Tis the season

It snowed today. No air traffic had to be delayed as a result nor did traffic grind to a halt, as here this is as expected an occurrence in the wintertime as sunshine is in Florida. Having passed through JFK on Monday and seen the horrendous lines leading from the British Airways check-in counters, ending god knows where, I must say I feel for those living in places where snow seldom falls, not frequently enough to warrant having snow removal equipment on standby, but at least one times too many for those travelling when the white stuff flutters to the ground in an endless procession from the heavens. The looks on the faces of the stranded people reminded me of the images from airports when Eyjafjallajökull was sending ash in the opposite direction. This time however Iceland was not to blame. Thank god for small miracles.

On the news here there is not much report-worthy. The only thing that has grabbed my attention is an interview with our finance minister which he gave to quell rumors of his alleged affair and to emphasize that he his happily married and not on the verge of divorce. This is something that politicians everywhere go on about when a hooker or mistress has come forward or been found out, but in this case the statements are a bit odd considering that no one had heard any rumors about him at all. Everyone here is asking around to find out if anyone had heard any of the stories the man was referring to, but even the most efficient rumor mongers are at a loss. As a result the man somehow managed to ignite the wagging of tongues with his fidelity proclamation – a self-fulfilling prophecy if there ever was one.

Here in Iceland we have almost only one religion so I am really not good at wording what I want to say to all of you, irrespective of the individual beliefs. My meager attempt at conveying my well wishes to you at this pinnacle of winter is the following:

To all of my murder is everywhere friends, I wish you a safe and wonderful holiday. May you meet all of your loved ones and enjoy warmth both inside your heart as well as your home. Lastly, may many, many great crime fiction books come your way in the New Year – 2011.

Ok. I realize that I went a bit overboard with the New Year thing, considering that I am to post next Wednesday which is still 2010. This is a result of the brain damage massive gift wrapping has induced. Luckily for me it is a temporary infliction, something I know from previous years. At least, since we are still living in a box, my hands are not bloody and raw from putting up three thousand or more lights on a Christmas tree. Although we are a bit less festive as a result, our presents will look less like crime scenes, i.e. there will be no blood on the wrap or ribbons. Apparently every cloud does have a silver lining. Except for the snowing kind in Europe.

Yrsa - Wednesday