celebrations – Page 5 – Karla's Cottage

Family Fire Fun Night- with axes and calzones

By Karla Nathan / March 10, 2021

My boy is in town from North Carolina and we love being able to have the family together for adventures.

The evening began with some ax throwing out by my husband’s log cabin.

We were not only blessed by having a passel of pixies to play with, but the most beautiful spring break weather you could ask for, too.

The day before, I made up batches of vegan and of meaty, veggie calzones plus home made bread sticks and salad, so I could relax and enjoy the evening without worrying about dinner. Making up meals ahead of time sure makes life easier at family gatherings. I whipped up vegan, lemon cheesecake and dark chocolate cupcakes while I was at it.

Then we lit all the garden lights, fired up the fire pit and sticks, turned on the music and took turns playing with the flames.
I had a box of rainbow powder and the grand fairies added that to the flames, and I was impressed at how pretty the colors were. I got the $5 box of three at Walmart and it lasted all evening. I’ll be buying more of those.

At first, I was overly cautious and worried the children would burst into a fiery ball of death. But they were following rules and having sooooo much fun, I soon let go and enjoyed the show.

Even to the point where I shocked everyone by joining in! I am clumsy with no sense of rhythm, but who cares?

After everything we have all been through as a family, a country, and a planet this year, I think it’s time to let go of fears and enjoy what’s in front of us.

You can’t take life for granted, live it to its fullest, even if it means doing some bad dancing like a fool with or without a torch.

Cherishing

celebrations, Corona virus, cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / February 14, 2021

Do you have plans for this special day? I typically go all out, with gifts for everyone in the family, Galentine craft days, and decorations everywhere.

This is the anniversary of the day my husband adopted our boys and we have celebrated it as a family, instead of the usual couple date. Last year, we were in Florida, so had our family night early, but our son, Adam met us there to be together. The weather turned cold and rainy, our little Dewdrop had a bad cough, but we made our time fun and we were so happy to have them with us for a few days.

Here is a photo from one of my best Valentine’s, the grand fairies and I put glitter and confetti on the ceiling fan blades and had everyone gather in a circle. This is a capture still from the little video. It was such a jolt of pleasure to see a snippet of Ryan laughing when the video memory popped up on Facebook.

This season, our holiday is on the quiet side. The weather is unbearably cold today, with a high of two degrees, because of Covid we aren’t going to restaurants or gathering with friends for a craft day. Our pipes are frozen, so having a big dinner here, even with just half of us would be difficult. Sugarwings’ mama is working herself to exhaustion in finishing her clinical for her midwife’s degree and is too busy to get together. Adam and Dewdrop are far away in North Carolina.

And my Ryan is gone.

Life goes on, changes keep on coming. While we will never get over losing Ry, the arctic wind has stirred up his wind chimes and they are making a pretty song that I can hear in my studio today.

Adam loves his life in the mountains and has found a job where he can express his creativity, I love seeing photos of his carpentry projects, knowing he is using his art skills. I was blessed to have both of my sons close by and with me as adults for as long as I did.

Our Hippy Chick’s years of hard work are close to paying off and she will be starting her new career soon.

The years when I had my little fairy babies were filled with magic. But so is watching them grow and become become strong women with endless possibilities ahead of them.

Having family move on, grow, and flourish can feel like I have been left behind, if I let it. But I prefer to feel gratitude and pride for what they are doing with their lives.

When we get together, whether in small groups, or as a big ole, bundle, I can count my blessings and know that I am surrounded by love from near and far.

You can’t stop change, no matter if it is heart wrenching or heartfelt. Valentine’s Day is also Twinkle’s birthday. Today she is 14, and no longer the frisky pup she once was. But she still knows her name and likes when I repeat it to her, it’s her favorite thing. I’ll be cherishing her for as long as I can.

For New Year’s, I choose a word to honor for the upcoming year. 2021 has “Cherish”.

I’ll cherish the time I get with my true love, as our family goes through changes and we have time to travel and be together, just the two of us.

I’ll cherish my memories, my family and their dreams for the future.

I’ll cherish my friends and the fun they bring to my life. Even through social distancing we have remained close in our hearts.

I’ll cherish my house full of dogs and let them know they are loved, whether they are a puppy in their first year, or an aging baby like Twinks who might be in her last.

(a card from my pal, Angie)

Today might not be a typical Valentine’s Day for me, but I will cherish what I have and be thankful for the love I have been shown.

A book for Ryan

Books, celebrations, Corona virus, family, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / January 27, 2021

When Ryan died, I looked on Facebook, my blog, old albums, anywhere I could to gather photos of him.

With a break to raise puppies, I have been working on a scrapbook for him since.

Some times, the pictures and memories would reduce me to a puddle of snot and tears so, I couldn’t work on it every day.

The goal was to have it done today, his birthday.

He was a guy who loved his birthday! He usually took a week off of work, just to relax.

Although, relaxing for Ryan meant going to the gym to work out and walking 20,000 steps a day.

I will celebrate his birthday by going for a walk, and have been trying to get one in daily this week, like I would’ve if he’d been with me.

On cold days, we’d go to the community rec center. I was worried about using it now, but checked it out, and it is pretty empty. The track is built as a loft over four basketball courts that are not open due to Covid. It is a newer building and seems airy.

On nice days, I walk on the sidewalks and trails we used to go on together. But there has been a cold streak in Kansas, so I needed to use the track for his birthday week. Which is tough, because it requires a mask. That in itself is fine, but when I am thinking of how much I enjoyed running, walking and talking with my boy, I start to cry.

You can’t cry well in a mask.

So, I listen to an audiobook and try not to sob and get my mask soggy, since I can’t take it off to blow my nose.

Ryan’s book is finished, I made it from the canvas of a pour painting that he hung in his apartment.

I wish he would’ve joined me in creating a painting of his own. He did hang out with me as I swirled and played with paints, and he loved watching them come together.

The charm on this book was a pour paint necklace that he wore.

The book itself is a planner from Hobby Lobby. I cut the painting off its frame and pieced a gold toned canvas together to cover the exterior.

The interior is covered in a red canvas he also had in his room.

Ryan’s life long friends gave me an entire folder filled with sketches and doodles he did over the decades while playing card games with them!

What a treasure!

Some I cut up to make a collage, others I used as backgrounds as is. And the rest I used as additions throughout the book. I included some condolence cards too, this page is made of a card from his friends’ mom.

It’s too bad my hand writing isn’t nice, but it was still very important to me to add stories, so I didn’t let it bother me.

On this page, I listed some of his favorite tv shows, that we’d watch together.

And I added a few on my own doodles too.

Now that it is done, I am wishing that I’d bought a bigger book to use. This is stuffed tightly, and I would’ve liked to add printed pages from my blog about Ryan. There is no space left in this book.

I will keep this book by my favorite chair.

There is no recovery from a loss like this.

But there is comfort in reminiscing, and in memories.

Working on this album was healing for me.

And I’ll be glad to keep it nearby.

Fairy Family Fun

celebrations, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / January 3, 2021

Katie Tree’s wing making idea was just plain brilliant for our family’s holiday.

The crafting started on the Winter Solstice and we had a tasty Ramen take out meal, so no one would have to stop to cook.

That part was MY brilliant idea. Not cooking? Yay!

I knew we would need extra time to create these flights of fancy.

What I didn’t know, was that her gift to the family of wing making supplies would turn into a full week of working on these off and on together.

It was an actual gift that just kept on giving.

We had bonus craft dates while the project continued, and everyone was in and out of the studio til New Years.

I went from crying at the grocery store over trying to plan a minimal Christmas, without both of my boys and missing one girl to rejoicing over the surprise of Adam and Dewdrop showing up, and then having a house and studio full of family fun for days on end.

Right up til New Year’s Day, when we had a fairy dress up party together.

And of course, the newest family member, little Molly, got a set of wings to wear to the party too.

We only had a couple of precious days with my boy, but he left Dewdrop with us for a week.

My kind hearted husband offered to drive her halfway home to North Carolina and meet up with her dad for the drop off. Instead of tagging along, I am spending time undecking the halls and editing fairy party pics.

Ha, who am I kidding? So far, I have just sat and edited pretty pictures, played with pups, and snacked on leftovers. (Pumpkin pie cake makes an ideal breakfast)

I have a book that is calling out to me, but I’m resisting, and gearing myself up for the tree tear down.

I shouldn’t be procrastinating, the chore won’t be hard. I kept the decor soooo simple this year, there isn’t much to take down.

I plan on leaving up the lights and frosty leaf garlands over the windows for adding some sparkle to a cold January.

This Christmas certainly was an unexpected joy in a dark, sad year.

I will be savoring the memories as I tuck away the trees.

Well, actually as I shove trees into the closet and do my best to shut the door.

Thank you, Katie, for such a fun project!

I think we need to plan a spring time, Fairy Tea Party for more dress up fun.

Winging away from 2020

celebrations, fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2021

The construction part of my wings is completed. I think I’d like to add dangling ribbons and flowers to the center.

I have Katie Tree to thank, not only for the group project itself, but for actually helping me craft mine. The heavy duty wire was hard for me to bend, and she twisted the main shape with her strong, aerialist’s hands.
I used smaller wires to make the embellishments, then wrapped it in glitter ribbon.

Mine are on a smaller scale than the rest of the family. Some are quite large, all are turning out to be magnificent.

This is actually two sets, a mini that Thia practiced on before finishing her grand scale set. They can be used separately or together.

The black on mine is more glitter ribbon wrapped around the wire. After doing it, I wondered if it was a good idea?

I like the look for when the wings are hanging on the walls, but when I wear them, will I seem to have antenna jutting out from between my shoulder blades? When I am all fairied up, I’d like to be correct in my Fay anatomy.

This is the first year that I haven’t done a year end, sum up type post. With all that happened in 2020, it didn’t sound fun to sum up.

Instead, I’ll look forward to soaring away from last year and looking only to the future.

The handmade wings felt like a much better way to begin 2021 than a look back on the sadness of 2020.

Thank you for the Solstice Wing party, Katie Tree!

celebrations, fairies, family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 23, 2020

Katie Tree brought over all the supplies we needed to create fantasy fairy wings to wear for winter solstice.

The rest of the family was making life size wings, but I wanted to check out the materials and get a feel for how they went together so I made a few smaller ones to put on our naked, untrimmed Christmas tree.
I am glad I tried it out on a smaller scale first, I got to know how to work with the supplies. I gave one set to Sugarwings to destroy with the lighter and heat gun, which she enjoyed doing and which showed us just how much heat was too much.

While I was just “winging it” with quick twists of wire, everyone else was on track to craft works of art.

They each drew a pattern into cardboard, and traced it with wire. And yes, elf ears were provided as an essential part of making the wings.

When my husband heard about family wing night, he was pretty excited til he realized that a bunch of vegans and vegetarians were actually coming over to make cellophane wings, not chicken wings.

They are all turning out wonderfully, so I think I will have to whip up a pair for myself too. Plus, with the giant wingspan, they are perfect for marking your territory for social distancing!

Once the wire is ready, you lay the piece onto cellophane and use spray adhesive to attach it on both sides, press it into place, let dry, trim away excess, then melt with the heat gun for a tight fit.

I learned with the mini practice wings that too much glue or too much heat could cause them to turn opaque. And getting too close with the heat melted holes into them.

Once they are done, I’ll get the girls to model the finished product, photos coming soon!

I also made one set of wings, inspired by the angels on Victorian Christmas cards.

Hooked on gingerbread houses

celebrations, cottage, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 20, 2020

After having so much fun making wooden birdhouses into gingerbread, I just had to make more.

Of course, I tend to go all in with a new craft and flood the market with my creations. But this year, I was making them just for us, so reigned myself back just a little.

And after a decade of making real gingerbread houses that looked like a toddler had done the work, I was excited to be working on one with paint instead of icing. Puffy paint, meant for tee shirts is so much easier to use than those plastic bags of icing that come with the house kits.

Since I was using wood and chipboard, I thought it was important to use cookie colored paint, as much as I like pastels, I wanted it to look as realistic as it could. Plus the village was going into our Cocoa Corner, where our colors were more traditional than my other holiday decor.

Sugarwings has a couple to finish too, and they will be squeezed in when done. There is always room for more!

We have already had to shuffle the area around a little. At first, we were using our tea party cups from Sugarwings’ other grandma who passed away. But with the giant, cocoa bombs we made, we figured we had to get some bigger mugs, so switched the dainty cups for hefty, Santa mugs.

The largest, chipboard house is ideal storage for a ziplock baggie of cocoa bombs. The roof comes off, like a lid and there is plenty of space inside.

When we are ready for our cocoa parties, my grand fairy comes to this buffet to gather up all the supplies and set the table. We have some very strict guidelines for drinking hot chocolate, first and foremost-

Cocoa parties can only occur in front of a lit Christmas tree!

A few more rules-

Tea party rules apply: polite chitchat, best manners, etc.

Watching Christmas shows on the TV while drinking cocoa is encouraged.

The table must have a cloth on it and napkins can be paper, but must be pretty.

Santa hats or antlers need to be on your head.

A Forever Gingerbread House

celebrations, family, Hand painted, holiday decor, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / December 13, 2020

One of our favorite holiday traditions is making gingerbread houses.

This started way back, when Sugarwings was even younger than in this photo. She would have a house that was a work in progress for a month or so, adding to it as a craft project for the whole holiday season.

We never ate any of the candy, and were adamant about calling the goodies “decorations” never candy. We saved them up and used them year to year, those candy pieces that come with the packaged houses do not rot. And I even wonder if they are edible anyway?

When Dewdrop came along, she joined in too with her own house. But learning about not eating the decorations was hard for her. We were constantly hollering, “That is older than you are!”

In the last few years with the addition of new grand fairies joining the group, we have turned Ginger Bread Night into a family event and I started stocking up on clearance priced kits at the end of the year. We still call out,

“Those decorations are older than Mayara!”

Because some of those gumdrops are honestly from ten years ago. No one is seriously tempted to eat them we just enjoy saying it.

When Ryan finally switched to a job where he could be around in the evenings, I discovered that he had an obsession with holiday baking shows and the Gingerbread wars were his favorite. We watched them together and would plan our own super structures. (They still turned out like badly done kits, which is what they were, but we loved dreaming that we could accomplish artistry.)

Sugarwings and I decided to build a gingerbread village from wooden birdhouses in honor of her uncle, who loved the creations so much.

I used some metal pieces painted white and buttons on mine.

The icing is puffy paint and glitter.

While mine is still not equal to the mastery of the shows Ryan and I watched together, I think that I do much better with paint than with royal icing.

And it had been awhile since I shared studio space with this kid. She is now a teen who doesn’t appreciate being photographed while trying to concentrate, so don’t judge the grumpy face pictured here. We had a great day together and look forward to making the rest of our village.

A place to hold hands and reminisce for our 35th anniversary

celebrations, cottage, flowers, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / August 9, 2020

For our 35th anniversary on Monday, I wanted to find a meaningful gift for my husband.

Since Ryan died, we have spent a lot of time sitting in our gazebo, listening to the wind chimes and thinking about our boy.

We watch the chickens play in the sprinkler, talk to the dogs, and hold hands. It has become our place to remember Ryan, and to be together.
Oh, and drink some wine, too.

So when it came to picking out a gift, I figured that a matching set of cozy rockers to sit in together would be ideal. I searched online for something just right and wasn’t having the best of luck. Then, I saw this set (on clearance, too) at TJMax and knew they were just what I had been looking for.

When we remodeled Ryan’s apartment for his 40th birthday, he chose everything in the rooms, and had gone with a lot of grays in a kind of modern, farmhouse style (he watched a lot of TV decorating shows for ideas).

These rocking chairs would look equally good with Ryan’s color scheme as they do in our garden.

I think he would approve of them.

Once I set them in the spot, I realized that rocks aren’t great for rockers… so I went back online and found a matching, outdoor rug. From Walmart, and it seems to be of a nice quality and looks pretty good there.

It is a peaceful place that has become very special to us. I can see us sitting there together, holding hands and reminiscing throughout our next 35 years with each other.

Looking back and finding joy

celebrations, Corona virus, family, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2020

The last few days, I have looked back through my entire blog. I have never re-read it before, except in bits and pieces. (And it did take DAYS). I had hoped to find photos of Ry that I didn’t have saved in my computer, and I got lucky and found quite a few.

Often, they were like this one, big family shots with Ryan as part of the background.

Or this, where he is helping with a chore around the yard. Ryan was often part of the background, or working.

But then, jackpot! Here he is showing the pure jolt of joy and happiness that he never held back on when he was excited.

Looking back through 13 years of blogging, I saw so many blessings in my life.

Some things long forgotten, others a deep part of me. Tough times have come and gone, but through this journal that I have faithfully kept, I can see how lucky I have been over the years. (I also saw some some really cool things that I am kicking myself for selling.)

We are all going through an unprecedented rough time right now with the virus raging on and taking away so much from us.

Maybe we all need a look back at the past to remember our blessings to hold onto them in our hearts, to get through what we are dealing with in the present.

My heart is forever damaged with my boy gone, but having happy times past and future to keep in my thoughts does help.

I had began with recent posts and scrolled backwards, diligently staring through all the photos, occasionally reading something that would make me grin. When I’d find a picture of my son, sometimes there were tears, but more often, smiles.

Coming across the photo of Ryan showing pure joy near the very beginning of my writings, after a few days of flipping through pages of millinery, smiling babies, painted roses, beaches, sisters, adventures with friends, circus, travels with Rich, and other Good Stuff, was like finding the golden ticket in a chocolate bar.

Yes, I have been lucky in my life. I had not only all of those wonderful experiences, I had this moment with Ryan. When he was so happy, he leapt into the air like a kid.

Those are the moments we need to hold onto. With those, will get through this.