family – Page 7 – Karla's Cottage

The cutest company

By Karla Nathan / August 9, 2023

A grand fairy came to visit from NC last week and brought not only the sweetest boyfriend any grand mother could ever wish one of her kids could fall for (I call him her “Care Bear”), but this darling pup too.

He was only 8 weeks old, they picked him up on their drive to spend their week’s vacation bonding with him.

The original plan was to get him on the way home, after the trip. But I convinced them that traveling with a fur baby was an excellent time to get to know each other. The week off of work meant they could work on his potty schedule and not be rushing off to work and leaving him alone before they had a chance for him to know who they were and that he belonged with them and would be okay.

No worries on that point! By the time they got to Kansas, he was firmly attached to his new folks. We babysat for him a few times and he asked me quite often when they’d be back.

We have the perfect yard and house for dog watching, and I was so happy to have him around. Little Bear is a smart fella and learned Sit right away, and is doing well on Come too.

It was such a nice visit from them all. On our trip to NC last month, we missed getting time with these guys because of the truck accident. I was lucky to get a do over, and even luckier to meet Bear.

Stopping along the way- the journey is an important part of getting there

antiques/junking, family, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 4, 2023

Asheville is about 13 hours from our house and Paducah, KY is halfway. We often stop there when traveling with our camper, but don’t get out to explore since the trailer is hooked up and it’s a hassle for a temporary stop to undo the hitch.

This time, we didn’t have the trailer so with two drivers wouldn’t need the break. But since we were taking two vehicles, we thought an overnight stay at the half point was a good idea.

This was a place I’d been wanting to spend time in, not just because it’s such a pretty place but because on of my favorite Top Chef contestants has a restaurant there!

Sara Bradley took second in World Allstars this summer and I was perplexed as to how or why such an acclaimed chef would be in a small, rural area. Once we settled into our hotel and took a walk through this Kentucky village, it dawned on me that this was a tourist town. That explained a lot. Her eatery wasn’t just dependent upon the locals, she had people from all over wanting a break from cabins and campers on the lake, who’d come into the little city for some night life.

Even with the traffic from the tourists and locals, we had no issue getting a reservation. The place was full, but with the week’s notice we had, we were golden.

The food was spectacular! I pretended to be at the judges table and had a blast, not just with the meal, but with my imaginary status.

I felt like I was dressed the part too. I’d just bought this from Angie at the last Good Juju sale for $8, and loved the dress. I love most clothes from Sundance catalog, but rarely can afford them even in the 40% off clearance area, so was thrilled to get this one for less than a Goodwill priced dress.

Here is a version in the current catalog.

Yep, I was feeling The Gail Simmons, Top Chef vibe in this outfit. There was no need to tell anyone to pack their knives and go, the meal was great, the price about what we’d pay on any normal dinner out, and the ambience was inviting. The staff was friendly and down home, no pretensions there at all.

My other stops were Midway Antique Mall and Artichoke Annie’s on I70 for some shopping in Missouri. I didn’t have much luck with any other antiquing across Kentucky or Tennessee, though. Durn it.

I made a pit stop at a legendary Buckee’s in TN, my first time at one of these out of this world gas stations.

Impressive.

But way too much for me. Crossing the parking lot was like the Thunderdome. I felt as if I was running the gauntlet while walking across it, and the line to even turn into the lot was crazy, as was the one for the pumps. Not to mention trying to leave and get back on the road.

But I have to admit, the bathrooms were some of the best I’ve ever seen. Not good enough to tempt me to go again, it took a big chunk of time away from the road. When I stop at junk shops, I can zoom through, in and out, seeing if there is anything I want. There is no zooming at Buckees.

While stops are needed to breakup my drive, I’m in a hurry to get to this.

I had loved ones waiting for me to explore the mountains with!

(Please ignore the sour face, my son is a sweetie, he just hates photos)

We had such a good time, and I got so many lessons in mushroom hunting. And how often does a mama get to wear matching shirts with a grown up son? ( My friend, Sam, is the artist who sells these at Juju).

The best found heart, ever

family, Hearts, Travel

By Karla Nathan / August 1, 2023

This could be the best heart I have ever come across.

I’d walked on this road across from the Hawk and Hawthorn a few times and never noticed this pothole.

On my last evening, after a rainstorm, I took another stroll, and found this perfectly formed heart reflecting the clearing clouds above it. It is large, too, at least a foot across

Perfect timing, perfect heart shape! At that moment in time, I was just where I needed to be. A little less rain, or a single car driving over it, and the best found heart would never have been found.

There were a few more finds during the week. My boy took us up to Mineral Springs to look for garnets. See the polka dots in this heart?

Garnets!

These two are mica and garnet in granite.

And this one has some shiny quartz.

We parked ourselves at a little waterfall in the stream, then sorted and sifted through the water and stones to find treasures. I could spend hours looking at pretty rocks, and we did.

The first few times, I gathered lovelies to take home. I wanted some for my garden and also larger ones to add my mushrooms to as well as smaller ones to put in the moss at the base of my schroomies.

But then, there was the accident.

We had driven two cars across country to get one to my son. He had been driving Ryan’s Jeep and it needed a transmission. So, we were to haul the Jeep back to KS for repairs.

But, oops. We were also in NC to help Rich’s mom after a fall. He had just left her side and pretty wrecked himself, so when the truck also got wrecked mere blocks from the hospital, it was very understandable. It left us with no vehicle at all, so my 2-3 tons of rock souvenirs needed to be left behind.

We bought a suitcase, booked a flight, and rented a car in KC. Now, I’m in the process of car shopping while hoping the truck isn’t totaled and that I won’t be shopping for a replacement for that too.

So our truck and my rocks are out east. We are home safely, Rich is fine. Rich’s mom is in her rehabilitation center and he will be heading back to see her when he is no longer truck-less. Then he’ll haul the Jeep and my mountain of shiny stones back to Kansas.

The reasons for being there, as well as the accident did not make for what you’d call an ideal vacation.

But we managed to have lots of family time and a peaceful visit to the retreat at Hawk and Hawthorn. Throw in a few hikes and spectacular dinners with the fam and we decided that it was going to work out fine.

Magic at the Hawk and Hawthorn

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Garden, guncles, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 24, 2023

Hawk and Hawthorn (about 20 min north of Asheville on top of a scenic mountain) is my new favorite vacation spot.

The Airbnb is set upstairs of a newly renovated, charming old house and the patio over looks the farm.

Bonus- the view includes the barn/event center.

Double bonus for me- my son lives there.

He is their onsite trim carpenter.

He and his buddy just built this outdoor kitchen for tent campers. Spaces are available through Hipcamp, and campers have access to the barn for yoga, bathrooms, cooking, and more.

I think how much you can hang out in the barn depends on scheduled events. They had just held one, and this mushroom display from it was still set up. I spy a couple of my schroomies in there too!

They host workshops, festivals, retreats, music, etc. Our visit was Sunday thru Friday, so it was pretty low key.

We had full use of the facilities and after harvesting our food to fix in the apartment kitchen, we walked it across the field and up the hill to dine in the beautiful barn.

It had just started to rain and was getting dark. We ate while listening to the drops on the metal roof and the curtains swayed in the breeze.

I am not sure how many times I used the word “magical”, probably way too many, but it was justified.

Our meal was trout that the kids caught with their grandfather that day and deliciousness we gathered from the vast gardens.

I would say that the term, “magical”, had to be correct. There had to be some magic in the head grower’s touch. Look at the size of this corn! All the veggies were lush and vibrant, over the top with health and vitality.

It made me think that my Kansas garden back home was a sad comparison.

We picked fresh produce daily. And had flowers in our salads, and even cooked into chewy brownies.

And I got to forage for chanterelles! It was my first successful mushroom hunt.

We walked through what felt like an enchanted land of moss and streams to find them. While on the hunt, my boy taught me tricks about different types and what to look for.

He is always on the lookout and you never know when he will abruptly pull over the car to spring out and return with a handful of berries to share. He spots tasty treats everywhere he goes.

At the farm, there are baby bunnies to hold and goats to visit. There is a fresh mountain spring set up with pipes to fill your containers.

Pretty and rustic areas to enjoy, trails to explore, and vistas so lovely, all you want to do is sit back, sip a glass of wine and take it all in.

Plus-NO CHIGGERS! It felt oddly uncomfortable to walk through tall grass without bug spray. In the back of my mind, I kept worrying that I’d be up all night itchy and miserable.

But I got used to not needing a thorough spritz before going outside. And I was not homesick for any midwestern bugs that typically torture me all summer long.

There is cool art everywhere, including on these shirts.

The dragon was by our front door.

I don’t know why I didn’t get any photos inside our cozy studio apartment, maybe because there was so much to see and do outside.

The tranquility was just what we needed, the rest of the trip was so stressful. Serious family illnesses, an auto wreck, all were overwhelming.

Thank goodness for the peace and welcome we found at the Hawk and Hawthorn.

It was MAGICAL.

Family tradition or tacky habit?

family

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2023

On the dog park trail down to the Kaw River the other day, I saw this white heart. Fungus? I think?

Speaking of fungus, look at the cool shirts my pal, Sam, makes. My son is a mushroom hunter, he saw this pic on FB and asked for one, so I got one for him too. We will be hiking together in NC, I wonder what the odds are of getting a mamma/son photo in matching shirts?

Awwww, that brings back memories of my mom dressing her and me in hand made, matching dresses, along with my Barbie. She sewed a shirt from the same fabric for my dad. I’d sure love to have that photo! I remember that vacation to Florida with them, stopping at an alligator farm, way back when there was roadside wrestling with reptiles.

The tradition lived on when I had my own kids. Sorta. I hand painted matching shirts for them, one of the favorites was ET. We didn’t have much, the kids typically only wore hand me downs. If I bought something new, it was on clearance at KMart. So I’d look for plain, cheapo shirts and spiff ‘em up with paint.

I used to do portraits of the kids with their favorite characters on some. Like Ryan eating ice cream with Bert and Ernie.

The grandfairies got matching dresses too.

Not only because they were adorable, but because it helped me find them in public places too. Sugarwings was always drifting (or running) off and when I have a matching set of children, I can find them easier in a crowd.

And yes- ADORABLE!

From Fairytale to Haunted Mansion

antiques/junking, cottage, family

By Karla Nathan / July 10, 2023

Sugarwings will be SEVENTEEN this August.

SEVENTEEN

How and when did that happen? That also means my blog will soon be 17.

This is the very first photo I posted of that lil sprite.

And this is my most recent photo of this piece of my heart. Before leaving for a summer in North Carolina with Dad, we went to the Omaha Zoo together. And I have to say that trips and outings with this kid are 100% as enjoyable as they were years ago. This person will always be filled with magic, curiosity, and joy in exploration.

Sugarwings has been a good sport about living in a mermaid/fairytale bedroom but confided in me that there was a Pinterest wish board of a Nightmare Before Christmas/Haunted Mansion style that they loved.

At first, I thought that I would redo the room as a surprise, but had second thoughts and decided to include their wishes long distance. And I was glad that I did, we had a good time texting pictures and colors back and forth across the country.

So, I repainted and put the room together, showing the steps by text as they were completed. ( One bit of control that I kept over the process was gathering color samples that I approved myself before saying, “what color do you want.” This way, I got a shade of plum that I was fine with on the walls as opposed to a possible tone that might’ve driven me bonkers.)
Sugarwings also did not want to rip up the murals that were in the room they had used off and on. We have two rooms upstairs that have been switched up over the years from nursery, guest room, Dewdrop’s space, Sugarwings’ dwelling, toy room, etc. We like to redecorate periodically.

This photo is from a few years ago, the bed had been repainted since, but the walls are the same, and my soft hearted sweetie was too sentimental to lose this mural.

The solution was to flip rooms. This one was much smaller and had no closet.

But there was a little walkway into it that had a linen closet. At one time, this was our laundry room, now the washer and dryer are downstairs. We were able to move the linen closet shelves to the mural room’s closet and set up a clothes rod in this area, and there you go.

This new bedroom was now feeling much larger than it would have if I’d had to squeeze in a wardrobe for storage.

Once things were repainted or reconstructed, the fun part began. I went through my Good Juju inventory and shopped for black furniture and odds and ends to decorate with. Sugarwings already had dragons, and a few other things they’d want to use. I arranged everything for now, but I am sure that when the kiddo gets back from NC, there will be some rearranging to suit their own taste.

When Dewdrop was little, she loved Snow White, so I’d made this for her with that theme as a magic mirror. The silver in was scraped off with a razor blade and a picture could be seen inside the mirror.

Now, I’ve given the pink flowers a black wash of paint and removed Snow White’s photo. There is now a skull with a flower crown peeking through the mirror. If this is too creepy, we can easily change it, the picture is just taped on the back. I might’ve gone too far with this, Sugarwings did have more of a Disney theme planned.

But I knew a slightly creepy edge would be appreciated.

I discovered that a coat of black changes many things from shabby chic to gothic. Both are ornamental styles.

Because of the low ceilings and small footprint, this room has a platform bed with drawers underneath. I added a piece of a vintage iron headboard on the wall behind it to make the bed feel more substantial. It had been hanging outside, so was nice and rusty.
I left both white to keep the room from becoming too heavy.

The ballerina bats are some that I sell at Halloween. Simple, plastic bat skeletons with vintage flowers and tutus.

Sugarwings wanted green for sheets because that is a shade from Disney’s Haunted Mansion. And a striped comforter similar to Jack Skellington’s pants. This was as close as I could get in a comforter at a reasonable price. I found it at Ross along with the fluffy rug. The sheets and curtains are Amazon. Besides paint and rid brackets for the closet, everything else was scrounged from the house or repurposed.

I sure miss having that child around, but we will be visiting the North Carolina side of the family soon. And redoing this bedroom has made me feel a little closer to Sugarwings during the separation.

A quick an unexpected getaway

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / June 8, 2023

I really should’ve gotten more pictures, I was just so relaxed and carefree, I rarely had my camera out.

Plus, it was a very short trip. And a very last minute trip. My sissies had been planning for months, but I didn’t even think about joining in, I knew it wasn’t good timing for me.

Instead, I filled my yard with a flock of flamingos (from a friend) and wished Bobbie and Sissy well on their vacation.

I was fine with not going on this trip, because I’ll be meeting up with them and their daughters in Sarasota next October. I enjoyed listening to all of the planning and was excited for them to be headed to Indian Shores now, but I was fine about not being a part of this jaunt.

Then, I started to feel like I was just missing out too much. Between six months of struggling with getting the Grandfairy’s grades up, with so much of my free time being Homework Police instead of getting to do the fun stuff the kiddo and I typically did together and with drawn out recovery time from my concussion, I was feeling like a shut in.

My husband and I had planned to take a quick trip in the camper with the dogs to see family in North Carolina, but my headaches, Grandfairy requirements, and work needed to get ready for Good Juju made me cancel. (I still need to hang out in a dark room sometimes for Post Concussion Syndrome and a camper full of dogs doesn’t offer that kind of space)

Plus it’s prime garage sale season, the time of year I pick up a majority of my inventory for the year.

So Rich left most of the dogs with me and went without the camper, and took some extra time to see even more people we’d been missing. The day before he was due back I was feeling pretty down, from so many headaches and even worse over the 3 year mark of Ryan’s death. That period between Mother’s Day and May 24th is brutal.

That’s when I decided that I needed a change. Sophomore finals were over. Rich would be back to watch dogs. There aren’t good garage sales over Memorial Day. My booth was set up. The Florida condo had dark, quiet spaces if I needed one. I had points on Southwest and my sisters had an empty room at the beach.

I was gone at 6am the next day.

And I was so glad that I went! I think that a few days of zero stress, lots of sleep, and no work or responsibilities was just the ticket I needed to help break that cycle of headaches.

Not to mention the relaxation of laughing with my sissies, splashing, watching dolphins, and eating seafood.

I didn’t even need the dark room while there.

A tale of tech troubles and many mushrooms

cottage, family, mushrooms

By Karla Nathan / April 25, 2023

Remember my quest to make two hundred mushrooms? I am on my way. Especially if you count three at a time on one display.

Working on fungi this week has been a wonderful escape from my digital woes. OMG, my email issues have been a nightmare. From hours on the phone, re-explaining, waiting to codes, call backs and answers that never come, to finally being able it get into it, but in a round about, not so easy way.

It gave me great joy to chop right into the lacy skirt of a vintage gown to make sweet, lil schroomies! If I am feeling frustration with some of life’s irritations, a dab of creative time can be just what I need to forget my troubles.

Not only was my email messing with me, we had issues with getting tax forms we needed, and were also dealing with a dead phone and a hard to find replacement, then all of the minor little glitches that can pop up in a new phone once it is set up.

Rich lost his phone deep in the woods. He’d found two pounds of morels, but realized his iPhone wasn’t in the pocket where he’d last seen it.

Oops!

So he trudged back through swamps and deadfalls with no luck. Then drove 45 minutes home to get the iPad so he could track the phone. Then re-trudged through the woods and the swamps and the deadfalls to search again, this time, armed with Find My iPhone.

But once again, Oops.

The ipad didn’t have cellular and wouldn’t work without his phone. He drove the 45 minutes back to our house, retraced his steps, this time while carrying my iPhone and a working app. Success! He found it after a full day of looking, or trying to get to the other side of the swamp to look.

He came home very dirty, washed his clothes right away so I wouldn’t get poison ivy from a laundry basket, which I often do after he has been hiking. And you do remember me saying that we had been trying to replace a dead phone? Yep. He was so diligent about getting his woodsy clothes washed that he forgot to check pockets and also washed the phone he had looked for all day that was in the pocket.

It was too funny to be upset about. We invited some friends over to eat fried morels with us, and I spent some time crafting to forget about all of our technology issues. The day off was certainly needed and helped my frame of mind.

We survived The City Museum and can’t wait to risk our lives there again

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 16, 2023

My poor Rich has spent the last 3 1/2 months working in Ohio at a consulting job, with minimal visits home. He only has a couple weeks left and will finally be back with us soon.

We have always celebrated Valentine’s Day as a family holiday, with special memories for us and our boys. This year with Ryan gone and Adam so far away, and Rich working in Ohio, we sadly thought it might just go by without our typical festivities.

Rich had the weekend off, but not long enough to get home so Sugarwings and I met him in St Louis and we had an outing at the City Museum as a slightly early Valentine date, then went to The Hill (the historic Italian district) for a fancy night out.

We were not all together as a big group, and it wasn’t exactly on the 14th, but it helped, and was quite special.

The City Museum is crazy.

Completely, totally, beyond crazy.

See that iron slinky? It’s made for humans to climb through. For floor after floor.

And speaking of floors, there are pits every where. Most aren’t lit up, they are just black holes meant for kids to disappear into. Some come out around the corner, others lead to the basement. And there are dozens of them. The gift shop sells miner’s helmets for kids to wear to explore the tunnels.

Other crevices lead to slides, stairs, or to bubbles inside of an aquarium. You just don’t know where you will end up if you slip into one of these black holes.

It has to be one of the most imaginative, creative places a kid could have to play in, it is well done and just beautiful too. But I can’t believe it is safe.
I was so glad I had never been there when the grand fairies were tiny. My mind would've exploded trying to keep my eyes on them.

It was one of those rare times in life when you thank god you have a teenager.

It was funny to me that this area was gated off. What, kids are not allowed to play in the giant box fan? Why not, it seems safer than some of the other areas.

We didn’t even see a fraction of it, there are billions of nooks and crannies, a rusty, ten story slide with a rickety spiral staircase, and a whole sharp, pointy, rusty, sky high climbing grid outside as tall as the big building.

Everywhere you looked, there was something clever, funny, intriguing, or deadly.

It goes on for floor after floor with interactive spaces, play areas, and death traps. (Sooooo many tiny holes for kids to skitter away into) AND SO DANG COOL!

And an aquarium. And it’s a museum. Not just a twisted playground aimed to tease all phobias.

There were actual museum cases with artifacts surrounding one playground.

And genuine architectural elements everywhere. Not to mention murals and mosaics galore. And a bug/animal skeleton room with specimens behind glass. We spent a long time in the craft room making art too.

And in the art museum looking at displays.

There were tons of details about the old building it is in.

And odd details like walls made out of baking tins.

If I lived any closer, I’d have a season pass. There is no way to see it all in one day.

My January Set Up for Good Juju

family, Good JuJu, holiday decor, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / January 3, 2023

My booth this month is all about winter, and a bright spot in the cold months, Valentine's Day.

One wall is all hearts, roses, with pink mushrooms and wings. I'd hoped to put up cabbage rose wallpaper, but ran into a snag. Oh well, next month.

But honestly, you don't really see much of the wall anyway, huh?

Another areas are neutral and white.

Which is always a favorite of mine to do.

Well, the roses make me happy too, but I think that the neutral tones are more popular at this venue.

But I can't always just stick to neutrals, there are other cool items that I find that I know there is a market for. Luckily, my space can be chopped up into chunks where I can do different themes.

And my new, tiny, wing wall is a great place to highlight a grouping. Here are examples of the ruffled wings (also for sale) and kits to make your own.

Over the holiday, I did some kitchen table crafting. We had supplies out for decorating gingerbread houses, cookies, Sugarwings had polymer clay, Dewdrop had bracelet, and I made dozens of wings and hearts from wire and lace. The family was coming and going, but mostly staying put because of the bone chilling cold. I wasn't caring about clutter or mess, I just enjoyed the big group and spent time crafting away in the middle of them.

I had the best of both worlds. Time with family and time to make things!

I don't even know how many I churned out. After wings, I started on pink and red mushrooms. As a person who typically spends a lot of time alone in the studio, I sure was happy to have so much company while working. My son even joined in and bent wire for me. It has been sad to go from a bustling houseful of loved ones to me in my studio alone again. Sugarwings is still on winter break, so I am not totally alone, I've got my buddy.