Karla's Cottage

Sometimes ya gotta break a few rules

Sugarwings and I have a strict rule. 


You can drink cocoa any time at all.  But you cannot have a cocoa party unless you sit in front of a glowing Christmas tree.

Then I saw this teapot at Homegoods, and our rule loosened up.

It inspired a Halloween themed cocoa display.

Complete with a glass cauldron to hold our spoons and rat poison additives for deliciousness. (We did not use the jar to hold any foodstuffs, it’s just for fun)

We got some skelly cups to drink our potions from.

With skelly napkins to mop up drips of blood.  I mean, chocolate.

We invited a little witch to join us.

Then added some mood lighting.

The new rule, in addition to the Christmas tree rule, is that cocoa parties can only be held with the proper ambient lighting, ghostly paraphernalia, and a scary movie on the tv.  

Fall family and farm stuff

We had such a nice time with the Guncles!  Randy and I even got a full day in the studio together to make angels with the pin cushion dolls he brought to use.

We had a couple of dog walks, enjoying the mellow weather that came with the beginning of September.

Terry and Dale swang by on the way home from their long Florida to Canada drive.  It was almost becoming an accidental family reunion.  At least a mini one, Rich has a huge family. 

We hadn’t planned it out this way, it just luckily happened that Terry and Dale were driving through while Guncles were visiting.  

Little Dorothy got plenty of snuggles.  She loves it when these guys come to town.

The visit wasnt all just about strolling around, chatting, and cutting up old lace, though.  Stuff got done!  Rich and Kevin cleaned the chicken coop, then picked apples and green beans from the garden. We peeled until late into the night, cooking and freezing apples for pie.

Rich brought in the honey comb from the hives and we got it bottled up.  There wasn’t a big harvest this year, but that doesn’t change the amount of cleanup afterwards.  Whether you get one gallon or five, you are still left with a kitchen full of sticky equipment.  But also delicious honey to share, so all is good.  I made up a charcuterie board that included a bowl of gooey honey comb that was worth all of the wiping down with warm soapy water that the kitchen required.

Speaking of honeycomb, check out this sky we were treated to after finishing the bee job!  A sky filled with glowing honeycomb.

We might not be in Florida with fresh seafood, but the Guncles still worked their butts off feeding us great meals.  One night was Kevin’s famous grilled turkey burgers, next was Randy’s signature lemon chicken, and then on my night to cook, Kevin took over and made fresh marinara sauce with chicken parm.   All I did while they were here was a little bit of bread.

On our final night, Sugarwings hosted a Hocus Pocus cocoa party.

Complete with eyeballs on the cobbler made with the apples from our tree.  I might not enjoy the time it takes to cut up all of that fruit, but it was made easier by so many hands, and I loved having loved ones here to share “the fruits of our labor” with.  

These two couples who came to see us might technically be Rich’s family, but they each own huge chunks of real estate in my heart and I consider them my sibs too.  Thanks for the visit, everyone!

As summer ends

Where did the season go? It’s been a laid back, slow summer with flusters of activity on weekends when Rich is in town from his consulting job in Nebraska.  While he’s gone, I make a lot in the studio, watch a lot on tv at night, but rarely do much around the house.

When he is back, we go to the dog park, do yard work, I cook a bit, we sit in the gazebo in the evening for a glass of wine and watch hens scratch for worms.  Now, you might not think chicken watching sounds like much, but after a day of hard work (Rich does most of that, he works all week then drives three hours home to work all weekend), it’s very peaceful to sit in a shady spot and watch the various hierarchies in the flock play out. There is usually some drama, as well as some sister bonding time between them. 

One weekend, Rich picked a couple sinkfuls of our apples, we peeled and cooked them up to freeze.  I have enough for pies on the major holidays for the upcoming year.   We have more on the tree, and might tackle them this week.

After Rich climbed back into the truck and headed back north, I noticed there were pears in another tree.  So I pulled the ladder out and picked the ones I could reach.  After getting the easiest ones, I stared up, wondering how I could get more.  They are big, solid, and perfect so I didn’t want to miss any.

I tried pulling a branch down toward me, but with my rotator cuff tear along with a fear of heights, I didn’t get far in shaking any free.  So I looked up and contemplated it some more.

My branch wiggling must’ve loosened one, because as I stared upwards, one giant, unripe, hard as a brick pear fell from way, way up at the top of the tree, right onto my upturned nose.

With my history of head knocks and concussions, my first thought was, well, here I go again.  But nope, besides having an extremely sore face and a mild bruise, I was fine.  As a clumsy person prone to accidents, I was pretty proud of the fact that I stayed on the ladder, didn’t get a black eye, nothing broke.

But the other pears are still up in the tree.  Mocking me with their deliciousness, taunting me to try again.  

I'm not falling for it.  I know I was dang lucky to stay on the ladder last time.

The weather for August has been remarkable.  I have rarely turned the air conditioner on at all.   In the evenings, my cottage in the elm and mulberry trees has a nice breeze blowing through the screens. During the day, my studio seems to mostly stay cool on it’s on. It’s felt more like late September, early October than summery temps.

Weirdly, I feel like this summer just melted away from me somehow, and now all of a sudden it’s gone.  Maybe it has to do with selling the boat? No trips out on the lake after 29 years out there?  I do not feel like I missed boating, but I guess it did define our seasons. 

Maybe it’s grief? I miss my sister, and our calls.  She lived a few states away, but we were always in contact.  I’m grieving for her,  still grieving for my boy.  Summer is slipping away, seasons pass, but my heart doesn’t heal.

Well, death is part of life, I go on,  I stay busy, I appreciate what I have and what beauty each season brings.  What I can create.  And the people I have in my life.  But that grief is always there.  

Today would’ve been my sister’s birthday.  But I miss her everyday.

 

As summer closes

Summer started off slowly and lazily.

 Sugarwings went to North Carolina for a few weeks, Rich started a job in Nebraska.  

I was on my own with just the doggies as company.

Then, BLAMMO! Both grand fairies arrived from out east and we had non stop fun, making the most of our time together.

We had parties, we went to movies, restaurants, shopping, did crafts, spent time in Nebraska with their Pop Pop, went shopping, went to the zoo, a Royals game, and did I mention shopping?

The littlest grand fairy wanted to do all the nostalgic things they remembered from their childhood.  

Uhm, she is 13 now.

So we ate at her favorite places, and I did my best to spoil her to pieces, with popsicles in the hot tub, some splurgey shopping trips, and letting her pick out any jewelry she wanted from my shop.

We had planned on going to the Omaha zoo, but realized that sometimes a day just to relax is as much fun as seeking fun on the run.  But we did make it to the KC zoo for a couple hours one day.  It was a big hit, and I wondered if skipping the Omaha trip had been smart.  Oh well, that’s available next time, it’s a pretty cool zoo.  

There is only so much time in a summer break. 

I treasured every bit of this one.  When you have teens that will hold hands with you as you stroll through the mall, that is a memory to hold onto forever.  

Summer is winding down now.  Dewdrop is back in NC, Sugarwings starts school this week.  I’ll be back to nonstop work in the studio to get my Christmas sparkly inventory created.  The flurry of excitement, giggles, busyness, (and shopping) is done.

The spoiling continues, and I felt pretty spoiled too

After our scary movie night for Summerween, we took a trip up to Lincoln, NE to stay with Rich where he has taken a “I’m retired, but I will do a few jobs here and there” gig.  And he loves it, it’s a gorgeous club, with a hard working staff, delicious food, and ambitions to be even better than it is now.

Poor guy.  Rich is working his butt off at this out of town job, but for us, it was a fantastic vacation.

His job is at a country club, but for us it was a resort getaway.

He took us on a golf cart ride to see the sights.  Pretty, isn’t it?

Pretty inside too.  Just like this little Grandfairy.  

Best part?  Not just soakin up the sunshine and the luxurious atmosphere, but watching these teens play like kids again.  

The dogs were glad to have Dewdrop back too, and happy to be vacationing with us while poor Rich worked late hours. 

When not at the pool, we did some shopping for back to school stuff at Scheels, made use of the photo ops, and rode the Ferris wheel. We we saw the new Despicable Me movie, went to the dog park, and crafted.

I’m experimenting with new gills that are extra ruffly for my mushies.  While the kiddos hit the pool, I made a couple dozen of them.

Dewdrop made a few too, I love having a crafting buddy.

It couldn’t have been a better vacation spot to visit.  

 

Summerween

Dewdrop came to visit!  And Sugarwings is back from North Carolina, so I hung up a welcome back garland and planned a Surprise Summerween Party.

We made zombie finger cookies to snack on.

And carved watermelon Jack-o-lanterns,

I unpacked a tub of Halloween decor to set up when they got here after their 14 hour drive, and we relaxed by the glow of the pumpkins while watching a scary movie.

Our movie was Abigail, about a vampire ballerina, an excellent choice.

We left the decorations up for the week, so the party goes on. 
I hate to think of it coming to an end.  My plan is to soak up every minute of this visit and spoil these sweet, lil punkins, I mean, melons, as much as I can while we are all together.

Sugarwings is good at making a day special

Sugarwings is spending the first half of the summer in NC.  Before leaving, we add some extra nice days together. 

On the anniversary of Ryan’s death that sweet Grandfairy offered to help cook dinner (including this Jack Skellington pie, wow!), then wanted to watch a zombie show with me, like Ryan and I used to do. 

To go along with the meal we were making together, I ordered an onion blossom at Texas Roadhouse.  We had one together on Ry’s last birthday, and he had decided that we should make a tradition of it.

Rich doesn’t want to make the day we lost our boy a day we mark, he wants to focus on birthdays instead.  Which of course, I sure get, but no matter what, May 24th is a day we cannot gloss over.  The date haunts us all week, even when we say we will go about our business and plan other things.

So this year, I decided I was going to honor Ryan with some of his favorite foods and shows.  Sugarwings was there for me and every bit as sweet as that artistic pie.

When I picked up the crunchy onion, country music was playing on the outdoor speakers at the restaurant.  Then, as I walked to the car, my boy’s lifelong, favorite song, Footloose, began to play.  At that moment I looked down to see this heart rock, standing out from the other stones in the flowerbeds.

I was so glad I’d made plans with our Grandfairy to celebrate him that day.  And grateful for the kid by my side while we honored him.

We also had some crafting days, I made some coffee filter roses.  Not because it was one of the many jobs I need to get done, but because it sounded pretty.  

Sugarwings worked with polymer clay and made blueberries for me.  It’s hard to tell which of these is the real one the others were modeled upon, isn’t it?

We also saw a movie, and wore matching jammies to it so we’d be cozy.  

Another day, we took the dogs to the park and saw this heart shining through the dappled shadows made by the trees.

I am missing this kiddo who enjoys small adventures with me. But I have even more reason to look forward to their return.  There is a shot that Dewdrop will be tagging along to spend some time here in Kansas for July.  

I think I see a few more adventures coming up in the second half of the summer.

 

 

 

 

 

We will miss you, Steve

Isn’t this the cutest? I love Sharon’s grin!

Steve and Sharon had honeymooned at the beach, and for their 40th anniversary, their family rented a beach home and surprised them with a vow renewal and vacation.

Steve was my husband’s big brother, and a great guy who never met a stranger.  Steve could talk to anyone, anywhere.  He was multi talented, and had a knack in repairing or building just about anything.  
There were many times over the years that he bailed us out on fix ups at the cottage, or delved into major remodeling at minor cost to us.  Our home wouldn’t be what it is without Steve’s skills.

We lost Steve within a matter of just days after their seaside adventure.  He was surrounded by his four kids, wife and a couple of siblings as he left, ringed with love.  It all happened much too quickly, just like my sister, Bobbie.

 Last fall, Rich and I had healthy brothers and sisters, then my sister’s lung cancer diagnosis came, and she was soon gone.  It was discovered that Steve also had lung cancer, not too long after.

She died our mother’s birthday in February.  

He died on his dad’s birthday in May.

We are stunned to have such major, and unexpected tears in our family dynamics, losing two beloved people.


Steve, like Bobbie, also had a fantastic group of kids who supported and cared for him through his illness.  I am so proud of all these nieces and nephews who have shown such strength and kindness through heartache.   Their deceased  parents  had to have left this life with the knowledge that they made the world a better place by raising these special people.  

Steve will be missed- his big smile, friendly personality, and novel ways of solving problems brought smiles to all around him.  He faced the world with a contagious optimism that felt good to be around.  He had loyal friends for good reasons.

 And a wife he cherished.  Steve always had a twinkle in his eye when he looked at his Sharon.  

Missing and remembering

Four years ago today, we lost Ryan.  Rich and I tell each other that it’s date we do not want to note, we want to celebrate his birthdays, and let this date not be a feature in our lives.

But it is.

I cannot get around it, the 24th looms over the entire month.  May is my own birthday and Mother’s Day, both dates Ryan made special.  It is also when we’d take our “bonus” Sister Trips.  So of course, happy memories of Bobbie are a big part of May now too.

Honestly, I should’ve tried harder to make that Sister Trip work out this season.  Traditions are important, and memories need to be cherished not avoided.  I’ve been a bit of a wreck.  I can’t let my favorite month, when spring is at its best and I wake up every morning with windows open, listening to the birds sing, become the D lister of the year.  May deserves celebrating, as do Ry and Bobbie Sue.

Heck, it even comes with its own weekend of memorials.

Letting myself be sad when I need to helps.  But I’ve tried to enjoy my springtime along with missing them.  I did extra yard work, remembering how Ryan would love a tour of what we accomplished.  I cleaned and freshened his room, then sat down to look out of his window awhile.  I’ve looked through scrapbooks, albums, and photos on my phone.  I’ve talked to Ryan and Bobbie, and talked about them too.  

And I have loved them.  Both are still, and always, always will be, big parts of my life.  No matter what the date is.

Mother’s Day Traditions

Mother’s Day weekend was jam packed here at the Cottage.  I hit two mornings of light but fruitful garage sales, made gemstone  bracelets for gifting, and had a sweet little dinner party, where Sugarwings helped cook for what we call “The Council of Mothers”.  

The kiddo also came by on Saturday to help with wood splitting. It’s a job I rarely have to be a part of, thank goodness, because it is very unpleasant.  But it needs done, and we were short on crew.  Most grandkids have moved away, Ryan is gone.  Rich always paid his helpers for the afternoon, and I got out of the job since there were plenty of assistants.

But now, it’s just Sugarwings, Rich, and I to do it.  Not only is it a rough activity, it’s heart wrenching to think about all of the past helpers who are no longer around to pitch in.

Finding two hearts in the sections of logs was a reminder of them.  

Especially Ry.

He was so strong, tossing those stumps meant nothing to him.  He never enjoyed the job, but didn’t complain about helping out.  For years, he was our champion on wood splitting day.

The rest of the weekend was mostly yard work.  Mother’s Day officially kicks off tackling our spring to do lists in the garden and courtyard.  That tradition started when the kids were just little and would spread mulch and do other beautification projects for me.

This year, I power washed for a few hours while Rich cleaned out the storage shed.  Then we set up the patio furniture, umbrellas and pots.  I planted annuals and Rich got the vegetables into the garden soil.

We might have done more than a week’s worth of work in those two days, and I was feeling it.  After dinner Sunday evening, I told everyone I was sorry I had to be a party pooper, but I was going to bed. When I got there, I slept twelve hours straight.  Mother’s Day wore me out, especially without Ryan’s strength helping us with the heavy jobs.

But the yard looks good!  He’d have been proud of it.  Ryan not only had a great work ethic, he loved to see what others did.  When he’d get home from cooking at the nursing home, he’d want to walk around the yard with us and compliment what we accomplished.  

The older I get, the harder a full weekend of yard work gets, and a Mother’s Day of being lazy sounds better and better.  But Ry Guy was on my mind and in my heart all day and that gets me through all of the jobs that need doing.