{"id":33926,"date":"2022-09-02T11:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T11:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/?p=33926"},"modified":"2023-05-20T13:13:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T13:13:01","slug":"end-of-summer-deck-building-biking-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/end-of-summer-deck-building-biking-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"End-of-Summer Deck-Building & Biking-to-work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Photos taken 02 – 16 September 2022, posted online 20 May 2023. Rainy and windy days, but at least it’s rather warm.<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weather in September was surprisingly nice, almost Indian-summer<\/a>-like. This prompted us to finally buy an outside couch for the summer-house, as there was no good way to congregate on the deck otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in town, Finnur put this summer’s deck-building-with-his-dad to good use by helping my brother build a deck at their place. Thankfully the weather co-operated, and they could work long into the evening, as the days were still fairly long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found biking to work to be a nice thing to do, and began working slightly shorter days as my work was winding down, having resigned a month prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday 02 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Outside couch loaded onto Finnur’s dad’s trailer, and about to be hauled northwards. The weather was amazing!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Earlier that day my work-day had started less great as my computer blue-screened. Boohoo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The sofa display at Bauhaus. This one won me over due to the high back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Thankfully the unit came in one big box that fit on a trailer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I stayed in town, as I often do, as the redcurrants desperately needed to be jammed, and I was giving a couple of people a ride the following day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Unlike the last time that I made jam, I went straight for the sieve, skipping the part where I burn myself while inefficiently squeezing gunk through a cloth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Oh no! I might want to invest in a funnel?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Saturday 03 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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We’d managed to convene a good number of Finnur’s family (no kids though) for an overnight stay at the summer house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Testing out the new couch. It was found to be acceptable!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Siblings prepping dinner, peking duck with plum sauce.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Others chilling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Outside, these two watched a game on a phone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Appetiser!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The duck!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Dinner time!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Dessert time!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A long-winded sunset beginning around 8:30 pm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sunday 04 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Brunch in progress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Everybody had things to do, so most everyone had departed by 1 pm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I stopped by in Borgarnes on the way back for a bit of quiet time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I like this view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The weather was nice enough to eat outside!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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By 5 pm I’d made it over to my brother’s place, where deck-building had commenced!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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First task: digging holes to put foundation poles down in.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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To be filled with concrete so it wouldn’t fly away in a storm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finnur was the master planner and foreman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finnur’s dad owns a cement mixer!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The status at 7 pm. A crew had just installed a proper drainage around the house, which is why the area was so raw.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Monday 05 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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The weather was so nice that I decided to bike to and from work. The large machinery was hard at work on the top of the hill, where a ton of houses will soon appear.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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That day’s gym program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Then I went to survey how things were going at the building site, and lend a helping hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The holes had all been dug, and sawing had begun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Still at it at 9:30 pm, but rapidly loosing light.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pensive home owner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Tarring in progress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tuesday 06 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Another gorgeous day, more building to be done.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The vertical poles fixed in place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Photo of the now-closed hole in the fence, that I’d helped close the evening before. We ran out of light before we could finish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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By 7pm all the poles had been fixed in place, and cement mixing could commence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The mixer vomited the mix into a big bucket.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We dragged the bucket to a hole, and poured the mix in.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pouring.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Rince, repeat, until all the holes were full, and smacked to have a smooth surface away from the wood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I stopped by the library on the Hamraborg-hill to return a few book through the dropbox, and the view from the top of the stairs was nice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wednesday 07 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Anna’s sugar snap crop was great this year!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The kids had music school, but it was 17C\/63F (!!!) so I decided I had to go for a jog instead of waiting in the car.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Proof it was me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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There is a lot of horse-traffic in that area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The railing has seen better days.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I decided to clamber up the hill, looking for nature paths. Here are some young trees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Found the path! Nothing beats trails through trees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finally, somebody got around to building a better ramp & stairs up to the very old slightly crumbling bridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The view from my bed at 9:20 pm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thursday 08 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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All the parents were invited to school to see what the kids were working on. Here’s the circle of water.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Friday 09 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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To recap, I’d resigned from my job at the end of July, which in Iceland means I had 3 months left to work, unless we’d agree to something else. This photo reminds me that I went to interview at another company, and I liked their chairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Dinner party time!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Saturday 10 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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The weather forecast called for rain, at which point I realized Emma had outgrown these boots, and needed new ones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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To the mall we went, and added blood sugar before heading to the stores.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Sadly, her feet are now solidly out of kid-shoes range, so she ended up with plain black boots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I found the big camera, and the big camera found Emma.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sunday 11 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Trying to help Bjarki with his homework, and he was being funny. The text under “Theory” reads: “When I was in nature science one day we measured things and tried to figure out the order of food-oil saltwater syrup and water. After that I walked home, relaxed a bit and had something to eat. Then l”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The deck building continued after a hiatus over a few bad weather days.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The owner and landlord of the adjacent apartment showed up to put up a few poles on the border. He would then disappear again for months.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Actually putting down the deck!!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Monday 12 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Trying to maintain a gym routine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The main downside to Icelandic shops, besides the prices, is the abysmal quality of fruits and veggies. Also, why pack carrots in airtight bags?!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tuesday 13 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Cool sun-halo while biking to work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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More gymming, not a terrible time for 2 km of rowing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Proof it was me!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wednesday 14 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Autumn coming in hard, with crazy colors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I had an after-work cafe-date, and noticed the kids still jumping outside at 6:10 pm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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All geared up!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thursday 15 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Another photo while biking to work. Looked nice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The cooled lava field by work, reminding us all that this area could disappear under fresh lava again in the future. Rich people’s homes in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna harvesting kale seeds!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Friday 16 September 2022<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Photo to remind each other to always put the charging cable all the way to shelter so it doesn’t get rained on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Checking to see how far in km we’d have to drive the next day for a dayhike up and down the ex-glacier Ok<\/a>. At 90 km one-way, I figured my car should be able to do the drive without trouble (famous last words!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Photos taken 02 – 16 September 2022, posted online 20 May 2023. Rainy and windy days, but at least it’s rather warm.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

The weather in September was surprisingly nice, almost Indian-summer<\/a>-like. This prompted us to finally buy an outside couch for the summer-house, as there was no good way to congregate on the deck otherwise.<\/p>\n

Back in town, Finnur put this summer’s deck-building-with-his-dad to good use by helping my brother build a deck at their place. Thankfully the weather co-operated, and they could work long into the evening, as the days were still fairly long.<\/p>\n

I found biking to work to be a nice thing to do, and began working slightly shorter days as my work was winding down, having resigned a month prior.<\/p>\n

Friday 02 September 2022<\/h3>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Outside couch loaded onto Finnur’s dad’s trailer, and about to be hauled northwards. The weather was amazing!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finnurs-family","category-hrefnas-family","category-us","post-container col-md-12"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34005,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33926\/revisions\/34005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}