August 2021 – Karla's Cottage

Farewell, Summer

By Karla Nathan / August 31, 2021

It has been hot around here, more than usual for a KS summer, but also, green and vibrant. It has been a wet summer too, without the typical blowing dust that the heat usually brings. Our garden and flowers are still thriving.

More so than I have, even though I try to not let the extra hot days get to me, because I know I will miss summer and wish for some extreme heat when the seasons change and the cold creeps back.

The dogs and I have spent as much time outside as we can. Molly has spent the summer learning to perfect the art of digging.

She has some impressive skills.

We have been attending adolescent puppy classes and she did well there too. I enjoyed the classes so much that I hope to sign up for the next step in classes.

I’d love to master some dog training skills myself and am considering keeping litters an extra month for further training. I’ve also contacted the local shelter to offer myself as a foster home for litters (no answer so far).

This probably makes me sound like a crotch edgy, old lady, but why the heck does school start so early? “Dagnabbit, back in my day” schools began after Labor Day. Sugarwings’ school starts up mid August, and I’m never quite ready to lose her company so soon.

But there they go, off to high school! (With a grown up, hairstyle!)

My hair got a makeover too.

Although, between the humidity and my lack of hot iron skills, it only looks good the day I get it done at the beauty shop. Maybe with Autumn arriving, it will cooperate more, most of the summer, I’ve sported a frizzy mass of messy, limp curls.

Or just lake hair. Which might not look great, but feels pretty good.

A framed stained glass mosaic by Shanna- Thanks, Shan!

cottage, friends, Hearts, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / August 28, 2021

This lovely surprise was created by my good friend and Artist, Shanna Wagner. I love everything she makes, but this one is even more wonderful because it is jam packed with meaning.

I can just picture his reaction, if he’d seen this. He had an appreciation for artwork. And for kind people.

The heart in the center is a fused piece she made in her kiln.

It is surrounded by roses, iris, hydrangeas,

and two bluebirds of happiness!

It was made to fit this antique frame, that is just perfectly wonderful itself.

And it is created to hang either in a window to let the sunlight through, or on a wall, with lights behind it.

Ryan loved red roses and purple iris. Funny, I’d known him forty years before I knew how much he enjoyed flowers. We’d stop to look at them along our walks. There were iris growing by the pond we liked to circle, over and over, and he commented every time when the purple iris were in bloom.

There was so much I learned about my boy in his last few years, I wonder what else I’d have discovered if I had more time with him?

Shan isn’t just generous with her art, she is with her time, home, and materials too. She invites friends into her studio weekly to have a mosaic day. Here is my piece in progress.

I saved the vases that flowers were delivered to us in after Ry Guy died. I hope to cover them all in mosaic glass to use throughout our home and his apartment. And I know that he would have said, “Wow, Mom, that is cool!”

While there is much I will never get to discover about him, I love it that I know enough to hear his voice in my head, picturing what I know he would say to me about something like these mosaics.

North Carolina Riverbank Fairies

dogs, fairies, sea shell fairies

By Karla Nathan / August 25, 2021

One morning in NC, I took the dogs for a walk along the stream that flowed through our campgrounds. The glimmer of sparkling, mica rocks caught my attention, so we paused to gather up fairy materials.

Molly has been going to puppy school and this fairy building adventure showed me just how well the training has paid off. It isn’t easy to hold two leashes and arrange rocks into a little sprite at the same time. She made it easy, though. There was no pulling or impatience on her part at all.

And little, 6lb Dorothy was a doll herself. I whipped up a fairy quickly and they didn’t get in the way one bit.

Well, at least not until I had finished.

Then, Molly gave the fairy a “hug”.

A memory book

Books, friends, Ryan, tributes, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / August 22, 2021

When Ryan died, I cut up a canvas that hung on a wall of his apartment and turned it into a book cover. Filling the pages of that book meant weeks of happy memories as I sorted through photos and wrote down stories.

There were also many slow tears dropped onto the paper.

And other times when the sobbing was so hard, I found myself needing to lay down on the cement floor of the studio, in the bits and pieces of fallen scraps and trimmings.

That photo album has become a treasured piece for me.

Since crafting his book, two close friends lost family members too, and I made books for them.

And this week, I put together this album for another friend’s birthday.

She lost her mom a couple years ago. At that time, I wasn’t making these memorials, but after seeing their meaningfulness, I wanted her to have one.

Each book that I build is a mix of photos (usually taken from Facebook), blank pages to add more pictures later, note paper to write on, with pockets and envelopes to store tokens and trinkets.

I try to use colors and styles of paper that I know my friend will like.

And each has some doodling type artwork inside.

Mostly simple flowers, vines, or other small sketches.

And each becomes, almost a meditation for me as I assemble it.

I take time to think about the people in the photos, and feel their happiness and their loss.

Constructing these books has been good for me, an exercise in caring and time to lose myself in being creative.

Sadly, I have one more to make, and wish that there wasn’t a reason to need another one.

But since there is, I hope that the art journal can bring some comfort.

The prettiest rock, ever

celebrations, cottage, family, Hearts

By Karla Nathan / August 19, 2021

My last post was about this lazy Susan crafted from sliced geodes, that I felt was an extravagant, but happy purchase. Well, my husband topped that gift that I gave to myself, with a beautiful surprise for our anniversary.

It is the ultimate in heart shaped rocks! A blue crystal geode that seems to have a natural shape that has been enhanced with polishing.

That makes my own heart pitter.

I promptly displayed it with some other special rocks and think it is an ideal addition to my lazy Susan.

This is a quartz crystal heart that I have had for years, but had never noticed the shape until the puppies flipped it over in a flower pot. When they showed me that it was a heart, I brought it in the house where it belongs.

One edge is a little sharp, not softly rounded as it should be, but since it was pointed out to me by dogs, you have to give it some leeway, right? It might not be perfect, but I thanked them for it and forgave them for decimating my flower pot.

And do you see the broken heart outlined with a dark vein in the tall geode? Top right. That one is from an estate sale earlier this summer.

I only gave Rich an Apple Watch for our anniversary and he gave me the prettiest rock I have ever seen. Poor guy, he didn’t get nearly the personal gift that I did.

An indulgence

cottage

By Karla Nathan / August 16, 2021

Not too long ago, I saw this stone lazy Susan at Homegoods and passed it up due to price and the fact that I didn’t really need it.

Well, you can see how that turned out!

It is made of quartz geodes!

After an evening of wishing I’d snapped it up, I rushed back to the store the next morning to find it waiting for me.

Doesn’t it look like it is made for my dining table?

While I might be a thrifty shopper, I am not a stupid one. And for 50 bucks, this was a no brainer, I should not have squabbled with myself over it, that really isn’t so much. Heck, I’ve blown more than that at the renfest, letting the granfairies split geodes.

I’m very happy that I went back for it.

Catabwa Falls, Asheville

Corona virus, dogs, family, Hearts, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 13, 2021

We took both dogs up the trail to Catawba Falls to see the waterfall.

Along the way, my son watched for edible treats the woods had to offer.

While my eyes scan for heart shaped rocks or stones to craft a riverbank fairy, he is on the lookout for mushrooms and berries.

While he found very few on this walk, he marks the spots where they were to check back later.

Molly was a perfect trail dog. Dorothy needed a lift for a great deal of the way.

Although she did enjoy the trip, even if her tiny legs needed a break. I am going to get a sling/carrier for her for future trips. Since her littermate and mama died, she can’t be left behind, the poor girl needs to have us around.

I see more hiking in her future.

While we found the scenery scrumptious, we were far from the only viewers. This place was packed as you got up toward the higher spots. The trails that led upward weren’t bad, but once you hit the start of the falls, it gets crowded as everyone stops to enjoy them.

Because of the Covid upticks, we wanted to avoid being in a mass of humanity, so we settled into a little rocky pool, not too high up where we had a private place to enjoy the river and still see the falls up in the distance.

I applaud people for wanting to be in outdoor locations now, but man. That was a lot of them! Still, we had many peaceful moments. You can skirt crowds if you make an effort.

And if there are going to be multitudes of hikers passing by, I probably should consider wearing makeup. Oh well.

Downtown Asheville is equally busy, but we managed a scenic hike through it while keeping mostly distant, and masking.

It’s been years since I had time to check out the area, and it’s not just vibrant and bust, it’s funky and fun too.

My favorite building?

My son did the carpentry trim on this one, of course it gets my vote!

He also made rock fairies with me while we relaxed at the falls. What a sweet son.

I 💚 North Carolina

fairies, family, Hearts, sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 10, 2021

It was hard to say good bye to NC (and to my kids there).

Especially when we returned to a sweltering, soggy, heat wave in Kansas.

The mild, mountain weather almost made me forget what humidity felt like.

Oh, but I had a very quick reminder on our return!

As much as I hate having Dewdrop and Adam living so far away, I certainly understand why they do.

I fell in love with the region too.

Izzy the Brave

dogs, Goldendoodle Puppies

By Karla Nathan / August 7, 2021

Thank you so much to the dozens of people who wanted to help Izzy! I appreciate the outpouring of care towards this sweet girl, and I know that anyone of those potential homes would have been a happy place for her to grow and heal in.

When Izzy’s owner no longer wanted her, stating that she was belligerent and the puppy biting was not controllable, my good friend, Anette, and I both worked with the owner, helping her with tips and training information.

A week later, she contacted us again, saying, nope, no way, come get this dog. Anette is the owner of Izzy’s father and Izzy had gone to her as pick of the litter.

And what a pick! Lil Iz was a strong leader of the litter. She was curious, smart, and outgoing. Not to mention, as beautiful as she was silky soft and cuddly.

Anette jumped in her car and was on her way to central Nebraska to pick up that pup within minutes, she called me from the car for us to make a plan. Legally, the puppy was hers to take in, I was hurting and so worried, I felt like I had to have her back in my arms. Anette is a soft hearted breeder who understood that after raising this baby for 8 weeks, I loved it and also that if Izzy had problems, she might respond more to me.

I got busy making appointments for personal trainers and vets. The description of her behavior was troubling because I knew she had been good natured and learned commands when with me. I though I’d have to work with her for weeks for obedience training.

Instead, I found a well behaved, non-nipping, sweet dog who was terrified. She recognized me right away and came running across the yard to me.

When I bent down to pet her, she literally screamed in fear. It was a high, screeching yip, that did not let up. We discovered that she was frightened of hands, doors, small enclosed areas, people, and loud noises. But I also saw Anette’s little grandchild gently taking a stick out of Izzy’s mouth and her being happy for his attention.

While extremely skittish around my home and dogs all morning, she slowly opened up to our love. I started calling her Izzy the Brave to give her some positive reinforcement for overcoming her issues. She was being curious again, slowly approaching new things, looking to me to ask if it was okay, then bravely checking it out.

I knew then that what she truly needed was not just training but a lot of love. If I were to be in charge of the process, she would bond with me, then have to go through it all again with the new family who eventually became her forever home.

I wanted to hold her close.

That was great for me, but not her. I found a great couple who already had one of her siblings from two years ago. They will bond with her and focus on the retraining themselves, so that she does not have to readjust to multiple families.

While I hated having everything go so wrong for the poor girl, I was thrilled to have had her in my arms again, and to now know that she is in the arms of a family who will always treasure her.

And it meant a lot to see how many wonderful people reached out and offered to take this sad, scared baby into their own hearts. Thank you.

Rock Chalk

paintings

By Karla Nathan / August 2, 2021

Years and years ago, I painted a couple of “Jayhawks on Parade” as part of a fundraiser involving the local collage mascot. Here is one of them, a peacock. Mugs, books, shirts and other stuff were sold with the pictures of the birds too. This is a coffee cup I’d give to my MIL, that was recently returned when she moved into a healthcare facility. This mug gave me a big smile. I’d done the painting part and participated in the mosaic with good friends.

A whole box of stuff came back, including a painting I will not show that makes me want to apologize to anyone I’d gifted artwork to in the past.

Oh my.

Somethings you just don’t want to revisit, do you? At the time, I must’ve liked it, but with hindsight, I realize it was a mistake.

Much as a lot of things from the 80s for me! Let’s not talk about that big headed perm. Some things, like that badly done watercolor should stay in the past.