancer screen, offered to all women over 40 in Iceland. Got the all clear, phew!

Friday 17 September 2021

Anna’s garden showing signs of fall, with the salad shooting up in desperation as it got colder.
Did an Office-Space-like dismantling of an Ikea shelf that was damaged, and too big to fit into by car. Felt nice.
Finnur was mostly done with his staining project, so I used the opportunity to tidy up the garage a bit.

Saturday 18 September 2021

Making sure to pack the plumbing bag as I ventured out to house #2 to hang out with some friends.
Finnur with his new sandblasting toy!
Fall colors peaking out.
Emma was the only kid hanging out with us this time, they’re all getting so big they can take care of themselves in town!

Sunday 19 September 2021

Emma’s brain being broken by the VR. Dang, these things are getting good!
We’re guessing one of the crows left this lovely reminder about the harshness of real life on the fence.
Manly men taking the trampoline apart for the oncoming winter storms.
The most low stress game there is, because we don’t count points.
Give me that phone!
We went on a bit of a walk.
The view never gets old.
Found a blueberry. Emma was not impressed.
Rocks and water are a good combo.

Tuesday 21 September 2021

The gyms have stayed open after vaccinations got going, but with some limitations some of the time. Deadlifts are good for stress relief, even if it’s only 60 kg.

Wednesday 22 September 2021

The first hail!
It came, and it went.
One of my brothers works in that building, so when I happen to stop by at the café opposite, I send a phone wave.
More gymming.
Ugh… At least it was all above freezing! The big question though was whether the planned Saturday hike would indeed happen… it wasn’t looking likely!

Thursday 23 September 2021

I realized I had barely taken any photos of the kids all month, which makes making the next-year calendar a big headache (I try to use the images from the matching month) so I grabbed the big camera… Emma wanted a photo of her new temporary tattoo.
Bjarki got dragged out on the balcony, where light conditions turned out to be tricky for photographing.
I tried luring Anna out of bed, but got nowhere. Oh well!
The completed column of the now two-summers old “things to do” board.
I attended my first aqua-zumba class with my cousin! It was fun but the speedy somewhat jerky nature (as I didn’t know any of the routines) had me worried about injuring myself.
We both agreed that this was the pinnacle of truth these days from Loaboratorium. The woman says “sleep, wake up, eat, shit, work” and the text says “Oh, no! She is suffering from everyday-poisoning”

Friday 24 September 2021

Again Anna and I were on our own for dinner, so we tried the Indian fast-food place that’s on the other side of the big road. It was pretty good!

Saturday 25 September 2021

Another day, another hike. The weather forecast had thankfully calmed down, and we set out from the edge of town at 8 am.
Morning light from a moving car.
Vegetation, what vegetation? That triangular mountain on the right is Skjaldbreiður, which translates to “Broad Shield”, and it is indeed an old shield volcano.
Cars parked, that mound of a mountain in the background, known as Kvígindisfell, was our goal for the day.
Early on, we had to cross this river. Thankfully Agnes had brought extra wading shoes from me, which then promptly went on my list of things to buy.
Cold, but strangely refreshing.
Shoes on, while marveling at the scenery.
The goal of the day.
Our guides helping us cross the dangerous barbed wire fence.
Beginning to go upwards.
The view from the eating station.
Onwards and upwards. Thankfully this was the most cooperative type of snow.
The view was just fabulous. Having the mountains mildly snow-capped was such a treat!
Our guide ‘ran’ up ahead to check the conditions on the steepest part of the ascent.
This is an image from the guide up on top as we went up the slope. I’m the third in line.
We all made it up the steepest part, with the good help of our guides, as the earth was looser than many of us were comfortable with. This is Agnes and myself by the cairn at the top!
The view from the top.
The 360 degree from the top was fantastic! That body of water upper center is Skorradalsvatn where house #2 is.
To add to the greatness, there wasn’t even that much of a wind like there usually is on top of peaks.
Soon it was time to start heading down again.
In line, waiting for our turn to walk down along the impromptu rope-line the guides put up to get us safely down the steepest part.
We were up there!
An hour and a half after peaking we arrived below the snowline, and found a good spot to refuel our bodies.
Onwards towards the cars.
Crossing the river again, also nice this time around.
The moss was so comfortable, and the cars just a hop and a skip away, so I finished the hike in these.
We made it!
Information sign.
The route and elevation according to Strava. Total distance about 10 km.

Sunday 26 September 2021

Frost was forecasted, so I put the studded tires on Anna’s commuter bike.
This was the day after our parliamentary elections, and some weird counting and recounting after the final numbers from one country-part had already been announced had five people drop out and five others enter, which meant that the news-worthy female-majority no longer existed. We came so close…

Tuesday 28 September 2021

8+ minutes equates to 2000m in one go, which is in many respects easier than many short faster spurts.
Harvested carrots!!

Wednesday 29 September 2021

Maybe time to clean the patio door windows?
Nah, lets go swimming instead!
This is me as seen by Google. It’s actually not far off.

Thursday 30 September 2021

Went into the office, but was having a hard time getting anything done. Then it’s good to saunter up to the “library” and peruse a book.
I generally don’t withhold much even if I’m in a minority, but for the first few months one of the guys would invariably ‘translate’ what I’d tried to say for the other guys. But, I will admit to being tired of being so different all the time.
Food for thought. Underlines are not mine.
That day was capped by a near-impromptu trip to the theater with two friends! The stage was ingeniously designed, all the props were on those two walls, grabbed and put away by the cast as needed.
Yay, pre-ordered intermission refreshments for us!
Actors taking a bow. The play was called “Am I my mother?” and it was highly enjoyable! Thus endeth September 2021!