Karla's Cottage

My Autumn Mantel,(and the mess that surrounds it)

Before the Guncles came to visit, I switched up my mantel for a fall look.

I am glad I did, because I certainly would not have had time to do it now.

Because of this.

And this.

The mantel is about all that looks good in my house right now. We have gone to the dogs.

There is some remote learning going on too. Which takes up most of the downstairs.

And I’ve got my watercolors spread out to work on in here instead of out in the studio so I can be near the babies.

Which is where we all want to be.

During lockdown, it was important to me to keep my house serene and organized.  That helped me cope with some of the stress of the situation.

But I think 16 puppies, a homeschooler and a messy house is a pretty lively, fun way to handle a pandemic too. There is some stress for sure (checking on crying newborns throughout the night to make sure they are not cold or smothered, mama dogs needing go out to potty every couple of hours= no sleep, and that homeschooler likes to try to watch TikTok during class), but I can’t complain.  

Lively and Fun are two things I need right now.

More from the Grand Fairy Room Switch Up

Dewdrop lives in the hills of North Carolina, but we still want her to have a place she calls home back in Kansas.

(Because , of course- there is no place like that!)

After redoing the larger of the upstairs rooms as a birthday surprise for her big sis, I spiffed up the attic room for her.

I have to admit, that setting up the dollhouse was the most fun part.

She is ten now, and still loves her dolls.  But she doesn’t use the play kitchen stuff much, so the little stove and cabinet are now used for storage instead.

Mostly, I shuffled decor items, fairies and toys from the other room into this one, and left the mermaid and unicorn bedspreads and wall color that were already here.

The only purchase I made was these pastel rainbow, ombré curtains with cut out stars that shine.

Amazon carries them, and they are prettier in person than in the photos on the site. I’m glad I gambled and got them, since I felt the colors looked a little dull on Amazon.  

And when topped with the fairy collection that had been spread all around the other room, they look even better.

The collection does too, I like seeing them all in one spot.

 

Guncle Time

The Guncles came to visit for three days, and we were so busy, and had such a good time together, (Plus packing the camper for a trip to NC) that I wasn’t taking photos.

We cooked, went boating, set up a puppy nursery, crafted, and laughed throughout.

My husband wanted his grandma’s recipe for pickles, and Randy is the keeper of her boxful of treasures.  Grandma Nathan was most known for her German Pancakes, and there have been family debates on how she made them.  When I found this, I photographed it and sent it out to sisters.

The next morning we tried it out.  Actually, I tried making them, and am not a recipe person.

When I cook, I kind of make things up as I go along and eyeball measurements.  But these needed to taste EXACTLY LIKE GRANDMA NATHAN’S.

So I got out my measuring cups, that family often tease me about because they have no markings to say what size they are.

And of course, I screwed it up by using a full cup of milk and water instead of a half, so I had to start dumping more ingredients in to make up for it.

Nope, mine were not EXACTLY LIKE GRANDMA NATHAN’S.

The Guncles did the rest of the cooking while they were here and even brought fresh seafood packed on ice all the way from Florida.  

oh my

It was the best!

The visit went by way too quickly. It had been ages since Kevin had been here with us and I wish they could have stayed longer.

I love those guys.

Little Red Doodles to Hold

Honey has babies!

It was a wild ride getting them here.  The night before they were born, she started nesting, and decided she did not like the whelping box.  Every time we let her out of our sight, she started to dig, including through a wall.

That girl wanted to build a den.

Once we got her settled, she went right to work, and calmly had 8 pups in under 3 hours.

I sat up with her a few more hours, then went to bed. 
(There were lots of ups and downs all night, letting her out, feeding her, making sure pups were warm.)

The next morning, we discovered a bonus puppy who came sometime after midnight and I didn’t even notice.

5 girls, 4 boys.

The adventure reminded me of her first litter, when she actually did dig a den to give birth in.  Ryan and I had to hunt for cold, wet, pups in the dark with a flashlight.

You can see the story HERE.

When the two dogs went into heat, I wasn’t sure if we should breed them this year. But the thought of fluffy puppies to snuggle was too hard to resist.  After losing Ryan, I thought that would be just what I needed to start healing my heart.

In the past, Honey has had a false pregnancy, so I doubled down and had both dogs bred- just in case.

Now, I had two very pregnant dogs, and was ready for all that healing to start as soon as I saw the first baby.

But hearts don’t recovery that simply, do they?  

And with Honey’s determination to dig her own nest, it all brought back memories of my son, by my side in the rain, hunting for little puppies.  I felt his loss even more, if that is possible. 

Over the next couple of months, I’ll miss him by me as they are fed from a spoon (he laughed at how spoiled they were) and I’ll miss him when I watch our favorite shows with a lap full of pups, knowing he always loved holding the little ones with me in front of the TV and should’ve been there with an armload himself.

But as I tell Sugarwings when she is sad about her uncle, losing a loved one means you need to love the ones around you even more.

Death teaches us how quickly we can lose someone, and we should learn from that, and treasure our time with family.

I know how quickly these next couple of months will go by.  In a flash, the puppies will leave to go be loved by others.  But for now, I am drying my tears and treasuring these moments with them.

My heart will never heal.  
But there is always room in its pieces for love and for puppies.

 

A tad bit more of autumn cottage redoing

Have you ever looked at throw pillow covers on Amazon? I had no idea there was such a vast option to create a new look for the sofa!

In the past, I would either make coverings (in my sloppy, bad sewing way, that tied shut because I couldn’t make buttonholes or zippers), or I’d splurge and buy new pillows that I didn’t really need and created a storage problem.

Well, no longer. Well made pillow cases with invisible zippers are pretty cheap on amazon and arrive in a couple days.

I bought 4 of the cream velvet with Pom Poms for $9 each, but decided to only use two for now. I like the mix with the two warmer toned pillows for Fall.  But 4 cream ones for winter will be ideal.

The two hydrangea with vintage text on velvet were also $9 a piece.  All were Prime purchases, so had free shipping.

The lush, plush throw with fringe was $17 at Homegoods.

And oh my, that is about as cuddly and welcoming as a blanket can get.

The rest of the redo is just moving some things that I already had around.   I thought the vintage blue mirror that holds a pumpkin my friend Tami made looked pretty with the blue hydrangea pillow.

Then, I added a blue rimmed plate to match.  Blue isn’t a typical Autumn color, but I felt like the rich, deep shade suited the season.

Spring and summer are more to my taste than Fall.   When the leaves start to turn, I start fretting about being cooped up for winter.    

And this year?

With Covid still spreading, the dread of winter is really looming over me. Getting together outdoors with friends and family has meant the world to me.  Losing that time to cold weather will not be easy.

I might turn into a shopaholic, serial redo-er to keep myself sane indoors.  Look out, Amazon, your pillow cover supply is in danger!  

Bringing a Taste of Autumn to the Cottage

Thanks to Ryan- Camping on the River and Playing with Rainbows with a Overdue Break from iPads

We made a quick trip to Asheville to take Sugarwings to be with her dad and sissy before school started.

Both girls are doing virtual school, which can be done from any place with WiFi. Which means more possible trips during the school year.

It seemed smart to let them get settled into the new classes before doing that, though. We wanted to have a visit, and be home before school began.

It was good for them to be together, and play outside.  They made three foot high bubbles with a giant wand and modeled for each other with a rainbow light. There was hiking, waterfalls, and a walk through a bamboo forest.

Honestly, between losing Ryan, and trying to cope with the pandemic, we have been failing as grandparents.  Sugarwings has had a lonely summer when staying with us, besides a few boat outings, and trips, we are dull on a daily basis.

I usually make efforts to take the grand fairies out during summer break. 

A typical (non 2020) week would have included daily crafts, one outing to a zoo or discovery zone type place, one afternoon at a movie, and one project.  Plus screen viewing breaks for biking, walks in the woods, or some other outdoor activity.

But in this summer?

There has been a scarcity of guidelines about screen time.

In the past, they were expected to craft while watching the iPad or tv.  And to watch a TedEd or nature show on breaks from their regular shows.

This summer?

ha!

Half hearted rules were attempted, but as each week went by, this poor kid was going deeper and deeper into TicTok videos and YouTube, without any interference from me.

Time outdoors, without iPads was just what she needed.

And sister time, was even more necessary.

My husband and I were missing our far away family.  Loading up the camper to go see them again meant a lot.

Our son has a new home on an acreage that holds an organic farm.

While it is hard for me to have Adam and Dewdrop so far away, I was comforted by seeing how he lives.

He loves his green building job.  And lives in a beautiful place.

I miss them terribly, but knowing he is happy makes me happy for him.

Pulling our camper makes it easier to visit, and thanks to Ryan, we can do that.

We purchased the new trailer with Ryan’s insurance check and I consider it his last gift to me.  We can travel away from home, but always feel like we have Ry Guy near us.

He loved giving me gifts and was always so excited about them that he had a hard time waiting til it was time to pass them out.  He preferred giving them to me before the rest of the family came for holidays, because he was such a private person.

The wind chimes he bought for Mother’s Day will always be treasured because they meant so much to him.  He and I used to walk around the yard, trying them out in different spots until we found the exact place that got the most breeze for the prettiest sound.

I can just imagine his pride in knowing that he had gifted us with such a nice camper.  I hear his voice and feel his love every time we use it.

I’d like to craft a sign to hang in it, in honor of him.  For now, there is a photo of him hidden inside the refrigerator door panel. When we purchased the trailer, the fridge doors weren’t complete yet.  I taped his picture to the liner of the door and had the technician leave it there when he added the permanent doors.

We also want to bring some wind chimes on our trips, along with some of Ryan’s ashes to sprinkle by the camper each time.  He will always be with us when we are on the road.

 

A Getaway to the Asheville Mountains and Waterfalls

Asheville, NC is home to some kick ass waterfalls, and while visiting, we trekked down to the base of one and spent some time playing in the water.

That place was over crowded, as I feared many Labor Day vacation spots might be, so I was extra cautious and had the family mask up, even outdoors, when strangers got too near.  And did my best to constantly scoot away from people encroaching upon my space as I gathered shiny, quartz rocks to make a fairy to leave by the falls.

Since others simply didn’t seem to understand social distance guidelines, I left the pools at the bottom of the falls and found a cozy, mossy bed away from traffic for this sprite to make her home.

She is in a shady area, so you don’t see how the crystal sparkles in the photo. But she is entirely made of glittery bits and pieces.  And look at the itty-bitty, fingertip sized crystal heart that I found for her to hold!

It was the first part I found when I stepped into the clear water, and I created the fairy around that heart.

You can tell how beautiful the water is here.  And the rocks shining through were either frosted with mica or crystal. Each was a sparkling treasure.  

I didn’t keep any from there, since it was a park.  But, I was so tempted.  Instead, I left my fairy as a thank you for nature’s blessings to me.

She sits at the end of the trail, right by the first boulders of the pools, so I hope some kids find her there.

Being with my boy, and his daughters in such a magical place was good for my husband and I.  Some days are harder than others without Ryan, but no days are easy.

Being in a tranquil spot with loved ones was much needed.