Hello 2013!

It is Sunday morning as I start writing this...although possibly not by the time I post it.  I have just come back from my walk with Perla, I love Sunday morning walks as the town is so quiet in winter, all the houses are dark behind their bright Christmas outfits (last day for the lights) and I can just make out the dark shapes of the mountains in the distance...I am really starting to appreciate this shadowy season...it is so beautiful, peaceful and serene.

I return to a very quiet home which has been all a bustle the last few weeks with family from Australia. My two sisters, Kerry with her partner Stephen and Donna with her daughter Bella were visiting for a collective span of 3 weeks over Christmas and it was fabulous just being around them again.

I don't think we have all actually been under the same roof for this long since we were teenagers, there was a lot of reminiscing, adoring my grandson Henry, general chit chat, catching up with Olga and Ross, more adoring of Henry, eating, adoring Henry again, drinking and of course adoring Henry.  

                                          Henry and Donna (or Donal as Henry would say)

                                                                 Henry and Bella

Henry and Kerry

Henry my 19month old grandson was the absolute centre of attention and he still asks for Bella my 15 year old niece and my sister Donal (Donna) who both fell head over heels in love with the little guy and he with them.

Christmas morning and Henry bowing after a 2 second solo on the drums...he was really lapping up the applause!

Henry's adorable parents Olga and Ross

This was my visiting families first white Christmas and it was a little touch and go there for a while that the snow would come.  On Christmas eve and day there was just a light dusting of snow but a couple of days later we were blessed with a little blizzard which did bring knee deep snow to town and they took the opportunity to wallow in it.

plenty of snow around Gamla Pósthúsið

Bella and Donna made snow angels 

and a snowman

plus Bella went tobogganing

while we all looked on and wished we were a bit younger!

The blizzard gave us the opportunity to stay indoors for a couple of days and have a creative play with a paste paper and a little coptic bookbinding workshop that my sisters were keen to do.

It was 2 fun filled afternoons down in the studio and they all went away with finished books with their own paste paper covers plus materials ready to stitch more in any quiet times they may have during their travels.

Paste paper ready to be used for book covers...unfortunately I did not get  pics of any of the finished books...but I promise you they looked great!

The weather was not all bad and we were able to do a little sight seeing around the place and we went out several times 

on a road to somewhere.

To Glaumbær on a foggy afternoon,

to Hólar

Hofsós,

Siglufjörður

Akureyri 

and Goðafoss.

Although not quite traveling together both sisters have gone on to Copenhagen and are currently in  Ireland,  Donna and Bella are staying with friends in Ireland and Kerry and Steve are traveling around the Irish country side but will catch up with each other again somewhere over there.

After a busy bustling few weeks I feel a sense of peace now it is over but also a tad subdued....missing everyone a little...I expect this and it is just something one needs to travel through.

I hope you all had a joyful Christmas

and I wish each and everyone of you only the very best for 2013, it will be a very good year!

It is now Friday and taken me 6 days to post this....I will try and be a better blogger in future.

Thanks to  Kerry and Bella who generously shared their photos with me.