{"id":43890,"date":"2025-07-12T10:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T10:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/?p=43890"},"modified":"2026-06-28T12:54:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:54:41","slug":"backyard-action-blooming-flowers-summer-vacation-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/backyard-action-blooming-flowers-summer-vacation-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Backyard Action \/ Blooming Flowers \/ Summer Vacation Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Photos taken 12 – 24 July 2025, posted online 28 June 2026. Today marks Bjarki’s 19th birthday! Also, after mostly dry days for weeks, we’ve switched to intermittent showers, and the plants are grateful.<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seemingly never-ending source of tasks that is our backyard got a little bit of extra attention for a few days. Flowers bloomed, bringing happy colors to our life. We upgraded our tent, summer vacation began, we visited Finnur’s parents, I kept going to the gym after tearing my calf so no more running for a while, we had social dinners, and I started prepping for my weekend-trip with 9 other ladies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday 12 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The outside seating was not used very much because we always had to pack the cushions up under the balcony, and unpacking was a little bit of a hassle. I found this garden shelter-roof thing at Ikea, and figured it would save us a bit of hassle, and also provide shelter from the sun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Before assembling the shelter, I went out for my planned Garmin run. However, I got slightly too greedy, didn’t listen to warning signs from my calf, and tore something in it some 2 minutes before the end.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I spotted Emma and her friend waiting for the bus!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A pretty nature-path as I limped back home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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After feeling sorry for myself for an hour I began building the Ikea roof-shed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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After building the structure, I randomly decided to clean the innards of the BBQ.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Making progress! I had randomly bought at little plastic tool\/scraper which turned out to work quite well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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With a little help from Anna and her friends, we moved the frame into position and strapped the roof-fabric in place. Unexpectedly, it feels a little warmer in that spot now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sunday 13 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Lo and behold, the roof-fabric turned out to be mostly waterproof! Success!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna’s flowers were doing quite well in the pots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna made fluffy pancakes!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A game being played!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finnur prepping the potatoes as Anna’s significant other’s parents came over for dinner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A fine-looking leg of lamb!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A group photo! We managed to put together “a battle plan” for escorting the new graduates to their chosen foreign location for graduate studies!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Monday 14 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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A gorgeous flower still blooming!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The weather insisted on me biking to work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The bike path to work goes by a lovely area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The lunch menu was quite unappealing, so my group mates, who all happened to have biked to the office, decided to bike into the “Pool-valley” (Laugardalur) to eat lunch at a cafe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Pretty good salad!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The cafe is in a greenhouse!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A funky “water fountain”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The cows were sunbathing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna used to work in this area as a gardener.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The temperature on our patio, in the shade.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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So nice!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Lots of blooming flowers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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One of Anna’s being quite pretty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna and her friends were planning to go camping, so we excavated our VERY old tent to see if it would do.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A little small for four people…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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This tent is almost 30 years old (it has a camping tag on it from the late 1990s). Not surprisingly, some parts were not in great shape.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Peas getting ready to form!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finnur’s birthday sunflower got a little added support for keeping upright.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tuesday 15 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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My gym buddies had all disappeared into the land of summer vacation, so I got to play all my my lonesome self at 8 am. That looks like 130 kg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I decided to use Anna’s camping trip as motivation to finally update our tent situation. I’d always wanted a tent I could fully stand up in, so I visited a tent store.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Bought a tent! It’s the same brand as our old one.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It’s quite a bit bigger, but not crazy big, about the size of a full-sized sports-bag.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma got permission to help out with a two-hour post-work session for young kiddos hugging animals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Fresh fruits!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna’s broccoli plants doing well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I found a couple of (mostly) whole strawberries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wednesday 16 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Our new tent!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It does fit four people, if they’re ok with being snugly packed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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One day I’ll buy a heater…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Found a blooming rose.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thursday 17 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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One other crazy person showed up for a morning sweat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Friday 18 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Friday desserts at work. Yes, it was Friday again!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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At home, Emma had made her own version!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Good stuff!!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Saturday 18 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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More of Anna’s flowers bloomed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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These were getting ready…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The top flower starting to open up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma and myself went downtown to pick up books at the library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The library building. It’s looking pretty dated, but apparently there are big plans to update it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Near-obligatory hot-chocolate stop downtown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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It was warm enough for people to sit outside.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The book-haul.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sunday 19 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The day was foggy\/smoggy?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We drove on over to Laugarvatn to visit Finnur’s parents.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Friday desserts at work. Yes, it was Friday again! I think this was my last day at work before summer vacation began!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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There was slightly less (sandblow) fog there. We could sit outside and play a game around dinner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Dinner!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The second seating round!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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There was no wind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Mount Hekla hidden from view by the sandy air.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I dragged Bjarki out for a short walk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The only photo where he wasn’t trying to wave flies away from his face.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Always fun to light a fire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Card game in progress.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The fire kept burning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Three people then piled into the infra-red sauna, before collapsing into bed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Monday 21 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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A new day, and there was less sand in the air.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Quite romantic!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The swings are still there, but both the trees and the kids have grown!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma swinging.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The lady of the house, as we said goodbye.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The blue sky peeking through.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We stopped to grab some ice-cream. Sadly, they no longer have a machine, only pre-made cones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The weather back home was not very inspiring.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tuesday 22 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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At the gym at 14 because vacation!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I got back into knitting my sweater…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna started clearing out her room, in preparation for her move abroad. She left this Monster High doll and horse to Emma. The amount of dust on them was impressive!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Dusty lady.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Fancy dust! Emma then cleaned them up, and installed in her room.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wednesday 23 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Saw a bumble bee in a tree.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Went swimming…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The town has an excellent flower master.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma went in for a haircut…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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No more side-part!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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I needed to buy a few things for the garden, and stopped at the adjacent cafe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The sunflower kept growing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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We went on a dinner outing with good friends.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Soup!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Meat!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Downtown has a surprising number of somewhat run-down houses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A yacht was sailing close to shore, with a helicopter on its back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thursday 24 July 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n
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One last gym squeeze before heading out of town with 9 other ladies for a gander.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Stocking up on frisbee discs for the ladies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Starting to pack…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Finnur went to judge a soccer meet for youngsters!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Anna made dinner!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Emma depositing a critter out by the playground.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Another critter hanging out outside our bedroom window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Photos taken 12 – 24 July 2025, posted online 28 June 2026. Today marks Bjarki’s 19th birthday! Also, after mostly dry days for weeks, we’ve switched to intermittent showers, and the plants are grateful.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

The seemingly never-ending source of tasks that is our backyard got a little bit of extra attention for a few days. Flowers bloomed, bringing happy colors to our life. We upgraded our tent, summer vacation began, we visited Finnur’s parents, I kept going to the gym after tearing my calf so no more running for a while, we had social dinners, and I started prepping for my weekend-trip with 9 other ladies.<\/p>\n

Saturday 12 July 2025<\/h2>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
The outside seating was not used very much because we always had to pack the cushions up under the balcony, and unpacking was a little bit of a hassle. I found this garden shelter-roof thing at Ikea, and figured it would save us a bit of hassle, and also provide shelter from the sun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,144,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finnurs-family","category-laugarvatn","category-us","post-container col-md-12"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43890","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=43890"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43994,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43890\/revisions\/43994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrefna.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}