Canada June, July and August 2002
Well after sending Sunnukor home to Iceland I was looking forward to taking a few days off but unfortunately the house and yard in Winnipeg took preference. The grass had not been cut in the back yard for over 1 month. Thankfully the next-door neighbour had cut the front yard for me. It was like a jungle in the back yard, but after some hard work I was able to spruce it up. I am already getting ahead of myself. I got back to Winnipeg on Saturday June 22nd and my Dad met me in Winnipeg, we whizzed out to Fraserwood and than goodness I was able to have a nap before Dean and Wendy’s social. It was not a big crowd but a nice group and a good time was had by all. I then had to go to Winnipeg the next day to cut the grass and start work on the house.
The weather was getting warmer, hotter actually and it was nice that the house in Winnipeg was air-conditioned. I hauled lots of garbage from the back yard, mainly branches and leaves. I think in total about 6 truckloads, yes it is a big yard. I didn’t do anything else very exciting until I went to a Blue Bomber Football game on the 28th of June. We won of course, and it was nice to get back to the air-conditioned house. After a few hours work on Saturday I headed out to Fraserwood, I was invited to a pig roast at Snorri Asmundsson´s. There was a nice group there but was it ever hot and the mosquitoes were getting crazy.
Canada Day fell on a Monday so it was a holiday; I did some work on the house and then headed to the Forks to partake in some of the activities. There were a lot of people there and it was sooo hot that I didn’t stay too long. As soon as the sunset the mosquitoes were out in full force and since I am getting to be a little more Icelandic I figured it was time to leave. Well another week of work on the house, it seemed that I would get one thing done and another would appear, oh well might as well fix/repair that as well. I did manage to make it to a Mason meeting in Gimli, where I am a member. It was nice to see everyone there. My brother Shawn’s birthday fell on another Bomber football game so we had to go to Hooters first for a few beers. On the Saturday, July 6th I headed to Fraserwood with yet another load of garbage and was able to sneak out to Shawn and Sherry’s for a barbeque/birthday party. Sunday was a real lazy day, I drove into Winnipeg meaning to do some work and first thing I had to do was have a nap. The heat was really getting to me and after my nap I didn’t feel like doing much so instead of working I went to the Drive Inn instead. I saw Men In Black 2; it was good but would have been better without the mosquitoes.
Well the month of July was just work, work. I ended up cutting myself deep enough to require stitches so I ended up spending most of the night in Grace Hospital because the was so many in Emergency and I think only 1 doctor on duty. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I noticed the next day that someone had hit my father’s truck, while I was in the hospital. $1600.00 damage, I didn’t need that. I reported it to the police and the Insurance Co., I was ready to show off my Icelandic Drivers Licence but no on wanted to see it, since I was not driving it when the accident happened, I guess.
I was fortunate to be able to attend my youngest brother´s wedding. It was to be held in August and I thought I would have to miss it. Because of a medical situation arising with the bride´s father, they decided to have the wedding early. It was a great wedding, a nice family affair. The wedding took place on July 20th and there was also a Jack and Jill Shower held the next day and with fantastic weather it was a fantastic affair. Please check out the photos at Wedding Photos
I had a few people look at the house while I was fixing it and actually the first people that looked at it are in the process of buying it now. I think they will be happy with it, especially since I fixed it up so nicely. It was getting to the point that I was having second thoughts about selling the house, it was looking so sharp.
I was able to fit in 1 more Mason meeting in Gimli and 1 more football game. July 15th was the hottest day of the summer. The temperature was officially 32 or 33c but with the humidity it felt like 42c. I didn’t get finished with the house until Sunday Aug. 4th and by the time I got to Fraserwood, I was burnt out. I did make it into Gimli on the Monday of the Icelandic Festival; I even dressed up as a Viking with my brother Dean and others. We were in the parade; I used to do this regularly many years ago so it brought back memories. Saw many people in the park and around town, so that was nice. It didn’t rain, and was not too hot so that also made for a nice day. Tuesday, the 6th of Aug I returned to Winnipeg to meet with the potential buyers one more time. Wednesday the 7th my parents and myself headed to Arborg where the Accordion Club of Reykjavik was performing. We took our own accordion player with us, our neighbour Andy. They were amazed with his playing especially since he has been blind since a young age. Upon arriving home, it was time to pack. We were to meet Einar Einarsson in Winnipeg the following morning. My parents drove me in to Winnipeg and we met up with Einar at the truck depot. We still had to get the trailer loaded, which should not have taken too long but the usual hurry up and wait in line. I don’t miss that hassle at all. It was a nice trip down, even though we were late, crossing the border went well even though Einar is an Icelandic citizen living in Canada and I am a Canadian citizen living in Iceland, go figure. My cousin Jeff picked me up on the outskirts of Minneapolis and I spent the night at their place. It was a quiet morning and then Jeff and I went for lunch, shopped a bit and visited Carol at her work before he drove me to the airport. It was a nice flight even though I did not manage to sleep at all. And so the stories from Iceland continue……
Take care,
Kent Lárus