Spring is playing Hide & Seek...

Spring, like Baby....

...is playing hide-and-seek with us here in New England.

We have been enjoying some sunny, 60+ degree days lately. We've even had the windows open a bit ... heavenly! But this is the view today, snowy and cold. (Hopefully we won't get more than 1-2 inches).

So I guess we're going to have to wait a while longer...

...and be content with little glimpses...

...here and there...

...until Spring decides...

...to come out of hiding and stay for a while! (Baby has been known to hide under or behind the shower curtain and "surprise" people who use the bathroom!)

But for now, she's going to have to be content watching the snowflakes fall behind closed windows. (I wonder how Mr. O'Malley feels about his urn being her favorite place to perch lately!)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Donna

bare naked windows...

I love the look of bare naked windows. Whenever I wash them (which last happened a few days before Halloween), I always take down the valance. The windows tilt in for easy 'outside' cleaning, and the valance always gets in the way of the tilting...


We have shutters on the bottom half of the window for privacy, so it's not like I have to put the valance back up, but for some reason I always do... Anyhow, I got my supplies ready and went to work.


After all the windows were washed and the woodwork cleaned, it was time to put everything back in place. I love the scalloped edge, embroidery and eyelet trim of this runner that I use in the window. I've even grown fond of the worn wood where the shutters rub as they are opened and closed every morning and night...

The aloe vera planter got dusted and put back in place...

...along with several of our fur babies' urns...

My boy, Blackie, is kept in a blue cotton ball holder.

And finally, the little decorative candleholder is cleaned and put in place (it's actually just a dust collector since the only time it is ever used is during a power outage, and during those times it is moved up to the mantel so furry little feet won't knock it over)...

And speaking of furry little feet, as soon as the valance was back in place, little Baby had to climb up and inspect my work. She looks so sweet and innocent in this photo, but just you wait until I show you her dark side in a future post!! Yes, Baby, I captured it all!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend! I'm off to the Cape on a one-day 'mission' tomorrow and it's supposed to be glorious weather! Yippee!

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

Donna

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