Karla's Cottage

Kismet Forest Farm Barn Clean Up Day

My son and his family live on a sprawling, 13 acre piece of wooded land that they call Kismet Forest Farm.  There is a barn full of possibilities sitting on the grounds, and last week a group of friends came to help get started on making those possibilities into realities.

This is the interior of the barn.  For now, the plan is to strip down the old dry wall, paint everything white, and add a wood stove for heat.  Then, the circus performers can use it all winter. 

Later on, more renovations will happen, as budget allows. 

Once completed, there will be all sorts of workshops, from yoga to circus classes, as well as sustainable growing classes and music.

Helpers got started on tearing down old outbuildings, and sorting the materials into piles to save and reuse.

Nails had to be pulled out of the wood before it was stacked up for reuse.

Lots of good supplies were salvaged for the work on the barn that day.  And a bonfire was enjoyed with the rest of the wood.

It was a beautiful, fall day to be out and enjoying the colors, and helping make Kismet a gathering place for camping, learning, and music.

The family made a vat of vegan chilli for the group, then we all went for a walk in the woods to explore the trails my son has carved out of the wild.

I was quite impressed with what he has already accomplished. 

This place will really be something when they get done!

Seashell Fairies in St Augustine, and a Beach Blessings Angel in Cocoa Beach

The beach house I rented with my life long buddies for our birthday get together was so nice, I rented it again with my sisses!

And like I did in April, I also made a seashell fairy for each of us as a thank you to the beach.

Each expresses the joy that I found while strolling along the sand.

Aren't they happy little sprites?

And of course, I had to make a boy fairy for Guncle Randy, who joined us for some crafting.

The shells were plentiful, the weather was beautiful, the company was ideal,

I had much to be thankful for.

There was even sea glass! And this shell/tooth thing... 

Which was perfect for a Winnifred Sanderson bit of fun.

Staying on the Atlantic side, meant no sunsets over the water, but one morning, I was up in time to catch the tail end of a sunrise.  I was pretty impressed with myself for that.

This was the balcony view, at our Cocoa beach place.  We hopped around and stayed at 4 different places in our ten day trip.

Beach Place Guest House had some fantastic landscaping, it was just too bad that the red tide made it too hard to breathe for us to spend much time outside to enjoy the well sculpted views.

The shells at Cocoa Beach were harder to come across. This was the total of what I found, but it was just enough for this one little girl.

I crafted a blessings angel for that beach, in hopes of healing the red tide.

As well as a witch, just because I'd found these broken bits of shell and one looked like a jaw, so really wanted to make something with it. 

 

 

Hubert the Gnome

While in Jacksonville, my sisses and I checked out the antique mall that the guncles sell at, Southern Crossing. I found a couple of glorious hats (very affordable, too!), a gigantic and gorgeous roll of older lace, some sparkly tinsel, and...

My Dad!

I wish I had a better photo of him to share.  This gnome is so much like him, I just had to buy it.  And it was even in Guncle Randy's booth.  

Not only that, Hubert the Gnome was holding a seashell, suitable for a beach vacation souvenir!

 

Hidden Mickeys everywhere- And thank you, Disney for the upgrades!

One thing (among many) that I love to do at Disney is hunt for Hidden Mickeys. This flamingo island, seen on the safari is a great example of how these little tricksters hide in plain sight.

The island itself is a Mickey!

Here is another example, I didn't even notice them until I glued this photo of Orleans Riverside hotel into my journal.  See them lurking on the fence railing? About knee cap height.

Sometimes they are right there in in your face, like the citrus in the water jar at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Or under your feet, like the carpet in the halls of Jambo House.

Sometimes they are subtle like the grates outside Animal Kingdom.

Or very prominent, like this pumpkin.

Our room at Orleans was full of them! On the lamp...

The shower curtain...

The tile in the shower...

I'm sure there were more that I missed. It was a great room. And an upgrade.  When I saw where our reserved room was on the map and realized that it was very, very far from the parking lot, plus upstairs.  I knew it might be hard on my sisses to get to it after a long day at Disney Springs.

I asked if there was anywhere that we could change to, hoping we might have easier access from our car and was offered a free upgrade to this Princess suite.  And it was really cool. The headboard scene has embedded lights that mimic the swamp scene with the fireflies in Tiana's movie.  The portrait is 3-D.

This wasn't our only upgrade. Back in April when I was planning the trip, the room we wanted at Jambo House wasn't available for two nights, so we were given a suite instead of a double queen room for the same price.

It was wonderful to be overlooking the animals beneath our balcony, plus having a nice, big room to spread out in.

Every room I've stayed in on Disney World grounds has been comfy, clean, and well kept.  The themed rooms are extra wonderful, and not really that much more expensive, but I rarely splurge on them, since not that much time is usually spent in the room itself.  But after staying in these two, beautifully themed, specialty spaces, as free upgrades from the lower priced rooms I'd booked, I'm thinking that next time, I will certainly spring for the nicer rooms, they were so fun.

Where else can you ride a magic carpet in your hotel room? This one was printed into the flooring.

And the whirlpool bubble bath was much appreciated for tired feet after tramping through the parks.

We were very lucky to be given not one, but two upgrades on our trip. There were other moments of Disney Magic, including being directed to the front of a line at one point, and many other kindnesses.  I've heard that each "castmember" (employee) at Disney is supposed to gift someone with an extra each day.  It seems to me like there are more than that, because I've seen so many instances of these extras over the years.

Lucky me!

Thank you, Disney World!!

Speaking of luck, how unusual is it to run into family members at Animal Kingdom Park??? Yes, we were all at Gorilla Falls Trails taking some quiet time to birdwatch, and surprise! There was Carol and Jim with Carrie and her kids.

Wow!

 

A haunted mansion in my car

Since we have lived in our country cottage, for the last 25 years or so, we haven't had trick or treaters.  Family or friends have dropped by to show us their costumes, but we've not had strangers knock on our door.

I LOVE costumes!

And I LOVE Trick or Treaters!

So, when I heard that Sugarwings' martial arts studio was hosting a Trunk or Treat, I decided to join in and transformed my car into a haunted mansion.  There were a dozen or so other ghoulish cars there, and a bouncy house too.

Some people went all out.

One family even rented a U-haul van and turned it into a black lit, haunted house.

It was all pretty cute, and I was glad to be there, even though I really didn't know anyone until Sugarwings and Fin came by to visit with our Hippy Chick.

She was only there a few minutes, and I was a surprise for her, she didn't know I was going to be there with a spooky car.

It has been decades since I bought Halloween candy BEFORE the holiday, instead of the day after when it is on sale, or got to hand it out to a constant parade of kiddos excited to be in costume. 

I think that trunk or treating is even more fun than having them come to the door, I got to talk to them and get a good look at the get ups they chose to wear.  Their joy in their disguises shines through and I had a blast visiting with them when they came by my hatch back to get their treats.

Funny, this year, Sugarwings and I didn't do as many holiday activities as we usually do, but I didn't let it stop me from doing them on my own.  Any occasion is what you make it and I wanted to make Halloween festive for myself.  I carved a pumpkin, decorated the car, and got myself all witchy for the evening, then picked up a pumpkin shaped pizza to share with Ryan when I got home.

It would have been easier to simply spend the day as any other day in October, since I didn't have any grand fairies to hang out with, but I decided to go for it and celebrate on my own.  (My poor husband tried to join in and play along with me, but had a business trip come up at the last minute., he'd flown in from Boston at noon, and found out he had to be in Pittsburgh that night, and to turn around and leave as soon as he got here.)

So, by myself, I created my own fun,  participated in the festivities, and had a great day.

One thing I know, is that fun is out there, just waiting for you, if you make an effort to look for it.

 

Happy Halloween!

I hope you have a Spooktacular Day!