Kartöflur og broddgeltir

Nú er sumarið formlega komið því að prófin eru búin og hitinn farinn að skríða yfir 20°C á daginn. Ég hef tekið því rólega síðustu dagana og döndað mér í garðinum og líka tekið góðar svefn- og át-tarnir.

Var að pæla upp smá reit í suð-vestur horni garðsins og fyrr en varði var ég búinn að finna rúmlega kíló af kartöflum. Ég hef alltaf haldið að það þyrfti að setja þær niður fyrst - en hérna megin á hnettinum er víst flest á haus - þannig að þetta hefði svo sem ekkert þurft að koma mér á óvart.




Ég var líka að kynnast nágranna okkar um helgina - stóð hann að verki við að tína upp í sig síðdegissnarl í garðinum. Þarna var á ferðinni broddgöltur en þeir eru víst ekkert óalgengir hérna í kringum borgina (og jafnvel inni í henni). Hann var nú svolítið feiminn við fyrstu kynni og vildi ekkert við mig tala - endaði með því að troða sér undir girðinguna og hvarf inn í skóginn - sagði ekki einu sinni bless.

Myndirnar hérna við hliðina eru teknar af garðinum, sú efri er tekin fyrir norðan húsið í vestur og sú neðri er tekin í suður við norð-vestur horn hússins. Skúrinn á myndinni er ekki kamar - þó ég mígi nú stundum utan í hann þegar enginn sér til - heldur er þarna á ferðinni skúr sem hefur að geyma alls konar garðdót og annars konar drasl.

Hef þetta ekki lengra að sinni,
kveðja,
Einar Örn

Grand Opening of Surfside!

Hi all you lovelies!

Well I did it! I had my Grand Opening of my Pilates studio in Sumner, New Zealand. Who said I couldn't do it! Well, no one actually. It has been a hard road these past few months. Einar is studying hard and I have been trying to put together a mini studio here in Sumner. As some of you may know, my first job with a Pilates studio here in Christchurch did not work out. Very unfortunately. So I was left with the Oh NO! What do I do!! My answer has been to open a studio, however foolish an idea or dream. I guess I have wanted to work for myself for awhile now. I have not had as a great an experience working for someone since I left Pacific Northwest Pilates in Oregon. This is my chance I think. And I am taking it. Anyway, the Opening went well. I had it on a long weekend which was not such a grand idea. But I was pleased with the number of people who came by anyway. And in bad weather. My studio is all set up, painted beautifully. and looking professional I think. I had mirrors put in and all my toys are out. I have one room for mat classes (only 4 people per class!) and one room for private training. Unfortunately, my equipment is still not fixed or replaced. As you can imagine, the insurance company has been sooo helpful and efficient in my claim. I have had to do all the assessments myself. That has been a bit hard too. As a result of all this and getting the business going and not 'working' Einar and I are in the negative/ minus in the bank. As I am sure many of you know, it is not a nice feeling. It is more scary than the kind of scary in the movies when you scream as the woman gets eaten by the giant squid or some scary chainsaw bearing crazy man saws up the silly teenager. Well, you know what I mean. I don't need a scary movie right now to get myself riled up. (:

Though I do have strong hopes that this business will take off. I am starting small and I am in an excellent location. Much better than if I had chosen to stay in the Christchurch city. And I have the advantage of being trained by the best in the business. I also like helping people and really hope to meet many new and fabulous people like I did in Iceland and the US.

As they say, it takes time. Sometimes I would like to fast forward through time though.

I am including a picture of the sign I have in the front. The designer did a good job in the end. but it was a learning experience as they sucked up alot of my money not getting it right the first time. So this is what came out of a frenzied 3 week yes/no/no/yes collaboration. It is a longer story, but I won't be using them again!! Although, I have learned some valuable lessons from all of this. I had a great experience hiring the mirror guys to put in my mirrors and not so great with the designers. But it all goes with the territory and you learn for the next time.

At least now 3 things have gone really wrong, the shipping company damaging my equipment, the designer trouble, and now we are in the red. So from here we can only go up!!

Anyway, the opening went well considering the weather and the long weekend. I had some positive response and hopefully will get some clients and get rolling. I am starting from very scratch. Which is very hard. And I do have competition. Although, I met with one of my competitors who is also from the US and she was very nice. She had trained with Romana and has quite an extensive background. So maybe we can work together. I did not know about her until I had already decided to move here. But such is life! You go with your decisions and hope they lead you the right way. For me it has been a lot of trusting my instinct. And sometimes you don't know if you made the right decision (i.e. not working for that woman) or just following your heart however crazy the lead might be.

So that's where we're at.

Einar is about to have his final exam in Physics! His favorite subject. He has been studying very hard. And seems to be doing well. Wish him good luck! He needs a little encouragement now and again too. I usually need quite a bit more. He is truly a strong Viking man. (Especially to put up with me (: ). We only need to win the lottery and we will be happy campers. (although I did win a DVD on the radio (: ).

Ok! Any advice or encouragement you can send our way is greatly appreciated. I know many of you have been in tighter spots than mine. Stories of triumph are always appreciated!

Hugs and Love from New Zealand!

Visit us soon!

Carolyn and Einar

Sumartíminn kominn: GMT +13

Vaknaði upp á sunnudagsmorguninn klukkutíma seinna en ég ætlaði. Samt svaf ég jafn lengi og ég ætlaði mér. Þetta virðist í fyrstu vera mótsagnakennt -- en skýringin er sú að það tíminn á milli 2 og 3 um nóttina kom aldrei! Þannig að ef einhver spyr hvað ég var að gera á milli 2 og 3 1. október 2006 -- ja, þá veit ég svei mér ekki hverju á að svara! Þetta er í fyrsta skipti sem ég upplifi það að tíminn taki klukkutíma stökk í einni svipan. Hvernig ætli það verði þegar sumarið er búið - þá hljóta þeir að færa tímann aftur um einn tíma -- og þá lendir maður í því upplifa sama klukkutímann tvisar! Gæti hugsanlega verið rétti tíminn til að ræna banka -- það væri auðvelt að svara spurningunni, eiðsvarinn, frammi fyrir dómara hvar ég hefði verið á tilteknum tíma ef ég hefði um tvö jafn rétt svör að velja án þess hafa áhyggjur af því að vera að segja ósatt. Þarf að fara að plana...
Ég tók mynd (hér fyrir ofan) úr Google-Earth af svæðinu sem við búum á, Sumner í Christchurch. Þar er húsið sem við búum í merkt inná.
Var að ljúka við næst síðustu törnina í skólanum í dag. Þá tekur sú síðasta við á morgun sem endar með prófi einhvern tíman seinna í þessum mánuði. Og svo þarf maður að fara að reyna að fá sér einhverja sumarvinnu...
Carolyn er langt komin með að undirbúa tvö herbergi undir pilates kennslu - búið að mála og í næstu viku verða settir upp speglar á veggi -- og þá á bara eftir að finna fórnarlömb...
Hef þetta ekki lengra að sinni,
Einar Örn

New Phone Numbers!

Hi All!
New phone numbers to report! By the way, it is far easier and cheaper for you to call me on Skype. Because its FREE!! (: My Skype name is Carolyn692. Einar's is Einar692. Check out http://www.skype.com/. That way we can talk for free for as long as we want thru the computer!! All you need is a microphone. We are always online..one or the other of us.


Our new telephone numbers are :
HOME +64-3-326-4336
CELL/ WORK +64 27-676-0906

We may get a new personal number soon as well. So stay tuned.

Keep sending emails to us about what's going on in your life! We love to hear stories! Even if its every day life stuff! We like to know what you are up to...it makes us happy to hear your stories of adventure and nonadventure (:
Love Carolyn and Einar

Hænugáta -- Hen riddle

Ef að hæna og hálfri meir verpir eggi og hálfu meir á einum degi og hálfum meir, hvað verpa þá sex hænur mörgum eggjum á sjö dögum?

If a hen and a half lay an egg and a half in a day and a half, how many eggs do six hens lay in seven days?

My First Birthday in NZ! Sept 24th 2006

Dearest Friends!

Yes, another Birthday gone by! And in another country! New Zealand! Well, yes of course most of you know how much I like to socialize (I am sure you are having less parties in Iceland without me). So I decided to have my first party in New Zealand after only less than 2 months. Granted it wasn't like my first Birthday in Iceland when I had invited 60 people! But then again I had the advantage of a few months more to meet people. I have been a little bit of a hermit here trying to get things done, unpacked, making an insurance claim (my shipment was badly damaged ): ). I did a power clean of our new home (only moved in a week ago). And unpacked everything and gave it a home in our new place. Even got the Pilates studio set up. But I did it! Had a nice little B-day party with those people whom I've met here. Unfortunately, none of the Icelandic people here could make it. But I have met some cool New Zealanders and foreigners already! So I had a mix at the party. I made a nice chocolate cake and some appetizers. Made a wish and blew out the candle and everyone clapped. Though only I know my wish (; Party was great. Really lovely people here. Everyone brought wine. And we just had a nice time chatting and talking of differences between countries we have lived in and NZ. Even got a couple presents. Of course, I threatened everyone there that I was going to start a trend of Salsa parties! So look out New Zealand! Going to get on my salsa outfit like I did in Iceland! I have a new one from the States to twirl in!

We have a beautiful house in Sumner. Old home, used to be an orphanage and before that it was a Vicarage. So its got some history. Very spacious and the carpet was pulled up to display the beautiful wood floors underneath. As I said, I even got my new Pilates studio almost set up (minus the damaged machines). I think it looks nice. It is small..but then again I am starting small and hopefully will get bigger. But keeping it simple first. Thanks to all your votes from my last email I have decided to go with name #10.

SURFSIDE Pilates and Fitness Studio (of Sumner). Yes..because you all unanimously liked it and I am right by a beautiful beach so it fits nicely. I am also going to differentiate myself from the competition by adding a Cardiovascular focus for my clients. I am going to offer with the training or separately what I will call Walk Fit! I will lead groups on walks and track their heart rate and challenge people to get into their personal Aerobic capacity zone. By the way you do that by taking 220-age= max Heart rate then you multiply by either 60-70% of your max HR to get your appropriate Target Heart Rate.

Anyway, I've got to get the logo done next and then the business cards and signs and hope for the best after that. Oh, I quit the Red Cross. Too much for me to handle there and get my business going. I made a bit of a mess of that. Unfortunately they were very angry with me..as I understand fully. So next time you give to a charity give to the Red Cross to help me make it up to them.

Other than that, I am well. Although I seem to be attracting some sort of bug who likes to suck on my legs and now I have a hundred bites everywhere. But you didn't want to know that (; At least there is no snakes here. Alot of birds though. Great to wake up in the morning to the sound of birds singing out the window. I had a huge chorus on the morning of my Birthday. We even attract the Monarch butterfly to one of the many plants in our garden. Lovely! And our apple tree is budding!

So come visit!

Remember.....1 year from September 24th! Everyone is invited to a BIG PARTY in New ZEALAND! Its my BIG 30 next year...so don't forget to start saving and book your flight 1 year from now. You have notice !! I can't wait to see you here (:

On that note! Cheers to all! Keep smiling (: through it all and a smile will come back your way (: Maybe it will travel all the way back to me here in NZ. Here's one for you (: two (:

Love and Hugs to you all! I miss you terribly still. You are always in our thoughts, even if we neglect to write, remember that!

Carolyn

Loftsteinn skekur og skelfir

Þau undur og stórmerki gerðust hér þriðjudaginn 12. september um klukkan 15 að miklar drunur heyrðust og hús skókust og skulfu. Ég var staddur í kennslustund á þriðju hæð og var greinilega var við atburðinn. Menn höfðu það alls ekki á hreinu hvað þarna var á ferðinni - og fáir höfðu nóg hugmyndaflug til að láta sér detta í hug að lofsteinn hefði hrapað til jarðar í næsta nágrenni. En það var einmitt það sem gerðist - lofsteinn átti að hafa hrapað einhvers staðar nálægt Christchurch og valdið miklum og háværum hvelli við lendinguna. Strax um kvöldið, sama dag, var vísindamaður í fréttunum að rannsaka stein sem einhver hafði fundið og talið vera loftsteinsleifar. Vísindamaðurinn var alls ekki sannfærður um að þarna væri lofsteinn á ferðinni en útilokaði nátúrulega ekkert - eins og vísindamönnum er svo tamt. Hér er hægt að lesa frétt sem ég fann um þennan atburð (og hér). Hér er vefsíða þar sem hægt er að hlusta á hvell frá svipuðum atburði frá árinu 1999.
Annars er það helst að frétta að við erum flutt í slotið. Myndin hérna er tekin af því og sjá má klettinn í bakgarðinum og það glittir í kirkjuna á hægri hönd. Við búum í bakhluta hússins en það er einnig íbúð í framhlutanum.
Þetta hús var víst um tíma munaðarleysingjaheimili og einnig prestbústaður þannig að hér hlýtur að vera gott að vera þó maður sé hvorki munaðarlaus né prestur - kemst kannski næst því að vera munaðarlaus prestur! En hér er í það minnsta mjög gott að búa - þá tvo daga sem við erum búin að vera hér...
En nú eru bara fjórar kennsluvikur eftir af önninni og allt brjálað að gera í verkefnaskilum þannig að ég hef þetta ekki lengra að sinni.
Loftsteinakveðjur, Einar og Carolyn.

Carolyn's comments of the day

Hello all my favorite friends and family!
Welcome to the Blog of Carolyn and Einar. Hopefully we can entertain you with stories of adventure, romance, excitement...!!! Actually, we've been quite normal lately. Since I have arrived I have gone through a myriad of feelings: happiness to see Einar again, shock at the new culture, confusion about what country I was waking up in (Is it Iceland, America, or New Zealand? this has happened often in the early mornings), and then feelings of sadness and homesick feelings for my friends abroad. But then one day! Einar slapped me in the face and said, "Be a Viking, woman! Get tough or I'll find me a new slave woman!" And tadaaa! I was cured from my stupor and self imposed silliness. No...really...Einar is supportive and caring , although he did punch me in the nose when he was sleeping a couple of nights ago from one of his epileptic moments. Other than that he has really been there (or here and there) for me.
You've heard...we're moving to Sumner! A beautiful beached area outside of Christchurch. Where people surf, sun, and go tramping as they say! I can't wait to move in. We have a great new place, with a garden for me to grow my pot...I mean my veggies, a gigantic cliff behind us where many species of birds nest and poop alot, and a massage therapist at the flat in front of us! What more! And space for all of you to come visit! I have got a job with the Red Cross part time to start out with. I will be teaching first aide. And if you want to hear one of the craziest stories ever from 'what not to do' in an emergency..please respond to the blog and ask for a special addition of First Aide Scary stories! I have some great ones!
Other than that I am waiting for my equipment to arrive so I can start playing on the Pilates equipment. I have looked into doing my own business. And I think I can do it with time, patience, and a little more money. I have looked at other studios here, and really haven't felt good about what they are doing. So I think I'm going to try to do it alone! We'll see! Wish me luck..send me encouragement! (Donations can be sent to: 54 Wakefield Ave Flat #2 Sumner, Christchurch New Zealand......) Ha! Like how I added our new address for you to know? No..monetary is required just implied (: hhhehhehe.
Well, what else? Einar had a manly beard for awhile. I will add a picture of that. After he came off the mountain for his glacier trip with the University of Canterbury where he's going for his Master's in Glaciology, his face was a bush full of manly hair. You could really see the red in the beard...where did that come from? Also ,left over lunch from the day before (;
As for myself, I have made a few new friends. Met them thru a college buddy who hooked us up. Really cool girl I met who has a Kiwi boyfriend (she's American), but a big group of very outdoorsy friends come with them. We just went to their new home in Lyttleton (just over the hill) and watched a movie on their great big projector screen. And homemade pizza. I told them stories of sheep's head and they gagged...
I am just trying to get on my feet here, find some sort of routine. I've been applying for alot of different jobs. So we'll see what direction I go in the end. I still want to do Pilates. But I am looking for any opportunity. I had an interview to become a Guide in the mountains..didn't get it...but that's how I met my friend who in turn showed me the flat we are now going to move to. So things are happening! Opportunities are coming our way (and not just coincidences I believe). To wrap this saga up! We MISS you all terribly. Please Send your thoughts, jokes, stories, love, lockets of your hair, email, anything for us to make us think of you time and again. (Just please nothing that would have to be Quarantined (: ).
Ok! Love you lots! One big..................BIG BEAR HUG..coming your way.....GOTCHA!
Cheers Mate! No Worries! Until we met again!
Carolyn and Einar

Vettvangsferð á vesturströndina

Ég fór í vettvangsferð um daginn í tengslum við einn kúrsinn sem ég er í. Við fórum á vesturströndina og skoðuðum Fox og Franz Josef jöklana. Það var rigning allan tíman - enda er vesturströndin þekkt sem afbragðs úrkomusvæði. Þar getur rignt mikið og lengi í einu - og við hittum inn á eitt svoleiðis rigningartímabil. Vaknaði einn morguninn við þrumur og eldingar - það hljómaði miklu betur en vekjaraklukkan mín! Við gistum í skála sem er staðsettur í Harihari. Þaðan er hálftíma akstur til Franz Josef jökulsins og tveir hálftímar til Fox jökulsins. Ég fann kort af vesturströndinni hér.

Á leiðinni til baka, í gegnum Arhtur's Pass, var aðeins kaldara þannig að það snjóaði í þrúhundruð metrum yfir sjávarmáli. Við þurftum því að setja keðjur undir bílinn yfir skarðið því hér er notkun nagladekkja bönnuð. Arthur´s Pass, eða Arthurs skarð, er fallegt skarð sem vegurinn þræðir sig í gegnum. Hæsti punktur á veginum er rúmlega níu hundruð metrar yfir sjávarmáli. Þar var því töluverður snjór og loksins var eitthvað sem minnti mann á þá staðreynd að hér er vetur!

Við stoppuðum í Broken River á leiðinni heim til að grafa snjógrifjur og fara á skíði. Myndin hérna er frá Broken River -- ekki amalegt útsýni þegar skyggnið er gott.

kv, Einar Örn

Opnunarbréf vefskruddunnar

Jæja, þar kom að því að ég skrifaði eitthvað í vefskrudduna...
Nú er ég staddur í Christchurch á Nýja Sjálandi og opinberlega á ég að vera að læra í háskóla hérna í bænum, University of Canterbury. Og það held ég líka að ég sé að gera...

Kom hérna seint í júní á þessu ári og bjó fyrsta mánuðinn á hálfgerðu piparsveinagistihúsi á Nursery Road. En flutti svo á Lowe Street áður en kærastan kom í bæinn -- seint í júlí. Núna erum við svo búin að finna hið fullkomna húsnæði á Wakefield Avenue í Sumner. En það er í austurhluta bæjarins rétt við sjóinn í fallegu umhverfi. Þar er meira að segja lóðréttur fimmtíu metra hár klettur í bakgarðinum -- ótrúlegt í öllu þessu sléttlendi hérna í Canterbury. Myndin hérna er tekin í Sumner í austurátt og eins og sjá má er Kyrrahafið ansi stórt! Við komum til með að búa í 300 metra fjarlægt frá þessari strönd þannig að í staðinn fyrir að fara í sturtu á morgnana getur maður bara hlaupið niður í fjöru og baðað sig í sjónum.

Kv, Einar Örn.