Friday, August 28, 2015

This Farm Girl has Caught Up!

Here in DillyDallydom, life has been busy and overwhelming ... all for wonderful reasons!  In the middle of all this chaotic delightful activity ... I fell far behind in my Vintage Farm Girl duties!  Now ... I am a professional dillydallier, so I felt no guilt about it.  The truth is that I really have enjoyed the online sew along ... I love the blocks ... and it is so stinkin' fun!
Meet my cheerleading squad!  Every successful person needs one!  Too fun!
Here and there I would find snippets of time to cut out a few blocks ... stack them on their plates with block and page numbers!
Feed & Seed - Block 16
That way ... when a few free moments of time presented itself ... I could quickly sit and sew a couple of seams!
Fresh Pears - Block 17
Furrows - Block 18
Gingham - Block 19
Grandma's Quilt - Block 20
Haystack - Block 21
Kettle's On - Block 22
As newly weds we spent some of our gift money on a red tea kettle ... and we've had red teapots ever since.  So of course my Farm Girl kettle had to be red as well!
Kitchen Window - Block 23
Mama Hen - Block 24
Milking Day - Block 25
This block really made me miss my childhood as the daughter of a dairy farmer ... such wonderful memories!
Old Glory - Block 26
Old Red Barn - Block 27
I may actually redo this barn block ... would like to make this one more personalized ...  we'll see!
Another stack of blocks ready to be pieced!
Out to Pasture - Block 28
Patchwork Pumpkin - Block 29
Gosh ... pumpkin season is right around the corner ... I had the urge to bake pumpkin bread while piecing this!
Peas and Carrots - Block 30
Pie Cherries Blueberries - Block 31
We didn't have cherries on the farm ... but we always picked wild blueberries ... and that tradition continues here in Alaska!  So I changed out the cherries for blueberries!
Pinwheels - Block 32
Postage Stamp - Block 33
Scrappy Maple Leaf - Block 34
Drum roll please!  My cheerleaders are doing back flips!  Ta - Daa!  This block is one of today's Friday Farm Girl Sew-A-Long blocks!
Scrappy Strawberry - Block 35
Ya-Hoo!  I am all caught up!  Today's second block is also pieced!  We are doing the happy dance here in DillyDallydom!
The sewing room is a very unsafe place for Nissa ... Mr. DD can't decide if we're using the gate to keep her out or lock me in!  Never a dull moment around here!
Flicka is Captain of my cheerleading squad ... here she is teaching the others to do back flips!  Literally!
To celebrate this morning ... I placed them all out on the floor ... drank a celebratory cup of coffee ... and basked in the glow of my success!
Nissa made that moment possible by utilizing the front deck puppy playpen!  Oh ... how she wanted to reorganize the Farm Girl blocks!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Sunday - Funday!

Gotta love it when Mother Nature cooperates ...
... we had plans for Sunday and woke to a beautiful day!  Our intention was to do some light maintenance on the cabin ... and felt fortunate to have a glorious day to go down river!
This sweet girl, Ari and her puppy parents joined the boat ride as well!  They planned to do a bit of fishing from the river bank.
The two puppies are a wrestling tumbleweed when together ... so Girlfriend hung on tight to Ari ...
... while Brother held Nissa!  We dropped Brother, Girlfriend and Ari off on the sandbar of their choice.
We worked for a few hours cleaning and packing up a ton of laundry to bring home ... enjoying the view!  Nissa wore herself out ... assisting us and exploring the surroundings.
The ride between our cabin and the landing is about 20 minutes ... a beautiful ride when the weather cooperates!
The kids didn't catch any fish, but enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.
Ari had entertained them with her puppyhood antics of swimming, digging and beach play!  Too fun!
Both pups were exhausted from all their fun ... Ari found a soft spot on top of a bag of laundry ... Nissa was cuddled inside my jacket ... they napped the entire boat ride.
Mr. DD roasted Beer Can Chicken on the grill for dinner ... always a super yummy treat!
And the day ended with this beautiful sunset!  It was a wonderful fun-filled dillydally Sunday here in our remote corner of the planet!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally

Friday, August 21, 2015

Glacier Day Trip!

Life here "In my remote corner of the planet" took on new meaning a few years ago.  We used to have fifty miles of road ... Mother Nature took care of that about three years ago when the Copper River changed its course.
Looking up river ... that is Child's Glacier in the far distance ... near where the road used to end.  River deltas are in a constant state of change as sediments cause currents to alter their paths...
... in 2012 the river washed out a land mass located between two bridges.  Now our road is approximately thirty-six miles long.  This impacted tourism to our community, as the Child's Glacier is a spectacular experience ... one of Alaska's best kept secrets!  Locals really missed the family fun and adventure both at the glacier and along the road.  The state of Alaska will never replace the bridge due to the expense and the fact that it is so "remote".   After that announcement, the sense of loss in our community was profound.
Meet local resident, Captain Jack!  He came to the rescue!  He had worked for the local division of the Alaska Department of Transportation here in Cordova for 30 years and is now retired.  He began working on this road, the Copper River Highway, when he was 20 years old.  He knows and loves this country!
He and his wife opened and operate Riverside Inn and Airboat Tours.  He has an airboat that transfers people and gear across the river and then transports them via vans to the glacier and other outdoor fun!
Here we have crossed the Copper River and are about to drive to the Million Dollar Bridge.
The view of Child's Glacier from the Million Dollar Bridge ... even after 30+ years ... we find ourselves in awe.
The bridge was built in 1910 and considered an "Engineering Wonder of the World"!  Mr. DD and I often talk about the ability to build something like this even now ... amazing example of human ingenuity!
Pic from Google Images
A brief history of the bridge can be found here.
We have missed this place ...
... and have so many fond family memories here.
Miles Glacier is on the other side of the bridge!
This was the view of Miles taken after crossing the bridge and during a hike up a hill to a communication tower.
Stunning views!
The view from here made our hearts skip a beat ...
... the bridge and Child's Glacier ...
... working clockwise ...



... until we reach Miles Glacier.  Absolutely beautiful day for this stunning view!
A gorgeous day ...
... in a very remote place ...
... doing what we love ... with those we love ... here in our corner of the planet!

Do what you love.  Do dillydally!
Mrs. DillyDally