family – Page 35 – Karla's Cottage

Fare thee well to the renfest for the season

Dew Drop, fairies, family, parties, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / October 28, 2015

When I got off the airplane from my trip to Georgia to see my buddies, I went directly to the Renfest to see my grandfairies. They were there with some family members to see their daddy at work. And Dewdrop had just returned from her time with her Mommy out East, so I was really missing that lil cutey.

I know I've said it before, but I think that the addition of the Mermaid Lagoon to the festival is a giant improvement. We sure love that area.

And this time, there was a merperson plopped into the water fountain near the entrance too.

And of course, there are fairies galore. My girls always recognize Fay Royalty and are quick with a curtsy.

We have our favorite places to visit, we can't go without spending time in the Children's Realm and seeing the wizard.

As a matter of fact, it would be easy to spend the whole time just in this area for the shows, playground, and crafts. (all free)

We like the dancing too. Whether with the sprites around the maypole or with the royal family.

Where else can you sing at the top of your lungs to "What do you do with a drunken sailor" and dance a jig with Cinderella and her prince?

And be surrounded by pretty gypsies?

Or go for a camel ride?

We also met Rapunzel.

It was a bit surreal to be in Georgia with best friends, enjoying coffee on the wraparound porch of Suzanne's farm house that morning, then a few short hours later being surrounded by mermaids and princesses.

But, what a magical time!

Shopping (and playing) at Scheels in Kansas City

family, friends

By Karla Nathan / October 24, 2015

Do you have a Scheels in your area? Wow, what a store. It is the size of a shopping mall, and in the atrium, there is a ferris wheel.

Beth's husband is a manager there and invited us to the grand opening a while back. They went all out, with great food, entertainment, shopping discounts, and presents. I was so thrilled to be included!

Beth and I handed the camera to a passerby and asked her if she'd get a shot of us with the ferris wheel behind us. It wasn't until later in the evening when big shots started giving speeches that we realized we'd asked the owner's wife to be our photographer. (She was very gracious).

It reminded me of the time that I was in my vendor space at Silver Bella and asked Mary Engelbreit to take a photo of me with a friend. (She was also very gracious)

The next day at lunch, I saw the speaker and realized it was the kind lady who was patient enough to take a few pics of my friend and I in my booth, and wished I'd got a picture of Mary Englebreit shopping in my booth instead.

Sheels has a lot of photo ops for the kids.

For kids of all ages, that is.

It is a sporting goods store, covering any aspect of sport that you can think of, including a whole home decor department with a cabin type feel.

And a lot of wildlife to visit. Our girls enjoyed petting the bear while I picked out a summer clearance priced boogey board for the new boat. (less than half price)

The coolest part of the store? They blow up photos of their coworkers enjoying the sporting activities they love. That is Beth's husband, Jeff, below the photo of him at the top of some colossal mountain that he'd just rode his bike up to the peak of.

He is a very nice guy, if you see him there, say hi. I know for a fact that he keeps a pocketful of tokens to pass out so you can ride that ferris wheel for free.

ps- I will be away from home for a bit, having a sister getaway in Florida. I'll be answering emails from my iPad, but if you order from the Boutique, I'll mail packages on Tuesday the 27th. Same with Etsy, unless you are buying a coloring page, those are a digital download that you will receive right away. I'll have fresh blog stories pre-posted while I'm away, so please still come by to visit!

Books with Beth and poor Dorothy

Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, friends, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 30, 2015

Beth and I had a fun craft day together recently. So much fun that I forgot to get out my camera. We redid her booth at the antique mall, made a run to Costco (where I kept mumbling to myself, "we're gonna need a bigger boat car"), then made a couple of books from some great old albums she'd found at an estate sale.

She gave me a lesson in stitching the signatures into the book. But, I had a hard time with trying to be precise with templates, and poked my own holes with a needle. Her book is going to be lined up much better than mine. I always go with the idea of throwing something together "good enough" then hiding any crookedy spots with plenty of lace.

We spent most of the afternoon cutting paper, and sewing it in. She had to help me so much, she didn't get hers put together that day.

It was also a play date for our dogs. Dorothy Rosebud has been in hell since the kittens were born. She never liked the cats at all, but when Pumpkin became a Protective Mama Cat with a Temper, Dorothy's life fell apart. Then, along comes Honey, the big galoot of a puppy who thinks Dorothy makes the most interesting squeaky noises when squeezed.

I've been keeping Dorothy away from Honey, but honestly, I don't even have to try. She keeps herself tucked into hidey holes and darts furtively from one secret spot to another, always on the lookout for attack by kittens, their mom, or the giant dog who adores playing with her.

I thought I'd get her out of the house for the day, and it wasn't until I saw how happy she was at Beth's that I fully realized how terrible she felt at home. All day at Beth's, she was full of energy, happiness, and wiggles. Typical Yorkie behaviour. I'd forgotten just how happy she used to be, because her mood changes were so gradual, I didn't realize how drastic they were.

Now, I'm determined to do something to make her life better. I've seen how she can thrive and have fun again.

It kills me to think of giving her away. Because she is my baby. She is such a snuggler. But with all of the dogs, chickens, cats, and kids, life is too overwhelming for her here. I have to think of what is best for her, and not be selfish about wanting to keep her myself so she can be my teddy bear at night (she likes to be held under my chin when I sleep).

But I think I'd sleep even better knowing that she wasn't living her life in terror when I wasn't holding her. I don't know that I am ready to give up yet, I started to write an ad to find the perfect home for her, but I couldn't go through with it.

Still, I have to think about her, not me. She was injured as a baby, and has a bad leg. Honey grabs it and has re-injured her. Luckily, my son is a massage therapist and can repair the damage (he is MAGIC). That doesn't mean it isn't going to keep happening, though. Being in fear is bad enough, but getting hurt is even worse. Plus, that makes the terror even greater.

It is breaking my heart to see her fade away to a shadow of herself. Seeing her jump with joy and play at Beth's house with her brother, Button, gave me hope that she can have a good life again.

Yes, I know it is all my own fault. I do LOVE animals and wish I could have dozens of them. But it is irresponsible to take on more than I can properly care for. This is a problem I caused myself by filling my house up too much. Dorothy is suffering from my mistakes.

I've let her down, and I have to fix it.

Honey is going to be a great dog, I can see the intelligence and the calm in her eyes. But for now she is a big oaf of a bouncy pup. It will be a while (years???) before that stage has passed.

But in the meantime, Beth and her sweet husband, have offered to let Dorothy stay with them for the month of October. That will give the giant Golden some time to mature, at least a little. Then, I've made an appointment with a dog trainer for private sessions for the two combatants. I'm also keeping Dorothy on a leash or carrying her around, to keep her near me.

This little dog is not going to be allowed to spend her life hiding away. Things have got to change for the better for her! Spending some time with her foster family and her bro is a start.

Kansas City Renfest 2015

fairies, family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / September 24, 2015

Last week, we headed to the Renfest to visit our fairy and princess friends.

Sugarwings was sporting her latest gown from TJMax's great selection of royal fashions. Every fall, they have the BEST, highest quality, dresses at the most reasonable prices (about $30). I started to dress up, but since my husband was going along, I tamed my look down for him. A garland for my hair and a semi-witchy ensemble was plenty for him.

As much as I have fun watching the kids explore the festival, I personally love the overall style of the place, all of the attention to detail in the architecture, and the shady, hilly park it is all built in. The best building though?

This castle!

Wow!

My son's friend, Jessie is the stone mason. It is a labor of love for him, each year a few more rocks are added to this hand built palace.

It is a beautiful spot for photos, the artistry of the structure makes all pictures interesting. (not like my cute little models needed that)

Jessie does custom stone work for clients the rest of the year, and uses the in process castle as a storefront to sell his geodes.

There is a big selection of round rocks to chose from and take to the geo-tine (like guillotine but for rocks). Jessie spins a tale while the rock gets cracked in two. That guy can draw a big crowd to gather around just to wait while a rock gets broken. He is a born entertainer.

When the CRACK happens, the crowd cheers and everyone is excited to see what the geode holds as the owner walks through the throng to show off her treasure. No two look just the same and he has a wide variety of different crystals. Mine was smoky quartz with marcasite. Really pretty. This one is Sugarwings' stone and I'm not sure what it is.

She enjoyed working the crank to break hers apart.

She's also always happy to visit the mermaid lagoon.

While waiting in line to visit the merpeople, we found this heart seed pod.

Sugarwings gave the heart to Aurilliea Gyldenscale, one of our local, Kansas City area mermaids. (Being in the midwest, we don't have as many merpeople as you might find on the coast, so ours are very special and rare).

The lagoon area is a welcome addition to the renfest, it was added not that long ago and while simple, is very cute. One year there was a large tank/aquarium that a poor, chilly mermaid floated around in, this seems like a much more humane way to display the fishy girls. And it is more user friendly for the kiddos too, the little girls are thrilled to get hugs from their heroines.

We never fail to make a magic wand at the Children's Realm. Afterwards, you can test drive the wand with a real wizard. This was the point when I realized that Sugarwings is lacking in her magical knowledge. When I told her to call her patronus, she had no idea what I was talking about.

Time to start reading Harry Potter to her, right?

She definitely is well phrased in fairy lore and was able to chat with the faye like a pro.

And of course, is a champ at the maypole after years of dancing with the fairies.

Hmm, maybe this is my favorite part of the day there. Look at the smiles on all of those faces!

My not-so-fave part?

Visiting the animal rescue center. Which sounds very nice til you find out that it is a dragon, a hawk, and a billion snakes.

Yep, that is a snake wrapped around our little friend.

And around Sugarwings who got teary eyed about having to give the snake back. She wanted to stay and hold it longer.

ugh-shiver-bleck

Luckily, there was a fairy godmother handy to zap her out of her mood with a sprinkling of magic and fairy dust.

It is hard to stay sad at the festival, with all of that magic and revelry around you.

Behind the scenes at the Kansas City Renfest

fairies, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2015

My son works at the Kansas City Renfest running a booth for a friend and also selling his own wares. The first weekend of the season, the booth's owner (and his inventory) were away at another festival and my boy had some extra work on his hands to get the space open and to fill the spot up.

Here is one of his displays to foof up the "Druid's Grove".

I came in for an afternoon to help him and did a little druid-ing up myself. Bone decor isn't typically what I do, but I kinda like the result. I told myself that the bones were at least in my color pallet, I've always been a fan of whites.

At least they weren't as heavy to work with as all the stone my boy moved around. Here is the jewelry display in the glass cabinet. Not all of the inventory has been set out yet., and it isn't quite done, but aren't the pillars and slabs of stone very striking?

I've been hand dying silk ribbon to use for his pendants, and he also has black cord to hang the jewelry from. The buyers will get a choice and the silk or cord will be cut to order.

The day before the event began, he was still sanding, oiling and creating wands and spikes. This area is was still in progress, it is the weaponry corner. Yes, those are vampire stakes he has hanging up, and there are some wands and stakes in a pile that still need to be finished.

I offered to make a sign for him. Not everyone knows where to go when they are in dire need a cudgel, and usually if you looking for a cudgel or a vampire stake, then you are probably in a hurry to get it, and a little direction would be appreciated.

Cool, aren't they?

I also helped him embellish the woven willow laurels that he had created.

And Sugarwings helped me out by modelling them so I could see how they fit.

The booth is all about magic, which is why he used the willow limbs to make the crowns. I wrote up these tags for the finished laurels.

Usually, I work with vintage flowers, but you gotta know your crowd. Old millinery would not be as appreciated as the newer blooms. (Although, I did sneak in some vintage lace…)

All of the flowers are wired into place and there are crystal beads woven onto the wires.

I have loved the festival since the first time I attended, way back when my boys were in Jr High school. Over the years, I've become even fonder of it, and I was thrilled to get a behind the scenes peek at the park before it was open for the season. The buildings are so quaint and charming, and with no one there I had a chance to get some pictures without families in blue jeans or pushing strollers and spoiling the atmosphere.

For being the day before opening, I was surprised to see how quiet the venue was. Here and there, were cars pulled up in front of a booth as vendors unloaded, with a few folks were busy unpacking and setting up.

And people were planting some blooming flowers in front of their shops. But for the most part, it was dreamily serene.

The park itself is a pretty place, it was a joy to walk through in the peace, enjoying aspects of it I hadn't noticed before.

Still, I'm looking forward to a visit there while there is a bustling crowd of happy shoppers, watching shows, and munching on giant turkey legs. And the best part? Grand fairies all dressed up as fairies or princesses, eyes lit up, and believing that the magic is real.

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ps- I will be participating in Brenda's Fall Home Tour. It begins on the 15th, and my home will be on the list for the 18th. There will be lots of pretty things to see. I've been checking out some of these blogs from the URLs Brenda sent to me, and she has corralled an inviting selection of homes to peek into.

Happy Labor Day

family

By Karla Nathan / September 5, 2015

Happy Labor Day! Do you have big plans for the weekend? I have a feeling we will be out on the boat. We recently traded our old one in and the new one has rekindled my interest in being out on the lake.

Our old barge had started out as a pretty nice pontoon, but the years hadn't been kind to the poor old thing. After 15 years, it was time to say good bye.

The dang thing wasn't leaving us voluntarily though. As soon as we got it up and out of the water, the trailer had a flat. Right in the way of other boat traffic.

We were kind of stranded there til my son arrived to give me and the tire a ride to the tire repair shop, where for a quick $9, the valve stem was replaced.

This had taken a bit longer than we'd planned and we were worried that we wouldn't have it fixed before the new boat arrived…. Then we started to wait for the new boat.

And we waited

And we waited.

Til we got a call saying that the guy bringing it also had a flat tire.

A few hours late, but all ended up working out. We now have a new pontoon, with a much bigger motor. This one will pull a skier, and we foresee another 15 years or so of family fun on the lake with it.

An Arabella Cinderella Farewell Teaparty

cottage, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 31, 2015

We've had a nice, long visit with our tiniest fairy girl.

But now, she is headed East to be with her momma. We've squeezed in lots of snuggles and hugs before it was time for her to leave.

Sugarwings thought it would be a good idea to throw her a going away party, so we planned a tea to send her off with a toast.

Usually, Sugarwings helps set the table with me, but this was scheduled for right after school to combine after school snacktime with the festivities. I had the table set and waiting when they got home, to save time. If we delay after school treats too long, they interfere with dinner appetites.

But of course, this girl had to do some rearranging to improve my set up.

Dewdrop had been admiring some vintage dresses that I had hanging in the studio, and I kept promising her that she could wear them, but we never seemed to get around to it.

It dawned on me, that if I didn't pull those dresses down and let her try them on, they might not fit her when she came back again in a few weeks, those little ones do not stay little forever.

A vintage gown was chosen for Sugarwings too, but she preferred one of her own princess dresses. Both girls wanted to wear some of the jewelry I had out in the studio and chose some sparkling necklaces to try on. Dewdrop went with a floral hat from the studio too.

When the bigger girls got off the school bus from Jr. and Sr. high schools, they were good sports and joined in to toast our little sweetie. Can you tell by the look on her face that she appreciated our efforts and loved her party? That is one happy, kiddo.

We have recently discovered how delicious basil flowers are. I have always picked them off to make the basil plants last longer, and sometimes fill a vase with the blooming stems. Dewdrop likes to pick them out of the vase on the dining room table to eat during dinner, so I sprinkled some over our heart shaped watermelon slices for the party (made with a cookie cutter).

We also served blackberries and cupcakes along with the tea. All the dishes are mismatched and mostly from garage sales, and when set out on a floral table cloth, they feel special. Not so special that I get upset when one breaks. We had a creamer casualty, but it had only cost a quarter, so that didn't matter much. I want the grand fairies to enjoy nice things, had be used to handling them, not be afraid to use the pretty pieces.

We are all going to miss our silly, funny, little goofball and will be looking forward to planning a return party for her when it is time for her to come back.

Happiest Birthday, Sugarwings!

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 29, 2015

August is full of fun around here. Sugarwings' birthday (with multiple parties), the Hippy Chick's birthday, our anniversary, plus trying to fit in a few more fun things before school starts up.

Sugarwings' mommy always throws a special bash for her girl. This year's theme was Mystery. The cupcakes each had something flavorful tucked inside and you didn't know which you were getting. I can highly praise over the ones with peanut butter cups hidden away in the center.

There was a question mark pinata filled with goodies too.

And the kids had a scavenger hunt, following a treasure map to find the hidden presents.

It was all pretty cute to watch.

The world’s happiest dog

Dew Drop, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, kitties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 23, 2015

For one thing, yorkies are usually just plain happy. I started calling mine 'dorkies' because they are often such silly, little, joyful dorks.

Twinkle adores her buddy, Sugarwings, who she grew up with (both are now nine years old). Especially when the water hose comes out. Those two can spray the hose together to no end. (glad we have well water!)

I was watching them the other night as they played outside as the sun was setting, Sugarwings was in charge of the hose, Honey helped her a bit, the other dogs and Dewdrop stayed out of reach of the water. But Twinks? As always, she was voraciously chasing droplets and attacking the spray. If her girl got side tracked and sat the hose down, that dog would go and get her. Trying to tempt her back into playing. She would run towards Sugarwings, then back to the hose, over and over, till her buddy picked it up and sprayed her with it again.

Dewdrop was happier with the dry kitties.

Or snuggling with her Pop Pop.

Twinkle never let Sugarwings get too far away from her, because she always wants to be in on the action. And while "Joy" is the fairy girl's middle name, it could just as easily have been "Action".

This is our idea of a perfect evening.

Can it get any better than this? Girls, bikes, garden hoses, with pups to play with as kittens watch… add in a cool evening with a bright sunset and, yes, that is perfection.

Around the cottage in August

cottage, dogs, family

By Karla Nathan / August 17, 2015

How on earth can anything grow as fast as a puppy? She is doubling in size by the hour, I think.

And doubling her sweetness too. She is pretty smart, potties on command from the first day, sits, fetches, and heels.

Let's see, what else… I got a new iPad cover. I call it 'camouflage'.

We had some repair work done on the driveway and the grand fairies were just chomping at the bit all day til it was time to write in it. We were hoping for subtle markings, but Sugarwings went big, so we all did.

We were going to have Honey make baby prints in it, but she decided to run across the whole thing. So, we let all the little dogs have a turn too. Then a kitten. Who sat right in the center and stayed there (and who did NOT like getting her toes and tail washed after)

Of course, the ladies had to be represented too, right? So we brought out our friendliest hen (who also didn't like having her feet washed- there is a reason that "madder than a wet hen" is a saying)

She strutted to the center of the cement, just like the kitten did.

Then pooped.

Which I don't think would have left a mark if my husband hadn't tried to knock it away. Now there is a poo swish mark, dead center of the new concrete.

Speaking of that handsome guy, we celebrated our 30th anniversary. There was talk of going out, but after three days of working on the kitchen, then doing some major garden projects, we were beat. And we had our big celebration, with vow renewals back in June.

So, we did what we really enjoy, grilled out on the porch and eating tomatoes from the garden, then cozied up with a good movie. We had the house to ourselves for a few days, so we simply enjoyed each other's company.

To me, that is much more fun than a big night on the town.