Frost Takes Over, Two Feet Keep Moving
[Photos taken 14 – 30 November 2020, posted online 01 May 2021. Spring is solidly in the air, and green grass has begun peeking out.]
All through November, Covid-19 infection rates kept decreasing, but slower and slower, until we reached a point of small-group-infection whack-a-mole, and Covid-19 just wouldn’t die. Therefore, our social life kept being close to non-existent, and about the only time I bothered taking photos was during walking/jogging outings… again.
We did make it to house #2 at one point, my work organized an online-event, yule-light got put up, and some tidying occurred, but aside from that, blergh. (80-ish images total)
Saturday 14 November 2020
November Walks, Workouts, & Bakes
[Photos taken 01 – 13 November 2020, posted online 25 April 2021. Spring and Covid wave #4 (still mild) are upon us, as a small fraction of travelers from abroad continue to disregard quarantine instructions. It’s enough a problem that parliament just passed laws to force travelers from certain areas into quarantine-hotels for 5 days. Thankfully vaccinations are ongoing, with 97.5% of 80+ year olds fully vaccinated, almost all 70+ year old have at least one shot, and we’re on to the 60000 people with ‘underlying health issues’.]
November began with covid restrictions tuned up pretty high, as wave #3 stubbornly stuck around, and big spreading events kept popping up. It was yet another month where almost all the photos I took were from a walk or a jog. Pretty depressing in retrospect but at least the weather co-operated. (65-ish images)
Sunday 01 November 2020
Fall Falls With Walks & Bakes
[Photos taken 18-31 October 2020, posted online 02 April 2021. Eloped to a cafe in Borgarnes for a bit of peace and quiet.]
Having escaped quarantine, but avoiding cafes still, I kept going out on walks just to escape the house. Anna’s final exams loomed (her school is unusual in that there are 3 semesters, each is 10 weeks long) and she began stress baking.
Halloween snuck up on us, but we did manage to grab a few pumpkins from Costco, and carve them. There was no trick or treating, although one household pinned candy to an outside wall! (70-ish photos)
Sunday 18 October 2020
Covid-19 Wave #3 Begins
[Photos taken 16 – 30 September 2020, posted online 06 March 2021. Spring weather in February, as a volcanic eruption is possible/imminent. Zero active Covid-19 cases found outside of quarantine since 01 February 2021. ]
Mid-September, the percolating Covid-19 infection rate suddenly exploded on the heels of a few super-spreader events in bars, and at least one combat-gym. When it became clear we were heading into exponential-growth territory, restrictions began tightening.
In retrospect, they probably tightened too slow, as wave #3 ended up being long and vicious.
We participated in a few people-meetings (confirmation party! out to lunch! visiting cafes!), but mostly we began hunkering down, observing the autumn colors taking over the world. I painted yet another wall, the last of the veggie harvest was brought indoors, and we began prepping for winter. (55-ish images total)
Wednesday 16 September 2020
Green Walls, Doggy-School & Kitchen Time
[Photos taken 01 – 15 September 2020, posted online 28 February 2021. A little bit of snow on the ground today, but it won’t last. No new local Covid-19 cases diagnosed outside of quarantine since 01 Feb 2021. Currently living through an earthquake-o-rama, more quakes felt in the past week than in many years prior.]
September is always a month of adjustments back to regular schedule.
Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts and poor health meant that Finnur ended up taking the puppy to doggy school instead of the primary caretakers, and Anna tagged along a lot.
My usual September-redecoration-madness returned on schedule, and I spent a fair bit of time painting walls. Anna was finally freed of her braces, and she did a fair amount of baking to celebrate. Covid-19 cases kept coming at steady pace and authorities began pushing mildly on the societal brakes, and we remained cautiously optimistic. Some jogging happened, as the weather was mostly amazing. (80-ish images)
Tuesday 01 September 2020
Dog-Sitting-Days
[Photos taken 06 – 14 August 2020, posted online 06 February 2021. Still no snow in the capital area, the weather has been weirdly calm all 2021, and very few covid cases detected.]
My mother had some health issues which did not mesh well with a super-hyper-excited-sometimes-biting puppy so we agreed to host said puppy for 10 or so days while she recovered.
It coincided with the start of Covid-19 wave #2 in Iceland, so any plans to visit touristy sites during our vacation went out the window anyway, and our lives shrunk back to home-base. (50-ish images total)
Thursday 06 August 2020
Hiding at House #2
[Photos taken 01 – 05 August 2020, posted online 31 January 2021. It’s been a snowless cold month on our side of the country, the other side is drowning in snow. Very few Covid-19 cases found these past few days.]
We visited house #2 with Adda and Halli and spent a few calms days there. Right about that time, Covid-19 wave #2 began, which meant we mostly stayed put to avoid crowds, which was restful in and of itself (80-ish images total)
Saturday 01 August 2020
Geysir, Horses, Sun & Birthday
[Photos taken 26 – 31 July 2020, posted online 17 January 2021. Zero domestic covid-19 cases found yesterday for the first time in four months, the border is seeing an increase in cases though. It’s a bit scary.]
Anna kept reminding me of my promise of more than one horse riding tour, so we found an operator close to the Geysir area, and booked a tour. Afterwards we took a peak at the bubbling waters, while the car charged.
Finnur joined us, and we frolicked in the sun and even visited Fontana, the spa on the edge of Laugarvatn lake. Then we drove back into town, and celebrated Finnur’s 46th (!) birthday. (65-ish images total)
Sunday 26 July 2020
Horse Riding & House #2
[Photos taken 21 – 25 July 2020, posted online 16 January 2021. I went out to dinner last night, gasp!]
High on Anna’s list of things to do was going horse riding. As a result we visited a horse rental in neighboring Mosfellsbær (Finnur’s old town). The day after that we drove to house #2, where a number of tasks awaited.
The following weekend, Finnur drove back to town where he had planned some fun with his friends, while Anna (!!) drove the rest of us eastwards to Finnur’s parents’ summer house. (65-ish images)
Tuesday 21 July 2020
Vacation Begins & Perlan Visit
[Photos taken 17 – 20 July 2020, posted online 14 January 2021. Covid-19 restrictions were loosened a bit yesterday, so Finnur went to his actual office to work, and I was all of a sudden all alone at home! ]
At long last, our 4-week-long summer vacation began. Unlike other vacations, it began entirely unplanned. With no trips or activities planned, we made an idea board, and a calendar and tried to piece something together as we went along. Our first activities were more dog-sitting, and checking out Perlan.
Covid kept a fairly low profile throughout July, but by the very end, the news turned more ominous as it was confirmed that cases had leaked through the border. Bah-humbug! (50-ish images)
Friday 17 July 2020
