We fly the flag..

...of the pest above our house today and warn people not to enter. Sandra has fever, Eirikur stomach problems and Rebekka the flu. Amma and afi braved the waters with some food and drink, they walked the dog and restocked the fridge - and left as soon as they could. Thanks for your help, you are our heroes!

A letter from Raymond!

All the way from sunny Californa there came a letter to Eiríkur and Sandra from their Jakartafriend Raymond. That little guy has been living all over the world! Azerbajan, Jakarta, China, Ghana and now home in the USA. He sent them the paper-person Flat Stanley he had decorated so beautifully and asked us to take pictures of Flat Stanley in Iceland. Afi Eirikur took the kids, Flat Stanley and the camera out today and here you can see Flat Stanley visiting Reykjavik. I hope the pictures arrive in time for Raymond's school project in April - best of luck and keep in touch.

Flat Stanley in Reykjavik!

Flat Stanley visited Höfdi House



And Flat Stanley saw Hallgrímskirkja...



... and it was pretty cold!



And of course he went to the harbour to sea the boats!



Where he met Flat Sara - made by Sandra! With love from Iceland!!!

Sandra is ill....

We are home today, Sandra and I. Playing cards, memory games and competing in puzzle making. Sandra wins everytime - and I am not even letting her win :( Perhaps early alzheimer is settling in...

Go this photo from Vesturberg clan today. Happy photo of kids baking gingerbread buiscuits before Christmas. Four out of the six grandchildren - not bad!

Driving lessons

Rebekka and I went out driving last night for almost two hours. We had great fun trying out all these roads and back streets of Reykjavik. Funny to think of it that I am suddenly teaching someone else to drive (part of being a parent I am told...) - I used to hate the idea of driving and did not really start driving until we moved to Jerusalem and the Palestinian bus system proved to be difficult for a mother, her child and a baby!



Thanks for the photo Sunna ;-)

All work, no play...

Well not quite that bad! I spent most of the weekends studying and working on my final thesis - but took also some nice long breaks :o) Climbed Mt. Esja with Dora and had a super dinner with the Hjardarhagi family and their German vistiors Saturday Evening ... and went swimming with Elisabet on Sunday and enjoyed a dinner with my parents on that same evening. So lots of play and some work!

The weekend

The weekend will be spent on studying - must get a few pages written for my BEd thesis and even some time spent on the computer course. I have also promised myself to go to the swimming pool or go for a nice long walk - and even a movie! It will certainly be calm and quiet at Hringbraut.

Wear your weapons

This was the slogan Eiríkur composed for an ideal fashion show!

We had such a funny conversation at breakfast table this morning when Sandra was showing us her knitting (so called finger knitting..., long and thin woolen unidentifiable knitting thing):

Eiríkur: This would make a great weapon (all kind of demonstrations, killing giants and imaginary enemies ...)
Sandra: No it is a diamond necklace or a tiara for a princess
Eiríkur: And then the princess can take off her tiara and use it as a sling
Sandra: Great idea - that would be new fasion!
Eiríkur: Oh yes - wear your weapons!

Philip Ardagh

The family decided yesterday that it was the right night for early bedtime. So right after dinner teeth were brushed, pyjamas ready and everyone settled on the big bed when we dedided to continue just a little with our bedtime story.... oh well... it was past 10 when the lights were turned off because we just had to read a little more and a little more and a little more ... until the story - Awful End - was finished. Tonight we will start reading - Dreadful Acts - but this time we will just keep to a chapter at a time - or not!

http://www.philipardagh.co

Another bird in my living room...

Isn't this funny :o) We just found another bird in the house. I don't know what it is about the birds in my garden but they have decided that they want to live inside the house and not outside. This time it was a fat and happy starling sitting on my windowsill in the living room. Sandra and I played pet rescue - got him to sit on the end of the broom like a branch and slowly moved him to an open window. At first he did not like this and did a bit of flying around but in the end let me transport him to his final destination. We then watched him find tidbits to eat on the grass underneath the window before flying off to join his other friends. Bye bye birdie!

And the funniest thing is that my cat would not be able to catch a bird even if it flew into her open mounth! Pathetic tries to hunt it down ended with the cat falling flat on her face and all my stuff being thrown off the counters!

Just had to try this teenage quiz ...

You Are Fall!

Thoughtful Expressive Creative Poetic Smart

What Season Are You?

Some questions...

I asked the zebra, Are you black with white stripes? Or white with black stripes? And the zebra asked me, Are you good with bad habits? Or are you bad with good habits? Are you noisy with quiet times? Or are you quiet with noisy times? Are you happy with some sad times? Or are you sad with some happy times? Are you neat with some sloppy ways? Or are you sloppy with some neat ways? And on and on and on and on And on and on he went. I’ll never ask a zebra About his stripes Again. Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic. 1981

Lunches and dinners

This is certainly the theme for this weekend. Enjoyed a lovely lunch and a nice long chat at Meltröð - magical African Casserole and freshly baked bread. My kids loved spending time with their friends - must meet more often! Thank you for the invitation! Evening spent at Hjarðarhagi - again with great friends. Dora and Gummi et al are very much part of our family so most dinners have been around the kitchen table :o) Very elegant dinner this time - crystal glasses and everything! Great to see all these children enjoying themselves with cardgames and fun. Friends of friends were there with their three baby daughters - all under the age of three... wow, hard work. Dinner planned with my parents tonight - more kids - more chats - more good food. And having already done some studying this morning this will be a really nice, productive and social weekend!

Bilingual children

I went to an interesting seminar yesterday at HI (University of Iceland) about bilingualism. The main speaker was the sister of my friend Yrsa. Her name is Elín Þöll and is an associate professor at McGill University in Canada (http://www.mcgill.ca/scsd/faculty/thordardottir/). She has been studying bilingalism for several years and I was very interested to hear what she had to say. One of more interesting things is that it is ok for children to mix languages, they will sort them out eventually - and also that the combined vocabulary of the two languages is usually greater that the vocabulary of a child with only one language - even though bilingal children may seem to have less vocabulary in each of its two languages. Bilingalism can also delay reading - but it the kids pick up quickly once they are ready to read! Now I want to learn more about bilingualism!

Sigrún

My niece Sigrún - isn't she beautiful!

:o)

My kids come back home after a weekend with David. Happiness at Hringbraut!

Sunday

I spent Sunday writing my BEd thesis - well at started writing it. This is my thesis: Children’s literature is a valuable educational resource in the language classroom, not only for young learners but for students of all ages and abilities. If you know of any good material to support my theses - please let me know.

I took two breaks from my studies - one to meet a friend from out of town at Kaffibrennsla - (thanks for the coffee - always good to see you!) and the other to take Rebekka to the movies. I insisted on seeing the new Woody Allen film Match Point and we both enjoyed it. There was an interesting twist to the tale!

The Concert, the Libary and AFS

My day in a nutshell. Great performance this morning - I always love to hear the brassband play Queen. We will rock you!!!! Then on to the Library to work on my BEd Thesis. Still thinking along the lines of "Using Children's Literature in the Language Classroom" - any better suggestions? Last item on the agenda was the AFS annual meeting. I so enjoyed listening to all the talks - my friends Olli (Runólfur) the Dean of Bifröst and Dr. Margrét Jónsdóttir were funny and inspiring as always and interesting to hear Tachi Cazal talk about the new research into the value of the AFS experience. Nice wine as well and good to chat to all these familiar people. Have a great weekend!

And a Lecture!

Went after work to meet colleages from Husavik - nice to see people from the travel business! Afterwards we went to a lecture at Kaffi Reykjavík, the Icelandic Tour Guide Associations had asked the geologist Dr. Magnús Tumi to tell us more about the lates vulcanic eruptions in Iceland. It was extremely interesting (yes - I like geology....) and if you are also interested then visit Magnús Tumi's webiste: http://www.raunvis.hi.is/~mtg/

Another cocktail party planned today - this time with AFS Iceland. Their annual meeting is tommorrow and some intereseting lectures are planned for that day! Cheers everyone!

A Concert

Eiríkur's brassband (Skólahljómsveit Vesturbæjar) is planning a concert at Grandaskóli on Saturday at 11 o'clock. We had a parent meeting today at the Pavilion (built 1922) at Hljómskálagarður to organize it a little. The kids were happy outside by (and on!) the frozen lake. There will be another concert a week later with all the brassbands from the region probably at Laugardalshöll. Everyone is welcome - and I guarantee that it will be loud !

A Mexican Fiesta

Kids wanted Mexican food for dinner and who can blame them :o) With their help we managed to put a pretty good fair on the table and lo and behold - our Mexico specialist (Auntie Anna) called to see if she could come for a quick visit with her little ones. All together a nice evening.

Mr Mandela

I so enjoyed Rebekka's book review on Nelson Mandela that I just had to share it with you (and by the way - she is going to kill me for this one!)

Long Walk To Freedom

Nelson Mandela was born on the 18th of July 1918 in the village of Mvezo. He spent his childhood in this primitive area before the regent Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo fostered him. Mandela studied law in Johannesburg and there he joined the African National Congress (ANC). He was instrumental in the fight against apartheid though he spent over 27 years in prison. When he was in prison he started private talks between the ANC and the government and started the negotiation process. It is interesting to note that he founded a guerilla army called Umkhonto we Siswe, the military branch of ANC and was arrested for his involvement, on the count of sabotage. After his release on the eleventh of February 1990 Nelson Mandela headed a delegation that arranged peace talks and ordered a suspension of armed struggles. This delegation was then involved in dismantling the apartheid state. He was elected president of the ANC in 1991and inaugurated as State President of South Africa on 10 May 1994. Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1993. In 1999 Mandela retired from the public life.

This book spans from his birth to South Africa’s first open election. It is written in first person but is very formal and guarded. These 751 pages read as an itinerary or list of accomplishments; where he went and whom he met, and why they were as important as him. It almost reads as if he is defensive, every decision is methodically listed and the reasons why are named and hammered upon. Nothing unpleasant is revealed and a ghostwriter is evident. All feelings have been thought out, anger at the nation’s poverty, pride for his nation, everything that is expected from a leader. He plays his role very well but I would have liked to know more of the man. Anyone can tell what speeches where made and when, but who better to paint a realistic portrait of these revolutionary days than the man in the thick of things? This aspect is completely missing, and the book lacks for it.

However from a historical point of view or as a thorough record of these times it is a good book. Who were involved and at what level, how was the resistance organized and how did they achieve their goals? This book is exact and precise to the last detail and is a wonderful testament to the intricate workings of a successful resistance organization.

Mr Mandela is an inspiring leader and has an untiring devotion to democracy and South Africa. His book is detailed and intriguing because of its subject matter, but one can’t help but feel that anyone could have found this information and that Mandela himself is unneeded, for this is merely a list of the ANC’s accomplishments and desires.

The Earth is Trembling!

We have just experienced a small earthquake here in Reykjavík 4,3 on Richter scale and about 30 smaller ones have followed. I had a Georgian friend visiting me in the office and we both found the building move! Spooky feeling. Here is some more info on earthquakes in Iceland http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/englishweb/index.html

Mt.Esja

A lovely day. Did my schoolwork in the morning and walked on Mt. Esja with Birta in the afternoon. Eiríkur spent the day playing with his friend Kjartan and Sandra visited her cousin Silja. Kids were so happy with spending time with their friends. Poor Rebekka was stuck at work and only got to enjoy the beautiful weather throught the window. Now it is time for a nice lasagne, some homework and then the bedtime story!

Pictures of Eiríkur :o)

Eiríkur's 7th birthday - with his friend Katla Rún



Just moved to Iceland from Jakarta - wow it is cold !



Eiríkur and Sandra visiting Iceland from Jerusalem



Clowns in Jakarta - with Mrs. Klingberg in Pattimura



Long hair :o)



Pattimura - grade 1. With the Canadians Tamasin and Chris - and Jeffrey from Indonesia.

Not my day....

Ended up having to spend far to long on cleaning bird droppings after I came from work yesterday. Then in the middle of cooking dinner I ran out of gas and had to go to the petrol station in a rush. Thank god I had kept the spanner by the gas cylinder so at least I did not have to call out a search team! This meant that dinner was late, kids got tired and homework did not get done. What a cranky home!

The best fix for it was to get ice creams from the Hagamelur ice cream parlour - the best in town! We all smiled at the end of the evening and look forward to a great weekend!

Secret Visitor

Sandra and I spotted bird droppings in our upstairs bathroom yesterday afternoon but dispite inspection of the house no bird was seen. How the bird got in and out remained a mistery until now when my mother called me from Hringbraut to report a small bird flying on the balcony/sun room. It must have been locked in there since yesterday. Poor little bird :-(

The funny thing is that my dearest cat was hanging out on the balcony this morning looking very pleased with herself! Fortunately she is lousy at hunting and the bird flew out unharmed as soon as my mother opened the window! All is well that ends well!

Ash Wednesday

A green Zombie and a beautiful Flower Fairy left Hringbraut early this morning for a day of trick'n'treating in the local shops - well - more like "songs for sweets" :o) This is an Icelandic tradition on Ash Wednesday, something the kids look forward to for months. Eiríkur planned to go to centre of town with his friends for the first time - well, he is soon 11 years old so his worried mum could not say no! Sandra went to the community centre after school care and was looking forward to going en masse to the local supermarket. Rebekka felt lucky that she did her shift there yesterday and not today. These kids looked great but their singing is not always so pleasant!

My sister came with her younger kids for a visit last night and left with a clown costume for her 6 year old son. He too was very excited about Ash Wednesday!

Sandra and her cousin Silja played all evening, they are such great friends. Look at these beautiful girls!