okay....so i think this proves that it is definitely blogger that is having issues with the photo downloads. i hope they get that fixed soon. i was able to get two pictures here, but i had to load them one at a time. then i tried a third and it didn't load up. i was getting meat ready for marinating...will make some lo mein tomorrow night for dinner. it's pretty fatty meat, but hey it was only 5 bucks. i get cheap about meat at times. i do love a good filet minot at a restaurant though. anyway....the other day i was thinking about the native craft sale at the dimond center. i skipped it to save bucks but these are examples of some of the native crafts i've purchased. the above basket is probably out of the aleutians. they tend to weave grass baskets. these can get very tiny and intricate. the craftmanship is amazing. they can be less than 2 inches tall, but take time to make and can get a bit pricey. the natives to the north often will make baskets from the baleen of the whale. i love that they use all that they can of the animal they kill. the baleen is probably a more involved process and those baskets are spectacular and expensive...! hopefully, one day i'll have a nice example of one of those. in southeast baskets were often made from birch.

the natives also craft much from ivory. above is one of my favorite pieces. i just loved the look of this walrus. i tend to look for walrus or polar bears. i don't have many pieces, but they are really pretty. anyway....perhaps i'll try to load a few more pictures tomorrow. i have the next 5 days off. i think tanya wants to ski tomorrow and her daughter has an irish dance show...we'll see if that is still the plan.