Sorry they're all in a long column, I haven't worked out how to 'tableise' things yet!












I wish you all a very happy and peaceful New Year. See you soon with some new projects!
I blogged about a place called Vik in Iceland last time. While we were staying in Reykjavik we made the most of being quite a way north and decided to take a trip to Greenland. It was just a day trip but was enough to get a tiny taste of another fascinating country.
We arrived in Kulusuk after a two-hour flight. Then we walked to a little village called Kap Dan, which is home to the Ammassalik Inuit. I think there are around 350 people living there at the moment. I loved the brightly coloured houses. I guess you need some colour in a landscape that is so cold and bleak for much of the year.
Here we watched a drum dance and kayaking demonstration. We also visited a tiny wooden gift shop and I bought an intricate beaded necklace that a lady had made. There was also a church and an old and a new cemetery. Both are very picturesque and perhaps unlike cemeteries elsewhere. This is the Old Cemetery. The crosses don't actually have names on as the Inuits believe that when the body dies, the name and soul live on. The name is then given to a new-born in the village.
We took a boat back to the airport and saw some pretty big icebergs! It would have been utterly amazing to see a polar bear floating along on one, but alas, that wasn’t to be! Here’s an iceberg on land...
We visited Greenland at the very end of the ‘summer’, so these icebergs are rather small compared to what they must be like in the winter.
Here’s the stamp from my passport!
Hmm... where shall we go next week??
(Apologies for the different fonts, I can't seem to edit it!)
Iceland has a most bizarre landscape. You may have heard people liken it to being on the moon (not that many of us would know what that’s like!). I guess it’s true though. Being volcanically active, the land is full of lava fields and has hardly any trees, or at least, not big ones like we have in the UK. It’s pretty odd seeing so few trees!
We took a trip one day down to a place called Vik and decided to go for a walk to the beach. We were so glad we had, for this is what we saw (this is a colour pic!):
I’d never seen a beach quite like this one. The black ‘sand’ against the green grass and misty white/grey sky was amazing. It was truly like being in another world. Everywhere we looked was just black and white! I can't seem to find my pic of the grass and the sand, but here's another, taken with a filter:
And this is a geyser (available to buy if you wish! Just e-mail me for details). We could have stood watching these erupt all day. They're absolutely fascinating!
Anyone else been to Iceland??
These type of questions did the rounds by e-mail a few years ago. Seeing as I don't work in an office anymore, I haven't filled one out for a while, so here we go:
A - Age – 34. How did I get that old??
B - Bed size – Double, but would love a King Size if we had the room!
C - Chores you hate – Ironing, without a doubt.
D - Dogs – Had a dog called Charlie when I was about 14/15, but only for a week or two. Then we got a beautiful Yellow Labrador called Tiggy. She died a few years ago, but I still think of her all the time. I wish she’d been around to meet my children. I’d have loved to see what she made of them!
E - Essential start to your day – This will sound odd, but I have to moisturise and put lip balm on quickly once I’ve washed then I feel I can start my day! No coffees or anything for me!
F - Favourite colour – I’ve always liked yellow. Not sure if this was because I genuinely liked it or because no other child ever said it was their favourite colour, so I thought I’d be different!
G - Gold or silver – My engagement and wedding rings are gold with some white gold, although I like silver too. Don’t wear any other jewellery, apart from the odd polymer clay pendant I’ve made.
H - Height – About 5’6.5” I think.
I - Instruments you play – Used to play the piano. I had lessons for about 9 years and wish I could say I play well! Had one violin lesson once too...
J - Job title – Main job is primary school teacher. Proof reader and also business owner I guess. Sounds posh!
K - Kids – One boy, one girl.
L - Live – Hertfordshire for nearly 6 years. 18 months in Essex before that and the first 26 years of my life in north London.
M - Mother's name – Colleen.
N - Nickname – Little Vic. I was always one of the smallest at school!
O - Overnight hospital stays – Only when I had my children.
P - Pet Peeves – Rudeness and inconsiderate people.
Q - Quote from a film – I am absolutely rubbish at remembering quotes.
R - Right or left handed - Right
S - Siblings – Two younger brothers.
T - Time you wake up – 6am if I’m working, 7am if not and 7.30 at the weekend.
U - Underwear – Usually M&S.
V - Vegetable you hate – Only Brussels sprouts really. I like veggies, especially home-grown ones or from my mum and dad’s allotment.
W - What makes you run late – Only severe transport delays. I hate being late. I’d rather be an hour early than a minute late.
X - X-rays you've had – Only for my teeth I think.
Y - Yummy food you make – I’m told I make pretty good roast potatoes, if that counts?! I love cooking and try to make a lot of dishes from scratch. My son likes my homemade pizzas.
Z - Zoo animal – I love pandas, but the monkeys and chimps can keep me entertained for hours.
Feel free to copy and paste your answers on your blog!