family – Page 66 – Karla's Cottage

Whisked away

Books, fairies, family, give away, paintings, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 17, 2009

My Handsome Husband whisked me away to Chicago for the night to see our favorite musician, Lucinda Williams in concert!

Typically, I'm not a concert goer. Too bad, my husband loves them, and would really appreciate it if I'd go with him to more shows. But Lucinda is such a favorite of ours, and the setting was a more intimate club, not a big convention center or stadium. We had great seats, and she is so real and down to earth, I'd go to a lot more concerts if they were as nice as this. Not too loud, not too crowded, just right. Geez, do I sound like an old fuddy duddy? But, I've always been like this even in high school. I'm just not a concert person.

Even though the hall was all black and set up with typical stage lighting and paraphenelia, I had this pretty view above our table. The building used to be an old theater and they were smart enough to save the intricate plaster work on the ceiling when they remodeled it.

Before the concert, we went out to dinner at Art Smith's cozy little restaurant, Table 52. I'd seen him on Top Chef Masters, and if you've ever read my blog, you know what a tv junkie I am, so I was excited to go to a place I'd heard of on one of my regular programs. I was as excited as Sugarwings would have been if she'd gone to Arial's grotto for dinner.

And not only was it a lovely place to eat, the food was amazing. And I do like good food.

The next day, I flew home just in time to make it over to my friend, Angie's house to be a part of a surprise party for her. She had NO idea that we were all in her home waiting for her, it was so cute to see her reaction and to see all the love and caring that her family put into the planning.

See the painting behind us? She
got it at an estate sale, and took it to Antiques Roadshow. She was
told it is worth $8,000, not bad for a $30 estate sale piece, huh?

Why do I show bad photos of myself? Yes, I was pretty tired, (and look it, too) after two days of travel and being stuck in Chicago traffic, and waiting at the airport for hours on standby, trying to get back a bit early so I could be home for the surprise.

But honestly, NO ONE would look good next to Angie, she is such a beauty.

I guess you could say she is the fairest of them all.

Tonight, Sugarwings and I are having a girl's night. Its just the two of us and we are going to spend it watching Snow White and making caramel apples. She loves to act out her favorite parts of movies, so I bought her this gown to wear and I am prepared to be the wicked witch. I am always assigned the scary parts, the wicked witch, a flying monkey, or the big, bad wolf.

In the meantime, I have a few hours before she gets here for our Snow White Festival and will start assembling the Grumpy Fairy books. I'm extremely happy with the paper quality, and color. But am not so happy with the mountain of work ahead of me, binding them all myself.

Especially since I decided to hand glitter highlights on the pages. Stickles is a wonder product, and the sparkles won't rub or flake off like gluing down regular glitter, so I think this is the answer to getting Sugarwing's wings to look sugary and not having glitter all over the reader's hands.

I'll let you know if I ever get any ready to sell… I hope to have them in the Boutique in time for holiday shopping, and also have some to take to Silver Bella. But I will for sure have one ready to give away for the October Giveaway.

All comments all month count for the prize. (I do appreciate your comments!)

In the Sunflower Fairy House

family, flowers, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 8, 2009

Thanks for your interest in Mary's

Artist Class, I'm looking forward to not only my part in the class, but doing the projects that others will be teaching too. Not all the projects are listed yet, but she is planning 12, plus daily tips, tricks, and techniques.

Here is the $10 discount code that you can use to sign up for ALL TWELVE of the offered classes, plus be included in all of the prize drawings I will have to offer.

karlascottage

Thanks for using my code for if you sign up!

Personally, I am way beyond swamped right now, getting ready for Silver Bella, but I plan on catching up with all the Artist Class projects after the holidays. That is the joy of having an online class, I can look through them all in my jammies, late at night, whenever I get a chance to, not on someone else's schedule.

Of course, knowing me, I won't wait. I spend way too much time on the computer and will be too curious and excited about it all to wait "until I have time". Because "until I have time" is kind of like saying "once upon a time, in a land far, far away".

It is FICTIONAL. I never have time!! And never will have time to do what I want, but heck, I just do it anyway and it all works out somehow.

Of course, there is always time for Sugarwings! But then, she might be the reason why I don't seem to have as much time for other things…

When I drive her out to school, I love to linger and look around. The gardens and the play yard are so creative and fun! They grow food and flowers for the local farmers market and the huge (organic) garden is the first thing you see when you get out of your car.

As the looming sunflowers died out for the year, they were bundled up into a tee pee for the kids to play in, and Sugarwings calls it her fairy house.

And this thatched roof play house makes me feel like I am on Gilligan's Island. Or Survivor. Which is on tonight, and I have my fingers crossed that the evil troll man goes home.

How is that for a jungle gym? It makes me want to climb and play on it! I love that this school is against big plastic junk toys. They focus on all natural materials and lots of imagination.

She loves her school, and as much as I miss her during the day, I know this is a good place for her. Plus, I'm enjoying the short drive out to the countryside to get her there and back, its a reminder to me to stop and appreciate my surroundings and realize how lucky I am to live in such a pretty area.

And of course, I always know how lucky I am to have this pretty baby in my life.

A Farmhouse McMansion

collections, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / October 5, 2009

My house was empty over the weekend, just me and my dogs. When not parked in front of the DVR with a bowl full of popcorn, I spent time making some jewelry.  But mostly, I watched way, way too much TV.  
My TV addiction has become a serious problem.  I might need an intervention.  Or follow Beth's advice and get a job as a TV critic.
 
  
I was in a girly mood when I did this one.  Hmm, I think I'll switch the blue oval rhinestone with the rhinestone flower, this isn't balanced… I also think some pink crystal beads would be nice to add.
That is why I make my jewelry far in advance of an art show. I look it over, wear it, see if it hangs well and is comfy, or catches on anything. Changes sometimes need to be made.
 
Sugarwing's Daddy brought home a free dollhouse for her.  While I think it is magnificent, and actually kind of looks like our house (if I added some black shutters to it), its a bit overwhelming. Wow, it is huge!
"That's what she said."– see, I watch too many "Office" episodes, I am quoting Steve Carrell.
 
This mansion has hinges on each end so that a third of the house swings open, as well as part of the roof lifting up. I'd say it was hand made, with a lot of care. 
And big HEAVY ply wood.
 
My fairy grand baby already has a nice doll house in her room. This one is sturdy, wooden and hand made too, I found it at a garage sale for $20 a few years ago and painted it to match her room when she was big enough to play with it.  Its large, but not overwhelming like the white one her Daddy brought home to her.
 
Plus, it is furnished in just her style, with the blue flying monkey and rainbow haired troll dolls feeling right at home there.
 
There is a vintage log cabin with no roof that we use as a book case in her room too.  Its also from a garage sale, it was $10.  I lost the roof somewhere, and painted it white.  
It was probably worth something before I "fixed it up".
 
There is also a doll house in my studio.  This one does double duty, I dump her toys out and take it with me to shows, its a great display shelf. Its tall and lightweight and adds a visual impact to my booth. 
I certainly couldn't do that with the 2 ton, 20 room version that my son brought home this week.  Heck, maybe I'll use the new one for a dog house, its big enough for all three Dorkies to move into.
Notice how Twinkle automatically poses when I get out my camera? She thinks the photos are all about her. When I pick up the camera, she sits and waits to be admired.  The dog is turning into a bigger ham every day.
 
See what I mean? She can't imagine I'd take a photo without her in it. If you've wondered why I call the Yorkies "Dorkies" its because of their silly, and adorable behavior, like this.
 
Yes, Twinkle is pretty good company, she is right at my feet all day while I work, and is endlessly fascinated by all that I do.  I find myself showing her what I am working on, and her little head tilts to the side like she really cares and is intrigued by what I came up with. 
And of course, she thinks some things just look like dog toys. She really wants one of these chicks.
 
Not that she is getting one.  I kept a few for myself to make some things, and the rest are listed in the Boutique.  I've sold a LOT of them, but there are still some left.  But I can't recommend them as dog toys, no matter what Twinkle says.

40 ways to say happy birthday

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Food and Drink, how-to projects

By Karla Nathan / September 29, 2009

This morning, we celebrated a friend's birthday with a brunch at my house.  It was a simple meal, organic vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit salad, and Rhodes cinnamon rolls hot out of the the oven, with a birthday candle stuck in them.

Since she was turning 40, a group of her friends came up with 40 charms for me to make into a bracelet for her.  We've done this for a couple of other pals in our circle on their 40th too.

Since 8 different people bought, or made the pieces, it really looked like a charm bracelet full of tidbits collected over a lifetime.  Some had special meaning, like her kid's photos, a coffee pot (to symbolize our regular coffee gatherings), a bowling pin (from bowling dates together), her initials, etc.  But some were just cute little things that were "filler".  

Since she owns two dorkie pups from one of my dog's litters, I really tried to find a Yorky charm for her.  But, one of her dogs is a giant, king sized terrier, that I swear is half golden retriever (we had goldens at the time too, so I really think that is possible…), so I figured that this over-sized blue dog looked enough 
like him to work.

To make the charms with her kid's photos:
 I bought frame charms from the craft store, and cut out at plain bit of green paper to fit them (her favorite color).
Then, I found photos of her kids on my computer, edited them to black and white, and emailed them to the copy store with instructions to reduce them so that the faces were just under 3/4" inches.
Color photo copies seem to work better under paper glaze than the pictures I make with my own printer. The ink never runs with photo copies.
I cut out the faces and glued those to the green paper, and covered it all with a layer of paper glaze. Love that stuff! It is self leveling, so you don't have to be perfect with it. You do need to watch it as it dries, though and pop any bubbles that form. (use a pin)

After it was all assembled, I wrapped the bracelet in a green, vintage hankie and put it into a decorated cone.  The Dollar Tree store was selling packages of these gold or silver cones 6 for a dollar! 
They were pretty as is, and make great favor wraps, or small gift packages.  I added a medallion with her initial, and then pinned some festive ribbons to the bottom with vintage brooch that she can take off and wear on her jacket.

This photo is a bit redundant, since I've already shown you the bracelet, but hey, look at my new lady!!  She is from Rusty Chandelier 
one of the BEST antique malls, EVER.  She isn't named yet, or finished. I am thinking about covering her in old French ephemera like I did the hand that Robin gave to me.

Especially since this gift just came in the mail!  Zita sent these French Canadian books to me and the pages are just perfect for redoing the face of my new lady, huh?

She'll be wonderful for selling hats and necklaces, plus will class up my booth a bit!

Before I get to work on her, I need to go and tidy up after the brunch. I never mind the after party mess, its usually a time to think about who said what and what funny things came up, and to enjoy the pretty dishes and bowls as I am washing them up.

Just like picking up after Sugarwings. Her leavings often give my heart a little tug, like this pile of her favorites set on the stairs waiting to be carried up to her room.

Bubbling over with buttons

antiques/junking, family, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / September 21, 2009

Yesterday, I met Beth at an auction to just hang out and visit. I couldn't stay long, and had no plans to buy anything.

But how could I pass up this marble lamp for $20?

Actually, I was pretty proud of myself for only buying a lamp. I love auctions as much as Sugarwings loves ice cream. Or as much as I love ice cream, too.

Just the thought of ice cream makes us both jump with joy.

Usually at auctions, I go home with buyer's remorse, because I lose control and bid on things I
shouldn't, or even worse, had not inspected very well. My advice on auctions, is to get there early enough to take a really good look at whats for sale. If you don't see it up close, you might miss out on a flaw that could make it worth much less than you thought.

Yep, speaking from experience there.

Luckily, I kept my bidding under control, well except for the one time when I was telling a story to Beth and gesturing widely, almost bidding $35 on feed sacks that I didn't want.

I'm so glad I didn't over-buy. Because just the day before, I was struck with button maddness at an antique mall and bought 3 big jars of buttons (did I mention that I have a few buttons already? Well, only a few buckets full, I guess). So today, I am sorting, cleaning and bagging buttons.

I made up three cauldrons full of Halloween colored buttons for craft packs, and adding vintage flowers to the pots. They are in the Boutique now if you need any.

These are the same as the cauldron I glittered and filled with brooches for the September Giveaway.

My only other new listing is this hand made, painted and glittered pumpkin topped bottle.

This is probably it for me and Halloween. I've got to move along to Christmas and getting ready for Silver Bella. Right now, I have little Putz houses spread out on my table ready to create sparkling villages. I'd better get to them. The halls don't just deck themselves you know.

A random rambling and a secret surprise giveaway

family, give away, how to's, how-to projects, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / September 18, 2009

Do you have a favorite children's book author? Mine is Stephen Johnson.  He is a local, Lawrence, KS artist who has done a series of interactive kid's books.  Now he is working on one called "The Princess Purse" and came over to my studio to borrow sparkly things, vintagey boxes, and pretty wallpapers all to use as props.  
Stephen brought this taxi book for Sugarwings as a gift.  She's going to have a whole collection of his books, lucky kid!  His latest is about fire trucks and will be out very soon. You can find it and his others at many major book stores. And they are really cute!

Some of you were asking about the mudding I had to do for the dry wall. Well, we took out a closet and used the space to enlarge my husband's office.  The new dry wall was smooth and the old walls were textured. I had to fake a texture to blend it in.
After the dry wall guy (my sweet brother-in-law) got the walls done, I used a sponge roller (meant for faux finishes) to roll on joint compound. Then, took a trowel and knocked the points and highest spots off of the rolled on mud.

After painting, I think it looks pretty good. 
What I don't like, is that Home Depot gave me the wrong box of floor covering!  I had picked out a grayer color that blended well with the existing carpet.  But instead I got this dark sienna, that the guys didn't realize was wrong and installed anyway.  I should have looked in the box myself.  It matches the walls ok, and isn't horrid, it just isn't what I wanted.
When we get the room all put back together, I'll show you some more shots. I'm also redoing Ryan's room, it was his walk in closet we stole to make the office bigger. So I owe him…

Just how hodgepodgy can I make this posting?? I'm flitting about from one thing to another even more than usual!
Sweet Zita  offered to mail an old French magazine to me after reading my last post about how I loved working with that kind of paper.  Did I call her sweet Zita? I meant Adorable, Darling, Generous, Magnanimous, Delightful, Kind, Gracious, and Wonderful Zita!!
So, I made her one of the prize ribbon medallions that I was using the French ephemera to make.
 
While I was at it, I made up 3 more for the Boutique.  Each is made of vintage ribbon, French paper, millinery flowers, and old crepe paper.  I added parchment cardstock to the back for stability, and also made a small diamond out of it to add your initial to.
The initials are hand drawn, no patterns or stencils. 
 
No two are exactly alike, but all are the same, if that makes sense. When things are hand made from vintage goods, you get some variation.
I've also added a brooch pin to the back, so the ribbon is ready to pin where ever you'd like to use it.  
 
And maybe you can help me with this? I've listed these in the shop as sports medals, but I really am not sure if they are or not. I wondered if they were military medals? They kind of look like track and field prizes to me, especially since there is silver, gold and bronze. I doubt if the Army gives out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd when they award a medal.
 
The old ribbons with the pins on the back are great! I used a few to make these crown pins. 
 
 I took the medals themselves off to save for another project. Maybe a charm bracelet?
 
One of the medals could be clipped to Twinkle's collar, she is missing the rhinestone piece that she used to wear.  I could award her a gold medal for being such a good dog.  
 
Well, the month of September is more than half over already! You still have plenty of time to ente

r the giveaway for this month.  The change of seasons has inspired me to fill this little sparkled witch's caldron with brooches.  When fall comes around, I am always looking for cute brooches to wear on my jackets.  
One is an enameled butterfly in fine fall colors. Another is a leaf in the same tones.  To that is a flower petal wreath and a rhinestone pin that reminds me of a snowflake.  I'm not exactly a fall person. I can't enjoy the season without dreading snow that comes soon after.
Leave a comment, any post, all month to enter.  I do enjoy hearing from you, but I know that leaving a comment can be a hassle. I had about 1500 hits yesterday, but only 20-some comments on the post!  I certainly don't leave a comment on every post I read either, especially since I started using Google Reader. It is so easy to zip through one blog after another, that I don't pause to go to the site and comment much. Sorry.
 
But- you never know when I'll have a double secret giveaway prize waiting for you!  Ta- da! Here is a little tag book ready to embellish that is going out to my 20,000th comment. 
And guess who the 20,000th commenter was??  Remember when I had a prize for 12,000 and my husband was the commenter? Well this time, since Typepad was doing that wierd comment response thing and my replies were going into the comment log, the winner is:
ME
Yep, I win.  So, I went to number 20,001 and the real winner is my pal from Macon, Angela

 This is a tag I made from a French game card to send out to a shopper in the boutique, Melissa. She bought this jewelry from me and I knew this little matching rose needed to go to her.
The thing is, why did I spend extra for FRENCH EPHEMERA, when it is a single letter?? Not a word, no one actually knows it is French, now do they?
Well, I need to go back upstairs to the torture chamber my husband's office and finish painting the walls.  Its a BIG room.  
 

French Ephemera is a handy thing to have around.

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 16, 2009

Craft day was not only fun, but productive, that is just the best. We had a nice lunch (aren't pitch in meals the most fun? I enjoy the variety of what everyone brings) then a walk on the Fairy Berry Trail before getting to work.

When I went to Savannah during Jenn's retreat
I found a French magazine from 1901 that I fell in love with, but felt like it was way to expensive to buy. My pal, Tiffany, got one and reminded me that the price averaged out to only $2.50 per page, so I splurged and bought one. Now that I am doing a swap with these friends from our trip to Georgia, I am so glad I bought the magazine, the cafe au' lait cover was perfect for the center of these medallions I am making with all of their initials.

This side of the swap page is all vintagey goodness. Old crepe paper, and ribbon, wallpaper, and millinery. And of course, the cool, French ephemera. The only new thing on this, is the initial. I cut diamond shapes (thanks for the shape idea, Marilyn!) out of parchment card stock and drew the initials in metallic inks and markers.

I was so enthralled by my new trick of making these, that I used one as a label on this package wrapped up for another Silver Bella swap. (the glue is still wet in this photo)

These medals, or medallions might be cute made into pins too…

Like I don't have anything else to do. Today, I am mudding the new dry wall for a mini remodeling project and tonight I'll be painting the walls as they dry. Tomorrow, I am having a group of friends over for breakfast and we are making a few charms.

And of course, it is the hey day of the garden season. Last night, we picked a couple sinks full of tomatoes, so I made up a LOT of sauce to freeze.

Its Sugarwing's job to pick the littlest tomatoes and put them in her bucket. They seem to get dumped in and out a lot, but if a few get stepped on here and there, it doesn't really matter. I'm being over run with tomatoes anyway, I kind of feel like stepping on a few myself. It would be that many less to clean, cook, and freeze.

One of our plans was to make and can salsa. Somehow, it just is not happening. We have the ingredients, just not the time to learn how to can.

Ah, aren't gardens wonderful? I might complain about how much work it is, but I am loving the results!

But now, I have something to really complain about, I have to go and do dry wall mud. ugh.

Flights of Fancy

celebrations, fairies, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2009

We all loved the Kansas City Renfest
on Labor Day weekend during the camp-o-rama family reunion. Sugarwings, especially. Although, my husband and I were pretty happy, just following her around and smiling at her happiness. (which just about sums up what our life around here is on a daily basis anyway.. her smiles mean the world to us we. We spend most of our time just watching her with goofy, indulgent grins on our faces She'll either grow up to be secure and filled with well being and love, or an insufferable brat.)

Sugarwings wasn't the only fairy, my nephew's baby, Kaydence, wore her "toot toot" (tutu) and wings too.

(It brings tears to my eyes to look at her picture, knowing that her daddy is leaving to serve in Iraq, and that he won't be with her for an entire YEAR!)

My Sissy made these hair garlands for everyone to wear, aren't they lovely? And so is my niece, Shelli.

When Sugarwings saw the bag of garlands, she immediately asked, "Who made these?" She is so used to everything being hand made around here, it doesn't even occur to her that some people buy such things from stores. She just assumed that if there was something pretty at our cottage, then someone must have made it.

Kansas City has a scenic location for their annual event, its in a shady valley, with lots of permanent structures that lend the place an air of authenticity.

And magic.

Even more magical, seeing it through my fairy grand baby's eyes.

To her the baby dragon that hatches from this egg, is as real as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

Of course, I'm every bit as enchanted by the dragon as she is. And yes, I am one of THOSE people who wear a costume to the festival. I don't consider myself a Renny or a weirdo, I just think it is fun to wear fairy wings.

Or maybe I am a weirdo? Who cares?! Life is short, wear fairy wings and be silly and have fun!!

We all work too hard, we should take some advice from the fairies, and be light-hearted, do some dancing, and be in the moment. Because those moments go by too fast to waste them.

I'll leave you with a few more fairy photos. I hope you get to kick up your heels and have some fun too!

Paper dolls

Etsy Goodies, fairies, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / September 11, 2009

If you aren't following Daisy Cottage
(well then, you must be one of the only people who aren't) you are missing a treat. Kim has the cutest cottage, in the most cheerful colors ever. When she ordered something from my Boutique, I knew I needed to make the package extra special to go to such a special home, so I added some wallpaper, ribbons, and trim to the lid of this little tin to use as the packaging.

Five minutes and no expense (I bought the tin for the buttons that were in it, and the rest of it was lying around the studio) and I had a quickie gift wrap fit to go to live at Daisy Cottage.

But then, I always enjoy the wrapping part of sending out purchases. I guess I was in an autumn mood when I packed these.

Today, little Sugarwings was feeling ill and stayed home from school. I managed to photograph and clean some old jewelry while she was napping, and got a few listed on Etsy.

Not as many as I would like, but I have all day tomorrow to add more jewels.

Poor Sugarwings was so freaked out by spewing her breakfast across the dining room, that she insisted on keeping a roll of paper towels next to her all morning. I helped her out by turning the towels into a baby doll to hold.

One side is sleepy, the other is happy. Kind of like the moods of a sick kid, they seem to perk up and feel fine for a while, then crash and need to take another nap.

Yes, the paper towel roll seems like an odd doll baby, but it really did comfort her. And when you are three (or fifty one) anything can become a toy!

She is feeling much better tonight, and luckily the paper towel baby doll didn't have to be deconstructed and put to use. Here is a photo of her last week at the Kansas City RenFest, I don't want to leave you with a sad, tummy ache photo of her. So here is a happy one.

I'll post more Renfest photos of our happy, dancing fairy soon.

Here are directions for foofing a tin:

Turn the lid upside down and trace a circle onto the paper you want to use, then cut it out.

Using "The Ultimate" (my favorite) glue, adhere the circle of paper to the lid

Rub a dark ink pad around the edges of the paper, to age it.

Cut a length of ribbon to fit around the lid, and run a bead of glue around the edge to attach the ribbon

I glued a tiny crocheted daisy cut off of a doily to the end of the ribbon.

To the center of the top of the lid, glue down a matching button.

To the center of the button, add an embellishment. I used a daisy snipped from some old trim.

Cousins

family

By Karla Nathan / September 8, 2009

Even Twinkle enjoyed meeting cousins at the reunion. You can tell by the blur of her tail in motion that she was glad to have Boomer come and stay.

She and Elphie didn't get along so well, though. Maybe she was just jealous because Elphie was too durn cute?

Except for the Elphie/Twinkle feud, and one little minor meltdown that I had while trying to hurry home from an afternoon on the lake, run to the grocery for more food, and get dinner started before all the hungry kids got back from the boat (not so pretty while it lasted, sorry, family!!), the camp out was a success. At least it was on my end, but then, I was sleeping in my own soft bed, not out in the yard….

If you can measure happiness by bags of empty marshmallows, we had a 4 star (bag) weekend. The bonfire pit got a workout and became the gathering area we spent the most time at. Lots of s'mores were consumed.

Along with some other junk.

When I have a houseful, I'm not constantly picking up. Piles accumulate and I don't worry about it. So this is the view of one corner of my kitchen for most of the weekend. With that many people around, its easier just to go with it and enjoy the company, I can enjoy a tidy kitchen when I am home alone and have nothing better to do. But while family is here to play, I want to be playing too, not clearing messes!

And all the important stuff gets done, with plenty of help!

I made sure I had plenty of time for neice cuddling, this is my nephew, Aubrey's daughter, and she was as snuggly as can be. Her dad is in the military and has served a few tours in Iraq. It breaks my heart to pieces to imagine him having to leave her to go overseas, but he is being sent back again in October.

FOR A YEAR.

He is a braver person than I am. I couldn't do it. Not just the war and the danger, but leaving behind his two babies, who are some of the sweetest kids ever.

We are lucky to have guys like this that are there for all of us. Aubrey has grown up to be a great guy and I am so proud of him and so lucky to have him and his sweet babies and wife as part of my family.

And Twinkle is thrilled to count their dog, Boomer as her cousin too.

We had perfect weather all weekend, with just a few drops of rain at the Renfest on Saturday (I'll have photos from there later) So, we were able to eat most meals outdoors. It could have been a disaster if we'd had rain all weekend!

I hope the rest of the group loved our tent city as much as I did, and will come back to set it up again. The yard seems empty with everyone all packed up and gone.

PS- I had to add codes to the comment log, sorry, I hate that. I like it to be easy for you to leave comments, but all of a sudden, I was inundated with hundreds of bizarre and BAD language robotic comments and needed to block them. I'm sorry if this makes it take more time for you to comment, but you really wouldn't want to see those….

Also, please remember, all comments all month count toward the giveaway, which I'll look around the studio and scrounge up a little giftie for this week.