Rescue Road Trip - Day 1

In my dillydally life, my experiences tend to be how I define time periods.  2015 was all about the Oregon Trail adventure.  It appeared that my knee replacement was destined to define 2016 ... the entire year had been consumed with knee pain, surgery and recovery.  In all honesty ... it had been difficult to maintain my dillydally optimism through it all!  My knee issues seemed to have overshadowed everything ...

... that was until Mary Ellen came to the rescue with her super powers!  She knows and understands the desires of my dillydally heart!  I love road trips!  It was in the midst of knee pain and while plans for surgery were in the works that she suggested rewarding myself with a road trip once I had recovered enough.  While I was wallowing in pain and self pity, she kept it positive.  She made plans even when I couldn't commit ... she believed in the possibilities when I couldn't see them!  So you see ... I was serious when I said this woman has super powers!

We left the Twin Cities early Sunday morning.  Before long we were at the Iowa State border!  Be. Still. My. Heart!  What a beautiful rest stop, compliments of Iowa!

I love a red barn!  I love cow spots!

Next stop was the lovely town of Winterset!  This shop used to be the original home of Fons & Porter!

It is still a quilt shop ... a terrific one!  Just no longer owned by Fons & Porter.

The shop was fantastic ... and these wine labels won our hearts!  Too fun!  The Iowa Quilt Museum was on the same street, while there we enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Marianne Fons!

Winterset and St. Charles are both communities found in the infamous Madison County!  Yep ... the county made famous by the book and movie, The Bridges of Madison County!

The windows of this old church were so beautiful, we had to stop!  The building has been saved by the community and transformed into a Antique Shop!  I had to post the window that showcases one of the areas covered bridges!

Before long, we found ourselves at the Missouri State border!  My first visit to this beautiful state!

The rest area here had an amazing mosaic ...

... that captured the history and commerce of this state!  It covered a wall the entire width of the building!

Above the office doors ... the artist captured the covered wagons of the Oregon Trail that actually began in Missouri.  I love when things relate directly to other events in my life.

And of course, we can't forget that Missouri is the home of Mark Twain!  A favorite author and Mississippi River enthusiast ... both of which are very dear to my heart!

As the sun began to set over the prairie ... I could feel the shadows of 2016 begin to lift!  Exploring new places ... learning new things ... on the road with a kindred spirit.  I could feel my dillydally wings begin to take flight!

Do what you love.  Find friends with super powers!  Do dillydally! 

Mrs. DillyDally

Minnesota Fun & Friends!

Oh my ... I find that I love posting experiences after the fact!  Not only does it allow me to relive and revisit that experience, but it also gifts me with the opportunity to think, ponder and reflect on how I was impacted by it.  

Taken October 1st

This post is not written in chronological order, but reflects my time spent between family and the amazing road trip taken and hosted by Mary Ellen!

While driving (it is about 5 hours) between Northern Minnesota and the Metro Area I took the opportunity to stop at two of my favorite quilt stores!

It had been about 4 years since my last visit ... they continue to inspire me and I found many treasures to mail home!

This sincere and thoughtful welcome was waiting for me on the nightstand in the guest room Mary Ellen had prepared for me!  I was so touched ... and felt like royalty!  Squeal is the phrase we use to declare our excitement when texting and emailing one another!  I was so excited to spend time with her ... we turn everything into an adventure!

In between other activities, we visited a couple of metro quilt stores, Twin Cities Quilting was a new shop for me.  Loved the selection of fabrics!

And a quilter's trip to Minnesota would not be complete without a visit to Glad Creations!  I have always loved everything about this shop!

I met a new friend, Nettie ... she is the person I bought my hand-crank antique machine, Flora, from!  We met her for breakfast.  Look at this menu!  Yep ... this is the home of my people!

Of course, I had to have the Norwegian Lefse Breakfast!  Yummy!

We also went to Nettie's home where she shared many treasures!

Her box of vintage Yo-yo's made my heart sing!  Nettie is as fun and inspiring as her yo-yo collection!  A new friend ... and she is an inspiration!

Sharlene and Karen, from Southern Minnesota, drove up to the cities for a day of catching-up, lunch and shopping!  We spent our day exploring White Bear Lake and dropped in to visit Roseann at her studio!  Roseann's studio is such an inspiring place!  Like she does ... the studio fills you with creativity and the belief of possibilities!

Roseann joined us for lunch ... she highly recommended the "pot roast" sandwich!  I had never had a mashed potato patty on a sandwich!  Absolutely delicious!

We loved these flowers made with sewing pattern tissue ... too fun!

Karen, Sharlene and I spent the rest of the day leisurely shopping and exploring while we caught up on our lives.  We picked up right where we left off while on the Oregon Trail last summer ... friends like that are such a blessing ... I appreciate them in sew many ways!

I love Mall of America and had to spend some time there ... it was great to see the changes over the past 4 years!  I enjoyed a bit of shopping, dinner and a movie!  A visit to the Twin Cities is not complete with spending some time here!

This bag at Caribou Coffee just cracks me up!  And it is true that Minnesotans love their coffee ... I come by my addiction very honestly! ;-)  Ten years ago, when I began developing the principles of the "dillydally lifestyle" one of the primary cornerstones of my philosophy was to spend my energy on relationships that were a positive influence in the world.  That decision was and continues to be life changing!  I am so grateful for the friends featured in this post ... they alone are reason enough for me to visit Minnesota ... I am already looking forward to my next visit!

Do what you love.  Spend time with friends!  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

Childhood Home - Northern Minnesota

Mr. and I returned to Cordova Tuesday evening to a very affectionate welcome from Flicka and Nissa!  They were very well taken care of by Brother and Girlfriend DillyDally!  This blog is primarily a personal journal ... and after opening it today, I realized just how much I haven't recorded.  Time to catch up and move forward!

Farm Property - Minnesota

My arrival to Minnesota was interrupted by flight cancelations, a new flight schedule, and lost luggage!  Let's just say that if a flight itinerary could go wrong, this one did!  Without going into further detail ... just know that I did eventually arrive in Minnesota via Texas!  Yep, my first visit to Texas was brief, but I'll be back for a longer stay some day!  When I finally arrived in Northern Minnesota ... it was a joy to see family and familiar places.

The homestead is no longer owned by family.  Picture taken from my farm property.

Because of my teaching career, this is the first time I was able to visit my childhood home in October!  Fall was always my favorite season ... such a thrill to return and enjoy the warm days and chilly nights!

Brother with BoBo the donkey

I stayed with my brother and spent the evenings with him and his family.

My sister-in-law with BoBo!  He was her Mother's Day gift!

My nephew appears to be the grandchild that inherited the "farming" gene!  He has been developing a herd of beef cattle, has two horses and bought his mother a donkey!  BoBo steals the show ... just adorable ... if I could care for one here in Alaska, I would want one too!

My siblings and I all own some property from the original homestead built by my great grandparents.  All of the pictures in this post were taken from the acreage Mr. DD and I own.

My sister and I spent the daylight hours together.  She and I walked the property that was once pasture for the dairy cows.  Many wonderful memories of bringing the cows to the barn for milking!

She made this beautiful wreath with materials she collected in the woods!  Such talent and creativity ... it hangs on my brother's fireplace.

My sister is also a master gardener ... and preserves her produce expertly!  She made a beautiful lunch for us, serving her home grown food and using her heirloom dishes and linens!  Lovely in every way!  I treasure the week I spent with family ... with our parents gone, visits tend to be far and few.  It makes me appreciate the memories we create now ... that much more.

There really is no place like home.  Family is everything!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally

DillyDally Travels!

I have been having a wonderful time visiting family and friends in Minnesota and California.  Even though I intended to blog during my travels, I am finding it difficult to fit blogging in as my access to the internet has been sketchy most of the time!

Because this blog is like a personal journal for me, I will share my adventures once I return to Alaska.  I am posting daily from my phone on instagram and facebook ... if you'd like to see where my dillydally travels take me, just click on the link in the right margin.

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!

Mrs. DillyDally