Karla's Cottage

An indoor garden party

Two dear friends, Angie and Beth, had birthdays in June so I threw a party for them.

It was a landmark number for Angie, so a large celebration was in order. 


The party itself was on Beth’s actual birthdate.

The birthday girls made the guest list, and also helped with some treats and wine.  I told them I was throwing the party FOR them, but they wanted to help, which was very nice.

Both brought wines too.  And Beth put her husband, Jeff, on ice duty.  Don’t you hate to buy bags of ice? Paying for ice is a weird pet peeve of mine.  I just hate buying the stuff.

Beth said she had a good ice maker (mine is so tiny) so Jeff dumped it into gallon bags everyday til she was able to fill a cooler with so much ice she could barely carry it.

A couple weeks ago, I’d gotten lucky at an estate sale and scooped up dozens of teacups for twenty bucks.  The plan was to use pretty cups and saucers for the herbal fruit and lavender ice tea, plus for the wines.  

And I got to welcome back the Treat Cabinet!  This large wardrobe spent many years in my studio, filled with goodies during get togethers.  When we redid the room, it was moved to the breezeway for a boring job of storing patio cushions. 

But for this one day of glory, the cabinet was back in its element, filled with tea party essentials.  

I hung this old, embroidered, tea towel on the inside door of the wardrobe. It had been free in a box of junk a friend was discarding. Perfect!

 This birthday celebration as meant to be a tea party in the garden.

I’d had lovely weather all week while tending to my flowers and getting ready for guests.

Then, bam, the night before, a heatwave came with a vengeance.  

I’d always planned on keeping the food inside the house anyway, but I was disappointed that we couldn’t have the garden as a place to hang out.

(Angie made this trifle.  Why are they called that when they are not mere trifles, these types of dessert are magnificently lovely).

 If I’d known in advance that the heat index was going to be in the danger zone, I’d have brought chairs and tables indoors. But friends made do, and used what they found.  I carried in a few extra seats from the yard, but many had made themselves comfy on kiddie chairs already.  They didn’t seem to mind.

We had a full house, but in a good way.  

So many delightful people!  And flowers!  Many sweet friends brought bouquets, so it was like an indoor garden party with all of the pretty blooms.


Including blooming cookies from Catherine.

We filled the studio too. I had a mini craft project set up for everyone, so guests were spending time out in the workroom to do those.  Once again, I could’ve brought in more chairs, but we seemed to make do with what was there. With my bad shoulder, I’d have needed help before the party to bring in extra seating.  Rich had helped me set up the patio, but he was out of town when temps started going way up into unbearable numbers.

The project was making fairy garden stakes. It was self explanatory, and simple to do, so the ladies were on their own making them.  I wish I’d taken photos of their pretties when they’d finished.  There were lots of sparkly wishing wands completed.

Another timely garage sale find was this metal picnic basket.  I used it for the cheese and cracker display.  I think that now that the party is over, I’ll be filling it with teacups and taking them to Good Juju to sell in July’s First Friday weekend.

Although, this get together was such a good time, maybe I should keep them all and use them again for another party? 

 

 

 

Preserving dandelion wishes

Dandelions are not considered weeds in my world.  They announce spring with their burst of sunny yellow, then fill up the yard with wishes just waiting to happen.  In summer, their deep taproots help the soil, and I never pull them up from my garden.  The leaves are a tasty snack for our baby chicks, we gather up a few to toss to the girls, and all the chickens come running to get a bite.

If you saw our yard, you’d be very surprised to learn that my husband spent his career running country clubs.  It would make sense to use the knowledge learned in supervising the upkeep of the greens to make our grass just as nice as the professionals do.

But at the cottage, I encourage dandelions, clover, and whatever else wants to pop up.  I like the textures (and the lack of chemicals).

When I heard you could easily preserve the puffs of fluff, I was pretty excited.  I tried all the instructions I could find on line, just to realize that it isn’t as easy as it sounded.  At least I had a never ending supply to work with.

I tried dying the buds before they opened, but the color barely showed  it did sorta work, but not enough to go through this step.

I tried floral wire inserted into the stem and then the head of the puff.  Well, it seemed fine, but a few days later, as it dried out, it didn’t want to stay in place.  So I squirted a lot of glue up inside the ball to reattach it to the wire stem.

Hairspray was a suggested preservative but didn’t seem strong enough to me.  My spray of choice was white spray paint topped with clear glitter while still wet.

They look pretty and hold their shape well. 

Keeping them airtight should help too.  I filled some cloches and jars with my new collection of wishes, then decorated them.  Fingers crossed that they last.

 

Magic at the Hawk and Hawthorn

Hawk and Hawthorn (about 20 min north of Asheville on top of a scenic mountain) is my new favorite vacation spot.

The Airbnb is set upstairs of a newly renovated, charming old house and the patio over looks the farm.

Bonus- the view includes the barn/event center.

Double bonus for me- my son lives there.

He is their onsite trim carpenter.

He and his buddy just built this outdoor kitchen for tent campers.  Spaces are available through Hipcamp, and campers have access to the barn for yoga, bathrooms, cooking, and more.  

I think how much you can hang out in the barn depends on scheduled events.  They had just held one, and this mushroom display from it was still set up.  I spy a couple of my schroomies in there too!

They host workshops, festivals, retreats, music, etc.  Our visit was Sunday thru Friday, so it was pretty low key.

We had full use of the facilities and after harvesting our food to fix in the apartment kitchen, we walked it across the field and up the hill to dine in the beautiful barn.

It had just started to rain and was getting dark.  We ate while listening to the drops on the metal roof and the curtains swayed in the breeze.

 

I am not sure how many times I used the word “magical”, probably way too many, but it was justified.

Our meal was trout that the kids caught with their grandfather that day and deliciousness we gathered from the vast gardens.

I would say that the term, “magical”, had to be correct.  There had to be some magic in the head grower’s touch.  Look at the size of this corn! All the veggies were lush and vibrant, over the top with health and vitality.  

It made me think that my Kansas garden back home was a sad comparison.  

We picked fresh produce daily.  And had flowers in our salads, and even cooked into chewy brownies.

And I got to forage for chanterelles!  It was my first successful mushroom hunt. 

We walked through what felt like an enchanted land of moss and streams to find them. While on the hunt, my boy taught me tricks about different types and what to look for.

He is always on the lookout and you never know when he will abruptly pull over the car to spring out and return with a handful of berries to share.  He spots tasty treats everywhere he goes.

At the farm, there are baby bunnies to hold and goats to visit.  There is a fresh mountain spring set up with pipes to fill your containers.

Pretty and rustic areas to enjoy, trails to explore, and vistas so lovely, all you want to do is sit back, sip a glass of wine and take it all in.

Plus-NO CHIGGERS! It felt oddly uncomfortable to walk through tall grass without bug spray.  In the back of my mind, I kept worrying that I’d be up all night itchy and miserable.

But I got used to not needing a thorough spritz before going outside.  And I was not homesick for any midwestern bugs that typically torture me all summer long.

There is cool art everywhere, including on these shirts.

The dragon was by our front door.

I don’t know why I didn’t get any photos inside our cozy studio apartment, maybe because there was so much to see and do outside.

The tranquility was just what we needed, the rest of the trip was so stressful.  Serious family illnesses, an auto wreck, all were overwhelming.  

Thank goodness for the peace and welcome we found at the Hawk and Hawthorn.

 It was MAGICAL. 

A flamingo of a different color

 A box of flamingos was gifted to me through a friend who’d had them first given to her.  They seemed to be just what I needed for my summer display at Good Juju.

But first, the flock needed a group makeover.  I sprayed them with a bonding primer, painted them with acrylic craft paints, then wired and glued flowers to their tummies.

Uhm, you might have noticed our grass.  Or lack of it, I should say.  My husband retired from working at the world’s largest country club company, so he knows grass and the principles of growing a perfectly groomed, lush expanse of it, but we just don’t care that much out here in the country.  If I could, I’d have all ground covers, dandelions, and clover without a single blade of grass.  

Anyway, back to my feathered friends- ta dah!  Previously, I’d had some umbrellas with flowers in my booth, then used those for garden party decor.  

After leaving them outside in a storm, they were done for.  And of course, I can’t waste anything, so I pulled the flowers off and reused them on these gals.

I don’t know if anyone else notices the displays I create up high, but I sure get a lot of joy in making them.  

More fun from St Augustine and the Guncles

Our five week, meandering trip included 2 single and one four day visit to Guncleland, where the family pitched in and rebuilt some of the fencing.  While guys were busy sawing and hammering, I took some time to clean up the pathways, reset stepping stones, and spread mulch.

They replaced two gates and one length of fence, then added a privacy fence for trash cans and storage.

After a dozen years or so, the garden stones had all sunken down under the earth.  So I un-earthed them and reset the pathways along one side of the house and the garbage can storage area too.

 Which is where I found these!  I felt like an archeologist, digging up ancient ruins.  Apparently, they had been on the ground there, and like the stones, had worked their way deep down under the dirt.

But I preferred to think of them as from an earlier inhabitant of the land.

Our evenings were spent relaxing in the Guncles’ unique home with all eight of our combine canine family having some cousin time.

Oh and eating! There was lots of eating!  That’s what you do when you go to Jax and visit the Gunks.  They feed you endless, yummy, seafood.  I thanked them with a pie.

But it wasn’t all manual labor and big meals.  Randy and I took a mini road trip down to St Augustine to meet up with my sister, Bobbie who was visiting elsewhere in the state.

Where we met some interesting new friends.

In some cool places.

See what I mean? This steam punk  store is a cool addition to George Street.

My favorite thing I saw downtown was this wallpaper in a shop.

Or was it this wallpaper?

No, my FAVORITE thing from the day was this.  I love those two so much!

 

Updates to repurpose a canvas

Years ago, I had painted a canvas with a French market scene to use as a backdrop/divider for a booth at a show.  It was a quickie, and not meant to be too detailed.

Here is the original.  I have had it hanging in my garage, but have never really liked it.  When Guncle Randy needed a French themed mural, I offered to give it to him.

But of course, that meant that I wouldn’t like it any better when I saw it at his house.

So, I spent an afternoon brightening it and adding details.

Including his Bichon, Bella, peeking out of the window.

And his address in French, on the wall.

(the sign isn’t really crooked, the canvas has a few billows, here and there that throw off the perspective in photos)

I like it better now.  I think he will use it in his patio tent for a French themed dinner party  or maybe to hang on the garden fence?  

It is canvas and acrylic, so would be fine outdoors.  But over time, could cause moisture to be trapped behind it and the fence would rot, so that couldn’t be permanent.

Harvesting the honey

This spring, my husband started a new hobby.  He is now a beekeeper. It made me a bit nervous due to the investment to set it up and our total lack of knowledge and skills. I might have been less than enthusiastic, as a matter of fact... But soon, he'd read up on it, asked other beekeepers for hints and seemed to know everything he needed to know.  

I should not have doubted him, because he sure came through with a ton of honey (which we didn't expect for the first year, but these busy bees  worked overtime, and with this wetter than average summer we have had a lot of beautiful blooms to feed the bees and create a bounty of sweetness!).  And he loved every minute of it. He keeps a chair out by the hive so he can sit and watch them come and go, and visits them throughout the day.  It has become a very entertaining thing for him.

The lure of watching the bugs fly around eludes me, but there is something mesmerizing about it for him, so I am happy that he is happy.   And very glad that he loves it so much, that he does all of the work.  I can safely say, "Not my hobby" and step away while he happily scrapes stuff off, or blows smoke at the insects to make them drowsy, or any of the other beyond my understanding tasks that have to be done.

Also, I was lucky that the family came together to help with the harvest, and everyone had jobs that they did enthusiastically, even with zeal.  It is a huge and sticky undertaking, if my husband and I had to do it alone, it could have been rough. Instead, it was a blast with this group helping.

The grandfairies offered to make labels for all of the jars, as well as stirring the pots as needed and helping drain honey from the wax.  Later on, we will make beauty products with the wax. (any tips are appreciated!)

Looking at the growing level of honey in the bottom of the pot was endlessly fascinating.

All of us had our moments of honey gazing at some point or another.

While there were a lot of steps involved, the whole process was surprisingly easy to do. I was dreading getting started, but once we were rolling, all went well.  My kitchen might never be back to its nonsticky self again, but some tacky spots here and there were well worth it.  We ended up with the equivalent of about 4 dozen bear bottles. Plus, there is still a giant chunk of wax sitting in a cheesecloth draining, I think we will get at least a couple more bottles out of that.

Along the way, I figured out some tips to make things easier next summer when we (hopefully) have a larger batch from this hive and some honey also from a second hive we will be starting. One thing I didn't expect, was that the wax was almost impossible to get off of the pans I'd used for setting down knives in, holding piles of wax, draining the wax, and stacking the frames in.  

Oh my!

I tried washing it off, then worried about the sink drain, or if it made it past that, the septic tank.

 So, the big girls took them outside to spray off with a power washer.  

That helped, but there were still bits of wax that needed scraped off before the pans and bowls could go into the dishwasher.  Next time? I'll use disposable aluminum foil pans.  Hopefully I can wipe them down and reuse them for future honey harvests and not worry about a little wax here and there.  

As everyone was busy as a bee draining, spinning, and bottling the golden goodness, I baked fresh bread to eat it on. Next time, I'll think of that ahead of time, so I'm not trying to bake while the extraction is going on.  Because we decided that having a fresh loaf of bread hot out of the oven is a very important part of gathering honey!  Next time, I'll be letting the dough rise while my husband is brushing the bees off the frames and bringing them in to scrape and extract.

 He learned that heavy, leather gloves are important, because this is as angry as his bees have ever been, and he was stung through his regular gloves.  

The table should probably be covered in a disposable table cloth too.  I have washed and washed it, with soap and vinegar, but am still finding sticky spots.

 The doorknobs aren't any better....even though I was smart enough to have a sink full of soapy water in the kitchen for hand washing throughout the day so people wouldn't  have to touch the faucet or go into the bathroom and touch that doorknob.  

Another thing we will do next time is have a wet towel on the floor for foot wiping.  That might help with the sticky footprints.    I'd laid out cardboard to catch drips, which helped, but still got walked through and spread throughout the house.  

But hey, like I said, a little sticky ickiness is worth it! Look at this waterfall of honey!!!!

 

 

 

Golden summer skies and goldendoodles

Sugarwings keeps a ladder under the mulberry trees for the whole berry season, for easy access when she needs a snack.  

What on earth is better for a kid than running in the clover fields with puppies and climbing trees to eat berries on a sunny, summer day?

The grand fairies and the babies raced across the field, collapsing onto the ground for wriggling hugs when they got worn out.

It really doesn't get any better than this.

Perfection!

PS- Happy birthday, Guncle Randy!

What is on the menu? Grow, greens, grow!!!!

This photo was taken a couple of days ago. The greens were still a little puny, but they are growing as fast as they can.  I'm hoping to have fresh salad for our big family dinner tomorrow.

The nights are getting colder, and this window box that my son built (4 old wooden windows from the Habit ReStore screwed together with a hinged one top) is getting wobbly from being outdoors for a few years.   The glass on the top is loose, so I've had to go out and cover it all with plastic every night, then remove that so the sun can shine it during the day.

So far, so good.  But with 22 people to feed, this might end up being a skimpy salad...

It hasn't been that long since it was planted, but maybe I should have started a week earlier. This was a simple project I saw on Pinterest, and it worked well.

All you do is buy a bag of topsoil, slit it open and sprinkle in seeds. The bag sits directly on the ground, and there are a few holes poked in the bottom of the bag before making slits in the top and adding the mixed greens seeds.

I've never watered it.  If my window box wasn't old and wonky, it would be even easier, I wouldn't have had to cover it on cold nights.

I might buy another window (they are usually $5 each at the Habitat store) and replace the top one that is falling apart and see if Kansas will allow a lettuce crop for our Christmas dinner too.  That might be pushing it. 

But worth trying!

Our 2015 pumpkin harvest wasn't all that bountiful.  

Mostly because I didn't plant any- a vines sprang up from  last year's gourds! Trouble was, they were in a bad spot, sprouting from a flower bed in front of the chicken coop, where the vines wanted to stretch out across the yard. So a lot got ran over with the mower.

But a few little punkins survived. I'll be roasting one today to see if it is big enough to bake a pie.  Things that are home grown are even more special for a holiday meal, don't you think?

I hope you have a tasty day surrounded by loved ones too.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

A quiet 4th of July

We had quite a nice holiday weekend. Not at all typical for us, no parties, no people, no fireworks, no trips.

The weekend started on Friday with a performance at Theatre Lawrence, from the workshop Sugarwings had attended there.

It was very impressive to see how the teachers could corral all of these little ones and get them to understand the workings of being in a play, learning lines, songs, and choreography in just one week. And it is great for the kids to have a chance to be on the fancy stage.

Sugarwings is very serious up on stage, but does sneak looks up to where family is sitting, to make sure we are watching her. And at one point, she broke out in an impromptu, improvised tap routine that had nothing to do with the show. 

Maybe tap lessons should be the next class she takes...

Her favorite part seemed to be the way her sparkling cape could swirl with some twirling in the lobby.

The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back.  My husband and I did some hiking at the lake each morning, then spent the rest of the days doing yard work around the cottage.

Now, my husband isn't exactly a yard work kind of guy.  At least as far as flower beds go. He is more of a chainsaw  type, but when I mentioned that my rose bushes had become so overgrown that they weren't blooming the way they should and were more like thorn bushes than flowers, he was right there with a chain to wrap around them and pull them out with the John Deere Gator.

The roses were planted in bad places, that seemed fine when the plants were little. One was by the patio of the studio, and three were along the side walk to the front door.  As they grew, they needed major trimming to stop their thorns from snagging unsuspecting people walking by.

I've not got a lot of experience with roses, but it seems to me, that the more you trim them, the woodier they become, and the less they bloom.  These were turning into giant thorn trees with woody trunks, not green bushes with flowers.  So, out they went, and the one by the studio was replaced with a hydrangea instead.

 

For the sidewalk area, I purchased 2 azaleas and a topiary. But the topiary wouldn't work, because there is a bedrock of gravel under the bed, and we couldn't dig through it.  The base of the topiary was just too large, but the smaller pots of azaleas were just fine. So, the tree is in a temporary basket for now, and I'll set it in a pot when I find one later (it's time for some good 75% off sales at the greenhouses!)

We also dug out mulch and added a row of gravel along the foundation, due to some termite issues we are having. My husband got to fill his Gator with gravel and use the dump truck function to fill the trench he'd dug.  

We also worked in the veggie garden, and had to pull some vines down from the walls. A vine covered cottage is a beautiful thing, if you don't care about termites and damage to your siding.  If I could let them go, I sure would. Especially since they just start climbing on their own, it looks so charming and natural.  But, nope, they had to be ripped away.

Lots of hard work got accomplished, and we had a good time doing it. I really can't remember the last time the two of us were on our own, and hung out together all weekend.  We tend to have a lot of separate interests and many other people that take our attention from each other.  This was nice.

I hope your weekend was a memorable one too.  I thought I'd work in the studio and add some things to the Boutique, but didn't get around to it til Monday.  

And I didn't mind at all.

Here are a few things that I listed.