White Doily

It's Thursday and that means it is DOILY DAY!

This week's pattern is called Peacock Pride and came from the book Absolutely Gorgeous Doilies by Leisure Arts.

Here it is on top of last week's doily.

I worked this in white with a #7 crochet hook.

I'm thinking by the time we leave Alaska I should have enough doilies to cover any potential doily need!

Happy Thursday!

Delta Junction, Alaska

Hurray, Delta Junction!!

Delta Junction is the northern end of the Alaskan Highway.

We did not get to drive this but we at least got to see the end of it.

Why, you might ask, would I want to see the end of the Alaskan Highway? Well, let me tell ya. Back in the 1960's, when I was a young girl, I had a friend whose father was hit by a car as he left worship service. At the time I knew him I understood he had blood clots in his legs and was confined to a nursing home on morphine for the pain. I visited him there with my friend. My friend and her mother had to go on welfare and times were tough for them at that point. They had a dream though, and that dream was to travel up the Pacific Coast highway, by car, and on up through Alaska to this point on the map.

Her father did get better and devoted the rest of his life to preaching and teaching the gospel of Christ. His name was Jerry Stalkup and my friend was his daughter Cindy. I do not know if they ever did realize their dream of traveling this highway... but I hope so.

So, we traveled, we saw, and now we are hungry!

Where does one eat in Delta Junction, Alaska? The possibilities are definitely not endless, I believe there are 4 restaurants total and one may be the gas station.

Up for adventure, keeping an open mind and a close watch on our Little Companion, we decided upon The Alaskan Steakhouse.

Looks a little seedy, huh?

Well a lot of places look seedy here and if you're going to let that stop you, you're gonna go hungry!

Bar was off to the left (ha), we stayed to the right.

Nice and clean, didn't smell, and our waitress was very nice.

They also had these cool paper placemats!

I had a burger and substituted fries for soup. This soup was good!

This burger was good!

Cost was over $10.00, under $15.00, but that's not bad for a burger and soup combo here.

Headed back. I thought that house there on the lake was pretty.

Okay, had to take this picture of the guy ice fishing with his dog.

Ice is melting, I doubt they will be doing that much longer.

Spring is just around the corner here!

On the way to Delta Junction

A few pictures on the way to Delta Junction after we left the knotty shop.

The scenery here is just magnificent.

I feel so fortunate to have been able to see this, I would never have imagined myself in Alaska.

Little Companion turned 7 last week. I believe she will be able to remember this when she grows up.

Look what Little Companion found... GOLD!

We said gold but LC herself told us it was pyrite.

We tried to convince her it was gold but she would not give in, kept telling us it was pyrite... bummer... I'm saying it's GOLD!

I hear tell Alaska is twice the size of Texas.

I believe it.

Can you imagine coming out here alone and braving this harsh wilderness to pan for gold? Women came alone too, so amazing.

Next post we will finally arrive in Delta Junction and I'll share the cool things we saw and did there!

North to Alaska!

The Knotty Shop

On the way from Fairbanks to Delta Junction there is a special place called...

The Knotty Shop.

It is filled with an assortment of knotty treasures.

We're in luck, they are open!

There are trinkets and treasures galore.

As well as functional items...




I'd adjust my attitude real quick!

We had a rifle range at my high school in Beaverton, Oregon waaaaaay back in the '70s. I've always thought it would be fun to learn to shoot a rifle... may have to look into that some.

A nice little wildlife display.

On our way out ... bye bye Mr. Moose.

(I am about to describe this wood in 4 sentences or less. You would probably want to explore this in depth and quote "reputable" sites if you were writing a research paper.)

For those of us who know not why or what this wood is, it is burl wood. Basically the knots are caused by some kind of stress on the wood, insects, mold, etc., which deforms the grain and the knots form. Different kinds of trees can form these burls. This is evidently very valued by artists, wood workers, and others for it's various patterns and beauty.

Little girls like it because someone can make something cute out of it.

Creamers Field

A very cool (ha) thing they have here in Fairbanks is the Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge.

In 1928 the Creamers (a pioneer family) bought the farm and owned it until 1966. It was the largest and most successful dairy in the interior of Alaska.

The farm is now managed by the state of Alaska and the buildings are the only surviving pioneer dairy buildings in the interior of Alaska.

There are nature trails and the Alaska Bird Observatory is about a mile away down one of the trails.

From mid-April to mid-May is one of the best times to observe the birds.



I like to go out here 2 or 3 times a week. The Canadian geese were the first to arrive. The latest arrivals I have seen are these trumpeter swans. These are considered to be the largest native American waterfowl.



This one is surrounded by Canadian geese. This swan is huge!

I just missed them trumpeting the other day when I arrived at the refuge. I am not necessarily a huge bird fan but I find this fascinating. They say sometimes there will be a couple thousand here. I enjoy hanging out and watching the interactions.

Look at the swan swimming. Looks just like the swan in the ugly duckling book.

Now, on an interesting note...

Here is a view from Creamer's Field...

and here is a picture I painted a few years ago when I was in South Carolina...

I took the photo and then just knew I had painted this picture.

Weird, eh?!

Must have been my density to come to Alaska (yes I know I spelled that wrong, don't believe in destiny!)

Keep smiling!

Doily Day...

My doily pattern today comes from The Complete Guide to Thread Crochet
by Leisure Arts.

The pattern name is Round Doily.
I worked this with Aunt Lydia's Bamboo Crochet Thread size 10 and used a #7 crochet hook.

The color is Still Pool.

The bamboo thread gives it a very soft feel, drapes well.

Will enjoy being able to use these with my tea things when we get back to "the lower 48."

Happy Thursday!

The Cookie Jar Restaurant - Fairbanks, Alaska

There are some cute little cafes here in Fairbanks and this is one of them!

The Cookie Jar Restaurant

As we entered we were immediately greeted and seated.

Isn't this cute?!

This is a locally owned and operated cafe.

See the cute cookie jars?

The food was delicious. I have to say though that I had a cinnamon roll dipped in egg and then fried, topped with butter and syrup. Oh ... it was so good! There were other things on the plate but I was fixated and filled by the decadence of it all.

My happy companions - daughter and little companion.

Cookies to go!

We had a great time and good food.

Three generations of gals enjoying the moment - in Alaska - at The Cookie Jar Restaurant!