Karla Nathan – Page 14 – Karla's Cottage

An indoor garden party

celebrations, Food and Drink, friends, Garden, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 14, 2024

Two dear friends, Angie and Beth, had birthdays in June so I threw a party for them.

It was a landmark number for Angie, so a large celebration was in order.

The party itself was on Beth’s actual birthdate.

The birthday girls made the guest list, and also helped with some treats and wine. I told them I was throwing the party FOR them, but they wanted to help, which was very nice.

Both brought wines too. And Beth put her husband, Jeff, on ice duty. Don’t you hate to buy bags of ice? Paying for ice is a weird pet peeve of mine. I just hate buying the stuff.

Beth said she had a good ice maker (mine is so tiny) so Jeff dumped it into gallon bags everyday til she was able to fill a cooler with so much ice she could barely carry it.

A couple weeks ago, I’d gotten lucky at an estate sale and scooped up dozens of teacups for twenty bucks. The plan was to use pretty cups and saucers for the herbal fruit and lavender ice tea, plus for the wines.

And I got to welcome back the Treat Cabinet! This large wardrobe spent many years in my studio, filled with goodies during get togethers. When we redid the room, it was moved to the breezeway for a boring job of storing patio cushions.

But for this one day of glory, the cabinet was back in its element, filled with tea party essentials.

I hung this old, embroidered, tea towel on the inside door of the wardrobe. It had been free in a box of junk a friend was discarding. Perfect!

This birthday celebration as meant to be a tea party in the garden.

I’d had lovely weather all week while tending to my flowers and getting ready for guests.

Then, bam, the night before, a heatwave came with a vengeance.

I’d always planned on keeping the food inside the house anyway, but I was disappointed that we couldn’t have the garden as a place to hang out.

(Angie made this trifle. Why are they called that when they are not mere trifles, these types of dessert are magnificently lovely).

If I’d known in advance that the heat index was going to be in the danger zone, I’d have brought chairs and tables indoors. But friends made do, and used what they found. I carried in a few extra seats from the yard, but many had made themselves comfy on kiddie chairs already. They didn’t seem to mind.

We had a full house, but in a good way.

So many delightful people! And flowers! Many sweet friends brought bouquets, so it was like an indoor garden party with all of the pretty blooms.

Including blooming cookies from Catherine.

We filled the studio too. I had a mini craft project set up for everyone, so guests were spending time out in the workroom to do those. Once again, I could’ve brought in more chairs, but we seemed to make do with what was there. With my bad shoulder, I’d have needed help before the party to bring in extra seating. Rich had helped me set up the patio, but he was out of town when temps started going way up into unbearable numbers.

The project was making fairy garden stakes. It was self explanatory, and simple to do, so the ladies were on their own making them. I wish I’d taken photos of their pretties when they’d finished. There were lots of sparkly wishing wands completed.

Another timely garage sale find was this metal picnic basket. I used it for the cheese and cracker display. I think that now that the party is over, I’ll be filling it with teacups and taking them to Good Juju to sell in July’s First Friday weekend.

Although, this get together was such a good time, maybe I should keep them all and use them again for another party?

Preserving dandelion wishes

Garden, how to's

By Karla Nathan / June 10, 2024

Dandelions are not considered weeds in my world. They announce spring with their burst of sunny yellow, then fill up the yard with wishes just waiting to happen. In summer, their deep taproots help the soil, and I never pull them up from my garden. The leaves are a tasty snack for our baby chicks, we gather up a few to toss to the girls, and all the chickens come running to get a bite.

If you saw our yard, you’d be very surprised to learn that my husband spent his career running country clubs. It would make sense to use the knowledge learned in supervising the upkeep of the greens to make our grass just as nice as the professionals do.

But at the cottage, I encourage dandelions, clover, and whatever else wants to pop up. I like the textures (and the lack of chemicals).

When I heard you could easily preserve the puffs of fluff, I was pretty excited. I tried all the instructions I could find on line, just to realize that it isn’t as easy as it sounded. At least I had a never ending supply to work with.

I tried dying the buds before they opened, but the color barely showed it did sorta work, but not enough to go through this step.

I tried floral wire inserted into the stem and then the head of the puff. Well, it seemed fine, but a few days later, as it dried out, it didn’t want to stay in place. So I squirted a lot of glue up inside the ball to reattach it to the wire stem.

Hairspray was a suggested preservative but didn’t seem strong enough to me. My spray of choice was white spray paint topped with clear glitter while still wet.

They look pretty and hold their shape well.

Keeping them airtight should help too. I filled some cloches and jars with my new collection of wishes, then decorated them. Fingers crossed that they last.

June at Juju

antiques/junking, Good JuJu

By Karla Nathan / June 7, 2024

Remember the pre-lit shelving I got from Amazon for jewelry? I loved it sooooo much, I bought a second one. I have placed one on each side of the entrance to my space. This one is used for vintage jewelry, the first one now has my hand crafted or sterling pieces in it.

This is the first one, still covered in the fabric I use between sales to prevent dust.

Both came with open backs and black metal. I’ve painted them and added panels covered in vintage paper to the backside to prevent the inventory from slipping off. The panels are made of the styrofoam packing that came in the box!

Recycle and reuse, right?

To keep them in place, I first tried wire, but the styrofoam simply split apart. Now they are securely velcroed to the frame.

The height of the shelves gives me enough space to use a variety of display pieces.

But the best part is the jewelry store quality, well spaced lighting! It makes everything I set out look better.

As always, I have a selection of my handmade mushrooms. I was lucky to find this set of vintage mushroom stuff to compliment them.

There are more schroomies mixed in with the garden display.

I do love a pretty garden display. (Oops, I have gone all Game of Thrones blooperish, there is a water bottle in this photo)

More lucky finds? I got TWO of the stained glass windows, hoping to use them in my own home, but they didn’t work out where I’d hoped. They sure class up my booth, though.

Another “I wish it worked my cottage” piece is this sweet granny chair covered in white cotton.

The headboard leaning against the wall actually is from my house. At first, when it was maple toned, it was in Ryan’s room. When we got him a new bed, this was painted for the guestroom, then Sugarwings used it for a while once the two grandfairies wanted separate rooms. There is a new color theme in that space now, I figured that the headboard was better off being sold than stuffed into the shed and left to rot away.

It’s pretty well hidden though, I hope it even gets noticed. Next month, maybe I should hang it on the wall.

Although it would fill most of that entire wall.

Every inch of my space is pretty filled up, but I do enjoy the switcheroo and change ups when it’s time to mix it up again.

Right now, my redo skills are lacking due to a rotator cuff tear. I have had these spring flowers up for the season and want to change them out to some white ones for summer, but overhead jobs are not exactly easy right now.

This chair up on my top shelf won’t be moving anytime soon. Which also means that the cabinet its leg rests on needs to stay right where it is for a while. At least until I get a few more PT sessions under my belt. I’m doing everything I can to avoid surgery even if it means I cannot do major rearranging at Juju for a bit.

Some red, white, and blue for Good Juju’s First Friday weekend, with a side of Father’s Day goods

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / June 4, 2024

The mall is decked out in patriotic tones for 4th of July decorating. Of course, since this is retail, we need to be ahead of the season so you can have a chance to gather up our finds to use for yourself.

That is the same reason I am making brooms and painting ravens now, so they will be set and ready to go in August and September for Halloween.

Our July sale will be on the 5th and 6th, so now is the time to display these colors.

My garage is filled with stacks of clear storage tubs and throughout the year as I find treasures, I coordinate them into those. Some containers are themed by holiday, others by season, the rest by colors. So my red tub of goodies is ready to delve into for the 4th, Christmas, and for Valentines.

It’s good to have items in a shade that goes well with the holiday without being only for that date. You can see here that there are very few flag pieces, I’m suggesting the theme just with the colors of the day.

The space was done and ready to go when I realized, I’d almost missed out on another important holiday. Father’s Day was just around the corner, so I squeezed in a few tidbits for the dads and topped it off with a Moose Lodge hat on the bust I had repainted. The statue was previously flat brown, with beat up marks showing the white plaster underneath.

Typically, I am all about messed up areas that show age, but this one was all wrong. The white starkly glared through the dark brown, in places it shouldn’t, like his nipples.

Nope.

So I repainted it to look like cement, and added it to my garden area before turning him into my Father’s Day spokesperson. In front of him is a basket with dad friendly items, keys, pipes, money clips, etc. Hopefully there is something there that will make a thoughtful gift for pops.

I’ll have more pictures of the girlier side of the booth in my next post.

Speaking of important men in our lives, this guy turns 64 today on 6/4. Happy birthday, my love!

Fairy dolls

fairies

By Karla Nathan / June 2, 2024

Last month, I made a few new fairies for Juju’ First Friday Weekend.

And I hope to make a few more for the summer.

I do love my soft colored, sweet, baby sprites.

And my sassy granny fae.

Aren’t they fun?

This is how they begin. I bought a boxful of these handmade (from the 80s?) old biddies. I think they have the potential to be something cool, but am not fond of their current style. The rest of them will be witches for Halloween. My crafty mind is already turning to fall and winter, I’ve started on a few things for spooky season and the Christmas holidays.

I’m definately a holiday person when it comes to making stuff. I am excited to get started filling my studio with goods for my two favorite holidays.

We will miss you, Steve

family

By Karla Nathan / May 30, 2024

Isn’t this the cutest? I love Sharon’s grin!

Steve and Sharon had honeymooned at the beach, and for their 40th anniversary, their family rented a beach home and surprised them with a vow renewal and vacation.

Steve was my husband’s big brother, and a great guy who never met a stranger. Steve could talk to anyone, anywhere. He was multi talented, and had a knack in repairing or building just about anything.
There were many times over the years that he bailed us out on fix ups at the cottage, or delved into major remodeling at minor cost to us. Our home wouldn’t be what it is without Steve’s skills.

We lost Steve within a matter of just days after their seaside adventure. He was surrounded by his four kids, wife and a couple of siblings as he left, ringed with love. It all happened much too quickly, just like my sister, Bobbie.

Last fall, Rich and I had healthy brothers and sisters, then my sister’s lung cancer diagnosis came, and she was soon gone. It was discovered that Steve also had lung cancer, not too long after.

She died our mother’s birthday in February.

He died on his dad’s birthday in May.

We are stunned to have such major, and unexpected tears in our family dynamics, losing two beloved people.

Steve, like Bobbie, also had a fantastic group of kids who supported and cared for him through his illness. I am so proud of all these nieces and nephews who have shown such strength and kindness through heartache. Their deceased parents had to have left this life with the knowledge that they made the world a better place by raising these special people.

Steve will be missed- his big smile, friendly personality, and novel ways of solving problems brought smiles to all around him. He faced the world with a contagious optimism that felt good to be around. He had loyal friends for good reasons.

And a wife he cherished. Steve always had a twinkle in his eye when he looked at his Sharon.

Peeps and Pups

dogs, Hens

By Karla Nathan / May 27, 2024

Last year, we did a big car switcheroo. We got Ryan’s car back from Adam to repair, planning to pass it along to Sugarwings. Since the grandfairy does not have a license yet, we use it to go back and forth to the dog park. It’s been great for that and will be hard to lose this “dog car” when it’s time to clean it back up and hand it over to the new driver.

Around here, dogs pretty much rule the roost, but they are just going to have to understand that it isn’t really their car. They are just borrowing it.

Our little peeps are growing up, have lost most of their downy fuzz. They look like mini hens now instead of babies.

The teenage chickens now live with the rest of the ladies and are free to roam both yards with them. The old biddies aren’t exactly welcoming of the intruders, but they are used to them and are excepting. The little ones lived in a pen inside the pen for a bit and that seemed to help the transition.

All of the babies are impressed with the egg that the mature hens left in the nest. We watched as they checked out the egg, tried an experimental sit on it, and basically just hung out around it.

For now, they mingle just a bit, but not in a cozy way. It’s definitely two separate flocks, sharing one home. As long as no one gets too hen pecked, it should be fine. The bigs are quick to put the littles in their place, with a sharp peck. But the littles are full of that youthful energy and speed that keeps them out of danger of a serious argument. They are listening to the warnings of their elders and skeedaddling out of their way.

Fingers crossed that they learn from the older gals, and end up being good, sweet chickies, like those ladies are. The bigs are pretty much, no muss-no fuss birds. I hope this latest batch grows up without any divas amongst them.

Missing and remembering

celebrations, family, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / May 24, 2024

Four years ago today, we lost Ryan. Rich and I tell each other that it’s date we do not want to note, we want to celebrate his birthdays, and let this date not be a feature in our lives.

But it is.

I cannot get around it, the 24th looms over the entire month. May is my own birthday and Mother’s Day, both dates Ryan made special. It is also when we’d take our “bonus” Sister Trips. So of course, happy memories of Bobbie are a big part of May now too.

Honestly, I should’ve tried harder to make that Sister Trip work out this season. Traditions are important, and memories need to be cherished not avoided. I’ve been a bit of a wreck. I can’t let my favorite month, when spring is at its best and I wake up every morning with windows open, listening to the birds sing, become the D lister of the year. May deserves celebrating, as do Ry and Bobbie Sue.

Heck, it even comes with its own weekend of memorials.

Letting myself be sad when I need to helps. But I’ve tried to enjoy my springtime along with missing them. I did extra yard work, remembering how Ryan would love a tour of what we accomplished. I cleaned and freshened his room, then sat down to look out of his window awhile. I’ve looked through scrapbooks, albums, and photos on my phone. I’ve talked to Ryan and Bobbie, and talked about them too.

And I have loved them. Both are still, and always, always will be, big parts of my life. No matter what the date is.

Another lucky find?

antiques/junking

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2024

Remember the outlandishly beautiful violin I recently found that was appraised for thousands- IF I put thousands into repairing it? I thought I might have come across another rare, old piece, this time a clock.

But you might notice, I’m showing you pieces of it, not an entire clock.

Well, there was a bit more to the tale. I’d spied it on a dismal day of garage sailing, when this is all I came home with. It was in a free pile! I was very excited to see the gorgeous wooden case, and didn’t even look closely. I knew that if the clock itself wasn’t fixable, I could part it out and transform the case into a cabinet. Still, I could see at a glance that it was very old, and high quality.

(Pictured upside down)

My first step in the process of not hitting a jack pot? Letting the 7lb brass weight roll around and break the glass on the drive home.

But I knew glass could be replaced, so I spent some time researching online (where we all think we become experts) and discovered it was made in the late 1800s by a good name in clocks and could also be worth a lot, like my 1800s violin almost was.

Almost.

Third step, which shoulda been the first one, was examining the piece. And finding it was riddled with holes. Then seeing little beetles crawling out of those holes. It had an active infestation. And some parts of the wood were so eaten away, they were crumbling.

Fourth step was demo, salvaging the lovely brass, then disposing of the case and all of its friends, and treating everywhere it had been with diatomaceous earth so none of those critters stayed behind as souvenirs. Then I took a shower.

Okay, so now I am two for two on lucky seeming finds that are very pretty, but not worth what they could’ve been. I don’t consider either a loss, both were cool to come across whether they were valuable or not.

This was a fun adventure, even with the creepy crawlies.

Mother’s Day Traditions

family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2024

Mother’s Day weekend was jam packed here at the Cottage. I hit two mornings of light but fruitful garage sales, made gemstone bracelets for gifting, and had a sweet little dinner party, where Sugarwings helped cook for what we call “The Council of Mothers”.

The kiddo also came by on Saturday to help with wood splitting. It’s a job I rarely have to be a part of, thank goodness, because it is very unpleasant. But it needs done, and we were short on crew. Most grandkids have moved away, Ryan is gone. Rich always paid his helpers for the afternoon, and I got out of the job since there were plenty of assistants.

But now, it’s just Sugarwings, Rich, and I to do it. Not only is it a rough activity, it’s heart wrenching to think about all of the past helpers who are no longer around to pitch in.

Finding two hearts in the sections of logs was a reminder of them.

Especially Ry.

He was so strong, tossing those stumps meant nothing to him. He never enjoyed the job, but didn’t complain about helping out. For years, he was our champion on wood splitting day.

The rest of the weekend was mostly yard work. Mother’s Day officially kicks off tackling our spring to do lists in the garden and courtyard. That tradition started when the kids were just little and would spread mulch and do other beautification projects for me.

This year, I power washed for a few hours while Rich cleaned out the storage shed. Then we set up the patio furniture, umbrellas and pots. I planted annuals and Rich got the vegetables into the garden soil.

We might have done more than a week’s worth of work in those two days, and I was feeling it. After dinner Sunday evening, I told everyone I was sorry I had to be a party pooper, but I was going to bed. When I got there, I slept twelve hours straight. Mother’s Day wore me out, especially without Ryan’s strength helping us with the heavy jobs.

But the yard looks good! He’d have been proud of it. Ryan not only had a great work ethic, he loved to see what others did. When he’d get home from cooking at the nursing home, he’d want to walk around the yard with us and compliment what we accomplished.

The older I get, the harder a full weekend of yard work gets, and a Mother’s Day of being lazy sounds better and better. But Ry Guy was on my mind and in my heart all day and that gets me through all of the jobs that need doing.

Author name: Karla Nathan