Walking in Snow to Buy Snowgear

[Photos from 21 October 2014, blogged on 30 December 2014.]

We had one snowy week in October, and as usual we discovered that one of the kids didn’t have good snow-gloves.  As it happens, my workplace (Marel, here on Google StreetView) is right next to at least two outdoor-gear shops, so one lunchtime I braved the snow and walked a small circuit to buy gloves… and took a few photos on the way. (3 images total)

The blue and gray Marel building. The front portion is all offices, while back building houses the production facilities.

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Autumn Trip to Laugarvatn

[Written Wednesday 15 October 2014.  Happened over the past weekend, 11-12 October.]

Back in September we promised Finnur’s family to take down the trampoline by the Laugarvatn summer house before winter came roaring.  (Translation: We were there in September, and failed to do it then.)

We were too tired to set out on Friday night like usual, so we ended up leaving town shortly before noon on Saturday instead.  We’d invited Guðrún and Snorri along for the change of scenery, and we somehow all managed to arrive at the gate to the summer house at the same time.  Great coincidence!

On the Saturday the boys took the older kids swimming, while Guðrún and I hung out with the little kiddos.  We managed take down the trampoline before the scrumptious lamb dinner, and even had energy to spare to play some cards in the evening.

Our guests took off shortly after noon on the Sunday, but they didn’t drive straight to town though.  First, they followed Finnur, Anna and Bjarki to the Geysir area, where Finnur flew his camera drone.  Meanwhile, Emma and I napped.  Mmmm… naaaapping!

We left slightly later in the afternoon, but had to drive back 20 minutes in because we’d left a charging drone-battery in the summer house.  To make up for the extra drive, we stopped by one of the cracks in Thingvellir (a less famous one) and Finnur flew his drone, while the kids clambered around, and we did our best not to shiver into oblivion.  Yes, it was coooold!

Some photos from the weekend follow… (35 images total)

Saturday 11 October 2014

Emma enjoying the vintage Fisher Price school house. This was the first time she actually played with the figurines, carefully putting them on the swings, and spinner, and pushing and spinning. Yay for daycare!

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Hands in Various States

[Happened 13 OCTOBER 2014.  Blogged 30 DECEMBER 2014.  THIS IS NOT A RECENT OCCURRENCE!]

On Monday, 13 October, Finnur refused to let the kids bike to school because there was a layer of potentially slippery frost covering everything, and we still hadn’t switched any of our bikes to studded winter tires.

Being a fully grown adult, who makes good adult decisions, Finnur then decided to bike to work himself, on his summer tires.

Which went fine because the paths were mostly fine, except when all of a sudden they weren’t, and Finnur went flying off his bike, breaking a bone in his left hand.  He managed to bike the rest of the way to work, but when the pain in his hand wouldn’t stop he took a taxi to the emergency room. They diagnosed him as having a double fracture, so he was put in a cast, but when he went back for reexamination the next week, it was downgraded to a single fracture, and a splint installed instead. (3 images total)

Finnur back at work with his cast.

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Achievement Unlocked: Jumping!

[Jumping occurred on 09 October 2014.  Documenting it properly had to wait until 30 December 2014.  Bad brain!] Emma came home from daycare, having figured out jumping.  Here, have a gif!  (And a video if you click the moving image!) (2 images total)Read more

Bjarki the Builder

[Image from 8 October 2014.  Text from 30 December 2014.  Awww!] I picked Bjarki up from yet another birthday party at a certain party location, and he insisted on trying out this digger.Read more

Sewing Club Housewife Vacation

[Photos from the weekend of 4th and 5th October, words and layout from 30 December 2014.]

One of the girls (ok, women, I guess we’re all well over thirty!) in a sewing club I belong to has access to a lovely summer house not too far away from the capital area.

Over the past few years, we’ve all tried to gather there for an overnight stay, at least once per year.  We call it a ‘housewife vacation’ since we all have 2 or 3 children, and really, taking a break from them can be a very good thing!

This time six out of eight could make it.  Some arrived late on the Friday evening, but I hitched a ride on the Saturday, and we met up with the gang at the Fontana Geothermal Baths at Laugarvatn. (19 images total)

The first snow of the season.

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Handball Meet@The Home of the Vikings

[Friday 03 October 2014 was when this happened, Monday 29 December was the day it got written down for posterity.]

Anna practices team handball with the local HK club.  There will be about five meets this school year, and the first one happened at the home of the Vikings (Víkingsheimilið).  Her club had some five teams playing, with mixed results.  Let’s just say they’re not the most feared of clubs… 🙂

Anna’s team did ok.  I vaguely recall them winning at least one game, making one draw, and losing two, but eh, who cares?

Anna is a good defender, being tall helps! (5 images total)

Anna is number 25.

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Kids Hanging Out in the Living Room

[Photos: 01 October 2014.  Blogged: 28 December 2014.  Only three months late.  Hehe.]

Feeling panicky over not taking any photos in September (it felt like), I grabbed the camera while the kids were being unusually agreeable in the living room. (4 images total.)

Emma chewing on a wet rag in our ever tidy living room.

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FFF #2.2 – Gljúfrasteinn and Cafe Álafoss

[Happened 28 Sept 2014.  Written 1 October.  Maybe.]

The weather forecast looked promising, and the fall colors were busy being colorful, so I decided to venture a little further afield than usual, and visited Gljúfrasteinn.  Gljúfrasteinn (TripAdvisor) is where Iceland’s only Nobel laureate, Halldór Laxness, lived with his second wife, Auður, for some decades.  It’s a little outside the main city area, about a 20 minute drive from our home.

I found out when I’d arrived that there is no photography inside the house, but there’s a pretty good gallery on their webpage.  Every guest gets their own audio-player and headset, and walks around the house in quiet listening to a well produced and interesting audio-tour.

My impression was that Halldór and Auður were cool cats in their day and age.  And I definitely came away thinking that Halldór was exceedingly well married!  Not only did Auður decorate the house to perfection, and produce her own sewing-art, but they also had a lot of friends (including many artists who gave them art), and routinely hosted parties, large and small.  The art in the house is really quite interesting and surprisingly colorful.  Although their speaking style sounds very old-style to my modern ears, they were probably considered somewhat avant-garde back in the day!?!?  (I’m guessing!)

Anyway, to make up for the lack of pictures indoors, I took a bunch of photos of the surrounding area.

After I’d had my fill of nature, I drove back and made a quick pit-stop at the Álafoss Cafe in Mosfellsbær (aka Mos-Eisley) before heading back home to the peeps. (45 images total)

Looking towards the city, which is hiding behind that hill/mountain there in the distance.  See that bridge up close on the left?  A river runs under it.

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