SHARING A SURPRISE...& SOMETHING NEW .....

Good Morning ladies...oh my goodness I have such a surprise to share with you....I can hardly believe it myself....back in June I sent a recipe to the Gooseberry Patch folks...I won't say which one but I was excited to share it...thinking "MAYBE" it would be original enough to spark their interest...well last week I was visiting with my sister here one evening ...we were looking something up on the Internet...while I was on line I checked my email...when I opened it there was a message from Gooseberry Patch to me about my recipe...they needed me to clarify something for them....I screamed and squealed like a little girl...the new book is coming out Summer 2013...

I know many of you Love Gooseberry Patch as well....I have dreamed for years of sharing a recipe with them...I know you all haven't heard a lot from me about cooking...except that I love it....  through the years I have sort of made up different dishes ....that I've shared with my family...they have always been encouraging to me about writing them down....I have a goal for Loblolly this next few months to share some of them with you...

The other thing I wanted to share this morning was about a new product my sister-in-love has gifted to my sweetie and I that has brought MUCH HAPPINESS to both of us...the company is called ..YOUNG LIVING...it is an holistic company that offers essential oils like ....ORANGE ...THIEVES...FRANKINCENSE...PEPPERMINT....these come in small bottles very similar to crafting oils we might buy for potpourri...the difuser above is created to fill with water...then choose the oil to add around 20 drops...it comes with a remote control you can set for 1..2...or3 hours...vapor is created and pouts out of the bowl lid as it evaporates it scents the air with the most amazing ....healing...relaxing aroma...very like a spa...they have other products like calcium...etc. that you can take internally this product has been a blessing to both my sweetie and I...the link for Young Living is here if you'd like to check them out...       http://youngliving.com/en_US/index.html  I hope you all have a great day today..thank you for stopping by...blessing and big hugs till next time.....Karena

The Land Of Sad Houses.....

Good Morning girls...happy Tuesday to you...yesterday my sweetie was home we had to take our car into North Carolina to have some work done...while we were there we drove the back roads to take some pictures of old houses...we found this little beauty sitting all alone on a wonderful piece of property...it surely had to be at least 100 years old...sadly forgotten...left to fend for herself...

For what reason was she forgotten I wondered...I could see that in her
"Hey Day" she was well tended...her property lovingly kept the bushes in the front were still beautiful...I couldn't help but wonder how many years had gone by since any human had stepped up her porch steps....

She has sat empty for a long time though because mother nature has certainly taken her toll ...the wood is buckling...holes in the siding were obvious...poor little cottage...so sad...so forgotten...

This was the kitchen...as I looked through my camera lens I could see the dish liquid bottles in the window...lined up like little soldiers standing watch....

We took some time here just taking in the grounds...the petite size of this cottage....bantering back and forth ...trying to understand how old she was...what her story might be...as we pulled out onto the rain soaked highway I was quiet ....deep in thought about the similarities we humans share with the "bones" of a well built house....so many times in life we can feel like were in a land unfamiliar to us....

Kind of "cracked up" on the outside...unable to hide our sadness or take any steps toward "repairing" the brokenness we are experiencing....

Just like the sad little houses we come across....we NEED some attention...If your feeling a little lost or sad in your life experience today...I'd like to encourage you....to remind you that you are not alone...even as you sit reading this screen your heavenly father is moving in your life...you didn't find A Loblolly Life by accident this day...you are here because your in need of a special touch...a word of encouragement... I am here to give you a BIG HUG...in this little blog I have come to love so much....so smile dear one....our journey's are full of surprises....unlike the "SAD LITTLE HOUSE"....we have opportunity's every day to be WOWED...have a wonderful day...remember you are NOT FORGOTTEN...blessings till next time....Karena