School

I am doing a course in Statistics at Kennó - fighting my way through SPSS computer programme... if anyone has good knowledge of this programme and wants to share it... please let me know!!

The Birthday Boy!

Congratulations to my Dad on his birthday! You keep getting younger :)

Elsku pabbi, til hamingju með daginn - þú ert laaaang bestur! Ella og co

Dinner with friends!

Thank you Björg, Steini and family for a lovely dinner. Always nice to see you all!

Esjan

No movies tonight - but a nice walk on Mt. Esja was much better than any movie.

Me and Birta and the beautiful stars :)

More Movies!

Another GreenLight movie - this time The Darjeeling Limited. It was actually quite funny and interesting! Recommended for those who don't need to see Hollywood movies all the time.

Þorbjörn

That was the name of the hill we "climed" today! Left the suburbs of Grindavík to "climb" this great hill ;) Then we were invited to have waffels and coffee at Harpa's house in Grindavík which was super nice!

The Bridegroom

No not getting married ;)

Sandra and Eiríkur went to spend the weekend with David so I took the opportunity to see the new Icelandic movie "Brúðguminn" with a group of friends. I found it very funny in parts and just loved the landscape. We then went to a pub for a quick drink and now it is time for the Saturday walk!

P.S. Pollyanna - if you are reading this - you are one lucky person to have the opportunity to spend your weekends on Flatey!!!!

Lectures at "Kennó"

Interesting lectures at Kennó today: No-one is an Island - Iceland as a Multicultural Society.

Magnús Bernharðsson spoke about Islam and Elín Þöll Þórðardóttir spoke about children and bilingalism. Both very interesting!!

And no surprise - a busy weekend ahead ;)

Stjörnuspá dagsins

Meyjan
Þér verður falið að taka til á heimilinu í kvöld en þú nennir því ekki enda varla hægt að ætlast til að þú lagir til á hverju ári. Hér þarf réttilega að spyrna við fótum.

"Hvernig kaffi ertu?"

Samkvæmt kaffiprófinu er ég Latte! - og samanstend því af tvöföldum espresso og flóaðri mjólk.

Þú ert skapstór og íhaldsamur einstaklingur sem lætur ekki bjóða sér hvað sem er. Undir vissum kringumstæðum leyfirðu þér að prófa nýjungar, en þó aðeins að vel athuguðu máli.

Mjög fyndið því ég drekk mikið Latte en hvort ég er skapstór og íhaldssöm læt ég aðra um að dæma!

Busy as always!

Same old story - busy, busy and busy!!!!

Yesterday we had BINGO at Vesturbæjarskóli - great fun and Sandra and I won two tickets to the cinema :)

Today I had a busy (and great day!) at work. I think these kids at the International School are adorable!

I then came home to make pancakes for Sandra, Eiríkur and their friends... Endless pancakes were baked but the kids never seemed to get enough. I must get a second pancakepan!

Then I took Sandra to ballet and Eiríkur and Alex to the movies - and me and Birta enjoed a good walk at Öskjuhlíð in the dark!!!

Then I picked up Sandra, did some shopping, put some food on the table and went to pick up the boys and take Alex home...

Kids did homework - then I read to Sandra (we are reading my old books about "Emma" ("Gemma") by Noel Stratfield I got as Christmas presents as a kid!

And now on to my schoolwork :)

Guðjón Þorsteinsson - In Memoriam

Allt the best to my friends at Hjarðarhagi 24 on this sad day. Gummi, Dóra, Kári, Lilja, Theodór and Lára Guðbjörg, you are all in our minds and hearts today.

A New Week :)

Kids are back in school, my work is going well and Sandra starts ballet again today. A new week and a fresh start in the new year.

Non-stop Birthday Parties :)

My first born celebrated her 19th birthday on Saturday - Rebekka gets older, I get younger ;) We had a wonderful lunch together with Sandra and Eirikur at home and then we prepared for her party in the evening. Some old schoolfriends were invited for dinner and then her whole class showed up for some music and fun!!! Congratulations Rebekka, we love you sooooooo!

But Bekka was not alone celebrating a birthday this weekend. Gummi (as in "Gummi and Dóra") invited lots of people home on Friday evening for a brilliant meal and lots and lots of wine. Everyone had a supertime and I have not laughed so much in a long time!

Sissa (Sigþrúður) survived the big 40 and had a party on Saturday night. Loved the food and the Sangria :) Great fun.

Then it was Bjössi's birthday today (Sunday)- homemade cake in good company at his place. Nice, nice, nice.

Last but not least my dad invited the whole clan out for a dinner because of his upcoming 70 birthday and then for desert at Vesturberg. Such a nice end to the weekend.

And btw, Már, my neighbour, shares a birthday with Rebekka - I hope there will be a blast next year when he celebrates his 50th birthday!

Congratulations birthday kids - and thanks to everyone all for making an other wise bleek weekend much better :) You are simply the best!

Emma's poem

I just heard that Emma Katrin's poem had been read out in the National Radio by the priest in Dómkirkjan at the Christmas Mass broadcasting. How wonderful to honour her memory like that.

This is the little poem she composed not long before her death and was read at her funeral:

Vagga þér vært, þú sefur rótt.
Nóttin kemur senn.
Sofðu nú vært í alla nótt.
Guð geymi alla menn.

Back to school!

I have just started a course at KHI as preparation for my MA thesis.

"Aðferðafræði II"

Grateful to have Ellen Klara sitting next to me in this class - I think that we might just about survive it if we keep our senses :)

Books!

Christmas and New Year were spent "back-packing" in Morocco. I finally had some time to read - without feeling that I should be doing something else like child rearing, homework, housework, schoolwork,...

Some of the wonderful books I read over Christmas include:

A Street in Marrakesh (Elizabeth Warnock Fernea)
Just the right book to read in Marrakesh - and my God, I really knew how this expat mum felt settling her kids into a new and strange environment!

L'Islam explique aux enfants (Tahar ben Jelloun)
My knowledge of Islam (despite taking courses on religious studies and living in Muslim countries for four years) is still somewhat basic. Reading this book proved very helpful, both for my knowledge of Islam and improving my French!

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
I started this one a long time ago and never had the chance to complete it. I cried from time to time... so sad...

The Voices of Marrakesh (Elias Canetti)
Showed me that Marrakech Medina has not changed a lot in 50 years! The beggars, camels, donkeys, souks, the people, sounds and smells - it is all still there...

I saw Ramallah (Mourid Barhrouti)
The best book I have read on displacement and return... brilliant :)

Made in Morocco (Julie Le Clerc)
Well, I did not really read this one from the beginning to the end... but keep coming back to it to look at the photos and pick up some more information about this fascinated country. Anyone interested in trying to cook a Moroccan feast with me?!

Movies seen so far in 2008

Zavet (Promise Me That)
I saw this one with my mother last Friday. We enjoyed even though the slap-stick houmour was sometimes a little too much for us!

Changement d'Adresse
Rebekka and I loved this on - the European romantic comedy!

Death at a Funeral
This one was seen with a group of friends on Sunday night - some really funny moments :)

Happy New Year 2008!

Long time no see my dears :) It has been extremely busy and eventful three weeks and I will slowly, but surey post some of the things that have been going on over Christmas and New Year!

The main thing is that Sandra and Eiríkur are back from their trip to New Zealand - tired after a long flight and confused by the horrendous time difference. Hopefully we will have some pictures to post from NZ later!!! It is soooo great to have them back :)