Karla's Cottage

More Magic

Well, that was quite a trip, a many legged journey with lots of stops along the way.

I mentioned our Disney adventure previously, but came across a few more Hidden Mickies after writing  that. 

My all time fave is Flamingo Island in Animal Kingdom, the entire thing is shaped like a Mickey head.

Over the years, you probably think I spend an inordinate time visiting my pal, Mickey, because I yammer on about it so much every time I go.

(This is a store window at Epcot in France.  Macarons and chocolates! Pink yummyness!)

And I have been lucky enough to take multiple trips there in the past.  

But this one? 

Wowzers!

Terry and I really did it up right.  It was the longest visit I have ever had there.  We arrived on a Friday for the Halloween party, then spent time at all four parks before she drove me to the beach Tuesday evening and dropped me off to be with my sisters for a few days.

We ate at the Food and Wine festival where I had fillet for breakfast one morning and Mickey shaped ice cream for dinner.

 We indulged in all the photo pass magic shots we could, wondered around at our own pace, hopped on rides when the lines were short, took scenic detours when we felt like it, and racked about around 20,000 steps a day on our Apple watches.

Instead of taking the boat from Epcot to the Swan hotel, we walked through the Boardwalk and even toured an open house of the vacation club (but without the sales pitch, I just asked if I could peek inside and they said sure) After, we stopped at the disco lounge with the big, flashing, neon sign saying DANCE HALL, and I took a turn around the dance floor to the tune of Donna Summer.  We were the only people inside, so I felt like I could show off some of my non-existing moves.

Cast members were kind to us and gave us mini tours a couple of times when we asked for directions. We didn’t have reservations for Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars Land, but a nice guy accompanied us inside to get a look at it, and we felt as if we’d been given a free, private tour.

Another cast member stayed in Star Wars character as he walked us through the park and told us about the Federation and their attacks.

Without kids, a visit to Orlando is a whole different thing. We made use of Terry’s season pass to use the private lounge and put our feet up a bit.  

I’d also found a pass online to a free lounge by Blue Cross of Florida, it was set up in a restaurant in the Norway pavilion.  We thought it would be ice water only, but there was a picnic cart that came around with goodies.  We hit up that area a few times to get a cold can of soda and snacks, as a nice break from crowds.  One time, we were the only ones in there, the other, there were only a couple of tables in use.

The whole trip was not only filled with fun, and we got to do everything we wanted, it was restful and relaxing too.  Crowds were low most of the time, and when they weren’t, we found something less busy to do.  
Thanks, Terry, for the magical time!

 

 

 

A mosaic seashell fairy

We tried a new beach this year, Indian Shores.  While it was relaxing and beautiful, it wasn’t the best location for picking up shells.  But there were tons of teensy ones that I gathered by the scoop full and sorted into dark and light to make a mosaic fairy portrait.

While the Sprite was crafted in a new way, the same heartfelt gratitude for my beach visit went into it.  I loved my short visit at Indian Shores with long walks each morning at the beach’s edge, and laughing with family as we sat in the sand.
 This beach deserved a thank you fairy, no matter how hard it was to find shells.  I was determined.

I wasn’t there long, but was able to divide up my limited time between my sissies and nieces  so that I got some one on one with each.

And we gathered together to watch as many sunsets as we could.


The perfect end to the peaceful days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ❤️ Hidden Mickies!

Terry and I have had a magical time at Disney World. She indulged my obsession to hunt Mickies too.

(Canada, Epcot)

Some are sneaky.

(Ratatouille, Epcot)

Like this one, very well hidden!

(Frozen, Epcot)

Others are pretty easy to spot. (Ariel, Hollywood Studio)

And some cannot be missed, like this coil of rope.

 (Living with the Land, Epcot)

My little eye spied a lot on that ride, but I didn’t get photos of them all  or on the Nemo ride, it was too dark.

This Mickey is hard to see, but it is lurking there in the deep shadow at Turtle Talk.

And while walking over a bridge at Epcot, I saw this rocky Mickey.

They can often be in signs.

(Figment, Epcot)

I can’t remember where this one is from.  But somewhere in Hollywood studios, maybe?

Instead of a mouse, these are hidden rats, in the wallpaper of the new Ratatouille ride.  Being a new and popular experience, it is very hard to get onto, but we set our alarm to be ready to hit the button to try to get in the virtual queue early in the morning and it paid off.  Six hours later, it was our turn to show up to get in the physical line for 45 minutes till it was time for us to spin around with a kitchen full of rats.  It was a clever ride, but even with ginger tablets, I was kind of dizzy and couldn’t wear the 3D glasses.  

I have seen these leafy Mickies a few times, but didn’t know where they came from.  Today we passed by just as the person sweeping the park finished making it.

Another fun peek a boo, is to look for Cinderella’s horse on the carousel at Magic Kingdom.  It the the one with the golden ribbon around its tail.  There is another horse with spots that form a Mickey, too.

To celebrate the 50 year anniversary, there are 50 golden statues throughout the four parks.  We made a game of finding them all, and doing some of their poses.

I didn’t do a great job of it, but at least I didn’t topple over.  That’s a plus, right?

And some poses were easier than others.

The statues will be there for 18 months, and you can get hints online about where to find them.  Most are pretty easy to see in main flower beds, but a few are in obscure locations, on balconies, poles, or signs.  

And the Mickies are everywhere.  Every time I go, I find more.  This one is on the Jungle Cruise dock.

If you find any good ones, let me know!

 

 

At Disney

I can’t even remember which leg of our multi faceted journey I am on right now.  Whatever number it is, it’s Disney World!  I’m tired, but having a blast.

Terry and I are here together, she made these Minnie costumes for us to wear to the Boo Bash.

We have also attended the fireworks dessert party, looked for hidden Mickies, and tracked down the 50 golden 50th anniversary statues.

And I still have two more days to go.

So for now, it’s time for a handful of my Boo Bash trick or treat candy and an early bedtime. 

Guncle-ween

Leg three of our vacation was a stop at Guncleland, where Randy and Kevin served up a seafood feast in a fall setting.

They know the shrimp boil is always my fave.

Randy says he is in the middle of decorating for Halloween, but to me, it looked like he had plenty done, there were spooky elements all around us.

Including the guest room.   Uhmmm, thanks guys…?

Not all the decor was spooky, some was simply lovely.

It was all a very nice mix.

Marco Island

We are in leg four of our multi-phased getaway.  First Asheville, then an emotional family wedding in Charlotte, Guncle time, now an idyllic rest at the beach watching dolphins from our balcony.

And what do I spy with my little eye?  A sunset wedding below us!

 

 

 

 

I ❤️ The Dog Park

Our city has a magnificent dog park.  Miles of trails through fields and the woods.  Some of the trails are paved, some dirt, some gravel.   Lately, I’ve been lucky enough to find heart shaped rocks in the gravel, like these two little ones.  

I thought it would be cool to use my blue crystal heart as a bowl to collect other rocks in.

This one was in the paved area.

And this little piece of my own heart came running up to me with an exciting greeting.  It’s Wally!  One of Sugar’s babies, and he seemed to remember me.

He lives nearby, in the neighborhood Ryan and I walked through regularly.   There wasn’t a week that went by when Ryan didn’t mention that he hoped we’d run into Wally, who had been one of his faves.  He had actually dog sat this boy for a week for the new owners and was pretty fond of him.

We hadn’t come across this cutey in our many walks, but the week Ry died, his brother took me on a “Ryan Walk” and guess who was there? Wally was out on a walk too!  I am afraid I cried too hard to be able to greet him.  But I made up for it when we ran into him at the dog park.  He got lots of snuggles from me.

In the fall, the bales are harvested in the many fields the trails go through and Molly likes to show off her jumping skills by leaping up onto them. Sugar can also leap into the air, but sees no reason to do it.

Dorothy enjoys the view from way up high, and likes to be sat up there with Molly.  Someone her height doesn’t often get to see the world from this angle.

 

 

Another thing from the flea market dollar table and a $16 mini redo

Surprisingly, this oval, floral print was only $1.   The frame was beat up, but a coat of paint made it look charmingly beat up instead of just messy.

Sissy had given me her Waverly curtains, and I’d made pillows for the sofa with some, but decided to use those in the breezeway instead and cut up another panel to make curtains in there too.

The oil painting of the girl was a gift from the Guncles, it is vintage and came with a grand frame that I’ll be repurposing.

Aren’t the curtains cozy for fall? Previously, there had been white sheers.  These floral ones make the room seem more finished.

 The large oval picture is a gift from Sissy too.  It had a gold frame, which I changed to white with an umber glaze to fit in more with my stuff.   And I am liking the way the new rounded pictures go well with the two smaller ones I already had.  

All of the new-to-me pretties in the space made me want to do some fall updates on the exterior too, so I added warmer, autumn tones to my door wreath with about $15 worth of blooms from Michaels. 

This wreath gets random, seasonal makeovers by simply switching out flowers.  I don’t attach the stems, they are simply poked into the grapevine and  stay pretty good.  The wreath is in a slightly protected area, and isn’t fully exposed to wind, but some flowers blow a bit loose here and there.  No problem, I just tuck them back in again.

My Sissy also gave me this print (the three sisters).  I always admired it at her house.  She is building a new home and making some changes, and I was lucky to be visiting during the early part of the process and could bring the items home with me.

Very lucky, because I love her style and she has been a major influence on me developing my own sense of design. 

You can tell just how pretty the fabric is in this close up.  I had enough panels to make curtains around the grand fairies’ bunk beds in the camper too.  I am in the middle of a redo of it, and will have more pics when I am done.  

 

 

 

From the Flea Market Dollar Table

Yep, a dollar.

The $1 tables at Sparks Flea Market are where I make a bee line to the moment I park my car.  But this year, I did even better than normal.

When I bought this blackened, dirty bracelet, it was with plans to chop it up and use pieces in projects.  But after cleaning it, I discovered it was sterling and Topaz!

Here are more dollar items from the day.  Including the painted porcelain heart that was marked $20.  I pointed that out to the booth owner, and he said he meant for it to be in the dollar box.

Same with this pretty pitcher.  It was marked ten.  But he said, nope, it was correctly placed on the $1 shelf.

These curtains were more, and while most of the panels had a lot of tattered areas, two were in good shape, so certainly worth the $50 I paid for the stack of 6.  (You can’t even get two panels at Target for that price)

These lovelies were not from the bargain table, but weren’t much more.

We didn’t make it to the second half of the semi annual flea mkt duo, White Cloud.  I was pretty satisfied with what I’d found in Sparks, so didn’t really care.  
A few sparkly baubles and some rose patterned beauties and I was blissed out.

The WRONG Way to Dry Hydrangeas, oops

This season, my hydrangeas did poorly.

Not just poorly- they sucked.  Most didn’t survive the winter, even though I brought pots into the breezeway, and the newer plants hardly produced blooms.

But look at what my sister let me picked from her bushes!

I harvested them, smashed the stems and put them into water for a few days.  It should’ve gone well, and the color would’ve held since they were picked at just the right time.

But…

While trying to protect the delicate flowers, I ruined them.

Wouldn’t you think that a hard sided cooler would keep them safe on a long drive?  Uhm, no.

Apparently the moisture content along with being in a closed space in a hot car, was the wrong way to go.  They were a soggy, dripping mass of brown when I freed them from the humid box.

Dang it.

But they did dry and keep their shape, they just lost that beautiful, fall toned glow over night.  Still pretty, but not gorgeous like they were.  

Dang it.

(The two larger China pieces were found on my trip, $10 each!)