Karla's Cottage

A little dinner party

After all of the holiday entertaining, January was feeling a little flat without any.  Plus, while we had some gorgeous days here and there, I was busy repainting a couple of rooms and missed going for walks.  When it got cold again, I was done with the big jobs, and I really needed to get moving, the city’s activity center was closed due to the shortages of staff that everyone is suffering from now. I couldn’t go for an indoor walk when I was ready to.

So, I was feeling a tad down.


A party was just what I needed to beat the January doldrums!

To be extra festive, I made place cards .  Not that I cared where anyone sat, I just thought it would be fun to do.

Rich and Jim are both beekeepers, so theirs got honeybees.

I made a peach pie and marinated grouper fillets that Rich caught in Key West in some Caesar yogurt and breaded them with panko, flour, salt and pepper.  Then sautéed the fish in avocado oil and butter.  

As I was cooking them, I thought it looked like it needed something more, so I whipped up a lemon, white wine and caper sauce to go over it.  My first taste of it puckered my throat, it was so lemony, so I quickly added some chicken broth and milk.  

It turned out okay, but for a few minutes I thought my typical, making stuff up on the fly way of cooking might backfire on me, as my friends were eating their salads and waiting for the fish to be ready.

I did screw up the pie.  My glass pie pan broke, and I had to use a metal one.  I don’t typically time things, I cook til they look done.  But I was used to being able to peek through the glass to see if the crust was browned.

It was a bit doughy since I couldn’t visually check it.  I might need to become a cookbook/timer person if I keep making mistakes.  But I don’t take cooking very seriously, so maybe not.

The evening really was just what I needed, it is hard to feel gloomy with a roomful of best buds!

 

 

 

 

In praise of gallery walls

As an artist, I seem to have a proliferation of stuff to go on my walls. As a person who enjoys taking pictures, and has very cute grandfairies, I also want their photos up there too.  

So, groupings are how I usually handle that.  The trouble is, I hate to get rid of old pictures that I love, but new ones keep coming along.   On this wall, I added a few of our family fairy pictures to the existing  collection.

We are in the process of redoing Rich’s office.  My talented son put this floor in over the holiday, and it has been a huge improvement over the old carpet.  
Previously, Rich had a gallery wall of barn wood framed family photos that he wants back up again.  While they are down, I’m sprucing them up and switching a few out.  (Photos to come when the room is done.)

Then, he had another request.

He wants our parents and grandparents on display too.

It is sweet of him to want this, so I have been working on a display that complements the other family wall but doesn’t match it.

I’d had big plans for painting some large landscapes to hang up there (we are out of room everywhere else) but like I said, this is sweet of him to want.  He also wants to hang work mementos that I thought would be leaving, so I guess I won’t be painting landscapes for the room.

Looks like I’ll be sticking to roses to hang elsewhere.  He deserves a space that is just as he wants it, since he deals with my stuff running rampant through the rest of the house.

And I have learned that he has some good ideas, too.  I hated the thought of getting this dining table, to replace my all white one, and now am happy to have it.

Rich had a favorite tree fall down, and wanted to keep a piece of it forever, so we had this made.

See what I mean?  He is very sweet.

A little sparkle, a little nature, a new look for January

My Christmas decorations go up early, and every single morning, starting in November, I flip the switch on every power strip the lights plug into, before I have even let dogs out or made coffee.

At night, after the doggies have been tucked in, the lights are regrettably turned off.  If it was feasible, they’d be on 24 hours a day around here.  

Once the season of cheer ends, I can’t face the long cold winter without some extra lighting, so I leave icy style garlands with mini twinkle bulbs above some windows and add lamps to the previously used power strips for some ambient glow to help me get through the insidious, dark, and and awful month of January.

Natural elements and plants are good aids in surviving winter, too.  

And I like the sparkle of glass this time of year.  

The mercury glass stays for the rest of the winter, with some pink roses and hearts added for February.

There is also something to be said for cleared spaces and clean lines, after the clutter of Christmas.  Filling my cottage with multiple collections and trees for November and December might be just what I need for that time, but by about 12/26, I am ready for simplicity.

Well, my idea of simplicity, at least!  I still love my stuff.

Just a little less stuff than normal.  And in neutral tones.

There are a few hints of color peeking out here and there, mostly muted.  And who can trash their poinsettias just because their holiday passed?  I always have a mixed feeling about them, because those flowers really shout “CHRISTMAS” to me.  But it feels like murder to get rid of them in January.  I’ve never been able to keep them alive too long, so it’s not a big problem.   But this year might be different, the two I bought months ago still are thriving and lovely.

There is a big splash of color from this glass art a friend made.  It makes me feel like sunshine is pouring in the room.

Actually, as far as January, we have had more bright light than we typically get.  Enough bright light to show every muddy dog foot print on the floor!  Oh well, be careful what you wish for, right?

The sunlight has been cheery, almost to the point that I forget it’s snowy and cold out there.  

 

 

 

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

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. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A year of fairies, family, flowers, and furry friends

Last year might have ended in worry and cancellations but it began in hope.  And ours started on the wings of fairies, which was pretty special.

We were blessed to be with our fairy family for Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2021. After what 2020 had put us all through, we were ready to face a brighter future.

Rich and I volunteered at vaccine clinics, where I was the coldest I have ever been in my life.  On a day of 14 degrees, I worked outside for six hours, something my family still can’t quite believe that a person as terrified of being chilly like I am, could do.

Volunteering at this event not only showed me that I was tougher than I thought, it brought hope to me that our lives could be somewhat normal again.

We headed south for a few weeks to the beach where I got to make lots of fairies to give thanks for the blessings in my life.

We took four dogs with us in a 19’ camper, which isn’t as bad as it sounds.  They are every bit as much underfoot in our home as they are in the trailer.  Two doodles, a retriever and a Yorkie  provide many tripping opportunities, no matter how small the kitchen I am cooking in is.

And what is better than being somewhere warm and blooming, away from a cold, Kansas winter?

Coming home is always hard for me.  While I am away, it’s easier to not expect to see Ryan.  He rarely traveled with us.

Returning to an empty house without his happy grin of welcome is rough to get used to.

These furry bundles of love came along in the spring.  They fill my heart up, in a bittersweet way.

I can almost feel Ryan by my side laughing at their silliness like he used to do.  He loved the puppies as much as I do.  Having them around was a help in getting through the anniversary of his death.

For two months, I did nothing but care for the babies.  When they slept, I’d do paintings of them, and talk to prospective families. I got very little sleep and picked up mountains of poo.

But I also had weeks of furry snuggles and joy. 


The babies helped me through the loss of two of our Yorkies. The pups were right there with me when Twinkle had her stroke.  As I held her in my arms during convulsions, those little dogs watched with compassion and care.  I could tell they would grow up to be loving pets when I saw how they wanted to comfort Twinkle and I.

The very next week, we lost our boy, Albie.   I don’t know what I’d have done without armloads of furry, warm puppies to get me through it.

There is so much joy in these little bodies, that you just have to smile even while in pain!

We took another camping getaway to the mountains of North Carolina.


Where I crafted riverbank fairies of rocks instead of seashells in the sand. 

 This is the year that Sugarwings grew up and became a teen, not a child.

And our Hippy Chic got her Master’s to become a midwife.

Painting flowers and landscapes got me back into the studio.  I still haven’t added to my Boutique or planned a Birdsong event, but both have been on my mind.  I’d started feeling out the prospect of an arty weekend, and then, BOOM, along came Delta.

So, I’ll be sticking to my solitary studio time for now.  It would devastate me to host a Birdsong and have anyone become ill while visiting.

On a second trip to Florida, I got to watch countless dolphins, see sharks up close, and find amazing piles of shells on a teensy island.

There was a lot to be thankful to nature for. 

It was also kinda nice to have the dogs cared for by family while we stayed in hotels instead of a camper.

I even got to visit Tinker Bell!

After a spectacular Disney adventure, I headed to Indian Shores to be with sisters and nieces.  It was a beach I was unfamiliar with, and was surprised by the lack of larger shells.  So, I used itty bitty shells to leave a mosaic fairy on the shore.

This might just be a new favorite art form for me.  Painting with seashells!

Thanksgiving brought us a visit from Dewdrop and a great family weekend to be plenty thankful for.

Stories of the proliferation of Omicron made me value every moment of holiday celebrations we had.

And to remember to appreciate those around me and what is important.

I am wishing you a safe and happy 2022.  With this horrid curse of a virus fading away.

 

 

A Gingerbread Cottage Christmas

One thing we look forward to at the holidays is Family Gingerbread Night. I buy the houses at the after Christmas clearance sale stacking them up to use for the next season, and we save up sugary decorations for years.

Literally, years.  No one is even tempted to taste any of it, the candies have been around so long.  We like to mention as we are using the pieces that some are older than Dewdrop.

Especially the bright colored, hard, coated pieces.  Those never die.

This was the year that Sugarwings’ house design grew up.  We started making them together back when the kiddo was about two, and would work on the house throughout the month of December, glopping layers upon layers of goo and goodies over it until you’d never know there was a structure underneath.

 That continued every Christmas, with the goal being to get as much stuff on the house as you could.

But this season?  The grand fairy really put some thought into the styling, and even added a snowman party to the creation, with a tub filled with soda pop as refreshments.

Avahni’s was a crazy cat lady’s house.

And we had a Pokémon hospital.

My favorite might be my son, the carpenter’s.  His is the one on the left corner.  A pile of lumber waiting for the the house to be built.

We leave the supplies out so the work can continue as needed, I put them on a light weight folding table that we can shove out of the way if we have to.

But maybe pushing the table in front of the stairs wasn’t the best idea?  It became a doggie buffet.  

oops 

Gingerbread wasn’t our only edible art. (Well, technically, we do not ever eat the gingerbread, but as far as media goes, I think the houses are in the “edible art” category, right?)

Thia brought over supplies to craft fruit and chocolate bouquets that were delicious, vegan, and lovely. Plus, the shape cutters and other items needed were gifted to me, so I can make my own bouquets in the future!  Thanks, Thia!

And then there is this cottage creation.  We started work on transforming my husband’s office.  Fresh paint, new floors, blinds, light fixtures, and furniture are all in the works.  Photos to come, for sure.