Bone carvings and dog chews...

Tuesday morning, 5:03 am…

It’s strange – last week I slept in on Friday, yet today I woke up at 4:30/5:00. I’m too scared to go back just in case I sleep through my alarm again. I’ve always struggled with making sure my sleep cycle is not too crazy; perhaps not the best type of person to experience the light variations of the north. Of all the things here, I think that will be one of the most difficult.

Last night was the season premiere of House…it was rather, hmm, generic. Next week he’ll make it back to the hospital, so I’m hoping things will improve. I think I’m going to buy a tv. And I think I’m going to have to learn some discipline so I’m not watching crappy shows (a la Judge Joe Brown) all the time.

So…my wonderful brunch I had planned for Sunday ended up being cancelled. No water. From Saturday – Sunday afternoon. I’m not really sure how often this will happen, but I was really disappointed. Now I have bunches of food in my fridge but no real plans for it…that stuff is far too expensive up here to let it go to waste.

Up here, my main media outlet is CBC North (unless I hook up to the internet). Throughout the night it flicks from country to country to fill in time…I spend most nights listening to Radio Sweden. Weird. Right now there’s some sort of program from Romania talking about Bucharest…and Vlad the Impaler. He certainly was a…unique…ruler. Paranoid. Cruel. Absolute.

…oh, and apparently in Romania cheesy dance music is more than acceptable in the morning…

My dog is actually chewing on his foot.

You know, sometimes it’s difficult to remember that I don’t live near a city. Being surrounded by mountains, you come to accept that your sight is blocked. Yesterday, coming home from a friend’s place, I thought of that again. Behind Mt. Duval there was a glow that looked the way a city would look through the midnight smog…it never really gets dark – even without 24-hour sun! You know, though, I think it was just the northern lights through some clouds on the other side of the mountain. A northern spotlight. Who needs the Eiffel Tower?

Now the radio is from Bonne, Germany. I should probably get out of bed.

Wednesday evening, 6:49 pm…

Well, I sit here, completely uninspired. Wait, that’s not true. It’s more like I don’t have words to say. I’m not such a wordsmith that I can successfully describe the devastating beauty around here. When I roll out of bed in the morning, I get a southwest view of the Cumberland Sound through my kitchen window and the glow of orangey light behind me radiating from the living room windows. Warmth. That’s the word. What’s it going to be like in the winter?

So...the Dancing Bear was the first carving I bought up here; I got it in Iqaluit when I was hanging out with a few friends at the Frobisher. It's got some great detailing on the face. Right now it hangs out on a mirror shard that the movers were kind enough to provide me with. You can't really tell from this pic, but the stone has a lot of green veins throughout.

Today I went a bit crazy. Pangnirtung is well-known for its artwork; it's got some amazing stuff at the Uqqurmiut Center. Today I walked in to pay for my qiniq modem (yes, you pay at the local art co-op) and this one caught my eye...

It's called Faces, and it just looked like the perfect piece. I was told that the trick to buying art is to just go with your gut. I don't know if I'll ever get around to buying one of those decorative ulu creations even if it is a traditional tool of the north...I don't see the beauty in them. Their beauty is in their use, not in how they hang on a wall or sit on a shelf.
 
...that's my take on it...
 
Anyway, back to my carving...
 
 

Here's a shot from the front. Well, who's to know what the 'front' is?
 
 
 
 

 

This is a pic of the side that mostly shows the whalebone and a tiny inukshuk.

Here's a pic from the top to show both faces...

Now, here's the thing...all I've ever really had in the line of carvings have been wood or stone. Bone is a new thing for me. It's not for the dogs. As soon as I put the thing down to take a picture, they were on it. Scarlett was especially interested in the carving while Gryphon was more interested in my caribou antler carved ring.

Hee hee...

I think I'm going to sign out for now. Not too exciting, I know. I warned you though...I am completely without words tonight.