Alla's Farm

At the music festival during Easter I was speaking to Nina, who printed the posters for BAK. She was selling hot chocolate and some wool shawls with her husband Smari. I was asking her about the wool and she told me about her friend Alla who has a farm in Pyngeyri. I told her I really wanted to go to a sheep shearing and she said that to go for lambing is a great thing. A few weeks later I got Alla's email address and we began some email communication. She is also studying English at the University Centre.

I happened to have mentioned this to Gunna Sigga, who works at the University Centre and happened to have picked my mom and me up from the airport in September, and she was planning on visitng her as well. So we made a plan to go Saturday afternoon.

Because Gunna Sigga is just amazing she came with ponnukokur and her homemade blueberry jam (I eat this every day with my yogurt at school). yummmmm. Zelia had a blast riding next to Karl Aaron, Gunna Sigga's son as he tried to think of all the English words he knew. It was actually quite impressive especially when he said blow torch - I definitely don't know that in ANY other language!

We arrived and Alla went and got us a backpack to carry Zelia in and a pair of mittens - which she refused to wear - of course. As you will see in the pictures, she eventually refused her hat as well. Anyway, we walked around the farm and looked at the cows, smaller than the ones in the US and very cute. Check out the colors on that one! I was truly hoping to see a birth, but it wasn't meant to be I guess. We saw several lambs and Alla says she doesn't even know how many have been born. Earlier in the week she had a day with 12 new lambs!!!! Amazing.

She also does a lot of craft work, makes buttons from the sheep horns, washes and spins wool, sews, etc. We got to se her workshops which were very neat and she invited us back to learn to do some of these things - I can't wait.

Zelia had a lot of fun looking at all the animals, Labbi the dog included, and on the walk back to the house she began making chicken noises, baa, baa, baa - it was pretty funny. She was also going through her entire repetory of words and sounds so we were doing a lot of laughing.

Jacob and I bought a dozen of her eggs and we were all invited inside for some tea and coffee and she too would have made ponnukokur, but we needed to think about heading out. She had a beautiful old piano that Dan, Tanja's friend visiting from Argentina (from the US though), played really nicely. We had tea made from mint, lemon balm and some other herb growing outside. Then she began boiling some eggs, some of which were wild duck eggs. Their shells were practicall green - very interesting. Jacob was anxious to try it and offered Zelia a bite, she proceeded to eat the entire thing!

We came home, fed Zelia and then headed to Tanja's where Dan was making us all a 4 course meal! Bruschetta, cheese, salami, mushroom risotto, spelt pasta with salmon, raosted lamb and tiramisu, delicious!

Saturday morning

Well, after two days of poor weather we woke this morning to sunshine:) Jacob was aready out fishing with Jukka in a lake in Bolungarvik. Zelia and I hung out, did laundry and then walked together to Edinborghus to get ready for the music morning. It was another great gathering, with lots of little ones but also some great singing 5 years olds. Here are some videos from the music time.

Zelia is now sleeping soundly and Jacob and Tanja are out working in the garden. In about 25 minutes Gunna sigga will pick us up and take us to Pyngeyri where we will go to Alla's farm. She has lots of sheep and chickens and many new baby lambs. If we are lucky we will see a birth. I promise lots of pictures!

Fabulous week at Harpa's

Well, we have finally done it and gotten there, Zelia is doing great at Harpa's and enjoying it to boot! When she waked from her naps she walks around the house saying "Haapa, Haapa."

Today when I picked Zelia up Harpa was laughing and told me she was talking up a storm all day. She says all the kids' names and also the word tent in Icelandic. So, as I have mentioned she LOVES going outside and they usually go for an hour and a half in the morning. the routine goes like this, they get her clothes, she puts shafan in her nag, they get dressed and go to the gate to go downstairs. Now we have been having rainy/snowy weather and so they haven't been going out. (In the kindergarten when everyone is walking they go out no matter what - but don't make anyone, nice right?) Today, in the morning zelia went to her bag to get her clothes and Harpa thought, oh no she wants to go home. Zelia took her outdoor clothes, put in shafan and then walked to the gate with her bag - not interested in going home but in playing outside!

She is beginning to say baita for habaita (homeward).

Loving life outside

Yesterday, while we were in the living room with the door open Zelia took it upon herself to head outside and explore. As it became clear that she wanted to do more and more we put her pants, shoes and sox on. She loved looking at all the seedlings Ima planted and wondering (it seemed) if she should step off the porch. We headed to the playground for a little bit, until she kept saying Daddy, Daddy. So I told her we are going habaita (home) and she said habaita! I cannot believe how much she is copying words we are saying. I really didn't expect this language development to happen especially since she is hearing so many languages. So much fun.

After quite a difficult several months Zelia had a good day at Harpa's today - I was elated and Harpa relieved!!!!! She even ate while there and when she was asked to give some cheese to another girl in Icelandic, she did:) For the last week I have been fairly convinced that she understood Icelandic and Hebrew very well but I didn't think English so much. However when I walked in and heard about her day I joked that she even had her socks on (she always takes them off) and the minute I said it she looked down and pulled them off - so I guess English is in too.


I LOVE that they spend an hour and a hlaf outside playing when it is nice out - an hour and a half, excellent! After an outside nap and hanging out at home she brought me her shoes (indicating she wanted to go outside) and we walked up and down the sidewalk looking at the grass and the rocks, laughing and making monkey sounds and gestures (she scratched under her arms and pats her head - heeheehee).

I am amazed by how much her world has opened up with the walking - she is having so much fun exploring and seeing and looking more at people and the cars passing by and the cracks in the walk and the areas of gravel. So wonderful to see.

great grandmother Fran

Sunday night, Ima, Zelia and I had a very nice dinner with Gisli and Gerdur, where it became clear that Zelia understood Icelandic. We were sitting at the table and Gerdur asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to see the fish (in Icelandic) and she leaned back, looked up the stairs and pointed!
I was so glad for Ima to meet them as they are such a big part of our lives here. Then on Monday we went to visit Sigga, Eduard, Heiddi and Alexander and had a great visit there while Zelia and Alexander played.

On Tuesday morning Ima, Zelia and I took a van from our house to Isafjordur airport, onto a bus to Thyngeri airport. The weather and or visibility kept the plane form landing in Isafjordur. The take off was no party but the fight is short and we landed in Reykjavik and just made our bus to the blue Lagoon where we decided to spend 2 hours before heading to Keflavik. The Lagoon was lovely but VERY windy and Zelia was in no mood to wear her swimmies, but loved the blueberry skye smoothie (boozt) very much. We got on another bus and headed to Keflavik and boarded for Boston. Zelia had a blast in the center seat playing with Ima and putting the head phones on her own head. She fell asleep in the last hour and slept through passport control and customs. Aba picked us up at terminal E and drove us to B, where we met Jacob and headed to our next flight to Chicago. We got our fill of cold Chinese food for the plane, mmmmmm.

We landed in O'hare at 10 and were at the hotel after a taxi ride by 10:45 and crashed.

On Thursday we went to visit great grandmother Fran, Terri's mom and spent a few hours visiting and hanging out. Here are some pictures.

Ima and Aunt Laurie

Jacob flew back from the US with Ima and Aunt Laurie and while he drove to Blonduos they stayed in Reykjavik for two days. From the runway to the hotel they went and then on a half day tour to Geysir and the big waterfall. On Tuesday they enjoyed the blue Lagoon and flew to Isafjordur in the evening. It was wonderful to have our little house full and in no time Aunt Laurie got to work and added another room to our apartment. Don't believe me??? It's true. Her master organizing skills cleaned out a room and set it up as an office!!!!! Plus the laundry room is now even more fabulous and workable, woohoo.

Unfortunately once they arrived our weather turned colder and snowy once again, even though the previous week had been beautiful. Oh well, Ima is destined to find poor weather here. We walked around our little town, had lunch at the hotel and bakeries and just spent time together. Thursday was the first day of summer and we were all off which was fun. Then on Friday we rented a car and headed to Heydalur! The drive was uneventful, albeit a bit snowy at first. We checked in and headed to the summerhouse where we had stayed before. They were having some trouble with the pump bringing water to the house, and then there was no hot water and then the pump stopped working altogether, but it gets better - we headed to the natural hot pot in the car and before we knew it we were sinking in the mud! The road had gravel on top of it so it looked fine but there we were with the wheel wells in the mud. Ugh, out of the car, Aunt Laurie and Ima directed Jacob out trying to warn him of the rock...ugh out of the mud onto a rock which was actually keeping the car from sinking deeper. Aunt Laurie and Jacob got to pushing and Ima driving (Zelia and I were standing and watching). Nothing was helping, then Jacob lifted the car just enough and forward it went. Jacob backed the car out and parked it back at the house, ready for a drink:) The hot pot would have to wait.

Zelia woke first and early demanding to take her diaper off...weird but it was what it was. We eventually just got up and played in the living room, where eventually everyone joined us. We had a delicious breakfast of french toast and then walked to the hot pot. Perfect in every way and not that cold out either. When we got out the wind had picked up and we were grateful for the little hut to change in. Later, Jacob and Aunt Laurie went to the beach to find more mussels.

We decided to not stay for dinner and cleaned and packed and began the drive home. We saw a few seals, lots of geese and swans and ducks. And just as Jacob said it would be neat to see a whale, up on came 50 meters off the beach, a minke whale. We waited and waited for it to come back up but it was gone as quietly and as quickly as it showed up. Five minutes later Dennis called to tell us about Arnice and we all felt the same way, she had said her goodbye.

Jacob flew with Aunt Laurie to the US the following day and my mom and I flew out on Tuesday.

Arnice 2009

April ended very sadly as we flew to Chicago for GG's (great grandmother, Arnice) funeral. Thankfully, Jacob had just been to NH and had a wonderful visit with her. She was walking around, pushing Theo in her wheelchair, talking and enjoying the large dinner Jacob made for her and the family. On Sunday morning, before her stroke, Jacob was telling me all about the wonderful weekend with her on the phone. She suffered from a major stroke that morning and was made comfortable by her family and health care providers. After a week in hospice care, during a visit with her friend and Rabbi, she died.

We all gathered in Chicago, her hometown, to honor her life, the city she loved, the beauty she enjoyed surrounding herself in and the family she adored. The funeral was thoughtful and caring and warm and Jacob and I felt we knew her a little better after hearing other's memories and stories. In her death we all grew to love her even more and I think that that is a beautiful thing.