“I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel." ~ Audrey Hepburn 1953

Last Thursday I travelled to Reykjavik to farewell Ross, Olga and Henry as they left for their month's holiday in Australia.  Ross has not been back for 4 years and is really ready for some quality time down under.  Of course I will miss them and I will really notice the difference a month has on my grandson. So at the moment I am alone in Iceland, except for 2 dogs...however, being alone has never been an issue for me and I feel quite happy and content...most find this part of my personality hard to understand but I am really not perturbed, there definitely is a little hermit within me who relishes times like these...I feel very much sympatico with Audrey and her need for time on her own to refuel! 

Ross and Henry stretching their legs at a petrol station on the way to Reykjavik.

Whilst they are away I am caring for their dog Nina who is the younger sister to my Perla, fortunately they get on very well and are good company for each other.

Nina posing nicely for the camera!

The weather has been lovely, very little wind, mostly sunny with a few overcast days here and there, so I take the two dogs for long walks morning and each evening.  Last night we went to the beach....Nina likes to dig holes...

perhaps she is trying to dig her way to Oz

While Nina is digging Perla frolics in the water...she loves to paddle...winter or summer makes no difference to her.

The light in the evening softens, these were taken a bit after 7pm.

Last Sunday was National day and the flags were up all around town and sunny blue skies abounded.

Lupins cover the hills in a purple glow at this time of the year.

This morning was overcast but still warm and windless.

This photo below is a bit blurred...it is quite difficult taking photos with 2 dogs on leashes.  These horses were being moved to different paddocks and as they came out of the gates where the white car is, they headed the wrong way and came racing towards me and the dogs, I just stood stock still as they came within a couple of feet of us, Nina and Perla, were quite in awe of the moment as I was...others on horseback managed to turn them around and this photo shows them now heading in the right direction.

It was a magnificent sight...the photo does not do the experience justice.

There has been a slight delay with the finishing of the apartments as we have had trouble with the sealing of the cement floors and they had to be stripped and re sealed as we ended up with lap lines across the floor span.  A different sealer is now being rolled on this second time around and so far all is looking good.  Everything will be finished by the end of next week and I can start setting them up for holiday rental.

Gleðilega páska and Puppy Love!

Gleðilega páska or Happy Easter to everyone, I hope you are all having a relaxing and well deserved break, most Icelanders have 5 days off for Easter, from Easter Thursday to Easter Monday.

The Icelandic flags have been flying since Palm Sunday. There are dozens of flag poles around this town, I can count 6 from just one of my front windows. Flag flying is a national past-time here and many people have flag poles in their yard.   

They have been flying at full mast all week 

but when I awoke on Good Friday (Föstudagurinn langi...Long Friday) they had all changed to half mast. 

 The flag goes up and down quite often on this flag pole in my front yard and I am begining to think that the flag flyers are really elves or the hidden people as I never see anyone putting it up or taking it down and this morning when I got up at 6am all the flags had gone. I will however endeavour to catch one of these mysterious flag flyers in the act and get a snap.

I must tell you I have a bad case of puppy love at the moment and have fallen for this little cutie, her name is Nina and she is the latest addition to Ross and Olga's home. 

This is the first time in my life that I don't have a pet and I am not sure at this stage I want one but with Nina I get to have the joys of a pet without the responsibility of one...bit like being a grandparent I guess.  While she is so young and until Olga goes on maternity leave (which is not too far away) I get to puppy sit during the week while they are both at work. Each morning I walk around to their house at about 8.30am and pick up Nina and bring her back to the Post Office where she spends the day with me until around 2.30pm when I take her back home.

She is very obedient and is pretty much house trained now...we rarely have any accidents...she sits and listens and really wants to do the right thing.

Nina sitting patiently while I take a photo and of course hoping she gets the treat that I have in my pocket.

Olga said the other day she wonders if Nina thinks she has a secret life, as I pick her up after they have gone to work and drop her back before they get home. Perhaps she thinks she has a double life where this funny woman who speaks very bad Icelandic comes and takes her for a walk to a place that has lots of stairs...which are a bit of a struggle for little legs, who plays with her, makes her sock toys and gives her lots of treats and then whisks her back home before anyone knows she has been out and about.