Good Morning All!
Check out the “The Barre Code” in Spokane! 2 weeks unlimited classes for just $39.00! My daughter Amy offers “Brawl”; “TBC” (Total Body Conditioning); “Restore” and “Barre Code” classes to all comers. I attended a session just the other day and love it! Visit www.thebarrecode.com and click on “Spokane” and find out more about these great opportunities to have fun and exercise at the same time! You’ll be glad you did! Amy’s studio is fantastic! (of course I may be a bit biased!).
A belated Happy Birthday to my friend, Bert Mills, human resources consultant extraordinaire…lover of baseball (he visited all of the major league baseball parks in one season!) and singer of “His Song” fame, who celebrated his birthday on this past Saturday, July 27th! Here’s to you, Bert!
Happy Birthday to my friends Jessie, Hannah & Suzie, and Joe who all celebrate birthdays tomorrow, July 30th! Happy Birthday, too, to my friend LaVerne, who celebrates her birthday on July 31st and to my friend Sue, employee benefits professional extraordinaire, who celebrates her birthday on August 1st! Also, a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my son, Jacob (Jake), who celebrates his 28th birthday on August 2nd! Here’s to you, Jake! Have fun on your special day of celebration!
Here’s some more about my recent Icelandic adventure:
July 8, 2019
As we traveled from Flateyri to Akureyri in north central Iceland, we came upon an inlet in one of the many fjords along the way and spotted a colony of sea lions lounging on the rocks. Quite a sight! It wasn’t long after that we came upon the village of Sudavik, home of the arctic fox research center. They have a great display about the arctic fox and there is one fox in captivity…an orphan who has been at the center for 3-4 years. There is a gentleman who devoted his whole life to arctic fox study and I was able to read excerpts from his doctoral thesis about fox. It’s a great place to spend a little time getting better acquainted with the arctic fox.
We stopped for lunch at a fishing village/whale watching center called Holmvik. We picked out the Cafe Rus based on the favorable reviews they were given on Yelp and we were not disappointed. It’s a quaint little restaurant located in an old house in the center of the village. It features pictures of a number of fishing boat captains that adorn the walls of the restaurant. I ordered the Seafood Soup…one of the best soups/chowders I’ve ever had. It was loaded with shellfish and cod…chock full of scallops, mussels, fish (cod/haddock), red peppers and fresh bread. Others had the fish & chips; the catch of the day (cod with rustic mashed potatoes, garlic and cheese; and pizza and pasta…a great place to come for lunch! Holmvik’s claim to fame is whale watching and we could see why, as we spotted a whale out in the fjord not far from Holmvik. It was a treat to see the whale spouting off in the distance and we caught a glimpse of its tail! Truly a beautiful spot here!
The main highway in Iceland (Highway 1 of course!) is a two lane highway with no passing lanes whatsoever. Highway 1 goes from Reykjavik to Akureyri—winding its way through the middle of Iceland. Small little convenience stops from time to time, composed of a little grocery store and gas station. The farther into the middle of Iceland, the more tillable acres you see for farmland than the Westfjord. Clouds are sitting on top of the mountains and the broader valleys here. We finally got to see an Icelandic sheep dog with a group of what looked to be Icelandic cowboys herding a group of Icelandic horses off the highway leading to Akureyri. Lots of mysterious low hanging clouds make an appearance over the mountains that tower over the valley through which we are traveling. A mist hangs over the mountains…”spooky” according to Judy!
July 9, 2019
We have arrived in Akureyri…a beautiful port city located at the beginning of a fjord that reaches into the ocean. It’s Iceland’s second largest city. We drive by a “Nesti”, which we believe is “Drive-In” in Icelandic…this place sure looks like a drive-in! There are some American chain restaurants here…like Domino’s Pizza & Subway. We noticed a couple of Asian/Thai restaurants here, which seems kind of strange given that we’re in Iceland, but Asian/Thai food is popular just about anywhere it seems. We see some of the conveniences that are associated with a larger town/city. Akureyri is the center of commerce for all of northern Iceland. We again see lots of beautiful blue/purple lupine all along the highway.
The place we are staying is a vacation rental unit built on a farm located a couple of miles west of Akureyri. It has a hot tub that you fill each time you want to use it from a geothermal source. You always have instant hot water in Iceland! You have to let the tap run awhile in order to get cold water! The hot water is easy to get here…any time you want to take a shower or use the hot tub you just turn on the faucet and you’ve got it made! It’s a pretty place here, overlooking the fjord with views of mountains surrounding the fjord. The vacation cabins look to be situated near the original family farmhouse…it appears that they grow potatoes and hay and have a number of Icelandic sheep and horses on the farm. I got the chance to visit briefly with the owner, Christine, a woman about my age (60ish), who told me she was raised on the farm here. The farm backs up to mountains. Everything is smaller here…smaller bedrooms, smaller sinks, smaller refrigerators…little or no extra space in bedrooms. Icelanders like to use down comforters as bedspreads/sheets…it reflects a “minimalist” approach to living…takes a bit of getting used to for an American who is used to everything being “bigged up” or as they say in the States…”bit it up.” Christine did introduce us to the family dog, who in Icelandic is called “Speed Lightening”. He’s a friendly Icelandic sheep dog who loves to fetch rocks of all things. Bobby is especially fond of him. It’s nice to have a dog around. We’ll be staying here for the next four nights.
More on my Icelandic adventure in the next blog…
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for George “Butch” Byrd, who was born in 1941 and played six seasons with the Buffalo Bills and one season for the Denver Broncos. He played high school football at the LaSalle Institute in Troy, New York, not far from his hometown of Watervliet, New York. He played college football at Boston University, where he was one of the best running backs and pass receivers in Boston University history. He averaged 27.9 yards on kickoff returns and had a career total of 26 for 250 yards and three touchdowns. He was selected in the 4th round of the 1964 AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. Byrd immediately made an impact in the defensive backfield, with seven interceptions and was a punt returner for the Bills for his entire career. He holds the Bills’ career records for interceptions (40), interception return yards (666) and interceptions returned for touchdowns (5). He played a key role in the 1964 & 1965 Buffalo Bills AFL Championship teams. He was a five time AFL All-Star, and was selected for the second team, All-Time All-AFL Team. Byrd was inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame in 1980 and was selected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. His 1969 Topps Football Card called him “A natural enemy of opposing quarterbacks…He is Buffalo’s all-time ace at aerial thefts…George started every game since his rookie year in 1964. After a long career in business, Byrd is retired and lives in Weston, Masschusetts. Here’s to George “Butch” Byrd!
Here is the funny question for the day:
Q: What do you call a fish with two knees?
A: A two knee fish.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“First of all, I love singing. I mean, I get out of bed and I sing. I can’t help it.”
—Tom Jones, Welsh singer of “It’s Not Unusual” fame
“In bed at night, I could be reading some book, and I’ll come across a sentence that’s totally unrelated to some scene I did years ago. But I’ll play the scene back in my mind and think, I did that wrong…I should’ve opened the door more slowly.”
—Liam Neeson, Irish actor of “Star Wars”, “Commuter” & “Rob Roy” movie fame
“Do not waste time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you do, and you will presently come to love him.”
—C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book Of Wisdom” (2018)
Here’s to a great Monday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)