Karla's Cottage

An Estate Sale in Ottawa, KS that opened some floodgates for me

My friend, Angie called me to say she had someone cancel on her and she could use a couple hours of help at an estate sale she was running.

(304 E 11th Street in Ottawa, half price on Saturday the 19th)

While there were plenty of vintagey goods, practical items, and tons of tools for sale, the star of the day was the house itself.

Throughout the day, I explored all of the excellently preserved details of this pristine old house.  It made me feel nostalgic for my mom’s house in Sioux City, IA.  Hers was from the same era and style, also had that great woodwork and arched entryway doors.

Mom’s home didn’t have the original potties, though.   This house had delicious tiling and the baths were updated but not gutted and redone.  The rose and black might have been my fave.

(Delicious might not be a good word to describe a bathroom, but, honestly, that color is pretty dang tasty!)

But, no maybe this room is my favorite color combo- the soft green with a hint of lilac?  How springy and delightful!

The woodwork throughout was magnificently crafted too.  And filled with French doors.  My mother took her French doors off and stored them in the basement for some odd reason.  Maybe so my crazy, wild boys wouldn’t ride a tricycle through them.

They weren’t the only kids raised in that place, it was also the childhood home of Ann Landers and Dear Abby.  I have a feeling the advice sisters weren’t as rambunctious as my kiddos, but then not many were.

Luckily, this was marked NFS, or it would’ve been in the back of my pickup, and I do not need it. 

I sure WANT it.

The basement was filled with the original workings of the old place, and that again brought back memories of Mom’s house on Nebraska Street. There was a laundry chute here just like the one my sons threw all of their toys down.

Visions of two year old Adam dropping trucks down onto four year old Ryan’s head in the basement were bittersweet.  And I laughed out loud with tears in my eyes as I recalled running down the hall and screaming, “Noooo!  The dog cannot go down the chute!” Just in time to save that poor little schnauzer.

It has been a rough week for me, I definitely needed this day out to work with Angie. The added bonus of spending the day in a home that brought so many forgotten times rushing back was good..

May is coming up, and it is filled with land mines for my heart.  My birthday and Mother’s Day were dates that Ryan never failed to make me feel treasured on.

Then the end of May brings the anniversary of his death.

It is still April, but the mere  thought of May has been wringing tears out of me while anticipating the calendar page about to turn.

And horrifically, some dear friends recently lost their son. I spent a week making a journal/album for him and feeling their pain with each drop of glue I used.

On top of that, I’ve had someone I trust turn on me and flip my view of our relationship up and twist it around.

Memories can be a blessing and a curse at the same time.  All I can do for now is roll with the emotions, enjoying the stories that play in my mind while missing my boy.

Bad things happen, sadness continues to occur, but I need to hang out to those good memories and think about those funny little boys with the giant pile of toys under the laundry chute in the basement.

Or I will never survive this.  Those memories need to be my lifeline.

 

 

 

There is more to Florida than beaches, seafood, and amusement parks?

Usually, when I go to Florida, it’s either beaches, Harry Potterworld, or Disney.  And I go to lots of seafood restaurants.  On this visit, I saw more of the inner parts of the state, but I did make drives to the beaches on most days, and still ate more than my fair share of seafood.

Our plans changed and our trip was delayed because we got our Covid vaccines, a happy reason to reschedule.  But because of that, I couldn’t book the best camp spots we wanted and had to make the best of it since the reservations were last minute.

We accidentally stayed AN HOUR from the beach in Bradenton.  It was a great KOA, but much further away from the water than I wanted to be.

We were in the heartland, and the campground felt almost like we were back home in Kansas.  I guess I didn’t realize just how large Bradenton was, and only thought of it as a gulf town.  (Maybe I should’ve looked at the map, huh?)

Hunsader Farms had a lot to offer, even if it wasn’t what I had thought I was getting.  

I have to admit, that I was a tad bit cranky when I realized exactly how isolated the place was when we arrived.  But after hanging out, it grew on me.

There was a U Pick Em zinnia field and strawberry patch, and I not only got to eat juicy berries to my hearts content, and fill the camper with fresh flowers, I was able to walk the dogs to the colorful field and get some portraits of them.

It really was pretty there.  Once I let myself enjoy it and stop being resentful about my booking mistake, I was glad to be there.

We even found a seafood tiki bar nearby on the water.

It was a lake, not my beloved ocean, but the place was delicious and fun.

Plus an hour to get to Point of Rocks at Siesta Key is much better than 20 hours from Kansas.

And we weren’t any further from one of the best off leash dog beaches I’d ever been to.

We all loved that leg of our journey.

 

My heart belongs to the beach

We visited quite a few beaches on our trip.  Sadly, we did not get to camp at any, our RV campsites were a bit of a drive, but worth the effort.

At each beach we walked, I was lucky enough to find seashell hearts. 

My eyes are drawn to finding possible fairy parts and hearts as I walk the shores.  I rarely look for perfect, intact shells, I like the shapes worn by the waves.

Maybe I identify with life’s rough spots and aging honing me into who I have become over time.  

Who wants to be pristine and perfect, anyway?  

 

 

 

 

Family photos with dogs

On the way back from Florida, we made multiple stops to see family. One was in Indiana and I got to see not only my own fam, but Sugar’s baby too. She lives with my niece, JoRenda.

At first, I tried to get a selfie with her.

This is about the best one, it was windy, she was wiggly.

So, I handed my camera over to someone else, and kinda got a pic of us together, but that girl was curious about her doggie family and they were all ready to play, so we let them run together.

After they tired themselves out, we tried again.

It took a few snaps...

Then, ta-dah!  All mostly posed. But all were very pretty, even though it’s hard to get a picture of a black dog in a shadow.

Lighter ones are easier. Which is too bad, because I think it hurts the sales of the black pups, even though in person, they are gorgeous dogs and people stop me on the street to tell me how striking Shuggie is.

Sometimes, when the lighting is right, you can see her pretty face in a photo.

Mostly, she just seems to be a black blob.

Her daughter, Ryder, is a pretty girl too.  She still has her fluffy, puppy hair, and it was as soft as it was when she was tiny.  And she is every bit as sweet as she was then.  
At just a few weeks old, she was a dog who didn’t care for humans much.  But when you get one like that, you need to reassure them that human touch means LOVE.  I gave her so much extra attention, and carried her in a sling with me as I swept floors.  It seems to have paid off, she is a cuddler, and a very loving girl.

While the dogs over took most of our vacation, it wasn’t 100% about them, like they thought it was. Having sister time was sooo nice. 

One last sea shell fairy

Isn’t this oyster shell the perfect little pinafore dress for this sprite?  It even has a pocket!  And I was so happy to find the striped booties, ready to be slipped onto her tiny feet.

 

 

 

Farewell, Florida! Seashells at St Augustine Beaches

We sure enjoyed the St Augustine beaches!

We were able to drive on the sand, and could haul a day’s worth of tents, dog kennels, chairs, etc. so we had everything we needed with us.

With three dogs, we couldn’t have carried it all and managed them too.  At other beaches we chose to take the pups for long walks then leave.  Being able to have a vehicle near where we wanted to hang for the day completely changed how we could spend the days.

Oh, those dogs still got plenty of walking, too.  And we had all the comforts and shade we needed to enjoy our books in the sea air. We had lots of time for relaxing and making seashell fairies!