Back from Oslo

Wow, great short trip to Norway. Perfect hot indian summer weather and I was lucky enough to be able to work outside all day working with the new emergency hospital kit. Also it was an opportunity to meet friends again and catch up, which is always nice.

Friday was a great evening with the Kids. We were invited to the opening of the Icelandic Scienist Exhibition. I know that it doesn’t sound very a promising title, but it was done really well for the kids. The lastest studies and experiments which Icelandic scientist have been working on made accessible for intelligent kids and slow adults (like me). And there all types of ideas from astronomy to alternative energy to GPS tags for fish to learning Pastun from a computer. Look out “Google” the Iceland programmers are after you :)
Free mini pizzas also helped stave off hunger tantrums !

Sandra has great talent as a cook and was feeding her Dad with special smiling toasted sandwiches. Obviously taking after her paternal grandmother, its in the genes. Sandra rocks.. yummy food.

The car is happier now that it has been painted. Next will be the search to good winter tires, getting them on before the frost comes.

On the way to Oslo

I had a lovely weekend with the kids. Saturday was unusally warm and still, so we decided to go walking on Esja mountain. We went to visit our favourite spot, half way up the mountain by a stream. There we sat down to eat our sandwiches and do some landscape painting. Sandra´s picture was very nice.


Anna Þruður came for a coffee visit and showed us pictures of her trip to Africa. We also popped into Nina´s going away party and meet my Project Management school friends in Café Culture.
Now I am on my way to Oslo to join in a Red Cross Emergency Response training session

Cactus

Starting school

Today I went for my first lecture in the University. Going back into the lecture hall was like stepping back in time because everybody else looked so young. I wonder how I must look to all the rest, horribly ancient I shouldn´t wonder.

In the Red Cross everybody is on 110% speed to prepare for the great bi annual fund raising event, Walking for Good, where the objective is to visit every house in Iceland and collect money for children in Africa.

Autumn in the city ; old boys football

The glorious first Monday session of the season. Eager happy faces bathed in persperation relishing the challenge of the coming season and manifold benefits of getting fit... again !
GO GUYS !!!!!

Magni, SuperNova Rockstar and the rest of Iceland

Of course we stayed up to vote for Magni, our boy on the reality TV show about Rock and Roll, just like the rest of the country! This craze is gripping and country and the conversations at lunch, coffee and supper.

A during the day, just for added entertainment I have been dealing with the results of a careless building worker, concrete and the bonnet of my car. It told three days to get the concrete splashes off and the car is highly polished. The only problem is that the acid in the concrete has burnt through the varnish. I am not sure what the next step is, but if anybody has any advice as to how to deal with this type of damage, I would be grateful.

We are enjoying an Indian summer these days. It was a perfect weekend. We were able to eat breakfast outside this morning. We spent a lot of time in the countryside by the Esja Mountain. Kids, especially Sandra, jumped and jumped and bounced on the trampoline for hours. How they get the energy I do not know, but at least they sleep well.

Eirikur is doing lots of stick carving, having collected an armful of logs in the countryside on Saturday.

Happy Birthday to you Kiwis out there !!!!

Happy Birthday to Mum and Dad. Hope you had a great time. Thinking of you as always.

Demon Garfield

The Praire Home Companion Show

Decided to take in an early movie and popped into to the The Prairie Home Companion. A charming and subtle film with some supper performances, I can say that I really enjoyed it.
It was also fun to hear my friend Joe, on Skype, try to convince me that 6 months in hte Maldives was a hardship posting. Congrates on the marriage... wish you all the best for the future.
Also heard from Irene, who is now out of Congo and on the way to a lighthouse,,, for a bit. And then on to somewhere sandy.

Huffing and Puffing

So... by now I have recovered from the run, mind you not that it was a herculean effort of marathon proportions. On Sunday we went into the countryside for B-B-Q and trampoline for the kids. It was very hot, bright sunshine and little wind. But the main event of the day was picking beks up at the airport. (Things that Dads do well.) The girls had a great time in Copenhagen and Bekka is best !!!!

School began this week and everybody is very excited. We and kids made big efforts to sort ourselves out out that we would be organised and ready to take onhte big shock of having to bounce out of bed and get moving for school. Sandra helped me at work and also made very nice ear-rings from beads and garden wire.

At the finish line

The team on task...

Reykjavik Marathon

Medal winners, smiles and sunshine ( the weather forecast was for rain!)

Still Summer

Still super sunshine days; summer is hanging on.

I have signed everybody into the Rekjavik Marathon, the kids for 3 km and me for 10 km. The races start at different times so that I should be able to do the 10 and then run again with the kids. I hope my legs hold out !!!

Yesterday we went to visit friends who have moved into a new flat in Strandvegi. It is a lovely appartment on the water, new exciting design and marvellous view over the bay on a windy night.

Holiday catch up from the summer house trip

Myself, Eirikur and Sandra spent a week in a summer house in Miðhúsakoga. It was very relaxing. Whilst it was cloudy to begin with we had two hottie days of fabulous sunny weather all day, beautiful. We went walking down by the river, and did a spell of dam building. Dad did painting. :-)

On Wednesday, we went to Gullfoss and Geysir. It was overcast and warm but with good views especially up to the glacier. Fantastic power of the water going over the fall.
In the evening, we got the B-B-Q going and grilled pork fillet for supper, which is a favourite of ourselves and turned out to be very tasty. After supper we sat drawing pictures together in the evening. The evening was rainy, pouring in fact, reminded me of Jakarta

Sailing boat party

Went to a nice gathering at the embassy for the James Cook people. Kids were happy to go an visit friends. Looking forward to going to the summer house tommorrow.
Happy to do one hour and a half on the bicycle, getting the heart to pump abit and the legs to ache.

Holiday days

Breakfast meeting with the people from the James Cook Ocean Youth Trust who are visiting Iceland with their boat.
Cloudy weather for the holidays.
Kids are happy playing cards and have learnt lots of new games.

Cycling with Bekka

It was a beautiful summers evening. Clear skies and no breeze. I went jogging out to the beach and back (in new jogging shirt). Bekka came with on the bike. Smiles and chatting.

6 km !!!!

Ruby Tuesday

Superman the movie. Superman the verdict. Great SF, brilliant photograhy, very long (almost never ending), good music and openning credits, flat story and characters.
Steini and Steinþor came along aswell, good to see them
Then to Ruby Tuesdays. A special treat to celebrate all the good things that have happened in these past two weeks. Well done us!

Movies that all children have to see before they grow-up

My Fair Lady
The King and I
Mary Poppins
Chitty-chitty Bang-bang
Singing in the Rain.
Sound of Music
Jungle Book

and there are others.

Bicycle ride with Sandra