Karla's Cottage

Poor Twinkle

Thanks for all of your caring comments, emails, and phone calls about little Agnes Rosebud. I'm sorry I didn't answer them all, I just really didn't want to talk about it much, but I did appreciate your thoughtfulness. And thanks for trying to make me let go of the guilt.  I'm still just sick about my carelessness.

As much as I miss the tiny pup, her Dog Mom misses her even more. At first Twinkle was in a panic and searched everywhere for her.  I hate to say this, and must warn you to skip this next sentence if you are squeamish, but we had to disinter Aggie to show Twinkle where she was.  That really did calm Tinks down and stopped her frantic searching.

Then, she was extremely needy for a while, but now, this is all she does.  No more scampering around with her little best friend, the two of them at my heels no matter where I am or what I'm doing, both looking up at me with those inquisitive, terrier eyes, wanting to know what fun thing will happen next. Will I sit at my desk? Will I be turning on the TV?  Oh, heavens, could I be opening the DOOR?????  Could I be eating something that has crumbs??

Yes, they were so funny and so happy all the time, and thought that any move I made was endlessly fascinating.   They even appreciated my singing and couldn't wait to hear the next line of any song I made up.

But now, Rosey is gone and Twinkle won't leave her pillow. Its so sad. 

I'm not ready for a new dog, a "replacement" dog just doesn't feel right.  But even if I'm not ready, I think I need to get a dog for Twinkle.  She is lonely and depressed. We'll see. I don't know if I could give my heart to a puppy yet. 

We'll lavish lots of extra love on Tinks for now, and I'll keep my eye out for a new pet for her.

Agnes Rosebud

Sweet little Agnes was killed by a car last week, on her 2nd birthday.  I miss her terribly.

 

 Yorkies are a fiesty little breed, and often think that they are big dogs. Well, not this sprite. She always knew she was a teensy thing and wanted to be near me to watch out for her.  I let her down by not making sure she was safe, we were in the driveway, carrying stuff to the garage and she ran down the drive way, and right out in front of a car.

Here she is on last year's birthday.

A few months ago we had four little furry kiddos, Bookie was put down in the fall, due to canine dementia. Sparkle's kidney's failed while Sugarwings was in the hospital after surgery for her broken arm. 

But those two had led very full, very happy lives.  Tiny Ages Rosebud was just at the beginning of hers.

This picture is when she was about three weeks old.

There is something extra special about raising a puppy from the day they were born.  I've had lots of dogs in my life, and know they give boundless love, whether they are a full grown stray, or a rambunctious baby when you get them.  But I've had two dogs that were born here and that makes such a strong bond.   Agnes never knew any other home and I was her "person" from the moment she could waddle out of her nest and into my hands.

Being everything to a pet is a big responsibility, we had a deal that I didn't keep my end of. She gave me her full and complete heart, and I was supposed to keep her safe and treasured for a lifetime.

 She was certainly treasured, but I failed to keep her safe.  We have 10 acres and I tend to let the dogs run around outside with me, never alone, but I do let them out when I'm in the yard and let them visit their neighbor, Holden, who Agnes had a big crush on.

She'd never had a leash on in her whole two years. I always knew she wouldn't leave, that she and Twinkle would not run off, they'd visit their friend behind our house, they'd sniff for bunnies, they'd joyfully run back to me to tell me with bright eyes and pouncing little bodies, all about where they'd been.

I took for granted that they'd both always come back. 

I shouldn't have.  Since a stranger picked up Twinkle a couple years back and she was gone for over a week till returned, I vowed to be a better pet owner and I really tried to always keep my eye on them, and they did not ever go outside without me. If kids left doors or gates open and the dogs were loose, I'd throw a little hissy fit and tell them to be careful.

But I spend a lot of time outdoors, and the dogs always go with me.  Never with a leash.  And this time, she dashed out to the street. I didn't protect her.

A home for the hens

Everyone around here is excited about the rehab of the chicken coop!

This old building has been through many transformations, and as good as I can guess, this will be its third time to serve as a home to a flock of birds.   Its also been a woodworking shop, an antique store, a dog run, a hang out for my Jr High school age boys, and lately, a storage shed..

Now, back to being a chicken coop!

When I used this for an antique store, we ran electricity out to it, put on a new roof and painted it all a barely there, blush pink. I think the ladies will enjoy nesting in that flattering color. They will feel so pretty in the ambient lighting and soft pink walls.

(we still need to hang the feeder, right now, its just sitting under the bench.  If we tried to feed them there, they would argue over access to the goodies. And it needs to be hung up so it doesn't get pooped in as much. They will be pooping in it no matter what, but higher is better)

We've provided a couple of mirrors so they can check themselves out. I hear that chickens enjoy looking at themselves. 

There are also lots of roosting materials, an old lawn chair, and branches screwed to the walls all around like a jungle gym.

The old painting on the wall is simply for their enjoyment.

A couple of chandeliers that no longer work were hung up for more roosting, and for lighting, I hung a ceramic lamp with a cracked base that was laying out in the shed.

The bench we built  to set the nesting boxes on is just the right height to store bales of straw.  They slide right under it, and don't leave space for the hens to roost (and poop) on the straw.

No ETA on when the girls will be moving in. But we are set and ready to welcome them to their new home.

The building has two sides, the long, narrow one that the ladies will be calling home, and a big square room next to it that the cats like to hang out in.

This side is where we keep lawn furniture in the winter, supposedly. But other things tend to accumlate too.

I've valiently tried to not let things pile up in here, but I'm glad I let a few things slip, because this is the place I raided to find the pretties for the coop. Nothing nice, just some old beat up stuff too nice to toss and I'm glad it had piled up there for me to dig through!

I'll let you know what the girls think of it all when they move in.

A clutter solution

It has been wonderful having the two grand fairies staying here with us at the cottage part time.  The best part is the morning, when they both come down the stairs with big smiles on their faces and hair sticking up every which way, with that sweet scent of sleepy babies.  They both wake up happy and laughing and ready to face the delights of a new day.

The bad part? Clutter. 

With extra people in the house and no space to put away all the kicked off shoes and scattered toys, the entry way was always a mess.

My solution was to drag this bench in from the garden (I found it at a garage sale about 10 years ago, and have had it outside since) and put baskets under it to toss shoes and toys in. I have space to add another basket for mittens, and probably should pick one up while Michaels has them on sale for 40% off, but was too cheap to buy all three at once.

The bench had a painted plywood seat, that was nicely chippy and I thought that would be fine, till I drug it all the way up to the house, and realized I was covered in ants. The wood had gotten all spongey and wet, and was nothing more than a nest for the critters, so I carried it out to the burn pile and cut another piece of plywood, wrapped it in fabric, and lined it with pillows I had in the closet.

Agnes Rosebud is pretty happy about the whole thing and I'm glad to have the shoes tucked away.

Now, we'll have to see if anyone actually USES the baskets!

Here is a picture of an earlier incarnation of the bench, I'd used it for an article in Romantic Homes a while back. 

This pretty photo of Beth's class is from Kristi Knox Day

Speaking of clutter, our hotel rooms at Paper Cowgirls were really knee deep in it all.  Between finishing up class projects we took, and working on our own teaching projects, plus helping Lisa with her kits, our rooms were like obstacle courses. Which is why Beth's little slide show is soooo funny. She is one witty gal.  Here it is if you want to see it (its very short, only 5 pictures will silly comments)

Karla at the Crafting Obstacle Course

Mothers and Daughters

Today is my Mom's birthday and like always, she has been on my mind a lot.  I learned a lot from her, and wish that I'd learned more.  We were very much alike, yet oh, soooo different in many ways.

She was a sewer and for a while owned an upholstery shop. I can't stitch a straight line, but at least I absorbed a lot of knowelgdge about how it was done by sitting under her sewing table for hours as she worked when I was a kid.   I know the basics on how to do any of it, but its the actual needle and thread work that stumps me. 

She took pride in perfect stitches and even knew exactly how many per inch she hand sewed into her quilting or upholstering. 

But me? If I pick up a piece of thread, it automatically starts twirling itself into a million knots. So, I transferred her love of creating to paint and other craftiness. Sewing has always eluded me.

Even this crazy quilt that she made is not as random as it seems. I remember her showing me the individual blocks that she was putting together with mathematical precision.

She taught me to take joy in hard work. That a job worth doing is worth doing right.  That a clean house feels, and smells good and is worth the effort it takes. Now, I certainly don't take it to the levels she used to, this is a lady who used to vacuum under the bird feeder out in the yard.   I've never gone so far as to vacuum the grass, but I do like my home tidy and comfortable. 

Mom taught me never to be afraid to tackle anything.  Any big job can be broken down into smaller parts, tackled one at a time, just like her quilts were patched together square by square.

Twinkle thinks this picture is about her, like every photo I take.  Even if I'm taking a close up of something on a table, she is posing under the table thinking that the camera must be about her.

Mom made this quilt for me too.  Its one of my favorite patterns, Log Cabin. You can't see the detail in the center, but its a hand stitched drawing of iris.  In person, it shows up nicely, but the camera doesn't do it justice.

In honor of my mom's birthday, I put this quilt on Sugarwing's new Big Girl Bed.  Maybe she'll feel my mom's love wrapped around her the next time she crawls in.

I chose this bed because of the ovals. Don't they look like frames, just waiting for a painting? I have plans to add some pictures soon.  Lately, there has been too much going on and I think I might have mentioned, and maybe whined a bit about the fact that I am NOT caught up.

Hopefully, Sugarwings and Dewdrop will learn from me, just as I learned from Mom, to love having a pretty home around them, and taking joy in making it that way.  Whatever talents they have as they grow up, I want them to know that you can tackle any job if you do it one block at a time and that nothing is too big to face if you are willing to do the hard work to achieve it.

  And that hard work is much easier to face if you find something to laugh about while you are at it!

My mom was FUN.  I hope all of my kids and grands think I am too.

New skills

Congratulations to Agnes Rosebud for catching her first mouse!  She might end up being as talented as her mom, who has a voracious appetite for chasing varmits.

Agnes Rosebud isn't the only one learning new skills.  Dewdrop got a painting lesson from her big sis this week.

Sugarwings is a bit of an unconventional artist. She is always ready to set the paper aside and try something new.  She likes to paint all of her small toys, and anything else that she can get a hold of.  I figure, as long as its just watercolors and she is painting her own belongings, that is fine. I'll wash them down and she can paint them again later.  She;d rather paint her toys than play with them.

She knows to ask before she starts painting any of  my stuff that is within her reach.

  Well, most of the time.  Every once in a while she needs a reminder.  I've not had anything too important turned pink yet, just a few tidbits and supplies. 

We bought some markers for window panes, and she has this big window by my garden door that she likes to work on. I can see why she enjoys this canvas, I like to draw on the window with her.

Their father is a bit worried that Dewdrop will take this idea and redecorate the world with it.  My thoughts are to teach them when they are little where they can paint and where they can't, but give them some interesting options.  He's afraid that she is way too little to know the difference and might just color all of the walls she sees now.

But as a person who used to paint murals for a living, and who painted that faux brick floor that the girls are pictured on, its hard for me to limit them to just paper.  Its good to see them coloring outside of the lines and being individuals.

When I teach a class, its hard for me to limit the kits to just exactly what is needed. I like to have a pile of extras for the students to pick through, so they can create a one of a kind piece, and do their own version of "coloring outside of the lines".

So, I'm gathering up a nice selection of goodies for the Paper Cowgirl class I'll be teaching in March, down in Texas.  The class isn't full yet, if you'd like to dig through the pile of pretties and make a wreath with me.

 

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days

French by Design

Saturday started out Great.  Extra Great. So wonderful that I wouldn't shut up about what a Great Day it was.

Seedbox

Beth and I met up to go to Bottom's Up. The BEST antiquing experience in KC.  Gwen and Terry find the most intriguing dealers whose displays and talent are crammed to the brim with inspiration and wow.

Raised in Cotton

But best of all, we kept running into friends and spent lots of time chatting and catching up with fellow junking buddies. 

I'd had a bad cold and a back ache for a couple of weeks, through the busy holiday time, and kept pushing myself to pretend I was fine and to keep enjoying the jingle bell season instead of letting myself get rested and over it all. Plus, Sugarwings had been sick before Christmas and I'd been traveling, and well, you know how worked up a person can get at that time of year anyway, add a few tasty little tid bits like that and moods can really turn dour and sour when the whole after Christmas let down period kicks in.

Yep, I was down, and tired and not quite myself.  I've been trying to get my examples for the Birdsong Two classes done and nothing was clicking, because of my mood. 

So, I took some time off from trying to be creative, eradicated all trace of holiday decor from my house, and zipped off to KC to Bottom's Up and to hang with my BFF.

Did I mention that it was a Great Day?  And I was so happy, I was obnoxious about it.  I desperately needed a day of pure fun.

And not only did I visit with friends, see beautiful old stuff, I BOUGHT a lot of beautiful, wonderful, old stuff.  At beautiful, wonderful prices.  Yep, Bottom's Up is a top-of-the-line place, but there are deals to be found there too. You can find exquisite, one of a kind,  high dollar items, and you can also find exquisite, one of a kind, great deals!

What really made me happy was that I found just the ideas and supplies I needed to make my Birdsong projects for the classes!

Yep, not only did I come up with a plan, I found enough to make 25 kits, plus extras for examples and to practice on.

I hope to get them done soon and get the photos up.

I'm so pleased with the registration for Birdsong Two. Its filling up quickly. I've been away from my computer, so don't have an exact count, but its getting there. (you can still join us the last weekend of April if you'd like!)

Yes, a Great Day was just what I needed, Beth and I went to BU, as well as all the other pop up stores that are only open one weekend a month in the Old West Bottom's region of Kansas City, tucked into warehouses and abandoned buildings.  The backgrounds of the stores are always interesting.

Look what we came across at one of the places, I can't remember which. There are LOTS of them now, all within a few blocks.  Maybe it was at Bella Patina? 

Anyway, its a buffet that I painted years ago and sold at my old antique mall booth.

Its always cheery to see one of my pieces out in the world. And I was feeling so cheery by then, I was almost punch drunk. I think I told Beth that I loved her a few times.

Then, things started to fall apart.  I dropped Beth off at her home, just as the phone was ringing to tell me that Sugarwings was in the hospital, not far from Beth's house, luckily I was ten minutes away.

When I got there, I heard the story that she had been at one of those big, indoor play places at a birthday party, and had fallen from the top level, luckily hitting a bouncy slide on her way down before plummeting to the ground.

Her mommy was the hero that day. She couldn't find anyone to help her or to let them out of the play area, through the canvas sides. So, she had to scoop up our little fairy with her broken wing and carry her through the rest of the kid's obstacle course to get her out of the building!  Up and down a slide, through the ball pit, etc, she ran while carrying her daughter. No employee came to help her or answered her calls to let them out a short cut.

All of the family gathered as soon as they could at the hospital.  Her Daddy's truck wouldn't start, and he took off on his bike to meet my husband to get a ride from Lawrence, leaving his bike in a ditch when he finally met up with his dad and hopping in his truck.

When they arrived, my husband was limping.  And wouldn't tell me why, said it could wait till we got our fairy baby transferred to the Children's hospital  for surgery.

Apparently, he knew I had needed a fun day out and hadn't called me earlier to tell me that he'd stood on a dead log that broke in half while he was using his chain saw, and that he gashed his leg open with that saw.  Well, that is my nightmare come true. I hate those things and have been dreading this for years.

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers while I was staying up at the hospital with our girl, who is much braver than I am. She is feeling better and uses her left hand and her toes to do about anything she wants to.

We are home now, and its hard to keep her quiet. It was a very serious break, and she is not to play outside for a while.  Somehow or another, we are supposed to keep that little fireball tranquil a few weeks so she can heal.  She has 3 pins in her elbow and some nerve damage in her hand, that the Dr. says should heal within a year.  But its important to not bump or move it all around much for right now.

So, we are watching movies, and movies, and more movies. Today we all went to see TinTin in 3D.

I'm doing better now too. That first night, I concentrated on not fainting or letting  my thoughts dwell on chainsaws. I was in more than a bit of shock, and didn't cope well with either accident.  But both patients are sturdy and doing well.  And I think that my Great Day with Beth helped me quite a bit and gave me the boost I needed to cope.

Sadly, while we were staying at hotels near the hospital a couple of days, our little Sparkle's health has deteriorated. Her kidneys have been failing, but now its beyond that. I came home to floors covered in, well, we won't go into that, you've heard enough.  I bathed her, sanitized the floors, and called the vet.  If you have any well wishes left to spare for my family, I'd appreciate some sent to "Special Sparkle" as Sugarwings calls her.  She's frail and not doing well at all.

Thanks again for caring. I was too shaky to read any of my book, and newsprint just blurred in front of my eyes while I was in the waiting rooms.  It was nice to have those sweet, caring Facebook and blog comments to read. Some people don't understand and wonder why I care what strangers have to say. But these weren't from "strangers".  

Some were from our family, some were close friends, some were blog friends, some Bellas, some art buddies.  All were people who cared.  And reading those caring words really did help. 

Thanks so much.

The ugly side of the cottage

We rarely use our front yard.  No one even uses the front door to get to the house, I think it has now officially become the back door.   The ex-front yard is just for the Dorkies to play in now.  And it tends to get neglected, see how back the picket fence needs painting? I try to call it "charming" but its really just ignored and peeling.

But since Agnes Rosebud is so tiny, we've had to line the fence with chicken wire to keep her in, which makes it extra hard to paint. All that would have to come down before I could scrape the peeling paint off. So, I think I'll stick with fooling myself that it is charming and rustic.

Same thing with the deck out there too.  I don't even attempt to keep flowers planted there, I know they'd just be dried up and forgotton.  This could be a cute area, but if no one ever sees it, does it matter?

I've learned over the years that sometimes, you have to pick your battles.   There is only so much time in the day.

But this was way beyond ignoring.  This was some major repair work that needed to be done, not just cosmetic stuff.  Our ex-front door way was rotting away.   While we were having other stuff done, we decided to have the guys repair this too.  We are getting better guttering, and had this siding ripped off, flashing installed under it, and then replaced.

 

See, better already! Now, I need to repaint this corner of the house, and my son is rebuilding the dog door area.  We have ordered an energy efficient one that should help our problem with drafts (and snow blowing in on blizzardy days!)

This is another problem area that the guys handled for us. A weird gap between the new addition and the deck, that leaked water into the breezeway.  More for me to paint....

Sorry, these aren't all that interesting are they?  I shouldn't show the ugly side of the cottage.   But its there.  Every house has issues of some sort and the older the house, the more there are. It felt good to have a crew here working on stuff and fixing problems.  Repairs are  not as glamorous as remodelling, but probably are even more important!

 

What we did on craft day

Beth came to a craft day and when we weren't playing with ephemera, this is how we spent our time. Playing with dorkies. But honestly, who is the dorkiest? I think we win for even suggesting this pose.

Sweet babies

 

Miss Pixie Pie, is now a big sis!  She has a cuddly little brother at her house now.  We got over to see him a few days ago and I was able to get some snuggles. There is nothing on earth like holding a new born baby, is there?

We took the big sister home with us for a while to play with her cousin and give her parents a little break. The girls spent a lot of the evening just filling water cans.  Its good to have well water, and not worry about water bills,  water is such easy entertainment for kids this age.

Afterwards, they were a little shivery, so I fixed them hot cocoa.  Not something we have very often in the summertime, so they were both pretty excited to get some.  It was fun to have hot chocolate in the summer in the same way it is to have pancakes for supper sometimes. 

After getting dry and warm, they helped me make dinner.  I like to give the kids a hunk of bread dough and some bowls of cheese and broccoli for them to create their own bread sticks.  Our fairy grand kid can play with dough for so long, we almost don't get it into the oven in time to have it done for supper. Pixie Pie was a bit more efficient than her cousin, she got hers done and ready to pop into the oven right away, so I just gave her more and kept her going on it.  That kid doesn't mess around, she got them all whipped up in no time, while Sugarwings was still reconstructing the shape of her dough ball for the dozenth time. 

Speaking of cooking, my gift for the new mom and dad might seem a bit odd, but instead of buying baby clothes or toys, I like to pack up a big bag full of convenience items.  Paper plates, cups, plastic forks, etc. to hopefully save them some time while they are caring for the new baby.  Its a hectic time, and its not always easy to get dishes done while caring for a newborn.

Cause watching a little one can sure wear you out!

 
Earlier in the week, we were lucky enough to have BOTH grands over for the night.  Mayara is just getting big enough to come over and spend some time, now that her  mommy is not nursing as much.    She was so sweet. If I held up her dolly, and ask her to give it some love, she'd plant a big ole slobbery kiss on its head. 

These girls are all pretty sweet too, I splurged big time and took them to the groomers for a make over, complete with matching bows.

Our neighbor, Holden thought they looked lovely.

Even with all the cute babies around here, I've been managing to get things done. I went to a flea mkt with Mary, and met up with Beth who was selling there.  As sweet as all the kids are, it was pretty durn nice to have a grown up day with junking!

By the way, Mary is hosting her first swap and its a doozy.  Its for glue book pages, and she'll provide the book covers, ring binders, plus an ephemera pack to get you started on making your book grow with more art when you get it back.

Our remodelling project has been finalized too.

Its good to finally get all of that settled and mark a date on the calender to start it.

Although, that means, that I have to start packing up my kitchen.  Ugh.

On the other hand, it means that I get to pick out flooring and shop for something to build into a kitchen island.  I know what I want, now I just need to find it.

I've been adding some things to the Boutique over the weekend, and a few to the long neglected Etsy shop too.

I  hope to add more, but then I always say that, don't I?

This weekend we have family in town to visit, and will be going to one of our faves, the Renfest.  After that, I have 3 days to get everything in my kitchen and dining room packed up and out of the room so the work can begin.  So, who knows if I'll get more added to the shop. Maybe after the packing up is done.

I'll have more additions to the shop to show you in the next post, this one has run on long enough.