family – Page 5 – Karla's Cottage

Bobbie

By Karla Nathan / February 18, 2024

My sister, Bobbie, took things slow. Literally, she moved slowly in all matters, and I’d often find myself 20’ ahead of her wherever we went. Or perusing the dessert menu as she started in on her salad. But her slowpoke tendencies weren’t simply due to not moving fast.

Bobbie savored life. She was mindful and present in every thing she did. She took her time and enjoyed every bite of a meal, looked at the sky for pretty clouds as she walked along, or at the ground for a lucky penny someone might have dropped. (Her daughters knew this trait and would encourage it by secretly tossing coins down ahead of her. Did Bobbie know they were teasing? Or did she just enjoy the treasure hunt? She’d end up with pockets full of change, either way).

Every step along her path there was something to be taken in, looked for, or appreciated.

Life was always a treasure hunt for Bobbie. Like a magpie, she’d gather up sparkly objects like twinkle lights, holographic pieces, and her favorite- diamonds. Then fill her nest with items that pleased her.

Little did she know, that the greatest treasure of all was herself. She was such a fun companion, a person who would always listen, never judge. A person with a sharp wit, always ready with a quick joke or a pun. Someone who enjoyed sharing laughter and pure silliness, who never missed a touristy photo op to pose by.

If there was a ten foot tall ice cream cone, a gaping jawed, giant shark, or a one eyed pirate statue in front of a building, Bobbie has a photo of herself with it.

Multiple photos, too. No matter how the pictures turned out, deleting was not allowed. She treasured every snap a camera grabbed, because each represented more to her than just a likeness. Every photo held a history of what just passed. They were a keepsake of a moment of joy, or someone she loved.

Bobbie’s love of history was a gift to all of us. She researched, gathered information, and as many photos as she could to build family stories and share her finds with all of her relatives. While record keeping with an artful flair, she made genealogy books and recipe collections that brought the past into the present.

Her silly side had her playing with pictures and using her own photo magic to create entertaining scrapbooks and cards. She loved editing photos and making cards signed with love. Those cards were sent for birthdays, congratulations, or sympathy, and to everyone she cared about. There was sincerity and thoughtfulness in every envelope she addressed. Because of all things, Bobbie was loyal. If you were her friend or her family, you had her loyalty. She shared in your joys and sorrows.

Bobbie genuinely cared deeply for the people in her world, and they could always feel it. When she gave you a hug, or told you that she loved you, you felt it in your soul. The word “heartfelt” suits her to a t. She was calm and gentle on the surface, but her feelings for family, and all of those that she cared for were fierce, and strong in her heart.

A good detour

dogs, family

By Karla Nathan / February 10, 2024

On our long, meandering, and full trip to Florida, we took a slight detour on the way home to visit some of our North Carolina family. While there, we decided to park our trailer at Rich’s brother’s home for a while. That saved us the effort of hauling it right back out that way again this spring.

Driving without a trailer is soooooooo much easier than hauling that hulk across country.

Do you know what isn’t easy? Backing a camper up an icy hill in mountain country. I rolled down the window and hung my body out of it to see where the fishtailing, slip sliding trailer was headed and to give Rich a heads up in case it decided to slither over the drop off. I couldn’t stand in the driveway to help with directions because this thing had a mind of its own and I didn’t want to put myself anywhere near where its path might take it.

After getting it in place, the rest of the trip home was a breeze. And now we have it located in one of our favorite places, tempting us to zip back out again soon. Thanks for the parking space, Bro!

While in Boone, we took the doggies to the nursing home to see Rich’s mom.

And had a great night out with his brother.

It was a quick trip, after another visit with the dogs to see Joan the next morning, we were right back on the road. With our load lightened, we made the 14 hour drive in one swoop. If we’d been pulling that trailer, it would’ve meant a break over night and a two day drive.

I was touched to see some of my artwork in Joan’s room.

And the dogs adored all of the attention they got there. Honey especially. She has that classic, golden retriever personality that craves petting and attention. She figures everyone she meets cannot wait to love on her. And at the nursing home, she was right.

She doesn’t always get it right. When she is at the dog park, dripping mud from head to toe, she isn’t as popular as she thinks she should be. But visiting the assisted living center? That is a dream come true for a golden retriever.

Christmas finery at the Guncles’ home

family, guncles

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2024

We are getting close to Valentine’s Day but I have Christmas pictures to show you from the Guncles.

We were there to stay with them in January, and they were leaving it all up to make us and some other guests coming soon feel festive and soak in some of that warmth and joy filling the house.

There were trees everywhere and at first I was worried about 8 dogs at once admist the fragile forest, but we had a door to close on the ruffians when needed.

And this treasure trove of Shiny Brites had a fence around it.

Of course, sweet Bella and our tiny Dorothy weren’t trouble makers.

Bella was very busy caretaking, poor, sick Zacky.

Itty bitty Perry couldn’t knock a tree over if he tried. But he’d never try. He knows they make a great backdrop for his handsome poses.

It was an honor to see how many of my handmade pieces were in the space.

One of his trees was devoted to all handcrafted items that he and I had made over the years.

Including my painted ones.

When family is spread all across the country, and we rarely are together at the holidays, it’s a special treat to get to see the Christmas decor in their homes.

And the Guncles’ home? It’s a treat no matter how it is decorated, or what season it is.

February’s First Friday at Good Juju

antiques/junking, family

By Karla Nathan / February 1, 2024

It’s First Friday weekend at Good Juju.

The very next day after the January sale, I scurried back in to bring in new goods and do a make over for February.

The next day, we rushed to flee the Midwest with our camper before the horrendous cold and snow descended all the way across the country and we would be trapped.

Our timing was only slightly flawed, we drove in snow for about eight hours- but we did make it south and on our way to Florida.

Of course, I made time to pack craft supplies for the trip!

I had a day of making bunnies and mice with Guncle Randy, and took advantage of a wet, chilly day at the KOA to make some schroomies.

So, when we returned from not so sunny, but slightly warmer, Florida, I brought my newest creations into my booth and rearranged a tad bit more.

Originally, I had planned to leave again in a week to go to Indiana.

But my sister, Bobbie, was not doing well, and we three sisters like to stick together.

So I took a couple days to unpack, clean up from the burst frozen pipes, redo a little in the mall, then hit the road again.

My pals and booth neighbors, Angie and Beth are covering for me while I am away.

If you could, please send loving and healing thoughts to my dear sister.

She is the bravest person I have ever known. If I was feeling as bad as she was, I’d be all complaints and worries. Not her.

I have always admired and looked up to her. She is witty and fun, with an air of calm and kindness about her.

Seeing her steadfast ability to keep those traits through a very debilitating cancer makes me appreciate her even more.

I am very lucky to be able to pack up and drive back to Indy again to be with her.

I hope to get back after this sale for another redo. I kinda have to, those snowflakes and valentines need to be switched out from some springtime flowers.

My husband might drive out for a family visit, and I’d ride home with him and fly back to spend more time with Bobbie.

Because I want as much time with her as I can.

Mistakes made while planning for Disney World (I should know better)

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 29, 2024

Florida was chilly and our evening at Magic Kingdom was downright cold!

But did we care? Well honestly, yes we did, we were shivering.

More important- did we let it stop us?

No!

We mortgaged our entire future and hit the stores to buy some layers, and stayed on into the night. I’d packed what I thought were plenty of warm items, but had soon discovered they weren’t enough. Sugarwings needed warm, heavy sweat pants over their jeans, I needed one more cozy sweatshirt.

I never go to Disney without scarves/shawls. They keep the sun off you on hot days and prevent cool air conditioning from giving you goosebumps when inside. For our below average temp day, I packed a fuzzy, cuddly, shawl, some gloves and a hoodie. It’s just hard to know for sure what you’ll need for the entire day, no matter how prepared you think you are.

On our second day, we were joined by Dewdrop and my boy for time at Epcot and of course I preached and nagged ahead of time about broken in shoes, layers, and warm socks. Did people listen? Well, a little bit.

At Epcot, your car is much more accessible than at Magic Kingdom, so I brought extras to leave in the parking lot, and besides for a few issues, we did fine.

Once again, the weather was not ideal, but the company was. But if you are prepared, it doesn’t stop you.

And sometimes it means crowds are lighter. I’ll take lighter crowds with a light drizzle any day.

We stayed at the Coronado for the first time, I booked one of the poolside rooms in the auxiliary buildings, not in the tower. And surprisingly, we used the adjacent pool as well as the main pool quite a bit. Florida cold is different than Kansas cold, and the temps fluctuate so much that you can squeeze in a swim at the heated pools even if the weather is subpar for the south.

Pool snack bars are our favorite places to eat when we get a chance. And at Disney, the food at them is usually better than at some of the resort food courts.

Another mistake I made was not bringing food to keep in the room. My son and Dewdrop had to cancel joining us (or so we thought) plus Sugarwings and I mostly share meals. I had a few drinks in the room for us, and we were fine.

Then we got the happy surprise that the other half of our group was coming after all! A grown man and a teen require more food than I’d planned on. Seriously, even if it was just two of us, I should’ve had fruit, yogurt, and other snacks in the hotel fridge.

We had a late night at Epcot and realized we were hungry after getting back to the room. I had not packed a scrap or tiny tidbit of anything to eat. We all went to bed a little hungry, so I got up early, walked the trail over to the main building, took out a second mortgage on my house and filled up a bag with pastries, juice, and fruit to surprise everyone with breakfast in bed when they woke up.

The pink sprinkled donuts as big as your head were as good as they looked, but for under ten bucks, we could’ve eaten much healthier if I’d simply thrown some groceries in the cooler before driving to Orlando.

Even though I hadn’t planned as well as I should’ve, the weather wasn’t close to ideal, the trip was short, and half our group could only make it half the time- I treasure the time we had there.

We found Hidden Mickies (This is the back of a koala’s head in Small World), explored, laughed, and just hung out together.

With my husband retired, and our budget tightened, I know what a splurge going to these parks is. Rich doesn’t like being there himself, so it is very generous of him to send me off on my own or with family while he does other things.
Sometimes I feel very selfish about my obsession with this place. I tell myself that I am done with it, I’ve been enough. And I’m fine with that.

For a while.

Then, thoughts of Mickey shaped food start popping into my head. And I’ll find myself reading recaps of other’s trips and travel hints online. Next, I’m looking at calendars to see what dates kids are out of school that can mesh with a quick trip that direction, or sneaking an extra vacation day onto another planned trip to somewhere sorta nearby to slide in “just a little visit” while I am so close.

Mickey, I have tried, but I can’t quit you. I’m a Disney magic junkie.

How I Spent my Christmas Vacation

cottage, family, Hearth Room, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / January 4, 2024

It’s that time again, I am set up for the First Friday weekend at Good Juju.

And I am ready for Valentine’s Day, with a booth full of hearts, roses, crowns, and cherubs.

Being in retail causes a twisty relationship with holidays.

In the midst of Christmas week, I was cutting out hearts.

You have to be a couple jumps ahead to sell holiday decor, so here I am, still chomping on candy canes and sipping cocoa while I create romantic crafts.

That’s okay. I love holidays and I very much enjoyed my Merry Valentine craft afternoons between Xmas movies with the grand fairies.

Not the whole week was as much fun as time with the grand fairies or with my craft supplies. We discovered a major, hidden water leak that had rotted out the whole back wall’s support system in the hearth room.

Luckily, my talented son was here to carpenter it all back to normal. In the meantime, we had three days of chaotic mess, door open (or off) in the cold, and expensive Home Depot runs while the guys worked their frozen little bottoms off to get things fixed.

The hens thought it was great fun to have an open door to wander in whenever they liked. And I zipped through taking down all of the Christmas decorations in record time to make space for the guys to work.

It was pretty bad. Did I mention the words, rotten, chaos, and expensive?
Yep, those sum it up.

But I also have to throw in “blessed”.

Because, while it was cold, it wasn’t horrible or icy, and the guys could work on the outside. And our boy was willing to extend his vacation to do the emergency repairs. Who knows how many months it would take to get this fixed if we waited on setting up a contractor?

But with Adam here- 3 days and DONE!

I was able to keep right on with my Valentine Christmastime crafting.

A Cottage Christmas on a Smaller Scale

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / December 29, 2023

We had a very nice, little Christmas. I think Dorothy enjoyed it more than anyone. She was gifted an extra large chewy and went wild on it. By her reaction, you’d have thought that dog had never been given a treat in her entire life.

She was overjoyed, hyper, protective, feral, and in shock over her luck, all at once. She went all crazy eyed and delved into her fortune whole heartedly, even without teeth.

The other hounds inhaled their goodies immediately. I made sure they each got a new toy and a chewy. Last year, I forgot to buy them presents and they were visibly disappointed that everyone else got something and they did not.

But their favorite part of Christmas? Having Dewdrop here to lavish them with attention.

She is an adorable charmer and we all loved having her with us. And the dogs weren’t the only ones who were excited about gifties, this lil sprite was enthusiastic and appreciative over every package, large or small

One hit (get it, bats, hit?) was Thia’s softball equipment from her years as a player. Dewdrop now is into the sport and was excited to get a bagful of bats, balls, etc to add to her collection.

I’m afraid the bag itself didn’t fare well over night. Our dogs have picked up some sort of virus that has been passed from one to the next. That first night, Christmas Eve, I was caught unaware that this illness was beginning.

Poor Honey had it first. And the poor sports bag, felt the effects. I woke up to a big mess that I needed to clear and sanitize before that child saw what had happened to her favorite present!

I was groggy when I stumbled upon the evidence of what was to become a week of one dog after another spending a couple of days with a tummy ache.

Because the smoke detector had been chirping all night long. I was the only one who heard it, but I couldn’t reach it until the guys came out with the big ladder to save Christmas.

Besides those small misadventures, we’ve had a lovely, laid back week of vacation. Our family gathering was not big this year, and our other people were greatly missed.

We had fun outings together to SeaLife and Hallmark Crown Center. Some movies, a binge of Otter Dynasty (funny, weird, and mesmerizing), played some games, and made some crafts.

Sugarwings had an idea to make “kindness bags” and distribute them to the homeless on Christmas Day.

This is also the first year that I’ve treated the week between Christmas and New Year as a vacation myself. No big organized crafts, building gingerbread neighborhoods, or decorating three kinds of cookies. Meals have been group efforts.

We have eaten treats gifted to us, I bought a bag of chocolate and only made one cake beforehand. As teens, the kids could entertain themselves without me orchestrating events to make it all “Christmassy”.

Being out of town five of the last ten weeks, plus working in retail the busiest season might have worn me down. I have been very worried about my sister, which tends to slow down all aspects of my world and dampen the colors around me.

We are also planning a camper trip to Florida (and Disney!) so I am trying to get my Good Juju inventory prepped and ready for both January’s and February’s sales before hitting the road.

I learned that Christmas can be magical without all of the mechanics I typically am working. Not that I ever minded all of the work I’d put into the holiday, I loved every minute of it. And I have learned that I can also love a more laid back celebration too.

Perfect was never a goal, that’s unattainable, and a recipe for disaster. My goal was always to keep things festive. And I think my grandfairies have that skill within themselves by now.

Because festiveness most certainly occurred and I mostly sat back and relished in it.

Merry Christmas!

family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 25, 2023

I hope you are having a blessed and Merry holiday.

Our boy and the littlest Grandfairy will be here with us.

We hope to have lots of cocoa parties, cookie decorating, and family walks in the woods.

Fin will visit, and Sugarwings’ mama will be here, unless a mom needs her to catch a newborn on Christmas.

We will miss our large group, this year we are split between different states.

And a big chunk of my heart is in Indiana with my sisters. I’m missing them more than usual this season.

But I know how lucky I am to have a big, loving family, whether we are gathered together physically or just in our hearts.

A holiday surprise

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / December 16, 2023

Yesterday I returned from another quick trip to Indiana.

This time it was to surprise my family at their annual ornament exchange party.

It has been too long since I’ve been to one. The last Christmas I remember being there was when it was held at my mom’s. And that was before Sugarwings was born.

Holidays with grand babies took over any free time I would have during busy Decembers. I had lots of weekend craft fairs to set up back then too.

Then not too much later, my sisters and started our Sister Trip traditions and we’d typically get time in Florida together each fall. My drives to Indiana came to be made for other occasions, not the holiday party.

I’d missed Christmas time with my extended family and was so glad I made this trip. The weather was ideal for driving, and for making lots of antiquing stops along the way, I got to see Sissy’s new house all prettied up for the season, and had a week full of hugs from people I love.

Also, I’d hoped to be of help in getting Bobbie to some of her medical appointments while I was there.

Bobbie’s health had some hiccups and instead of helping with the drives, I was keeping her company in the ER and ICU. Since I’d driven, I was able to have my car filled with craft supplies, and I could bead and sit quietly while she slept. I didn’t want her to make efforts to talk, she needed her rest, so I sat with her and made bracelets.

Lots of bracelets. With mostly genuine stones, along with vintage crystals. With only two visitors allowed at a time, I also made a work station for myself in the lounge and crafted there while others had their turns in her room.
All of us wanted to be there for her, she is so loved.

During her Thanksgiving hospital stay, doctors would always be surprised to see such a large entourage in the room. She was in a different (and closer to Pendleton) hospital this time and that made it even easier for guests, two of her kiddos work at this one and could drop in throughout the day.

But we mostly had to gather in the waiting rooms because of the two at a time limit.

Overall, it was such a pleasant hospital to spend time at. Great people, excellent care, comfortable surroundings, tasty food. I liked the spacious rooms they put Bobbie in, and how attentive they were to her.

Is it wrong to say how much I enjoyed being there with her, even though she felt so miserable? That sounds wrong.

Of course, I’d rather be anywhere else with her, healthy and strong, anywhere at all!

I guess I mean that even though I’m devastated, worried, and terrified about her health, I loved my time there with family and being able to be part of their holiday tradition, and to sit with everyone while Bobbie was getting the treatments she needed to feel more comfortable.

Instead of flying, I drove out, leaving my time open ended. Once she was moved out of ICU, I needed to force myself to head back to my own holiday traditions and be with my grandfairies, no matter how much I hated to tear away. Oh my gosh, it was so hard to leave. I wish I wasn’t so far away, and could be one of those daily visitors that pop in to hold her hand and ask her about her appetite or tell her a story about their day.

She has a big crew of loving people around her. I also wish I could be helping them out, with all of the extra jobs they have taken on to be of service and get our Bobbie feeling better.

Now, I am hitting the ground running, getting things ready for our own Kansas Christmas, looking forward to seeing the grandfairies open gifts, play reindeer games, and decorate cookies.

But I’ve left a chunk of my heart back home in Indiana.

Happy 55th, Bobbie and Doug

celebrations, family

By Karla Nathan / December 13, 2023

While my sister was in the hospital, it was her 55th anniversary, and a nurse wrote a congratulatory greeting on the board. Doug was so touched, he mentioned it to everyone who came in to the room that day. So when I ran into that same nurse in the cafeteria, I was pleased to be able to buy her lunch as a thank you. Any little cheery moment is a plus when you are with a loved one who is ill. I wanted her to know we appreciated the gesture.

I added a vase of flowers to the board, and made all of the buds heart shaped. Bobbie and Doug’s last name is Valentine.

Did you notice the heart shaped balloon covered in sparkly, rainbow hearts? I’d been watching it all week, stuck up in this lobby tree. Shaking the branches wouldn’t free it. So, on their anniversary, I had to try something else.

That balloon was meant for them! I was on a mission.

I looked around for someone with a cane to borrow for a minute, thinking that would be easy to find in a hospital. But nope.

I did find a sign on a pole in the entryway, and took it apart to use the pole, then climbed up as good as I could, hitting the branches with it.

Still no luck. But a nurse on her way out stopped to help me shake the tree while I swiped at the balloon string with my sign pole. Between us, we snagged it and I was able to take it to the love birds who had spent the day adorably holding hands.

I wish I could’ve thanked that nurse with a lunch too.