[Photos taken 06 – 15 January 2025, posted online 02 August 2025. This is a big travel weekend in Iceland, as Monday is a public holiday, and so far it’s been very heavy rain and high winds.]
With our US visitors gone, the house was suddenly very empty and quiet. We put all the decorations away, and the following day I started a new job!
Life then resumed, with the addition of social gatherings which snuck onto the calendar in large numbers.
Monday 06 January 2025
This was my last day of unemployment, as I would start a new job the following day. Of course I started the day at my usual cafe, which had a cheerful “Happy New Year” sign, and some tasty tasting bits.
This day is called “the thirteenth” as it’s the 13th and last day of Christmas. We used the opportunity and packed Christmas away.
Our baubles. We’d discovered they were mostly sort of blah-colored, and that we “needed” more strong-colored ones.
I made a quick run to the grocery store, only to nearly wade into a flock of geese!
Uhhh, what are you guys doing here? I managed to sneak past them and into the store, as they moved closer to the parking lot.
Love the big trunk area of my medium-sized car!
Thank you for your service.
To be vacuumed…
Fireworks-debris had its own container.
Afterwards I visited a nearby store that had a sale on Christmas decorations… Oh, look! More pastel-colored baubles…. Booooring.
After scouring the aisles I finally scrounged up 9 colorful baubles.
Yet another batch of horns being made, this time for the Thirteenth afternoon-cafe at Finnur’s parents’ place.
It was amazingly awesome to spend an hour at the gym, seemingly squeezing crystallized holiday-sugar out of my joints.
Afternoon-cafe time!
A mild traffic jam as guests were leaving.
My phone found some northern lights in the sky. In “night mode” it’s more sensitive than my eyes.
That night, it was time to crush the ginger-bread house, admittedly a day late.
Emma managed to punch a size-able hole in the roof.
A roof portion flying to the side as Bjarki finished the job. Thus endeth Yule!
Wednesday 08 January 2025
My company’s offices are, somewhat unusually, nestled inside a bigger company, called OK, as it owns some part of it. It means that for a small company, the space comes with the perks of a bigger one, such as a lounge, and…
… seemingly perpetually filled containers of nuts, and cookies.
A hook broke on Emma’s orthodontics… always good to start a job while needing to attend to life-stuff at the same time.
It was another clear night, but nothing exciting seemed to be going on outside.
Thursday 09 January 2025
The car-issues kept on coming, as the big car got hard to charge because the locking-pin inside the charge-port kept getting stuck. It got a little adventurous, not necessarily in a good way.
Sneaky, sneaky… Finnur bought this thinking it was virgin olive oil, but it wasn’t at all. Instead it was some inferior mix, in a pretty bottle.
Emma building the Lego kit she’d gotten for Christmas. She likes to just build and display them. I feel a bit like I failed as a parent at that…
Friday 10 January 2025
January, somewhat ominously, was jam-packed with social gatherings. This is taken downtown, as I searched for the restaurant where my old EE undergrad group was meeting.
Art on a wall.
Quite cozy.
There’s some fish hidden under there…
A somewhat bizarre sink arrangement by the toilets.
Dessert! Yum!
Table one…
… and Table 2!
Fake plants are still all the rage as interior recorations.
Once outside, we noticed santa’s clothes strung hilariously outside a house!
Saturday 11 January 2025
The big annual sewing club party was that evening, so I ventured out in search of a dress on sale. Was tempted to buy this shirt, but decided I wasn’t quite that loud.
Us oldies. The party theme was “hats”.
Seating assignments were done by matching people with stuff they’d said. It wasn’t always easy!
Good lighting is hard to find!
Sunday 12 January 2025
Picking mom up from the airport, after she’d spent a month in Sweden, welcoming yet another grandchild!
Anna whipped up some pancakes for some sustenance as mom opened her Christmas presents.
Mom also brought presents from Sweden, which were a big hit!
Monday 13 January 2025
The gym is within easy walking distance from my new work. And yes, we were down a car due to repairs, yet again.
Note to self, check out the folf course there in summer!
The only Christmas cards we get anymore are from the US, as all of Iceland has essentially transitioned to sending greetings out on social media. They’re still very welcome though!
Tuesday 14 January 2025
After-work meetup with a good friend. The weather suggested hot chocolate as a good idea!
Wednesday 15 January 2025
Two days later and all the ice had melted, as I again walked to the gym after work.
