family – Page 37 – Karla's Cottage

A renewal of our vows on Siesta Key beach

celebrations, family, Travel, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2015

Over the years, I've told my husband it would be fun to throw a big party and renew our vows. I've also mentioned eloping to Vegas and getting remarried in an Elvis chapel. He always scoffs, even though he tends to be a pretty romantic guy, he wasn't interested. I'd kind of forgotten about the idea, then while in Sarasota, we watched a wedding on the beach at sunset, as we finished up dinner on our patio.

I was inspired to bring up the idea again.

And this time, he said yes, and accepted my proposal.

It probably didn't hurt that the little girls were so excited, and that we only had about 10 minutes to pull it all together before the sun went down. I threw a couple of sundresses on the two little beauties, the condo neighbors gave me a bundle of flowers wrapped in foil, I slipped one of the girls headbands over my wet hair and then put Sugarwings in charge of the rest.

At first she drew a pathway in the sand with a heart to stand in, but it led towards the real wedding party, and we didn't want to bother them. So, we found some tracks left by a wagon and followed those. She put some leaves and rosemary (from the plant we bought to cook with while there) into a sieve that we'd bought to play in the sand with and she walked ahead, as our flower girl. I grabbed the rosemary pot to carry as well as my flowers.

I handed my camera to our Hippie Chick, and people started finding jobs to do. Dewdrop was our ring bearer, and had a couple of colorful hair ties with flowers on them to use as rings (provided by our talented wedding planner, Sugarwings).

Adam was best man, and Ry Guy walked us down the wagon trail path.

Avanhi has a sultry, sweet voice, and sang my husband's favorite song, Aloha by Nahko Bear and Medicine for the People.

We were right in time for the sun to go down, and the beach had an orange glow. No one really had a plan, there was a lot of laughter and it was all very free spirited.

So much so, that I never once considered the actual vows….

So, I whispered something racy in his ear.

Then he went and had a BEAUTIFUL speech. Very lovable and sweet.

And Ryan had a thoughtful, loving statement to make too.

As well as Adam. What had started out as a fun, little lark had become a moving, and tender moment.

We were in Florida with our big family gathering to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in August, as well as Sugarwings' mommy's 30th birthday a few days later.

When we planned the trip, the vow renewal hadn't occurred to me. Which makes it even more special, although if I'd planned it, I think I'd have worn some makeup…. and thought up some vows.

But I don't think that there is anyway on earth that months of planning could've created a better moment.

It's not what you spend, what you say, what the whole thing looks like.

It's the love that goes into it.

And we had that.

And of course, a fantastic wedding planner never hurts either.

A nice beach walker offered to take a photo of all of us together.

I'll leave you with a few more photos of our perfectly, imperfect ceremony. And here are the lyrics to the song we all love.

Mulberry season

bird song art event, cottage, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 5, 2015

It's mulberry season here at the cottage. Which means that Sugarwings spends hours up on a ladder snacking away, and filling bowls up, just to spill onto the ground and start over again.

With dozens upon dozens of mulberry trees (which is how the Fairy Berry Trail got its name), there are plenty to go around, so if a few spill, no one worries about it. The chickens are actually pretty happy about that when it happens.

Dewdrop has a ladder of her own, but prefers being down on the ground.

Especially if there is anything soft around to cuddle. I'm always surprised at just how silky, soft a hen is. they are so nice to pet. Sadly, only a few of our ladies are friendly. The dozen we bought this spring still act like we are only entering the coop to murder them, not to feed, pet, or gather eggs. But there are still some older gals around who don't lay eggs anymore, but who are very sweet, little pets.

We had a nice family evening, watching Sugarwings drag her ladder from one tree to the next and eat her weight in berries. I popped her into the bath before dinner, and as soon as she was done eating her grilled shrimp, she was back outside and climbing up the steps again, this time way, out in the woods- with no bug spray on. I had to toss her right back in the tub again before she left with her day, so she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night, itching and scratching from chigger bites. (if you use soap after being out in the woods, you wash away those pesky things)

We managed to get one bowl filled with enough mulberries (thanks to her daddy) to make a cobbler. I used about 6 stalks of rhubarb and a pint of strawberries in it too, since mulberries are a little bit bland.

This was far from bland, and I had a big dish full for breakfast this morning. Now, that is the way to start a day. I'd love to make more for my Birdsong peeps who are arriving soon, but I have a feeling, time is too short. I need to bake bread, cupcakes, and a few other treats yet. And this cobbler isn't going to last long enough to feed it to my guests this weekend, although I do know someone who is up to the task of picking enough to make another one.

You do what you can do, and what you can’t, you can’t, right? Or, “Hey, look at this fuzzy kitty!!!”

bird song art event, family

By Karla Nathan / June 3, 2015

Plans are humming along and the studio is ready for guests! I had it all cleaned up, with tables and chairs set over the weekend. If you think Albie looks sad, don't let him fool you. I've been taking plenty of breaks to cuddle kitties, play playdough with grand fairies, harvest rhubarb and bake pies, as well as get ready for guests and talk to the dogs.

There are still tons, buckets, and gobs of things to do yet for Birdsong. Like filling treat bags, making airport runs, going to the grocery store, etc, etc. But I'm pretty happy with my state of affairs and as long as I don't sprain my elbow by patting myself on the back, I think I'll be prepared for the party on time.

I was a bit worried, that I'd be behind, because my poor little boy had a traumatic injury (a smashed and broken finger) and I was helping out with the grand fairies more than I'd planned to so he could rest up. But once I figured out that no one would notice if my kitchen didn't get painted, or if I didn't replace my white velvet, winter curtains with the spring time floral curtains, I was able to enjoy the extra time I had with the little ones and tell myself what happens, happens. I'd just distract my guests with cute kittens if they started to notice details that I didn't have time to perfect.

Now, I don't mean to sound shallow or uncaring, because of course, I was horrified for my son, and sick to death thinking about how serious the injury could have been, and upset about how bad it actually was. But being human, I have to admit that I also freaked out about the timing and that I needed to get things pulled together for Birdsong, plus our entire family is leaving for a vacation together right after and I was afraid surgery for his hand would cancel that.

He is still in pain, but will be okay. And I had a great day at the zoo with my two favorite kiddos. Did I change the curtains? Nope. But I have 5 adorable kittens I can wave in front of anyone who notices that the curtains are wintery. They won't care for long.

And I even took a night off to go see the Last Carnival's performance downtown.

Some more of my favorite kiddos were in the show.

It was a fascinating performance, and every time I go to watch the troupe, they seem better than the time before.

Lovely sponsor gifts are still coming in, my friend, Kim, sent this beautiful, beaded bag filled with pretties to add to the door prizes. I can't wait to see the faces of our Peeps when they see the generosity of the sponsors. Thanks to all of you who sent gifts!

Prettily wrapped scrap packs came from Pam too. She is a long time Birdsong attendee, and always a welcome addition to the group. I like the image she used on her labels, I have a feeling I'll be seeing that nest cut out and pasted into the journals we are making.

And what is in the pretty pink packs? More fun items to work with. I'm happy to get ahold of that old ledger page, myself.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the circus show. And I'll get back to work on my last minute details for the party. I've pre-written some posts to pop up over the weekend while I'm busy having a blast with my friends, so please do check back.

Hat Whispering in Texas and scooping up jewels

antiques/junking, collections, family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / May 18, 2015

At our Texas/British bash, I was lucky enough to win this pretty piece from Cassandra! It was a door prize, and I won by having the closest birthday. Isn't it pretty?

All hand soldered. I love the flecks of silver in some of the pieces.

But that isn't my only special gift! There were treats galore, and our roomies had sweet things for each other too. Then, my sister and I saw two hand made from vintage pieces, matching necklaces. Like the artist had taken apart one necklace, added some bits, and redesigned it into two.

Well, we both liked them, but decided we didn't need them.

So, we continued shopping and poking around. But an hour or so later, I told Sissy that we'd remember those and regret not buying them, and I was going to get them as a gift for us both.

Til my credit card wouldn't work. No cards were accepted. And I didn't have a debit card for the ATM or a checkbook with me.

And I'd been shopping a while, and was low on cash for the rest of the trip. Here is a sampling of some of the hats I snagged in Texas. Yep, about THIRTY floral concoctions! I hat whispered my way across Kansas and Texas, snapping up millinery every where I went.

Which, wasn't cheap, even with the bargains that I was finding. My cash wouldn't support the necklaces. I felt bad because I'd wanted to give her a nice gift, she has always been extra generous with me.

Then, Sissy bought them both for us!

I did want to buy them, and hated that she had to do it, but wasn't it nice of her? I'll treasure my sister necklace and think of her wearing hers when I wear mine.

Kinda like those BFF heart necklaces cut in half.

But I did find something to get her the next day in Waxahachie! She saw this moon full of pink crystals, and said it was like one she had pinned on Pinterest and had been searching for. So, I felt a little better, about the necklace snafu. She was meant to have this moon pendant.

Canton was magnificent. I was enthralled by the variety, prices, and scope of the shopping. I could've used three days to see it all. I hit the dollar tables hard, and found a trove of treasures there, little bits of jewels, boxes to adorn, cute knick knacks. Plus, I was finding millinery in abundance everywhere I went on this trip.

One of my first purchases was this teeny, puppy creamer, for $1. I bought it for the grand fairies, so we could use it for our next tea party. Then, one of my last purchases was the matching sugar bowl, also a dollar, at the other end of the flea market.

Meant to be found for me to reunite it with its mate!

All of the shopping was top notch, great company, great junk, and just as much fun as you could possibly jam into an outing.

I miss Texas

And Whitworth Ranch Retreat.

A ramp for the cat

cottage, family, kitties

By Karla Nathan / May 12, 2015

We do love our animals around here. And my husband is one to spoil them a little. He is very fond of Pumpkin, and leaves his office door open for her to visit when he is upstairs working. But being the soft hearted guy that he is, he worried about her climbing the vines to get up on the deck.

So, he built her a ramp, complete with stair steps for good footing while climbing.

Then, he taught her to use it by treating her with some melted ice cream and running upstairs to call her up, then running back down to get her to walk down the ramp to get another lick of ice cream.

He even removed one of the slats on the railing for her to get through easier. (It is still too narrow for a small child to squeeze through).

She is pretty happy with the set up. I think we might get a pet door that fits into his sliding glass door so she can pop in as she pleases once summer comes and it gets too hot and buggy around here to leave the door open.

She loves her ramp and private patio so much, she had her kittens up there! 5 little furry balls of cuteness.

A Fairy Egg

fairies, family

By Karla Nathan / May 6, 2015

Recently, when I gathered eggs, I found an itsy bitsy one nestled in amongst the regular eggs. This one was so little, it looked like a sparrow had snuck in and played a joke on us.

Some of our hens are young pullets and are new to laying. That could explain the size of the jelly bean egg. I looked it up online and read that is common in youthful hens. And a friend on FB mentioned that these are called "Fairy Eggs" or sometimes "Witch Eggs."

Well of course, I liked that!!!!

I saw online that is actually the name used for these mini shells. So, it wasn't a sparrow who pulled a prank on us, it was a fairy!

This egg had to be saved, so I poked holes in each end, and blew out the center, washed it and left it to dry overnight, then brushed on glue and sprinkled it with pixie dust.

I wanted to pack it up and take it to Sissy when I met her in Texas, and was afraid it was too fragile, so I did what any mother hen would do, and built it a nest. I started with a tiny tart tin, and added some tan paint to the metal, then filled it with moss and holographic Easter grass.

To cover the holes on each end, I glued down velvet leaves. Then, topped it with some of teeniest flowers in my stash of old millinery.

Sissy loves all things fairy every bit as much as I do. This egg came along just in time to be a gift for her on our trip.

A simple, easy, enjoyable Easter (its kind of late to post about it though)

celebrations, family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / April 24, 2015

We had a laid back Easter, pretty simple and lots of fun. With time for crafting and egg decorating in the afternoon, which is alway a plus for me. Walmart sells these plastic eggs that are great to embellish and also take paint well. They can be cut open to create an interior scene too. I poked two holes in the top to feed a wire through, and dangled a butterfly on, then made a glittered, moss nest with genuine pearl eggs. It is mounted on a tiny tart tin and has vintage millinery covering up the holes on top.

Since Dewdrop was away, Sugarwings was our only small child for the annual egg hunt on the Fairy Berry Trail.

But she had a little help from a friend.

When I got a new convection oven a few weeks back, I was so excited to try it out, I baked a turkey, and stuck some in the freezer, which was great to have waiting and ready to go for the holiday. I might do that more often. I made noodles with most of the frozen turkey, and saved some of it to make gluten free noodles for Sugarwings. Since we have vegetarians at our table, I also made noodles with Swanson organic vegetable broth. I've found that by adding poultry seasonings to that brand of broth, I get a nice, traditional flavor that works well with noodles. Other brands haven't done as well for me.

Our family has a tradition of eating egg noodles over mashed potatoes at holidays, something that started with my mom.

While it might sound complicated to make three different kinds of noodles for one family, it really wasn't a big deal. And I prepped those along with fruit salad, green bean casserole, and roasted veggies the day before, so all I had to do was pop pans into the oven, warm up the noodles, make mashed potatoes and bread on Easter Sunday. I was happy with myself for getting so much done the day before so that I could relax and enjoy my day with the family.

We had plenty of time to sneak out and go to a movie, "Home". And if you've seen it, you'd know how perfect a choice it was for Easter, those "booves" changed colors with their emotions and the little aliens reminded me of Easter eggs.

Lots of crafting got done by part of our group, while others worked in the garden, and our dinner cooked away pretty much on its own.

I am going to remember how much I enjoyed this day as I get ready for Birdsong. It is entirely possible to have a delicious meal mostly made up ahead of time, so that I don't have to spend as much time in the kitchen, and I can have fun being with people I enjoy.

Birdsong is so special to me, but I often run around so busy, I don't get to hang out the way I really want to. Well NOT this year!! I'm doing some serious planning ahead.

If you are wondering why I slurp and spit when I talk…. and some thoughts on aging

Dew Drop, family, paintings

By Karla Nathan / April 19, 2015

Yep, this is me right now.

Ouch!

And Uck!

A while back, I carelessly jumped up on a stool to get something out of a cabinet (without realizing the door had been left open) and whacked myself in the face. I had a bloody nose, black eye, but my mouth looked fine, even though that is where it hurt the most.

Then, one day, weeks after the incident, I took a bite of a popsicle. And my front tooth flew out of my mouth, bounced off a door, and ricocheted across the room. Apparently, I'd damaged the root when I smacked my face into the cabinet door, and the tooth was just waiting for a reason to fling itself of my mouth.

My dentist gave me a temp that was my own tooth glued to something that looks like a bleach tray, which I had to take out if I wanted to eat. Then, he had this temporary partial made, which I was quite happy with even though I don't talk, or eat well with it. I've been practicing saying "Five, fat fairies in the food forest sat sipping cider slushies."

My "f"s have gotten a little better, but my "s"s still sound slurpy.

Since then, I've had some reconstructive surgery, and hopefully will have the two front teeth redone this summer. Somehow, messing with one, messes with the other front tooth too. Sadly, I had just gone through major repairs on these two teeth and surrounding gums a year ago. And now am paying for the same two teeth to be redone again. And the specialist has warned me that I won't get the same look, that it can't look as natural as before.

I keep telling myself that I am extremely lucky to have good dental insurance, and money to pay the deductible. That while this is unpleasant, much worse things could happen, and if it doesn't look as good as before, at least I don't have to be without a tooth forever. Since I've lost my own tooth, I've noticed other people without teeth, and I have a feeling that they might not be as lucky as I am, and are not getting theirs fixed any time soon. Or getting such a nice looking, temporary solution like I have.

Still, I've been a bit down about it all. I'm really trying to not let this gap in my smile stop me from smiling. I've also been nervous about the dental appointments, which isn't like me at all. I don't mind dental work, but this time, I've been thrown by it.

I'm not as vain as I should aspire to be. I go out without makeup, I don't dress up as nicely as I should, or take my gym membership seriously.

And while at first, I was horrified when Dewdrop started playing with the crepey folds on my neck like I was made of play dough, I soon got over it and laughed with her and realized that this would be a happy memory for her, that she would always think of her Grammy's neck as something entertaining, and that that Grammy's lap was a good place to be. And I know how much she loves play dough.

My tooth will be fine, my smile will be fine. I have a lot of reasons to smile and a lot of people to smile with.

So what if it doesn't look as good as it was before, most of me isn't as good as I was before anyway. It seems like weekly, I see or feel something age, slip, ache, or change somewhere in my body.

Still, I do have some vanity that is bothered by all of it. The tooth trauma has been a little quite depressing. But I'll get over it.

And the grand fairies kind of like it. I can play Nanny McPhee or be a wicked witch when I slide my temporary tooth out. I'll just need a stick on wart to complete the picture. Or just wait a few weeks and see what nature provides as my sun loving youth comes back to haunt my aging skin….

Refurbishing the Yellow Brick Road

cottage, family, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 10, 2015

Sugarwings got her love of all things Oz from her mom and Nanny. I've always been a fan myself and have done my share of encouraging her interests. When she was little, we'd go to this sidewalk at a nearby shopping center to do some skipping and pretending.

She enjoyed that so much, that I painted our flower bed's stepping stones yellow so she would have a trail here to play on.

And over the years, she has spent a lot of time along this short path.

Dewdrop loves dressing up as Dorothy too. (her mother sent this to me from her new home, looks like she is pretty happy and having a wonderful time there!)

Seasons of harsh weather has taken its toll on the pathway, our yellow bricks faded out and returned to the blah red bricks they started out as. I'd used latex house paint on them before, I think. Or was it craft paint? It has been awhile. I doubt if there are many paints that would hold up to Kansas weather, especially on bricks.

Sugarwings and I decided to give them a make over. This might not last much longer than the other paint did, but redoing is fun, so we won't mind freshening it up again if needed. This time, we worked in tandem, I sprayed them yellow ahead of time, then used a gold glitter spray over that after it dried. Sugarwings got the bottles of glitter ready to sprinkle over that as it was still wet.

We tried different shades of sparkle, but I really didn't care for the red or green as much, so we layered over it.

Sugarwings also helped out by running in to get her ruby slippers to try out the path, and by arranging our Toto yard art nearby.

Although, we have our own, live yard art Toto/Twinkle that worked just fine.

Sugarwings thinks we should add a scarecrow. Maybe. What we really need is some blooming plants. Spring is here, but not in this little corner of the yard yet, it's still pretty dull, even with the bright yellow paint.

But not in her mind. She sees the whole land of Oz ahead of her.

Arabella Cinderella Day

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / April 6, 2015

Around here, it doesn't take much to turn a simple trip to the movie theater into a big event.

The Hippie Chick and I had been impatiently waiting for the new Cinderella movie.

(the theater had big screens for previews in the lobby, how nice!)

When I saw these dresses from the Cinderella collection on sale at Kohls (plus 30% off with my coupon) I almost bought them, but fought the urge. (I'm very, very cheap).

But, on another trip to Kohls to snap up more the 70-80% off clearance items while taking another 30% off with my coupon and filling up my cart with school clothes for next year, I couldn't be strong enough to say no to these dresses a second time.

I figured I'd saved enough on the other stuff to make up for the splurge on these little confections. (That little white jacket Dewdrop is wearing was on sale for under $2. That beats Goodwill prices! )

Since Sugarwings and her mommy weren't able to join Dewdrop and I at the Fairy Tale village when we went a few weeks ago, we decided to make a day of it and bring them back with us to see Crown Center, the fairy tale land, Kaleidoscope, and the new movie.

The make believe village was a bit more crowded than when were were here on a weekday, this was a Saturday during spring break, and the whole place was packed.

Sugarwings was a tad overwhelmed, but I kept telling her that we had plenty of time, and weren't rushing through it. We had a three hours to hang out, and I was happy to stick around.

So, we played a while, and then took breaks to ride the escalators up and down a bit, or go sit and color in the Crayola store.

We also took snack breaks, and walked around.

And spent a half hour session at Kaleidoscope. I'd hoped to go to two sessions, but it was pretty busy. We were lucky that my son was there early to get us passes for this session. It's free, but can fill up. Going early to reserve a spot on busy days is a good idea.

We get plenty of craft time at home, but not in surroundings like this. I probably like the place as much as the grand fairies do.

Dewdrop's name is Mayara, I call her Ara, and that has sometimes morphed into Arabella Cinderella. We decided to name the day after her. Everyone needs a day of their own sometime, don't they? We also made this day her going away party for her big trip out East.

She was a bit young for the movie though. The only parts she was really into were the ones with magic or mice. Sugarwings, her mom and I loved every second of it. My husband decided to stay home and watch the KU game instead (I have to admit, it was a play off, and he is pretty into that stuff, I certainly understood- March happens), so my son used his movie ticket at the last minute and came along to help keep the little one entertained when the parts she didn't care for came on.

I had a feeling, that I would need back up so I wouldn't have to miss any of the show.

As part of the special day, we went to a theater in KC where you have recliners to lounge in, and a great menu to order from. They have a wine bar upstairs and if you request it, you can order a full dinner from that menu, not just movie theater food. And you pick your seat in advance, so we chose back row by the door, and brought an iPad, (on mute with the lights turned down) for our Arabella Cinderella to play with after she was done eating.

It was a long day for her with no nap, and lots of activity. The big day was a lot for our other princess too, so there were some moments far from perfection. But, that is part of doing things with kids, and you have to know when it is time to go look at the fountains, or twirl in the lobby, and get away from the hustle bustle for a bit.

Over all it was a very special day out. And I love having these photos to look at while I'm impatiently waiting for tiny Arabella Cinderella to return to Kansas from her time with her mommy out east.