The previous owner had an RV parked on large gravel which wasn’t very comfortable for walking on and would not have been conducive to our forthcoming hot tub and other furniture. We found a reasonable local cement company that did such a professional job and we love the new huge space of about 14’x28′ which was previously not that usable. We have lots of plans for the area above and beyond the back yard to the house which we are also enjoying a lot. Here are pictures of the progress.
Next steps: Move some of the furniture back to this area, get a permanent fix for the fence, buy a hot tub and then put a gazebo over part of the area with maybe a pergola over part.
We went to a few Halloween parties the weekend before (I’m all for the proposed legislation to move it to the last Saturday of every October). It happened to be the night one of the party locations required a power shutoff to avoid possible fires because of PG&E’s negligence and greed over the years. We still managed to have fun because this power outage was at least anticipated.
Bella and her hot dog costume
Shando and Joe at Halloween party during blackout.
I went to Iceland in 2013, but this was Shando’s first time, so we decided to do the Bears on Ice event with a bunch of bears, almost all of whom turned out to be Americans. This was also my first time at the Blue Lagoon.
Airport Layover
Downtown sites of interest include a church that looks like an upright airplane…
Star Wars theme bathroom in a small cafe…
Seemingly permanent rainbow sidewalk…
Iconic opera house and nearby symbolic Viking ship…
and random murals and art.
Beginning our Golden Circle journey at City Hall.
Continental Divide
Geyser
Waterfall
The countryside we were kind of forced to see when our tour bus broke down!
We got to meet my dear friend Sharan’s sister from Italy who happened to be interning for her advanced degree in Reykyavik. We brought her a framed picture from Sharan to save a bunch on shipping charges. Valentina’s English is very good, but it was nice to be able to speak Italian in Reykavik too, which strangely I have done regularly both times I visited Iceland.
We got a cute Airbnb rental which was pretty convenient, although quite a walk to downtown if truth be told. The cabs were pretty plentiful, although expensive at this point with the current exchange rate.
Donita has consistently been one of my closest friends since high school, more than thirty years ago. Widowed way too young I was very happy to be a part of her wedding to a great guy who I have had the privilege of getting to know. I love these people, and I enjoyed seeing Kane and a ton of my close high school friends and their families.
