Food and Drink – Page 4 – Karla's Cottage

A reunion

celebrations, dogs, family, Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2022

It has been so busy around here. This could be the first time since I started my blog that I did not have a spare moment to post anything for this long.

I was busy getting ready for our Nathan, Neibaur, Nichols family reunion and while making up beds for 20, yes, 20 people, to sleep at our home and preparing to feed about 30, we saw our peaches were ready to harvest. And those beauties couldn’t wait, we needed to get them done before everyone arrived.

Then we realized the honey also needed to be gathered. Luckily the Guncles came early to the reunion and helped out.

I figured that I’d have time during the get together to do a couple of posts, but I was much, much busier than I had expected to be.

Truly, I don’t know if I have ever been busier. I was up by six every morning and then stayed up late for our parties. We had a dance party, a Pride Night fire show, karaoke, boating, ax throwing, BB gun competition, tie dying shirts, plus all of the cooking.

So much cooking!

Individual families took turns with meals. Did I mention there were lots of meals? Three big ones each day along with snacks and desserts.

It was all quite special.

And fancy.

I’d set up tables outside, but we were in a heat wave, so seating for 30 was squeezed into the cottage.

We made it work.

There were plenty of hugs too. My dogs were happy to have extra people around for lots of petting.

In their opinion, there is never enough petting. A crew of twenty sets of hands almost satisfied them, though.

Now that the festivities have ended, I hope to get caught up soon. But first, we will be disassembling all the extra beds and putting the house back together.

And before that? We have to deal with a issue I am calling Adventures in Sewage..

See the waterfall? Well, actually, there were a few waterfalls.

It required a weekend, emergency plumber. We thought the clog that caused the flooding was fixed and all was well.

Uhm, not quite. Adventures in Sewage, Part Two, was a second clog that caused an even bigger flood.

Wish us luck, this one is a bit more complicated. We will be tackling it tomorrow, and then, the resting up will begin. And I need that rest. I think that the weekend finale of fighting floods put me over the edge.

A special celebration in the country

celebrations, Food and Drink, friends

By Karla Nathan / June 16, 2022

Isn’t this deliciousness just beautiful? Well, EVERYTHING at Julie’s house was. Don’t ask me why I didn’t take more pictures, because I just don’t know.

I am kicking myself that I can’t share it all, every detail was more special than the one before.

From the moment we pulled into the drive.

The food, the displays, the home tour, the company, the gifts, well, on and on. What a delightful day. We gathered to celebrate Tami’s birthday and her buddies, Nora and Julie hosted this delectable day of friendship.

Julie not only has a perfectly edited and designed farmhouse filled with vintage treasures, she has a she shed.

And an event barn.

And a pond.

And well thought collections.

And gorgeous landscaping.

Do you know what I had? A camera that I barely used.

Here is a little bit of the event barn.

They host weddings and other parties there.

We sat in the barn for our bird nest craft. Nora provided silver vessels to choose from and moss to form a nest.

That’s it on the photos for the day. Take my word for it, absolutely everything was wonderful.

Morels!

Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / May 20, 2022

Mushrooms are not my fave. That said, I do love a tasty morel! Maybe it is the fleeting time frame, and treasure hunt aspect of them that make them so special. Well, that part is fun, but I think it’s probably the crispy, salty crunch of the fried batter on them.

My husband not only adores mushrooms, even more so, morels- he was hooked on the treasure hunt and spent days out in the woods with his dogs searching. I only went once, and that is the day that I got this horrid concussion that is still bothering me weeks later.

And no, I didn’t find a single morel, either. Plus, we lost Sugar’s Itag, and you’d think it would be easy to find, since that is what it’s made for, right?

Well, my phone took me directly to the point along the river where it was pulled off of her collar in the brush. But that was in the middle of a big deadfall we tried, but couldn’t get through. After trudging five miles through the woods after my head getting clunked into by a full speed doodle’s head who had ran towards me as I bent to tie my shoe, I decided I was ready to walk away from that itag.

While dealing with the delay of trying to get my wits about me after Sugar smacked my noggin, another hunter made it to the secret spot we were heading toward and when we got there, his bag was full of the mushrooms we’d gone there to find. So, not exactly our day.

Luckily, Rich was relentless in his hunt, and came home with enough for a few good meals, multiple times.

He even found more than we had time to eat while they were fresh, so we have tried freezing some. First step after soaking and cleaning was to cut them in half.

Next, an egg dip and drudge into seasoned flour. Then we spread them out on a cookie sheet to freeze, and layered with parchment paper in freezer bags after.

We ended up with two gallon bags in the freezer, and high hopes that the experiment worked and they will be delicious when we fry them up.

Peeps Day

celebrations, cottage, drawing, Food and Drink, friends, holiday decor, wallpaper, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / April 14, 2022

We had a little get together for a Peeps craft day at the cottage. Angie brought a cookie display that was so pretty, it had to immediately become the center piece for our luncheon.

Sadly, three people had other things come up and couldn’t make it. Beth offered to bring a salad at the last minute so I wouldn’t have find a side dish for the quiche and homemade bread I’d prepared, which was very helpful of her.

She always makes the best salads, too.

I’d tried my hand at making brioche bread, and while it’s a lot of extra work compared to the kind I typically whip up, I think it is way worth it. But- there is almost a whole stick of butter in it opposed to the tablespoon of heart healthy oil I usually use, so maybe I won’t make a habit of this decadent bread that feels more like a pastry than a slice of bread.

The remainder of the loaf home was sent with the gal pals, thinking I would save myself from all that butter. But then, Nora left some of her cream pie tarts, Angie left cookies, and well, here I am having both for breakfast and feeling pretty happy to have them.

Lunch was only a little part of the day, the main event for me is always the projects.

We had vintage album mats and little girls images to make Easter wall hangings. This one is mine, and since I’d previously made a yellow daffodil one, I wanted a different style, but this might be too dark to be springy. I also don’t like the green pattern in the brown wallpaper and might peel up the girl to add another layer beneath her. Maybe some blue ledger paper…

This one is Nora’s next to her cute picnic basket that came full of tarts and fruity, sparkly wine.

(It did not leave full)

Everyone got a hand drawn placemat. Well, since only half of the group could come, they each got two.

I might make a habit of these. When I host real events, not just get togethers, I usually draw on tablecloths. But lately, instead of plastic table cloths that tickle your legs, and are pretty flimsy anyway, I’ve been covering my work tables in poster board and using large scrap book paper as place markers.

While these quick cartoons aren’t exactly major pieces of art, they are a little different. Plus, I really like drawing, so, yep, I think it might become something I’ll be doing more of.

Although the square size isn’t ideal for dining room placemats, a rectangle would be better.

Once we finished our Easter pictures, everyone had something else they’d brought to do. I made some little people to use on something else some day. Just because I love making little people. It reminds me of all the hours of playing I spent with paper dolls as a kid.

After the last couple of years that we have had, days like this mean more to me than ever. It was the best!

Galentines Day

cottage, Food and Drink, friends, holiday decor, jewelry

By Karla Nathan / April 5, 2022

Since it is almost Easter, how about if I show you pictures from…Valentine’s Day?

Right before our never ending trip, I had friends over for a Galentine bruncheon and farewell for my pal, Karla who was moving away.

I made a photo album for her and painted a Kansas Sunflower on it. Beth printed photos of our times together and we worked on book pages while we hung out.

When I saw these iridescent crystal beads at an antique store, I knew they’d be pretty on some copper chains that I had and that I wanted to make them up as Valentine necklaces for my friends.

And while they did end up ideal for that holiday, I think the pretty pastel color makes them nice for any springtime day. I’ve been wearing mine.

I’ll leave you with some photos of our day and in my next post, I’ll show you my lazy, decor transformation from roses to bunnies.

More fun from St Augustine and the Guncles

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

By Karla Nathan / April 2, 2022

Our five week, meandering trip included 2 single and one four day visit to Guncleland, where the family pitched in and rebuilt some of the fencing. While guys were busy sawing and hammering, I took some time to clean up the pathways, reset stepping stones, and spread mulch.

They replaced two gates and one length of fence, then added a privacy fence for trash cans and storage.

After a dozen years or so, the garden stones had all sunken down under the earth. So I un-earthed them and reset the pathways along one side of the house and the garbage can storage area too.

Which is where I found these! I felt like an archeologist, digging up ancient ruins. Apparently, they had been on the ground there, and like the stones, had worked their way deep down under the dirt.

But I preferred to think of them as from an earlier inhabitant of the land.

Our evenings were spent relaxing in the Guncles’ unique home with all eight of our combine canine family having some cousin time.

Oh and eating! There was lots of eating! That’s what you do when you go to Jax and visit the Gunks. They feed you endless, yummy, seafood. I thanked them with a pie.

But it wasn’t all manual labor and big meals. Randy and I took a mini road trip down to St Augustine to meet up with my sister, Bobbie who was visiting elsewhere in the state.

Where we met some interesting new friends.

In some cool places.

See what I mean? This steam punk store is a cool addition to George Street.

My favorite thing I saw downtown was this wallpaper in a shop.

Or was it this wallpaper?

No, my FAVORITE thing from the day was this. I love those two so much!

St Augustine Seashell Fairies and Gnomes

Dew Drop, dogs, fairies, family, Food and Drink, sea shell fairies, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 27, 2022

You have to love the beaches of St Augustine, and well, just everything about that city.

Technically, I guess it was Butler Beach, a tad south of town. The dogs needed to be on leashes, which wasn’t quite as much fun for them, but the place is soooo pretty, we adore being there.

Shelling for fairies wasn’t as easy as our previous stop, but I managed to wrangle a few sprites into shape to place on the beach our last day.

Tide was coming in soon after these were made. My husband asked to see the fairies, and as we walked over to them, they slipped out into the waves.

He said he’d always been confused by why I spend so much time hunting for the shells to make something that has no permanence, but now got it. That it was the joy of creation, not the creation itself. I don’t think those were his exact words, but it was a sweet conversation, however he phrased it.

It has been pointed out to me, that this gal has three boobs.

hmmm

Not what I was going for, but I sure see it now. I just thought it was a pretty gown with a ruffled bodice. Her striped socks are my favorite part, they look like pieces of the same shell but were found at opposite ends of the shoreline.

One thing I appreciate about this area is the long, flat stretches of sand. Ideal for walking. And there is a “road” along the back where you can drive, so we bring our truck with all of our paraphernalia for the day. We can easily haul a tent, chairs, and coolers to settle in and spend an afternoon.

And I have never seen it too busy. The weather wasn’t perfect, but even when it is, it hasn’t been crowded when we have visited.

After living in a 19’ RV with four dogs for a few weeks, we decided to find an Airbnb while our boy, Dewdrop, and her mother came to see us. It was sorta last minute, so we took what we could get. And we got pretty lucky with this spacious, new house.

I was sold when I saw photos of the fence. What a luxury to just open a door to let dogs out, after being in an RV park and needing leashes!

Oh, and the pool was a bonus.

I already mentioned that our weather was less than perfect, but the grand fairies still spent time out there. Then they’d run to the hot shower and I’d have warm towels waiting for them in the dryer. So the pool wasn’t wasted, even if we couldn’t enjoy it as much as we’d like.

Renting the house was a good move, I cannot imagine what our trip would’ve been like in hotels or another, smaller rental we’d looked at. This one had spacious areas and a covered porch. We sat on the patio while it rained to drink our coffee in the mornings, and it felt very vacationy.

The house was around the corner from some cool, but swampy walking trails. I doubt if I’d take dogs over there on warmer days when gators are active.

We were right down the street from the beach access too. Now, would I have preferred a home with the surf as a backyard?

Well, dur.

But- this one was close. We could zip down quickly between rain spurts if we wanted. And that fence for the dogs? Such a pleasant thing to have when you are crazy enough to travel for five weeks with four mutts.

Most of the trip, we avoided big crowds. Except that rainy Saturday when we, like the rest of the spring breakers thought they’d put on raincoats and go visit the historic downtown. But even then, we avoided the biggest rush of them by looking for a place to eat on side alleys, not the main road, George St. We also took a drive north to Vilano Beach to go to a place that didn’t have a two hour wait like most places in town. I guess I’ve spent enough time in the area to know the ins and outs and avoid the most touristy spots.

You never know when you plan a trip what weather you’ll get. All you can do is hope for the best and be flexible, look for fun where you can. We had planned a big day kayaking out on a crystal spring, but had to cancel. We even scoured the weather map looking for a break in the clouds within a couple hours of driving time.

Nope, no weather break for us. We hunkered down and made the most of our time.

Enjoyed the beach when we could, went to the seafood market and cooked, played games, and just enjoyed each other.

Fresh, local food to cook together, lots of long walks and giggles. It was a great visit, even if I was wearing a raincoat.

Gideon’s Bakeshop and a Jam Packed Disney day

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 20, 2022

We had a whirlwind trip through Orlando. No, more than that, it was like a Kansas tornado going through!

There wasn’t a lot of stopping to enjoy the flowers during our one day at the parks, but our evening before and morning after were pretty mellow.

The visit was a later add on to our trip, we had planned on being home about then. But, Sugarwings was starting spring break, and her dad offered to meet us in Florida, so we flew the grand fairy on their very first solo flight and met the brave kid (who did just fine) in Orlando.

And if you know me, you might have noticed there is something about Orlando that I just love. Yep, I indulged myself with a Disney visit. We camped at Ft Wilderness, on an off and on rainy couple of days. The temps were warm, and we had ponchos, plus the rain thins out crowds so we were just fine. The pool was practically empty, and not a single other person was in line at the food truck we went to.

Terry met us at Epcot and the frenzy began the next morning with an early entry for resort guests. And man, did we ever hit the ground running. We “rope dropped” (going to the most popular rides early before lines got to be hours long) then between Terry’s and my booking skills and Disney knowledge, we became power mad. Scheduling and layering ride reservations faster than a bluebird can find a Princess who just broke into song.

Seriously, we over did it. Our prowess in maneuvering ourselves out of standing in lines had us pushing ourselves to the limit to ride every single thing we could at Epcot then buy a park hopper pass over to Magic Kingdom.

Now, I am not saying I didn’t enjoy our adventure, it was amazing! But in retrospect, it might have been slightly crazy to start at 8 am and go to midnight, non stop.

We had a blast.

And we stopped when the kiddo wanted to, Terry and I enjoyed sitting while Sugarwings explored some areas. It wasn’t complete competition to set a record for most rides rode in one day. Terry hung in with us til evening, and I was skeptical about staying ourselves, we had a few moments of exhausted irritation, but we rallied, snacked, and kept rolling. I’m glad we did. Late nights at Magic Kingdom, when the crowds thin after the fireworks are pretty, well, magical.

There was very little shopping til the rides closed at 11pm, and stores stayed open til midnight. But we aren’t there for souvenirs.

(By the way, the two little buildings on each side of the castle, make for ideal photo ops)

Here is our breakdown:

Over 25 rides

Over 33,000 steps

16 hours

2 parks

And yes, I woke up slightly tired the next morning. But we had some time to spend between when we had to leave the campground, drive to St Augustine and check into our rental house.

Disney Springs has RV parking around back, and seemed like a good place to while away an hour or so.

It was still early, and Gideon’s Bakeshop was just opening, already with a 30 minute wait. Later it becomes so long that they take your name and call you back, sometimes hours later. Really? Hours to wait for a cookie?!

Oh, but it is quite wonderful inside.

Quite.

Since we avoided lines all day at the parks, I figured 30 minutes for a cookie wasn’t bad.

I would show you the cookies, but they were so good, they disappeared before I got a photo.

If you get a chance, you should get one. And one to share is probably plenty because they are 1lb each.

Pie Art

Food and Drink

By Karla Nathan / February 8, 2022

Crust has always been my favorite part of a pie. My mom used to take the leftover bits, spread with cinnamon and sugar, roll up, slice and bake them. Growing up, I thought these were what cinnamon rolls actually were, not the big, fluffy pastry goods.

Her version of cinnamon rolls were crispy and delicious, and I loved them even more than the pies she made. And she made good pies. (Especially the lemon meringue that she was famous for) Since she was using the trimmed remnants of the crust, there were usually just two or three bite sized tidbits for us to share.

That made them even more special. They were best warm from the oven!

Her crusts were always home made. If I remember correctly, with lard from my uncle’s farm. My crusts are the premade kind.

I’m big on saving time when I can, and you can buy a delicious ready to go crust. My favorite one is from Sprouts, it has a lot of flavor. I like most things from Aldi’s but I do not care for their crust. It seems dry and too thick. Kroger’s has a great one in their store’s organic brand and after Xmas, they were on clearance for 75 cents each, so I filled a corner of my freezer with a stack of them.

I see a lot of pies in our future!

These two were made with a frozen crust that came in a pan for the bottom, (not the best) and a refrigerated rolled dough in a box for the top. I prefer the box kind for both.

I let the top piece of dough come to room temp, and open it up on a cutting board, then start cutting out shapes with a knife, and placing them onto my filled pie. I discovered that you have to place chunky fruit, like apple slices in a very uniform design so there aren’t sink holes that the shapes fall down into and ruin the design.

I also found that roses made out of dough get pretty heavy. You’re better off with thin layers of petals, like daisies or sunflowers.

And that you should save a few little remnants to create some of Mom’s tasty cinnamon rolls. That’s the best part!

Stretching out the cheeriness and overcoming teen apathy, ending our Christmas on a sweet note

celebrations, dogs, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 5, 2022

About halfway between Christmas and New Years I am itching to take down the holiday decorations. The gifts are unwrapped, chaos has occurred with all of the celebrating, cooking, sleepovers, and piles of stuff here and there. I am ready for clean lines and tidiness.

Instead of flipping the switch from over the top, non stop Christmas that started in November to the simpleness of January right away like I want to, I make myself wait until the grand fairies either go back to Mom’s house or to school, because I want them to enjoy their winter break to the max, and atmosphere matters.

But just a couple days after our big celebration, I saw that Sugarwings was curled up in the couch nest (that was claimed as their permanent spot when Covid hit and school was online) being a non involved teen just looking at tic toks, and I saw no reason to keep it festive around here.

So I started hauling out boxes and setting up a ladder, preparing for the big, annual packing up.

Then it occurred to me that the fun didn’t have to end if I didn’t want it to.

So, in the messy midst of all of the boxes and bins, with some things half pulled down, I declared it was time for a cocoa party by the last lingering lights of the trees.

We turned on a Christmas movie marathon, plopped ourselves down to a tray full of our favorite cocoa party goodies and the two of us had one of my favorite days of the holiday break.

Funny thing, I barely like hot chocolate. I just looooove the festive-ness, tradition, and ceremony of serving it. And I love Sugarwings.

We missed our little Dewdrop, and it was a different sort of holiday with no little kids around. But I know that a celebration is what you make it, it can be special and exciting if you make the effort. And even teenagers can be invested and joyous when that effort is put out there.