What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Happy First Day of Spring from Pamela's Victorian Cottage Fixer Upper!

Good Morning beautiful friends in blogland...Happy First Day of Spring!  I do hope and pray that this day is springlike and beautiful wherever you are!!  We have had some lovely cooler days this week, which for us, in Florida, is actually quite delightful!  Here's a few pictures of spring in my yard:

The purple wisteria is blooming like crazy this year.  I love that it is decorating my fence in our courtyard.  I wonder if you can see those two cardinals sitting in the tree above and beyond the fence?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.  The bees and butterflies have certainly been enjoying it. 


Oh, which reminds me, we saw our first Ruby Throated Hummingbird of the season the other day...she was feasting upon the one and only blossom on my bottlebrush tree (again)...just like at the end of the season last summer:  (this picture is from last September, but it could have been the other day because it was just exactly the same!)
So I have put out my hummingbird feeders and am waiting for the rest of the tribe to arrive...

Now, back to life in Pamela's Victorian Cottage!  Things have been quite busy there this past week.  I will try to keep it as condensed as I can, but I have a lot to share with you today!  I hope you don't mind going into this little imaginary miniature world with me...from the comments I've seen on other previous posts, you seem to enjoy it and many have expressed a desire to do the same thing.  I wonder what it is about miniature dollhouses and villages, and such, that seem to draw us into a world of "make believe" and peace and love...and we love to just be like a little child again when life was much simpler...  I think with all of the turmoil of the real world out there, we need some way to retreat and withdraw from the fray for a while to regain our sense of balance and inner peace. 

I do find that peace when I draw closer to the Lord, and spend time alone with Him, reading His Word, praying, singing hymns and choruses and just worshiping Him.  When I don't have that daily time of personal and private devotions with the Lord, I suffer.    Believe it or not, spending time "playing" also gives me time to refocus my thoughts and while I am trying to solve ways to fix this or create that, it is like God is wrapping His loving arms around me like a loving parent would, and soothing my troubled brow and helping me to get ready to go back out and play in the big world. 

So with those thoughts in mind, let me welcome you back to Pamela's Victorian Cottage.  We have some special visitors here today:

First, let me show you where we moved our house to since I had to get it off of the dining room table:


I found this special table/cabinet that my son had built a few years ago, and we were using it in the guest bathroom to hold towels, etc., but decided it could be put to better use here to hold the dollhouse.  I wanted to keep it in the dining room/kitchen area, where I spend a lot of time and where I would be able to see it often and enjoy it.  Even Baby Elva is happy to have it next to her....she would really love to get up there and play with it...but, well...maybe when she gets a little older...
Anyway, the dollhouse is sitting on a separate piece of plywood, that is covered with felt on both sides, so I can easily swivel it around on the top of the table to look at the back side.

The table is also sitting on double sided rugs, so the whole table can easily be moved across the floor if I want to work on it at the dining room table again.  I thought about putting castors on the little table so I could roll it, but that seemed a bit impractical right now, and this works just fine for my current needs.   

After I completed a few necessary new improvements, like putting lights in the house (battery operated "fairy lights"), and I touched up the paint in a few places...the cottage is now ready to receive guests:

You know the Bible tell us in Hebrews 13:1-2 the following words of admonition:

"Let brotherly love continue.
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have
unwittingly entertained angels."


And so it seemed appropriate that our first guests to our little home would be angelic visitors.
The first guest to arrive at the front door is "The Angel of Happiness"...(you will recognize these visitors from the Willow Tree collection)...And this angel brings a happy spirit to our home:
"Free to sing, laugh, dance and create"....


Our next visitor is the "Angel of Freedom", and she is holding a butterfly with the intent of setting it free.  She is "For Those with a boundless spirit of independence".... which gives us the freedom to explore our beautiful world and the will to keep moving forward even in the face of opposition...

As we walk around to the other side of the front porch, we have a little "Secret Garden" area,  which says: "Welcome Fairies"...Well...yes, in our little imaginary world, we welcome all the sweet little creatures that God has placed here for our enjoyment.  But this particular garden is like my own Secret Garden/Memorial Garden at my real house...a place to spend time alone with the Lord and meditate on His Word, and be comforted when feeling sorrow or deep concerns...
and so it is appropriate that our visiting angel is this sweet angel, holding a large conch shell to her ear and she says, 
"Thinking of you--Keeping you close in my thoughts."


Now as we enter the home, we find some other very special guests:


This lovely angel, holding a teapot, is the Angel of the Kitchen,
"Warm comfort between friends"
Which is what we always want to experience when we spend time with our friends...a time of warm comfort and encouragement as we share a cup of tea just enjoy one another's friendship.

As we go upstairs to the children's room, we find another special guest, 
The Angel of "Love of Learning"
"Open Books, Open Minds"


We want to always be learning good things in our home...and to share them with our children and loved ones.  The best book to read, of course, is The Bible, and to teach it diligently to our children.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 
with all your soul, 
and with all your strength.
And these words which I command you today 
shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, 
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 
when you walk by the way, 
when you lie down, and when you rise up."

Now as we go back downstairs to the living room we find our final and perhaps most special guest of all:

"Angel of the Heart"
"For those who love and are loved."

Love is the very heart of the home.
Without love, there really is no true home.
We want our homes to be filled with love first of all, and then all these other things will follow.


And so here are our special visitors inside the house:

And also those who are waiting outside to welcome us:

I do hope you have enjoyed visiting with us and our special guests today.  We just never know who may be coming to our doors...we need to be ready to welcome the stranger in who may actually be one of God's special ambassadors of 
Happiness, Freedom, Thinking of You personally, Warm comfort between friends, the Love of Learning with Open Books, Open Minds,
and the greatest of all is
Love...

"And now abide faith, hope, love,
these three,
but the greatest of these is Love."
I Corinthians 13:13

Please come back and visit with us again!

20 comments:

  1. Oh, those angel figurines are so beautiful! And what better visitors could one have? Thank you, Pamela, for blessing us all with your cottage update.
    Blessings to you!

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    1. I'm so glad you were able to stop by and visit for a spell. Always a delight to have you here. Thank you...and Happy First Day of Spring!!

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  2. I have always been fascinated by miniatures and always think that "I WILL" have one to work on/play with sometime in the future. I love yours and those angels are the perfect visitors. Love it!!! xo Diana

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    1. So glad you could pop in and visit with us today. You are always welcome to come and play here. But I do hope you will have your own special place in the future, perhaps when you get moved into your next home...which, isn't that coming soon? Just wondering.. Have a blessed day my friend.

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  3. Happy Spring! Oh my...that wisteria is gorgeous. I had a huge one that had taken over a tall evergreen and we had to cut it way back. I fear I will not see any of those lovely violet blooms this spring. :( That doll house is amazing...

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    1. Thank you, Debby...I'm so glad you stopped by to visit. Yes,I am enjoying that wisteria this year. It is really blooming and spreading more and more. We may have to cut it back again, but not until after it stops blooming. I am loving it too much now. Thank you for enjoying the dollhouse with me...it is just a special place where love abides!! Have a blessed day today.Praying for you every day.

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  4. That wisteria is beautiful! Loving your house and all the cuties you have inside. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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    1. Thank you for stopping by for a visit today. Would love it if it were for real! Maybe someday!! Praying your day is filled with joy and laughter and many blessings.

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    1. Thank you, Aritha. So wonderful to have you come and visit all the way from around the other side of the world. Sending (((hugs))) to you, as I know you are still going through some sad times. God bless you today dear friend.

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  6. Purple Wisteria!

    When my Dad passed away I took a clipping from his yard in Florida and attempted to root it for planting here. I think I may have needed some kind of growth chemical or maybe an actual piece of root. Not sure, but it didn't work. I was happy to see yours here. It took me back in time for a moment. :)

    Love the angels in your dollhouse!

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    1. I am sorry your wisteria clipping didn't take. I don't know what the secret is. This one was here when we came, and it has done very well with very little care. We have cut it back once, and then it really took off...especially after we moved some other vines out of the way. You are welcome to come get another clipping from here, but I know it wouldn't be the same. (((hugs))) Would love to have you come and visit and you could take a piece to try...

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  7. My Wisteria is all over the place and has taken off into the woods behind me. It probably hit the water table here and does really well. From one mother plant there are many others now seeded and quite large. No blooms yet though, nothing green growing here yet at all.
    Your doll house is so cute! The little person with the birds on her arms reminds of of the statue in South Carolina that is represented in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

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    1. I am sure your wisteria will soon be blooming everywhere. What fun to see it throughout the woods. I know they can be rather invasive, but I love it so much I guess I really don't mind. Thank you for enjoying my doll house. would love to have you come and play with me. I am not familiar with the statue you are talking about, but I do love this one. She reminds me of me. Have a blessed day my friend.

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  8. Pam, your doll cottage has given you such a wonderful vehicle to praise God and tell wonderful stories for us to enjoy. Your cottage is a ministry!! What a blessing!!

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    1. Oh, thank you, Terri! That makes me very happy to hear, because that is exactly what I was hoping it would do. It has been a ministry to me already, and I am so happy to have this opportunity to share it with you all here. I pray God will continue to use it for HIS glory!! Hope your day has been beautiful. I must get around and visit. I've been kind of busy today and haven't sat still long enough...

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  9. I enjoyed reading about your angel visitors. I received one as a birthday gift from a friend who now resides in heaven.The angel of friendship. I miss my friend and think of her often. Peace and blessings.

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    1. I am so glad you enjoyed this. Yes, I understand about your special angel gift. I know you must miss your dear friend, but it is nice that you have that "angel" to remind you of her. Most of my angels were also gifts from dear friends and my sister. I treasure them all. Thank you for visiting today. I hope you are feeling better now.

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  10. There was wisteria outside my bedroom window when I was a child. So pretty. I love seeing your doll house and thank you for those encouraging Bible verses. Happy Spring.

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  11. Pam, I enjoyed this post and photos. I simply love what you're doing with the doll house and your imagination.

    Blessings!

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Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.