family – Page 65 – Karla's Cottage

Poison Kisses

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, flowers

By Karla Nathan / March 3, 2010

Thanks for your well wishes! It was nice of Beth to ask you to send me get well messages. I sure appreciated them, this has been a rough week.

Last week, Sugarwings had a little tummy ache and didn't eat for a couple of days. So, of course, I cuddled, coddled, and kissed her better. Friday night, her little bug bit me and by then, it was like one of those bugs from 1950s horror movies. Remember the attack of the giant mutant bugs that had been zapped with radiation?

Since we've had a grand baby around, the whole family has had one thing after another. We say that her poison kisses are so sweet, we just can't resist, even when she drags home one germ after another. Seems like she catches everything going around (then gives it to us!). Probably because she is one of those kids who are always putting everything in their mouths.

Please forgive me if I don't return comments right now, I'm still feeling a bit droopy.

But I am much better than I was a few days ago, when that mutant bug sent me to the ER all dehydrated and weak. They pumped a few bags of IV fluid into me, and filled me with anti nausea medication and sent me home to recover.

Yes, I'm a mom, so I know that fluids are important when someone is ill, and I never let my kid's cups go empty when they were laid out with a fever. But somehow, I forgot about doing that for myself. I just didn't care, all I wanted to do was sleep and have everyone stay far away from me.

So much for my much anticipated weekend all alone with nothing to do but play in the studio and get my house ready for the photo shoot that Carol and I were doing! A weekend all alone is not quite the same when you get to the point that every time you force yourself to face getting out of bed to lurch to the bathroom, you fall flat on your face.

My sweet boys came by to check on me, but of course, I just kept telling them that I just wanted to sleep. Adam made herbal tea and rented a movie for me then sat to keep me company while watching it. Ryan fed the dogs and brought in the mail and kept asking if I needed anything. My sister-in-law and niece came by to bring me a bottle of vitamin water. I should have opened it and drank it, but just couldn't stand the thought. Then, my husband flew home early from his business trip and brought rose and made broth. He wouldn't take no for an answer when I refused the broth.

Twinkle never once left my side. If I didn't already love that dog to pieces, she sure won my heart this week. Every time that I landed on the floor, she was right there licking my face and crying. Not that I like to have my face licked by a dog, but I knew she was doing it out of love.

I don't know how anyone can get through any kind of flu or cold without a warm, furry friend by your side. Of course, we have a fenced in yard and a doggy door, so she didn't need to be walked or taken out, that might have not been so pleasant otherwise.

Anyway, today I woke up feeling bright and shiny and raring to go. I had plans a mile long, packages to send, emails to get caught up on, projects to make for the photo shoot that I rescheduled for tomorrow.

But, after taking a look at my house and realizing just how much work it would take to make it picture perfect, and cooking breakfast for Sugarwings, I felt like I hit a brick wall. Sweet Carol and I will reschedule again for next week and Sugarwings and I will curl up with some movies. Its her turn to cuddle and coddle me back to health!

Too bad, these roses would have been wonderful for the shoot.

Tomorrow will be my day to be in the pink again! Everything else can wait till then.

Pretty girls

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / February 27, 2010

Pixie Pie and Sugarwings had a mini fairy fest last night with some new sets of wings. Now, my little fairies have plenty of wings, but there is nothing like a spankin new pair to get the fun going. Its kind of like when I have a room full of stuff to work with, but still get really excited about a flea market haul of new (old) supplies.

The little girls weren't the only ones who got treats yesterday. I splurged and took all three little Dorkies to the groomer. I usually cut their hair myself, but its easier to do outside in nice weather. I hate cleaning up all the hair after trying to cut it indoors.

Since I was splurging on groomer fees, I went all out. Twinks has painted toenails and a sparkly bow too.

It was so worth it. Look at that face! She deserves a hair cut that no one makes fun of. When I do the styling myself, there isn't much style to it. She is smart enough to act embarrassed about how funny she looks from my chopping. Last night, she was showing off, knowing she looked GOOD from the groomer's work!

Plus, she's going to be a mama, she needs some pampering.

Thanks for all the Charlotte shopping! I've been packing boxes for hours tonight. I think there are a couple left in the shop, not many. Man, those went fast. You'd have thought these girls had wings too, the way they flew out of here.

Thanks!

Winter on the Fairy Berry Trail

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2010

Sugarwings and I had some fun in the snow yesterday. After all the snow we've gotten this season, I am surprised to say the words "fun" and "snow" in the same sentence! This winter's snowfalls have been brutal and cold, and mostly made me feel trapped. But this one! This one was just delightful!

Fluffy, fat, flakes, and 33 degrees. This was the kind of snow that just beckoned us outdoors and into the woods. So we bundled up and headed out to the Fairy Berry Trail (Sugarwings is wearing a Calvin Klein ruffled coat on sale from TJMax for only $10, and a scarf knitted by my favorite non-stop knitter, Beth)

We filled our pockets with little vials of glitter to decorate the snow fairies we had planned to make, but the fluffy snow wasn't cooperating, and the ground was so warm, that when we rolled a snow ball, it collected mud and leaves and the white snow didn't stay white for long. Even a full bottle of glitter wouldn't have enhanced those brown lumps we created.

It didn't matter. We had a blast crawling through the fallen trees and making a fort in the piles of wood. In the summer time we stick to the trail to avoid poison ivy and bugs and who knows what else, so it was a treat to step off the trail into the "wilderness" of the woods and do some exploring.

She wanted to explore this old shed too, but its so full of junk, I can't let her in there. Too bad I don't have it fixed up yet, it would have been a good place to use as a cabin on a snowy day. In the past, it was my once a month antique store, and there are piles of unwanted inventory everywhere. It needs a good cleaning, so I can make it into a play house for the little Fairy grand baby. She is sure drawn to the building every time we go out in the yard.

Its nice to know that she likes a lot of the same things I do.

After getting all wet and cold in the snow, I warmed her up with a bubble bath while I wrapped in a robe and sat by the tub to read. I'm in the middle of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Its well done, with using the original text, just adding ninja zombie killing moves.

Anyway, as I sat there with her, I started thinking about repainting the bathroom a robin's egg blue with a sheer gold wash over the top.

Now, why can't I just enjoy a snow day, without thinking about redoing the shed or repainting the bathroom?????

Did you notice anything missing in the snow pictures? No Twinkle! She has a "date" with Teddy. Its quiet around here without her around, but if all goes well, I'll be ankle deep in yorkies soon enough.

I'll leave you with some pics of what is new in the Boutique. I need to go take some more photos and get more listed, before Sugarwings comes back to spend the day with me again.

Making Memories Last

Books, fairies, family, how to's, show and tell, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 29, 2010

The last few days, I've gotten caught up on a year's worth of photos! January seems to be a good time for me to get organized. But it would be smarter to glue pictures into the albums throughout the year instead of dealing with a couple hundred at once…

Since I had so many to arrange, I kept the pages very simple, quick and easy.

Printing a page of collaged photos saved a lot of time! So did using the black pages as a background, and not trying to cover them up completely. On this page, I doodled some flowers in Gelly Roll ink in the corner and slapped some glue on the picture and stuck it down.

For Sugarwing's Snow Princess picture, I used a two sided card stock to make a card. One photo went on the top, and then I trimmed it in some of my Great Aunt Caroline's old lace.

I glued the back of the card into the album, and added another photo to the inside. Next, I glued down an envelope that holds a copy of the story I wrote for her when we had our Snow Princess Tea Party.

The pastel Gelly Roll pens really worked well on the black paper, so I made use of them a lot.

I don't really consider myself a scrapbooker. But, I do have tons of books that I've made (mostly about Sugarwings, but there are some other pics in them too) so I guess I am.

My goal when assembling an album is to get a lot done, fast, simple, quick, and cute.

First step is to sort the pictures. I arrange them in piles according to event or person. I work my way through, one pile at a time, and have a stack of papers nearby to coordinate. Normally, I don't use stickers, but these were just so right for this picture of Sugarwings in her Snow White dress, that I couldn't resist sneaking them from her supply stash. Sometimes, I think that kid has more art supplies than I do.

Instead of glue sticks, I use a bottle of Incredibly Tacky, and run a bead of it along the edges of each bit of paper, then zig zag it around the middle before putting it into the book. It seems so much more durable to me than a glue stick.

Hobby Lobby has booklets of sparkle paper cut in just the perfect, time saving, size to add a photo to. I made use of about a whole book full of those.

Cutting people out of some of the photos adds some variety too. I don't cut too many out, though, because part of the fun of looking at an album 20 years later is seeing all the backgrounds, and remembering a chair, or table or wall color from years ago.

Textured papers add some interest too.

The best part of doing this was enjoying all of my favorite photos from the past year.

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You can probably tell that I don't spend a lot of time cutting or measuring…. I eyeball the paper and snip away, and just don't worry about it being perfect. Like I said, cute and quick. (this is more sparkly paper, in a larger size)

Notice the beautiful card? It was one of the 100 hand made cards sent in to my Great Aunt for her 100th birthday. When she passed away this summer, I got a few of the cards to take home and thought the album would be a good way to save them and remember the occasion. This one was done by Nancy. I glued it down, and then added two more pictures of Sugarwings and Pixie Pie to the inside of it.

Cards are a good way to fit more photos onto one page. For the Christmas pages, I saved holiday cards that we got in the mail and used those to hold pictures.

Not all of the pages got much attention. Some were pretty simple.

Others had more going on. There are 4 pages about the Fairy Berry Trail and I wrote a little story to go along with it. It might have looked better if I'd printed it out, or at least wrote more legibly, but like I said, there were hundreds of photos and I was going for quick and cute.

After making 4 photo albums in 3 days, I think I've had enough for a while. I have a feeling that I will not be keeping up throughout the year after all. I'm a bit burnt out. I'll probably have another big stack to deal with next January!

The Snow Princess

Books, celebrations, Chandeliers, fairies, family, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 10, 2010

Things are still icy around here and I am still too big of a wimp to go outside. If it is below 10 degrees, I just don't think a 3 year old needs to be in and out of the car, and even though I am feeling better and over my bug, I didn't want to be in and out of the car either.

So we decided to make the most of a snow day, and have a Snow Princess Tea Party. We got all dressed up for it.

Well, kind of. One of us did at least. I'm wearing my husband's long johns, two sweaters, hair that hasn't seen a fixin in days, and a black lace "wicked witch" jacket.

The idea came about when we were out in the studio and I realized that cabin fever was really getting to both of us, if I was letting a baby play with power tools. So, I started to make up a story about snow and princesses and fairies, and it turned into a 3 hour adventure for us both.

(Notice the new chandelier? It was out in the studio, I used it for lighting for above my jewelry display at shows, now it is staying in the kitchen. My son and I hung it last night- More Zero Dollar Decorating!!)

We scoured the studio for props, and made up the story as we went along. I covered Sugarwing's little table in layers of white and slipped pillow cases over our chairs.

After creating a snow princess crown, she decided that I should wear it instead of her. Sadly, she isn't a hat person. But that is okay, she usually indulges me in so many other ways, that I can forgive her for not playing with all of my vintage hats with me.

And what do you serve a snow princess? All white foods. Snow ball candy (yogurt raisins) were the hit of the day.

Here is the story:

Once upon a time there was a golden haired, happy little princess who loved to dance and sing in the sunshine. Every where the sweet girl went, flowers bloomed and birds sang with joy, just to be near her. Butterflies and fairies flit about above her just because she was so fun to be near. And her warm, kind heart always drew them to her.

One day, a nasty gnome who liked to spend his days in darkness and gloom heard the boisterous laughter of the happy little princess and all of her flying friends. This nasty gnome hated happiness and his ears ached from the sound of glee that was coming from the friends dancing and singing in the blooming garden.

He crept closer and peeped through the hedgerow to see where this hideous laughter was coming from. And he saw the pretty princess twirling and leaping in the flower beds. The sight of such playfulness brought pain to his eyes to match the pain in his ears. He couldn't take seeing and hearing anything as beautiful as this little girl. To him, it was not beauty at all- it was torture! He had to stop it.

So, he pulled out his crooked, magic wand and waved it through the air, then pointed it right at the happy little princess and cursed her with a spell to put a stop to all the singing.

The sweet princess suddenly felt a chill. She looked to the flowering ground beneath her silk clad toes and saw the flowers wilt and frost form over them. Quickly, the pond that was filled with long necked swans started to turn to icy slush, then freeze into a solid sheet of ice. As the princess looked up, a fat flake of snow fell right onto her once rosy, now pale cheek. She smiled at his sparkling crystal beauty, even as she felt herself growing cold.

All around her, the birds, and fairies, and butterflies flapped their wings trying to warm themselves as their world became covered in ice and snow and the sun was buried behind a gray cloud of doom.

As the nasty gnome still peaked through the ice-crusted hedges, he almost smiled. But he couldn't because he had a heart colder than any block of ice. But his ears no longer ached from the sounds of song and his eyes were no longer in pain from the sight of joyous dancing.

Because, the pretty little princess who loved playing in the sunlight, slowly turned into a snow princess. Her golden hair became as white as a blizzard and she was as frozen as the ice on the pond.But as she became a statue of snow, her face froze in an expression of wonder and delight as she saw the sparkling snow flakes fall.

He trudged away, feeling satisfied with his spell, knowing that her friends would fly away to someplace warmer, leaving the princess cold and alone like he had been his entire life of 568 years.

But as he left, he looked over his shoulder, expecting to see a flight of fairies, butterflies, and birdies deserting their princess. Instead, he saw something different! All the creatures fluttered around her, staying close to bring her what little warmth they could. The littlest fairy gathered herbs to make tea to warm her, as the swans plucked their down feathers to cover her frozen limbs.

Because the sweet princess had such a loving and kind soul, no one would leave her. Even though they were so cold and had wings to fly away from the frozen garden back to sunshine, they stayed with their snow princess. They would not stray from her side no matter how cold and miserable they were!

Maybe it was the tea that started to warm her. Or the fluffy swan's down? But she knew that it was the love her friends showed her that warmed her heart and melted the ice that held her captive. All the love and caring freed the happy little princess and broke the evil spell the nasty gnome had cast.

He saw the sun coming back out through the clouds and the flowers shaking off their frost and reopening their petals. He heard singing, even more loud and joyous than what he had heard before! This time, he ran as fast as his stubby, gnarly legs would take him, far, far away from the horrid sounds. He ran straight to a cave deep inside of a hill where he could hide forever in the darkness and gloom where he belonged.

A rainbow appeared in the sky as the ice storm cleared and the snow princess thawed. She felt the sun on her skin, wiggled her toes in the soft dirt of the garden and grinned the biggest, happiest grin she'd ever grinned before. But from that day on, her hair stayed white as a blizzard and was never the color of sunshine again.

When she saw her reflection in the pond, she was reminded of the nasty gnome and his evil spell. But she was never frightened when she remembered that day. To her the white hair was the color of the downy swan feathers that her loved ones tried to warm her with. Her memories of that cold, cold day were of the love and caring that she shared with her friends.

Its a start!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, housework, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 31, 2009

You still have the 31st to enter the drawing for my December Giveaway, and the 50% off sale in my shops goes through the 1st.

Thanks to all of you who have shopped with me!

I'm getting a jump on my New Year's resolutions and getting some repairs done. My house has been terribly neglected in 2009. We replaced the closet door months and months ago, and I just NOW, finally, repainted the door and the trim around it, plus the wall that got dinged up in the process of changing the door out.

I painted the door white, then added glaze to a paper bag brown color, brushed it on and wiped it down with a damp cloth. Quick and easy and such a difference. Why did I wait months to clean up this area???

My resolution is to not let things slip by me anymore.

(oh, and see the hand weights? They will be getting a lot more use in 2010, that is another resolution!!!)

This corner was never finished when the door was replaced. Yesterday, I called the guy who did the work and he is coming back on Monday to fix this floor. While he is here, I have a list a mile long that he is going to do for me. Little things that have been bugging me around the house, like doors that just don't close right, a cabinet that needs hung. Yes, my son is a carpenter. But between taking care of Sugarwings, work, and school, I'm lucky to get him to do anything at all.

He helps with housework, cooks, and gives me neck massages all the time (he is also a massage therapist), so I am not complaining. Instead, I am calling in a handyman who will get the list knocked off in one day.

I'm starting the new year with a whole new outlook. The fun and chaos of chasing a 3 year old has caused me to neglect my home, and I am not going to let that happen any more. Things I can't do, don't have time to do and can't get the guys who live here to do are going to be done by our friend, Don, the handyman.

Some things, I am facing and conquering on my own, like this. Months ago, the screws crumbled and broke off on the knobs of this old cabinet. Yes, I knew it was coming, they were wonky for a year or two. But I ignored it. I've been living with a knobless cabinet in my bedroom since summer.

I am fixing this little problem right now. Well, this afternoon, at least because there are no screws the right length in my tool kit. There never seems to be the right ones, does there? That is what stopped me every time I thought about fixing it. I had the knobs, just the wrong screws. So, today, I am taking some glass knobs to the hardware store and getting the right ones.

After changing the screws on the cabinet and mailing some packages, my New Year's Eve will be a quiet one. We've filled the wheelbarrows with wood, so we can have a warm and toasty house tonight. I'll probably rent a couple of movies, and curl up with Sugarwings to share some popcorn.

Hope your New Year's Eve is a fun one too, and 2010 brings you the accomplishments you want to achieve as well as lots of joy.

(Maybe one of my resolutions should be to NOT go too crazy with picnik editing??? This photo is a tad bit over the top, huh?)

Janice has a new home and you get a Big Bargain Bonanza of Baubles!

Etsy Goodies, family, give away, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / December 27, 2009

Little Janice is safe in her new home. A family from Junction City tried to come and pick her up for Christmas, because they had just lost their elderly poodle and the kids were heartbroken. Janice had just lost her owner and was heartbroken too. It was the perfect match! But the family got into trouble with the beginnings of the blizzard and totaled their truck while coming to get her on Christmas Eve!!

No one was hurt, but the truck was done for.

So, on the day after Christmas, my husband and I made a 3 hour trip (still snowing, and slippery, but not as bad that day) to deliver sad and scared Janice to her new home.

Even though our truck's wiper motor blew out and we had to stop and clean the windshield a lot, I have to tell you, that trip was worth every minute of the time and trouble we took to make it.

The family had a tiny, tiny house, about 2 feet of yard in the front, right off the highway. It was not a good neighborhood, but the house was spotlessly clean and the kids were polite, sweet and so happy to see their new dog. The mom said she didn't have much but offered me $6 for gas money for bringing the dog all the way out to them.

I was so moved, that I had wished that I'd brought a bagful of gifts too.

What a perfect home for that little pup. Sugarwing's Nanny would be happy to know that the little dog she rescued a few years ago is now, once again, safe and loved.

These photos are some that I edited for a slide show as a farewell for Nanny's service today.

Losing someone that suddenly, out of the blue really makes me think. Especially after delivering that little dog to a family who apparently had so little, had just lost their transportation but seemed so happy together. I wish I'd had my camera with me so you could see the way that kid's face lit up when I handed her the dog!

There is nothing more beautiful than bringing a smile to a little girl!

So, I thought I'd try to bring some smiles to all of you "little girls" out there who read my blog! Of course, there is the regular monthly giveaway that you still have till New Year's Eve to enter for. And this month it is an extra special gift, of Amy Barrickman's new book.

But for even more smiles, I'd also like to offer everything in my Boutique and Etsy for half price till the end of the year. (except the Grumpy Fairy Book, sorry, the production costs won't allow me to offer that big of a discount for that.) The sale includes items already marked down, too!

Make your purchases as usual, through Pay Pal and I will send you a Pay Pal refund for the discount.

Also, please note, that sometimes, with multiple items, the shipping can grow a bit high. If it is too high, I refund a portion of it. Also, I will combine the shipping if you order something from each shop. So feel free to shop away!

If you are paying by check, email me for a total. But remember, with Pay Pal, that I will give your discount AFTERWARD as a REFUND.

Thanks so much, all of you who listen to my ramblings and keep me company when the bad things happen and share the good things with smiles.

Lets all have the happiest of New Years!

God Bless you, even if you are are a Nebraska fan

celebrations, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / December 26, 2009

Boy did we ever get the snow. My handsome husband spent the day driving around in the 4 wheel drive pick up and pulling stranded people out of the mess. He was having so much fun doing it, that he came home to pick up Sugarwing's Daddy and his cute gypsy girlfriend to go out and be good Samartatins with him.

We live in a town loyal to Kansas Jayhawks, and my husband grew up in Nebraska, so has a Cornhusker sign on his big red truck. One guy that he pulled out of a drift said to him, "God bless you, even if you are a Cornhusker fan."

He wasn't the only person out saving people from the drifts. Living in the Midwest is pretty nice. Strangers will come out in the cold just to help you if you need it.

Luckily, we had a little Christmas party for Sugarwings and Pixie Pie before the storm hit, because our big Christmas day event was canceled due to the weather. We were able to safely get Sugarwings and her Mommy to their family in Kansas City, so they could all be together on Christmas Day, though. It was very important to get them there, since Nanny passed away this week. Those siblings all needed each other.

(As you can tell from Sugarwing's shirt, my husband is also a Jayhawk fan!)

On Christmas Eve, we did our gift exchange and Sugarwings insisted on being Santa and loading the gifts in her new sleigh to deliver them.

The only trouble was, that the red velvet pants that I'd just bought for her, were not quite the right size and tended to slip a bit. She walked right out of them a couple times, but was not going to let that stop her from delivering Santa's gifts!

Twinks was asked to play "Max" and Sugarwings was the Grinch for a while too. That sled got quite the workout in the house, but when her daddy tried to take her out to use it in the 4 foot snow drifts, she didn't want to have anything to do with it or the cold.

Some of you had asked about the painted tree. Its on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood, and I had painted it to decorate for my antique booth at the holidays. I put hooks into the wood and sold ornaments off of it. But this year, I brought it into the living room for Christmas. We used it as a backdrop to take some holiday photos of our little girls.

And since there were little girls around, no vintage ornaments were on the hooks this year, they went up on the chandelier out of reach, instead! Hey, I might be a sucker for those kids, but I am not a fool. If I care about something, it goes where no grabby little hands can get it.

Its been an odd holiday. Sugarwing's Nanny passed away, we had a huge snow storm that canceled most of our plans, and so many other people's too. But we made the best of it, and celebrated what and when we could. Holding those you care about close when you can and grabbing snippets of joy where you can find them is what matters. Enjoying the funny, little moments like watching a miniature Santa walking right out of her red pants, and helping strangers stranded in a ditch are things that made our Christmas '09 something we'll remember.

Of course that fridge full of food to feed 20 some people who couldn't come to dinner is a reminder too.

A home for the holidays?

family, holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 23, 2009

Thank you so much for all of your kind condolence messages about Sugarwings losing her Nanny. Her other grandmother was also a big part of our fairy baby's life and our little one will miss her.

We appreciate all of your sweet comments.

Sugarwings isn't the only one who will miss her Nanny. This furry cuddle bug was a rescue dog in need of love just a couple years ago. Amy (Nanny) took her in and gave her a new life of love and caring. Now, this little sweetie needs a home again.

If you know of anyone looking for a small dog who likes to hug, please let me know. This Lhaso Apso is an older gal and is pretty quiet and laid back. She is used to kids (Sugarwings) and has had a rough life but hasn't let it get her down. She is kind hearted and loving. (also housebroken and used to apartment living)

She will be staying with us for a bit until we find her a home, but hopefully not for long. Twinkle seems to hate her for no reason, and this poor thing is pretty scared of her. After all she has been through, she doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. She should be somewhere that she feels at home and safe.

A loss

family

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2009

Today, Sugarwings lost her other grandmother. Unexpectedly, suddenly, and sadly. A simple surgery last week, that had supposedly gone well, turned into sepsis that took her in a matter of hours.

No one has told our little fairy baby yet. Would she even understand at 3, what all of this means? For now, her Mommy has been staying with us, we spent the early morning hours at the hospital in case we were needed for support. But honestly, what can you do? Me, I feed people. I made a big breakfast when we got back to the house.

And what else can I do? For me, making things helps. I had planned a craft day with good friends and decided to keep our plans. Sugarwing's "Nanny" had once given me a bag full of colorful feathers from a dear bird she had loved. So, today's projects made use of the feathers in honor of her.

Using pom poms spritzed with Glimmer Mist, and the feathers that Nanny had carefully saved, I made this parrot to give to our sad little Hippie Chick. Not that she needs a memento of her mom to remember her, not that she is in the mood for holiday decorations, but I guess because it meant something to me. I had Sugarwings make a bird for her with the feathers too, for me, hands on cooking or making something shows love. And creating something with Sugarwings is even more so.

I'll leave you with a few photos of the birds I made today.

Good bye, Nanny. Your daughter and your fairy grand baby will miss you.