Happy Halloween!

Wishing you a day filled with treats!  Happy Halloween!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Recent Random DillyDally Moments

Life in DillyDallydom has been hectic ... this post is a peek into my dillydally life over the past two weeks!  Yep ... no theme to be found ... enjoy the randomness! 

Huge coastal storms ... I'm sorry that is an understatement ... COLOSSAL coastal storms pass through our remote corner of the planet this time of the year!  And they come one right after another!

We guess at the volume of rain that has fallen based on the amount of runoff size of the waterfall next to our side deck. ;-)

This is the sad and lonely kitty look that I receive every morning when I go to work.

And here is the sweet face that greets me when I return home from work.  Love my fur balls!

Most of the leaves have hit the ground ... making the ability to view the wildlife easier!

Our Nation's symbol ... in its natural habitat.

Remember Brother DillyDally and his high bush cranberry ketchup adventure?

We mixed it with ground beef for delicious gourmet burgers!  Super yummy!

Sister DillyDally finally got to meet Princess Peanut in person!   Such a thrill for her!

A quick adventure "out the road" ...

... with Kysa ... between the storms!

Weekend morning knitting.

The calm after a storm ...

... and the calm in DillyDallydom.

Do what you love.  Embrace those random moments.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

My Pumpkin Patch!

 This is what a "Pumpkin Patch" in my remote corner of the planet looks like!

Google Image

Even after 30+ years of living in Alaska, I miss going to an authentic pumpkin patch!

As a professional dillydallier, I know how to be resourceful and create my own fun!  Hee-hee!

Dillydallying is so much more fun when it is organized and taught by a friend!  Barb C. found a picture and pattern on Facebook for a felted wool pumpkin.  She resized the pattern to fit the size of felted wool available here in Cordova at our local needlework shop, The Net Loft, and decided to teach a class!

Dillydallying is so much more fun with friends!  It was great to see everyone's pumpkins come to life!

Look at this sweet little pumpkin in the backpack!  So cute!

My pumpkins are sewn by hand ... I was too lazy to drag my sewing machine out.  I had decided to take the class on a whim ... that very morning ... so found myself very disorganized!  Fortunately, when you take a class from a friend, they're happy to see you and don't care if you're unprepared!  Thanks Barb C ... for the class, your talent ... and especially your patience!  ;-)  I love it when I listen to those dillydally winds and just go with it!   It was such an entertaining and productive afternoon ... making our own fun ... and celebrating the season!

Do what you love.  Make it fun.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

The DillyDally Pulpit

I have spent most of this week in Anchorage ... back in the "real" world.  My visit here has been consumed with "must do" activities ... not much opportunity to dillydally.

I hadn't planned to post anything while in Anchorage, but this popped up on my facebook page ...

... and I just had to share it here as well!  This Queenism captures the essence of the dillydally lifestyle!  It was in December of 2006 that I began my own transformation and eventually created the dillydally lifestyle. It was difficult to let the negative influences in my life go ... but I did, with love like the Queenism says, and began enjoying my life.  Now, when new negatives attempt to enter my life, I wish them well and quietly let them continue on their way ... without me.  It has been life altering ... I highly recommend it!  Do not wait any longer!

I really enjoy Queen of Your Own Life!  Such an affirmation to find that others share a similar journey!  Well, time to get out of the dillydally pulpit and begin the day!  I look forward to returning to DillyDallydom tomorrow!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Seriously ... do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Brother's Harvest - Final Chapter!

As a child, my grandparents would often talk with great reverence about a berry from the old country ... the lingonberry.  We would find small jars of lingonberry preserves in Scandinavian specialty stores ... the perfect Christmas gift for my Swedish grandmother!  She would use it sparingly ... it was terrific on her thumbprint cookies and Grandpa would put a small amount on the pickled herring he ate on crackers!  In Alaska, lingonberries are referred to as low-bush cranberries.  They ripen during the month of September ... and grow very low to the ground.

They are small ... and packed with flavor.  We normally freeze them and use them in baking.  Every time we pick them ... each time I bake with them ... I think of my grandparents and how they would have loved having fresh lingonberries.

Brother, who loves to dillydally in the woods, was able to pick enough this year that we had the luxury of making and canning sauce!  We ended up with 24 half pints of sauce to use and give as gifts!  And there is plenty in the freezer for baking!   

Brother and friends safely navigated their way down the Alaska - Canada Highway!  They made it to Seattle in a bit over 3 days.  This is a picture he shared ... lots of wildlife along the highway in the fall.  What a large and beautiful buffalo!

When I spoke to him on Saturday, he had already purchased a canner and gone to a farmer's market.  He was busy making three kinds of apple butter from three different types of apples ... to compare and decide which apple made the best butter!  He was also excited about this "mushroom log" ... it should be sprouting mushrooms in about 2 weeks!

My grandparents passed away in the 70's ... long before Brother DillyDally was even a possibility.  Yet I see bits and pieces of them in both of my children.  It is a comfort to know that ... "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Brother's Harvest - Part 2

We had an unusually warm and sunny summer ... which resulted in an exceptional wild berry crop!

Introducing ... Alaska's Highbush Cranberries!

Brother went out the road one afternoon and brought home 6 quarts!

The next day we got busy processing them.  Here they are ... all shiny clean ... such beautiful color!

Highbush cranberries make a delicious ketchup ... first step is to cook down the berries.

Next the juice and pulp are pressed though a colander ...

... vinegar, sugar and spices are added ... it is then cooked down until thick.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures when we were filling the jars ... hands were too busy!

Jars placed in the hot water bath ...

... processed for 10 minutes.  Yes ... it was late and long after dark.

Six quarts of berries resulted in 22 jars (4 oz.) of ketchup!  This is a project that takes the entire day!  It was fun to spend the day in the kitchen with my adult son ... sharing stories of canning with my mother and grandmother as a child ... a wonderful afternoon spent working together.  Precious.

Plus ... we have plenty of ketchup to use and enjoy over the winter.  Thanks Brother DillyDally!  This taste of summer will be especially sweet midwinter!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally !

Mrs. DillyDally

Brother's Harvest - Part 1

Brother DillyDally ... is Alaskan in every way ... and he takes local harvesting seriously!  Yep, one of the many things I love about this boy man!

When the salmon are running upstream, he is usually out catching them.

Girlfriend DillyDally planned her visit around the sport fishing season this summer!

Brother taught her how to catch them ... and clean them.

Watching them brought back many fond memories of Mr. DD and I at their age ... doing the same things.

They smoked fish ... froze fish ... pickled fish ... and canned fish.  They will enjoy the benefits of their efforts this winter while living in Seattle.

Of course ... we enjoyed it fresh off the grill as well!

There are many things about having adult children that I enjoy.  Observing them grow into the individuals they were destined to become ... witnessing them develop the values that will guide their lives is such a privilege.  As a child, our coastal environment was Brother's playground ... he has always felt most comfortable in the arms of Mother Nature ... it is fun to watch that relationship grow as  the land he loves provides him with nourishment that he prepared himself.  Being self-sufficient ... using the sustainable resources available ... appreciating that which is offered ... all values that will serve him well.

Harvesting is how he dillydallies!  Yep ... they picked mushrooms too!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

A Transition Day!

Yep ... I'm still alive and well here in DillyDallydom.  Life has been hectic ... there is a lot to share ... so much that I actually find it overwhelming!  Crazy, I know!

So ... I'll share just a tidbit about today ... it was a day of transition.  Brother DillyDally left early on the ferry.  He and friends are traveling down the Alaska / Canadian Highway to Seattle, where he will spend the winter or longer.  I got up early to make caramel rolls for him to take and share on the ferry.

The house feels different ... many mixed emotions!  Well ... a dillydallier knows how to approach transitions like this!  I poured myself a hot cup of coffee ... served myself a cinnamon roll ... checked the blog ... and started a new pair of mittens!

Flicka felt the changes too.  Here she is ... resting her chin on a ball of yarn while I knit!  Yep ... her knitting manners have become quite advanced!  

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally