Icelandic National Day

On June 17, 1944 -- seventy years ago -- the Republic of Iceland was founded and the country became independent from Danish rule. Þjóðhátíðardagurinn (the day of the nation's celebration) is an annual holiday in Iceland.

I'm writing this on June 16, in late evening, so it's already June 17 in Iceland, where my Blip friends Agnes and Berglind live. Phil and I spent several days with them last September when we were in Iceland (September 3-13), which greatly enhanced our enjoyment of their fascinating country and strengthened the friendship that began here.

Both Phil and I took many photos, and we have yet to put a book together of our favorites, but I did manage to make these two mugs on Shutterfly from some of my favorites. We use these mugs every day for our post-lunch cups of tea, and they bring back many fond memories, particularly those of an entire day we spent with Agnes and Berglind, who showed us so many amazing places in the north of Iceland. We love seeing their smiling faces -- and their lovely photos -- on the mug on the right.

On this special day for the Icelandic people, we send our best wishes to Agnes and Berglind, and also congratulations to Agnes' daughters, one of whom graduated from the University of Akureyri last Saturday, and her younger sister, who will graduate from college on Icelandic National Day!