family – Page 33 – Karla's Cottage

A family painting day, and yes, yet another Art Journal

By Karla Nathan / January 26, 2016

Before I set off for Florida sunshine, the family came over to have a painting day in the studio. Miss Tree has a new nephew and her sister wanted a room full of paintings of trees done by her family. And I took advantage of having the paints out to do a little foxy picture for Guncle Randy.

My paints are typically packed away in the cabinet behind my workspace. Easy to get to, though seldom reached for. The times when I do unpack them, I wonder to myself why they aren't always out and ready.

I really do love to paint.

But somehow that gets away from me. I get involved with other things.

Like making books! I adore that too!!!!!!

Why can't studio days be longer? I could just bury myself out there in supplies and never come out. But, there just isn't enough time in the day to do all I want, or my house would crumble around me, my husband would go hungry, and grand fairies would miss out on snuggles.

So, I enjoy what time I do have, and make the most of it. I was happy to mingle the two genres, mixing making an art journal with a little painting.

And with collage. Another love.

Guncle Randy is a fan of foxes, so that is the theme of the book that I made to bring to him. Hopefully, we will have some craft time in his studio and I can watch him create on the pages inside of this book.

And I hope to have another family painting day in the studio to watch the creations filling the room. This is Kia's

And Miss Tree's tree painting got a palm tree with a lyria hanging from it. Kia drew the acrobat for her.

Avahni added the baby's name in stars.

And my son, who is so talented in so many ways, surprised me with yet another skill.

I had no idea he could paint. Nice, huh?

The little girls created piles and piles and piles of dripping, glittery, pink, gloppy painted slips of paper. And smiles. There were plenty of smiles. Too bad I forgot to put a card in my camera that day…

While I was away, my boy started this painting, done with layers of epoxy. It was a nice surprise to see it in the studio, and to know that he is exploring the world of painting. I think he has something going with this. It is a rich, deep shine, between each layer of paint. Hard to photograph, but it is really something pretty cool to see.

A colorful art journal

Books, family

By Karla Nathan / January 14, 2016

Thank you for all of the kind messages about my art journal post. Right now I am away for a bit, spending some time with Guncles, then with Terry. I'll be helping her with a writer's retreat, then exploring Disney with her. She is a long time season ticket holder and knows the parks inside and out. A day with her at the land of the mouse, is a true education in all things Disneyworld. I feel like I get all sorts of insider info on what to and how to explore and do in that magical place so that I know the shortcuts when I take grand fairies there. Plus, Terry is interesting and talented, we never run out of conversation

Since I am gone for a week or so, I thought I'd do some pre-posting. So, please come by to visit here while I am off visiting Florida. If you want to order something from the Boutique or the Etsy shop, it will be mailed on the 23rd.

This is another book that I made. It was for Sugarwing's mamma a while back. She loves sparkly and red, so it is a little different than what I make for myself and I had a good time playing with brighter colors. Although, I did add a pink plastic nurse to the front. It doesn't really match, but she is an RN and I thought it was a nice touch.

She is also a rainbow lover, so I drew a rainbow as background for this photo, and found some colorful trim to embellish the bottom of the page.

This is an all time favorite picture for me. And it was taken on a special day, when we went to the theater together for Xmas '14.

A layout doesn't have to be complicated to look nice. This is just sheet music, two strips of trim, a photo and a ticket stub.

This one is a simple page too. Inked sheet music, a photo, and washi tape.

For this page, I layered wallpaper scraps in colors that went with the sunflower photo, then cut petals from yellow scrapbook paper to create the flower.

The picture is outlined in red, to make it stand out a little bit.

Another, all time favorite photo! Sugarwings twirling her Dorothy skirt in the sunflowers!

Often, I use up little scraps of paper on my desk to make the backgrounds. This is ledger paper, an old page from a fairy tale book, and 2 kinds of washi tape. One photo was cut square, then outlined in the polka dot tape. The other had the person cut out to layer over the first picture.

Nope, I didn't add a silly sticker to her nose, she did that in real life. It was a silly moment.

It is nice to add memories to a page. The quote is from Dewdrop. Ghost and Giggles is a Halloween event we like to attend, and it has stuck in her mind as a fun, but spooky moment. When she wants to tell a dramatic story, it always begins with:

"Once upon ago, Ghost and Giggles ate a child"

There are phrases like that from kids that make up a whole vocabulary for a family, aren't there? And I hate it when they are lost and forgotten, so I like to write them in books to remember years later.

This seems to be an over the top, rainbow explosion of a page, huh? Well, as close as I could get. I think it would have been better to use a colorful ribbon instead of a lace tie on the envelope. Sometimes you look back at what you've made and see things you'd like to change, or do different next time. Oh well, we artists are nothing if not harsh critics of ourselves.

I try not to be. My steps to creating are:

1-use what I love

2-use the GOOD STUFF

3-enjoy what I do

And if I do that, I shouldn't feel too bad about little things that I got wrong, right?

Cirque de Lawrence

family

By Karla Nathan / January 8, 2016

Our small town has a circus school, and our Miss Tree teaches there. Her girls are star pupils and when there is a student performance, we are first in line to get tickets.

I've enjoyed every one that I've been to, but this latest was even better than before. It was such a professional production, and the costumes were gorgeous. I invited my pal, Beth to join me there, and told her that this wasn't like being drug to someone's kid's recital, this was a real SHOW. And it was.

My boy was the DJ and had some swinging, vintage style mixed music to keep the energy pumping.

There was contortion…

Lyra…

LED hoops…

Trapeze…

Silks…

And so much talent!

See what I mean? There were two nights of performances, and I could have used a few more nights of it, all were so good. Some of the contortion makes me turn my head, the drops from the silks make me gasp with fear, and there is never a dull moment. These performers were sharp, entertaining, and exciting.

And not just the ones that I happen to love…

The whole troupe was fun to watch. The theater that holds the event will be hosting it three times a year, if all works out as planned. Let me know if you want ticket info.

And maybe in the future, we will have more family members in the show?

I'll leave you with some highlights of the performances.

Under the Sea and still under the spell

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 5, 2016

I know it is the New Year (already???!!) Well, at least I am trying to convince myself that, yes, Christmas is over, 2016 has arrived, and it is time to get back to normal.

Hmmm, if I could just figure out what normal is.

Anyway, our holidays were so full that I still haven't run out of photos from them. And I am still basking in that holiday glow. Soooo, I'm indulging myself with yet another blog post of girls being excited by the Christmas extravaganza.

Last year, we started a tradition of seeing a play at the local theater as part of our month long party in honor of the holiday. The play in 2014 was Mary Poppins, and was cute as a bug.

This year, we got to see The Little Mermaid. It was spectacular! Yet one more reason that we are lucky to live in such a cool town with so many interesting things going on.

I'll leave you with some pics from the day, and I just might sneak in a few more of happy girls enjoying Christmas too. Because those are my favorite pictures of all.

Unless we are at a beach… I do love beaches. That sounds especially good right now when the temps are dropping in the midwest and things get icy.

But for now, Under the Sea is close enough to the beach for me.

A year in photos through my art journal

Books, celebrations, family, photography, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2016

What better way to look back over the past year than through photos?

I take pictures almost daily, and while many are blogged and I can look back at them that way, I still prefer having books to leaf through and enjoy.

Most of my favorite photos get pasted into one of my art journals. A physical copy of a photo is very meaningful. And I always worry that digital pictures are only a dirty, cruel virus, or a silly mistake away from disappearing forever.

Plus, it just feels good to look through a book of memories.

I include some artwork, and other tidbits. Like the schedule I printed for Birdsong last spring.

And a painting that I'd done years ago and found in the bottom of a drawer. (It is mounted on paper that was dyed when I used it as drainage for some other hand dyed project.)

My books are a little of this, a little of that, and a LOT of grand fairies.

Here, I saved the tiny paintings I made to create the buttons on my blog. Next to it, is Dewdrop, snuggling a kitty both on vintage papers and tied together with ruffled ribbon.

While my books are quite a hodge podge, I do try to have adjoining pages look nice together, either by theme or color.

And I like to have different sized or shaped photos to add.

Sometimes, one photo is all I'll put on a page.

Other times, I'll fill the page up.

Often, I'll add cards that I was given during the year, and have pictures inside the card to see when it is opened up too.

And I'll add danglies, I love danglies. This heart was a "to-from" tag off of a gift given to me by my sissy.

This is the picture inside the card, along with lace and old images.

Sometimes I'll use inks or paints behind the photos. And on this page, is a tag given to me at Birdsong.

On this page, I've cut the people out of the photos.

Here too.

And here.

Doodle pages always add interest.

Throughout the year, I'll toss little items I like into a journal box and save it up for a day when I feel like sitting down to make a page.

Not all pages are elaborate. This is torn pieces of old paper, with two photos on it. I've outlined the pictures with a marker.

But other times, I feel like doing more. Like these branches drawn onto the page and the "hinged" mat. When the mat opens up like a door, the branches are drawn underneath to continue on the full page too.

Some pages are just for fun. But they still hold memories for me.

Not only do I love having these completed books to linger over, and sometimes pass around at family gatherings, I dearly LOVE making them.

And they really are never quite finished. It isn't uncommon to go back and add a little charm or doodad years after the book was supposedly finished!

And they aren't usually chronological, either. This is a picture from the year before that slipped into this book.

The important part of the books I make, is the love that goes into them. Yea, I know very corny. But true. I adore working on them, and have to stop myself from obsessing over making journals.

I thought maybe my New Year's resolution should be to not spend soooo much time doing books, when I should be making things to sell….

Nope.

I'll still have these books to pass down to great grand fairies someday. But if I made something to sell instead, I'd have spent the money on some little token and it would be gone by then.

So, maybe my resolution should be to not beat myself up over the time I take away from work to make books for myself?

These do bring me a lot of joy. And I am such a workaholic, I get plenty of other stuff done too.

Sugarwings has started her own art journal, plus is kind enough to make things for me to add to mine. Maybe I'll resolve to help her get her own journal habit going more this year.

As far as resolutions, those aren't bad. They are probably pretty doable.

I don't take resolutions lightly. The list's improvements for the year ahead are something I think about and try to uphold.

Last year, I worked hard on being more patient, and nicer. I think that helped, and I stayed aware of the issues I had to deal with. By doing that, I think it honestly made a difference in my attitude.

Vowing to enjoy the work in front of me, and not being impatient with myself for making what I want to make instead of what I think I should make, kind of echoes last year's resolutions. It is me being patient with myself, and not annoyed. Last year, I vowed not to get so annoyed with others.

It worked.

And I felt the benefits of it, personally and emotionally. I guess anytime you work on being nicer to others, it comes back to being nicer to yourself too.

I think I'll also resolve not to keep apologizing for other people's perceived notions of what I meant when I said something as opposed to what I really meant.

That is a hard one.

All I can do is explain what I meant, apologize for possibly being misleading, but assure that person that I didn't mean it unkindly.

I can't be sorry for what someone THINKS that I thought if that is NOT what I thought, right?

Sounds simple, but this is a trap I've been caught in.

So, as long as I know my intentions are clear, I can't feel bad about how upset a person gets with me. I will do my best to be a nice guy, if another doesn't see that in me, then….. well, not my problem!

We can only control our own reactions, not other's reactions.

Ooh, that one really is hard.

So, here is my list for 2016:

1- Keep trying to be patient and kind, and be true to my own emotions, do not let others perceived notions effect me if they are not correct. Of course, part two of that means, looking deeply into part one to make sure that I have not been hurtful.

2- Enjoy the work in front of me, whether it is personal, or profitable. This kind of goes along with my life motto of "Use the Good Stuff"- if it is worth my time, it is worth using the best materials. The work is also worth using my best outlook too, right? If I'm going to do it, I'm going to let myself go, and let the guilt go too.

So, 2016 looks like a year with some effort ahead for me.

And some enjoyment.

I hope that your year holds some improvements, surprises, many blessings,and lots of enjoyable, creative moments.

Beautiful grand fairies and beautiful cloaks

fairies, family, paintings, sewing?, show and tell

By Karla Nathan / December 30, 2015

My sister-in-law, Terry is a talented person who is happy to share her skills. When I was admiring her work on the dozen or so costumes that she had whipped up for the Grand Masked Ball that she hosted on Halloween, she offered to make cloaks for all of my girls.

At the holidays, when you know how swamped everyone is.

So, the big girls and I, plus Sugarwings and Dewdrop spent some time finding just the right fabrics. That led to nice days out together and good bonding time. I was slightly overwhelmed by the sheer volume and weight of the fabrics (7-1/2 yards each of exterior and lining!!) for the teenager's capes and couldn't imagine trying to make them myself. But Terry is a pro and spent many happy hours creating costumes for her kids' high school plays (all the parts, not just her own children) and is an expert in this type of sewing.

The cloaks arrived in time for Christmas and were as pretty as can be.

They were the hit of the night when the boxes were opened on Christmas Eve.

Plus, they are plain old, ideal for swirling and twirling in.

And when you put one on, you feel mysterious and beautiful.

But what could I do as a thank you? I decided to do a Sugarplum Fairy painting of a sprite in a cape, and use Terry's own granddaughter as a model. That little one has hauntingly beautiful eyes!

Terry is a major art collector, she owns paintings from artists who hang in the National Gallery.

Yes, intimidating!

So, I kept it simple and turned my whimsical, little piece into an ornament. I had a vintage picture with a domed glass and thought that would work well to turn into something to hang on a tree.

I did a small painting, cut it out, glued it onto chipboard covered in gold paper with a glittered snowflake added to the background for dimension. Then, I frosted the "fur" with mica flakes, and the wings with fine, crystal glitter. With the domed glass, I had space to add a nice, sparkling rhinestone to the magic wand.

The same gold paper is on the back, and the edges are glued shut and sealed with glitter velvet ribbon. The same ribbon is looped as a hanger and secured with a bit of flocked gold paper. (the glue is still wet and showing in this picture, oops!)

Before putting the original painting in the frame, I scanned it to make a few Christmas cards, and this piece for my own tree.

For now, it is tucked into a feather wreath that is hanging on the mirror.

I know that Christmas is over and I should be dismantling all of the decor…. but I'm just not ready to let go yet, are you?

Cupcakes and Cacao Torte with spinning flames

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

By Karla Nathan / December 12, 2015

Birthdays are considered a BIG DEAL at our house. Dewdrop spent hers with her mommy, but we threw her a party when she came back to Kansas and had plenty of celebrating with her here.

You can't have too many birthday parties, can you?

We had three birthdays to enjoy, and threw two parties for them. One out to dinner for Italian food, and the next night, a family dinner at home with a crock pot full of veggie soup.

And cupcakes decorated by grandfairies.

The other two celebrating their birthdays wanted a more grown up cake, so I made a flourless chocolate torte with cacao powder.

That cake was a better size to use for the light up, spinning, and singing candle than the cupcakes were.

But it didn't sing! Dang it! Last one I bought was a lot of fun, this one was a bit of a dud and also scared Dewdrop.

The flames were a little overwhelming, without the Happy Birthday song that is supposed to be a part of the act.

But not too scary. She was pretty happy once it was time to bite into her custom cupcake.

But at a $5.99 price tag for the big, flame throwing, spinning, wonderland of a candle that wouldn't play the song, I think I'll take it back to the store for a refund. Or exchange.

We are tickled pink to have our tiny, Arabella Cinderella back for the holidays. There have been lots of kisses and hugs, big smiles, then more hugs. Dewdrop was missed.

She has been keeping me company out in the studio where we have had a few parades with her as Frosty the Snowgirl. Yep, that girl is a lot of fun.

Here is how I made the torte:

stir 3/4 cup raw cacao powder (more nutritious and stronger than cocoa)
into one stick of melted butter
add 1 cup organic sugar and 4 egg yolks
In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg whites, when foamy, add in 1/4 cup of sugar and the scraped seeds from one vanilla bean.
Beat the egg whites till almost into peaks, but not as long as you would for meringue, you don't need stiff peaks.
Fold the two mixtures together, gently

Pour into 8" pan and bake for about 45 minutes at 300 (I don't have a springform pan, I use Grandma Nathan's old cake pan, but I think a spring form is called for)

And here are a couple of banners that I've added to the Boutique.

Our first cocoa party of the season

family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / December 5, 2015

While plotting our holiday decor, Sugarwings and I also daydreamed of our first cocoa party of the year. Traditionally, we wait til the tree is lit.

We really wanted a cup during Thanksgiving week, but we remembered our rally cry of "Respect the Turkey" and held off on our Christmas fun till after the bird was gone and that holiday was over.

This year, we had the added bonus of a great-grandmother guest. Which made the party even more special.

The important part of the party isn't the cocoa, although that stuff is durn tasty.

It is the ceremony. And making it all very special by using good dishes (whether they match or not) and good manners.

I found this glittered,snowflake chiffon to drape the grand fairies' chairs (Dewdrop will be back with us SOON), and we thought that added a nice touch to the festivities.

The lights are turned off, and we dine by the twinkling tree lights. Warmed milk is served in a teapot, and silver tongs are used to pluck marshmallows from a rose patterned bowl.

A crystal dish holds a few Ghirardelli chocolate chips, and a sundae cup is just right for our candy canes that we use to stir the cocoa with.

Sometimes we set a small table up in front of a Christmas special on TV, or by the girls' tiny, pink tree. We change out the goodies we serve, too.

But the JOY never changes. These are the moments that last forever.

A Happy Thanksgiving

family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / November 28, 2015

We had a happy day for Thanksgiving. A houseful of people, laughing and eating, sipping sparkling cider mimosas (which might explain the laughter), what more can you ask for?

I'm slightly hooked on making these pie crust leaves. It was so much fun, that I added them not only to the pies but to the veggie spirals. And made a turkey from pie crust too.

The spirals would be easier to make if I had a mandolin to slice the veggies. I ended up using a potato peeler and don't recommend that one little bit!

If the golden beets, rainbow carrots, and squash are sliced in an easier way, these are simple to make. But if you are fighting a potato peeler, forget it! To make them, slice up your colorful vegetables. Fill a pie pan with crust or puff pastry, either is tasty. Next, spread cream cheese or ricotta lightly across the bottom of the crust to create a glue to hold the spirals. Sprinkle that with your favorite seasonings. Then, start rolling up selections of pretty colored slices, stick them into your cheesey glue, and fill the pan with twirlies.

Sprinkle the top with more spices, and drizzle with vegetable broth.

Bake til golden brown.

Another nice thing about our holiday was all the help. Not only with washing up, but with the prep. With 22 people to feed, it was good to have others bake up their specialities to bring.

Tree made organic green bean casserole with fresh beans.

Mommo made squash casserole.

Sharon brought sweet potato casserole and a cheesy spinach casserole.

Brooke whipped up creamed corn crock pot casserole.

Thanksgiving is the day for never ending casseroles, isn't it? YUM!

Our Hippy Chick brought veggie stuffing and pies. Sharon also made cranberry sauce and appetizers, Cole baked German Chocolate Cake. I made a TWENTY FIVE POUND turkey, which was way too much, considering how many vegetarians we had with us that day.

My sister had a good idea, she said she likes to bake the bird the day before, debone it, and then rewarm it in the crock pot for the gathering. And wow, was she right! That saved so much time, and the turkey was as tender and juicy as it could ever be.

I also made veggie pies, mac and cheese with lobster and broccoli, and homemade rolls with chia seeds and flax, mushrooms stuffed with parmesan fresh kale and spinach, vegetarian gravy with dairy free mashed potatoes as well as turkey gravy with regular mashers.

This was all way, way too much food. Especially with the appetizers of baked rosemary brie, smoked salmon and cranberry bruschettas. Seriously, I'm still full.

But the very best part? Seeing Sugarwings and Pixie Pie together again. Those two were BFFs for the first few years of their lives, it was great to see them reunited and having happy cousin time together.

They created crowns, played dress up, and played the day away.

Before Pixie Pie had to head back north to South Dakota with her family, she came back over to help decorate Christmas trees. It was hard to say goodbye, and we were so glad to have had some time with her again.

We were also glad to have Mommo here from North Carolina. When a family is spread out as far as ours is, it's extra special when we get holidays with far away loved ones.

Vacation art journal pages

Books, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 17, 2015

In my last post, I mentioned my journal obsession. I took two with me on my sister trip and worked on them in front of the view of the ocean. One was a family journal, the other was my travel one. I did as much as I could with instant photos, drawings, doodles, and memorabilia while on the trip, and then finished with printed photos of our time there once I got home.

It helps me to do my "doodle pages" while there, for one thing because I like drawing while we sit and talk and watch the waves. For another, it helps me remember funny little things that happen and write them down.

GEEZER ALERT-I'M GOING TO SOUND CRANKY NOW:

"My Pleasure" was a phrase we all decided we liked. While staying at a fancy hotel, we noticed that employees don't use the annoying term, "no problem" when you say thank you to them. They respond, "my pleasure" or even the good old fashioned, "you're welcome." Which I rarely hear anywhere any more.

We went out for lunch one day, a treat from my husband, and we sent him a text to thank him. He responded "my pleasure" not knowing that was just what we had been talking about.

This silly doodle page is from our Great Flamingo Hunt.

At least that is what it was in my mind.

I saw bright pink birds fly across our beach and Bobbie loves flamingos, so we raced outside to get photos. When we got close we were trying to be sneaky, and I imagined hearing Elmer Fudd singsong "Kill the Wabbitt, Kill the Wabbit".

So, I changed it to "Get the Birwdie" and tromped around like Elmer.

I'm afraid the birds were spoonbills, not flamingos, but it was still a fun hunt.

On every sister trip, I find a photo to turn use as a fairy picture.

This one of Sissy at Venice beach hunting shark teeth looked like a good fairy opportunity too.

I wrote the word, "blessings" under the photo of her handful of teeth, because that was what was inscribed on her gold band, and also the day was filled with the blessings of being with my sisses.

An actual tooth was glued to the banner I added.

More teeth and a small shell were glued to an instant photo of the day, I saved the label from a coke I'd bought (Nathan!), and added a picture of one of our matching shirts.

All of it was done over the text of the book page, that I'd dry brushed paint onto. But none of it was planned and it all looked off balance, so I drew in a shark behind it all to tie it together.

My art journals are a mix. I use photos of the trip, scraps of things I've picked up along the way, (brochures, coasters, hotel soap wrappers, tickets, etc), doo dads, charms, flowers, lace, drawings,and some pages are just for fun, like this one.

The book itself is one of the altered book kits I have in the Boutique, including card stock pages printed with old text scanned from vintage horoscope and fortune telling books. They made an interesting background for an October journal.

This little Witchy Girl was in the kit, but I added the shells and some dragonfly wings from one of the ginormus dragonflies that dwelled in the area. They were as large as helicopters.

You might notice that when I scrapbook, I don't care if things are acid free. I doubt if wings plucked from a dead bug would qualify as being archival quality.

Here is an example of using a hotel room coaster in my book. It is simply attached with washi tape on the outside and again on the inside to make a hinge.

(the picture above is doctored up by Bobbie, she changed three of the hags into the three of us)

The coaster opens up to hold a cartoon of three witches that Bobbie brought, and a picture of the three of us as witches too.

Have you seen the rainbow film available at Michaels for instant cameras? It makes for a nice change from the white framed pictures. I thought these colors were pretty with the vintage Florida postcard I'd picked up on one of our antiquing outings. Above that is some coordinating washi tape as a border and an old, ribbon flower wreath as a frame for a cut out picture of Bobbie.

I rubbed a pink ink pad over the edges of the paper to tie in all the soft colors.

A couple more of the rainbow instant pictures went into the last page of the book. The grand fairies posed for me as I was trying out the film.

And Sugarwings made this "bye bye" card for me as a farewell for the trip, so that is what their pictures went into.

Another item I used from the vacation was the tissue paper from a shopping bag, glued down as a background.

This page features photos Bobbie brought of our grandma's trailer on Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota. The old book that I'd brought with me to tear up and use in the journal, had this little story about a sea shell "home" in it and I thought that went along nicely with the trailer pictures.

More things I saved were the key card holder from the Pink Palace, and the wrist band we were given there to use the resort facilities.

Some pictures, I like to cut out the person, other times I like to save the backgrounds. A nice mix is what I go for.

I'd preferred it if the Pink Palace had more PINK goodies for me to use, but on the other hand, the orange and black were perfectly fine considering I was doing a Halloween inspired album, right?

Since I had turned around and went on another trip as soon as I got home from this one, I included both in the same journal.

Especially since both looked great together with the Halloween theme I had going.

Last year's travel journal was similar, I'd gone from a beach vacation with my sisses straight to Vermont for the the Guncles' wedding. (There was no trip home in between for that one, and I can tell you, that the packing wasn't easy for such varied weather!)

We have already booked our condo on Siesta Sands for next year, looks like this Sister Trip is going to become an annual thing. And it looks like I'll be starting a collection of travel books for our visits!