celebrations – Page 4 – Karla's Cottage

A year of fairies, family, flowers, and furry friends

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2022

Last year might have ended in worry and cancellations but it began in hope. And ours started on the wings of fairies, which was pretty special.

We were blessed to be with our fairy family for Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2021. After what 2020 had put us all through, we were ready to face a brighter future.

Rich and I volunteered at vaccine clinics, where I was the coldest I have ever been in my life. On a day of 14 degrees, I worked outside for six hours, something my family still can’t quite believe that a person as terrified of being chilly like I am, could do.

Volunteering at this event not only showed me that I was tougher than I thought, it brought hope to me that our lives could be somewhat normal again.

We headed south for a few weeks to the beach where I got to make lots of fairies to give thanks for the blessings in my life.

We took four dogs with us in a 19’ camper, which isn’t as bad as it sounds. They are every bit as much underfoot in our home as they are in the trailer. Two doodles, a retriever and a Yorkie provide many tripping opportunities, no matter how small the kitchen I am cooking in is.

And what is better than being somewhere warm and blooming, away from a cold, Kansas winter?

Coming home is always hard for me. While I am away, it’s easier to not expect to see Ryan. He rarely traveled with us.

Returning to an empty house without his happy grin of welcome is rough to get used to.

These furry bundles of love came along in the spring. They fill my heart up, in a bittersweet way.

I can almost feel Ryan by my side laughing at their silliness like he used to do. He loved the puppies as much as I do. Having them around was a help in getting through the anniversary of his death.

For two months, I did nothing but care for the babies. When they slept, I’d do paintings of them, and talk to prospective families. I got very little sleep and picked up mountains of poo.

But I also had weeks of furry snuggles and joy.

The babies helped me through the loss of two of our Yorkies. The pups were right there with me when Twinkle had her stroke. As I held her in my arms during convulsions, those little dogs watched with compassion and care. I could tell they would grow up to be loving pets when I saw how they wanted to comfort Twinkle and I.

The very next week, we lost our boy, Albie. I don’t know what I’d have done without armloads of furry, warm puppies to get me through it.

There is so much joy in these little bodies, that you just have to smile even while in pain!

We took another camping getaway to the mountains of North Carolina.

Where I crafted riverbank fairies of rocks instead of seashells in the sand.

This is the year that Sugarwings grew up and became a teen, not a child.

And our Hippy Chic got her Master’s to become a midwife.

Painting flowers and landscapes got me back into the studio. I still haven’t added to my Boutique or planned a Birdsong event, but both have been on my mind. I’d started feeling out the prospect of an arty weekend, and then, BOOM, along came Delta.

So, I’ll be sticking to my solitary studio time for now. It would devastate me to host a Birdsong and have anyone become ill while visiting.

On a second trip to Florida, I got to watch countless dolphins, see sharks up close, and find amazing piles of shells on a teensy island.

There was a lot to be thankful to nature for.

It was also kinda nice to have the dogs cared for by family while we stayed in hotels instead of a camper.

I even got to visit Tinker Bell!

After a spectacular Disney adventure, I headed to Indian Shores to be with sisters and nieces. It was a beach I was unfamiliar with, and was surprised by the lack of larger shells. So, I used itty bitty shells to leave a mosaic fairy on the shore.

This might just be a new favorite art form for me. Painting with seashells!

Thanksgiving brought us a visit from Dewdrop and a great family weekend to be plenty thankful for.

Stories of the proliferation of Omicron made me value every moment of holiday celebrations we had.

And to remember to appreciate those around me and what is important.

I am wishing you a safe and happy 2022. With this horrid curse of a virus fading away.

A book club party with bookish party favors

antiques/junking, Books, celebrations, collections, cottage, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 20, 2021

The annual holiday party for our book club was at my house, well, I have to admit that it always is at my house. I tend to hog the date because I love parties so much.

And I love party favors! I decorated the table with the book page/paper ornies that I’d made and sent one home with each person. You can’t see it in this pic, but each ball has a tiny, book charm dangling from it.

Here is the table before my friends arrived.

I have been collecting 49 cent Christmas plates from Goodwill all year, there are a few different patterns, but I like the mix.

It’s all a bit of a mix match. The water glasses almost all are the same, but the silverware, wine glasses, napkins, and plates are all over the place. The placemats are pages from the Grand fairies’ outgrown Christmas books.

Here is what I have learned about hosting a party:

NO ONE CARES IF IT MATCHES!

But they do appreciate an effort to make things pretty for them. I doubt if they cared that the plates were only 49 cents each and were various patterns. Or that to have enough wine glasses, I had to use a very non traditional, purple one.

They might have cared that the pie was a little dry.

Durn it. I used frozen blueberries, but made it the same as I usually do with fresh ones. That just isn’t the same, I love the juiciness of the fresh ones. Frozen requires more sugar, liquid and some lemon, I think.

The peach pie was better. I used pecan flour, eggs, some juice from the canned peaches, cinnamon and brown sugar in it.

This was my first time using Aldi’s crust (I never make my own crust). It was so-so. Not very flakey, and a little dry. I’ll stick with Sprouts, their crust is always ideal. Plus it is vegan, which is good when I am feeding my family.

Also, this might not be the prettiest place to set out desserts, but it worked.

I found some “Vintage Tinsel Sprinkles” at Homegoods and happily glittered all the treats. I love them so much that I had some glittery, festive-ness on my peanut butter toast today. Using my holiday plates.

One very nice thing about my big stack of thrift store plates is that I don’t have to be gentle with them. They are special, but they aren’t worth anything, so we have been using them daily since Thanksgiving.

Dishes are breakable, so I never want to own any that I am afraid of using. I like plates that I can enjoy.

Thankful

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / November 26, 2021

Our Thanksgiving day was chilly, but we got to get outside the day before.

And I was very thankful for a pretty day in November.

In Kansas, you just never know what the day’s weather will bring.

So when you get a good one, you should celebrate it!

Especially if you are surrounded by loved ones (and dogs) who love to be outdoors too.

Always remembering my boy

celebrations, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / November 7, 2021

When Ryan died, people were so generous with their gifts and responses. I was moved by each and every card, present, memento, story, etc. Each was cherished, each meant that Ryan wasn’t forgotten.

Maybe because he was a guy who was shy, hesitant to stand out, and often overlooked, knowing that people cared about him and reached out helped.

I cried over armfuls of envelopes when I carried in the mail. I read and reread the notes. I planted the trees, hung the wind chimes, and overall, cherished all of the gifts.

Many people sent flowers, and I kept the blooms going as long as I could. I shared some with family to take to their homes, and spread the rest around ours. I trimmed the stems and changed the water daily to make the flowers last. Then, when the freshness was past saving, I dried what I could, and filled a cabinet with the vases.

But I did not want them to become a forgotten stash of unwanted glassware to eventually be donated to Goodwill. Instead, I decided to do something special with them, and on a few, I am attempting mosaics. (I don’t have good grouting skills, though, I will have to work on cleaning a bit more off of this one).

Others, I have decorated and filled with garden flowers and given away on special occasions. I’d like to take an embellished vase filled with iris that Ryan planted into the nursing home he worked at, on the anniversary of his death next spring.

Thank you to everyone who offered hope to me with kind words and thoughtful expressions of care. I was moved and heartened by your gestures.

Reuniting

celebrations, friends, Travel

By Karla Nathan / September 29, 2021

Way back when, in Jr High, these two became my people for life. They both moved to different coasts while I settled in the center of the country, but over the years, we have met up when we could and it always felt like it had been days not years in between.

They indulged my need to go to our high school reunion, even though they had many other suggestions for places we could have a mini reunion instead.

It was a quick trip, but conversation never lagged, and it was fun to see our other classmates as well.

Sandy brought some old photos, here we are at a past reunion. (I think I still have that dress, I should look for it. In my opinion, if you love something, it doesn’t go out of style)

As a matter of fact, I’d wear this “vintage” dress from my senior picture again in a snap if I had it. Looks like I have always had a thing for rose patterned fabrics, huh?

Thanks, Debbie and Sandy for such a perfect weekend and for being my lifelong friends!

And thanks to all the people who put the reunion together for the class of 76. I sure enjoyed seeing everyone and loved having a reason to push me to come back home to Indiana.

A Lovely Day with Friends

antiques/junking, celebrations, friends

By Karla Nathan / September 20, 2021

Last week, I drove to Indiana for my 45th reunion and some sister time. On the way, I stopped for a birthday party craft day for a dear friend.

Not only was it a fun day with buddies, great food (and pink cake!), plus making a sweet project, it was also a pleasant way to break up the trip.

The drive is about nine hours with stops, but I split it into two days starting with this gala get together.

Crafting pretty pumpkins, laughing with gal pals, and having a fancy luncheon was a perfect start for my day of travel. I drove to two of my favorite antique malls after saying goodbye to friends, then a few hours further til it was time to take myself out for a crunchy, fried chicken dinner and grab some sleep at a Holiday Inn Express.

Too bad all days on the road aren’t that much fun.

These are the little gifts I wrapped up for the party goers.

Thanks again for the festive start to my vacation, Birthday Girl!

And thanks for sharing your big day with us.

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.

Birthday goodness

celebrations, collections, friends

By Karla Nathan / June 9, 2021

With puppies coming on my birthday, I have been completely absorbed in furry, cuddly fun. And I forgot to show a couple of beautiful birthday gifts that I was honored to get. I have a painting from Clover, that I am calling, “Our Lady of the Swans” and have her displayed with the Swans from Lesa’s class at our last arty gathering here before the pandemic struck.

The teeny swan was an adornment on top of this overflowing box of delight from my pal, Angie.

Not only is the old, glass box beautiful with its vintage ribbon and silk rose trim, it is filled with timeless treasures.

See what I mean? Filled to the brim with lovely packages, too pretty to open (but I did!)

There were layers of Good Stuff supplies inside that I can’t wait to use, but haven’t yet due to my fuzzy, little friends.

I did pull out some of the frothy, lace hankies to show off on a couple puppies.
This tiny, black pup took on an RBG vibe, didn’t she?

And Miss Daisy looks like a doll baby.

Speaking of dolls, my sweet grand fairy, Clover was so thoughtful to share her artwork with me. That kid has skills!

Before I know it, my time with the babies will be gone and I’ll have plenty of time for crafting. It will be heart wrenching to see them go, so it is helpful to have such delicious goodies to delve into once they are gone, to take my mind off missing them.

He cared so much about things that made me happy

celebrations, family, Hearts, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / May 26, 2021

We had lovely remembrance moments for Ryan. On Sunday, some exceptionally wonderful friends brought over dinner and wine.

We sat on the patio, and we all cuddled pups before I spread some ashes on the Uncle Tree and gave an egoogley (Zoolander for eulogy).

The Sugarbabies thought the get together was all about them.

Well, typically, everything is. But my pals were very kind and considerate about honoring Ryan.

It was a small, but meaningful group.

Ryan’s legal time of death is the 24th, but we feel like he died the night of the 23rd, so we did something both days for him.

On Monday, we tried to get as many of the family as we could together for a walk on Ryan’s favorite trail, dinner at a place he loved, and squeezed in between all of that, an 8th grade concert.

The day we found him, we had planned a big, family walk on the trails he loved.

But that didn’t happen.

We took a walk there a year later in his honor, and I brought some ashes to sprinkle. I wasn’t sure where I would do it, until I saw this perfectly mossy heart!

I can almost hear the excitement in his voice, if he’d been with me when I found it. He cared so much about things that made me happy. We often took time to stop and exclaim over tidbits that I found, or just to watch the red wing black birds in the pond.

“He cared so much about things that made me happy.”

That sums up a lot about Ry Guy. I was beyond blessed to have a person in my world who wanted me to smile.

Appreciating Something Normal

celebrations, Corona virus, cottage, friends

By Karla Nathan / April 27, 2021

We had company! Our friends are now vaccinated and we celebrated together with a pitch in BUFFET style meal!

No more fixing an individual plate for each person, we actually all stood NEAR each other, WITHOUT masks, INDOORS, and fixed our plates.

Then, why does my dining room look so empty? Well, for one thing, we were so busy catching up, then pour painting that I didn’t remember to take photos of the group.

Another reason is that, I was excited to have a reason to clean my house and took pictures before people came over.

During the first half of quarentine, I found myself organizing and cleaning a lot. My drawers and closets were impeccable.

But after a while of no one coming inside, I kind of let things become sloppy around the edges. It was very nice to have a reason to care about how things looked again.

Also, there are still reminders of the pandemic everywhere. Such as having a new dishwasher on back order for six months.

But you know what? That doesn’t phase me at all. That might have been something that would piss me off pre-pandemic or at least be something to whine about. But now? Small potatoes! I had my friends coming over, and things like dishwasher delivery being delayed is not the sort of thing to upset me after what 2020 delivered to the world.

Instead of having a sit down dinner with a set table, we filled our paper plates and went outside to enjoy a beautiful, spring day.

My goal is to appreciate what I have, not complain about what I don’t. We have all lost so much.