Back From Vacation

Can't believe it has been this long since I posted here. YIKES! Well I do have a little bit of an excuse......VACATION! We were gone on vacation for several days! We took a camping and fishing trip up north and I mean wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy up north. We drove what we call the "Haul Rd" which is the Dalton Highway here in Alaska. It is the road that all the truckers that service the oil fields in Prudoe Bay and the Alaskan pipeline. It is the furthermost road that can be driven in this state. It is literally at the end of the world. Goes all the way to the Arctic Ocean! Man what a trip! It has been on our "bucket list" and we finally got it done. 

We spent several days of fishing which was absolutely awesome and seeing all the country and what an amazing sight that country is. The road was pretty rough and stressful driving at times, but we just kept bumping along. 

Here are a few pictures of our trip....


This is one of our camping spots. The weather for the first few days was gorgeous. Blue sky and warm. I love camping in the trees like this. It was by a nice creek that we fished for two days and caught an unbelievable amount of fish. We catch and release the fish as that keeps the fish population going strong. 

The Haul Rd is 414 miles of gravel and some paved roads. This is Atigun Pass which is the pass that goes over the Continental Divide and then you drive 170 miles to Deadhorse which is the industrial camp that services all the oil fields. That is where the road stops. In the winter Atigun Pass is terribly treacherous for the truckers. It wasn't really steep, but the gravel road was pretty beat up. We had to drive 20 mph for 170 miles because of the road. Took us 8 hours to get to Deadhorse, but now I can say.....been there!

On the was back over the pass we saw this grizzly bear foraging along the side of the road. He was really a nice looking bear. Probably about 4 years old we thought. 

On our last day up there it rained all night the night before so we thought we better get out while the getting is good because the road really gets muddy. There are parts of the road that they call the "roller coasters" and those are hills that go wayyyyyyyyyyy up and then wayyyyyyyyyyyy down!. Here is one of those hills. I called it "the road to nowhere".

And then we made it to the end of the road and back to civilization and our truck showed the mud we had to travel in. It was slick and muddy, but we did ok. 

It was an amazing trip and we had so much fun. Now we are hoping to get one more camping trip in before the snow flies which will be soon because the trees are already turning up here!! AHHHHHH!!!!!! We think we will take our 4 wheelers out a camping trip in a couple of weeks. 

Now...back to work. Have a great week!

Colleen :)

Back From Vacation

Just got back from a weeks vacation visiting my daughter and her family. It was so great seeing the grandkids and her and...oh ya.....my son-in-law. LOL! Had a great time visiting them and getting to see the kids soccer, volleyball, and baseball games. Since we live so far away from them I don't get to see their games so I always enjoy getting to go to their games. 

A big highlight of my trip is always going to help my daughter deliver her papers. She is the publisher of The Country Register of Minnesota which is a shopping guide for the state of Minnesota. Some of you may be familiar with those nationwide papers. She delivers the paper to some of her advertisers closer to her town and when I come to visit we always time it so I can help her deliver the papers and see some of the shops! It is usually antique stores and of course..quilt shops! This time we went to see quilt shops and you want to talk about a kid in a candy store! What is really neat about doing this is that I get to see new fabrics. I am sure all you sewers have the same feeling, that I only get to see the fabrics my local shop has and then those get old so visiting these shops it was a whole new group of fabrics to see! I was doing the happy dance!!

Of course my hands were going crazy thru all the bolts and fat quarters. Here are a few of the fabrics I got. So many ideas of what to make with them and so little time to do them all. 

Another trip we always do when I go back since it is usually only one time a year (the plane flights are the flights from hell so I love to see the kids, but I hate the flights!!) is new tenny runner shoes. Here is my latest "fashion" purchase. Pretty snazzy huh.  :)

Well now that I have all that new fabric I need to get busy and get some new things made for my shop. Got to get my little fingers moving. :)

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

TAKE TIME FOR THESE TEN THINGS

Well now that summer is here and we are all getting busy with our summer plans and playing I thought I would share this list I found somewhere (can't remember) on taking time to do things that enhance your life. 

Take time to work - it is the price of success.

Take time to think - it is the source of power.

Take time to play - it is the secret of youth.

Take time to read - it is the foundation of knowledge.

Take time to worship - it is the highway to reverence and washes the dust of earth from our eyes.

Take time to help and enjoy friends - it is the source of happiness.

Take time to love - it is the one sacrament of life.

Take time to dream - it hitches the soul to the stars.

Take time to laugh - it is the singing that helps with life's loads.

Then last but not least.....take time to plan - it is the secret of being able to have time for the first nine things.

So during your busy summer schedule be sure to take TIME........:)

Have a wonderful day!!

BACK TO WORK

Did you miss me??? I was gone for a week and you probably didn't even notice me being gone. :)  We took a week off from all the hustle and bustle around here and spent a few days down in Las Vegas. My oh my it was HOT!!! One day it was 111 degrees. I thought us two polar bears from Alaska were going to die!! Did get to visit with my niece and finally meet my little great niece. What a cutie she is. She has had a rough road so far. She was born with a serious heart condition and  has several other issues, but what a trooper she is! Glad to be back home to the cooler weather for sure.

Volcano in front of Mirage Hotel

Well my summer market season has started. Have had a couple of weeks of them and it hasn't been too bad of a start. They weather has been wonderful which is out of the ordinary. Usually it is cold and raining, but we have lucked out....knock on wood it continues.

Hey guess what??? I have been asked to do guest blog articles for By Your Hands Blog! I am so excited to contribute to this blog. They have some really good posting so I am honored to have been asked. Now I have to come up with some good articles for all the followers. YIKES!! Hope I can do this. :)  Come on over here and join me. :)

Also wanted to let all of you know that the Old Farmhouse Gathering is having an Americana Challenge where you can vote for your favorite shop and you have a chance to win a prize so when you get a chance just hop on over here and check them out.

 

 

Well I better get busy and get to sewing to be ready for the market again this week. Hope everyone has a great week! I have a new recipe for you to check out. Just in time for those summer BBQ's. :)

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO!

 

My my.....where does the time go! It just keeps slipping away from me! I almost missed my blog posting today. So how was everyone's Memorial Day weekend? Mine was good. I had my first day for the summer market and I did fairly well for the first day. The weather was beautiful so I am sure that helped with getting the local people out. Normally we are sitting there in the rain and cold with coats and gloves on so the weather was a special treat. The tourist should be showing up in a few weeks.

 

We took our 4 wheelers down to the beach by our house and did some riding on Sunday. Now......if you are thinking of warm sand and beautiful sunshine and warm water...well you haven't been to the beaches of Alaska! Yep....that is right.....COLD! Actually we dress for the weather with hats, gloves,  and 4 layers of clothes! But it was still fun. What is fun about these beaches is that when the tide is way out there are miles of packed sand beaches to ride and ride for miles and miles which is so much fun. You just zoom along. 

 

 

This is a volcano that is across the inlet from the beach we were riding. You can see how far the tide is out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been working on a few new items for the markets. The tourist like stuff with Alaska on them so these are a few new fabrics that I am using for pot holders. The tourist should be coming in a couple of weeks.

 

 

So I imagine most of the kids are out of school now. Is everyone thinking about summer vacations? We are going on a small vacation next week. We are going to Las Vegas. I know....it will be 110 degrees! Good thing they have air conditioning or I would die! :(

 

 

What are your summer plans?

 

 

Speaking of summer.......I almost forgot the Old Farmhouse Gathering Team is still having their Summer Celebration so come join us. I have a few items there. Just hop on over right here to see all the goodies they have to offer. :)

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to check out the new recipe I have for you. Thanks again for stopping by.