Inktrails from Alaska

Don't Be A Black Friday Sheep

I think that the most annoying ads on television, now that the elections are over, are the Target Ads. They've done away with the insane woman, (who gave me the distinct impression she smelled like pee), and now have two younger insane people. They are still using the same perverted renditions of the Hallelujah Chorus and miscellaneous Christmas carols all with words about how they are so excited about Black Friday (that they might pee themselves).

Not I. I will not be getting up before 9 am, mind you forget about going shopping at 5am. Do they think we are crazy. Yes! They do!

I resent the assumption in all those commercials: that buying tons of STUFF will make you happy. That we are all just that greedy. That we would rather go shopping on Thanksgiving (yes, some stores are advertising that their Black Friday begins on Thanksgiving) than spend time with our families, friends, loved ones. Really? Are you really that greedy? I don't think you are.

I've never "done" Black Friday and I never will. The most exciting (though nothing could make me pee myself) present I could get would be seeing three special people step down those stairs at the Fairbanks International Airport: my son, my daughter-in-law and my grandbaby. That would be the best Christmas present ever.

Christmas is about love, whether you celebrate a religious holiday or not. It's all about love. So ask yourself, is buying some Chinese factory-made electronic gizmo or sweatshop clothing really showing love?

Make the love go further than the box. Buy something locally made. Here are some ideas:

1. There are multitudes of arts and crafts fairs going on these days. Attend one. Discover the talent that lives in your city, and find something unique and lovely to give to someone.

2. Buy a gift certificate for a local restaurant. Not only is this a great present, but you might be invited along!

3. Hire a local band or musician for an hour or two of music. Make that dinner together really special.

4. Have your loved ones car detailed. I'd love it if someone would buy this for me!

5. How about music lessons? A month's worth of music lessons is a creative and fun gift.

6. For the person who "has everything" you can make a donation in their name to whichever local charity they appreciate, whether it is Planned Parenthood, Association of Retarded Citizens, Fairbanks Arts Association, Red Cross, Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption, KUAC (local public radio/TV), an animal rescue or Animal Control, or, if you can't figure out which organization would appeal to him/her, donate to United Way. They spread the donations around in your local area.

7. Bake something wonderful, or buy some lovely baked good from a local bakery. Or even buy a gift certificate from the bakery. Yummm!

 

Once you start thinking "out of the big box" you can find oodles of lovely ways to show someone you love them. And at the same time, you can boost your local economy in a big way. Buying locally also spreads the love both ways, to the seller and to the recipient of the gift. Let's kick Black Friday to the curb and stand up and hug each other, whether it is an economic hug, or a real one, it has real impact.

Show the love. Shop locally, shop American-made this year!

Day 5: One American-Made Gift a Day

 

Christmas presents aren't just for people. Your dog wants a present, too! Because of the toxicity of Chinese toys and treats, it's absolutely great to find a place that pays attention to the safety of the treats they sell. Not only that, but Funtime Dog Shop is a non-profit pet store that allows you to choose which dog rescue will get the profits from your purchase!

I always choose John Nelsen Moosedog Recuse as the recipient of my dollars, but there are many rescues to choose from.

Here are a couple treats as examples.

Ole and Sofia LOVE these, and when you compare the ingredients to Greenies, you'll never buy Greenies again.

The same folks make "Belly Bones" which have probiotics and help keep your dog from that rumbly tumbly (as I call it in my house).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are going to try these!

Venison Joe's Snacks are bursting with flavor and highly palatable to your pup! Made with a single source protein, Venison, the recipe is not only healthy but mild & easy on sensitive stomachs.

* Elk Antler as a natural source of calcium, glucosamine & chondroitin.

* Made with natural U.S. Elk meat & antlers

* Smaller pieces that easily break into smaller training size bites.

* No wheat, corn or soy.

* No artificial added ingredients.

Made in the USA

Day 4: One American-Made Gift A Day

We have a wonderfully diverse bunch of artists up here in the Golden Heart City. I hope that you are as lucky in your town. If not, you can purchase gifts from the artists featured here.

Mariska Wright's work is unique: hand crafted dolls that represent all things Alaskan. If the subject isn't an Alaskan, somehow Alaska shines through anyway.

She uses recycled, found and nature items in her pieces, and is always inspired by Alaska.

Find her on Facebook here: Mariska's Creations   There are many, many pictures! You'll find trappers, mushers, polar bears, wolves and much more.

Here is a sampling of her art.

Santa

One of many Ravens.

Grandma

Okay, so I'm behind on my One Gift A Day but I'll catch up and it will be worth it!

Day 3: One American-Made Gift A Day

Today's gift is made by local Fairbanks artist Sue Cole, a multi-talented gal who not only works in textiles but is a marvelous watercolor artist as well.

Be sure to click on the pictures to see the images full size.

Sue makes hand-marbled silk scarves, among other lovely items.

Contact Sue to place  an order. Phone: (907) 456-3635. Email her at akartisan at gmail.com. (You know how it is really written, I changed it so she wouldn't receive a bunch of spam.) Prices are far more reasonable than you would think! I will update with a price as soon as I have that information.

Day 2: One American-Made Gift a Day

If you missed the first post, go back and read what we are up to here. Basically, if we each buy a measly $64 worth of made-in-the-USA gifts for The Holidays, we can create thousands of jobs.

Don't know what to buy? That's what I'm here for: to remind you of the cool things that are out there.

There are plenty of arts fairs that go on at this time of year. Artisans and craftspeople, artists of all kinds have wonderful things to show you, and, they hope, sell to you.

Over the years I've received several lovely ornaments that can be used as Christmas tree decorations, or part of a mobile, or just an accent around the house.

Hallmark tries to market their mass-produced (probably in China) Christmas ornaments as so very special. But what is more special than an ornament hand-made by a local artist? Each of the pieces on this page probably cost less than something from the Hallmark store, yet each piece is unique.

Handmade crystal ornament that was given to me as a gift from a student. I've long since lost the original tag, but it's very pretty, don't you agree? It's real crystal, not plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was giving away some items on freecycle.com, and when the woman picked up her items, she gave me this lovely, handmade paper crane ornament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And my favorite, the chickadee that is carved and painted wood. This was given to me by a friend.

 

So you see, not all ornaments have to be Santa, or elves or religious figures. Though they can be those things, too. Head on over to the next arts fair you hear of, and see what you find!

New Series: One American-Made Gift A Day

Let's help jump start the economy. Can you committ to buying American-made gifts this year? ABC News reports that if each of us spent just $64 on American made goods during our holiday shopping, the result would be 200,000 new jobs.

To this end, I am posting one excellent gift per day until Christmas. One gift that is made in the USA.

Today's gift is delightful Ghiradelli hot cocoa mix. This is the real deal, folks. You will never go back to tje cheap stuff with its fake chocolate.

You use less than what is on the directions, trust me, this stuff is strong! I also add some sugar, especially if I put a spoonful in my coffee. There is very little sugar in it.

I think frosting made with this would be awesome. If you buy it for a friend, you're going to want one for yourself.

It comes in regular Chocolate flavor, and the Chocolate Mocha flavor.

Retails in Alaska for about $6. It's going to be cheaper most other places. I find mine at Safeway.

Sofia and Athena are Twelve Today

Twelve years ago I was a landlord. The tenant had a beautiful red and white husky, and her name was Blue because of her eyes. Unfortunately this tenant let her gorgeous purebred in season Siberian husky run loose in the Manzano Mountains near Albuqeruque.

Not being all that great with dogs, she couldn't figure out why her dog was eating so much. A week before the puppies arrived she called me to tell me she'd just figured out why Blue was eating so much.

Six weeks later my tenant was at her wits end and wanted all the puppies GONE, they were driving her crazy! So Ole and I went over there with an eye to bringing home a puppy, and to help find homes for the other five or six. What we found were some big, yellow puffballs that somewhat resembled tribbles, and two excited black/tan/white feral-looking puppies who ran right up to us all ready to go somewhere, do something, yes yes yes, where we going? Well, that was easy. We went home with those little wild things.

Sofia and Athena are twins. They are nearly identical. Their tails curl opposite directions. Sofia's coat is a little darker. Other than that, you can't tell them apart. We had to put different colored collars on them or we'd never have known for sure which was which.

Athena lives with my son, Ole, down in Albuquerque. I miss her. Sofia still remembers her name and I'm sure remembers what she looks like.

I can't believe they are both 12 years old today! I'm sure she'll live many more years. I just love her to pieces.

I'll post a video of Sofia later, so you can see how she even fooled the vet into thinking she was seven, not twelve.

Until then, here are some more pictures of my most lovely queen dog. As with all the pictures on my blog, please click to see them full size.

 

 

Sofia and her best friend, Ole, the Norwegian Elkhound

Breakfast in bed. My bed.

See what I killed for you? No. You can't have it.

Summertime on the balcony. Whiffing for moose?

A couple weeks ago.

About a week ago.

A Very Alaskan Day

I had a very Alaskan day today.

I woke up and it had been snowing all night. Good, I thought, we need more snow.

The thermometer outside read 20° above zero. Good, I thought, I don't have to plug in the car.

There were no moose in the yard so after feeding the dogs I took them out to the backyard and they played in the new snow. Nothing like new snow to make two snow dogs very happy!

I had to get ready to go down to the David Salmon Tribal Hall for the Athabascan Fiddle festival, where the kids I teach with Young Native Fiddlers were performing at 1pm. So I took a shower, all the while wondering if I had enough water in the tank...

The kids did very well at the fiddle festival! We played Boil Them Cabbage, Shortnin' Bread, Eagle Island Blues, Arkansas Traveler and other tunes. I am proud of them, especially one girl who had once flubbed a solo, and was subsequently afraid of doing another solo. Today she stepped up to the mike and did Devil's Dream just like it was the easiest thing in the world!

As I drove toward home on the Johansen Expressway, I saw that there were numerous accidents on the other side of the divider, among the cars going the other direction. I passed several clumps of people with cell phones in hand, looking dazed, worried, confused, with the cars facing every which way some with hoods up, some with smooshed fenders or doors. In fact, there were so many accidents the police finally put up flares and refused to let anyone else onto the expressway. You see, when the temperature goes from -7 to +20, the roads get slick and frosty. If you don't adjust your driving, you end up just another dork in the ditch. For the record, it looked like everyone was okay. Maybe some had bumps and bruises, possibly wet pants... I bet they slow down next time!

Left the accidents behind and kept on my way homeward.

Up the hill, down the hill, through the lowlands and back up again and as I approach the turn to my subdivision I see that I'm driving right along with a very long set of sled dogs pulling a musher and we are going to coincide right at the intersection. I slow down, stop and the musher waves me on, while two more cars come out. We all managed to drive around each other cordially, with no harm done. For once Sofia doesn't go cuckoo banananuts over the sled dogs. She watches them intently, as does Ole.

I could continue and have a Very Alaskan dinner tonight, as I have both moose meat and caribou meat and salmon in my freezer. However I'm going for the easy thing that I can eat right away: burritos!