The beauty of a candlelit power outage...

Can you tell by the title that I'm really trying to look for the positive in the midst of our nasty winter? New England has been hit hard by multiple snowstorms in rapid succession, but thankfully we've suffered through only one short power outage. BB (before blogging), I'd never have picked up my camera to shoot the following pics, but blogging has allowed me to see things in a whole new light. Literally. So here's what a power outage looks like in our little cottage.

(click any photos to enlarge)

A small votive sits in a chippy religious statue on the dining room half wall. Being chalkware, it's very heavy so Baby isn't able to knock it off (yet).


The scrollwork of the fire screen, silhouetted against the candles that sit inside the fireplace.


Another old chalkware statue, a grey & white kitty, rests on the hearth.

Candlelight illuminates the cherub faces on the cactus planter.

Prisms dance around the candlelight in this beautiful candleholder, a gift from my good friend, Jill.

A small votive surrounded by button jars, a white bird, and my vintage rose lamp.

One of the two prism'd fleur-de-lis candleholders that flank the fireplace. These were one of my first purchases when I switched over from a primitive to cottage decor about 7-8 years ago.

A small Mary statue...

...and a small St. Theresa planter stand guard at the "parakeet cage" on top of the jelly cupboard in a corner of the dining room.

The variety of small votives gave off just enough light to keep us from bumping into - or tripping over - things while the lights were out. Thankfully, the power was restored just as it was starting to get quite chilly in the house. The other morning it was 8 below when we woke! And we were hit with another snowstorm last night (over 12" of snow), so I'll post photos of that soon! Come on, spring! We are sooooooo ready!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home so be sure to stop by and see Cindy and all the other bloggers sharing participating this week!

Donna

Cottage Garden Window Box - Summer vs. Winter, Flowers Vs. Squirrels

The cottage garden windowbox that is attached to our dining room window...

(Summer 2010)

...isn't really a windowbox at all.

(Summer 2009)

Because once the flowers have succumbed to autumn's first frost, the flowerbox reverts back to its true purpose...

...as a screen feeder that holds a bounty of food for the birds and wildlife that visit us throughout the cold New England winter.


Little Sammy, a young squirrel, has been a regular visitor these days, much to Baby's delight.

Whenever Baby hears Sammy at the feeder, she bolts from wherever she is, leaps into the bay window, and with ears flattened to her head, she prepares for her sneak attack.

Sammy, who seems to have more going on upstairs that our Baby does sometimes, knows right off the bat that the pane of glass between them is his safety net, so he doesn't even flinch when she bounces off the window...

Eventually Baby also realizes there's no way she's getting through the glass pane that separates them.

Of course that doesn't stop her from licking her chops, just thinking about how good Sammy would taste for supper.

"Say what????" says Sammy!

Just kidding. I think Baby would love to just play with Sammy...

...which is music to his little ears.

And after Sammy's belly is full, Baby bids him "adieu,"...

...and Sammy scampers back across the yard to his nest (which this year is a birdhouse in the corner of the backyard, shared by he and several of his siblings.)

And while all this activity is going on at one end of the house, down at the other end our sweet Tiger (who at 17 is past her huntress days), prefers to seek out her flannel penguin bed..

...which is butted up against the heating vent in my office. It is her favorite place to sleep in the winter months because it's so nice and toasty warm...

Sweet little Tiger, you are one smart kitty!

We are due for yet ANOTHER winter storm tomorrow. Spring cannot come soon enough for me (or Tiger!)!!!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday this week. Be sure to visit Cindy at My Romantic Home to see everybody's Show & Tell blogposts!!!

Have a great weekend, everyone! And stay warm!

Donna

The Blizzard and the Flu arrived at the same time...

Court and I have been struck by the nasty flu bug (and a cold for me, as well)... but I had to grab the camera and take a few shots of the beautiful blizzard while it was still "picture postcard white."


It seems that Mr. J loves to bury his little muzzle in the snowbanks whenever he goes out. Is he too cute or what?


Baby, who is strictly an indoor kitty, was allowed a closely supervised visit to the deck so she could experience snow for the first time. We thought she would immediately head for the house at the first feel of this cold, wet stuff....


But she did not want to come in. She absolutely loved every minute of being out in it, digging and jumping and just taking in the beauty of it all!

The bird feeder when I got up the morning of the blizzard...

I don't think even the heartiest of birds are going to be able to dig down through that to reach the seed. After taking this photo I brushed it off and the feathered friends arrived in minutes.

The deck chairs don't look very inviting right now. At least not to this non-snow lover.

We won't be eating on the deck for quite some time I'm afraid.

But oh, how beautiful it is.

However, if this is the last snow of the season, I can't say I'll be sorry.

Perfect weather for hunkering down and taking a long winter's nap, especially when you're feeling under the weather.

Now to go take some Flu & Cold medicine...

Hope you are all warm and feeling good wherever you are...

Donna

Why are there so many songs about rainbows...

... and what's on the other side?

(click any photos to enlarge)

Probably because they are so beautiful! I've written about the rainbows that dance around our cottage before, but I couldn't help grabbing my camera and capturing them once again to share with you.

The living room prisms throw rainbows...

... in the entryway...

... and on the bird lamp. Both the base...

and the shade.

They also dance down the hallway walls.

The dining room prisms make rainbows dance...

... across the tile backsplash, the white cabinets...

...and the paper towels in the kitchen.

Rainbows decorate the ceiling...

...and the divider windows (right in front of the old cutting board behind the swan above the family room slider).

Rainbows provide a bit of much needed color by the white-on-white-on-white cat/beadboard/recycling center.

And finally, the prisms that hang in front of our family room slider....

...decorate Patience's lampshade hat...

...and the wall behind her....

...while rainbows dance around the girls' baby pictures (hard to believe they're now 21 and 25!)...

...and the family room closets...

I do believe I'll be hanging some prisms in the bedrooms at some point so I can enjoy even more rainbows dancing around the cottage. Can you ever have too many? I don't think so!

I'm linking up to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Be sure to hop over to see what everyone is sharing this week!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, full of sunshine and rainbows!!!

Donna