qaanaaq

I know, there’s still one day before December, but I was looking through my photos – seven year’s worth – and found these fuzzy photos from November 30. Now, interior design is not my forte, but I had a go. The first photo is a little of everything, and a few books from the shelves for those of you wondering what Jane and I were reading in Greenland.

The next photo is of a bit of whale bone I found on the beach. I couldn’t tell you what whale exactly, but I’m guessing the bone is part of the spine.

And the last photo is of a sealskin heart. Sealskins are often dyed for commercial use, and this one is, of course, rather festive. Jane made some in craft classes in the evenings, but we bought this one. Jane also made the tiny stars – you can get kits for these. I have yet to make one successfully.

These decorations are not typical of what you will find in Greenland. They are simply what we put up at the time. The small Christmas dolls are, however, very Scandinavian, and are meant to be nisser – Christmas elves, not necessarily helpful, but all over Denmark right now!

Now that I think about it, flags are a part of both Danish and Greenlandic decorations. We have some very tired and much-loved paper Greenlandic flags draped over a frame in the living room.

Which also reminds me, that even with the glare from the camera flash, you can see the print we have framed on the wall. The artist is Emmanuel A. Petersen (1894-1948) – no relation – from Denmark. You can read more about him on Nuuk Art Museum’s page.

I went a bit nuts on my first visit to Nuuk (and subsequent visits) and bought quite a few Petersen prints. They’re still hanging on our walls, although the frames have been changed after taking on a little too much water from Baffin Bay. More on that story another time.

The goose is just a goose … although, cue one of my favourite photos from one summer in Qaanaaq: