I wrote this post last week and was almost finished when we had an electrical storm, and our modem was destroyed. 6 days later, we finally got our new modem in the mail. Though it’s now the day after Christmas, I still want to share this post with you.
CHRISTMAS IN THE GREENHOUSE
Our December weather has been delightfully balmy and on a whim, after working in the house on all things Christmas, I gathered up some time worn decorations we no longer use, and carried them out to the Cottage Greenhouse.
My treasures included a golden snowflake garland I draped along the potting shelves…
a tiny porcelain angel…
a battered manger with a crooked ladder and only 2 wise men…
a winsome shadow box lined with green velvet and filled with little wooden Nativity figurines, a little dented and missing some gold filigree…
and a plaster sheep I placed at the base of a topiary of rosemary. His wool coat had a few chips here and there, but he looked like “he belonged” and could have been a part of the miraculous night, “while shepherds watched their flocks by night.”
After adding those bits of Christmas whimsy to the greenhouse, I decided to set the potting table for a simple afternoon tea. I was brimming with fanciful ideas, that day, and with the enchantment of Christmas. The sweetest set of green depression glass teacups and saucers, etched with poinsettia’s were the perfect tea service for a Greenhouse Tea Party.
A white lace table runner against the rugged-y table was striking on the potting table that usually held potting soil, terra cotta planters, and trowels…and Buttered Almond Cookies tucked inside an antique sugar bowl and Gingerbread Thins looked especially festive in a cut glass, pedestaled bowl for our Christmas Tea.
A little table among the ferns.
I loved the rustic elements of the pea gravel floor of the greenhouse, the cedar walls, and the wooden potting table mixed with the elegance of the white runner of Battenberg lace, the shiny pewter tray, the clear green glassware of the tea service…all in the setting of the greenhouse, whose roof portrayed the sky.
Just a little Christmas magic enjoyed and shared on a day that was filled with other Christmas duties…washing Christmas dishes for tablescapes, picking up a grocery order, laundry, decorating, and “making a list and checking it twice.” In my older and wiser years, I have learned to enjoy each task. I am truly so thankful in this glorious season, and realize every task is for LOVE. The love of Christmas…what Christmas means…and what it represents.
A favorite song of mine says, “He didn’t want heaven without us, so He brought heaven down.” Jesus Christ came down from heaven and was born in a manger, so that you and I could have eternal life with HIM in heaven.
The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever (WHOEVER!) believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is the best gift ever…knowing you will live eternally in heaven, with Jesus! Jesus bought and already paid for your gift, with His life, when He died on the cross for all of us.
However, you can never enjoy a gift until you take the gift and open it. Having eternal life is as easy as pulling a ribbon off of a package…all you have to do is believe. The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt believe on the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Dear readers, don’t let another Christmas season pass without receiving the greatest Christmas gift ever.
Please, if you have any questions about this, or if you would like me to pray for you, contact me at CottageGreenOnTheLake.com or write me in the comments below.
From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda
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Trenda@cottagegreenonthelake.com
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Cottage Green on the Lake 
Your creativity and eye for design are amazing! Such a cute way to use older but special items and make an older space feel new and so special. Merry Christmas Trenda!
Dear Nancy, what a gracious compliment! You “got” exactly…the look and feel I was going for. The charm and nostalgia of our loved, worn treasures and memories when festooned about the greenhouse, didn’t look worn at all in the more rustic and forgiving atmosphere.
Merry Christmas to you my dear friend, and many, many blessings in the new year ahead. ❤ Trenda
Merry Christmas 🎄😍
My golden friend…”should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?” Merry Christmas to you and Steve. ❤ Trenda
I love reading your blog & seeing your beautiful pictures, it’s so relaxing. You are such a wonderful writer. Merry Christmas 🎄 love you guys 💗
Thank you so much and Merry Christmas to you, dear Debbie. Our Christmas tea would have been even more lovely and merry if we had added another chair and a “cup of kindness” for you. ❤ Trenda
Such a beautiful read for the Christmas season! Wishing you much joy! Merry Christmas🎄😘
Dear Kat,
What a lovely thing to say, thank you. I’m praying for you and Mike and trusting your new year will be “loaded with benefits” with an extra measure of love, health and happiness sprinkled in. ❤ Trenda
Beautiful setting for a tea party. I’m looking forward to the day when I can sit and have a cup of tea and a buttered almond cookie with you.
Dear Sherry…we would have happily pulled up another chair; having you here would have made our tea party perfect! “Let’s drink some tea, and talk of happy things.” ❤ Trenda
Dear friend and most expressive of what faith is all about … thank you! Your ability to match words with photos is priceless. Just when I needed you, there you were!
Dear Patricia, my precious friend…reading your words made my eyes fill with tears. You are always so gracious, and your words always convey such feeling. How I wish I was really there with you. Much love always. ❤ Trenda