celebrations – Page 13 – Karla's Cottage

A girlfriends’ day out on the town in the Big City

By Karla Nathan / December 10, 2016

My pal, Angie, once again, generously invited a group of us to visit her apartment in the sky over looking the Plaza in Kansas City.

We started the afternoon with a late lunch at Union Station, and ended up with wine and desserts at Angie's home to enjoy this view of the Plaza lights.

As always, she went all out making it special for us.

Beth says that Angie is determined to bring some culture into our lives. She takes us to museums, botanical gardens, and other big city things that I never think about doing, but adore visiting when I'm taken there.

On this day, I did something WAY, WAY out of my comfort zone! We explored Science City at Union Station, and all of us rode the sky bike.

I'm terrified of heights, and have no balance. But apparently, this thing can not tip over, it is balanced by the load of bricks that hang beneath it.

Hmmm…

It felt like I was going to plummet to the ground. Bypassing that net somehow, of course.

But I did it. Twice! I did not enjoy either time, but it was good for my soul to give it a try. Just like all of the culture Angie has me soaking up, that is a nice change from my typical days, a little change of scene has been good for me.

We checked out the Kaufman Gardens to see the Poinsettias, and goofed off with a photo shoot. I'm channeling my inner Zoolander here.

Silliness was the main part of the day, we played like little kids, giggled, and belly laughed all afternoon.

In my opinion, adults need to get some childlike, joyous, laughing fits going every once in a while to stay sane.

I started out my day with some crafting, so was already in a very happy mood. In the last month, I've not spent much time with my glue bottle. I made up a few of these ornies to pass out at our lunch, and it felt wonderful to be doing things I loved again.

My heart rate seems normal, and at Science City, I could run up and down stairs without needing a break or getting light headed. Looks to me like my cardiac procedure was a success, and I was celebrating feeling normal again.

I don't think I realized how bad I'd felt for how long. Most of my summer was droopy and tired.

Of course, spending a day with fun friends, is always helpful.

I've been throwing myself headfirst into holiday happenings, and for a while was feeling like I'd over scheduled and it was too much, but just this week, I've gotten past that and am loving all of the activities and excitement.

Now, my problem is trying not to feel guilty about not getting any work done…

I'd told myself earlier that I'd just take it easy and not worry about work for a while, so I haven't updated my Boutique with new items for Christmas. That was fine when I was still a little weak or droopy, but now that I'm flying through the sky on bikes, that seems a bit hypocritical.

Well, too late, the holiday selling season has about passed. I need to let go of the guilt, enjoy feeling better, and plan for getting some work done in January instead.

For now?

I am Merry Christmassing it up. Going for the glory and the joy of the month. And I am blessed by my new found good health!

The annual Zombie walk

celebrations, family, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / October 23, 2016

The zombie walk gets better every year. This season, we had 4 grand ghouls in it.

Including this one. Her baby sister stayed home, though. She isn't ready to join the ghoulishness yet.

Avahni and Kia did fabulous jobs with the makeup and costumes, but the girls were in such constant motion, it was hard to capture at the parade.

Luckily, I got to see the process. Look away if you are grossed out, because the gashes and sores that they made with tissue paper and liquid latex look very authentic.

Seriously, LOOK AWAY!!!

Last warning, here comes the gore….

I warned you. Here comes another.

Awfully well done. But a bit stomach turning.

Here is a fluffy bunny to make you feel better.

And here is a cheerful, funny, Marge Simpson.

Maybe you need a little nourishment to fortify yourself.

Still feeling rough? Here is a nurse to the rescue.

Lawrence goes all out for the night.

We try to get a table on the patio at a good restaurant to enjoy the show.

This spooked up car was parked across from us.

I already can't wait til next year's spooktacular!

An Autumn dinner party and some views of the new room

celebrations, cottage, Hearth Room, Kitchen remodel

By Karla Nathan / October 21, 2016

While I was setting the table for a dinner party my husband was throwing for co-worker friends, I thought I should get some pictures of our new space while the area was cleaned up. (You know how fleeting that window of time can be with a houseful of kiddos!).

This is from the new room, looking into the kitchen.

From the new front door in the hearth room looking through the space into the living room.

And from the kitchen into the living room.

From the kitchen into the new room, with a view of the mantel.

I can't wait to have a Christmas tree set up in there! I'll be counting down till the holidays just like the grand fairies do.

This one is taken from the stairs.

And here are the stairs. They are covered in rose pattern wallpaper, that I glazed over to blend in better. The bold, rose pattern stood out too much before. Now, it is subtle and muted.

The ceiling is 15', and my son put in the pine floors, with my husband's help. In front of the fireplace and both new doors, is a pebble mosaic that I did. Ryan hung all of the shelves and curtain rods.

It is nice that we all had hands on in creating something for the space, even though the big job of it was done by a contractor and his crew. It feels good to have a part in doing some hands on work ourselves.

I had planned on putting curtains on the doors, but Honey voted against that. She prefers being outdoors for most of the day, but likes to keep an eye on what we are up to. Recently, she learned how to open the door knob, so she comes in whenever she feels like it.

Now, if she'd just learn to SHUT the door behind her. You'd think she'd been raised in a barn.

This is from the living room looking into the kitchen. I still can't believe how wonderfully open it is, and also, how well the new floor matches the original 90 plus year old floors once all were sanded down and re-stained. I beat up the new floors with crow bars and hammers to help the aging process a bit.

This party was also in celebration of finishing the room. That very day, the last of the construction items were crossed off the list. What a good feeling.

You know what will be an even better feeling? The first day we light a fire in that new hearth and cozy up by the flames to read a good book. I'm a Spring/Summer person myself, but this redo could be the impetus to switch me into becoming an Autumn gal.

Wicked

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / October 18, 2016

Wicked is my favorite play. Of course, I haven't been to that many… but I do love it, I've seen it four times now.

Each time, I've gone with someone different. The first time with my husband to the fabulous Fox theater in St. Louis, which is so special, it is worth going to even if there is no play to see.

This time with 3 of the grand fairies, and I have to say, that was pretty special.

We made a weekend of it, and stayed at a nice hotel in Wichita. They were great company. And it was fun to watch Sugarwings' emotions as the story unfolded.

It was a special birthday weekend for KiKi, we brought cupcakes to the hotel and watched an in room movie.

Now, I can't wait til Dewdrop is old enough to go see a play with us!

Tri-Unity

celebrations, family, Sacred Circus, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 2, 2016

Isn't this cute as a bug?? We got it so we could go to the performances that our kids do at festivals.

I even hippy-ed it up with some swirly lights for the weekend that we were at Tri-Unity.

It is small, only 16', but with a canopy and a pop up tent out front, we had plenty of space. Will I fix it up? I'm not sure. After the big remodel job we just went through, redoing something isn't feeling all that enticing right now. We'll see after I recover. For now, it's pretty cozy and nice inside.

And when we will camp, we won't spend much time inside. I know we didn't this time. The grounds were beautiful, and the event was child friendly, with a cute area set up just for the little ones.

And it was even prettier at night.

The Sacred Circus rig was under a lit tent and the silhouettes of the performers were mesmerizing.

Watching the aerialists through the tent was almost like watching mermaids swim in a colorful sea. Their movements were graceful and flowing.

There was non-stop entertainment, too.

A series of musicians filled the stage late into the night, and the day was started with a drum circle.

During the days, there were workshops. I took the nature walk and learned about edible plants. You could learn to belly dance, hula hoop, fly through the air on a trapeze, meditate, drum, among a few dozen other classes.

Or just hang out with the kids and get your face painted.

And then join them in a parade.

And relax with yoga.

I liked watching the many painters, and petting dogs.

There were some interesting painters there.

But the best part? Time with family.

And friends.

I'll leave you with some more pictures of the weekend, and will show you the circus performance in an upcoming post. Be prepared for lots of grammie style gushing over grand fairies!

Between the Beach and the Hard Rock- thanks to Gloria Gayner, I Will Survive

celebrations, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 25, 2016

Our trip to Orlando started with a drive to Cocoa Beach. Years ago, we started going there because it was the closest ocean access to Disney. Now, we go because we really like staying at the La Quinta by the pier. It isn't a fancy hotel, but has a beautiful balcony view of the water, and is a comfy place.

This year, Sugarwings was old enough to rent a boogie board. Kia and I mostly bopped up and down with the waves and played in the surf. She kept trying to catch tiny fish in her hands and actually managed to do it, too. I told her that she'd be perfect to be stranded on a deserted isle with. She can catch fish bare handed, plus is a vegetarian and doesn't eat them, they'd all go to me.

My handsome husband isn't an ocean guy, so he didn't get in much. He is more of stroller along the shores than a swimmer.

And our oldest teen? She refuses to let sun touch her body. She is an expert at staying lily white. Which I wish I was at her age, then maybe I wouldn't be so wrinkly and spotty…

Due to our flight being cancelled on the way out (we had a fun day in KC, going to movies and lunch while waiting for another flight), our time at the beach was cut short. We had a full day there, then moved on to Universal Studios.

If you stay at one of the on site hotels, you get a free pass to skip most of the lines. Or you can buy one for EIGHTY NINE BUCKS. geesh!

Good thing we got free ones, because if I'd bought those, I'd have been sad, many attractions didn't even have lines and we wouldn't have needed them anyway. There were times I was very glad to have them, and they were helpful. And we were thrilled with the Hard Rock Hotel. My sweet husband, who is not a fan of Disney, puts up with a lot of princess foofala on trips, and since it was Father's Day week, we thought he should have a place he would like to stay.

It was one of the nicest places ever. The pool was ideal, Sugarwings and I hardly left it when we weren't at the park. She participated in all of the poolside games and contests that she could.

Avahnni even entered the hula hooping event. Sugarwings won the hula hoop water relay twice. So, when the DJ asked for adult volunteers, I figured that I'd get up on the stage and maybe be in a water balloon toss, or something along those lines.

But dang, once I was out of the water, chosen as a volunteer, I discovered…

oh my…

It was a lip sync contest.

oh noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I don't sing. I can't remember words to songs. I have no rhythm. I dance like Martin Short, if I'm at my best.

The other contestants were cute college girls, swaying to the music and holding up their cocktails. Girls who knew how to dance.

When I was asked what genre of music I wanted, I requested "grandma music". Maybe something from a cartoon or from the 70s? I was given Disco. Oh no. I do not Hustle. Panic was setting in.

Then, I looked around and realized that while there might have been 200 people there, Sugarwings was the only one I knew. So, I went for it. I went as silly and dramatic as I could.

I let the Martin Short in me come out full strength in my dancing and that won the contest for me.

It was a highlight of my trip. Thank god there are no photos. I still am surprised that was me, up there in front of the crowd in a swimsuit, dancing and being silly. My mom would've loved it, she was goofy too.

As much as I loved the Wizarding World, I could've been happy at that pool all week. It even had night time family movies, with underwater speakers.

No matter how much fun a trip is, it is wonderful to be home. And to see progress done on the new room while we were away.

When Sugarwings started reading the Harry Potter books, I told her that I'd take her to Universal to see Hogwarts when she finished them.

Then, her Daddy married the mother of the biggest Harry Potter fangirl ever. So, we decided to change the trip to a "Welcome to the Family" vacation for the fangirl and her sister.

We are lucky to have these two girls in our lives. They are smart, polite, talented, funny, sassy, and cute as can be. We love it that they are such good influences for Sugarwings and Dewdrop.

And we love it that they are now our very own grand fairies.

Plus, I got a bonus trip to Florida out of the deal!! I'm missing those seashells already. Tell me again, why do I live in Kansas instead of near a beach?

Graduation Day for our Hippie Chick!

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2016

Sugarwings' mama is a full time RN, and working her way up into higher degrees until she reaches her goal of nurse midwife. She conquered another step of the journey this week as she graduated from KU's school of nursing.

We are pretty dang proud of her.

It was a beautiful day to watch the procession of graduates down the hill. I'd never been to a KU ceremony before, it was quite a celebration and a festive parade. Hundreds of grads walk down the hill while families line the sidewalk applauding, then all file into the stadium for the speeches and diplomas.

Nursing was a later group, so we picnicked on some popcorn and pretzels while we waited. (I didn't realize until editing photos, that I'd dressed Dewdrop in rival, K State's colors, she was a purple speck in the sea of blue and red).

Our girl had the BEST cap! It was all rainbowed-up, like the rest of her life. She topped it with a sunflower, a symbol of our state.

Schools of Nursing and Education had the most fun hats, and we noticed that the business students didn't do much decorating on theirs. There was a variety of students, of all ages and ethnicities. Some people had their children walk with them, some carried dogs. Many girls in beautiful dresses had bottles of champagne. Families rushed out onto the sidewalks to hug and photograph their loved ones, grads squealed and ran to the ropes to squeeze friends they saw in the crowd. One group had an old school, boom box and sang together, and we saw a few Go Pros filming the whole march too.

This was quite a fun filled, moving experience, and even though I only knew one of the people in the procession, I enjoyed every bit of the parade of black robed people marching down the hill together toward their futures.

Dewdrop called the grads "Hogwarts people", and liked the robes a lot.

Afterwards, we had a party at the cottage. Sugarwings wasn't happy with the display and said that it wasn't a celebration without streamers. And of course, my studio is magic and can provide any craft supply needed at any time, so I had red crepe paper on hand for the sisters to decorate with.

Her idea was to use bandage streamers, since her mom was a nurse, but I couldn't come up with that.

I was able to provide some bandaids that she wanted to stick onto the balloons, though. Cute idea, huh?

We put the decorated cap on an easel in a place of honor on the food table. The lace curtains came down and I found some red rose curtains to hang instead, since our girls like things colorful. There are two different, vintage curtains with red roses on the windows now, and I kinda like it. I might leave them up for a bit. I see no reason to change the curtains again, since that wall will be torn out soon for the remodel anyway. I'll enjoy a splash of color for a while.

Caike said she felt like she was at the Mad Hatter's Teaparty in this dress anyway, and that it seemed like she was the red queen while I was the white queen, painting the roses red for her.

Things got colorful outside too.

The kids at the gathering made use of the boxes of chalk I'd set out for them.

When they weren't blowing bubbles in the woods.

Or hula hooping and jumping in the mulch piles.

It was cute to watch the kids at the buffet table. I'm impressed with hippy family kids. They load up on veggies and fruits and honestly seem to love them, taking them voluntarily, not being bribed or forced. Every kid there filled up a little tin pail with healthy foods, and carried them down to the Fairy Berry Trail to have a picnic in the tree house.

Of course, I'm a grammie, the one who spoils the littles, so I came out into woods and brought a tray of cupcakes for them.

All day long, I was afraid the weather was going to turn bad, but we lucked out. It did cool off a bit, so we lit the bonfire and that was fine. You never know in Kansas what to expect weatherwise, especially in the spring.

We had our air conditioner moved for the remodel project, and in doing so, the furnace was unhooked too. I didn't think it would be a problem on that beautiful 80 degree day when the workman were doing the job. But, after a week of chilly nights and drizzly days, I'm missing the thermostat! I've had to tell grand fairies they couldn't stay all night with me because it is too cold in my house at night.

Brrrrr!

But for the special day of the party, the weather was lovely, the rain held off till after everyone had left. And while my house got cold that night, my heart was warm with memories of the day.

A Mother’s Day gathering

celebrations, cottage, family, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / May 15, 2016

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and we had a crowd coming over to celebrate with us. I'd planned on keeping it simple, and using paper plates outdoors. But Sugarwings was spending the day with me and she LOVES a special occasion as much as I do. She wanted to do something nice for all the mothers, and that seemed like a good thing to encourage.

We moved the kitchen island out of the way, set up a folding table with extra chairs, got out the pretty table cloths, and I let Sugarwings set the table.

One of her special touches, was a colorful ribbon around the plates where moms would be sitting. (no that isn't Grammy hitting the wine bottle early in the day, that is actually sparkling water, although, I did switch over to sparkling wine at the dinner party)

Her Hippy Chick mama loves colorful things and rainbows, so instead of white roses, she got a fiery rose in a red vase, and an LED light stick that changed colors as it flashed in place of a candle.

Sugarwings took all of the photos after too.

Being able to set a nice table is a good skill to have. Our dishes, silverware and glasses are all mis-matched, but my grandfairy knows where each piece goes and makes it look nice even with the hodge podge we use.

It is always cute to see her use this tip, and make the a-okay sign with her hands to remember where the bread plates and drinks go.

Her finishing touch before guests arrive was to sprinkle some rose petals up the walkway.

Which was 100% her idea, she loves the over the top flourishes to make things special.

Rose petals lined the way to her mommie's seat.

Twinkle looked a bit confused by the whole thing, but will follow her girl on any adventure.

The Sacred Circus

celebrations, family, Sacred Circus

By Karla Nathan / April 21, 2016

My son and his family have an aerial troupe, called the Sacred Circus, that performs at festivals.

And my two new grand fairies are amazing to watch.

Well, that is when I can watch… sometimes I have to cover my eyes. They are too daring for me!

While in Missouri for the wedding, we also attended "Shamonic Boom" a festival where they were putting on their show.

Miss Tree (or should I start calling her Mrs. Tree?) had dislocated her wrist the week before, so couldn't do her act.

She did a substitution, of this sling performance, although, I think she might have over used her hand anyway.

Her daughters stepped up and filled in for her, it was so impresive to see these young girls be so professional and take over.

Of course, with their skills, it worked out well.

It was pretty cool that on my first official day as their grandmother, I had so much to beam and boast and be proud of.

Sugarwings' momma brought the heat with her fire hooping too. I always have a lot of reasons to be proud of this girl. Did I mention that she works full time as an RN while getting a further degree?

Sugarwings was impressive too. It was moving to hear her get up on stage and speak so confidently to the audience and tell us that "circus comes from the heart".

She even had a small part in the show.

My son is the DJ and announcer, he knows how to get a crowd going, too, with building the beats. Well, I think that is how it is done, I know that it is more than just playing a song and that he is pretty good at it.

It was quite a show. I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the event.

A naturally beautiful wedding

celebrations, family, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / April 18, 2016

Did I mention that the wedding was non traditional?

It was not only unique, it was lovely and moving, completely natural and fun.

No fuss, nothing fancy, just a lot of love.

Set in a cavern down in S. Missouri. The cave was so spectacular, no decorations were needed.

It was an adventure to reach the cave from our campgrounds.

With a long, winding, narrow road and a hike to get to the hidden cave under the cliff we had driven over.

Our Hippy Chick, my son's ex, who is now my daughter, performed the ceremony.

We had sage and blessings and lots of hugs passed around.

I'd helped Miss Tree create her bridal headpiece and she is also using it for her areal performances too.

And she looked beautiful in it.

This wedding was done on a budget of, well, almost nothing. You don't need to break the bank to have a perfect ceremony. These two were interested in simply sharing their moment with people they cared about.

Sugarwings and I decided to make ribbon wands for the attendees to wave as the couple exited the cave, and I brought some dried lavender to throw also.

Katie and Adam didn't want any wasteful items, and I wanted to honor their wishes, so some of the wands will be recycled for Sugarwing's birthday party favors in August.

Sugarwings enjoyed having something to plan for her daddy, and if you know me, you know that I just had to do something festive or I'd burst.

The bride's mother also provided a picnic lunch afterwards, back at the campground. Which was sweet and we all enjoyed.

The weather was perfect, and the sun was shining into the black cavern.

While waiting for it all to begin, we had a chance to explore our surroundings.

These are my two newest grand fairies. Both are ideal role models for their newly acquired little sisters. These teenagers are smart, funny, strong, and loveable. Not to mention talented, both are arealists like their mom.

This was a wedding with zero drama, just happiness.

No one had to fret, fuss, or worry, all happened as it happened. No practices, rehearsal dinners, gift registries, showers. Just a circle of people who cared, listening to promises of love.

I don't know why I didn't cry. I'm teary thinking about it now. But at the time, I was just beaming with joy.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a person who loves planning parties and going all out, but it was very pleasant and peaceful just to watch the day flow.

Of course, with Katie and Adam, that is a regular thing. There are no pretensions in their lives.

I'm quite lucky to have them in my life.

Thank you, son, for bringing me these 3 sparkling and delightful women as family members!