Beautiful Day

From our Grandmother-Mother-Granddaughter adventure north to Akureyri and south again...a wonderful two day trip on Icelandic country roads.

Vikings

Valentina and I saw Real Live Vikings at the airport the other day! (I think the guy with the Viking Beer looks like that Bog Man from Bronze Age Denmark, but of course more...alive. It must be because of his cool hat).

Turns out these cool linen-tunic-clad folk are here in Iceland for the annual Viking Festival in Hafnarfjordur. When I told them that Valentina and I had thought that maybe their time machine had broken down and they had gotten stuck in our reality, they smiled patronizingly and explained that they travel dressed this way to promote their gigs. Then they posed for us and told us we should come see them at the festival this weekend. I think they were from Norway.

Midnight in Reykjavik

The title says it all...

This close to the Summer Solstice (on June 21st this year) our lovely little island is brightly lit all night long by the Midnight Sun. For travelers it can be almost disturbing having to adjust to the ever-present light so definitely bring a sleep mask for your stay!

But for residents of Arctic Circle lands the lengthening of the day happens slowly over the course of months, from the Spring Equinox in March onward, and seems as natural as the sprouting of new green leaves on trees and the return of millions of migratory birds to their nesting palces here in the north. We are forced gradually awake from our winter slumber by the ever-increasing brightness and we use each moment of sunshine, while we have it, as best we can.

Catz

This photo is for digdug and for my 12 year-old niece Mekkin (read her new short story here) because they have a taste for the othernatural and for magick in all its esoteric forms.
Oh, and its also posted because I mentioned the other day that I talk to animals and that cats always seem to follow me around...here's living proof!

I don't know these two cool catz at all, though one looks alot like our Mio. They just decided to walk with me to the store, just like Mio often does. They waited at a corner for me while I shopped, then walked me back to my doorstep. Schrödinger's Cat, anyone?

I also think this photo is a bizzare study in greyscale and movement...and you?

Award

I just got a call from Árný Inga Pálsdóttir, principal of Víkurskóli where I spent the last semester teaching English. She informed me that the Blog Project my 7th, 8th and 9th grade students worked so hard on had been selected to receive an award!

The City of Reykjavík asked grade schools in the Reykjavík area to submit descriptions of recent learning projects that they feel have been successful in encouraging kids to take a more active part in their education . At one of our weekly meetings, Árný asked for suggestions. When nobody reacted at first she said, "I've learned through experience that there's no shame in nominating yourself for this kind of thing...it's better than waiting for someone else to do it for you." And immediately a hand shot up. Two people later, I though to myself, What the heck and mentioned our project. Árný aksed us to write out descriptions for her to submit. We did, and I forgot about it for the next month and a half.

She called today to let me know that our Blog Project will be presented with an award on the 17th of June, our National Day, at the Reykjavík City Hall, with cake and coffee to follow. I am so excited and so proud of all of the students who took part in this award. They own it, really, because if they hadn't taken part and trusted me, it would never have happened.

And once again, thanks to all my cyber-friends who read, commented and encouraged!

Kría

Kría= Artic Tern. Can be a girl's name. Also used as a term for taking a nap.


Valentína has a brand new sister, born June 8th, 2005 at 3 am (the magic hour). Welcome to the world, little baby girl!

In Iceland, parents usually don't present the name of the child until they are baptized (or formally named at a naming cermony) two or three months after their birth. Until then they are often simply called Stulka (Girl) or Strákur (Boy). This hearks back to the days, not so long ago, when survival, especially for brand new little humans, was often tenuous. Today, the tradition lives on in the form of a superstition.

By the way, for the curious, here's a post you should read if you wnat to understand our convoluted Icelandic social world... ;-)

Bins

I finally discovered where old garbage cans go to die...
(behind the cement factory on the Höfða, for the extremely curious).
:-)