Aftur á landi!

A walking experiment in sleep-deprivation, the Duck would like to announce that she has made it safely back to Iceland (though is still lacking a phone) and that the trip went well and it is not raining and that despite not having slept more than a few hours in the last couple of days, she isn't tired at aaal-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Duck Ahoy!

I have unfortunately been suffering from an attack of crazybusyitis lately, and so this blog has been a little neglected these days. The Duck suddenly realized that it was time for her annual fall-university migration back to Iceland and that she is going to have to be a very sleep-deprived duck indeed to get everything done that she needs to before she leaves - ACK ACK ACK ACK!

Anyway, Little Blue Duck is returning in two days to her winter home of Reykjavík and is looking immensely forward to seeing everyone there again - been missing you all summer! Though it won't quite be the same with so many just-as-missed people leaving or already gone. Someone once told Little Duck that a beer is only as good as the company you drink it in; this also applies to countries. If home is where the heart is, travelling must leave little bits of you all around the world.

Sjáumst!

My life as a Moomin..

The Duck has been absent from the net of late for all but the most serious and intellectual purposes, due to the demands of her latest adventure in craziness: one week as a Moomin Troll. Or, to be absolutely accurate, one week as hunched-over translator by day, Moomin Troll by night. Little Blue has truly been living a double life of late.

The story starts all the way back in June, when L.B. Duck rejoined her old choir & dance group. This dance group performs for one week at a massive two-week multicultural festival known simply as Folklorama, which takes over Winnipeg for the first half of August every year. Each ethnic group in the city gets together and forms a "pavilion" at a local high school, rec centre or some such building, from which they ethnically feed and entertain the public for a week. This has been going on since approximately the Bronze Age in the city. Since that time, many pavilions have come and gone and come again, but of them, only four original pavilions have been continuously present every year. And one of the four is the Scandinavian Pavilion.

The Scandinavian Pavilion is possibly best described as the campy cult film of Folklorama. You have your massive Hollywood blockbusters with the Irish, Scottish, Ukrainian Pavilions and so on, indie hits like the Greek and Hungarian, explosive action thrillers with the Korean and Japanese, Bollywood spectacle at the Indian and Tamil, etc. etc. The Scandinavian Pavilion, if it was a movie, would be the kind shot over the course of several weeks on a budget of under $100 000, without being a lyrical meditation on the meaning of life. Though its initial run is limited to a few art-house cinemas scattered across the country [who have perhaps confused it with a lyrical meditation on the meaning of life], it gradually gathers itself a following for its shameless, gleeful kitchyness and is wildly popular on DVD.

At least, this is my take on the Scandinavian Pavilion. Anyone who has actually seen the SP themselves is encouraged to give their own analysis of the phenomenon. But I am seriously digressing.

We now return to June, where Little Blue has just rejoined her dance group. They have decided this year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen's birth at our pavilion, meaning the theme is.. Scandinavian Fairy Tales! But as it would be totally unfair for the Danes to monopolize what is, after all, a *Scandinavian* pavilion, there is a need for some additional representation. Búkolla for Iceland, Cardamon City for Norway, Pippi Longstockings for Sweden, and finally Moomin Trolls for Finland.

If only Moomin Trolls had made it over to Canada. If only they had made the long trip across the cold Atlantic Ocean to North American TV. If only anyone knew what they were at all. Yes, at the time she rejoined them, Little Blue was the only one in the entire group who had even heard of Moomins, by virtue of a Múminálfar DVD she had picked up one bored day in the Bónus check-out line. Which meant, of course, that she was immediately elected to act as one.

She was joined by an extremely adventurous fellow-dancer who agreed very bravely (and sight theretofore unseen!) to play Muumimamma. Blue Duck's admiration for her co-Moomin was further increased by the fact that she was still recovering from a bypass operation last year. There are some truly amazing people out there, and she is certainly one of them. In the end, mostly due to costuming restraints, Blue Duck decided not to play an actual Moomin, and went for the comparatively simple dress of "Mía litla" instead. For an entire week. Had a hilarious time trying to teach Finnish greetings to the unsuspecting crowd. And there you have it. The story of Blue Duck's temporary double life as a Moomin.

[For those of you who might be curious.. there IS a German Pavilion. It is the Merchant & Ivory of Folklorama pavilions. It is an authentic re-creation of German culture from the Beer Barrel Era, right down to the accordians, leiderhosen and yodelling choirs. With very tasty desserts.]

The Next Big Thing?

Found this headline in an Icelandic newspaper hidden at the bottom of the duck pond (which I have been trying to dredge out as of late):

LEYNDARDÓMUR HARÐFISKSINS

This is an article that is just crying out for a book deal. "The Mystery of the Dried Fish", an epic beach-thriller set in exotic Bólungarvík, starring a lot of cod, criminality and perhaps a volcano to make things really interesting. Truly a case worthy of Sigurður Hólmsson and his trusty friend Jón Vatnsson...

Done! Done! Done!

Knitting success at last!

After her last knitting project turned out to be a secret evil Death Eater plot to spread frustration, terror and teeth-gnashing among the ranks of the innocent knitpublic (see "skothúfa, knitting of"), The Duck is *ECSTATIC* to announce that she has successfully completed her very first Knitted Skirt. A very tasteful, piraty-looking number, she was initially dismayed upon casting off to discover that she had apparently been making it with Grýla in mind, as it was approximately two feet too wide around the waist. Luckily her Duck Mother (an expert, it turns out, in the fine art of fixery) saved the day by demonstrating the awesome powers of waistbands.

And Blue Duck and her Duck family celebrated merrily long into the night and there was joy and happiness in the land.

Fun with Vowels & Kool-Aid

The Duck just got back from her insane week of playing Icelandic teacher at a camp by the picturesque e-coli-infested waters of Lake Manitoba. And by insane, she means insanely fun. She had no idea how it would turn out, having only a vague awareness of anyone under approximately 20 while in Iceland - the one of the drawbacks of swimming so much in the university pond. So in fact, she had really no idea of what to expect. She had forgotten what it was like to love Spaghetti-Os and look at all the pictures. But it all started to come back to her as she discovered just how frustrating it can be to get seven kids under the age of 11 or so to sit long enough in one place to learn what "góðan daginn" means - and the fuzzy feeling you get when (or if!) you do. At the end of the week, she was sad to leave the camp and all the crazy, wonderful people of all ages she met there.

Back in Winnipeg, she is now discovering the joys of Kool-Aid for colouring yarn with, something she strongly advocates that anyone with the motive and the opportunity should try at least once. Not only does the yarn come out with a gorgeous colour, it also has a faint fruity, tasty scent to it. Though it is probably best done in a well-ventilated kitchen so as to avoid any potentially dangerous Kool-Aid fumes. Plus, the dye actually soacks into the wool, leaving the water (almost) as clear as an Icelandic mountain stream and is thus unlikely to stain any innocent tables or countertops - for those of you who might have had some bad dyeing experiences in the past...