Tuesday, December 21, 2010

What is the matter with Christmas lights that can't be turned on after hours of preparation

Jule tid

All the Christmas lights in the living room at my apartment


Some days ago I was trying really hard to make my home more Christmas like. In the morning I went to a shop in Reykjavik and bought some indoor Christmas lights on a sale with a 30% discount. I thought the discount was because there were only few days to Christmas and most people put those lights up in beginning of December. I just thought it was a bargain but I didn't know it was just some junk lights not working at all!

I put plastic suckers to the window and fixed the lights with them. Before I started I tried the light series and yes it was working just great. All colors of lights. Then after one hour work I could just finish half of the lights since I didn't have enough suckers for fixing them to the window. Before I went to the shop again I wanted to see how marvelous the lights would be so I turned them on and... nothing happened. Nothing at all did happen. I just had some ugly dark bulbs made of glass and plastic in my window. Not Christmas like at all.

I was not sure if I wanted to go to the shop just crazy and claim for new lights or if I should just throw this garbage out of the window and just use old fashioned candle lights not depending on Electric at all. But before I could do either of this I had to take down those stupid lights as I did. And of course... when I was in a bad mood scraping down the last lights the whole series turned on. I'm not sure if I was more disappointed or surprised. Since the suckers were more or less still on the window I just threw all the lights up again and afterwards I bought some more suckers. I also found from last year the very beautiful lights made of full wool from my sister and with some candle lights and the christmas houses I also have I just think it is not so bad at all.

Lunar Eclipse

The lunar eclipse this morning

When the Moon was almost orange on 21st of December 2010.


It was cold... terribly cold. I got this great idea (or was it bad idea) yesterday. I should take some photos of the Lunar Eclipse since I'm unemployed at the moment so I have all the time in the world.

I read the main shadow would start making The Moon dark at 6:30 in the morning so I had to wake up very early. I went to sleep shortly after 10 o'clock and I woke up at 5AM. I made hot water for Swizs Miss chocolate drink since I knew it would be very cold. I had some worries about the long waiting time for the eclipse to finish so I took some wool with me so I could just do some knitting while waiting. I went off from my home at 6 AM and I had to stop and return home again after just 200m drive since I both forgot my down jacket (absolute must because of the cold weather) and my forehead light (also a must because of the darkness).

I drove outside of Reykjavik the road toward Krisuvik. I was almost to late because the eclipse was starting when I stopped the car on a place I thought would be preferable for my astronomical observation. In the beginning it was preferable but after one hour or so a couple of strong lights appeared not far a way and was in a nearby mine I had forgot. Well, the lights were in opposite direction from The Moon so it was not a total catastrophe.

I put my camera with my longest lens on the tripod. 300mm with 1.4 teleconverter so I had 420mm telescope lens. When the shadow appeared on the moon I also put my Celestron astronomical telescope in use and unfortunately the cold began to bite my hands, my feet and my face and finally my body. I was drinking my hot cocoa but nevertheless I was colder and colder. Finally I decided to have the engine running and also in dawn the temperature rose for couple of Celsius degrees I think. I did finsh the photography project but it was far to cold to do any knitting! My hands were freezing most of the time. I also was more busy doing the photography work than I had expected.

I just hope I can do something of the photos but the photo above is just one of them. I do not regret doing this and I'm pretty sure I would be devastated if I had not gone. In that case I would be thinking of all the wonderful photos I did not take!

In all I was watching The Moon (and also The Venus) for more than three and a half hour so it was quite a job I did there.

About Venus, I think I saw it was not full as the moon. It was about half at that time. I could clearly see that in my astronomical telescope.

Below is one photo that shows how the moon was disappearing during the Eclipse.
Lunar Eclipse 21st December 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

Knitting

Since no one seems to be reading this I will use the opportunity to tell one of my secrets


Knitting a long wool scarf in my kitchen year 2009, wearing a sweater I also made.

It is perhaps not so much secret but sometimes do some knitting. Yes I love to knit some clothes mostly made of the marvelous icelandic wool (see the traditional icelandic wool sweaters, called lopapeysa). I wear the traditional icelandic lopapeysa very often but I usually never talk about that I have knit them more or less all myself.

I had liked those sweaters very much for some years and I owned couple of them and some how I got the idea of making them myself. I just tried and now I also like very much to knit.

Although I like those woolen sweaters very much now I have not done so all my life. When I was young I never wore them while everybody else in my family were using them. When I was young I told my mother I couldn't wear them since I itched so much while wearing them. I'm not sure if that was the real reason. I think I was just thought those sweaters were not good looking and cool kids were not wearing them at all. So during my teenage years I never owned a lopapeysa and everybody thought I didn't like them, but I did.

Somehow my mind changed and I began to desire one when I became a teenager. But since everybody thought I hated them I did never ask for one or buy myself one. My mother used to knit them for selling and I can remember I tried them on, just to feel how they felt. I even began to like the itching when the wool was next to my naked body.

Some of my knitting projects you can see here on my Flickr page.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Family gathering

WARNING: This blog entry could be rather boring for people to read but I think someone could like the photo


A new beard on an old man

The beard of my uncle Ásgeir

I very seldom meet my family, that is the relatives of my parents but that happened last Thursday at my parents home. There have always to be a reason for people to meet each other - at least in my family. The reason this time was that one of few cousins in my father's family was in Iceland. She lives in Denmark and has been there for many years and when she is in Iceland there you could say you had a reason for a party or what you call it.

My father's siblings were there almost all. That is his two sisters living in Reykjavik and his brother with the great beard. Funny when people around 80 years old start to change their appearance as my uncle Ásgeir did. Two of them are in good condition but not one of the sisters that has got Alzheimer disease. It was strange and sad when she thought she had never been at my parents home before and also had to ask where her own daughter was living. This disease is in the gens of the family but only females have got it as far as i know so I'm perhaps safe but not all my relatives. I just hope for a remedy before too late.

I had my camera with me and wanted to take photos of the family, since I never know when I'm meeting them all for the last time. I were just able to take a few photos of the beard of my uncle and even fewer of my aunts when some people started to argue over my photography. I just hate that kind of an attitude. I was perhaps taking the last photos I could take of this people and people were just complaining and criticising me as some paparazzi!

Famly gathering

My two aunts and my cousin

Monday, December 13, 2010

Hver er þarna ofan í vatninu Birds on The Pool in Reykjavik

On The Pool in Reykjavik last Sunday.


Always about the ice. Although we don't have so much ice any longer on the streets and it is unfortunately melting also in the Reykjavik Skiing area, the birds on The Pool in Reykjavik still have their ice but water flowing over it. That conditions make a great scene and opportunity for photography since The Pool appear as a mirror that the birds are walking on!

I went there yesterday [Sunday 12th December] and shoot those images there.

The cold days are over

Or what...


Racer time in December

Self portrait from my bicycle tour last Friday in Reykjavik



Last Friday there was suddenly no more icen on the streets in Reykjavik so I used the opportunity and took my racer - The Red Lightning out for some training. Went very vell untill the rear tire went out of pressure. Luckely enough I was very close to my home when that happened.

The day after we had some ice again so now I'm thinking of buying nail tires for my racer and hybrid bikes as well as I have for my mountain bike.

Friday, December 10, 2010

The cold days

Winter is just one of the great seasons you can have.

On cold ice

My bike on The Pool in Reykjavik


I love the winter. Cold days, dim light, wool sweaters, snow, ski tours and everything. I love that all. But not to cold. The first days in this week was almost to cold for my opinion. It is not to good to take much to cold air in to the lungs. I you do that you can get cold. At least I can.

Anna Maria walking to mt Keilir

Anna Maria before the walk to Keilir, and you can see the small mountain in the left hand side of the photo


On Sunday I went with Anna Maria yes the girlfriend to the small mountain Keilir. That was just great walking tour. We started in the afternoon around 2 o'clock and had to drive some distance to get there and then walk to the mountain. So we were on the top of the mountain around 5 o'clock and at that time the last light of day was disappearing! We had to walk back in the darkness. But of course we were expecting this and had lights with us.

It was I would say too cold on Monday but on Tuesday I went downtown on my bike and did one thing spectacular. I biked on The Pool in center of Reykjavik. With the studded tyres under my bike. Flat surface and great to bike on!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Yes - truly a new beginning...

Frosið gras
So many things have changed from my last post.

First: I am leaving my job where I have been most of my time las 10 years or so. My boss didn't like me and moreover I didn't like him so very much. But what I didn't like at all was that I did not make the decision my self but was actually fired.

This means I have now all the time I can imagine to do what ever I like to do. But I think I will not have all the money to do everything I would like to do in the future. But someone said time is money and I really think he has something right.

One of consequences is that I had to give the car I had from the company. I had a big jeep that I had to return. Well I was able to have the car three more months but it was more economic for me to give the car back.

Second: Some thing strange that is not valid any longer

Third: I applied for new study in the University of Iceland. What I am aiming for is a master degree in Environment and Natural Resource.

I was indeed to late for the application so at the moment I'm registered to some business administration education that I was able to apply for at this time. But I am planning to take courses in the environmental program.

I will use this blog for the next couple of month to practice my English since part the teaching will be done in English!


...and then the second thing was valid again :-(