[Photos taken 01 – 30 November 2023, posted online 12 June 2024. Yesterday was the first day of volcano-smog in the capital area from the ongoing volcanic eruption close to the Blue Lagoon, that began two weeks ago (30 May 2024).]
Winter kept coming, it got quite cold, and I began to feed the birds, in part to get the free nature TV going in the backyard! With the added darkness, the outside lights went up, and the November sales were helpful in getting me to buy Christmas presents early.
Finnur had a bunch of tasks to complete at the summer house, so I ended up responsible for more dinners than usual. I took photos of them to prove I was attempting to keep the kids alive. There are also food pics from the summer house, work, a birthday, and at least one restaurant. I wonder if I was just hungry?
The garbage bin shed was quietly completed, I guess I’d run out of wood-photographing-juice. However, screwing in the missing half of the screws would have to wait until May/June, for no real good reason.
The month ended with a mass-layoff at my workplace, which was not a pleasant experience, although I kept my job. Bjarki’s band recital a couple of days later made life a little better though.
Wednesday 01 November 2023
The bird-“table” from the previous winter was looking a little sad, and disintegrated about a month later. I understood why when I realized that it was mostly stapled together.
I started hunting for big buckets of bird-feed but I was a little early. Now I know to go straight to the whole-sale agent.
The lack of leaves revealed a big wasps-nest by the parking lot across the road. Eeek!
Friday 03 November 2023
As I was going over photos from this month is seemed that I’d cooked dinner more often than usual, and photographed my efforts to document my attempts at keeping the kiddos alive.
Brand new fruit delivery!
Juicy mango time!
Anna pounding the keys. She will occasionally grace us with concerts, but no longer attends music school.
Once in a blue moon I pull out the home-gym stuff… My shoulder was finally on the mend I think, but still fragile.
Saturday 04 November 2023
The mornings were getting dark, so I dug out the outside lights…
Installed!
I tidied up the work-area (i.e. the deck) to prep for actually attaching the roof. The timber was just sitting there on top, and we hoped for little wind so they would stay put.
Filled two bags of cut-offs.
More stuff headed to the recycling center…
The rumor was that the Robin clementines had arrived so I went looking… The ones in Bónus were sold out…
… but there were still a bunch in Hagkaup. Sadly however, the crop wasn’t nearly as good as usual.
I dug a carrot or two up from the somewhat frozen veggie box.
Classic lazy dinner.
I spent some time deciphering the counts on a song I would like to know on piano, as my note-reading skills haven’t really progressed much from the 1.5 years spent learning the recorder when I was 8 years old I got a little ways into it before life took over and I had no more brain space.
Sunday 05 November 2023
Assembling the annual calendar, which is both something that I enjoy doing and owning, but also takes a significant amount of time and energy.
Roof screwed in place! At some point in time Finnur then went ahead and cut the back-side lengths, but I have no photographic evidence of when that happened!?!
Birthday-party-time!
The kids are getting old!
Monday 06 November 2023
Ad at the gym featuring my brother, from that oiled-up photo-session!
Tuesday 07 November 2023
Walk with care… that’s solid ice.
Brrrr… cold!
I discovered the birdfeed that I’d gotten at Bauhaus was either old or contained too much weird stuff, as the birds mostly just threw it on the ground.
The ground under the feeder…
Thursday 09 November 2023
It’s always interesting when a toy-type takes over. I’ve lost count of how many “Squishmallows” Emma owns, but she still wanted more for Christmas!
As I was putting bird-feed out, I noticed the northern lights going a bit bonkers. The biggest action was over when I finally returned with my phone to take a photo, but a few still danced.
Friday 10 November 2023
Every-other-Friday-Breakfast-Club feast in progress at work. If you were a member, you were obligated to bring in breakfast on a Friday morning when it was your turn, and in return you got to eat the breakfast brought by others.
Lazy dinner, the whole-chicken-with-fries-and-salad version.
Saturday 11 November 2023
Recycling-run in progress.
I installed a motion-activated light inside the shed. The battery lasted throughout the winter, which was a pleasant surprise.
There is a lot of staining/oiling/weeding in our future… sigh.
Walking up the hill to the coffee house in Borgarnes, you see that not everything is shiny.
Monday 13 November 2023
I finally found some reading material that Emma wanted to gobble up!
Anna feeling confident that she’d passed a final exam, about to toss her post-it study notes.
Tuesday 14 November 2023
I somehow became the main care-taker of the “better” coffee machine on our floor.
Wednesday 15 November 2023
I was woefully incompetent for the job of maintaining a coffee machine, but after a lot of attempts I now recognize this mess as the results of the nozzle at the top being clogged.
Time to charge the car?
The pipes under the road doing a good job. This is taken at 17:19 with the “night” setting.
This is probably a more realistic light level, taken at 17:22.
The work on the new road junction was progressing.
On the left, a lot of earth had been moved around. I figured this might be my last walk there…
Thursday 16 November 2023
Red chicken pasta, one of those things I cook without having to think. Usually results in a bunch of leftovers.
Friday 17 November 2023
A bunch of doctors were made to move their offices, and they used the opportunity to make their new space look a lot nicer than their old haunts.
Peak lazy dinner at Ikea.
The quality continues to be meh, but it’s still food. Finnur had already gone up the the summer house, and Anna was at a graduation party, so it was just the three of us.
Napping siblings.
No, we’re not getting a hand you can make rude gestures with…
No, we’re not getting more fluffy things!
Saturday 18 November 2023
Each Squishmallow-type has a name, of course!…
Bjarki begged to drive to the summer house, so I got out the practice sign, and the tape, as the trunk contains no magnetic foothold.
The tunnel under Hvalfjörður was closed! There were no official reasons why online, so we waited patiently. I think some special vehicle emerged at some point driving towards town, and then the tunnel was reopened.
Yup, Bjarki was driving. I tried my best to remain calm and collected.
We were asked to pick a up a few items from the store, so this is us leaving Borgarnes town towards the summer house.
Noticing the vanity plate…
Hungry yet?
Sunday 19 November 2023
Bjarki outside in the freezing temps (notice the frozen glass-panes?)
Lunch. I think that was about the highest the sun was getting that day.
More outings without shoes into the freezing cold. Bjarki wanted to drive back to town, and I took another calming breath, or twenty. He did well though.
It was only -6 C/21 F.
That afternoon I found myself in Harpa, where I had tickets to this event. A lot of people were boycotting it due to statements made with regards to the truly horrible situation in the middle east, but I was too curious to see and hear this polarizing person in the flesh to not go.
The event was sold out, but there were a lot of empty seats. The room never fails to impress though.
Extreme zoom-in time. It was for all intents and purposes an innocent chat, very focused on the authors’ relationship, and the book they’d co-written. The lady in blue on the right is Eliza Reid, the Canada-born first lady of Iceland.
Back home I broke all the rules for fajitas… Emma was not impressed.
Monday 20 November 2023
I began pestering the gym to figure out something better to store the plates, before they toppled over and crushed somebody.
Tuesday 21 November 2023
Bjarki’s confirmation book arrived from the printers!
I also got pretty far in wrapping Christmas presents that I’d procured during the annual sales on Singles Day on 11 Nov. This year, I was determined to not have the wrapping part hanging over my head all through December!
Wednesday 22 November 2023
The plate-corner was a still a bit of a mess, but I was assured they’d be taking action soon! (And they did!)
Snow on the ground!
The snow brightens up the dark days.
Bjarki’s band-Christmas-recital was getting closer, and he dug out an effects-box we still have on loan from a friend.
Thursday 23 November 2023
Thanksgiving lunch at work. I think I could have just gone home after this for a long nap!
Instead, I probably went for a haircut?
Later that afternoon, Emma also went in for a haircut. We discovered it had probably been a year since she’d last been there?
All kinds of hair!
Post-haircut, with candy, and hair-oil to protect her hair.
Bjarki’s guitar needed new strings, and Finnur’s figured out how to swap them.
Friday 24 November 2023
How time flies! It was time for another installation of the every-other-Friday-breakfast-club at work!
Saturday 25 November 2023
Randomly looking out the window.
Bjarki got to add viper fluid to a car!
Anna made cookies with a whole marshmallow in the center. It looked better than it tasted.
I happily gobbled up the three new and scrumptious Doctor Who specials, that had the old showrunner returning with some of his old cast.
Sunday 26 November 2023
My car was filthy, and I had all the time in the world, so I hung out in line at the automatic car-wash for a while. (Each car takes 5 minutes to complete.)
The was a loud but peaceful protest going on downtown. The police were behind where I took the photo from.
Time for some Danish-fare!
The annual tradition fulfilled.
I got the mixed platter.
Finnur got his usual pork.
Danish-themed art downstairs.
An action shot! A car and a plane in motion!
Monday 27 November 2023
A photo of the people-platform at work, before the effects of that morning’s mass-layoffs became visible. As about 80 people were fired, it made the local news, so this isn’t a secret. Neither is the reason for the mass-layoffs: sharper than expected decline in covid vaccine usage/uptake, the distribution-monitoring of which is/was a significant source of income for my company, which is also public knowledge. Zero work got done that day.
Tuesday 28 November 2023
Going to the gym was a good stress relief before facing a new day at work, and a new reality. I spotted my brother in his natural habitat.
The newest headcount, according to the people platform. Sigh. I descended into black humor.
Thursday 30 November 2023
The month ended on a fun-note, as Bjarki’s music-school band played four songs at the Christmas recital. Unfortunately, Finnur had a meeting he couldn’t get out of.
