Snow Xcitement!

So the snow finally came to Glasgow. Light snow at around 11.30pm.

Then heavier at the strike of midnight.
From my window, I saw beautiful white, snow covered roofs and backyards.

Everyone was pretty excited to be outside in the snow. I received a phone call and went out without wearing my gloves. Gotta get used to wearing it now. Almost forgot to wear my jacket too ;)

Mini snowball fights ensued and photos photos photos.... The adrenaline rush, I think, made most of us forgot it was midnight XD Making mini snowballs without gloves wasn't a good idea either....

I am also happy to say that the slip proof shoe I bought from Aldi worked its magic on the snow.

If you don't already know, being outside when the snow is falling is like standing in the rain. You get drenched! :P

Hello, earrrrly Winter!

Hothouse

Here's classic Iceland Eyes from 2006, with a young girl I know quite well (my daughter) enjoying an ice cream in a hothouse in Hveragerði. Many of you who have visited Iceland have stopped off at the Eden restaurant and gift shop in this small town just east of Reykjavik, with its seemingly endless array of greenhouses growing a surprising variety of plants, from specialty florals to very tasty greens and vegetables.

Greenhouses are very much in the news here these days, as our Björk has announced herself as a proponent of developing that industry over adding more aluminum smelters to those already scattered about the island. This is a view also highlighted in the recent documentary The Future of Hope, which introduces an intriguingly optimistic vision of a new era in Iceland's history.

I've mentioned over the years here on Iceland Eyes that this is the path we should be following, and maybe now we can actually take the first real steps.

White

These white autumn berries have always intrigued me, though I am unsure as to why. This week they took on a new fascination, laden with the season's first snow.

For those of you who have heard rumors of a new potential volcanic burst here in Iceland, the official Icelandic Meteorological Office web site is a good place to visit for updates and information on weather, earthquakes and volcanic action.

Rights

This photo was first posted five years ago, and yesterday the women of Iceland walked out of their jobs again. An estimated 80,000 protesters throughout the country took part in this year's official Kvennafrí.

This is the the text from my original post:
Here is just a sampling of the nearly 50,000 women (and a couple hundred men) who took to the streets of Reykjavik on Monday to protest wage discrimination here in Iceland. At 2:08 pm, many thousands of women left their jobs for the day to meet up in front of Hallgrímskirkja and march down Skólavörðurstígur.

Why the odd time of day? Well, some clever statisticians figured out that that is the time of day when men, on average, make what it takes a woman to make for a full 8-hour work day. Not such a pretty picture, is it?

The date, October 24th, commemorates thirty years since women throughout Iceland walked out of work, all work. Even the daily chores of home and hearth. Iceland basically shut down for a day. The men were in shock, the children hungry. It was an amazing moment in Icelandic history...

The day was successful in raising awareness, once again, of women's place in modern society. But it's ultimately up to us parents, aunts and uncles and instructors to teach our children, boys and girls alike, to respect and value each other as members of the same nation and, ultimately, the same human race.

P.s. the signs say "We deserve better"

Sport

Sport, originally uploaded by blue eyes.

This photo was first posted in October 2006. I love the colors, so it's getting a re-post four years later.

Airwaves

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Manny Santiago Iceland Airwaves has been going on this weekend, and as usual, our little city has been throbbing and pulsing to the sounds of the over 250 musicians who have graced the festival's many stages. The annual influx of visitors that fill the Reykjavik city streets during the five day fest are a welcome bit of international flavor, and the city is always a bit duller when they have gone.

In this photo by Manny (a Chicago-bred DJ and event producer who most recently did a stint at Gogogic, an Icelandic multi-platform game design studio) Swedish electropop artist Robyn dazzles a wild crowd at the Reykjavik Art Museum. Manny, and many others, were absolutely thrilled.

Skorradalur

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Tómas M.

This gorgeous and evocative photo is of the woods at Skorradalur, in the Borgafjörður region less than an hour's drive north of Reykjavik. To see more of his work, please visit his photo site here.

It's in times like these (see here for details) that scenes of natural beauty, both in its growth and in its decay, remind us of the inevitable cycles of life, and that taking moments aside to re-commune with our outdoors is the very best remedy for the pains of our personal, and national, souls.

Tómas, who goes by the alias of Tomio Newmilk, is, as well as being a fantastic photographer, also a musician in the duet Quadruplos. You should check out their page here.