family – Page 10 – Karla's Cottage

At the beach

By Karla Nathan / June 4, 2022

Last week, I spent five days at Indian Rocks with my sisters. We had very pleasant, although a bit windy, weather.

And lots of time to sit on the edge of the water and let our toes wiggle into the disappearing sand that washes out with the waves.

My niece was also visiting with her family, so we had good company to hang with. I actually had someone there who liked getting in the surf, and at the same time that the temperature was ideal for swimming! The only trouble was that my head is still wonky from Sugar plowing into me, and I didn’t want to jostle my brain by getting flipped around too much while wave jumping.

So I mostly just waded out into about waist deep water and made the big girl choice of not body surfing back in.

Ugh. Being practical and safe sucks.

Indian Rocks is relaxing, which is what I needed. My Dr. told me that I should be resting, so that is what I did. Most of the time, I was sitting on the beach or the balcony wearing dark glasses and not reading.

By mid week, I actually was feeling better. I still avoided going out much, and stayed in when others went out to eat a few times.

Typically, I walk for hours when in Florida, but this time, it was pretty low key, with shorter strolls. On one trip up the shore, I came across this dead bonnet head shark, about 2’ long. That was something I’ve never seen before. He looked about the way I felt, after dealing with weeks of concussion discomfort, fog, and kind of an overall flatness. I simply have not been myself.

Still, I did get out to explore the area, it wasn’t all droopiness and exhaustion. We went antiquing and exploring a couple times too. The beach we stayed at had a serious lack of shells.

I mean, sadly so. I am always glad to find broken bits to use in my sea shell fairies, but dang, this place mostly had shapeless crumbs.

So my sisters took me to Passé Grille beach after I did some research on nearby beaches to hunt shells on. You really can’t tell from this photo, but behind me are piles and piles of shells, like snowdrifts. We went to the tip of the island, which was rocky and excellent for catching all the ones that washed up.

Another morning, we played tourist at the Don Cesar. We have stayed there before, but it’s pretty pricey, so this time we were visitors, not guests. And you know what? That works out pretty well. Honestly, the rooms there, while being elegant, are too small. Renting a spacious condo, driving to and spending time walking through the Pink Palace, strolling their beach, then having some ice cream is a better way to go for us.

We were there before it got hot, then did some antiquing after.

Shelling wasn’t great, but better than Indian Rocks, (which could be said about any beach because Indian Rocks is about as bad as it gets). I found enough to make a heart for Ryan.

It was the anniversary of his death.

I listened to his song and sprinkled a handful of ashes. I always take a little bag with me when I travel. I know, pretty weird, but Ryan was always such a good travel buddy. Funny, he hated, absolutely hated to travel, but when we made him go on family adventures he had the best attitude of anyone there and was helpful, thoughtful and fun to be with.

So I like to find a quiet spot, sprinkle some ash and tell him how much I’d have enjoyed having him with me.

Florida Friends

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 29, 2022

As we always do, we had a good time on our Florida Sister Trip.

We tend to meet interesting friends along the way.

We are people who stop the car to make use of the delightful props the state of Florida provides for us.

And this spot in St Pete next door to an antique mall was full of opportunities to mingle with the local critters.

We also gravitate toward parking lot signage.

By the look on this mermaid’s face, I’m not sure if she enjoyed meeting us as much as we did meeting her.

The ice cream store mermaids at John’s Pass are always happy to have us visit, though.

But I think my favorite new buddy is the 20’ tall flamingo at the Tampa airport.

Another redo for Ryan’s apartment

cottage, family, redos, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / May 11, 2022

For Ryan’s 40th birthday, he wanted his apartment fixed up. He chose the paint colors and flooring, we got light fixtures and ripped out his bathroom to replace the shower, toilet and sink.

There had been a kitchenette that he never used in the living room, so we pulled it out and covered up the plumbing hook ups.

After he died, we switched it up a little, and purchased a new bed, but mostly left it as it was. We just enhanced it and made it more fitting for a guest to stay in.

Then for various reasons, it was occupied by family members all between leases and waiting to move to their new places.

As they brought their belongings in and out, Ryan’s things got shifted and resettled, we gave his couch away to make space, finally took some things to goodwill, sent his gaming systems to others who might use them, and well, it just didn’t feel the same afterwards.
We used to go in there sometimes to feel close to him, and no longer could do that.

Now that it is empty again, I wanted to honor Ryan by using some things he cared about, but make the room even more functional as a guest room. Also, I got a new sofa in my own living room, and to save money, took my old one up to the apartment.

It’s a very different style than the previous couch. But I think it still works in the room.

Amazon had a stretchy, seat cushion cover that warmed up the white on white look, and I found some great pillow covers there too. And ticking striped curtains! I really liked those, and since the other ones had been attacked by kitties and had to go I had a good reason to splurge.

Hopefully, these additions make the couch less foofy/girly than it was when I had it covered in floral pillows for the last 15 years while using it in the cottage.

His coffee table needed the top repainted and I went with gray, but then didn’t like that with his Black and Tan rug, so I got this runner to tie in the colors better.

People were so generous with floral arrangements after he died. I’ve saved each vase and have been covering them in mosaic glass.

And while this sounds pretty silly when I tell you about it, it’s very meaningful to me. Ryan was always the first one up after every meal, clearing dishes, scraping the glass cook top with a razor and wiping out the microwave. He also used to hang out and chat while I did pour paintings, even though he didn’t make any himself (I wish I’d pushed him to try!)

So here is the silly part.

When our microwave needed replacing, I saved the glass tray, primed it, and made it into a painting. It is now a tray in his room.

Half of his space was set up as a home gym, which we took down because my husband already has a workout space in his office. To honor Ryan’s dedication and in apology to him for taking out the gym, I placed this stone that says “strength” on the microwave tray.

Its all just symbols, Those little things were not here when he was here. But they are chocked full of meaning to me, none the less.

Same with these two pictures. They were not his, but they remind me of Malarkey, the red bird that drove Ryan bananas by dive bombing the windows. That bird was a regular part of our conversations and Ry went back and forth between laughing about him and hating him.

I hung the vintage prints so the story will be a part of this room.

The area that held the gym, now has a table and chairs.

They also, have nothing to do with my son. But I painted them in the colors he chose when we redecorated the room on his birthday.

His guitar hangs on the wall. It has a pretty, mother of pearl inlay and he loved it.

There are so many changes to his space.

Just like there are so many other changes since he died. Things do continue to go on and to morph, don’t they? But the memories are there and the love is forever. While this room no longer looks like it did when he lived in it, to me, his light will always live on in there.

More fun from St Augustine and the Guncles

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Garden, guncles, Travel, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / April 2, 2022

Our five week, meandering trip included 2 single and one four day visit to Guncleland, where the family pitched in and rebuilt some of the fencing. While guys were busy sawing and hammering, I took some time to clean up the pathways, reset stepping stones, and spread mulch.

They replaced two gates and one length of fence, then added a privacy fence for trash cans and storage.

After a dozen years or so, the garden stones had all sunken down under the earth. So I un-earthed them and reset the pathways along one side of the house and the garbage can storage area too.

Which is where I found these! I felt like an archeologist, digging up ancient ruins. Apparently, they had been on the ground there, and like the stones, had worked their way deep down under the dirt.

But I preferred to think of them as from an earlier inhabitant of the land.

Our evenings were spent relaxing in the Guncles’ unique home with all eight of our combine canine family having some cousin time.

Oh and eating! There was lots of eating! That’s what you do when you go to Jax and visit the Gunks. They feed you endless, yummy, seafood. I thanked them with a pie.

But it wasn’t all manual labor and big meals. Randy and I took a mini road trip down to St Augustine to meet up with my sister, Bobbie who was visiting elsewhere in the state.

Where we met some interesting new friends.

In some cool places.

See what I mean? This steam punk store is a cool addition to George Street.

My favorite thing I saw downtown was this wallpaper in a shop.

Or was it this wallpaper?

No, my FAVORITE thing from the day was this. I love those two so much!

St Augustine Seashell Fairies and Gnomes

Dew Drop, dogs, fairies, family, Food and Drink, sea shell fairies, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 27, 2022

You have to love the beaches of St Augustine, and well, just everything about that city.

Technically, I guess it was Butler Beach, a tad south of town. The dogs needed to be on leashes, which wasn’t quite as much fun for them, but the place is soooo pretty, we adore being there.

Shelling for fairies wasn’t as easy as our previous stop, but I managed to wrangle a few sprites into shape to place on the beach our last day.

Tide was coming in soon after these were made. My husband asked to see the fairies, and as we walked over to them, they slipped out into the waves.

He said he’d always been confused by why I spend so much time hunting for the shells to make something that has no permanence, but now got it. That it was the joy of creation, not the creation itself. I don’t think those were his exact words, but it was a sweet conversation, however he phrased it.

It has been pointed out to me, that this gal has three boobs.

hmmm

Not what I was going for, but I sure see it now. I just thought it was a pretty gown with a ruffled bodice. Her striped socks are my favorite part, they look like pieces of the same shell but were found at opposite ends of the shoreline.

One thing I appreciate about this area is the long, flat stretches of sand. Ideal for walking. And there is a “road” along the back where you can drive, so we bring our truck with all of our paraphernalia for the day. We can easily haul a tent, chairs, and coolers to settle in and spend an afternoon.

And I have never seen it too busy. The weather wasn’t perfect, but even when it is, it hasn’t been crowded when we have visited.

After living in a 19’ RV with four dogs for a few weeks, we decided to find an Airbnb while our boy, Dewdrop, and her mother came to see us. It was sorta last minute, so we took what we could get. And we got pretty lucky with this spacious, new house.

I was sold when I saw photos of the fence. What a luxury to just open a door to let dogs out, after being in an RV park and needing leashes!

Oh, and the pool was a bonus.

I already mentioned that our weather was less than perfect, but the grand fairies still spent time out there. Then they’d run to the hot shower and I’d have warm towels waiting for them in the dryer. So the pool wasn’t wasted, even if we couldn’t enjoy it as much as we’d like.

Renting the house was a good move, I cannot imagine what our trip would’ve been like in hotels or another, smaller rental we’d looked at. This one had spacious areas and a covered porch. We sat on the patio while it rained to drink our coffee in the mornings, and it felt very vacationy.

The house was around the corner from some cool, but swampy walking trails. I doubt if I’d take dogs over there on warmer days when gators are active.

We were right down the street from the beach access too. Now, would I have preferred a home with the surf as a backyard?

Well, dur.

But- this one was close. We could zip down quickly between rain spurts if we wanted. And that fence for the dogs? Such a pleasant thing to have when you are crazy enough to travel for five weeks with four mutts.

Most of the trip, we avoided big crowds. Except that rainy Saturday when we, like the rest of the spring breakers thought they’d put on raincoats and go visit the historic downtown. But even then, we avoided the biggest rush of them by looking for a place to eat on side alleys, not the main road, George St. We also took a drive north to Vilano Beach to go to a place that didn’t have a two hour wait like most places in town. I guess I’ve spent enough time in the area to know the ins and outs and avoid the most touristy spots.

You never know when you plan a trip what weather you’ll get. All you can do is hope for the best and be flexible, look for fun where you can. We had planned a big day kayaking out on a crystal spring, but had to cancel. We even scoured the weather map looking for a break in the clouds within a couple hours of driving time.

Nope, no weather break for us. We hunkered down and made the most of our time.

Enjoyed the beach when we could, went to the seafood market and cooked, played games, and just enjoyed each other.

Fresh, local food to cook together, lots of long walks and giggles. It was a great visit, even if I was wearing a raincoat.

Gideon’s Bakeshop and a Jam Packed Disney day

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 20, 2022

We had a whirlwind trip through Orlando. No, more than that, it was like a Kansas tornado going through!

There wasn’t a lot of stopping to enjoy the flowers during our one day at the parks, but our evening before and morning after were pretty mellow.

The visit was a later add on to our trip, we had planned on being home about then. But, Sugarwings was starting spring break, and her dad offered to meet us in Florida, so we flew the grand fairy on their very first solo flight and met the brave kid (who did just fine) in Orlando.

And if you know me, you might have noticed there is something about Orlando that I just love. Yep, I indulged myself with a Disney visit. We camped at Ft Wilderness, on an off and on rainy couple of days. The temps were warm, and we had ponchos, plus the rain thins out crowds so we were just fine. The pool was practically empty, and not a single other person was in line at the food truck we went to.

Terry met us at Epcot and the frenzy began the next morning with an early entry for resort guests. And man, did we ever hit the ground running. We “rope dropped” (going to the most popular rides early before lines got to be hours long) then between Terry’s and my booking skills and Disney knowledge, we became power mad. Scheduling and layering ride reservations faster than a bluebird can find a Princess who just broke into song.

Seriously, we over did it. Our prowess in maneuvering ourselves out of standing in lines had us pushing ourselves to the limit to ride every single thing we could at Epcot then buy a park hopper pass over to Magic Kingdom.

Now, I am not saying I didn’t enjoy our adventure, it was amazing! But in retrospect, it might have been slightly crazy to start at 8 am and go to midnight, non stop.

We had a blast.

And we stopped when the kiddo wanted to, Terry and I enjoyed sitting while Sugarwings explored some areas. It wasn’t complete competition to set a record for most rides rode in one day. Terry hung in with us til evening, and I was skeptical about staying ourselves, we had a few moments of exhausted irritation, but we rallied, snacked, and kept rolling. I’m glad we did. Late nights at Magic Kingdom, when the crowds thin after the fireworks are pretty, well, magical.

There was very little shopping til the rides closed at 11pm, and stores stayed open til midnight. But we aren’t there for souvenirs.

(By the way, the two little buildings on each side of the castle, make for ideal photo ops)

Here is our breakdown:

Over 25 rides

Over 33,000 steps

16 hours

2 parks

And yes, I woke up slightly tired the next morning. But we had some time to spend between when we had to leave the campground, drive to St Augustine and check into our rental house.

Disney Springs has RV parking around back, and seemed like a good place to while away an hour or so.

It was still early, and Gideon’s Bakeshop was just opening, already with a 30 minute wait. Later it becomes so long that they take your name and call you back, sometimes hours later. Really? Hours to wait for a cookie?!

Oh, but it is quite wonderful inside.

Quite.

Since we avoided lines all day at the parks, I figured 30 minutes for a cookie wasn’t bad.

I would show you the cookies, but they were so good, they disappeared before I got a photo.

If you get a chance, you should get one. And one to share is probably plenty because they are 1lb each.

An AirBnB gone wrong, way wrong

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 20, 2022

We had plans for a Florida adventure, but hadn’t quite packed yet when our boy (in North Carolina) asked if we wanted to meet somewhere near Chattanooga on our way down.

Then we heard that a big snowstorm was headed toward Kansas, and we’d be dealing with that across a couple states as we drove. So, we threw whatever we could remember to take into the camper and snuck out before the roads got bad.

We found a “riverfront log cabin” online and made plans to meet our son.

Well, the first glimpse of the rundown neighborhood didn’t scare us too much, but maybe it should’ve?

The cabin itself was clean, had a place for the dogs to run, a view of the river, and a nice trail to walk on, so basically, it suited our purposes so I am not going to complain too much. For a spur of the moment find, and a bonus night with our son, we took what we could get.

But the place was weird and slightly creepy.

Like, why are there so many bolts on the door that had been repaired with duct tape?

And the disturbingly dark and dismal artwork.

These paintings could possibly have been cool in another setting, but man, they implied a sense of doom here.

The listing noted that there was a great showers with plenty of hot water. He neglected to say that the on demand hot water heater was the size of a laptop, and would go from boiling hot to icy cold in about one minute flat. If you could play a game of hopscotch in the shower, you could manage to dart in and out to catch the seconds when the temps were just right.

The owner also mentioned that we shouldn’t go in the “attic”. Don’t worry, mister, I was not tempted.

I was very, very concerned about that branch though…..

Was it a perch?

And for what?!?!?

Did I mention that this perch was over the bed? Did something LIVE in that attic and crawl out onto the branch to hang over us as we slept?

I can see this place as a fisherman’s camp, maybe. My husband didn’t think it was nearly as bad as I thought it was. (He is wrong, it was bad.)

The view was nice, but the riverbank was full of trash plus some unnerving abandoned homeless camps, so I was not all that comfortable going out at night to take the dogs out. And the porch had a motion detector light that only was set off coming up, not going down the steps. The side without a railing had a big drop off that you could not see in the blackness of night.

And did anyone live in that hornet’s nest?

That said, we had a great afternoon with our boy, and a wonderful hike on Lookout Mountain.

We had planned to stay two nights but just couldn’t. Plus it was going to rain and I could not picture myself stuck in that storage shed, I mean cabin, with four muddy dogs in a thunderstorm.

So we drove to Jax and the Guncles took us in. And while I always love staying with the Guncles, I appreciated their beautiful home and welcome even more than than ever!

Happy birthday, Mom

family, Hand painted

By Karla Nathan / February 16, 2022

In a recent post, I reminisced about my mom’s pie dough goodies. The same day that I was writing it, I cleaned out a closet and came across this dress that mom had made for me. She has been on my mind a lot lately, after finding this.

Well, she is often on my mind, just like Ryan. Sometimes the worst part about losing a person is not being able to let them about something that you know would’ve brought them a smile. And she really would’ve enjoyed hearing about me trying this on after years of it being tucked away.

Today would’ve been her birthday.

The dress was a collaboration. I hand painted some fabric with peachy irises and she stitched a full skirted dress from it.

The best part is this gorgeous, hand crafted belt. She even covered a buckle in the fabric. Seeing how pretty this is, really makes me miss having a waistline!

The dress itself has an elastic waist and still fits. But it isn’t the same without this lovely belt, which would need another a few more holes punched in it to fit.

Oooh, the buttons! All are vintage glass. Green like emeralds, my birthstone.

She could sew anything for me with just a description, no pattern. As a child, I used to point to outfits in a magazine and she’d whip them up, with Barbie clothes to match.

Sadly, I went through a snobbery stage as a teen and would not wear home sewn clothes. What a jerk!

But as I got older, I appreciated all of the sundresses, lined jackets, winter coats, and shorts she would make for me all through the 80s. Not to mention the clothes she made for my kids, and the quilts covering all of our beds. And the perfectly tailored slipcovers for my couch.

Her ability to create something beautiful and functional from rolls of fabric by designing her own patterns was quite a skill. The math that went into that, along with the vision is impressive.

Plus, I always knew that as she made a piece, she thought of the person it was for. I keep that in mind now myself, as I craft my own projects for people I care about. They are in my heart as I create for them.

As I know that I was in hers.

A new look for the office

cottage, dogs, family, paintings, redos

By Karla Nathan / January 24, 2022

We finished the transformation of Rich’s office. Well, almost. We need a different sofa.

And for right now, the little nook that he is using as a computer area is just a board screwed to the wall, not a desk or table.

The rest of the room is all done, and everyone is enjoying the pool/ping pong table.

Most of the workout equipment is in the spot where all of the file cabinets and desks used to be.

The treadmill is behind the seating area, facing the tv, and there is room for an exercise bike next to it.

The walls are freshly painted and patched.

I filled the knotholes in the barn wood window sills with turquoise chips and clear coated the wood. After years of sunshine pouring in, they were cracking and dull.

We added new blinds and lighting, my son replaced the flooring.

The newly framed “ancestor” pictures hang below a sign pulled from the wreckage of the gas station Rich’s grandfather owned.

Some of these family photos were updated and reframed. I still need to get a few others up there. I think I have room for four more, a smaller one on each side of the bottom and top rows.

I have wanted that carpet gone for years, and am very pleased with the new, cleaned up version of the room! All of the hard parts are done, now I get to go furniture shopping for a new couch.

In praise of gallery walls

cottage, family, flowers, Hand painted

By Karla Nathan / January 13, 2022

As an artist, I seem to have a proliferation of stuff to go on my walls. As a person who enjoys taking pictures, and has very cute grandfairies, I also want their photos up there too.

So, groupings are how I usually handle that. The trouble is, I hate to get rid of old pictures that I love, but new ones keep coming along. On this wall, I added a few of our family fairy pictures to the existing collection.

We are in the process of redoing Rich’s office. My talented son put this floor in over the holiday, and it has been a huge improvement over the old carpet.
Previously, Rich had a gallery wall of barn wood framed family photos that he wants back up again. While they are down, I’m sprucing them up and switching a few out. (Photos to come when the room is done.)

Then, he had another request.

He wants our parents and grandparents on display too.

It is sweet of him to want this, so I have been working on a display that complements the other family wall but doesn’t match it.

I’d had big plans for painting some large landscapes to hang up there (we are out of room everywhere else) but like I said, this is sweet of him to want. He also wants to hang work mementos that I thought would be leaving, so I guess I won’t be painting landscapes for the room.

Looks like I’ll be sticking to roses to hang elsewhere. He deserves a space that is just as he wants it, since he deals with my stuff running rampant through the rest of the house.

And I have learned that he has some good ideas, too. I hated the thought of getting this dining table, to replace my all white one, and now am happy to have it.

Rich had a favorite tree fall down, and wanted to keep a piece of it forever, so we had this made.

See what I mean? He is very sweet.