the BallPark goes to Iceland

back in Oz

bless bless Ísland

blue lagoon orgasmia

keflavik

the final kilometres as we catch the few hours of daylight

i get a quad bike for xmas!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you Oliver!!!!!!!

last last last

one last chance to lie on my bed and take pictures of me in my beanie and ‘fluffly’ coat. Don´t want to leave.

a bed angel

looking forward, looking back

When everything is moved out of the room, i remember back to when i arrived. and how i felt. and how excited i was. and how i feel now that i am leaving. and how much i will miss Skagastrond…..but especially how much i will miss the people who have become friends.

last snow

some last bless bless

thanks to signý for the pic

One of the bittersweet moments for me was saying goodbye to my new friends. As i went around to each house with an artwork  present, i got to sample iceland hospitality at its sugary best. I ate cake after cake after biscuit after beer, and don´t forget coffe. And it was WONDERFUL!!!! I gave my hat to Signý, and darling Laufey Lind looks so cute in it. They are minding it for me so that i WILL COME BACK!!  Thanks you to everyone who met my stay so wonderful.

one last adventure

sheeps and horses

thanks to Runar and Asta for letting us visit

oliver simonson is the newest viking on the block

grettislaug

the genius of oliver

boots in the window

the cowboy

Hallbjörn Hjartarson is the King of the Icelandic Country Music. He runs Kantrybær and a radio station upstairs from the restaurant. There is also a really cool collection of stuff from his career.

He was made famous in Kúrekar norðursins, a documentary by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.

In the summer of 1984, Iceland’s king of country music, Hallbjörn Hjartarson, arranged the first and only Icelandic cowboy-festival. This celebration of western culture took place in Skagaströnd, a village of 700 inhabitants in the north of Iceland, and was attended by Iceland’s leading country singers. This documentary describes, in an objective fashion, the general atmosphere of the festival and gives a portrait of the star of the show, Hallbjörn Hjartarson and his views on life and stardom

fleur and the cowboy

I have been in Skagastrond for 2 and 1/2 months and my dream has been to meet  “the cowboy”. I have played at the Kantrybær and run a pubquiz and met some fishermen and got drunk and eaten and spoken to many people. But I have 1 week left and I had still not met him. But today it happened!!!! I was soooooooooo nervous i was shaking and couldn’t eat and smoked cigarettes.

and HE was charming.

sunrise. midday. 1 week 2 go

the little house glowed

jolin koma

the the candles on the xmas tree, it´s time for a story

i´ve been a bad bad girl

more pub quiz

time goes so fast when you´re having fun

team O..Oliver and Ólafía

tres chic

the pub quiz went well

lost a little in google translation..

Ástrali asked to drink more

Di Ball is artist in Nes listamiðstöð and she will ask, judge and alvaldur drink better Kántrýbær tonight, Friday 11th December kl. 21:30.

Many Skagstrendingar know Di. She is extremely hress and joy. Thought stórmerkilegt to see snow, northern lights and not less Peninsula Trend Inga.

She intends to ask the other and this. Course be some questions about Australia, she also intends to ask the Skagaströnd and generally about life and existence.

Ólafía Lárusdóttir will translate the questions so no going past participants.

The quiz will lokinn Di might take the song but she is smart acute Kántrý singer and was in bands here formerly in their home countries.

i meet the Paul McCartney of Iceland

In recent years Gunnar has turned more and more to the classical stream and the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra has performed some of his compositions.

Gunnar has composed over 400 songs which have been recorded, besides composing music for films and musicals, overseeing recording sessions and arranging music for countless records.

food glorious food and singing and presents

the artists cook up a storm for the town folk.

we were just testing our videos for open house

the sound of one eye blinking

Di Ball is in her bed in residence in Iceland performing a new work entitled “the sound of one eye blinking” as a result of getting something in her eye. Hopes it will be a short performance as the audience vis a vis the lightbulb needs to go out.

we have a new artist

Elizabeth from USA arrived late a few nights ago but is already out and about and has cooked a great pasta dish. She will fit in just fine to this now tiny team.

Oliver is still chopping and preparing and generally keeping an eye on us.

Dreamland: a self-help manual for a frightened nation

I have just finished reading Dreamland by Andri Snær Magnason. It is a book of facts and figures, but still compelling reading, made all the more intrresting as it was written before the GFC. Bjork wrote the forward and describes the book as a “possible solution (…) to a universal problem”.

The book has been made into a documentary film this year.

home away from home

Our house is called Röðulfell and it means moon and little mountain. I didn´t know this when i took this picture

a fine day and a time to sit and remember those passed

the northern lights put on a real show

photos will come

sewing in skagastrond

catching the xmas spirit with the help of santa snow

the weather turns beautiful again

i have a cooking lesson

puðursykur marens effir Signý

I went over to Signy´s place and she and I baked this fabulousnessness. In english it is brown sugar meringue and it is drizzled with a caramel peanuty wonder. I am not posting the recipe online, but I am going to promise to make it when i get back to Oz. Poor Signý had to pick me up in the blizzard and i had to stay for a wonderful dinner and a few beers and wait for the wind to die down so the cake wouldn´t fly off the plate. But i was given a rather wonderful large container and the cake made the journey home safely. Thank you Ingibergur

Ólafía buys me santa snow and then this happens

I have been complaining and complaining that I want some spray on snow for the windows….santa snow. When we went to the big city, Blonduos, we looked everywhere but no santa snow. And then Ólafía found some and bought me some and then the next morning there was a blizzard and you couldn’t see the window for snow.

bywe bling up

the town has started to really sparkle with xmas lights, and so we felt we couldn’t let the town down. So here is our Mr Blobby.

a shoe in the window

A special Icelandic custom is to put a shoe in the window during the Christmas season. Beginning on December 12th and lasting until Christmas, children put their best shoe in the window before going to sleep and if they have been good, a jólasveinn (or yule lad) leaves them a gift in their shoe. If they have been bad, they only get a potato.

Ólafía has her childhood boot.

I have a show dilemma: style over substance The bling of my op shop red carpet shoes from Copenhagen, or tye more sensible and larger (for gifts) welly boot. mmmmmmmm what to do????

style?

substance?

a truly fabulous traditional icelandic meal

get ready for the yule lads

The Yule lads are said to “come to town” during the last 13 nights before Christmas, each staying for two weeks before departing. Below are the ‘official’ thirteen Yule Lads in the order they arrive (and depart).

i took Ólafìa’s car for a spin

We needed supplies from the Blonduos Vinobud, so we borrowed Ólafía’s car and headed off. The weather web said blown snow, which was true. But there was an awful lot of it and I couldn’t see the car in front of my face. And then when we got to Blonduos it was deep snow. And I was driving a manual and on the other side of the road and we made it home safe!!!!!!!!! with casks of wine, some gin, vodka and apple xmas  schnapps.

window bling

Christmas in the cold climes is very beautiful becasue they take advantage of the short hours of light,  and the long dark,  and so do spectacular window bling and house bling.

facts about icelandish pillow cases

correct me if i am wrong, but the idea of a pillow case is to hold the pillow in. to encase the pillow in cotton or satin or pattern or print or plain or whatever your pleasure may be. i assumed pillow cases were the same all over the world;  rectangles sewed on 3 sides with the short side open with a little flap to tuck the pillow in. the short side is the open one so the pillow doesn’t break loose. doesn’t escape . this is extremely important with the second “to hug”pillow.

icelandish pillowcases open the long side. the pillow escapes. the huggy pillow breaks free and is bare. i can’t keep the pillowcase on the pillow. i’ve tucked and tucked but with the long side open i am losing the battle.

who knew??