Dreamy Valley

That last photo was making me chilly, so I thought I'd re-post one I took this past summer. Its of Svarfaðardalur, just north of Akureyri and only inches from the Arctic Circle (in an atlas that is...in real life its a couple of miles.)

Though by no means complaining about our snappy winter weather, it's nice remember what awaits us come summer...

Have I mentioned that Kiefer Sutherland (who was here last year as you can read on the link,) Quentin Tarantino and RZA are all here for our amazing New Years madness? You've honestly never seen as many fireworks in one place on one night in your life as can be seen here at midnight on the 31st. I'll even take pix from my balcony to prove it.

In the meantime, let this luxurious countryside scene transport you to a perfect Icelandic summertime day...

Tis the Season

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Stay safe, hug the ones you love and smile for a stranger. Oh, and make sure you don't eat your holiday dinner alone...remember that someone out there would enjoy your company. Keep the pretty lights in sight, right?

Falling Apart

Love this photo. Took it last winter. It's so...frosty. And it smacks of the classic, the decrepit, the once-useful and now neglected. At some point the owners of this corral stopped nailing its wind-rattled boards back into place, and didn't care anymore if hinges rusted and warped gates fell. Maybe it was during a season of poverty, when they sold off their horses and sheep, or possibly a time of plenty when they could at last afford a new steel fold for their stock. Regardless, piece by piece this antiquated enclosure is being blown apart and absorbed into the raw Icelandic landscape with no help or intervention from man.

Morning in RVK

A study in pastels and corrugated iron: the view from our apartment balcony looking north out over midtown Reykajvik at around ten a.m. Pretty, isn't it?

Oh, I've been lax on the celebrity watch, so I'll drop a name: Sir Roger Moore, here on UNICEF biz, has been sighted strolling our main shopping street. And White Stripe Meg spent a colorful weekend sharing air with the locals at Sirkus, our best little bar. Someone else was here recently too...Oh, Quentin Tarentino, for the opening to that horror flick by Eli Roth, Hostel. Roth's last movie, Cabin Fever, which I guess Tarantino luuuuved was just disgusting, but I'm sure he's a nice guy.

Wonderbaby

It's slightly out of focus but I just don't care because it's a photo of my very happy supergirl after just having earned a silver with her gymnastics team (she's the one waving).

No one expected Valentina's group, team Ármann, to place at all...most of the ten girls had never even competed before in their lives (Valentina is an old pro at it, though she's always competed individually on the uneven parallel bars, balance beam, etc.) On top of that, this was the first time the team busted out their dance routine for an audience...and out of six teams they took second!

I'm the proud mommy of a very hard-working, loving and strong soul...who's cute to boot!

Who could ask for more?

Lost

Is anyone missing a pair of black socks? If so, they're down by the town lake waiting to be found.

You never know what you're going to discover in the wilderness of Reykjavik's city parks, do you?

(By the way, here's the unofficial lowdown on glugg, or mulled wine. Thanks for the prompt, McFatty)