In the arms of the angels...

The bay window is decorated much the same as it has been for the past several years...

(click any photos to enlarge)

...with the silver tinsel tree in the window surrounded by vintage angels...


As many of you know, this window was Spotty's favorite place...

... to relax while watching the changing seasons (as well as the squirrels, chipmunks & neighborhood cats that would happen by on a regular basis!)...

So this window is a constant reminder of our sweet boy and after losing him so recently, I wasn't ready to take his kitty cushion out of the window. Instead, I opted to decorate around it...


... so now a choir of angels watch over his favorite spot. I love this photo with the sun streaming in. It has an almost heavenly glow to it...

You can actually see the angels better in this photo... Tinsel angels and feather angels... I love them. Did you know that items from the 1950's are now called mid-century? That makes me mid-century!

There are more angels on the other side of the window, also decked out in pink gowns, netting, and white feathers. A pair of vintage reindeer keep them company...

On the apothecary chest in front of the window I've arranged bottle brush trees among our pets' urns, so the window area truly is a tribute to all those sweet fur babies who gave us so much love and joy throughout their years here on earth. And since they all loved the Christmas season (I think they associated it with the treats Santa would bring!!), I thought they'd enjoy being out here among all of the decorations and lights. This is our sweet Malley's urn. We lost him in September of 2007...

Next to him, in the little blue cottonball-holder-turned-urn is Mr. B, my sweet all black kitty who we lost 3 months later in December of 2007.

And then there's our precious Ms. Giz, the little one-eyed terrier who ruled our little cottage from the day she arrived. We lost her three months after Mr. B, in March of 2008.

So this window area is a tribute to all of them. As some of you may be aware from past posts, I've captured a few orbs in photos lately and now I've captured another. After arranging the urns in front of Spotty's window, I stepped back to take a photo (and as I've mentioned before, I always take 2 or 3 since I've started blogging, just to make sure I get at least one good shot)... So this is the first photo of the window area...

...and this is the next. Do you notice anything in front of the bottom right drawer? (You can click the photo to enlarge it if you'd like.) Now when I was setting the urns in place, I accidentally knocked Gizzy's little urn onto the floor (luckily the ashes are all tightly sealed in plastic inside the urn!).... Anyhow, I told Gizzy I was sorry! and then placed her back on the chest and took my photos... Back in October I did a post titled, "Orbs... Dust or Loved Ones?" I believe I know the answer...

When I saw the orb in this photo I just knew that I'd captured one of our sweet fur babies... Maybe Spotty who we just lost, and who loved this window, was giving me his nod of approval? Or maybe Gizzy, who I'd just dropped and apologized to, was letting me know she was okay? I don't know, but I just get warm fuzzies when I look at this photo...

So that's the story behind the Christmas window this year... I really do believe all of our fur babies are looking down on us from the arms of the angels and that, on occasion, they do come back to pay us visits because, after all, love is an unbreakable bond...

I'll be sharing lots more "Christmas" with you in my upcoming posts!

Donna

Orbs... Dust? Or Loved Ones?

I honestly have no idea, but I'd like to believe they're loved ones....

Orb Story #1

While taking Amanda back to college in Feb. 2005, we took a little detour so I could drive her past the apartment I lived in as a kid (from summer 1959 - summer 1960). What are the odds that it was vacant with a FOR RENT sign on it? We called the phone # listed and the landlord agreed to let us view the apartment "for old time's sake" (sooo nice of him!)... My sister happened to be with us, so that made it even more special! Before the landlord showed up to let us in I silently asked my mom, who we lost almost 13 years ago, to join us as we revisited our old home...

(feel free to click any orb photos to enlarge them )

This apartment holds wonderful memories (I fell in love with windowseats because of this room!). I took many photos that day. It wasn't until I got home and looked at them on my computer that I realized I had multiple orbs, something I'd never had in any of my photos up until that day. Here's one in the dining room (I've tried to put arrows wherever I spotted them in the photos)...

But it was this photo of Amanda that I found amazing! She was like an orb magnet! Perhaps my Mom took me up on my invitation to join us and also brought along my Nana, Gamp, aunt, uncle, and other loved ones who Amanda never met!

Maybe that explains why they're clustered all around her!

Orb story #2

A couple of weeks later when dad was over, we were talking about visiting the old apartment and how we wished he had come with us that day. While we were talking about it, the dining room light started flickering and I jokingly said to dad, "Mom must be here!" I told him I was going to take a photo of him, just for the heck of it, to see if anything showed up (I still couldn't get over the orbs in my apartment photos!)... Well, I didn't really expect to get another orb but, sure enough, there one was right between dad and the dining room chandelier that had been flickering...

Orb story #3

My sister cut this Family Circus cartoon out of the paper for me back in May of 1997, five months after our mom passed away. She knew it would remind me of Mom, who loved going to all of the girls' recitals, performances, or school plays... I love it so much that twelve years later I still have it hanging in my office.

(copyright Bil Keane)

A few years ago, when Court was still in high school, she was in a school play (naturally I took photos at those performances!)... When I opened up the following photo on my computer, I immediately thought of the Family Circus cartoon... I captured several orbs in the auditorium seating section, and I've often wondered if what I really captured was departed loved ones who had come to watch their children or grandchildren perform that evening, just as Bil Keane had depicted.

I've tried to put arrows where I spotted them.

After the play was over, more photos were taken out in the lobby, where this was taken...

There's an amazing orb pressed right up against Court's ear, and I love to think it's my mom whispering to Court that she did a fantastic job!

After all, mom and Court did have a special "ear to ear" connection... When Court learned to whisper she didn't quite grasp the concept of "lips to ear," so she'd put her little ear next to Mom's and whisper away, much to my mother's delight!

So again... dust or loved ones? I'm voting for loved ones!!

Donna

Herbs and Orbs....

On Thursday I took advantage of our 70 degree weather to wash windows (if the slider looks dirty to you, it's because I didn't get to it yet!). I started in the dining room and since I had to remove the herbs from the DR bay window in order to Windex away, I decided to just move them into the family room.


I brought this old carpenter's bench in from the deck (and none too soon! Just look at the rainy weather we're having today! That deck was swept clean yesterday and just look at all the leaves that came down overnight!)

I've had this rustic beauty since my prim decor days, and it's always been used out on the deck... To say it is weathered is an understatement.

I'm using a piece of old Battenburg lace valance as a table runner... There's something about the look of crisp white Battenburg lace paired with old, distressed wood that makes my heart skip a beat...

There's also a handy little shelf section on the bottom - just the right size for the basket that holds peanuts for our Sammy's, Chips, and birds (this basket is a treasured gift from my awesome friend, Jill, who got it in Amish country just for me!! How luck am I??)

So after I took my closeups to share with you, I stepped back to take some shots of the herbs in front of the slider. I usually take 2-3 shots of everything now that I blog, just to make sure I get at least one good one!! Okay, so this is the first shot....

(click photo to enlarge)
And then I took this one. Now I sure didn't notice anything unusual in the viewfinder when I snapped, but when I loaded the photos onto my computer there was no denying that I captured something in the above photo! Above the rosemary on the right is either an orb or the biggest flying dust bunny I've ever seen! I may not be the greatest housekeeper, but I'm not that bad!! At first I thought it might have been something flying by on the outside (big bird maybe?)... But it's definitely on the inside because it's blocking my window grids...

So... any experts out there who can help me figure out what I captured here? I've heard that experts can tell the difference between dust, glare, and real energy/orbs! (Oh, and I wasn't using a flash, so it's definitely not a reflection from that)...

And stay tuned for my upcoming posts (which are perfect for the week leading up to Halloween!)... I'm going to share another post just about orbs as well as my awesome day trip to historic Concord, Mass, on Friday (which included a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery!)...

COMMENT UPDATE #1: Our house was built in 1981, so it's not what you'd consider an 'old' home; also, we're the only ones who have ever lived here... And yes, we have had a couple of things happen here but I've just mentioned them to family and friends for fear of what I must sound like when sharing these stories!

COMMENT UPDATE #2: I'm getting chills!! The carpenter's bench is very old. I purchased it many years ago at a junktique shop and it was quite old and weather-worn even back then. I never even thought of there being a possible connection between the bench and the orb! It might be going back out on the deck very soon!!

Donna