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# Alda Sigmundsdóttir

~ Writer ~

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://aldasigmunds.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [A meditation on the resurrection](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-meditation-on-the-resurrection/) - When I was twenty years old, I fell in love for the first time. It was the most intense and beautiful thing I had ever experienced. There was only one minor problem: I was struggling with a huge, terrifying, demonic force inside my own self. I’m sure there are many labels for it—depression, mental instability,
- [The holy water and the demon](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-holy-water-and-the-demon/) - I have had such a strong response to the last post I wrote - thank you to everyone who has commented, emailed, messaged, or even spoken to me about it in person. Clearly narcissism is far more common than one might be inclined to think, and many people have been affected by this heinous disorder,
- [Of political corruption and misdeeds in Iceland and Namibia](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-political-corruption-and-misdeeds-in-iceland-and-namibia/) - The following is a compilation of posts I have written this week on my Facebook page, about a corruption scandal in Namibia that has caused a massive tremor among the Icelandic population. Primarily because it mirrors our situation here at home. Warning: it's long. Photo of a fishing boat near Dalvík, via VisualHunt. This week
- [On my copyright dispute with Polish publisher Wydawnictwo Poznanskie](https://aldasigmunds.com/on-my-copyright-dispute-with-polish-publisher-wydawnictwo-poznanskie/) - Just over a year ago, I received an email from a follower of my work, informing me that there was a book published in Poland that appeared to contain within it large sections of my book The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days. This person knew my book well, and estimated that
- [European Court of Human Rights: Iceland's minister of justice committed "flagrant breach" of Icelandic law](https://aldasigmunds.com/flagrant-breach-of-icelandic-law/) - Almost exactly one year ago I wrote the post below, about the misconduct of Iceland's minister of justice, in my monthly newsletter. That justice minister, Sigríður Á. Andersen, has repeatedly been at the centre of corruption scandals, but certainly among the gravest of those is her unlawful appointment of her own pet judges - due
- [Here comes the revolt](https://aldasigmunds.com/here-comes-the-revolt/) - Do you remember a few months ago when I wrote about how the (corrupt, complacent) old guard of Iceland's two largest labour unions had been ousted, and a new, radical leadership had taken its place? At the time I also alluded to the fact that we Icelanders could expect some major unrest on the labour
- [Klausturfokk](https://aldasigmunds.com/klausturfokk/) - So, the Klaustur debacle from a couple of months ago continues its slow and steady march into eternal ignonimy. For those who have not been keeping up, the incident to which I refer is one that took place at the bar Klaustur in downtown Reykjavík late last year, where six MPs played hooky from work,
- [100 years of sovereignty](https://aldasigmunds.com/100-years-of-sovereignty/) - Today, December 1, is very significant day for the Icelandic nation: exactly one century ago, in 1918, this country gained sovereignty from Denmark. The event marked a joyous end to a horrific year for the people of Iceland. It began with an excruciating cold spell that came to be known as frostveturinn mikli, or "the
- [October 2018](https://aldasigmunds.com/15905-2/) - Each month I send out a newsletter to subscribers. One section each month is devoted to Icelandic affairs. The one below is from the October 2018 newsletter. Another month, another set of scandals in Icelandic society. Here comes a brief sampling, by no means exhaustive: 1. A report on the economic collapse, written in English
- [Where we stopped on our bookdrop tour](https://aldasigmunds.com/where-we-stopped-on-our-bookdrop-tour/) - Around the middle of this month (June 2017) EPI and I embarked on our annual book drop tour. This is where we drive the Ring Road around the country, visit booksellers, and introduce any new books we have. Originally we had books in the car and dropped them off (hence our little moniker) but since
- [Queen E puts on a Team Iceland uniform](https://aldasigmunds.com/queen-e-puts-on-a-team-iceland-uniform/) - As you may or may not know, Iceland is playing some unprecedented football in the EuroCup right around now. They tied with Portugal and Hungary in their first two games, and then beat Austria in the most recent one. On Monday, they meet England. In light of this, the advertising agency PIPAR/TBWA is having a bit
- [On the Icelandic prime minister and his wife's offshore activities](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-icelandic-prime-minister-and-his-wifes-offshore-activities/) - I expect that, by now, many of you have heard about the scandal rocking Icelandic politics, that of our Prime Minister’s wife, Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir, having an offshore company registered in Tortola - a notorious tax haven. Something that the PM, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, conveniently neglected to mention to us, the serfs of this land,
- [Black Friday comes to Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/black-friday-comes-to-iceland/) - Yesterday I was off on one of my book drop (distribution) runs around town, and along the way decided to stop off at a particular store to check out a piece of furniture we've been thinking of purchasing. I had a couple of questions about it, so approached a sales lady who was working nearby. We had a
- [In abundance](https://aldasigmunds.com/in-abundance/) - Last night I was lying in bed and flipping through the Yule catalogue from the Kringlan mall, as you do. EPI: Whatcha reading? ME: The Kringlan catalogue. Very exciting. EPI: Ah, ok. See anything you like? ME: So far, no. I'm hoping I'll find something, though, so I can put it on my list. I'm kind of
- [Repose](https://aldasigmunds.com/repose/) - A few days ago I noticed that my Ficus Benjamina had started to sprout tender new leaves. It always happens around this time, and it never ceases to amaze me that during the darkest time of the year here in Iceland, when daylight is considered a luxury, these brand-new shoots of life should spring forth. Just when you
- [On the exodus from Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/on-the-exodus-from-iceland/) - You've seen the Internet memes, and possibly also Paul Krugman's enthusiastic columns proclaiming Iceland the poster child of economic recovery. Having in 2008 suffered the biggest banking collapse in history relative to its economic size, Iceland has now bounced back in spectacular fashion, with steady economic growth, virtually no unemployment, and only nominal inflation. On top of all that, the
- [A page retires, a page is born](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-page-retires-a-page-is-born/) - Earlier this month I announced that I was going to retire my Iceland Weather Report Facebook page. It so happened that the announcement came in the wake of a post that had attracted racist, hateful comments from a bunch of people who apparently were at their wits end because several thousand Icelanders wanted to help Syrian refugees whose children were drowning in
- [A brief treatise on the Icelanders and their elf beliefs](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-brief-treatise-on-the-icelanders-and-their-elf-beliefs/) - I'm sure you have heard the stories: Icelanders believe in elves, won't build anything without first checking whether there are elves living on the site, go around knocking on boulders to say hello to the elves, make whole entire maps of elf colonies, and blah-de-blah. The international media loves to chew on this stuff, and the
- [Announcing some changes, plus a newsletter](https://aldasigmunds.com/announcing-some-changes-plus-a-newsletter/) - Dear all! Since late last year I have been reflecting and ruminating on my career and the way I have been running things, and have decided that I want to make some changes. Nothing dramatic - just some subtle shifts that may add up to something bigger in the long run. I've started by launching a newsletter that
- [2014: My Year in Review](https://aldasigmunds.com/2014-my-year-in-review/) - It's that time of year again! NIGHTMARE OF THE YEAR Anything to do with Icelandic politics. It has been one blow after another after another to those of us who believe in honesty and integrity and keeping promises and sticking up for those who need it most. The government has worked diligently to erode the infrastructure of Icelandic
- [Want to be my beta reader?](https://aldasigmunds.com/want-to-be-my-beta-reader/) - Hey everyone - I'm looking for a handful of volunteers who might be willing to help out by acting as beta readers for my new book. With any luck you won't be quite this bored. If you're not familiar with it, a beta readers is (generally) a non-professional who reads over a work prior to publishing and offers their feedback -
- [My year in review](https://aldasigmunds.com/my-year-in-review/) - Everyone's doing them: end-of-the-year posts. I've never done one before, but suddenly for no apparent reason I felt inspired. So here's my own personal year in review, in no particular order. SLOG OF THE YEAR My degree. Puh. Increasingly I found myself wondering what the hell I'm doing it for. It's so bloody time consuming,
- [Josh Woodward - Already There](https://aldasigmunds.com/josh-woodward-already-there/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Recent trends in storytelling](https://aldasigmunds.com/recent-trends-in-storytelling/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Oscar Wilde](https://aldasigmunds.com/oscar-wilde/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Madrid's photo marathon](https://aldasigmunds.com/madrids-photographer-marathon/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Jeffrey Veen - About Design](https://aldasigmunds.com/jeffrey-veen-quote/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Josh Woodward – Already There Remix](https://aldasigmunds.com/josh-woodward-already-there-remix/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [A Look Inside the Protein Bar](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-look-inside-the-protein-bar/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Unlocking Hidden Brain Secrets](https://aldasigmunds.com/unlocking-brain-secrets/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [Iceland's volcano timelapse](https://aldasigmunds.com/icelands-biggest-volcano-timelapse/) - The term minimalism is also used to describe a trend in design and architecture where in the subject is reduced to its necessary elements. Minimalist design has been highly influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture. In addition, the work of De Stijl artists is a major source of reference for this kind of work.
- [The ethical blind spot](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-ethical-blind-spot/) - Here in Iceland we have a pretty nifty word: siðblinda. The literal translation of siðblinda is "ethical blindness". Basically it is used to describe people who in English I would classify as either psychopaths or narcissists. The English language typically has a lot more words to describe various shades and nuances of meaning than the
- [Us vs. Them](https://aldasigmunds.com/us-vs-them/) - One of the worst things I do is when I start comparing myself to other people. I'm sure we've all been there. We look at someone else and see only what they have, and we lack. We become envious. We feel crappy about ourselves, because in the comparison, we inevitably come up short. Why is
- [All the notebooks](https://aldasigmunds.com/all-the-notebooks/) - In Doris Lessing's excellent novel The Golden Notebook, the main character, Anna, has four different notebooks in which she writes about the different aspects of her life. She struggles with this, and in the end somehow manages to combine the four different notebooks into one - her golden notebook. A pretty accurate depiction of ...
- [Building a book, part II](https://aldasigmunds.com/building-a-book-part-ii/) - Well hello! It's been a little longer than I had planned, mostly because you would not believe how many endless little details need your attention when you're publishing your own book. Meaning that - yes - my book is now out!! Also, I now have an Amazon Author Page. Huzzah! So, this will be my
- [Building a book for self-publishing](https://aldasigmunds.com/building-a-book-for-self-publishing/) - As many readers will know, the release of my new book, Unraveled, is imminent. "Yeah yeah," I hear you thinking, "she's been banging on about this for months" - and you will be right. [Although I don't believe I've ever used the word "imminent" before. Just saying.] The preview option on the KDP site shows
- [Through the forest, but not alone](https://aldasigmunds.com/through-the-forest-but-not-alone/) - Since I started writing about all this stuff I've been writing about, I've received a number of messages and emails from people who say they can really relate. Some say that they find my posts hard to read because it mirrors their own experience in a way that is difficult and painful. I understand. I think that
- [When understanding is overrated](https://aldasigmunds.com/when-understanding-is-overrated/) - Years ago when I started seeing a shrink, I learned that there are ideal conditions by which a child develops in a healthy way, and when those conditions are thwarted, the child's development gets derailed. Those ideal conditions presuppose that a child grows up with two parents, in a secure environment, and is able to
- [My mother, revisited](https://aldasigmunds.com/my-mother-revisited/) - Six years ago this week my mother died, and left behind an extremely painful legacy. It’s always hard when someone leaves this world with unfinished business. Death is so final, and at least while the person is alive, there’s always that small chance that maybe, just maybe, things might change. Whatever “things” might be. That
- [Ding Dong! The Icesave Witch is Dead](https://aldasigmunds.com/ding-dong-the-icesave-witch-is-dead/) - I wrote this post for the Reykjavík Grapevine last Monday, after the Icesave verdict had been passed down but it didn't make it into print. An almost palpable ripple of relief passed through Icelandic society at precisely 10.30 am on Monday, January 28, when the EFTA court passed a judgment stating that Iceland had been
- [This is what's happening with my new book](https://aldasigmunds.com/this-is-whats-happening-with-my-new-book/) - In the last while I've had a few people ask me what's going on with my new book - the novel for which I was requesting beta readers a while back. Well, the writing is done, the beta reading is done, the editing is done, I think we've nailed a cover for it [I'm so
- [Everything is a mirror](https://aldasigmunds.com/everything-is-a-mirror/) - Anyone interested in metaphysics or spiritual matters will know this: our outer circumstances mirror our inner circumstances. We attract or are drawn to people and situations that correspond with what we believe to be true, or somehow reflect what we are feeling. This has rarely been more starkly evident in my life than when I
- [Because it is possible to die and still be alive](https://aldasigmunds.com/because-it-is-possible-to-die-and-still-be-alive/) - Within be fed, without be rich no more: So shalt thou feed on death, that feeds on men, And death once dead, there's no more dying then. William Shakespeare, Sonnet 146 We are so conditioned to think of death as the surrender of the flesh to the Grim Reaper that we don’t realize that
- [The power of surrender](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-power-of-surrender/) - Recently I was at a gathering where people were discussing Christmas, and the difficult feelings that are often associated with it. It seems like that time of year has the ability to highlight so many hurts in our lives, and it takes a lot of strength not to spiral out of control emotionally. What struck
- [The fundamental flaw of New Year's resolutions](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-fundamental-flaw-of-new-years-resolutions/) - Happy 2013 everyone! So the world did not come to an end [although apparently there is still a chance for the apocalypse], and now a whole year of possibilities stretches before us, blank as an unpainted canvas. It feels like a new beginning, even though the whole construct of time is just that - a
- [The next-best Christmas story*](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-next-best-christmas-story/) - A somewhat unexpected and unconventional Christmas story has captivated the minds and hearts of the Icelanders this year. Just over a week ago, a prisoner escaped from Litla-hraun, this country's only maximum-security prison [although the "maximum" part is rather open to interpretation, as the convict escaped by crawling under the fence]. Obviously a major search
- [50 things I have learned in 50 years](https://aldasigmunds.com/50-things-i-have-learned-in-50-years/) - It's my birthday and I am 50! That's kind of crazy. Like everyone I know, I had these preconceived ideas of what people were like when they were 50 - they were OLD. But! Here I am and I feel a lot younger than I felt when I was ... er, younger. Back then I
- [My secret for a happy Christmas](https://aldasigmunds.com/my-secret-for-a-happy-christmas/) - Christmas. Season of cheer and goodwill. The time when we are all supposed to love one another, to cherish one another, and to make each other feel special. That message comes at us from all directions - movies, TV commercials, adverts, songs. Happy families, loving couples, smiling people ... happiness and joy are the order
- [A map of hell](https://aldasigmunds.com/hell-being-validated/) - The other day I was listening to a podcast [again] - this time Outlook from the BBC. They were interviewing a woman whom they billed as "one of American's most respected mental health professionals" - a Dr. Marsha Linehan, who has created a treatment program for severely suicidal patients, and who just recently came out
- [The most interesting part of human experience](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-most-interesting-part-of-human-experience/) - Recently, while listening to The Moth [one of my absolute favourite podcasts], I heard the storyteller say this: The emotional dimension is the least interesting part of the human experience. I had to go back and listen again to make sure I had heard correctly, because this just boggles my mind. How can anyone NOT be
- [On guard](https://aldasigmunds.com/on-guard/) - Sometimes I look at people, and I think: Somewhere along the line, that person stagnated. Their spirit congealed. Do you know what I mean? It doesn't entirely have to do with age, either. A person can be 18 and seem 38 in their demeanor and manner and way of speaking. And even when they're 68
- [Taking a bow](https://aldasigmunds.com/taking-a-bow/) - Lately I've been fascinated by the way we perform different roles in our lives. Sometimes we cast ourselves in roles, sometimes they're thrust upon us, and sometimes other people cast us in roles that we have no idea we're in. Or we suddenly find that we're in a role conceived by somebody else, and other
- [In which things with Zuckerberg turn a little sour](https://aldasigmunds.com/in-which-things-with-zuckerberg-turn-a-little-sour/) - When I first signed up for Facebook, I was delighted by what it offered me. During the course of my life I'd lived in so many places and made so many friends that I couldn't possibly keep up with everyone via traditional email [to say nothing of snail mail]. But with Facebook, I had them all
- [Home-made müsli with pecans and dates](https://aldasigmunds.com/home-made-musli-with-pecans-and-dates/) - As many of you no doubt know I have hitherto not been known for my prowess in food blogging (although I CAN cook - honest!) but as it happened I posted a pic of my freshly-made müsli on Instagram today (because that's what you're supposed to do with food, right?) and a few people asked
- [God bless Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/god-bless-iceland/) - October 6th, wery wery significant day in Icelandic history. Four years ago exactly, Icelanders gathered in front of their screens and watched as then-PM Geir Haarde announced that this country was going to hell in a handbasket, national bankruptcy was imminent, and that we could well be sucked into some dark and horrible vortex along
- [Happy International Translation Day!](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-international-translation-day/) - It is September 30th, which the International Federation of Translators has declared International Translation Day . Here in Iceland, translations are such an integral part of life that it would spell absolute disaster if they were suddenly removed. Just think of all the films, books, TV shows, international agreements, instruction manuals, medical instructions, news, brochures, business reports,
- [The bilingual personality switch](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-bilingual-personality-switch/) - Earlier today I started a new discussion thread on my Facebook page regarding bilingualism and second-language acquisition. The topic has garnered quite a few responses and given me cause to reflect and analyze my own linguistic performance in different languages - for whatever it is worth. The status I posted, quite flippantly I might add,
- [A wee story about a teabag and 40 litres of tea (because in Iceland the customer is always wrong)](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-wee-story-about-a-teabag-and-40-litres-of-tea-because-in-iceland-the-customer-is-always-wrong/) - EPI and I went for sushi a couple of days ago, at a place called the Fish Market. Before I go further, let me unequivocally state that the sushi was really yummy. Anyway, we both order green tea with our sushi. We get a small tea kettle with a single teabag in it, plus two little
- [What I have really been doing this summer (writing a novel)](https://aldasigmunds.com/what-i-have-really-been-doing-this-summer-writing-a-novel/) - OK. I'm not going to start this post with lame excuses about why I've been so remiss when it comes to updating this blog, nor get all bent out of shape with self-inflicted guilt or verbal self-flaggelation ... NO. Instead I'm going to tell you that there is a very good reason why this space has
- [In which I ramble about writing and angst and stuff](https://aldasigmunds.com/in-which-i-ramble-about-writing-and-angst-and-stuff/) - Well, I always suspected it was true, and now I know it is - it's a lot harder to blog once a week than to blog once a day. A lot of the blog gurus preach that you really don't need to update a blog very frequently. Once a week should be enough, if you
- [Legacy publishing and the stamp of merit](https://aldasigmunds.com/legacy-publishing-and-the-stamp-of-merit/) - A few days ago, my book The Little Book of the Icelanders was published by a legacy publisher (Forlagið). I had originally released it as an eBook through my website, and it had done quite well (which I'm sure scored it some merit points in the legacy department, once again bringing home the importance of self-initiative and
- [And this is why you should buy from an independent artist](https://aldasigmunds.com/and-this-is-why-you-should-buy-from-an-independent-artist/) - This really resonated with me: Yeah. I don't think I have anything to add to that.
- [Legacy publishing vs. the speed of light](https://aldasigmunds.com/legacy-publishing-vs-the-speed-of-light/) - Almost a year ago to this day, I sat in a publisher's office and signed my first publishing deal. It was for a little book that I had penned and originally released as an eBook. The publication date was slated for 1 May 2012. The rather lengthy wait was intentional - since it was thought
- [The changing face of publishing, or why I love the Internet, part I](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-changing-face-of-publishing-or-why-i-love-the-internet-part-i/) - Once upon a time, it was virtually impossible to get a publishing deal without an agent (in English speaking markets, at least). And getting an agent was just as hard as getting a publisher. There were all these rules: First, you had to write a query letter, in which you humbly asked the agent to take
- [The evolution of blogs](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-evolution-of-blogs/) - OK, we may as well start out with a wee confession: I'm a little bit intimidated by this new blog. Despite having written over 1,000 blog posts on my previous blog, to the point where I could write posts in my sleep, this slope here feels just a tad slippery. Maybe it's the subject matter.
- [Well, hello!](https://aldasigmunds.com/first-pos/) - .. And welcome to the first post of this new blog! Some of you may remember my previous blog, which I wrote dutifully for six years. When I quit that, about a year and a half ago, I did not want to look at another WordPress dashboard ever again. (For those of you who don't
- [Lucky me](https://aldasigmunds.com/lucky-me/) - So having had my gripe in the last blog session, I’m delighted to announce that I’m back to being exceedingly grateful for what a great kid AAH is. Truly. Consider: here in Iceland we have community recreation centres, run by the city in conjunction with education authorities. They are located in every community [more or
- [De-crowned](https://aldasigmunds.com/de-crowned/) - You know what drives me bananas? The extreme self-centeredness of adolescents. I heard someone say the other day that living with a teenager was like living with an alcoholic – the same degree of self-absorption. Do adolescents eventually grasp the idea that ‘parent’ does not equal ‘servant’? That ‘parent’ can actually be tatamount to ‘person’?
- [Of pools and outlaws](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-pools-and-outlaws/) - Was a bit knotted in the shoulders today, and as my next massage appointment is more than two weeks away I decided on the next best thing: a trip to the pool for a water massage. On entering the showers before going into the pool, it occurred to me that while the smell of the
- [Popular bollocks](https://aldasigmunds.com/popular-bollocks/) - Apparently, the most popular type of food consumed during the month of Þorri here in Iceland are the soured ram's testicles. Who knew? Certainly not YT, who balks at the idea of eating them, and this despite the fact that she does not call everything her grandmother* on the putrid-food front. Thus I'm sure you
- [We now interrupt our regular programming to bring you a hissy fit](https://aldasigmunds.com/we-now-interrupt-our-regular-programming-to-bring-you-a-hissy-fit/) - There are not many things I miss about living in North America, but one of the things I miss a lot is the high standard of service in shops and restaurants. That service-oriented mentality just does not exist in the same way in Europe, particularly not in restaurants where the wait staff does not receive
- [The history of rotten food](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-history-of-rotten-food/) - Lest you think that feeding your man putrid shark on Bóndadagur is just another capricious whim dreamed up by weird Icelanders, think again! In fact, there is a perfectly logical reason: that day marks the start of the traditional midwinter festival known as Þorrablót, where people get together and imbibe rotten food and drink lots
- [Bóndadagur](https://aldasigmunds.com/bondadagur/) - It's Feed Your Man Putrid Shark Day again. [Amazing how these things sneak up on you. It's only been a year since the last one.] Undoubtedly you will be shocked to learn that we've decided to bypass the putrid shark, pickled whale blubber and Black Death this time around, and are going straight for the
- [YT the Mogul](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-the-mogul/) - My bank’s been running this very persuasive ad campaign featuring an extremely happy-looking man and woman who exhort the virtues of investing in shares. In conjunction with this, the bank craftily offers a free course on learning to play the stock market through your online bank. YT allowed herself to be reeled in without any
- [The golden passover](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-golden-passover/) - Vegged out on the sofa last night watching The Golden Globes, a.k.a. The Award Show Where Everybody Gets Sloshed And Gets Lost On Their Way To The Stage. Channel 2 kindly delivered the abridged version of the full version from the night before so we were spared maudlin acceptance speeches from all those people who
- [Leading lady](https://aldasigmunds.com/leading-lady/) - Surfacing from my flogbunk to announce that our very own AAH has just been cast as the lead in her school's production of West Side Story. WHOO-HOO! She dragged her ass off to rehearsal this afternoon with the oh-so adolescent sentiment: “Ehh, I can’t be bothered to take part in this stupid musical. I’m gonna
- [I can't think of a good title so today there isn't one](https://aldasigmunds.com/i-cant-think-of-a-good-title-so-today-there-isnt-one/) - Cor, what a serious blogfunk I'm in. For the last two days I've had nothing worthwhile or interesting or even mildly amusing to say. Nada. Considered posting the latest toon by my favourite cartoonist but decided it's getting a bit too much. Really. Apart from the whole issue of copyright, it's pretty damn cheap to
- [Ok, they've resigned](https://aldasigmunds.com/ok-theyve-resigned/) - ... the editors of DV, obviously. So we can now get back to more pressing matters, like bringing you pictures of cartoons brazenly ripped off from Blaðið. TOM JONES ENTERTAINS RICH ICELANDERS... Was the headline on the evening news a few nights ago. The report went on to say that a bunch of Icelandic neuvaux
- [As the fury subsides...](https://aldasigmunds.com/as-the-fury-subsides/) - Well, much of yesterday’s fury has abated, although a nationwide discussion about the matter has continued. All parts of the media, without exception, have condemned DV – in fact a front-page headline in Blaðið says it all: “DV ISOLATED”. A photograph through the window of their offices shows staff looking very grim. Evidently they’ve virtually
- [Ignorant, Immoral, Wrong!](https://aldasigmunds.com/ignorant-immoral-wrong/) - It’s safe to say that there is major turbulence in Icelandic society today after a particularly devastating front-page story in trash-tabloid DV yesterday. DV is one of four daily papers published in Iceland. A couple of years ago it was in dire straits when the oft-cited Baugur Group came riding along on its white steed
- [Penis mall exposed!](https://aldasigmunds.com/penis-mall-exposed/) - Those of you who have been reading awhile will remember YT's occasional references to shopping excursions at Penis mall. You may also recall that some readers have been mystified by this reference. YT has made a noble effort at clarifying; however, as we all know, sometimes words just cannot capture the essence of what a
- [Hahaha...!!](https://aldasigmunds.com/hahaha/) - HI MY NAME IS MELVIN WATT FROM CHAPER HILL, NORTH CAROLINA. I WAS IN ICELAND OVER NEW YEARS AND I HAVE THIS TO SAY TO YOU ICELANDIC WOMEN: I DON'T THINK YOU'RE PROMISCUOUS AT ALL... just totally goddamn boring. [This from today's Blaðið, one of two free daily papers delivered to our door. They have
- [Cigars for everyone!](https://aldasigmunds.com/cigars-for-everyone/) - At o6.50 this morning, the population of Iceland was 299,999. At 7.20 am, the 300,000-th Icelander arrived. Whoo-hoo! According to Statistics Iceland, there's been an unusual population increase up here over the past few years. An average of 12 people are born in Iceland per day, while there are five deaths on average. No speculations
- [Tarantino: the scandal](https://aldasigmunds.com/tarantino-the-scandal/) - Right, so remember how I said I wasn’t going to write another word about old Quentin Tarantino unless he went and scandalized really bad? Well call me prescient if you will if you shall if you must, but he’s gone and done it. So I am now forced to tell you about it. A couple
- [A celebrity in the family!](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-celebrity-in-the-family/) - EPI's daughter was on the bus the other day when a little girl came up to her, looked at her in awe and said, "Are you Barbie?" AND TODAY - MINIMALIST WEATHERSnow. Sleet. Snow. 0°C. Sunrise 11.15, sunset 15.52.
- [Stuffed](https://aldasigmunds.com/stuffed/) - Pity poor old Quentin Tarantino. Every time he sets foot on Icelandic soil he gets bombarded with stuff. Everyone wants him to have a sample of their little product to take home: Icelandic movies on DVD, Icelandic music on DVD, Dead clothes, 66°N clothes... and as reported in today’s Fréttablaðið, the latest sample is a
- [A little bit of mush](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-little-bit-of-mush/) - Yesterday I realized that this is possibly the best Christmas I’ve had in my life. Or at least in a very very long time. What a wonderful realization! Christmas used to be a major ordeal for me. It was something to be endured, a necessary evil, and I would white-knuckle it until January when it
- [Welcome to my cobwebs](https://aldasigmunds.com/welcome-to-my-cobwebs/) - My GOD what an ordeal it was getting out of bed this morning! And what an ordeal it is to nail my butt to the office chair and start in on those assignments that I've been systematically pushing aside until the holidays were over. The grey matter is just NOT clicking into action today. So.
- [The Gift](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-gift/) - A young man wanted to purchase a gift for his new sweetheart’s birthday, and as they had not been dating very long, after careful consideration, he decided a pair of gloves would strike the right note: romantic, but not too personal. Accompanied by his sweetheart’s younger sister, he went to Nordstrom and bought a pair
- [Up in flames](https://aldasigmunds.com/up-in-flames/) - So. Here in Niceland we’re currently in the process of gearing up for the Mutha of all parties [and if you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that we have many over the course of the year], namely New Years Eve. Despite their crazy reputation, though, the New Years celebrations actually start off pretty
- [A bunch of photos...](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-bunch-of-photos/) - First, we have rancid skate cooking out on the balcony [on account of the smell, obviously]... A steaming, heaping platter of rancid skate, mmmmmm...... Húrri the family feline was rather curious about the foodsmells wafting up from the table... AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT... Our tree tada! [The string of lights near the bottom
- [Christmas rundown](https://aldasigmunds.com/christmas-rundown/) - It’s been business as usual this Christmas, with adherence to both personal and cultural traditions, plus indulging in some serious [and well-earned] laziness. Predictably, Yule chez YT begins on the 23rd, what with birthday celebrations and the much-anticipated rancid skate party. A short lie-in is allowed on Christmas Eve day, before gearing up for the
- [Wrapping up the Yule Lads](https://aldasigmunds.com/wrapping-up-the-yule-lads/) - Pity the poor tourists that spent Christmas in Reykjavík and failed to realize that virtually everything is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A grand total of four restaurants were open on the 24th, for example - including one fast-food place. Lots of people eating fish and chips for Christmas dinner, apparently. Yowsa. HOWEVER!...
- [Merry Christmas!](https://aldasigmunds.com/merry-christmas-2/)
- [Some urgent business](https://aldasigmunds.com/some-urgent-business/) - First of all, today is my birthday. To those of you who have already jumped the gun - thank you my lovelies, it's always great to get birthday wishes, on any day of the year. But today is the official one. Secondly, what I would love love love today, is if all you lurkers out
- [Putrid skate for beginners](https://aldasigmunds.com/putrid-skate-for-beginners/) - So EPI's brother and sister-in-law have invited us to a putrid skate party tomorrow. Putrid skate parties are without a doubt one of the more bizarre Icelandic traditions. Every year on December 23, Icelanders get together and eat skate [as in fish] that has been sitting in a closed container and allowed to ferment for
- [The Yule Lads. Cooler Than Thou.](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-yule-lads-cooler-than-thou/) - At first I thought it was just me, but evidently it's not: Birta [weekly magazine delivered free with Fréttablaðið] has the Yule Lads at the top of their trend-o-meter, accompanied by this reasoning: "They're clad in those oh-so fashionable Icelandic sweaters, they enjoy the outdoors and have extremly macho beards. Plus they're in much better
- [Return of the Yule Lads, Vol. I](https://aldasigmunds.com/return-of-the-yule-lads-vol-i/) - Well, dinner at The Virgin may now be crossed off my to-do list. As can the Christmas prezzie thing, plus the kaffihús. Finally finally I find myself getting into the spirit of the season, what with all those jolly people waltzing up and down Laugavegur [not literally], those choirs singing [wearing Santa hats, yowsa], brass
- [TreePrezzieVirginScrubShopSkate...](https://aldasigmunds.com/treeprezzievirginscrubshopskate/) - Would you be interested in knowing what things I have not yet ticked off my Christmas to-do list? BUY THE CHRISTMAS TREESomeone asked me the other day where our Christmas trees come from, because they sure don’t come from around here [as you all know – maybe – Iceland is a virtually tree-less country. At
- [What's for dinner?](https://aldasigmunds.com/whats-for-dinner-2/) - Here in Iceland, Christmas is all about tradition, and one of the most sacred traditions in every household is what to have for Christmas dinner. Most people I know are absolute sticklers about having the same thing every year, and ideally it has to be something special, i.e. something that you ordinarily would not eat
- [Hail the King](https://aldasigmunds.com/hail-the-king/) - Went to see King Kong tonight, a.k.a. the film ‘…Where If You Think This Is As Bad As It Gets, Something Worse Happens,’ and ‘… Naomi Watts Wears Her Slip In the Jungle and Suffers Every Physical Calamity Possible Yet Sustains Hardly A Scratch’. And her mascara remained unsmudged. But facetiousness aside, that Peter Jackson
- [Potscraper who?](https://aldasigmunds.com/potscraper-who/) - Bizzy day today. Wrote nasty threatening email to inane modelling agency who have been jerking AAH around for a full year now; read some proofs; walked circle around golf course with weights strapped to my ankles; took The Unit in to have exhaust system replaced [was attracting a little too much attention on the streets];
- [Kitty](https://aldasigmunds.com/kitty/) - Grýla, the ghastly child-eating ogre and mother of the Yule Lads, has a rather under-publicized yet sinister sidekick: jólakötturinn, or the Yule Cat, who lives with her in her cave. In the Iceland of yore, every person who did not get a new item of clothing for Christmas ended up in the belly of the
- [Milk slurper](https://aldasigmunds.com/milk-slurper/) - Pity the poor parents who have to put prezzies into the shoes of their young children these days, because they are duty bound to memorize the names and – worse – order of all the Yule Lads. This can be difficult, as the DJ on Rás 2 [State radio] found out yesterday; he mentioned that
- [Calendar girl](https://aldasigmunds.com/calendar-girl/) - THINGS I TICKED OFF MY CALENDAR THIS WEEKEND Kitchen party with EPI Friday night Baking of bottom half of Sarah Bernhard cookies Saturday morning [must be done in stages as are a bitch to construct] Seaside run [have to be quick these days to catch the fleeting daylight] Stellar performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Cantatas
- [Whoo-hoo!!](https://aldasigmunds.com/whoo-hoo/) - Our very own Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir has just been crowned Miss World! That makes her the third Icelandic Miss World in 20 years. Not bad for a population of 290,000, is it? [bragbrag] And yes, ordinarily I don't condone beauty contests. [They really are unbelievably cheesy, no?] But I'm still glad she won. [No prizes
- [Potmen](https://aldasigmunds.com/potmen/) - Sometimes it’s infinitely entertaining to be a fly on the wall [or water, as it were] in the hot pot at the Laugardalslaug swimming pool in Reykjavík. As loyal readers will know, Iceland’s hot pots serve the same social function as, say, the English pub or the Turkish teahouse. People gather together in the hot
- [Papus horriblus](https://aldasigmunds.com/papus-horriblus/) - EPI subscribes to this Popular Science type magazine that he often reads before falling asleep. [Actually, EPI is one of those people that has a hard time falling asleep unless he reads something, and watching this little evening ritual of his is one of the most endearingly funny things ever... no matter how tired he
- [And now for something completely different...](https://aldasigmunds.com/and-now-for-something-completely-different/) - According to a report in yesterday's Morgunblaðið, Icelandair has repeatedly had to leave bags behind in the US recently because Icelanders shop so much that the planes [... we're talking 757 jets] are stuffed full.* I think it's time to add a fourteenth Yule Lad and name him Going-Shopping-in-the-USA-Glutton. For real. AS FOR THE WEATHERWicked
- [Moron Moron #9](https://aldasigmunds.com/moron-moron-9/) - The fourth and final time I made a concerted effort to reconcile with Academia I was living in Germany. By that time I’d moved from Canada to the UK and done a certificate in TEFL [Teaching English as a Foreign Language] and had subsequently worked in the UK and Spain before Germany. And I was
- [More on #9](https://aldasigmunds.com/more-on-9/) - So I’ve been meaning to elaborate on number nine on my ten truths post – the one most people thought was the lie. In fact the truth is that, yes indeed, I dropped out of university four times and no, I did not get my degree. To put it simply, Academia scared the living crap
- [Food. and then some.](https://aldasigmunds.com/food-and-then-some/) - One of the unshakable traditions of the advent here is the Christmas buffet. I don't know of anyone who doesn't partake of at least one such; in fact most companies invite their employees - and usually their spouses - to at least one Christmas buffet during advent. The company EPI works for has for the
- [Hello there ma'am... er, sir...](https://aldasigmunds.com/hello-there-maam-er-sir/) - Is this not the most hilarious bar stool ever?? Regular reporting will resume tomorrow. A bit wiped out from some serious carousing. We went here again, only this time we managed to take a snapshot of that monster of a polar bear [he's the one with the hat]. Yowsa.
- [Throwback to the past..](https://aldasigmunds.com/throwback-to-the-past/) - Took The Unit in for an oil change this morning and instead of biding my time in a foul-smelling garage waiting room, I decided to take a walk along the seashore next to it. As it happens the sun was just coming up [it was around 11am] and as luck would have it I happened
- [We iz our own people](https://aldasigmunds.com/we-iz-our-own-people/) - Today, December 1, marks 87 years since Iceland became a sovereign state. [Whoo-hoo!] At that time, Iceland was the poorest country in Europe. Today it is one of the richest. In the past decade alone, Iceland’s contribution to aid in the developing countries has quintupled. However, this nation would still remain under the Danish crown
- [Of weird smells and traditions](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-weird-smells-and-traditions/) - 'What's that smell in here??' Thus spake my perpetually-disgruntled 14-year old daughter on her arrival home from school yesterday. That smell was actually the smell of her mother's baking. To be fair, it's not surprising that the child does not recognize the smell of baking when it greets her. YT is not terribly proficient in
- [Breaking! News!](https://aldasigmunds.com/breaking-news/) - Iceland has a new 24-hour news channel, like a CNN or Sky type thing. It's called, prosaically enough, The New News Channel*. So why would a nation with a population of fewer than 300,000 need a 24-hour news channel? Precisely. Yet, there it is, broadcasting around the clock, with one of those moving banners at
- [Lights in the darkness etc.](https://aldasigmunds.com/lights-in-the-darkness-etc/) - First Sunday in advent today. Here in Iceland, advent marks the start of the Christmas season and in practice means that you can officially begin putting up your decorations. Some people cannot wait for this day, particularly those who hate the winter darkness and live for the day that they can start putting advent lights
- [Cheating #%&*-ing cod!](https://aldasigmunds.com/cheating-ing-cod/) - Sometimes EPI and I have the best time vegging on the couch and acting all appalled at some of the TV fodder we're served up, particularly some of the idiotic reality TV shows coming out of the US.* Like tonight, when we landed on yet another thrilling episode of Cheaters. For those that don't know,
- [Going for it in Niceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/going-for-it-in-niceland/) - I read an interesting quote this evening. One of those 'Aha!' quotes that just hits you in the solar plexus for being absolutely true. It was in an interview with a foreign national living here in Iceland, and he was asked what it was that he liked most about it. His response was that he
- [The dirt such as it is...](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-dirt-such-as-it-is/) - Right. Since you’ve all been such good sports, I reckon a few words of elaboration on my 10 truths are in order. [Even though each and every one of these could easily be turned into a whole book.] I owned my first property by the time I was eight. … And no, contrary to what
- [The truth, the whole truth...](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-truth-the-whole-truth/) - THANK YOU everyone for humoring me! As you can see, it doesn't take a lot for me to be amused. And contrary to what you may think I haven't been holding out on you on purpose - I have a really packed schedule at the moment and haven't had a chance to get online before
- [Tsk](https://aldasigmunds.com/tsk/) - Almost 130 visitors to my website so far today and only nine - nine! - who have attempted to answer The Question. [Special props to Teri, who has attempted twice. What a trouper.]
- [Ten truths and one lie](https://aldasigmunds.com/ten-truths-and-one-lie/) - I've always marvelled at those '100 Things About Me' lists that people post on their websites. Primarily because I always think I could never find 100 things about myself that other people would find very interesting. Or even 50 things. Even 20 would be pushing it. However, I do reckon I can come up with
- [A parental anxiety post](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-parental-anxiety-post/) - AAH has gone off on a trip with the local community centre. They went here. [Lucky girl]. She went armed with a large bag of candy, designed to provide enough of a sugar high to keep her and her girlfriends up all night. At least that was the plan. Because they’d heard through the grapevine
- [Slanging out](https://aldasigmunds.com/slanging-out/) - Props to all who rose to the challenge and attempted yesterday's translation. Very commendable and infinitely entertaining for... me. And now without further ado, we give you the correct answers: Bömmer - bummer. As in: Ég er á ógeðslega miklum bömmer mar.Meika sens - make sense. Þetta er ekki að meika sens fyrir mér, sko.
- [Dagur íslenskrar tungu](https://aldasigmunds.com/dagur-islenskrar-tungu/) - Today, November 16, is dedicated to the Icelandic language, with various events staged throughout the nation. People are commended for their contribution to maintaining the language, awards are given out, etc. etc. With a population of just under 300,000, and an estimated 1 million people worldwide who speak Icelandic [a figure that may be grossly
- [Search and thou shalt find. Maybe.](https://aldasigmunds.com/search-and-thou-shalt-find-maybe/) - Someone came through via Google today on the search words: is iceland really ice? A perfectly valid question, of course. Perfectly valid. Although with technology and the global village and all that, you’d think that maybe, just maybe, the Entire World would know by now that ICELAND IS NOT REALLY ICE. Greenland is the place
- [An alcoholic defined](https://aldasigmunds.com/an-alcoholic-defined/) - One of the guests at the dinner party last weekend was a man from Zambia, who is married to an Icelandic woman and has lived here for about ten years. So of course he was asked the standard question that he's likely been asked a gazillion times: How do you like Iceland? To which he
- [Party animals](https://aldasigmunds.com/party-animals/) - Am somewhat bedraggled today because had rather an excellent time last night at the party, although not quite as excellent as EPI, who went full-out and took no prisoners. It had all the ingredients of a successful Icelandic bash: Copious amounts of wine, excellent food [reindeer carpaccio with raspberry vinaigrette; grilled monkfish; chocolate soufflé], coffee
- [Hedz up! we have famous people...](https://aldasigmunds.com/hedz-up-we-have-famous-people/) - Quentin Tarantino’s in Niceland, and here's the story: He’s got this friend named Eli Roth who made a horror film called Cabin Fever. Eli’s a bit of an Icelandophile, lived here for a year when he was 19, in Selfoss. There he was lucky enough to catch some awful infectious skin disease which later became
- [Honour and other killings](https://aldasigmunds.com/honour-and-other-killings/) - In the comments box to yesterday’s post, the phrase 'honour killing' popped up a couple of times. Prophetically enough, yesterday was in fact the very first time an immigrant was sentenced to prison for an honour killing here in Iceland. The case concerned two Vietnamese men. Last spring, one of them stabbed the other to
- [Immigrant issues](https://aldasigmunds.com/immigrant-issues/) - The current situation in France and, alas, elsewhere in Europe, has prompted a lot of discussion here in Iceland in recent days. You see, as the Fréttablaðið editorial so succinctly put it this morning, Iceland still has the 'luxury' of being able to learn from others' mistakes when it comes to immigration. This country is
- [Gas station florist wisdom](https://aldasigmunds.com/gas-station-florist-wisdom/) - I stopped at a gas station convenience store today to pick up a bouquet of flowers, as you do. Gas Station Cashier Guy [indicating bar code on cellophane flower wrapping]: You know if you remove that tag, everyone will think you bought those at [insert name of Iceland's main fresh flower retailer]. YT: Yeah, but
- [Malfunction](https://aldasigmunds.com/malfunction/) - It's happening with ridiculous frequency: "There has been a breakdown in the Farice sub-sea cable off the coast of Scotland. Repairs will be underway for the next few hours. In the meantime all online traffic is being directed through the Cantat3 cable. Users should expect disruptions to service..." etc.etc. The Farice cable is one of
- [Skidding](https://aldasigmunds.com/skidding/) - Is there any feeling scarier than sitting behind the wheel of a car and suddenly feeling you've lost control? [OK, I'm sure there are, but that has to be one of the worst]. That's just what happened this morning when I was driving AAH to work at the bakery [for the very last time WE
- [In which YT rambles](https://aldasigmunds.com/in-which-yt-rambles/) - EPI and I are getting all cultural today and heading out to a concert at Hallgrímskirkja church. On the programme, two requiems: Mozart's and Faurés. I love the former and am not familiar with the latter; however, EPI informs me that it is 'lighter' than Mozart's because Fauré was more resigned to dying than the
- [MTV VMAs dissected](https://aldasigmunds.com/mtv-vmas-dissected/) - So EPI and I flaked out on the couch last night to watch the MTV European Music Video Awards. Me because I’m a sucker for award shows; EPI because I’d promised him a Good Time. I felt I could safely make that promise because Borat was hosting and if there’s one character that can make
- [SAD and happy](https://aldasigmunds.com/sad-and-happy/) - The snooze button is my best friend at this time of year. [Honestly, I don’t know why the inventor of the snooze button hasn’t been canonized.] Let me tell you, it takes superhuman effort to drag my butt out of bed when it’s pitch dark outside. It’s occasions like those that truly make me appreciate
- [I can't believe I made the whole thing!](https://aldasigmunds.com/i-cant-believe-i-made-the-whole-thing/) - ... In the north. The day before yesterday around 100 cars were trapped on the ring road in Húnavatnssýsla for hours on end in a raging blizzard. Rescue squads eventually got everyone [around 200 people] to safety but they had to spend the night in a community centre and eat Icelandic meat soup [yum]. The
- [Mystery solved](https://aldasigmunds.com/mystery-solved/) - Today I made four significant phone calls. PHONE CALL NUMBER ONEWas to the police to report the placement of the mysterious Toyota Yaris with the open purse inside. Got a gruff-sounding officer on the phone who in no time had looked up the licence plate number and provided YT with both the name and address
- [Sherlock](https://aldasigmunds.com/sherlock/) - There is a Toyota Yaris parked outside our building, effectively blocking the entrance to the parking lot [you can squeeze a car in, but very slowly]. This is not an anomaly in Iceland; the Icelanders’ parking is on par with their driving, in that a large part of the population appears to think that the
- [The time warp again](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-time-warp-again/) - So, come this morning, YT was chomping at the bit to go back to the ÚTSALA in the decrepit old building. [I failed to mention last time that it’s only open on Fridays and Saturdays and yesterday we were very sensibly deterred due to weather.] EPI was less enthusiastic about going, preferring to spend his
- [Endorphin DTs](https://aldasigmunds.com/endorphin-dts/) - Today's weather: ... Just add howling gale-force winds [exceeding 20m/sec] and temps of -2°C. And a rabid YT, suffering from endorphin withdrawal and cabin fever. Do not piss me off.
- [Time warp](https://aldasigmunds.com/time-warp/) - I had the most bizarre experience the other day. There’s a street I frequently drive along called Mýrargata [where this atrocity is located] – not a pretty street by any standards, there’s a shipyard next to it and sort of old, decrepit and sooty industrial buildings and warehouses, mostly. Suddenly a couple of weeks ago,
- [Needy YT](https://aldasigmunds.com/needy-yt/) - As regular readers will know, YT is not a meme fan. However, I found this quite irresistible - and anyway, it's not a proper meme [much]. Plug your name plus the word 'needs' into google, and see what you get: Alda needs to be ready to provide a flawless—not necessarily lovable—moment of truth to those
- [Happy WDO](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-wdo/) - One of the great things about being part of a small nation is that when something is going on, you really feel part of it. The spirit of the event permeates everything, everyone gets caught up in it, and an enormous amount of energy is created. It’s sort of like the feeling you get at
- [It's Women's Day Off](https://aldasigmunds.com/its-womens-day-off/) - Today, 24 October, is Women’s Day Off here in Iceland. On this date 30 years ago, 25,000 Icelandic women walked off the job to call attention to the importance of their contribution to society. Many also took the day off from the household chores. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no women’s work. Instead they
- [All about the weather](https://aldasigmunds.com/all-about-the-weather/) - The view at the end of my street yesterday, 6pm: The evening was gorgeous and the sunset stunning - sadly these pictures never manage to capture the full effect. [And yes, that is the Snæfellsnes glacier in the distance, in case you're wondering]. Later on EPI and I were walking home in the dark and
- [Blogaversary number one](https://aldasigmunds.com/blogaversary-number-one/) - Dear readers. Today, October 20, marks one full year since the Iceland Weather Report started its run. [applause, whoo-hoo! release the balloons] That’s correct. Exactly one year ago on this day, our YT found herself slightly bored. It was October, a slow time of year in the freelance copy editing and translating business, and I
- [The Right Honorable YT](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-right-honorable-yt/) - Remember my three Sellafield posts? Well, sometime back in the spring or early summer I copied them into a single file, gave them a quick revision, and then sent them off to the Writers Digest 74th Annual Writing Competition, which I received notice of through an e-zine I subscribe to. After which I promptly forgot
- [Squeaky cleanland](https://aldasigmunds.com/squeaky-cleanland/) - Breaking news: Iceland tops the list of countries with the least corruption within the public sector, according to an organization called Transparency International. For a long while it has beenno. 2, right behind Finland, and last year it shared 3-4 place with Denmark. This year - top marks. I noticed the BBC wasted no time
- [My life has a soundtrack!](https://aldasigmunds.com/my-life-has-a-soundtrack/) - Up until now, I have been happily exempt from the iPod craze. I mean, I’ve thought they were pretty cool and everything, but have remained completely laissez-faire about owning one. Sure, if someone had given me one for my birthday I wouldn’t have thrown it back in their face or anything, but aside from that
- [A tale of two houses](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-tale-of-two-houses/) - EYE CANDY This is a typical example of an Icelandic house from the early part of the last century. These were made of wood and covered with corrugated iron siding - something that is still very common here, particularly if the houses are made of timber. This type of siding has a lot of advantages,
- [An ugly picture](https://aldasigmunds.com/an-ugly-picture/) - I think it’s fair to say that the Icelandic nation is profoundly shaken as a result of a book that came out a few days ago. It’s called Myndin af pabba [The Picture of my Father] and tells the true story of five sisters who as children were systematically molested by their father, and sold
- [Switcheroo](https://aldasigmunds.com/switcheroo/) - Iceland has two* main television stations: The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service [RÚV to us locals] and Channel 2. Both of those have newsrooms, and both have a sort of current affairs programme immediately after the news. Very recently, one of the main news anchors from Channel 2 was appointed Director of RÚV [a highly coveted
- [More thrilling Baugur action](https://aldasigmunds.com/more-thrilling-baugur-action/) - So, yesterday the Supreme Court threw out 80% of the charges in the Baugur case. Missed the prequel? Here’s a [very] brief summary: This past summer, the founders and key executives of Baugur Group, which owns half of Iceland and is working on the UK, were indicted on 40 separate criminal charges, mostly involving embezzlement
- [Virtual tour of Þingvellir](https://aldasigmunds.com/virtual-tour-of-þingvellir/) - It was absolutely beautiful yesterday so EPI and I decided to go to Þingvellir. [That's pronounced 'Thingvellir'. Not 'Pingvellir'. Unless you want every Icelander you meet to laugh themselves silly at you.] Þingvellir is the sort of place you reserve for absolutely beautiful days because it's special. [Plus it's really good to go there if
- [Brilliant!](https://aldasigmunds.com/brilliant/) - The Most Original Blog Post Award goes to Nancy, who entered the names of her 'favorite bloggers' into google image search, and posted the results. Check out my picture. If it ain't the very spitting image - and who knew that YT shared a name with New Zealand's first international prima donna?! AS FOR THE
- [Besserwisser](https://aldasigmunds.com/besserwisser/) - You know what I absolutely love? I love it when I go out somewhere and someone corrects my English. YT: I think we'll try some of that lamb sirloin. Pedantic Store Clerk: Some of that sir-lo-een. YT: [to EPI] Don't you think? Some of that sirloin? PSC: Sir-lo-een.* END ÁR ÆSLANDIK VEÐER IS...**This morning one
- [Road tales](https://aldasigmunds.com/road-tales/) - Today I took my life in my hands and ventured out into Reykjavík traffic. Man! I've said it before and I'll say it again: Icelandic drivers are the scariest in the Whole Wide World. I drove to visit my friend L. up in Mosfellsbær [let's call it a suburb of Reykjavík, even though it's its
- [Top 'o the news](https://aldasigmunds.com/top-o-the-news/) - WE'RE THE BEST YEA YEA YEAIceland scored big points in a Guardian/Observer reader survey, landing the top seat in the category 'Favourite European country'. Which meant we won some award that some guy that we've never heard of got to pick up. [Who IS that guy? And who are those scary smiling people?] HOMER SIMPSON
- [What's in a mail?](https://aldasigmunds.com/whats-in-a-mail/) - Well, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed the brief respite from the Baugur affair, because herewith continues our reporting of one of the most titillating soap operas in Icelandic history: Yesterday an attorney working for Jónína Benediktsdóttir, accompanied by a representative from the Reykjavík District Magistrate, turned up at Fréttablaðið to confiscate all of Jónína’s
- [Festival happyland](https://aldasigmunds.com/festival-happyland/) - So last night they have this interview programme on TV, where a woman is introducing the Reykjavík International Film Festival, which begins today. YT: [idly, to EPI, over dinner] That’s funny, I thought the film festival wasn’t until next month. EPI: [idly, to YT, chewing] No, it’s tomorrow. It starts tomorrow. YT: Hm. I could
- [Sordid e-mails and other fun stuff](https://aldasigmunds.com/sordid-e-mails-and-other-fun-stuff/) - Well good, I’m glad you’re all enjoying this story because there’s more. It’s arrived at the point now where the initial feeling of stunned surprise has died down and the nation sort of leans back and observes the two camps going at it like wild beasts. Everybody’s demanding an investigation into everyone else, everyone is
- [Stormy](https://aldasigmunds.com/stormy/) - The rather sparse use of the comment boxes over the past couple of days would indicate that the topic under discussion is not a huge hit; however, please bear with me, it is the single most significant matter the Icelandic nation currently has to contend with and really no different to, say, an earthquake or
- [Scary monsters super creeps](https://aldasigmunds.com/scary-monsters-super-creeps/) - Well, the earth has continued to quake here in Iceland today as Fréttablaðið kept emptying out its dirty postal bag containing secret e-mails sent in the strictest confidence between some very powerful individuals about two years ago. [Here’s a valuable lesson: Do not ever think that what you send in an email is private!] As
- [Baugur BOOM!](https://aldasigmunds.com/baugur-boom/) - Well. I think it’s safe to say that the Icelandic nation is absolutely gobsmacked over the two bombs dropped by daily paper Fréttablaðið this weekend – one yesterday [boom], one today [BOOM]. It concerns the Baugur case, which I have steadfastly tried to keep my fingers off in this space, if only because a) I
- [AAH and the interpretation of úlpa](https://aldasigmunds.com/aah-and-the-interpretation-of-ulpa/) - SOCIAL CALENDAR OF AAH, AGED 14 Friday, 4pm: Meeting of community centre council.Friday, 6pm: Dinner at friend's place.Friday, 7pm: Joined by posse of galfriends, glam self up for...Friday, 8pm: Dance at community centre. Saturday 7am: Work in bakerySaturday 4pm: Go home.Saturday 8pm: Go to partySaturday 12 midnight: Get ass home! Sunday 10am: Work in bakerySunday
- [Sunshine](https://aldasigmunds.com/sunshine/) - Such a serene day. No fear No anxiety No insecurity No resentments No impatience No unreasonable expectations No adverse reactions to others' behaviour ... Just a buoyant heart and a sense that everything is as itshould be. I'll take more of those. Please. PERHAPS IT WAS THE SUNSHINEThis morning was one of the most beautiful
- [More useless trivia...](https://aldasigmunds.com/more-useless-trivia/) - There are 293,537 cellular phones in use in Iceland. There are 293,577 Icelanders. Which means that somewhere on this rock there are 40 poor unfortunates who are not constantly reachable on their 'gemsi'.* Spare a thought. MEANWHILE, TODAY'S REYKJAVÍK WEATHER...... ran the gamut from brilliant sunshine to slightly overcast, to drizzly, to downpour, to sleet.
- [Brains for dinner](https://aldasigmunds.com/brains-for-dinner/) - Tonight at dinner EPI entertained me with tales of what his daughter did at the hospital today. [She in turn had entertained him with these earlier]. She's interning, and today it was brain surgery. Evidently they simply slice the scalp open along the hair line and peel the skin back. ["It's loose - see, if
- [Warning: do not read this while eating](https://aldasigmunds.com/warning-do-not-read-this-while-eating/) - A new and alarming trend has been sweeping the Icelandic nation of late. It is this: men picking their noses in public. On a grand national scale. I kid you not. I first noticed the odd guy doing it in his car, stopped at a red light. I’d turn and glance [as you do] and
- [Useless Icelandic trivia](https://aldasigmunds.com/useless-icelandic-trivia/) - Today I caught on to the real meaning of the Icelandic word for ‘midwife’ – which is ‘ljósmóðir’. ‘Ljós’ means ‘light’ and ‘móðir’ means ‘mother’ – so a midwife is a ‘mother’ who helps the child into the light. Just figured I’d share that little epiphany. AND WHILE I’M HEREHow many of you out there
- [Flat buttocks and a toy](https://aldasigmunds.com/flat-buttocks-and-a-toy/) - Went to Penis Mall today, specifically to go to Zara. It’s my store of choice when I want to pick up something new to wear, because their clothes are stylish and smart and don’t cost a bloody fortune. [So what if you have to throw them out after a few months because they’re faded and
- [Fisherman's plug!](https://aldasigmunds.com/fishermans-plug/) - Have I mentioned how much I love Emiliana Torrini’s latest CD, Fisherman's Woman? It’s so gorgeous. The melodies are delicate and simple – they manage to get under your skin so that suddenly without realizing it you’re hearing them in your head wherever you go. But the loveliest thing about them is their gentleness and
- [More immortal plumber wisdom.](https://aldasigmunds.com/more-immortal-plumber-wisdom/) - [NB: if you're reading this category in full you might want to start at the bottom.] So – our man showed up at 9am, as promised. [I’ve never met a more punctual plumber - it ain’t normal.] Having taken his shoes off outside the door [this is new] he marched directly to the bathroom and
- [Return of the plumber](https://aldasigmunds.com/return-of-the-plumber/) - Today I had occasion to call up the immortal plumber. Contrary to what regular readers may believe, the reason is not that I am wasting away from want of his enchanting company. The thing is that when he sledgehammered his way through the bathroom wall and removed the bathtub faucet, he also removed the little
- [Weekend escapades](https://aldasigmunds.com/weekend-escapades/) - ON SATURDAYI took my visiting sister to the cemetery, as you do. Note bene, it is a nice cemetery, the nicest in Reykjavík, in terms of character at least. It's the oldest, and it's where all the Important People are buried [the People that used to be Important, that is - they're all dead now]
- [Famous authors alert!](https://aldasigmunds.com/famous-authors-alert/) - Hot on the heels of YT’s declaration that ‘nothing ever happens in Iceland in September’ comes the Reykjavík Literary Festival with its line-up of luminaries. This year’s festival – which started yesterday – is packed with a Whole Bunch of Famous Authors: Margaret Atwood, Graeme Gibson, Paul Auster, Siri Hustvedt, Nick Hornby, Annie Proulx, DBC
- [Pieces and bits](https://aldasigmunds.com/pieces-and-bits/) - A lot of fun points came up in the last comment thread; however, before I address those let me assure Cat that AAH had a great day at work on Saturday [despite the text message that came mid-afternoon declaring that she was dead on her feet and had better get paid real good for this]
- [Midnight sun or northern lights or big bash or...](https://aldasigmunds.com/midnight-sun-or-northern-lights-or-big-bash-or/) - Waterhot deposited a comment here yesterday asking if the end of September is a good time to visit Iceland. And while I’d love to respond with a blithe ‘Oh, any time is a good time to visit Iceland!’ I thought I’d give a bit more thought to both the question and the answer. And post
- [meme dilemme](https://aldasigmunds.com/meme-dilemme/) - A few days ago, Nancy tagged me with a meme. And threw me for a loop because I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to memes [as regular readers may recall]. Of course I couldn’t pretend not to have seen it because that would just be stupid. And having acknowledged to Nancy that
- [Wanna job? Here's a job!](https://aldasigmunds.com/wanna-job-heres-a-job/) - To wit: AAH, aged 14, heads downtown today with her girlfriends, as girlfriends-aged-14 do. Returns home and announces with great enthusiasm: 'I have a job!' YT: [...] Seems she's got a job at an upmarket bakery downtown. Evidently the manageress felt she was a tad too young... [wince, chew-on-nails] but in the end relented. Because,
- [Jobs a go-go!](https://aldasigmunds.com/jobs-a-go-go/) - Niceland is waking up to an alarming problem. Now that all the students are going back to school, it seems there are a lot more jobs to go around than there are people to fill them. Which as you can imagine is not a happy state of affairs. As early as Monday, day-care centres run
- [Flags of our Extras](https://aldasigmunds.com/flags-of-our-extras/) - According to today’s Fréttablaðið, old Clint Eastwood and co. have been having a spot of trouble with the 400-or-so extras on the Flags of Our Fathers set. Seems they’re becoming increasingly disinclined to show up for work. A couple of factors are cited for the rather bleh! attendance – first, the novelty appears to have
- [Joe Cockoverload](https://aldasigmunds.com/joe-cockoverload/) - Joe Cocker is in Iceland to give a concert later in the week. Consequently we the poor innocent radio-listening public are being constantly subjected to Joe’s slaughtering of various well-known tunes in his trademark growl-slash-constipated vocals. EPI and YT have had just about enough because, not that we have anything against old JC, but he
- [Cottage country in pictures](https://aldasigmunds.com/cottage-country-in-pictures/) - EPI and R battle it out with water pistols by the hot tub. One made sure One took along One's personal chefs. Water water everywhere.... ... everywhere... Ten points if you can guess what this is. Is there any greater work of art than that created by nature?I ask you! ... Did I already say
- [Chill](https://aldasigmunds.com/chill/) - Going here. Going to do this. The weather is gorgeous - sunny and bright, with just a hint of wind. Temperatures are 10°C at the moment, daybreak was at 04.59 and nightfall set for 21.56. Back tomorrow!
- [Funeral for a friend](https://aldasigmunds.com/funeral-for-a-friend/) - Have just returned home from the funeral of a relative. In Icelandic we say 'frændi' - being a term that covers all male relatives. Similarly, 'frænka' covers all female relatives. He wasn't a very close relative - he and my father were cousins - but one dear to me nonetheless. When I was small, he
- [The Plumber Speaks and Speaks...](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-plumber-speaks-and-speaks/) - Back by popular demand, we give you more immortal words from The Plumber: ON SHORT TENDONS ‘I was thinking that your problem might be a leak behind the bathtub. I started thinking about that while I was soaking in the bath this morning. I have short tendons. When I was a kid I used to
- [Cultural intoxication](https://aldasigmunds.com/cultural-intoxication/) - One of the very best things the current municipal government has done is to launch the annual event known as ‘Reykjavík Culture Night’. It started off ten years ago as a moderately-sized end-of-summer diversion, but has morphed into the biggest bash of the year, outshining even the 17 July Independence Day celebrations and the 23
- [Big Bash Night!](https://aldasigmunds.com/big-bash-night/) - It's Reykjavík Culture Night and the weather is fine, lalala....
- [The Plumber Speaks](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-plumber-speaks/) - Yesterday I had the great fortune of having a plumber here for the better part of the day, who knew absolutely everything there was to know about everything. And was passionate about sharing that knowledge with YT. To the point where it was difficult to ascertain if the plumber had actually come to repair a
- [Leaky pipe](https://aldasigmunds.com/leaky-pipe/) - Last night, after a lurrvely dinner at home with some great company, YT retired at 12.50am. Precisely one hour later, at 1.50am, she was shaken out of her slumber by a highly agitated EPI standing over her and declaring, “We’ve got serious trouble!” EPI went on to mutter something incoherent about a puddle, trickling water
- [YT complains](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-complains/) - Here’s something I bet you didn’t know: YT is renowned for her remarkable skills in the art of complaint. [Yes, it’s true.] Take f’rinstance the Tale of the Expired Hamburger Buns, frequently related at family gatherings and other momentous occasions. It goes something like this: YT heads out to Bónus to buy hamburgers. Is successful
- [Ta da!](https://aldasigmunds.com/ta-da/) - For Louise, and anyone else who cannot imagine what mint green pumps with kitten heels look like [not to mention anyone with a shoe fetish] I give you... THE PUMPS ... Now if I could just find something to wear them with, I'd be all set. TODAY'S NICELAND WEATHERGrey, blustery, reasonably mild. It was raining
- [Raiding the High Street](https://aldasigmunds.com/raiding-the-high-street/) - Purchases garnered today through a last-minute raid on the remaining summer sales: 1. Pair of mint green pumps with kitten heels. YT never wears green, much less mint green, but the leather was simply too exquisite to pass up. Plus they were 50% off. 2. 1 Gerald Darel top of the finest cotton; light blue.
- [Cockatiel love](https://aldasigmunds.com/cockatiel-love/) - Polly the cockatiel is driving me insane. She refuses to leave me alone. At this very moment she is running back and forth outside the door to the room I am in [little feet-pitter patter], back-and-forth, back-and-forth, and occasionally emitting the sharpest, most piercing cockatiel sounds you will ever hear in your life. It's the
- [A tragedy](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-tragedy/) - Dreadful news yesterday: a horrific car accident in east Iceland, a private vehicle in collision with a transport truck. Two passengers dead at the scene, the driver sustained life-threatening injuries. Only today did we discover that the driver is one of EPI's colleagues. She's in critical condition, underwent operations last night and again today. Doctors
- [God's little joke...](https://aldasigmunds.com/gods-little-joke/) - What-oh-what would possess Him to make it so that two women living in the same household always get their periods at the same time? Hmm? Are we s'posed to be laughing? THE WEATHERCrappy. Rainy. Oh and guess what? Current temps are 12°C. Betcha didn't see that one coming. Daybreak 03.47, nightfall 23.15. Off to bed
- [Romanian orphans and things flying](https://aldasigmunds.com/romanian-orphans-and-things-flying/) - EPI’s eldest daughter went off to Romania a few days ago. She’s there for a month to work in an orphanage in a region about an hour out of Bucharest. She’s a medical student, going into her fourth year in September, and last summer she was in Slovakia to work in a hospital with a
- [Gay Parade](https://aldasigmunds.com/gay-parade/) - It was Gay Pride day in Reykjavík yesterday. EPI and YT went and checked out their oh-so-fantabulous parade, along with 39,998 others. I managed to snap a handful of photos before my camera battery conked out on me. Iceland allows gays and lesbians to marry in a civil ceremony [although they don't call it 'marriage'
- [Speeding deadlines](https://aldasigmunds.com/speeding-deadlines/) - Friday again! How did that happen? I guess this is what transpires when you barely look up from the computer screen for days on end... that's right, after a fairly lax July [in which all of Iceland practically shuts down - well, except if you work in tourism] YT has well and truly been hurled
- [Money can't buy you... privacy](https://aldasigmunds.com/money-cant-buy-you-privacy/) - I now have that audacious publication in my hot little hands: the one with the salaries of all my fellow citizens in it. Yes, dear readers, YT is not above a little salacious snooping. And before I go further, let it be known Ithat I stand corrected: it reveals the wages not of 1,000 Icelanders
- [To spy or not to spy?](https://aldasigmunds.com/to-spy-or-not-to-spy/) - This is the time of year when the Icelandic tax office makes public the tax records of every single Icelander in the country. Think I'm joking? I'm not. At this time every year, the taxman has finished going over all the income tax statements filed in the spring, and has sent out his verdict. And
- [Slimy goodness](https://aldasigmunds.com/slimy-goodness/) - The place we stayed for the last three days of our hiking adventure is called Lýsuhóll and is on the southern Snæfellsnes peninsula. One of the things that makes Lýsuhóll particularly unique is that it has an extraordinarily slimy swimming pool. This swimming pool is actually filled with natural mineral water that is warm and
- [Travelogue - stripped down, but still kinda long](https://aldasigmunds.com/travelogue-stripped-down-but-still-kinda-long/) - We set off on our little hiking adventure on a Friday. For the first two days we had a base camp in a fairly remote little valley called Hítardalur [right by Hítarhólmur on this map], which has a river running through it and is very lovely. Our hut was very basic, typical of a mountain
- [Busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy...](https://aldasigmunds.com/busybusybusybusybusybusybusybusybusy/) - [...click]
- [Newsflash: Flickr and YT bury hatchet](https://aldasigmunds.com/newsflash-flickr-and-yt-bury-hatchet/) - The church at Búdir Originally uploaded by Alda Kalda. Remember [if you will] how I said I didn't like Flickr because it took forever to load and such? Well I've changed my mind. I now LOVE Flickr - because it has allowed me to upload a WHOLE BUNCH of my hiking photos for your viewing
- [Haloscan.Eats.Comments.](https://aldasigmunds.com/haloscaneatscomments/) - Everyone! I've noted that Haloscan has eaten a few of my comments lately. Just wanted to let you know I have not deleted them - I love getting your comments. OK; I'm off. Ciao!
- [Concerted](https://aldasigmunds.com/concerted/) - Went to see Emiliana Torrini tonight. Her big homecoming since she became a 'star' - of sorts, well since she wrote a hit song for Kylie Minogue and got nominated for a Grammy. Now, generally I hate going to concerts a) because you have to stand for hours, b) because I'm short and generally wind
- [Technoless](https://aldasigmunds.com/technoless/) - Had a serious case of Techno Blues yesterday. So serious in fact that the laptop had to be carted off to the shop so all those supernice Og Vodafone techie people could operate on it. Which they have - and now everything is hunky dory except for one thing - every couple of minutes there's
- [FamousYoungIcelandLovingAmericanBritsWho...](https://aldasigmunds.com/famousyoungicelandlovingamericanbritswho/) - In the news: Liv Ullmann is here to scout around for locations to shoot a film she’s directing, based on a novel by Icelandic golden boy Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson. Never heard of him? Well then how about Olaf Olafsson? No? Okay, well, I’ll tell you more about him tomorrow and you can bet that it
- [Sauna Zen](https://aldasigmunds.com/sauna-zen/) - Right. I shall now proceed to tell you why my cottage country is THE MOST FABULOUS PLACE [for rest and relaxation] in all of Iceland. It’s because of this: Seen from another angle…: And another…: [No, I do not know that man. No, it is not EPI.] Can you guess what it is?? Well I
- [Cottage country](https://aldasigmunds.com/cottage-country/) - Here in Iceland we have a groovy system: labour unions buy summer cottages that their members can rent for a nominal fee. [That’s pretty much every salaried employee, because if you work for someone, you belong to a union]. It’s a pretty cool deal. I’ve been going to a cottage belonging to the journalists’ union
- [WARNING: Rant coming up](https://aldasigmunds.com/warning-rant-coming-up/) - Oh, f'rgodssakes! Here I had this blog post all carved out with pictures and everything - and when I go to upload the pictures in imagecave so that I can resize and post them, I get stonewalled. [cue nasal-sounding computer-generated voice] "Your login has expired OR The URL for the album you're trying to view
- [Hats off to London](https://aldasigmunds.com/hats-off-to-london/) - So, we went away for a few days. Back now. On day six of being away we learned of the atrocities in London. Cocooned in our little summer house in arguably the best place in Iceland to make you feel coddled [more on that later] we were stunned and shocked and grieved to learn that
- [Famous people. Alert.](https://aldasigmunds.com/famous-people-alert/) - The Icelanders are in trouble with the Chinese again as the Taiwanese Foreign Minister decided to pop in for a ‘private visit’ yesterday. There’s a picture of him on the front page of Fréttablaðið today, sitting in the back of a luxury car sheltering his face from the Icelandic paparazzi [spurt, guffaw]. Meanwhile, the Icelandic
- [A little bit about grief](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-little-bit-about-grief/) - Thank you friends in Blogland for all your kind words and wishes. They really do mean a lot. There has been no major change. Still, the imminent event seems so overwhelming and huge that just to blog about something silly and insignificant seems, well, silly and insignificant. We go about our daily business – and
- [A serious post](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-serious-post/) - EPI’s mother is dying. It’s a matter of hours now, rather than days. It’s huge and rather scary. I have never been so close to anyone going through this process before; have never observed it up close like this. It’s so often said that here in the West we’re so removed from death – we
- [Phew!](https://aldasigmunds.com/phew/) - Boy, this moving business sure is a pain. All that packing of the old archives into boxes and transporting them to the new address, contacting the relevant parties [electricity, water utilities, service providers, stat counters] to inform them of the changes, and finally going back to the old place to make sure it is left
- [Talking cows and stripping seals](https://aldasigmunds.com/talking-cows-and-stripping-seals/) - It’s midsummer night – one of my very favourite nights of the year. It’s so totally irresistible – that sense of mystique, mischief and celebration. Here in Iceland we don’t celebrate as much as the other Nordic countries do, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t myth and folklore in abundance. On this night… … The
- [Solstice snaps](https://aldasigmunds.com/solstice-snaps/) - EPI and I went out for a nature walk last night, it being the summer solstice and all. Encountered lots of tourists with huge cameras out by the lighthouse, taking pictures of the sun setting behind the clouds. YT wielded her little handy-sized digi-cam and managed to procure these pics, taken at midnight: This is
- [Icelanders dissected](https://aldasigmunds.com/icelanders-dissected/) - Right. So now that I’ve waxed all lyrical about the Icelandic nation and the glory of independence and blablabla, I think it may be time to come down to earth for a short while and dissect the Icelandic national psyche in an effort to find Ten Glaring Flaws. And so, in random order, and completely
- [Independence and bragbragbrag](https://aldasigmunds.com/independence-and-bragbragbrag/) - A lot of people don’t realize that Iceland has only been an independent republic for just over 60 years. Still fewer realize how amazingly far this nation has come in that time. After all, well into the last century, the people of Iceland were still living in turf houses and Reykjavík – now a modern
- [Gleðilega Þjóðhátíð!](https://aldasigmunds.com/gleðilega-þjoðhatið/) - National day. June 17. Celebrated each year to commemorate the day when Iceland officially declared its independence from Denmark in 1944. It’s a big day for the people of this country and there are celebrations ALL DAY LONG. It starts with a ceremonial laying of a wreath at the grave of Jón Sigurðsson, leader of
- [Photoblog!](https://aldasigmunds.com/photoblog/) - So yeah. Went out for a walk last night after pressing PUBLISH. Just as I was about to go out the door who should come home but EPI, so he tagged along. It was about 10 pm and there were lots of people around enjoying the evening. That's Mt. Esja there in the background -
- [Good to know](https://aldasigmunds.com/good-to-know/) - Low self esteem is not a big problem in the YT household: ... Unless EPI put that up there. In which case I would like to know more. THE WEATHER!Another amazing day. Sunny [will it ever rain on this rain-soaked island again?] and warm with temps around 18°C. In fact right now at 9 pm
- [Outlandish](https://aldasigmunds.com/outlandish/) - Being in a somewhat bloglazy mood this evening, I thought I would introduce you to a certain Mr Outlander, whose acquaintance I have recently made. Now this guy has a pretty groovy gig going, namely: touring around Iceland in a beat up old jeep and writing a book about it. Oh, and of course blogging
- [CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER](https://aldasigmunds.com/closed-due-to-weather/) - On days like this, you will often find the above on the doors of shops or businesses in the Reykjavík area. [Except they will be in Icelandic.] That’s right: in Iceland we close due to weather when the sun is shining and the temps are high and everybody peels off their [outer] clothing and heads
- [Bad hair day](https://aldasigmunds.com/bad-hair-day/) - Question: Is there anything more supremely annoying than the sound of a cartoon you're not watching, blaring out of the TV in a language you do not understand? Like, say, The Powerpuff Girls in Swedish?? I think not. IN RELATED NEWS...Last week on holiday I got a sunburn on the top of my head, where
- [Portugal PhotoBlogPost](https://aldasigmunds.com/portugal-photoblogpost/) - So anyway. We went to Portugal. And I know some of you were asking for stories and whatnot and the sad truth is that nothing all that exciting really happened. Well, except for the night we were stuck out in the middle-of-nowhere Algarve shopping mall at midnight and couldn't get a cab. That was kinda
- [More name dropping ahead](https://aldasigmunds.com/more-name-dropping-ahead/) - As previously documented, the Rich and Famous have begun descending on our shores with all their little quirks and eccentricities. Take f’rinstance Iron Maiden, who played a concert here two evenings ago. I love the fact that their lead singer is a professional pilot and used to fly for Iceland Express. So it would follow
- [Piri piri delight](https://aldasigmunds.com/piri-piri-delight/) - There is a certain restaurant in Albufeira that over the past three years has become My Favourite Restaurant in the Whole Wide World. It’s called O Manel dos Frangos – which translates as ‘Manel and his Chickens’ – and it only has two dishes on the menu: piri piri chicken [try saying that out loud,
- [Me. Lucky.](https://aldasigmunds.com/me-lucky/) - Yesterday morning in Portugal we were lying by the pool in immaculate 30°C weather. Later that day we arrived in Iceland to blustery rain and temps of 8°C. Somehow the bare feet and sandals worn on the trip seemed rather misplaced! EPI came and picked us up at the airport. Incidentally, have I ever told
- [How long...](https://aldasigmunds.com/how-long/) - ... Can you lie flat in the sun like a pankake before you are fully cooked? ... Can you stay in a hotel room before you see a nasty bug? ... Can you make a beeline for a shoe shop window before you realize that the Portuguese DO NOT MAKE COOL SHOES? ... Can you
- [So far. So good.](https://aldasigmunds.com/so-far-so-good/) - Weather: Sun. Sun. Sun. Small cloud. Sun. Temps around 30 degrees Celsius. Light refreshing breeze coming off the Atlantic. In short: PERFECT! Status of tan: cafe latte with sprinkle of freckles. Status of AAH tan: chocolate brown. Number of hours spent next to hotel pool: 10. Number of hours spent at beach: 2 (too few!)
- [Graduations and other exciting stuff](https://aldasigmunds.com/graduations-and-other-exciting-stuff/) - Phew! Busy weekend. My brother graduating on Friday; party at my father’s house. EPI’s daughter graduating on Saturday; a two-hour ceremony in the afternoon, then a party at the ex’s. Which always presents its unique set of challenges. I’ll say no more. And a bunch of other stuff, like EPI’s sister turning 40 on Saturday,
- [You cannot be serious](https://aldasigmunds.com/you-cannot-be-serious/) - When I go out for my run along the seashore, I very soon encounter this: As you can see, this is a perfectly demure little seaside-park-type thingy. It was put there last year, and quite a lot of work and precision went into it. I know, because I witnessed the proceedings every other day when
- [A long post about nothing in particular](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-long-post-about-nothing-in-particular/) - Boy, it’s been a Very Long Time since I’ve been so completely devoid of inspiration when it comes to posting. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so deflated in the blogging department. Writers’ blog? Blogstipation? What to write. I could use the old trick of google searches, I suppose. Quick perusal… hm
- [What the...?](https://aldasigmunds.com/what-the/) - Today EPI and I were walking to the store when we chanced upon this: Now what, pray tell, were all those neatly-stacked empty plastic containers doing in that bus shelter, with not a soul within a 500-metre radius? Were they left there by a benign Tupperware fairy? Were they waiting for the bus? 'There are
- [YT the information sponge](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-the-information-sponge/) - It's exam week and I've been helping AAH study. I'm learning so many interesting things! F'rinstance, did you know that Icelandic women only earned the right to vote in 1915, and the age limit was 40 years? And prior to the advent of labour unions, an Icelandic labourer had to work 10-11 hours a day,
- [Of pervs, Eurovision and folk](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-pervs-eurovision-and-folk/) - I find it utterly alarming how many hits I'm getting via google searches for 'Icelandic sluts', 'promiscuous Icelandic', 'Icelandic teenage sex', etc. In fact, in the time it took me to write this post, one came through looking for 'iceland, women, sex'. [Hey, punk! Go hump someone in your own neighbourhood!] So many pervs out
- [Hanging.Free.Masons.](https://aldasigmunds.com/hangingfreemasons/) - We're having some masonry work done to the outside of our building and here's a pic I took of one of the workers: ... and another one when he leaned over, wheeeee.... Meanwhile, Polly the cockatiel sat on her laundry basket, trying to convince herself that The Apocalypse Was Not Nigh... ...and that a snooze
- [… And you’re out!](https://aldasigmunds.com/and-youre-out/) - Was it the clothes? The dancers? The absence of drums? The nepotism? Such are the questions preoccupying the Icelandic nation, after our girl Selma was eliminated in the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals last night. I think it’s safe to say that everyone was ‘surprised’. After all, Selma had been tipped as a favourite by Eurovision-enthusiasts
- [Camping out](https://aldasigmunds.com/camping-out/) - The Eurovision preliminaries are tonight, held to decide who gets to move through to the main contest, which is on Saturday. Icelanders lo-ove Eurovision. [Even if they pooh-pooh it and proclaim to be way above it all.] I reckon that nowhere-but-nowhere are our small-nation insecurities so glaringly apparent. After all, this is our once-a-year chance
- [Is this?](https://aldasigmunds.com/is-this/) - Before dropping yesterday’s Big Question, I leave you with one of my favourite quotes [already cited in yesterday’s comments], and a picture of one of my favourite statues for your contemplation: [Ahem] “Art that doesn’t deal with man’s relationship to God is worthless.” – Ingmar Bergman. Summertime is upon us [well almost] which means Iceland
- [If it makes you want to puke, is it art?](https://aldasigmunds.com/if-it-makes-you-want-to-puke-is-it-art/) - The Reykjavík Arts Festival kicked off this weekend. This year it focuses on “contemporary art”. EPI and YT checked out some of it. First stop, the Dieter Roth exhibition at the Reykjavík Art Museum, where the late Mr Roth’s floorboards are hung on the walls, along with a bunch of his doodle papers and such.
- [A series of remarkable events](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-series-of-remarkable-events/) - TODAY1. EPI scaled Mt. Esja and called YT from the summit, first time this season. 2. YT lounged in the sun for three hours at the Laugardalslaug pool, first time this season. 3. Polly the cockatiel flew out into the Great Outdoors, first time ever.* WEATHERFantastico. Brilliant sunshine, hardly any wind. At the swimming pool
- [This post is not about Sellafield](https://aldasigmunds.com/this-post-is-not-about-sellafield/) - RIGHT, WHO TOOK MY SIDEBAR?!My sidebar’s gone AWOL. It’s not even dropped to the bottom of the page, as it’s been known to do on previous occasions. It’s just totally vanished. Also, the post at the bottom of the page has been chopped in half. Do we have the Wrath of the Sellafieldinians? Is that
- [The Big Pond](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-big-pond/) - Having toured the Sellafield Graveyard of Radioactive Waste, it was time to return to the Modern Age. After swinging our legs back over the knee-high box and allowing a space-age type gadget to test us for contamination, we left the dreary old building behind and returned to the bus, which drove through scary industrial streets
- [Radio.Active.](https://aldasigmunds.com/radioactive/) - There are two types of tours of the Sellafield plant – a benign happy-go-lucky sightseeing tour [for I-don’t-know-who], and another for journalists, press officers, visiting government ministers, and other dignitaries. YT [obviously] belonged to the latter category. We met at the Sellafield hotel around 9 am, where we were treated to a pre-tour lecture. Unfortunately
- [Sellafield scare](https://aldasigmunds.com/sellafield-scare/) - Spooky news out of England: the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant has sprung a leak. And that leak must be pretty substantial, seeing as how they’ve closed the whole plant down – and we’re not talking a mere building or two, but an area the size of a small town, with 10,000 employees. You can believe
- [Look here!](https://aldasigmunds.com/look-here/) - I took this photo three nights ago, down by the seashore a block away from my place, at 10 pm. [Click on it for an enlarged view.] What you see in the distance is the Snæfellsnes glacier, which supposedly is one of the seven Chakras of the world. People claim it has mystical powers, and
- [Weekend bliss](https://aldasigmunds.com/weekend-bliss/) - What an eminently civilized Saturday! We slept late, lazed around in bed until 11.15, then got up and prepared some French toast and coffee for breakfast. At which time EPI got it into his head [after looking at the invitation card he’d received, that is] that there were going to be art exhibition openings all
- [A long post about Oprah and sex](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-long-post-about-oprah-and-sex/) - WARNING: MAY OFFEND OPRAH WORSHIPPERS Several months ago it was announced that the Queen of American Television, the mighty Oprah Winfrey, had cast her benevolent eye upon the Icelandic female population and wished to feature it on her program, as part of something called ‘Oprah takes you around the world’. After considerable speculation, unconfirmed reports
- [See YT bumble from one thing to another](https://aldasigmunds.com/see-yt-bumble-from-one-thing-to-another/) - Cripes! I have so much time on my hands that I don’t know what to do with myself. After having been snowed under with assignments for the last few weeks, everything has sort of slowed to a trickle and for the last couple of days there’s been nothing. Which is excellent, because I’ve managed to
- [Snap. Out of it.](https://aldasigmunds.com/snap-out-of-it/) - Excellent advice, everybody - thank you! I think I've come up with a couple of good ideas for my 'headache' conundrum, as well... FIRST: HALOSCAN BASHINGThere’s nothing like a good rant to get the blood rushing to the head. And today, the recipient of my rant shall be... Haloscan. Stupid old Haloscan. They persist in
- [BlogSexyUndies](https://aldasigmunds.com/blogsexyundies/) - You know, sometimes somebody comes along and articulates a thought that has been floating around in your head without your even knowing it. This is precisely what I happened this evening when I read Paperback Writer’s post, in which she likens the blogging experience to a romantic relationship. First you have the ‘oh this is
- [A very long post, but with pictures](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-very-long-post-but-with-pictures/) - Here’s a tip: if you’re thinking of using your little travel iron, which you occasionally like to use instead of the more cumbersome and occasionally leaky ‘regular’ iron, and someone tells you that they’ve just used it and it may still be ‘warm’, DO NOT assume that it’s 'WARM' and not 'HOT', and consequently grasp
- [Lost in translation - again!](https://aldasigmunds.com/lost-in-translation-again/) - Ladies and gents, it's the moment you’ve all been waiting for…YES, it’s another episode of…MFUDDLED ENGLISH LANGUAGE SIGNS! [Applause] [Whoo-hoo!] In a City restaurant:OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WEEKENDS TOO. In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET
- [The neighbourhood sights...](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-neighbourhood-sights/) - When I go out for a spin on my bicyclette, I head west along the seashore and soon encounter this: This is a traditional old hut used for drying fish, which was one of the common ways of preserving food here in the old days. This hut is still used for that purpose, as your
- [Bleeding Polly](https://aldasigmunds.com/bleeding-polly/) - Film tip: If you get a chance to see The House of Flying Daggers, GO! We went this evening and I came out of the theatre completely lost in another world. Visually stunning, emotionally engrossing, incredibly moving, completely enchanting. A bit like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, only more subtle and yet more powerful. I loved
- [Yah, right!](https://aldasigmunds.com/yah-right/) - YT's efforts to educate the household members are met with blatant disregard: Sigh. THE WEATHERWas fantastic today. Sunny spells, hardly any wind, warm [for us], meaning highs of around 14°C. Took the bike out for a spin late this afternoon to the lighthouse that sits on the end of the peninsula located about a 10
- [me me me me](https://aldasigmunds.com/me-me-me-me/) - Imagine the delight of those tourists about to set off on a whale watching expedition yesterday when a humpback whale measuring 8-10 metres came swimming into the harbour here in Reykjavík [just a 15 minute walk from my place]. It hung around for ages, before finding its way out again on its own. Whales are
- [Plant Film Weather](https://aldasigmunds.com/plant-film-weather/) - Well, I did not go to see Robert Plant and band. Instead I instructed EPI to call me on his cell if they played a) Stairway to Heaven, b) Immigrant Song. AAH and I then proceeded to have a girl’s night in, with DVD [In America] and popcorn. The phone rang four times. The first
- [Newsflash: I like Robert Plant again](https://aldasigmunds.com/newsflash-i-like-robert-plant-again/) - Yes, old Robert has managed to charm his way into my heart again, following that disastrous viewing of The Song Remains the Same a few weeks ago. And how? By appearing on Icelandic telly last night and actually poking fun of the old days when he appeared on stage with jeans so tight that his
- [Speaking of summer...](https://aldasigmunds.com/speaking-of-summer/) - Last night a new virus scan update arrives, ping-ping. EPI and YT busily engaged in having a kitchen party. YT hears ping-ping notification from laptop and like a good primary caretaker goes off to see what’s needed. ‘We recommend you scan your computer for viruses,’ reads the message from McAfee. ‘Consider it done,’ is the
- [A post about nothing except Summer](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-post-about-nothing-except-summer/) - Whaddaya gonna do when you're so burned out after a) staging a confirmation banquet, b) working like a frigging editing machine for two whole days when you should be recuperating in bed, c) going for a massage and then d) soaking in a hot tub at the local swimming pool in sunshine and the warmest
- [Leftovers](https://aldasigmunds.com/leftovers/) - If anyone out there would like a piece of confirmation cake, do let me know. It’s really good: a sponge cake bottom with fresh fruit, a thick layer of raspberry mousse, then another layer of sponge cake and some really fine marzipan on top. We’ve got loads left – loads – and it’s taking up
- [Mad mad mad mad](https://aldasigmunds.com/mad-mad-mad-mad/) - It is a bloody freaking miracle that I am still alive after this weekend. On second thought I must qualify that statement with the word ‘just’. It is a bloody freaking miracle I am ‘just’ alive after this weekend. [In fact I’m so wiped out I can’t even type properly so what you see is
- [Today's mysteries...](https://aldasigmunds.com/todays-mysteries/) - Why is it that even when I have a million, zillion things to do I still cannot curb my blogging compulsion? And why is it that even when I am heading for imminent bankruptcy due to AAH's confirmation I still cannot refrain from purchasing a totally cool pair of shoes? Somebody should do a study.
- [Cod and other wars](https://aldasigmunds.com/cod-and-other-wars/) - The owner of A Flickering Light has every-so gallantly jumped to YT’s defence in the [now all but forgotten] Jack M. vs Iceland saga, and what's more has crafted a lovely post in the form of an apology to Iceland for writing – at the age of ten – an article denouncing Iceland’s efforts to
- [Early dementia](https://aldasigmunds.com/early-dementia/) - Heard about a study a couple of weeks ago about the effects of working under pressure for an extended period, particularly while using computers. The study was conducted at a university somewhere in Scandinavia [Denmark?] and one of the main movers and shakers was an Icelander, which is why it got extensive coverage up here.
- [To express or not to express?](https://aldasigmunds.com/to-express-or-not-to-express/) - AAH was sent home from school yesterday for bad behaviour. Apparently she was sent to the principal’s office, not once but twice. First for talking back to a teacher; then a while later for talking in class. Keeping her mouth shut in class has been an ongoing challenge for AAH [and her group of friends]
- [GGB Q&A](https://aldasigmunds.com/ggb-qa/) - So anyway, getting back to dreamy Gael García Bernal. He showed up, as promised, at the screening of The Motorcycle Diaries on Saturday night. Before it started some guy got up on stage and said “Welcome” and “after the movie there’s going to be a Q and A session” and “GGB is over there and
- [Sidebar blues, a poem](https://aldasigmunds.com/sidebar-blues-a-poem/) - What-oh-what has happened to my sidebar?!There it is, waaayyy down at the bottom of the page, down farWhat have I done to make it relocate??I have not gone near it all day longNot put up a picture that is way too wideOh sidebar, sidebar, why doest thou act so irrationally??? [Applause] Thank you. Now can
- [A joke](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-joke/) - Maggie and John went to bed one night after having a fight. They were so pissed that they weren't speaking to each other. John had to get up early for an important meeting so he wrote a note that read: Wake me at six o'clock! and taped it to Maggie's bedside table. When he woke
- [Filmfest ramble](https://aldasigmunds.com/filmfest-ramble/) - The first International Icelandic Film Festival is upon us and has YT all fired up. I love love love film festivals! The only downside to the next three weeks is how on earth will I see all the movies I want to see? The operating word here is international. We’ve had film fests before, on
- [Dear friends in Blogland...](https://aldasigmunds.com/dear-friends-in-blogland/) - Could you please help me decide if this man, who of late has been firing odd missives into my comments box, is: a) Wackob) Brilliantc) Hilariousd) Flirting with me. Thank you. AS FOR TODAY'S WEATHERCertainly not as ghastly as yesterday - we had sub-zero temps and gale-force winds all day long - no matter how
- [Birthday girl](https://aldasigmunds.com/birthday-girl/) - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUHAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR AAHHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOOOOOOO...... Yes, it's my baby's birthday and she's fourteen. On this day, fourteen years ago, I was lounging about big as a house in a German hospital, in a cold mechanical room replete with birthing aids [big plastic balls, mats, a bathtub in
- [Dream job](https://aldasigmunds.com/dream-job/) - Can you believe that there are actually people in Iceland who get paid for sitting at some remote outpost somewhere, going outside five times a day and checking on the weather? OK, I'll grant that remote means REMOTE. Say in the outback, stuck in between a couple of glaciers, where helicopters bring you supplies in
- [Scaredycat](https://aldasigmunds.com/scaredycat/) - More indispensable wisdom brought to you from the door of the YT fridge: EPI’s daughter, ÁE, who recently returned from the UK, came over this morning bearing this trinket as a gift. It was immediately affixed to the door of the YT fridge, which as loyal Weather Report readers will know contains some of the
- [Crossing the threshold](https://aldasigmunds.com/crossing-the-threshold/) - Today is April 1, which means the Fools come out in the Western World. The Icelanders, never averse to having a laugh, enter into the spirit of this day with great gusto, going to elaborate lengths to play practical jokes on their fellow countrymen. The object of the game is to trick someone into crossing
- [The dead horse](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-dead-horse/) - Had my novel rejected for the umpteenth time yesterday [… the eleventh, to be precise]. It’s turned into the novel everybody likes but is unwilling to publish, to wit: “We thought that it was an excellent first novel, though in need of some work… that said, we were impressed and while this novel isn’t quite
- [Guilt!](https://aldasigmunds.com/guilt/) - EPI gave me flak for writing nasty stuff about old Robert Plant and quite rightly too. It was wrong of me to slag him off by saying that he was old and has a saggy bum because after all, what do I know? I haven't seen the man in years. [That's to say, when I
- [Plant rant](https://aldasigmunds.com/plant-rant/) - EPI, being privy to my recent rediscovery of and super enthusiasm for Led Zeppelin – not to mention being a superexcellent boyfriend – went out last weekend and borrowed the DVD of The Song Remains the Same from one of his pals. Hoping of course to thrill and delight YT with concert footage of the
- [Get naked!](https://aldasigmunds.com/get-naked/) - Did I happen to mention that the tourists have arrived? I did? Oh, what I meant to say was: THE TOURISTS HAVE ARRIVED! They’re everywhere. Windbreaker-clad, backpack-geared, map in hand. [Incidentally, for those of you who don’t know, Iceland gets more tourists per annum than the population of the country. Which considering the fact that
- [Happy Easter!](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-easter/) - I love Easter. There's something so eminently civilized about it, such promise in the air. Plus it's infused with springtime and the coming of summer, and as with Christmas you get all these days off but without the accompanying stress. What could be sweeter? The [chocolate] Easter egg hunt commenced chez YT at 11 am
- [Bob tired](https://aldasigmunds.com/bob-tired/) - As expected, old Bobby Fischer both shocked and entertained the general Icelandic populace with his anti-Semitic, anti-American rants at yesterday’s press conference. I shall not repeat what came out of his mouth because obviously the man’s got a severe personality disorder and getting all worked up about what he said is just plain silly –
- [Bob's yer uncle](https://aldasigmunds.com/bobs-yer-uncle/) - Well, ol’ Bob arrived last night. Evidently there was some disruption to his connecting flight from Copenhagen so those good Samaritans at Channel 2 sent a private jet over to pick him up, which just happened to have their news editor on board. When the jet landed at Reykjavík airport, the city’s affable Commissioner of
- [Bobbyblog](https://aldasigmunds.com/bobbyblog/) - Well, I was determined not to blog about this, but I cannot resist. This whole Bobby Fischer scenario is just too juicy to pass up. Our new countryman Bobby is due in Iceland tomorrow, now that the Japanese have agreed to release him from the immigration prison or whatever it is they’ve been holding him
- [Icefood](https://aldasigmunds.com/icefood/) - Kim over at Bacon and eh’s asked about traditional Icelandic food a few days ago, and-I-quote: “I would love if you could perhaps share with us a unique dish to Iceland and maybe provide the recipe? Are your meals much different than ours I wonder?” Now, you may [or may not] note that YT took
- [Bleh!](https://aldasigmunds.com/bleh/) - I’m in a blogfunk today. Maybe it’s because this keeps staring me in the face: May I suggest you check out the most current entry [March 19] on Beauty Dish – especially the link. It is quite possibly the most moving blog entry I have ever read: shocking, intimate, brave, unsentimental and beautifully written. THE
- [YT the restaurant critic](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-the-restaurant-critic/) - And the Lord said: “Let there be ranting about restaurants.” And then He created YT. YOU. HAVE. BEEN. SERVED. Out last night for dinner with some friends. The venue: Enrico’s [on main street Laugavegur]. Relatively upscale. Prices average for upscale Iceland [read: pricey. And incidentally, prices on their website are wrong. They're actually even pricer
- [YT: The Malfunction](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-the-malfunction/) - YT is a bushed little beaver this evening after working exceedingly hard today. Finished up two fairly lengthy editing assignments on two separate magazines, which took the whole day and was really intense, then went to a meeting and came home to find that EPI had bought some fabulous food and was about to prepare
- [YT the Defender](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-the-defender/) - I had an interesting email exchange with Cassie over at Too Much Wool the other day, in which she mentioned that she’d been getting lots of “flak” for praising Iceland. Flak? For praising Iceland?? YT was rather astonished at this little bit of information, since as far as she knew Iceland really is pretty insignificant
- [D'oh!](https://aldasigmunds.com/doh/) - EPI and I went grocery shopping just before closing today in Bónus and the shelves were EMPTY! [Well OK not entirely empty, but close.] We felt we’d been propelled back to the East Bloc circa 1985 and sort of stood in the middle of the store scratching our respective heads and trying to figure out
- [Deep](https://aldasigmunds.com/deep/) - Indispensable wisdom may be gleaned from the door of the YT fridge: ... THE WEATHERAhem. Today the weather continued to be sunny and extremely cold. Motorists travelled the bone-dry street on studded tires, tearing up the asphalt and enveloping the city in a cloud of fine dust. This creates deep grooves in the road that
- [An exercise in futility](https://aldasigmunds.com/an-exercise-in-futility/) - TAXES I LOVE YOUWent to the tax office today. Boy, I swear they must have sent all their staff on How To Be Nice courses, because they’ve all turned incredibly nice over the last year or so. Whereas before the place used to be Sourpuss City, it’s now actually filled with jovial clerks who are
- [A very long post about a confirmation](https://aldasigmunds.com/a-very-long-post-about-a-confirmation/) - One thing I found so wonderful on returning to Iceland after many years as a gypsy was rediscovering a sense of community. I loved – and still love – belonging to a tribe. I loved being part of the ebb and flow of life – being present to share births, deaths, birthdays, Christenings, confirmations, graduations…
- [No mercy. Sort of.](https://aldasigmunds.com/no-mercy-sort-of/) - Today YT has shown no mercy and summoned the troops [such as they are, consisting of EPI and AAH] for a serious round of spring cleaning. I’m talking kitchen cupboards, fridge, cleaning out the pantry [which is located off our kitchen and is a general receptacle for all the junk in the house that we
- [The terrible Icelandic man-eating geese](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-terrible-icelandic-man-eating-geese/) - I’m getting slightly concerned. For my own mental health. When I could [I won’t say should because I think that word is the Devil’s tool for making people feel guilty] be posting deep insightful exposes about What it is Like to Live in Iceland I DO NOT do this but instead hold forth about insignificant
- [One for the road...](https://aldasigmunds.com/one-for-the-road/) - OK people, this is serious, three posts in one day. D'ya reckon this might have anything to do with my newly-discovered workaholism?? Anyway! I just had to pass on this link , especially to those of you who have seen the Vagina Monologues. Guffaw! [Incidentally, particularly happy to post this since the author of the
- [Lost in Translation 3](https://aldasigmunds.com/lost-in-translation-3/) - Oh, so that's why you get married! A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest:IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.
- [Headless](https://aldasigmunds.com/headless/) - You know when women go on the pill and they gain weight? Well, something like that's happening to our Polly. She EATS around the frigging clock and is looking decidedly rotund! Also, she appears to have lost her head... Is overcast and grey and drizzly. Wind picking up over the course of the day [yikes!
- [Welcome to the Twilight Zone](https://aldasigmunds.com/welcome-to-the-twilight-zone/) - Gasp! [The coming-up-for-air-kind.] I have been working my little buns off and I can attest to the fact that being a translating machine is not fun. Twelve hours at the bloody computer yesterday, with merely a break for a run and the occasional cuppa. [OK, enough of that. I can feel the nasty lil’Icelandic workaholic
- [How to have a good time](https://aldasigmunds.com/how-to-have-a-good-time/) - An excellent Saturday in 20 easy steps: 1. Send the kids away, if any2. Make sure you have a boyfriend [or girlfriend; boyfriend for this particular narrative] who adores you and who is your favourite company in the whole wide world3. Go to an early movie and make sure it’s excellent [like f’rinstance Les Choristes]4.
- [Sundown](https://aldasigmunds.com/sundown/) - What time is it? It’s Annual Report time, which is the time the Corporate World gets frisky. Also the time when YT comes closest to being a veritable translating machine, sitting for hours on end with terms rattling around in her brain like ‘fixed capital formation’, ‘net income before depreciation and financial items’, ‘exchange- and
- [PillExplosion](https://aldasigmunds.com/pillexplosion/) - Guess who’s on the pill? Not YT. Not even AAH. (Perish the thought!) That leaves only one female in the YT household. Yes, today our very own little Polly the cockatiel was carted off to the vet in a little miniature handbag-like cage [couldn’t help thinking what a darling accessory it would make if the
- [Mfuddlemind](https://aldasigmunds.com/mfuddlemind/) - Back from a power suit day. Yowsa! The whole damn day wearing one of those muthas. This ends the session that began with my previous power suit day and involves training in the Corporate World and I am happy to report that I’ve now passed GO and can collect many many monies and won’t have
- [Schmiesel](https://aldasigmunds.com/schmiesel/) - I suppose it was inevitable. It had to happen. My teenaged daughter has gone out and bought her first pair of designer jeans. I’m crushed. For months – no, years – I clung to the hope that it would not come to this. AAH was always just a little above that sort of behaviour. By
- [Fun in da sun](https://aldasigmunds.com/fun-in-da-sun/) - Eeek! What is that?... [Meanwhile the weather today was ice bloody frigging cold again with temps around -2°C and major windchill, although there was sun, so currently YT is sporting a ruddy wind-whipped complexion with a sprinkling of freckles from her walk, nay, against-the-elements struggle along the seashore today. And now if you'll excuse me
- [Bake sale](https://aldasigmunds.com/bake-sale/) - I went to a very special bake sale yesterday afternoon. It was organized by the parents’ association at AAH’s school. You paid a fee at the door and you got to eat at will from a long table laden heavy with cakes and other goodies. At 3 o’clock there was an exquisite puppet show, given
- [Spam this!](https://aldasigmunds.com/spam-this/) - Loyal readers of this space will recall that a few weeks ago I had my first instance of a chunk of my blog being copied and pasted onto somebody else’s website. And now, dear readers, The Weather Report has experienced its first spam incident. And not just any spam incident either, oh no. Infuriating enough
- [Underweather](https://aldasigmunds.com/underweather/) - Ugh! Feeling really sluggish and icky and under the proverbial weather. AAH was sick for the last three days and obviously I’ve caught what she had. Hoping it doesn’t manage to wrestle me down into bed – I don’t have the patience to be sick. Especially right now. My bleh! feeling was compounded by getting
- [Oh, the triviality of it all...](https://aldasigmunds.com/oh-the-triviality-of-it-all/) - SOME MORE USELESS TRIVIAAround 95% of Icelanders aged 16-75 own cell phones. According to a report in today’s Fréttablaðið, there are around 255,000 cell phone numbers in use in Iceland as we, ahem, speak. Meanwhile, the population of Iceland is around 290,000. Unsurprisingly, telephone costs for the average Icelandic family have risen by 70% over
- [Days of Our Lives](https://aldasigmunds.com/days-of-our-lives/) - I blogged about bóndadagur [otherwise known as feed-your-man-putrid-shark-day] and I blogged about bleedin’ Valentine’s Day, but did I blog about my special day? No! And why not? Because I was Too Damn Busy! My Special Day [otherwise known as konudagur, or woman’s day] was last Sunday. [For some reason man’s day always falls on a
- [Hear ye Hear ye!!](https://aldasigmunds.com/hear-ye-hear-ye/) - Those nice people over at Sigh Club are running a little contest to garner participation for their Featured Site effort. [That's right, they feature someone's blog for a few days - The Weather Report being a previous grateful recipient of that honour]. If the blog you nominate is featured, they will send you a FREE
- [All the world's a stage...](https://aldasigmunds.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage/) - This afternoon - very shortly, in fact - YT will don a power suit and go spend the afternoon in the Corporate World. Some enterprising companies need advice on how to present their products on the International Stage and consider YT the perfect person to advise on such matters. Now, power suits are not my
- [Paint job](https://aldasigmunds.com/paint-job/) - ... Guess who's got her work cut out this weekend??
- [Divine!](https://aldasigmunds.com/divine/) - On waking up this morning, I looked out the window to see these adorning the sky. Sadly, the photograph hardly does them justice. The name says it all: Iridescent clouds.* One of those stunning natural phenomena, like the aurora borealis, that absolutely fills you with awe. It's been an exceedingly beautiful sun-filled day, with that
- [What's in a name?](https://aldasigmunds.com/whats-in-a-name/) - FIRST, THE UP DATEErm, well. Such as it is. [Ahem.] An hour before The Dance was to commence, the girlfriends started arriving chez AAH. Directly to her room, where Serious Undertakings were launched: straightening and blow-drying of hair, application of makeup, borrowing of clothing, preening and examining of self in mirror, and so on and
- [Singing a happy tune](https://aldasigmunds.com/singing-a-happy-tune/) - The view from my window at 9 a.m. this morning. Simply complement this picture with some serious gale-force winds and you have an idea of what the weather has been like since last night: Ah, yes. At the tender young age of 13, AAH is going on her first proper date this evening. There’s a
- [Give us Halo!](https://aldasigmunds.com/give-us-halo/) - Note, if you will, that Blogger comments on this site have been replaced by Haloscan. That’s right, for although Blogger are to be commended for their recent attempts at upgrading, they just take TOO DAMN LONG TO LOAD! You can be sure that YT is mighty pleased with her techno-savvy. Not so pleasing, however, is
- [Valentinesbaloney](https://aldasigmunds.com/valentinesbaloney/) - Don’t get me wrong: I have nothing against Valentine’s Day. In fact, in my previous incarnation as a North American Person I used to get quite giddy on this day, hoping that the object of my affections [at any given time] would slip me a valentine or at least one of those little sugary hearts
- [Great Things...](https://aldasigmunds.com/great-things/) - YET MORE FILMSpent yesterday afternoon at the movies. Don’t recall having spent a Saturday that way since AAH was little, so it was a wonderful treat, a great diversion from the usual routine that generally consists of house cleaning and grocery shopping. Not least because the film was incredibly moving. The Sea Inside, Spanish, directed
- [Postergirl](https://aldasigmunds.com/postergirl/) - Ten a.m. this morning. The cell phone rings. YT answers. Truly, Yours: Hello?Eskimo Casting Girl: [Smooth caramel voice, feigning sophistication, unable to conceal that she’s just crawled out of her teens] Hello, this is [sowanso] calling from Eskimo Casting? I have an assignment for you if you choose to accept it …TY: Oh?ECG: Yes. Um,
- [Of two birds...](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-two-birds/) - BIRD ONE Remember my Thespian Swan? The one EPI and I found while on a stroll around the golf course back in December? The one Destined for Great Things? Well, it’s making its debut on the boards of the National Theatre this evening. And YT has two tickets waiting at the box office. Although looking
- [Happy Ash Wednesday!](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-ash-wednesday/) - Third day of our Three Fun Days leading up to Lent: Ash Wednesday. Nothing quite so weird as our other two days, that is unless you consider it weird for children to dress up in silly costumes and go door-to-door begging for candy. Which of course cannot be weird since such a large part of
- [Happy eat-'till-you-burst day!](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-eat-till-you-burst-day/) - So today we have the second of our three fun days leading up to Lent. It’s called Sprengidagur, which literally means “Exploding day”. On account of the fact that you’re supposed to imbibe salted lamb and yellow split-pea soup until your stomach bursts. It’s pretty bad for you [really salty – think your basic potato
- [Happy Cream Puff Day!](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-cream-puff-day/) - Today is “Cream Puff Day” here in Iceland, which means everyone in the country eats a whole bunch of these. Now, on this day, every [small] kid gets a wand type of thing with a bunch of fluff on the end with which to spank his or her parents. Ideally, the parents should be spanked
- [Movie reviews!](https://aldasigmunds.com/movie-reviews/) - YO! ARMCHAIR FILM CRITIC SPEAKS Went to see Sideways last night and once again YT is baffled to find something that the Whole Entire World seems to think of as Fantastic, just this side of lukewarm. Somehow [God only knows how – could it have anything to do with Hollywood Marketing?] I had been led
- [Clips and weird ruminations](https://aldasigmunds.com/clips-and-weird-ruminations/) - Child benefits came yesterday. What a relief! The sum was split evenly between EPI and myself and came to a grand total of ISK 22 per person. That amounts to roughly 30 cents US, or 20 pence Sterling. Meanwhile, it costs ISK 45 to send a letter informing us that this mighty amount had been
- [Hey! I’m back!](https://aldasigmunds.com/hey-im-back/) - So good to be home. The invigorating freshness in the air, the vibrancy of the colours. Have just come back from walking along the sea, shimmering light light blue as far as the eye can see. Oh, and so great to find your wonderful comments, my dear blog friends! I’ve missed you! Not to say
- [Compute... does... not...... d'oh!](https://aldasigmunds.com/compute-does-not-doh/) - Story nicked from the Morgunblaðið website this morning: A young guy went into an electronics store this past weekend and bought a laptop on payments. Having signed the contract he left with the laptop, which he was not intending to write his memoirs on but rather to trade in for a few grams of cocaine.
- [Psyched](https://aldasigmunds.com/psyched/) - Ah, luxury! The final assignment has been sent off to its owner and now YT has two days to fiddle with the details of her upcoming trip and get herself all psyched. As loyal readers will know, YT received a rather unexpected phone call last October in which a complete stranger offered her an all-expenses
- [Lost in Translation 2](https://aldasigmunds.com/lost-in-translation-2/) - One of those ‘nothing very much happened’ days… slept late, fruit salad for brekky (much whipped cream and semi-sweet chocolate was involved), took AAH to get a pair of jazz dance shoes, then to paint store to choose paint for her room [red! yikes… she’ll see red all the time!] and since there was a
- [Eat this!](https://aldasigmunds.com/eat-this/) - Today is Bóndadagur here in Iceland, meaning that if you are female and have a husband or partner (male) you’re supposed to do a whole bunch of nice things for them. It’s the equivalent of Valentine’s day, only those crafty Icelanders have gone one step further and have two such days – one for the
- [HAPPY season](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-season/) - I've seen a number of blogs out there lately where people seem deeply immersed in SAD, which is really a drag. Now for all those SAD people, YT has a suggestion: try coming up here to live. For YT at least, SAD season is when one moves into the heart of darkness, while HAPPY season
- [It's a genetic thing...](https://aldasigmunds.com/its-a-genetic-thing/) - APPLAUSE AND THREE CHEERS TO... deCode Genetics and SAA – National Center of Addiction Medicine, who have signed a cooperative agreement to work on isolating the gene that causes alcoholism and other addition. deCode, as some will know, is an Icelandic company founded on the brilliant premise that this is one of the best places
- [What's for dinner?](https://aldasigmunds.com/whats-for-dinner/) - ON THE MENU TONIGHT Sushi. Put together by AAH. She’s been assigned cooking duty once a week, in an effort to differentiate her from any happy-go-lucky guest enjoying a stay in a 5-star hotel. Part of the deal is that she gets to pick what’s for dinner, and tonight EPI and I are the happy
- [Betcha didn't know that...](https://aldasigmunds.com/betcha-didnt-know-that/) - Icelanders hold the world record in the following: Credit card usage Cocoa Puffs consumption Use of electricity Sponsoring children in Third World countries Internet penetration The number of rules for writing poetry Going to the cinema Subscribing to Walt Disney picture books Sales of the computer game Championship Manager Yes, dear readers, YT is still
- [Well, I never!](https://aldasigmunds.com/well-i-never/) - Went out this afternoon to meet a friend. We took her dog for a walk down by the sea in Kópavogur but it was blustery and nasty cold with flurries so we hurried back to her place and had coffee and chocolate until she had to leave to go dance Tango with her boyfriend. On
- [Lost in translation](https://aldasigmunds.com/lost-in-translation/) - You know what I absolutely love? English-language sign blunders. Here are five of my favourites: At a Japanese hotel: YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID At a Swiss eatery: OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR At an Acapulco hotel: THE MANAGER HAS PERSONALLY PASSED ALL THE WATER SERVED HERE A
- [SAD Office](https://aldasigmunds.com/sad-office/) - I AM OFFICIALLY BAFFLED By the fact that, lately, the things that other people rave about only manage to elicit a lukewarm response from YT. Am I that different? Take f’rinstance the buzz surrounding The Office. Everyone goes on and on about how hilarious that show is, so brilliant, they just can’t contain themselves, blablabla.
- [I see Paris, I see France... um...](https://aldasigmunds.com/i-see-paris-i-see-france-um/) - Oh, my! Yours Truly glided through yesterday in a state of unmitigated bliss, carrying a super-sized grin on her face. All those wonderful complements rolling in! All that outpouring of goodwill, kindness and assistance! Believe me, I felt connected by a silver thread to each and every person who visited my site yesterday. THANK YOU
- [Hey! I'm 'it'](https://aldasigmunds.com/hey-im-it/) - Imagine my surprise and delight on turning on my computer this morning to find my inbox filled with comments and my site traffic a-rockin’! A moment of pure bewilderment followed, after which a sneaking suspicion began to dawn – could it be that the lovely Michele, whose acquaintance I made only yesterday (via her blog),
- [Copy. Right.](https://aldasigmunds.com/copy-right/) - It’s an interesting experience, as interesting experiences go, to find a large chunk of your blog copied and pasted up on somebody else’s website. Me, I wasn’t sure whether I should be coyly flattered or massively annoyed. Such conflicting emotions! On the one hand, it’s nice that somebody likes your ‘intellectual property’ enough to blatantly
- [Christmas tree down](https://aldasigmunds.com/christmas-tree-down/) - Finally got around to tearing down our Christmas tree last night. Stripped it bare and then chucked it off the balcony, which is always a kick – although the short thud from the first-floor balcony pales in comparison to the tree soaring off the fourth floor in our last place. That was practically the highlight
- [Dreaming...](https://aldasigmunds.com/dreaming/) - You hit a certain age and you realize that your dreams are not going to go away just because you ignore them. It always amazes me how almost everyone feels much better doing something they are second-best at, and wind up doing just that for their entire lives. Is it because we fear not getting
- [Quakes and such](https://aldasigmunds.com/quakes-and-such/) - All Icelanders that were previously unaccounted for in south Asia have now been confirmed safe and sound. Relief is mixed with the terrible awareness of all who were not so fortunate. After all, when it comes to something like this, nationalities really do not matter much. We’re all part of the Big Human Family, especially
- [Telly-ho!](https://aldasigmunds.com/telly-ho/) - EPI came home ranting yesterday, and with good cause. Seems those […*] up at Northern Lights Corp., who oh-so generously bestowed upon their subscribers a ‘free’ digital de-scrambler a couple months back, have substantially jacked up their prices. Now all you readers outside Iceland prepare yourselves for severe pangs of pity, for what follows is
- [Call me shameless...](https://aldasigmunds.com/call-me-shameless/) - But I'm not averse to self-promotion. This little Writers Digest notice caught my eye today and if anybody feels The Iceland Weather Report qualifies, feel free to drop them a line! BID FOR BLOGGERS We're looking for a few good blogs to highlight in our upcoming WD special publication, Personal Writing. If you keep an
- [Spare a thought...](https://aldasigmunds.com/spare-a-thought/) - … for Polly the cockatiel, who was oh-so ungraciously omitted from YT’s immediate-family listing. A travesty indeed, for Polly is a very important and conspicuous part of the YT household. Particularly at the moment as she anxiously searches for a suitable nesting place. Loyal Readers of this Space may recall a post a while back
- [Kennedyflop](https://aldasigmunds.com/kennedyflop/) - Boy, being back to the mundaneness of daily life sure is a drag. YT rose early (9-ish, in pitch darkness) and had a leisurely brekky complete with newspaper reading. Then sat down at the computer to complete the day’s tasks, which consisted of giving my (real. proper. business.) website a little overhaul. Ah, but the
- [YT: The Interview](https://aldasigmunds.com/yt-the-interview/) - Dear readers. Now that this little project has graduated from being read only by a handful of people I know to being read by People All Over, I thought that a few random facts about YT might be in order. So to that end, we now give you an exclusive interview with YT, solely granted
- [Keif' Moon](https://aldasigmunds.com/keif-moon/) - Tja. Tracking back some of those message board hits from the Kiefer fan club is quite an entertaining and enlightening experience. Never even knew boards like that existed! F’rinstance, one message refers to “information that appeared in some blog”. [Yo! People! This not ‘some blog’, ‘kay? This The Iceland Weather Report.] Another says something to
- [Kapow! Happy New Year!](https://aldasigmunds.com/kapow-happy-new-year/) - THE MADNESS IS UNDERWAY… New Years’ Eve in Iceland, that is. For those of you who don’t know, fireworks are sold unrestricted to the general public here (well, you have to be at least 16 to buy them) and you can believe that there’s a fairly large demographic (read: young males who always manage to
- [Shadow post](https://aldasigmunds.com/shadow-post/) - It’s kind of hard to blog when overshadowed by the horrendous calamities in Asia. The petty details of our lives here are pretty trivial when the newsfeeds keep rolling in with ever-more gruelling details and increasing death tolls. At present there are 10 Icelanders unaccounted for and as always when disaster strikes one is made
- [Our Man Kief'](https://aldasigmunds.com/our-man-kief/) - Deadpan headline on Icelandic National Radio at noon: "Kiefer Sutherland is in town" Iceland: cosmpolitan or provincial? Discuss. [YT is still contending with Nasty Flu and will return to more substantial Weather Reporting in due course.]
- [I knew that...](https://aldasigmunds.com/i-knew-that/) - Little Kid: I know the Yule Lads don't put presents in our shoe. RE*: Oh really? Then who does? Little Kid: The government. * RE, daughter of EPI, was playing a Yule Lad at a little kids' function where she met this astute Young Person.
- [Christmas: the summary](https://aldasigmunds.com/christmas-the-summary/) - CRIPES! THE SMELL! Yeh, well. The skate party. YT ended her very lovely birthday afternoon by going to a rancid-skate party at EPI’s brother and sister-in-law’s. The smell wafted out to greet us way past the front door of the house and once inside it positively stung the eyes in all its ammonia-laced glory. Naught
- [Merry Christmas!!](https://aldasigmunds.com/merry-christmas/) - Thanks everyone for your birthday greetings. So heart-warming! Don't forsee much posting until post-Christmas. But just because I hate starting something and not finishing it: here are the two remaining Yule Lads... Ketkrókur - Meat Hook. Crafty fella, stuck hooks down the chimney to fish out those smoked legs of lamb so he could feast
- [Running the marathon](https://aldasigmunds.com/running-the-marathon/) - Marathon day! All the zillion little Christmas details to get sorted out. Poor EPI’s been sick for two days yet got up early like a trouper to help clean the apartment. Next some last-minute shopping was required (his), then the fetching of a Christmas tree that looked perfectly demure when outside but which inside our
- [No more SAD](https://aldasigmunds.com/no-more-sad/) - Winter solstice today! Also making this is the shortest day of the year. We had our four hours of daylight which is bad enough at the best of times, but when it’s overcast and grey like it was today – pfftt! Can’t even call it a proper day. WHO’S SORRY FOR US? Probably not them
- [They eat horses, don't they...?](https://aldasigmunds.com/they-eat-horses-dont-they/) - Hasty posty this evening – because it’s not even evening it’s proper night and this is the first free bit of time I’ve found all day to indulge my blogging habit and me eyelids are getting just a weeee bit droopy. Just want to send a big TAKK! to Sigh Club for making the Weather
- [The heat is on](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-heat-is-on/) - The Christmas heat is officially on. Stressed-out Icelanders flocking to the mall – packing the stores that now stay open to 10 pm every night, and until 11 pm on the 23rd. YT made the insane mistake of heading to the Kringlan Mall yesterday afternoon (a Saturday!) only to get sucked into a car parking
- [Cookie ace, yeah!](https://aldasigmunds.com/cookie-ace-yeah/) - I did it! I ACED the baking thing last night! Baking cookies, and not just any cookies, oh no. Sara Bernhard cookies. Those of you who know will Understand. Those of you who don’t – well, let me just say that they are arguably the most scrumptious culinary inventions ever and if you haven’t tasted
- [Many dead lice](https://aldasigmunds.com/many-dead-lice/) - Well, the dead lice continue to fall. From my head in true Icelandic fashion. Now, it seems, ol’ Bobby Fischer was offered the residents’ status without US authorities being consulted. (See yesterday's post in case you're already confused). It was, however, made clear to them that he was not being offered political asylum. And the
- [Our man Bobby](https://aldasigmunds.com/our-man-bobby/) - Yesterday’s Breaking News: Icelandic authorities have decided to award ex-World Chess Champ Bobby Fischer a residents’ permit in Iceland. Prompting one to exclaim, in true Icelandic fashion, “Let all dead lice fall from my head!”* Why this stunned amazement? Well, for starters, Bobby Fischer is a Wanted Person in the US. Seems he committed the
- [Watching the finish line](https://aldasigmunds.com/watching-the-finish-line/) - Only six more days to the winter solstice. Amazing how that particular date looms like a psychic finish line: persevere through the gradual descent into winter darkness to this point – the very heart that we are currently immersed in – until the 21st when the trend is reversed and the day begins to lengthen
- [Mmmmm, sleeeepp...](https://aldasigmunds.com/mmmmm-sleeeepp/) - YT gets positively Homer Simpson-esque at this time of the year, although where The Home fantasizes about beer, I fantasize about sleep. Honestly, I think I could sleep around the clock in this midwinter darkness! Getting up in the morning is a Herculean task at times like these. Conclusion: YT would have made an excellent
- [Invasion of the Yule Lads](https://aldasigmunds.com/invasion-of-the-yule-lads/) - First Yule Lad arrived in town yesterday morning. For those not in the know, Yule Lads are Iceland’s version of Santa Claus and are, I venture to say, infinitely more interesting than the tubby and insipid ho-ho-ho Coca Cola version. For starters there are 13 of them, each with his own definitive character … or
- [Everything Happens](https://aldasigmunds.com/everything-happens/) - Yikes! Another blaze last night. This time right in our little nothing-ever-happens-here neighbourhood, which is rapidly turning into Everything Happens Here Neighbourhood (witness blog a few days ago about the cops ‘n robbers action outside my window). It was in the local supermarket, Nóatún, which has been having its share of hard luck lately. First,
- [Let it snow! Please!](https://aldasigmunds.com/let-it-snow-please/) - I’ve got a sick little AAH staying home from school today. Sore throat, muscle aches, fever. Which reminds me how grateful I am to have the opportunity to work from home – and Be Present on occasions like this without having to explain to anybody (boss, colleagues). To say nothing of all the other little
- [How to get rich quick](https://aldasigmunds.com/how-to-get-rich-quick/) - Boy, if there was ever a time to pop over to the States to play Rich European Person, this would be it! What on earth is happening to the US dollar? It is now at its lowest rate in relation to the Icelandic krona since 1992. How tempting to jump on a plane and finish
- [Thunder 'n lightning, v.v. frightening...](https://aldasigmunds.com/thunder-n-lightning-vv-frightening/) - I’ve managed to figure out the blogroll thing - yay! Have one foot in the club already. Who’d have ever thought that YT would turn into a Blog Geek? Very short post now – too much information to process. YT THE NATIONALIST Our girl Björk and our girl Emiliana Torrini both nominated for Grammy Awards
- [Thespian swan!](https://aldasigmunds.com/thespian-swan/) - Loyal readers of this space may recall that a couple of posts back I made mention of a dead swan that EPI and I happened to find while on our customary stroll around the golf course. Now, lest you think The Iceland Weather Report is merely another useless blog with empty words and nothing to
- [Cops 'n robbers](https://aldasigmunds.com/cops-n-robbers/) - Loyal readers of this space will recall that just a few days ago I related my paranoia about having our place broken into and our stuff stolen. Lest you think this is merely the demented thought process of a mistrustful mind, think again! EVIDENCE THAT YT IS NOT DEMENTED: Last night, I was engaged in
- [Running mad](https://aldasigmunds.com/running-mad/) - Sometimes, I swear I should have me ‘ead examined. Went out for a run today in gale-force winds and was practically swept off my feet repeatedly – and certainly not in the best sense. Took the favoured route along the seashore and waves came crashing over the embankment, meaning that I just narrowly avoided being
- [Mini break](https://aldasigmunds.com/mini-break/) - EPI and I back from a mini-break. Which YT purposefully did not announce in this space because I’m paranoid that People (bad People) will take the opportunity to break into our place and nick all our nice stuff like the Christmas ornaments I bought in Oslo two years ago. The mini-break was actually a journey
- [Cookie-shmookie](https://aldasigmunds.com/cookie-shmookie/) - MORE SIGNS THAT LET YOU KNOW CHRISTMAS IS COMING The neighbours start baking cookies. Last night, the air in the corridor of our apartment building was thick with the smell of gingerbread. Hot damn! Yet another reminder of YT’s hopeless inadequacy in the Christmas-cookie baking department, prompting the devious thought process that perhaps, just this
- [Happy Home Rule Day!](https://aldasigmunds.com/happy-home-rule-day/) - Today is the anniversary of Home Rule – the day Iceland obtained sovereignty from Denmark, in 1918. Whoo-hoo! Quick historical briefing, courtesy of Fréttablaðið: “A short and simple celebration took place at the Government House, a brass band played Eldgamla Ísafold (song), Finance Minister Sigurður Eggerz gave a speech, while the Prime Minister was in
- [Sleepy Tony](https://aldasigmunds.com/sleepy-tony/) - WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS What the bejesus is happening to The Sopranos?? A full head-scratching episode last night that jumped from one baffling scene to another, beginning with Tony’s girlfriend setting herself on fire and progressing bizarrely to Tony renting a suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York, ordering a hooker,
- [Lost innocence](https://aldasigmunds.com/lost-innocence/) - A comment in the editorial of Saturday’s Fréttablaðið caught my eye. It concerned the abduction of the little nine-year old girl last week, the perpetrator of which has not yet been found. “In a large part of the world, including the one which we inhabit, a large portion of the population watches the same TV
- [What genious invented XP??](https://aldasigmunds.com/what-genious-invented-xp/) - Well, Windows XP has come sashaying into my life with all its snazz, flash and (misspent) pizzazz. YT is not impressed. In fact my acquaintance with XP has so far been a brutal disappointment. Whereas me and ME didn’t get along famously, particularly not in the last while, we’d formed an uneasy alliance based on
- [How to survive redundancy in style!](https://aldasigmunds.com/how-to-survive-redundancy-in-style/) - Was at a gathering last night where somebody described a recent illustration in The Economist (UK), which showed the diagonal lines of the Union Jack being painted over with blue, thereby creating the Icelandic flag – all because Icelanders are systematically invading the British market. YT was immediately drenched in nationalistic pride! I mean, who
- [Beware the ideas of Marx, dum dum...](https://aldasigmunds.com/beware-the-ideas-of-marx-dum-dum/) - EPI told me a funny story the other day. There was a guy he knew up in Akureyri (in the north)who immersed himself in the writings of Friedrich Engels. One suspects Marxist theory. Anyway, this guy sat and sat, studied and studied, working his damndest to get a grasp. One day, he was sitting in
- [The amazing Belafonte](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-amazing-belafonte/) - Harry Belafonte was in Iceland last week to promote UNICEF. I confess I knew very little about him before he came (except that he sang songs and has a daughter named Shari who is an actress). Last night, however, I got around to watching an interview with him on Icelandic TV* and am completely smitten.
- [Burning rubber](https://aldasigmunds.com/burning-rubber/) - Cripes! Big, bad blaze last night. Down at Sundahöfn harbour, in a recycling lot. Immense piles of rubber tires, rubber tire bits, scrap metal and other mish-mash. All set to be transported out of the country (not to some obscure garbage dump at sea, one hopes), but unfortunately it caught on fire before that happened.
- [Of sleepless insanity](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-sleepless-insanity/) - Today YT got the deja vu taste of what it’s like to be a nine-to-fiver in an Icelandic winter. Spent the day reading proofs and editing copy for my friends up at Iceland Review, which meant that I left the house in the dark and arrived home – you guessed it – in the dark!
- [Social studies](https://aldasigmunds.com/social-studies/) - Interesting experience last night. Went to dance mentioned in previous blog. It was held at a community centre out on Seltjarnarnes, which is a tiny municipality adjacent to Reykjavík (which makes up for in affluence what it lacks in size). Now, here in Iceland one gets the cultural phenomenon known as the ‘country dance’. Basically,
- [Balmy](https://aldasigmunds.com/balmy/) - Today it’s a balmy –1 degrees Centigrade, a veritable heatwave compared to temps in the –20s that we’ve had lately. The wind has picked up, making it safe to go outside again, and the weatherman promises that we’re in for a warm spell, with rain and the accompanying slush and grind. AAH went off this
- [Welcome to Athens ... er, Reykjavík](https://aldasigmunds.com/welcome-to-athens-er-reykjavik/) - First news item currently up on the Morgunblaðið website: Today, people in Reykjavík are asked to limit use of their cars, not to have them running in a stationary position and those with respiratory illnesses are advised to stay indoors. Why? Pollution! Who'd have believed it would come to this? Iceland, the most pristine place
- [When Polly became a girl](https://aldasigmunds.com/when-polly-became-a-girl/) - Today, 18 November, is exactly one year since Polly became a girl. Let’s have a round of applause for Polly... (clapclap) Thank you. Back in the momentous year 2000, YT decided to indulge the then-eight year old AAH’s craving for a pet by going out and buying her a cockatiel at Christmastime. AAH was thrilled
- [Joni revisited](https://aldasigmunds.com/joni-revisited/) - A few days ago EPI decided to surprise me by bringing home a DVD about Joni Mitchell. This because, although I no longer speak in Joni lyrics on a daily basis (as I used to) I still think she’s one of the greatest artists to ever walk this earth. And YT is not someone prone
- [Why blog?](https://aldasigmunds.com/why-blog/) - As expected, today we have resignations en masse among teachers. Daily activity in the schools is still in utter chaos, with some teachers showing up, others not, and those who did show up reportedly feeling like crap because they’re betraying their colleagues. Plus many of them feel that they don’t have support in the community
- [Truant teachers](https://aldasigmunds.com/truant-teachers/) - Well. AAH trotted off to school this morning in the winter darkness like a trouper, only to return 45 minutes later because none of the teachers in her school had shown up for work. In Reykjavík, 80-85% of teachers stayed home to demonstrate their pissed-offness at being ordered back to work through legislation that would
- [Peopleweary bounceback](https://aldasigmunds.com/peopleweary-bounceback/) - Happy to announce that I’ve bounced back from my people-weary state thanks to a good night’s sleep and a long leisurely breakfast with the family. Phew! People-weary is not a good way to travel through life. Being one of those SAD* things. EPI and I cosied up in our little hobbit-hole last night with our
- [Garret](https://aldasigmunds.com/garret/) - Today I went to view a garret room I was thinking of renting, to enable me to write my rants without the inevitable distraction of Overflowing Laundry Basket or Dishwasher Screaming to be Emptied. It was all very bohemian and small, but the downside is that it would require a substantial measure of fraternizing with
- [Of snow, bitching teachers and inanity](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-snow-bitching-teachers-and-inanity/) - Yikes! The first proper snowfall of the season – and were Icelanders prepared? Heck, no. Going for a short spin last night was like a throwback to my Toronto days, when five snowflakes falling caused massive delays and pile-ups on the expressway. The traffic snail-paced along – and not without cause, mind. It was a
- [NO, NO, NO and NO!](https://aldasigmunds.com/no-no-no-and-no/) - “So tired ... of always being sick and tired...” la la lalala... There was a time in the not-so recent past when you could not go anywhere without hearing that song playing, which in was sort of OK because it’s not bad as pop songs go. Except maybe when you’ve heard it a million, billion
- [Resignation day](https://aldasigmunds.com/resignation-day/) - One by one Iceland’s oil company bosses come crashing down from their pedestals like the infamous statue of Saddam Hussein. By dinnertime yesterday I’d lost count of how many had resigned from this board or that board, or severed ties with this company or that. Am most surprised that Iceland’s populace isn’t down at the
- [Of fiascos and slumber](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-fiascos-and-slumber/) - Iceland’s teachers – those faithful public servants whom we entrust with the education of our children – are back to the drawing board. The strike resumed at midnight when it became clear that they had rejected the mediation proposal and there was nothing new in the cards. Lest anyone think that I’m tossing rotten tomatoes
- [We're really really sorry...](https://aldasigmunds.com/were-really-really-sorry/) - Well, Esso has come forward with a public apology presented in a full-page advert in today’s Morgunblaðið. Call me a cynic if you will (if you shall if you must…) but I’m slightly nauseated by the shameless manipulation of the thing. What we have is a large photograph showing a bunch of people who stand
- [Sunday fun](https://aldasigmunds.com/sunday-fun/) - Still crouched in the corner. This is so very rudimentary and charming, like the being-online version of the Russian chandelier*. Nothing like a little return to basics to break up the complacency and make one appreciate one's creature comforts. Started by taking apart the refrigerator for a little Sunday fun. It was broken - yup,
- [Techno Blues -The Sequel](https://aldasigmunds.com/techno-blues-the-sequel/) - In the Big Annoyance sweepstakes, computer malfunction is a hands-down winner every time. Which is why I have been stalking around like a raving lunatic for the last couple of hours in a fit of frustration, screaming WHY CAN’T I GET ONLINE??!!! PREQUEL: It all started with AAH finally getting her long-awaited SIMS 2 game.
- [Itchy fingers](https://aldasigmunds.com/itchy-fingers/) - YIPEE!! They let me in! Yours truly has been suffering from itchy finger syndrome today, blog words swishing around in the mind like liquid, desperately needing to be spilled; meanwhile those nice people at Blogspot have spent the day Keeping Me Out. Error messages galore - and now that they appear to have things up
- [SAD SAD SAD and more than a little happy](https://aldasigmunds.com/sad-sad-sad-and-more-than-a-little-happy/) - SNOW!! It's what we had this morning, everything covered by a thin layer of the white stuff. There's always something fantastic about the first snowfall of the season, isn't there? Particularly when it's dark outside. Like it's happening for the very first time ever. And you get those first twinges of Christmas spirit, lying latent
- [Techno blues](https://aldasigmunds.com/techno-blues/) - Once upon a time the Icelandic nation was blessed with only a single television station - the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. Broadcast hours in that faraway time were from approximately 6pm to midnight. There was no television on Thursdays and no television for the whole month of July. Families bonded, couples coupled. Happy, carefree days.
- [Fire n'ice](https://aldasigmunds.com/fire-nice/) - So exciting! A volcanic eruption in Vatnajökull glacier! The earth shakes, the ground quakes ... all beneath a layer of ice 100-200 metres thick. How cool is that? Actually flicked on the TV at noon today to catch the extra news report. Killer shots of smoke drifting skyward 10 km into the air - magnifico
- [The Icelandic mafia lives!](https://aldasigmunds.com/the-icelandic-mafia-lives/) - Well, they better start taking Iceland off the top of all those lists of countries with the least corruption. As further details emerge in the oil collaboration scandal, one can only gape in disbelief at the extent of the mafia-like tactics employed by the exalted executives of Icelandic oil companies Skeljungur (Shell), Esso, Olís (BP)
- [Of Penis mall and syringes](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-penis-mall-and-syringes/) - Planned on going on a short errand to Penis mall (a.k.a. Smáralind - wish I had an aerial view picture to stick in here, it looks EXACTLY like one) and got stuck there for over an hour, which was mind-numbing as mall experiences are. Grocery shopping followed, in super-size BONUS. More grocery-shopping after that in
- [Forecast bright...](https://aldasigmunds.com/forecast-bright/) - BIG NEWS today - first the headlines: TEACHERS' STRIKE PUT ON HOLD OIL COMPANIES FINED FOR ILLICIT COLLABORATION The details: Indeed, the teachers' strike has been postponed pending the passing of a mediation proposal. State negotiator has introduced the proposal and now it just needs to be passed. Please! Kids to return to school on
- [Alzheimer Light](https://aldasigmunds.com/alzheimer-light/) - This is awful! I hide my head in shame! Just a couple of hours after merrily declaring my intention to watch the lunar eclipse I completely and totally Forgot! Come midnight my sole concern was getting my butt to bed so I could continue reading the novel I am currently submerged in. My first thought
- [Eclipsing](https://aldasigmunds.com/eclipsing/) - Saved blogging for the evening hours, post- dinner and ER. ER is one of my three must-watch TV shows each week, others being The Sopranos and Six Feet Under - a new series of which started here on Monday night. SFU has some of the most interesting characterization ever seen on telly in MHO. They're
- [Brrrr...](https://aldasigmunds.com/brrrr/) - Not the most original title, but absolutely spot-on. Temps around the freezing mark plus windchill factor make this a day not to go out without stockings underneath yer jeans unless you want to suffer frozen-thigh syndrome! Set the alarm to wake me this morning as this was a day in which I had to Do
- [Frosty windshields - ethnic skies](https://aldasigmunds.com/frosty-windshields-ethnic-skies/) - Frost on car windshields this morning. The sun is shining, the trees are unmoving, and the sky is streaked with smooth white clouds. Have as yet to venture outside but look forward to it. Hope to get there before clouds cover sky completely, which is what they say will happen. Later. Caught an interview with
- [Windows and weather](https://aldasigmunds.com/windows-and-weather/) - Today's weather is 'window-weather' as they say here. (Yes, you could be forgiven for thinking I am completely obsessed with both windows and weather. You would be wrong, though; it's purely a coincidence.) Window weather means that it looks a lot warmer from the window than it actually is. It is actually is very cold.
- [Flying made Easy](https://aldasigmunds.com/flying-made-easy/) - Sunny and damned cold! Appropriate considering it's the first day of winter according to the old Icelandic calendar. That nasty wind is the culprit once more ... crept back in during the night after a welcome absence over these past two days or so. Strange how it never seems cold in Iceland except when there's
- [Of windows and displaced teens](https://aldasigmunds.com/of-windows-and-displaced-teens/) - Arrr... a mighty fine day it is today! The sun shines, the wind is somewhere else making life miserable, the temperatures are ... wait, haven't been out yet. But I opened a (still dirt-encrusted) window and I think it's cold. Latest window update: yesterday one of my upstairs neighbours decided to take matters into his
- [Diesel-fuming!](https://aldasigmunds.com/diesel-fuming/) - Windows still a vague brownish hue. Acting as a filter - diffused light coming through. However, wind has slowed and the sun is shining and it is a beeauuutiful day! Took a lengthy walk to 'weather myself' as the Icelanders say and was not sorry. Oxygen tanked, ready for the remainder of the day. Car
- [Help! I can't see out my window!](https://aldasigmunds.com/help-i-cant-see-out-my-window/) - Got up this morning and thought the blinds were still drawn. Discovered they were not. On my window, externally, a fine layer of dust covered the pane - the product of three days' worth of the most WRETCHED weather I could possibly envision ... well, apart from a new ice age, that is. For me,

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- [Daughter - a memoir](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/daughter/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_type=”circular” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_stops=”#ffffff 41%|#f7f7f7 49%” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” header_font_size=”55px” global_colors_info=”{}”] Daughter a memoir [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] As a young girl, Alda Sigmundsdóttir yearns to be close to her beautiful, distant mother, yet is
- [The Little Book of Tourists in Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookoftouristsiniceland/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_type=”circular” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_stops=”#ffffff 41%|#f7f7f7 49%” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of Tourists in Iceland [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Tips, tricks, and what the Icelanders really think of you [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default”
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- [Going indie](https://aldasigmunds.com/going-indie/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Books” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″ custom_css_main_element=”align-items:center;” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Going-Indie-Course-min.png” alt=”Going-indie” title_text=”Going-Indie-Course-min” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ text_font_size=”23px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_font=”Abhaya Libre|700|||||||” header_font_size=”35px” header_2_font=”Abhaya Libre|700|||||||” header_2_font_size=”45px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” header_3_font=”Abhaya Libre|600|||||||” header_3_font_size=”30px” z_index_tablet=”500″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px”
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- [Little Books Publishing](https://aldasigmunds.com/littlebookspublishing/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ _builder_version=”4.19.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/books-website-min.png” alt=”books-website-min” title_text=”books-website-min” _builder_version=”4.19.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”76%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.19.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”] Little Books Publishing is a small press based in Reykjavík, Iceland. We publish books about Iceland in English,
- [The Little Book of Days in Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookofdaysiniceland/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_type=”circular” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_stops=”#ffffff 41%|#f7f7f7 49%” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of Days in Iceland [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] An illustrated calendar of Iceland’s unique holidays and whimsical seasonal events [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default”
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- [The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookoftheicelandersintheolddays/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_type=”circular” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_stops=”#ffffff 41%|#f7f7f7 49%” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Fifty miniature essays on the lives of the Icelanders in
- [Little Book of the Icelanders at Christmas](https://aldasigmunds.com/islensklittlebookicelandersatchristmas/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Header” _builder_version=”4.16″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_type=”circular” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_stops=”rgba(244,244,244,0.34) 41%|rgba(198,198,198,0.26) 49%” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(244,244,244,0.34)” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(198,198,198,0.26)” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” background_enable_image=”off” background_size=”contain” custom_padding=”51px||51px||true|false” bottom_divider_height=”64px” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_color_all=”#ffffff” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”contain” background_position=”bottom_center” max_width=”1280px” custom_margin=”|auto||140px||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”40px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0vw|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”Times New Roman|500|||||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_font=”Abhaya Libre|700|||||||” header_text_color=”#00208a” header_font_size=”44px” header_line_height=”1.1em” custom_margin=”||11px|||” text_font_size_tablet=”16px” text_font_size_phone=”14px”
- [Blog](https://aldasigmunds.com/blog/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”4.16″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_stops=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34) 40%|#f4f4f4 40%” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″
- [Bækur](https://aldasigmunds.com/baekur/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”3.27.1″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.1″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||10%”
- [Giveaway!](https://aldasigmunds.com/giveaway/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ header_text_color=”#000054″ text_text_color=”#000054″ text_font_size=”56px” text_font=”Baskervville|700|||||||” header_font=”Times New Roman||||||||”] Giveaway! [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” color=”rgba(56,62,89,0.29)” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_divider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”1_2″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” title_text=”Daughter-E-Book-Cover_border” src=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Daughter-E-Book-Cover_border-778×1024.jpeg” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_image][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”4.13.0″
- [The Little Book of the Icelanders](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookoftheicelanders/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of the Icelanders [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Fifty miniature essays on the quirks and foibles of the Icelandic people [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] In
- [The Little Book of the Icelanders at Christmas](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookoftheicelandersatchristmas/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” header_text_color=”#00208a” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of the Icelanders at Christmas [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”||on||||||” header_text_color=”#00208a” header_2_font=”||on||||||” header_2_text_color=”#00208a” header_3_font=”||||||||” header_3_text_color=”#00208a” global_colors_info=”{}”] On the rituals and customs of the Icelandic
- [The Little Book of the Hidden People](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookofthehiddenpeople/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of the Hidden People [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Twenty stories of elves from Icelandic folklore [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Icelandic folklore is rife with
- [The Little Book of Icelandic](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/thelittlebookoficelandic/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Little Book of Icelandic [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] On the idiosyncrasies, delights, and sheer tyranny of the Icelandic language [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] A book about one
- [Icelandic Folk Legends](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/icelandicfolklegends-2/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] Icelandic Folk Legends [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Tales of apparitions, outlaws, and things unseen [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] The Icelandic nation has a long and rich history of
- [Unraveled](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/unraveledanovelaboutameltdown/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] Unraveled [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] A novel about a meltdown [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.13.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] After a 12-year absence from her home country, Frida Lewis returns to Iceland with
- [Living Inside the Meltdown](https://aldasigmunds.com/books/livinginsidethemeltdown/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#ffffff” background_color_gradient_end=”#f7f7f7″ background_color_gradient_type=”radial” background_color_gradient_direction_radial=”top left” background_color_gradient_start_position=”41%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”49%” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|700|||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”] Living Inside the Meltdown [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Ten people share their experience of the Icelandic economic collapse [/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] In October 2008, Iceland went
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- [Useful websites and apps](https://aldasigmunds.com/usefulwebsitesandapps/) - [et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text] en.vedur.is – the latest weather updates road.is – the most recent road conditions safetravel.is – all about touring safely vakinn.is – accreditation for the Icelandic tourism industry heartoficeland.org – protection of the Icelandic highlands visiticeland.com – official tourism website for Iceland visitreykjavik.com – official tourism website for Reykjavík campinginiceland.com – all campsites in
- [The Little Book of Icelandic audio file](https://aldasigmunds.com/audiofile/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”3.27.1″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.1″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||10%”
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- [Testimonials](https://aldasigmunds.com/consulting/testimonials/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”3.27.1″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.1″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||10%”
- [Speaking Engagements](https://aldasigmunds.com/consulting/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”3.27.1″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.1″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||10%”
- [Recipes](https://aldasigmunds.com/recipes/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIn19@” subhead=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9leGNlcnB0Iiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiVGhlIHJlY2lwZXMgYmVsb3cgYXJlIHRyYWRpdGlvbmFsIHRvIHRoZSBJY2VsYW5kaWMgWXVsZS4gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiJUaGV5IGFyZSBmcm9tIFRoZSBMaXR0bGUgQm9vayBvZiB0aGUgSWNlbGFuZGVycyBhdCBDaHJpc3RtYXMuIiwid29yZHMiOiIiLCJyZWFkX21vcmVfbGFiZWwiOiIifX0=@” background_overlay_color=”#e02b20″ admin_label=”Fullwidth Header” _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _dynamic_attributes=”title,subhead” _module_preset=”default” title_font=”|||||on|||” title_font_size=”75px” title_line_height=”1.3em” subhead_font=”|||on|||||” subhead_font_size=”20px” subhead_line_height=”1.5em” hover_enabled=”0″ border_color_all_image=”#c5310d” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][/et_pb_fullwidth_header][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Piparkokur-300×300.jpg” title_text=”Piparkokur” _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.5.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Gingerbread cookies (Piparkökur) 500 g all-purpose flour 250 g
- [Privacy Policy](https://aldasigmunds.com/privacy-policy/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”3.27.1″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.1″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||10%”
- [News & commentary](https://aldasigmunds.com/news-commentary/) - [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Best Selling Book Section” _builder_version=”3.27.1″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(148,166,191,0.34)” background_color_gradient_end=”#f4f4f4″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_color_gradient_start_position=”40%” background_color_gradient_end_position=”0%” background_image=”http://aldasigmunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/paper.jpg” background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”130px|0px|130px|” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0px|50px|” custom_padding_phone=”” z_index_tablet=”500″ box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” global_colors_info=”{}” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.1″ background_color=”#383e59″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” width_phone=”50px” max_width=”960px” max_width_phone=”1280px” custom_margin=”|||0px” custom_padding=”27px|40px||10%” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_slide=”2%” z_index_tablet=”500″ border_radii=”||6px|6px|” border_width_right=”30px” border_color_right=”#bdada0″ border_width_right_tablet=”30px” border_width_right_phone=”30px” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”35px” box_shadow_blur=”70px” box_shadow_spread=”-35px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||10%”

## Products

- [The Little Book of the Hidden People](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-the-hidden-people/) - Twenty stories of elves from Icelandic folklore, along with notes on their meaning. The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and audiobook formats. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [Le Petit Livre du Peuple Caché](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/le-petit-livre-du-peuple-cache/) - Les contes du folklore islandais fourmillent d’elfes et d’êtres cachés qui vivent dans les collines et les rochers de l’île. Ils ont beaucoup à nous apprendre sur l’Islande et les Islandais du temps jadis. Dans ce livre, Alda Sigmundsdóttir offre une sélection de vingt histoires qu’elle a puisées dans ce folklore, chacune d’elle est accompagnée de commentaires passionnants sur le contexte dans lequel il s’enracine. The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback format. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-the-icelanders-in-the-old-days/) - Fifty miniature essays on the life and times of the Icelanders in centuries past. Illustrated by Megan Herbert. The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and ebook formats. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [The Little Book of Icelandic](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-icelandic/) - On the idiosyncrasies, delights, and sheer tyranny of the Icelandic language. A must-read for anyone interested in the Icelandic people and their culture. The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and ebook formats. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [Le Petit Livre des Islandais du Temps Jadis](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/le-petit-livre-des-islandais-du-temps-jadis-2/) - Cinquante essais miniatures sur la vie et les temps des Islandais dans les siècles passés. Traduction française : Henrý Kiljan Albansson. Illustrations : Megan Herbert. LIVRE RELIÉ / HARDCOVER VERSION The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback format. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [Icelandic Folk Legends](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/icelandic-folk-legends/) - Tales of apparitions, outlaws and things unseen The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and audiobook formats. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [Daughter](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/daughter/) - The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you buy from us, as that means we won’t have to pay a fee to a third party to deliver it to you. We send the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. The audiobook is available via Audible. Incidentally, Daughter is also available in paperback format here.
- [Das Kleine Buch über die Isländer in Alten Zeiten](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/das-kleine-buch-uber-die-islander-in-alten-zeiten/) - Fünfzig Mini-Essays über das alltägliche Leben der Isländer in früheren Jahrhunderten. Übersetzung von Coletta Bürling. Illustrationen: Megan Herbert. GEBUNDENE AUSGABE / HARDCOVER VERSION The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback format. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [The Little Book of the Icelanders at Christmas](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-the-icelanders-at-christmas/) - On the customs and rituals of the Icelandic people during Yule. The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. ;) The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see "book type" below), as that means we won't have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and audiobook formats. Please note that we do not ship print books within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [The Little Book of the Icelanders](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-the-icelanders-2/) - The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and hardcover formats.
- [The Little Book of Days in Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-days-in-iceland/) - An illustrated calendar of Iceland’s unique holidays and whimsical seasonal events. Containing 60 beautiful illustrations that are as whimsical and fun as the days and events that they represent. A delightful book to jot down appointments, birthdays, or significant events, and a must for all lovers of Iceland. High-quality paperback with a bound spine, so very durable. Full colour printing. This book is also available as a Kindle ebook, though the electronic version does not support it being used as a planner. Buy Kindle version here. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland itself. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [Das kleine Buch über das verborgene Volk](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/das-kleine-buch-uber-das-verborgene-volk/) - Die isländische Überlieferung ist reich an Geschichten über Elfen und das verborgene Volk, das einst Hügel und Felsen in dieser magischen Landschaft bewohnte. Doch was berichten uns diese Elfengeschichten wirklich über das Island von früher und über die Menschen, die dort früher lebten? In diesem Buch stellt uns die Autorin Alda Sigmundsdóttir zwanzig Elfengeschichten aus isländischen Volksweisen vor, zusammen mit faszinierenden Erläuterungen über deren Kontext. GEBUNDENE AUSGABE / HARDCOVER VERSION The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback format. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [Le Petit Livre des Islandais du Temps Jadis](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/le-petit-livre-des-islandais-du-temps-jadis/) - Cinquante essais miniatures sur la vie et les temps des Islandais dans les siècles passés. Traduction Française : Henrý Kiljan Albansson. Illustrations : Megan Herbert. LIVRE RELIÉ / HARDCOVER VERSION The hardcover version of this book ships from Iceland. The ebook version ships anywhere. 😉 The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback format. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.
- [The Little Book of Tourists in Iceland](https://aldasigmunds.com/shop/the-little-book-of-tourists-in-iceland-2/) - An invaluable resource for traveling in Iceland safely, responsibly, and in harmony with the locals. QUALITY SOFTCOVER VERSION with a handy flap for marking your place. Bound spine, so very durable. The ebook is available directly from us, and also from other ebook retailers. We would be much obliged if you select the first option (see “book type” below), as that means we won’t have to share our profits with others. We deliver the ebooks via BookFunnel, where you can select your preferred reading device. BookFunnel has awesome support if you run into any snags when downloading, or you can contact us for help. This book is also available in paperback and audiobook formats. Please note that we do not ship within Iceland. If you are in Iceland and would like to order this title, please do so here.

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