Karla's Cottage

Rock Chalk

Years and years ago, I painted a couple of “Jayhawks on Parade” as part of a fundraiser involving the local collage mascot.  Here is one of them, a peacock.  Mugs, books, shirts and other stuff were sold with the pictures of the birds too. This is a coffee cup I’d give to my MIL, that was recently returned when she moved into a healthcare facility. This mug gave me a big smile.  I’d done the painting part and participated in the mosaic with good friends.

A whole box of stuff came back, including a painting I will not show that makes me want to apologize to anyone I’d gifted artwork to in the past.

Oh my. 

Somethings you just don’t want to revisit, do you?  At the time, I must’ve liked it, but with hindsight, I realize it was a mistake.  

Much as a lot of things from the 80s for me!  Let’s not talk about that big headed perm.  Some things, like that badly done watercolor should stay in the past.

It’s Just Some stuff

Having the puppies leave for their new families is rewarding.

Having the puppies leave for their new families is rewarding.

No matter how many times I tell myself this, it doesn’t make it any easier, I miss my puppies!  A few days after they went off on their new paths, we had family come to visit.  That was a welcome distraction.

Especially when they brought their own cute doggies along.

And of course, I still have this pup.

Who looks all grown up with her new haircut.

  We have had one problem after another.  So many that they are blending into one another, to form one big blob of problematic messiness.  But none too big, just an ongoing onslaught.

I tripped and cracked a rib, one puppy got sick, another got slightly injured, but all are okay.  I had a three year old washer break, replaced it with a brand new one that didn’t work, was lucky enough to get that one replaced and the newest one floods my laundry room.  I wasn’t shopping for the best deal, or certain options on the machines, I was just taking what the store could get and was glad to get one. But man, none of them were working? 

Of course during the pandemic, we are used to shortages and I figure that if my biggest issue is having trouble replacing appliances (I am looking at you, 8 month back order on a dishwasher), I am doing okay.

Our hot tub died on us last year, and one turned up to buy last week.  It was not the one we wanted, but it was the one we could get.  It worked and we were glad to get it.
 I started to climb in the other day for a relaxing soak on my achey rib after pulling weeds in the garden, had my shirt half off when I looked up to see a workman in the tower.

He had a bird’s eye view of a grandma starting to strip.  Poor guy. 

Our hot tub area is typically private, but a couple times a year, some brave soul climbs the tower to work on it.  I am not complaining about that either, that tower has been lucrative to us.

Our desk top Mac needed replaced, I was able to get one, not the one I wanted, but one I needed.  iPads were in stock, Rich could replace his along with his broken Rigid drill (whose ID number was blurred and the warranty wasn’t honored). We needed a new microwave, tires for my car, three new outdoor and two indoor faucets replaced.  Our camper has developed a weird electrical thing and hundreds of dollars later, is still not right.  There are more little broken issues, big issues, sad things, annoying things, but I am trying to look at it from the point of view that somehow it works out and we are lucky to afford the repairs, replacements, and to find something in stock somehow to get that done, even with shortages.

Then, our 7 month old truck broke down in Southern Missouri while Rich was camping.  The pandemic shortages became hard to ignore when we discovered it could be up to six months to get the part to fix it.  And I spent hours on the phone with rental companies trying to find a way to get a truck to the Ozarks to pick up Rich, Honey, and the RV.

Our local dealership came through and loaned us this shiny, blue savior and I drove 6-1/2 hours to fetch them and scoop them up to bring home. 

So far, the GM dealer is treating us very well and we hope to get this solved in a way that we don’t miss the rest of boating and camping season by not having a truck for months.

Except for a sick puppy, who is better, and a sore rib which is getting better, it’s all just stuff right? (Expensive stuff, but just stuff)  I know that and have been rolling with it as good as I can.

Believe me, I know that I am speaking from privilege and that my life is good, these are minor things.  I’m quick to thank and commiserate with the salesmen, clerks, repairmen, and parts people who are dealing with the brunt of not being able to get the things that are needed.  My problems are small.

After losing a son, losing a truck doesn’t seem like much.

But, a series of stresses does add up and I felt pretty dang sorry for myself yesterday.  My rib hurt, I’d been in the truck for 13 hours, and I just didn’t want to think about the deeper reasons that there were so many empty shelves and so few choices when shopping. Driving through parts of Missouri where the virus is spreading like wildfire and hospitals are over filled, and seeing that no one is wearing masks was the final straw.  

While I work on being grateful for what I have, it is painful to know that the virus is still spreading and the healing our world needs has slowed down and instead things are getting worse again, not better.

 

 

 

 

A happy ending

When the pups were living in our breezeway, a bird came through the window whose screen I’d removed to provide access for Sugar.  We kept a bench under the window so she could hop in and out of it to spend time with her babies as she chose to while still being able to shut the door to keep the pups inside.

A nest was built on top of a flower pot shaped like a bird house (seems fitting!). I would climb up on Sugar’s bench each day to peek in and check on the progress of the two little eggs inside.  One hatched and I was excitedly awaiting the second’s arrival.

But then tragedy struck the little family, the mama bird got caught in a fly strip.  I cannot, (and will not to save you the vision) tell you what a horrific experience that was. 

Just awful.

I expected the baby to die on its own. But no!  It grew and thrived, with a tuff of fluffy down poofing up on its head and a sweet little chirpy song coming from the nest.   The papa bird must’ve raised it alone.  The other egg never hatched, I guess because the mom wasn’t around to sit on it. 

Once I discovered that it was still living, I left it alone, knowing how fragile its existence was.  Then, I stopped hearing its chirpyness and looked inside, yep, she’d grown up and left.  

I brought the nest indoors and put it under glass to remind me of the hope that came after the hideous moments of trying to get that mama out of the fly strip and watching it die.

Plus, nests are just cool. 
I might decorate it or Foof it up somehow later on.  But for now, I am enjoying the simplicity of the nest in the white pottery under glass.

 

 

 

 

New Looks for the Doodles

Molly and Sugar were both way over due for new doos. Sugar couldn’t get a haircut for 4 months because of pregnancy and nursing. And honestly, Molly was so dang cute as a fluff ball so furry you couldn’t even tell if there was a dog in there or not, that I was enjoying her as she was.

With the heat in Kansas, it just wasn’t fair for me to leave her that way just because I thought it was adorable. 
Once she was shaved, we discovered there was barely anything under that mop!  She is a tiny thing.

Sugar looked sleek under her mountain of hair too.

Do you see the little heart/hole in the sidewalk that she found for me on our walk?

Here is a close up.  I’d never have noticed it if she hadn’t called my attention to that spot.  Thank you, Shuggie, I love you too!

Before her Sugarbabies went to their homes, they shared a heart with me too.  This is a crystal that I’ve had in the yard for years.

I had no idea that one side was heart shaped until the puppies flipped it over while playing with it.

Of course, I took that as an ‘I love you’ message from them.

I hope those little puppies know how much I loved them too. My yard seems very empty without their lively personalities.

My time with them seemed much too short.  Saying good bye was rough. 

 

A little trip down memory lane, or up I29, I should say

Rich and I went to visit friends in Nebraska and decided to take a detour through Sioux City on the way home.  


While it wasn’t exactly on the way (we had to go north an hour before going back south to KS), it was nice to have the freedom to meander about and take the time to explore the city where we met.

And to drive by my mom’s old house, where I raised my boys through their preschool years.  Way, way before we lived there, it was the home of Ann Landers and Dear Abby as children.  Maybe the aura of of their advice giving habits lingered in the air, and that is why I tend to be so bossy like to help people know what is the best thing to do.

We visited some of Rich’s college days’ haunts, had a loose meat type, Charlie Boy sammy, and mostly drove around murmuring about how much things had changed, stayed the same, or wondered if we were going the right way, is this the place, or is that it?  

Typical old folk talk when revisiting the past locales of their youth.

The day’s drive was a nostalgic continuation of our visit to see our friends, Rich’s college buddies.

We’d sat on the porch of their beautiful lake home and drank wine while reminiscing  for hours.

Being with these good friends felt like we were right back where we were decades ago.  Although, our surroundings were no where near this nice way back when!

 And who knew that there were glorious, natural sand beaches right outside of Omaha?!?

The lakes are dredged from the Platte River, which apparently is sandy bottomed.  

It makes for clear, clean water and beaches you’d expect to see on a tropical Island, not in Nebraska.  I think that this area has to be one of the Midwest’s biggest secrets.  

We had a quick trip, just one night, but we sure packed a lot into it.  I felt like I’d been on a trip to an exotic beach as well as down memory lane, all in a little over 24 hours.

Summer Style

We may live far from the ocean here in the middle of Kansas, but I still need some beachy-ness in my surroundings.

This carnival glass bowl was picked up for $3 on an antiquing jaunt with pals. It felt very oceany to me, so I filled it with shells and a matching candle.  Everything sat a bit too wonky, so I removed it all and added moss inside before arranging the shells again.

That helped.

Of course, I didn’t do a before photo of this junky, old tray I had.  It had been used to hold kid’s supplies in the studio and was splattered a lot of different colors.  So, I painted it white, then drizzled on some beach tones and swirled them about.  While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled in some sand and a little hint of glitter.  

Typically, I can’t keep anything displayed on this coffee table because Sugarwings takes over that area in the living room and she fills the space up with her own assortment of doodads and accessories.  But she is visiting her dad for a few weeks, so I went for it and sat out my tray of pretties. 

There are multiple layers of varnish over my swirly paint, so later on when the teen returns and I lose my window of decorating time, the tray can actually be functional to use in the kitchen.