family – Page 29 – Karla's Cottage

Randy the Pet Bulter

By Karla Nathan / June 4, 2017

Deciding to have pups is a major commitment of time. We had a window of time where we had no travel plans, the weather was warm, and it was ideal for babies, and we decided to go for it.

Then, my son and his Sacred Circus family were asked to perform at a big music fest, right after one of my faves, Steve Miller!

So, what do you do, when you are knee deep in fur babies that need constant care, but your human baby has a big deal show that you HAVE to see?

You call the Pet Butler!

I knew the babies would be in better hands with him than just about anyone else, including myself. He was great, just as I expected. We had some airline points, so flew him up from Florida and we were free to attend the concert with no worries.

(Although, we should have been worried about weather, storms canceled the show and we arrived at the tail end of a huge storm, that turned into a constant drizzle for the rest of the night)

All of the puppies were in good hands while we were gone, and Guncle Randy stayed on a few days for some fun time too. Although, he was still mopping up after, cuddling, and feeding puppeesh even though he was no longer on the clock.

We had time with grand fairies, and got in lots of studio time too. A perfect visit.

I always love it when my baby bro comes to craft and hang out, but everything is even better with puppies.

My Own Birthday fun

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / May 28, 2017

This year, I had quite a birthday. It was such a jam packed week of celebrating, that I've probably used up my quota of birthday fun for the next few years. Seems like there was one special thing after another, it was really something. If my birthday gets forgotten in the future, that is just fine because I got more than my fair share of celebrating this May!

Caike baked a white chocolate flourless cake, Thia made a sculptured edible rose to go on top of it. My husband's boss sent flowers! Honey had puppies. The whole family came over and Adam treated me to a wonderful shrimp and pasta dinner that I didn't have to help cook., then he gave me some new paint brushes too.

Some dear Birdsong friends took me out to lunch, cupcakes, and shopping, Tami even made this necklace for me. (notice the little birdie?)

My friend, Shanna, made a fairy garden, and sweet treats for her craft day party. Earlier in the week, a group of friends had me over for a dinner party. Ryan took me out for pizza another night. the little grand fairies and I went out to the T Rex cafe for a big meal to make use of the $25 gift card that the Landry's club gives on every birthday if you sign up for a membership, and I bought myself a tee shirt with the $10 that Kohls gives out on birthdays. I still have a free popcorn coming from the movie theater and I will not let that go to waste.

Cards came in the mail, too.

From the family, I got the mixer I'd been wanting for years and years.

I was kind of overwhelmed by it all. Yep, it was the best!

Cyclone

family, Sacred Circus

By Karla Nathan / May 24, 2017

Our girls were in a wonderful show recently, based on Oz, and titled Cyclone. Avahni was a Poppy.

Kia was a flying monkey.

They are part of an ariel troupe in KC, this is the first performance of it that I've seen, and I was impressed by the quality and professionalism.

And of course, I'm always smitten by any version of Dorothy's story.

And doubly smitten by my flying fairies.

Especially when I get to have the littlest fairies on my lap while watching the show.

Portraits from the past, thinking about Mother’s Day

family, paintings, puppies!

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2017

I used to do a lot of portrait sketches. This was one of the very first ones, a charcoal pencil drawing of my grandma (Dad's mom) when I was 16.

These are colored pencil from a few years after the first. My other Grandma and my Mom. All of these pictures are on a shelf hanging in the stairway landing, in a grouping with other family pictures.

This shot from my wedding is one of my faves, it is the only picture I have of my mom and grandma together (along with my sisters and I).

The wall is a mix of paintings, drawings, and photos. None of the art is all that great, but it is sentimental to me. This watercolor is of a photo of my husband's grandma, Gladys, with one of her quilts behind it, and a gladiola in front.

The area is a quiet corner of our home, we rarely use the upstairs unless we have guests, or the grand fairies are sleeping up there. So, the mix of portraits aren't a focal point in our cottage, some of the frames are cheap and cheesy, like the one from the 80s on the drawing of my grandma, but the collection means a lot to me.

I take time to stop and look, sometimes will go upstairs just to think about the pictures and the people in them. Especially on Mother's Day.

Speaking of mothers- I can't leave you without pics of Honey and her pups, can I?

And of Twinkle, who has had her own share of puppies, wishes these babies were hers.

Mother’s Day

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2017

Our Mother's Day was a full one, with a cottage brimming with loved ones.

Miss Tree's mom, aunt, grandma, and dad, along with my husband's brother and many of his family joined our regular bunch of kids and grand fairies, for a pretty, spring day to hold puppies and feast on a big Mother's Day lunch.

I don't think those pups were in their nest for more than time to nurse, throughout the day.

Before everyone arrived, Sugarwings whispered an idea in PopPop's ear- they should mow the word,"MOM" into the field.

The O was even a heart!

Sweet, huh? I hope your day was special too.

Rainforest fairies

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / April 17, 2017

The origin of our trip to Florida was to drop off Dewdrop to her mommy for Spring break. It grew from there, with heading to Disney for a couple of days, to my husband and Sugarwings both joining me while I waited for the week to end and to pick up our littlest fairy after her visit.

My husband travels a lot for business, and his points on Southwest add up fast. So, with the flying part free for all of us, we decided to make a special 10 days of Florida fun out of the trip.

I'd hoped to spend more time with our Gypsy, who now lives in Sarasota, but ended up getting some sort of bug while there, and having kind of a laid back trip while at the beach. We met up at Disney, and I arranged for her to spend a day there with her little one, then had another day together at the Botanical Garden.

Which was filled with laughs.

And rainbows.

Even though I was feeling a bit peaked, (and looked it) it was good to hang out with someone special that I see rarely.

And to see our littlest fairy so happy to be in her mommy's arms.

There is a fantastic, kids' area there, with drums and chimes to play, trees to climb, dress up things, swings, and a rope bridge.

Along with the gorgeous gardens and statues, that all made it an ideal spot to spend an afternoon.

There were pretty paths, benches in the shade, and a view of the bay. Plus a cute, little French Bistro with an outdoor seating area.

A beautiful day with beautiful company!

The Phantom and the Pirate

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / March 25, 2017

My life growing up in Indiana wasn't one where I was exposed to Broadway plays. I was 40 before I saw my first one, and it was The Phantom of the Opera, at a beautiful theater in San Fransisco. From that I was hooked, and I've seen a lot of other plays and that same show in St. Louis, NY, and now in Kansas City with my girls.

Sugarwings and her big sis, Avahni, the circus star, both love listening to the Phantom sound track and wanted to see the show as much as I did.

It makes me very happy to know that these kids are growing up with a head start on appreciating culture. I hope they are beginning a lifetime love of attending theater, and I'm glad to have a part in developing a love of theater.

We all got dressed up for a big Sunday afternoon out on the town. It was such a special event, that I even wore my Great Aunt Caroline's pearls. If any occasion called for wearing my best jewelry, this was it!

And Sugarwings looked lovely with her glittered hair style.

Dewdrop is not fond of plays like the rest of us. She was a bit too young for this particular play anyway, she stayed home with her daddy.

She didn't care for the local plays (Cinderella and Rudolf) that I took her to over the holidays, asking to skip on Peter Pan, so I gave her ticket to a friend.

I 'm taking a step back, and not forcing anything on her. I will give her some time and see if she'd like to try again when she is older. Making her sit still through a show she doesn't want to watch is not the way to get her excited about going with us.

Maybe next year, she will be more interested in attending.

For this trip, I splurged on seats under the chandelier. Every time I have seen this show, I've been way, way up in the cheap seats and thought to myself how cool it would be to be in the front for that dramatic moment when the chandy drops.

And it was certainly worth it!

Please keep checking back, I do have new stories pre-posted for you to read while I am away. Also, any orders from the Boutique will be shipped on March 28th. Thanks for your patience!

A shell fairy and a beach to “tide” us over

family, sea shell fairies

By Karla Nathan / March 20, 2017

In February, we had a benevolent blast of early spring. So Gorgeous (with a capital G) that we had to spend the weekend outdoors. I cleaned the winter buildup of dust, dog hair, and detritus from my car, used a leaf blower to clear out the garage, and spruced up the yard a bit. Besides getting an early jump on spring chores, we also took a break and went to Clinton Lake to walk on the trails.

We walked thru a little bit of woods and got to the hill that over looks the lake. Normally, there is a limited muddy area by the water, but at this visit, the water was low and we had a wide expanse of beach to wander on. I'd told the girls that it was still February, and the water would be icy, and we didn't have dry clothes or towels with us.

They didn't care! The sun and the water were too much for us. We switched our walk from the woods to the shore, then it gradually became a wading, not a walking adventure.

The dogs kinda liked it too. And my grand fairies found a shell for me to use as wings for a sprite made of rocks.

We can't get enough of beaches in our lives and are going to be back in Florida for spring break (this post was written earlier and we are most likely on the white sand as this story pops up). Clinton Lake rarely offers a beach walk, and we don't get out there much in the winter anyway. What a lucky break in the typical Kansas weather! This much needed escape from winter was almost as good as a trip to the Gulf.

Well, almost.

But not quite. I'm thrilled to be taking the littles with me to Siesta Key again. And I'm sure I'll have plenty of beach photos from our adventure there too. (please excuse these small pics, I didn't have a camera with me, and was using my husband's phone. When I sent the pictures to myself, they became compressed)

Please keep checking back, I do have new stories pre-posted for you to read while I am away. Also, any orders from the Boutique will be shipped on March 28th. Thanks for your patience!

Aerial Twister

family, Sacred Circus

By Karla Nathan / March 8, 2017

The circus apparatus in our house gets a lot of use, more than I ever thought it would. I wondered when we added it, if it would be an eyesore. But it ties back tidily when not in use, and is not problem. It also has been rarely tied back, because we had the whole family living with us for a couple of months when they were home shopping.

So, there was always one grand daughter or another swinging from the ceiling. I even used the silks for some aerial yoga to strengthen my bad back. And it was helpful.

The family has since moved out into a home of their own, and my house seems pretty quiet. I miss days like this when the girls were making up their own version of Twister.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

celebrations, family, holiday decor, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 14, 2017

This is one of my favorite days of the year! It is also the anniversary of the day my husband adopted our boys, so we have made this an anniversary celebration with gifts and parties, instead of the traditional romantic day you'd expect.

This year, between the work schedules of our group, Sunday night was the time everyone was free for the bash. (hmmm, maybe I'll get a chance for a traditional, wooing type Valentine night since our family gathering was earlier?)

At first we were worried that we'd have to cancel, because Dewdrop had been sick. She felt better that day, but was still spotty from a rash.

We kept her busy making Valentine cards and decorations all day while watching movies and resting. She was up for the party and ready to celebrate when dinner time came.

She did have to sit out on the food prep, tho.

Sugarwings made the sliced tomato and mandarin oranges hearts for our salads. She was also in charge of table setting and decor.

After my mistake of over doing at Christmas time, I was smart enough to cook the day before for this party. I'd made a bunch of lasagnas, vegetarian, vegan, and less veggie for the little kids.

That way, I could just pop them into the oven, no worries, no work. I was able to enjoy the day with the kids, being crafty and hanging out. And I wasn't frazzled when it was time to sit down and enjoy the meal together.

We even had time to plan a surprise for the family. I climbed up on the arm of the sofa, and Sugarwings passed handfuls of confetti to me to put onto the ceiling fan blades. The girls were also kind enough to share some of their lace paper doily hearts from the craft supply box.

After dinner, before cake and gifts, everyone gathered in a circle to hold hands and sing "Family Together", a song my husband and the kids made up. I made an excuse to go hit the switch and the confetti floated down on the singers.

If I had it to do over again, I'd use much, much more confetti. But this is one of those things that would be hard to repeat. Everyone would see it coming and there couldn't be a big surprise again.

Unless I could fake out someone on a birthday, by having the blades loaded and casually saying something like, "would you please get that cup from the living room for me?" and hitting the switch as they walk under? Hmm, hope none of them read that….

It was all a big hoot, and if you watch the little video, you can see just how crazy and ramped up it made the kids much the kids loved the prank! It is posted on my FB page.

Best wishes for a fun Valentine to you too! From the little joys to the grand gestures, the sly smiles to the big grins, it's all about the love and about sharing that love with the ones you care about.

edit- I've added the video for you here: