Ash Wednesday - Oskurdagur

Fun with costumes and singing and party's.

Usually the kids would go to all the businesses singing for candy - the weather made that a little tough today, so a lot of parents brought candy to the school to give out.

Stefán told me off for not doing it, but I didn't know and really, I did not want to walk to the store to buy candy anyways.

I guess this Saturday will be a super Candy Day.

But the party was great, at the town hall with waffles, coffee, juice and dancing. oh ya, and everyone was dressed up.

Tomorrow someone is coming from the Iceland Review to interview us on the trend of leaving the city's. We actually moved a month before the bank collapse, good luck for us, but it will be cool to be in the paper:)

Let it snow

Some seriously North Pole - ish weather out here today.
Keep in mind there was hardly any snow yesterday and it is still going strong.
I think the plow tractors will be going all night.

Here is our Volvo - not moving anytime soon.

Bright Sky's


The playschool shoveled a little path up to the door.


The gates to the playschool, they did not shovel everything and I understand. I did not shovel anything.
But my shoes were full of snow, and it was cold.

This is outside my door - where do you start with this?

Davíð managed, with the help of a tractor, to get his work car on the road, only to get stuck about three houses away.

Shoppoholic Country

So we are are losing our jobs, the prices are going further through the roof - but what are you doing later? Want to hit the mall?

Life is good...

Consumer confidence rises in Iceland despite everything

Free Food

I was so excited to see this ad for free meals and jealous that I lived on the other side of the country.

I could totally go for some free Thai food. Or any free meal out...

If anyone was planning on inviting me to dinner :)

Bursting Day

Or Sprengidagur. Salty meat and beans for everyone.

But I pinched a nerve in my shoulder blade and had to leave work before lunch, in a crumpled state.

I missed the food - and it really hurts.

Donut Day

Also known as Bollurdagur, was yesterday.

A great day to stuff yourself with chocolate, whip cream and jam, with the excuse of keeping tradition.

Unfortunately for my kids I wouldn't pay 400 kr each at the store and they did not sell the ingredients, convenient??

I was counting on the schools to sugar them up and only Stefáns came through, so I gave Kasper lots of cookies.

Good enough I guess.

Road Trip

The big plan for this weekend was to get out of Þórshöfn. We needed to get to a bigger town to go shopping. The boys needed rubber boots.

Rumor said that we could get to Egilstaðir in only 2.5 hours each way. We heard that it had a Bonus (semi reasonably priced grocery store) and a few other shops for necessity´s. This is all very exciting for me because I haven't left town in 2 months and was getting a little cabin fever.

Saturday morning we were off with out Kasper because he wanted to stay with his friends all day. I later heard they were back at the bar playing pool.

So Stefán, Davíð and me left. Our first obstetrical was after driving all the way out to Vopnafjourður we found out that the road to Egilstaðir was closed because of the snow. So after some backtracking, driving in circles and being lost in general - we did make it. It took much longer then 2.5 hours.

But I have to say it was worth the trip, a Bónus, a Subway, and a Samkaup úrval (I guess this is like a everything store) that sold kids boots.

After we finished our shopping we enjoys a dip in the local outdoor pool - it even had a water slide.

When we felt good and refreshed and rather poor it was time to head back.

This time knowing that the road we needed was closed, we did not drive in circles and the trip back took almost 4 hours, thanks to some super icy mountain road and a little snow storm. But we made it.

I think in the summer, when the roads are better, this could be a great weekend destination.

Stefán amazed in a big grocery store.

rósa excited before we left.

Davíð trying to steal our swimsuits from the washer but the door did not want to unlock.

Stefán again.

Coolest Neighbours Ever

I wish it wasn't so dark when I took these, but I am always impressed with my neighbors ambition.

The snow castle.

Giant Snow Man.

I am embarrassed to say my yard looks terrible next to this one. I need to badger my kids into building more, stop making us look bad :)

At the bar

Tonight Davíð went to our local bar to pick up a pizza. (7:30)

He brought home our 8 year old son who was playing pool with this friend. They said they didnt need a ride, they would walk home because they wanted to finish up the game.

Davíð brought them both home, but I have to say this adds a whole new layer to embarrassment.

I am sure the drinking fishermen had a good laugh.

800 kr

You know things are getting out of hand when you notice that a medium size tube of toothpaste now costs 800 kr. at the local grocery store.

Ok, my local store is in the middle of nowhere because this is where I live and a cheaper alternative is to drive several hours.

The point being, although I hate to admit this, I do not make 800 an hour so after tax it could take me almost 2 hours to buy a tube of toothpaste.

I told my boss that I might start brushing my teeth at work.

Ouch

On my way taking to work today, I was actually just outside the playschool, I slipped and seem to have landed on my head.

At least that is what hurts the most.

The doctor said it is a mild concussion. Lucky....

So I slept the day off work and it still hurts.

.za? I do not believe it

Davíð was convincing me to make popcorn the other night and found this website listing the virtues in a diet full of popcorn.

This shows, you can find anything with google.

http://popcorn.co.za/benefits.html

Enough Sleep?

I got an email from Kasper's school today, just telling off the parents for the kids not getting enough sleep.
I am proud to say I do have my kids in bed by 8 during the week, even though it tends to get me some strange looks from other people.
I also have to admit that when I was 15 I was not in bed at 9:30, so maybe these times are a little flexible.
Although I do find it funny that legally he is allowed to play outside until 8 when the school says he maybe should be in bed by 7:30.

These are the rules:

Kæru foreldrar og forráðamenn

Okkur hér í skólanum finnst of algengt að nemendur okkar séu ekki úthvíldir þegar þeir mæta á morgnana. Aðspurðir segjast nemendur fara seint að sofa og einnig finnst okkur mikið um að útivistarreglur séu ekki virtar.
Það er ljóst að barn sem mætir þreytt í skólann nær ekki viðunandi árangri í námi, nær ekki að einbeita sér og truflar gjarnan aðra. Börn sem eru ekki úthvíld líður almennt illa.

Svefnþörf barna er þessi:

5-8 ára: 10-12 klst - Þurfa að vera sofnuð á bilinu 7:30 - 9:30 til að vakna úthvíld kl. 7:30
9-12 ára: 9-11 klst - Þurfa að vera sofnuð á bilinu 8:30 - 10:30 til að vakna úthvíld kl. 7:30
13-15 ára 9-10 klst - Þurfa að vera sofnuð á bilinu 9:30 - 10:30 til að vakna úthvíld kl. 7:30

Þetta er tekið sem dæmi, skólaakstursnemendur þurfa að vakna umtalsvert fyrr.

Sé þessu fylgt eftir fáum við betur upplögð börn í skólann. Þar sem fólki líður vel er minna um árekstra og börnin betur í stakk búin til að sýna kurteisi, umburðarlyndi og tillitssemi.

Allir snemma í háttinn í kvöld?

Með bestu kveðju,

(name erased because I would feel a little silly if she googled her name, like I often do, and found emails she sent on my blog, might cause an awkward scene)

IMF

I get it, the International Monetary Fund is being a bit naughty with Iceland and Icelanders - but this person does seem to be enjoying it.

Sunday without much color

I really meant to get so much done.....
Maybe next Sunday.

The best, Davíð cooking eggs and toast in his underwear.
This might be the best picture ever :)

Kasper enjoying some eggs on toast,
always a good treat.

Davíð in the sun

Stefán and the talking Spiderman
bought from the flea market on 118 in Canada.
He doesnt talk any more.

Stefán with his new short and much easier to comb hair.

Kasper hiding on my bed.

The happy little family, Stefán, Rósa and Spiderman

So this picture should have been with the last post -
a little mistake on my part.
The lizards tail fell off, this was news worthy.

found these

I dusted off the old camera today to take a few pictures and found a few
that seem to have been forgotten about.

Stefán before the latest hair cut.

I am not exactly sure.....

Stefan coloring - a job he takes very seriously.

still at work

One of the last times Rósa was allowed on the bed.

A very intent Davíð

Kasper Power ranger

A dancing power ranger?

Davíð and Rósa, guarding the computer.

A very proud boy :)

Rósa

Kasper! He is getting so old now

We are not so small in Þórshöfn

We even have a page :)
in case you ever wanted to keep on top of out news.

Summer is coming!

I can tell,

The wind feels hot. Above zero hot.

The snow is still everywhere and there is a lot of it so this will take time to melt, but it is compacting.

Sooooo windy up here!

Abandonment

For a country that is so proud, a group of people that felt they could do anything - I am surprised how many are just giving up.

It has only been a few months and with good times, there are bad times.

I don't think running away is the answer.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/02/09/icelanders-manitoba.html

I also think it is unfair for the government to 'fast track' Icelandic applications when there are people who really need to move, and they wait.

Kinda sickning.

Do I have tooooooo?????

It seems to be assumed that one foreigner will be friends with another. This asumtion is intensified when they speak the same native language.

I honestly wish it were always true. It would be nice to have someone here, a neighbor, to chat it up in English with. But this may never happen.

The fact is, besides both speaking English - this person and I have nothing in common. Nothing. In fact, we seem to repel each other and now as an unspoken rule, we avoid each other. A little hard sometimes when we work together.

Point being, we just are not friends.

Yet . . . despite that fact we are not seen out together, do not visit at work or give any reason for this, every one thinks we must be practically sisters.

I am often asked how she is doing, or stopped and asked where she is if someone is looking for her. I really do not understand.

But, the best was last night:

There I was hanging out in the bath, the kids are in bed and I am just relaxing. Then my cell phone rings, Davíð brings it in because it was ringing for a while.

Some guy says his name is Siggí, is Loreen over? I do not know this guy. He says he tried calling her cell and it was off. He called the sports center and they said she was probably having a coffee with you, so they gave me your number. I guess this guy is from Reykjavík.

Kinda creeped out the bath. Glad it wasn't important.

So it seems so natural that we would be best friends and spend all our time togeather that the town sports center is giving my phone number out over the phone to strangers. I do not even know why the sports center would have my phone number.

There seems to be a lot of expectations for us to be best friends - but I don't want to.

Remember the Green Bikes?

In Red Deer you could borrow a bike
I guess these are the same thing, but in Paris and much more cool looking.
I saw this picture on a friends Facebook page, then I saw this article on BBC.
People are breaking them, stealing.... are we really surprised? This should have been foreseen. I also do not think this is a reason to stop the program. I do not think something like this should be trying to make money, in fact it deserves public funding.
If more people are on bikes, less in cars means less rad repair, less car accidents (maybe), less pollution, cleaner air and healthier population. These things could save money.
I just think it is worth the cost.

wasting time or needing a break

and I have nothing to say for myself.

Really, I live next to, practically, the north pole. It is so windy out, the snow is constant. Its dark.

Its not like Im working - I mean, 4 hours a day is hardly the entire day.

So where does the time go?

Why am I always just finishing the laundry instead of being able to look at an empty laundry room with pride, and be done. There is always more.

If I mop twice a day there is only a fine layer of dog hair on the floor. I usually only do it once a day, I swear I collects half Rósa's size in a hairball, then an hour layer I seeing the beginnings of hair bunnies. I really hope the excessive shedding is some sign that spring is coming.

It does not matter how many times or how often I wax the floor, it still looks streaky in the sun.

I actually got rather upset the other day because I was convinced that despite my CONSTANT cleaning, the house was dirty.

Davíð says I am imagining things. I have nightmares of my mothers housekeeping skills so I tend to try a little too much.

I have been reading a lot, like really a lot. Maybe not in perfect English. I try to rotate between done right silly and semi serious. Basically a random collection of books I collected while visiting and borrowing in Reykjavík. It is going really well - I am so emerged in the lives of book caracters I hardly notice my own.

This is a cause for not writing in blog so much.

Sure there is plenty going on in Iceland - we lost a government, got a new one, riots, but we have all heard enough of this I am sure. Besides, things seem to be settling now.

There was Þórsblót at work last Friday. I saved a bunch of sheep skulld for Rósa. She is very happy and now I find sheep teeth everywhere. She has to keep the bones outside but the teeth are so small she smuggles the in and walks around trying to chew them. I think next time I will resist the erge and leave the bones to the garbage.

Stefán asked me to turn of the window today, he was to hot.

Stupid town put the houses for sale - still deceiding what to do on that one. Maybe Ill just go cause a fuss with the mayor on Monday. I have had a urge to tell someone off for a while now and this just gave me a reason.

I realized the best thing about living in a small town is that everyone has to be friends, you have no choice. All kids must get along. Stefáns new friend Benni has a sister one year older the Kasper and now all 4 kids play together.

This has also made the boys, my boys, the very best of friends. They have there own dialict (horid English with a splash of Icelandic), games and understanding. Often even with friends over, they still play together. I am really proud.

I think it helps that they share a bed. I know that sounds weird, but we have one single bed and a double bed. The kids share the double bed.

I talked them into it by telling them about some of my brothers sharing a bed, Eric on the top bunk and Travis and Cory on the bottom.

I remember them teasing each other about being gay, but I did not tell the boys about that.

Point is, I think it makes them better friends, brings them closer - even if they build a wall of stuffed animals between them.

Now that I have typed everything that has crossed my mind for a few minuites, I think I need a tea. Maybe I do just need a break - like a nap.

Cause I laughed

in fact, I could hear Davíð laughing from the kitchen while I watched it.

The boys did not laugh so much, they think Skyr tastes great.



oh ya, and Robert sent me the link.

Today

I read Lizzy's blog and she says that there is talk in the Canadian papers about making Iceland a province. I am embarrassed that I did not see this myself or even heard of it but I laughed.
To all Canadians considering this idea - cute but, maybe you need to think a little more.

I just noticed how the phone book has comics in it. I mean more then 200 pages of one square at a time comics in the corner of each page. Strange and unexpected and caused me to miss a fair amount of time at work because I just could not stop looking at them.

I finally cut the boys hair. It was getting a little long and they would never comb it so they looked really homeless, but still I was sad to see it go.

Stefán has a new best friend, Benni. They take turns going to each others houses playing.
It is actually about time Stefán found a friend here, he seems much more happy.

The town has decieded, probably thanks to the economic situation, to sell all the houses they own. This is a problem for us because we did not actually plan to buy a place here but now it looks like we might have to otherwise. I ll keep you updated on that one. Stupid town - although we have first dibs on buying the place we live in now.