Testing A New Toy.....

Hello girls...it is a rainy Sunday in our neck of the woods...I am  sharing some photos  I've taken with my new  ipad...my sweetie bought it for me after Christmas ...it was the best present I've ever gotten...it brings out the little girl in me cuz it's like a grownup TOY...

I can see some of these look a little grainy...I apologize for that but  today is the first time  I have  played with the camera...It will take a little while for me to get used to being still while I push the camera button...

The technology this little contraption offers is nothing short of  mind blowing...there are app's for almost anything you can think of...I have a bible downloaded for study...catalogs for dreaming...movies for enjoying...music for listening ...and games ...oh my goodness free games like solitaire ...I am having so much fun with it...not to mention the books I can read on it...

This stool is new to our little cottage...I found it at a new  Antique store  we found....I just loved the fabric...the colors...the shape...FABULOUS...the next best part it was under 20.00 dollars....

The crystal on this table is gathered together for thinning out....

Well dear ones...I think that's it for this post...I  will  be back tomorrow...you  all have a blessed day...relax and enjoy your faces...big hugs till next time....Karena

Did You Hear About Piknic Too ?.....

Gee just when I was finally getting used to editing my pictures in PIKNIK....they are going away in April of this year....have any of you heard this too....Google+ is the new go to editor now...so I started plinking around with it last night....it wasn't hard to find my photos or begin understanding how to edit my new photos when I take some...(I hope)...what I did find out while doing all this is how much fun I've had since I created " A Loblolly Life"...I've LEARNED SO MUCH...what a great thing...

I learned how to find images online...capture them...and use them for posting...like this photo of... Romantic Prairie Style...I finally found a copy for myself after all these months...Fifi did a great job with it...I LOVE IT....

Having my sweet little camera (that my wonderful daughter bought me)....I can indulge the need I get to create...begin looking at things a little differently...do you find that too...when you want to take a pic of something taking more time to think about what it might look like on your blog ....

I even learned how to take older pictures my sweetie sent me through email and post them...this is our Carolina Cottage back in 2010 one of my FAVORITE SNOW PICTURES...

I thought I would leave you with this sweet photo I took at the antique mall back in October...I hope you have a blessed day girls I am going to run some errands with my sweetie today...I will be back tomorrow God willing maybe with some new pictures fancied up on Google+....till then big hugs....Karena

Friday Thoughts & A Thank You....

Good Friday Morning Girls...boy this week flew  by at our house...not sure why but I'm happy to be on the heels of another weekend...The picture above is a favorite of mine since it's subject matter is about "Dog Friends"...I  wanted to say THANK YOU....  for your kind words of love and support at the loss of my furry friends ...this week was hard ...making friends with a new sort of "rhythm" in the house....

This unusual picture is of our attic as you walk up the stairs....your actually looking at some windows my sweetie put in the rafters for some of his collections...each window pane has something unique in it...I thought it was a brilliant idea...you can't take it all in just right I know because of angles and lighting but I thought it was an artistic thought....

I am looking forward to getting up here with my sweetie soon to rearrange things...thin things down...for the "Yard Sale" we plan on having in the spring time thinning things out will be fun and productive...I always like the art of letting go......someone else will take over the watch care of treasures  that speak to them...I love that part of collecting....we don't need to HOLD ON TO EVERYTHING FOREVER....

One thing we have a hard time letting go of is books....I love books....they are full of potential...secrets...surprises....just sitting quietly on the shelf ..WAITING...until the  moment I have an overwhelming need to pick one up and begin reading...what an adventure...I hope you all have a splendid day today...I will be thinking of you...blessings and big hugs...Karena

Strolling Through Some North Carolina History....

Good Morning ladies...how are you.... I thought when I woke up this morning about a place we use to spend much of our time when we lived in North Carolina...growing up in California being a beach lover I was so happy to see the East Coast beaches...I was not expecting the beaches here to be so different...BUT...I soon found myself falling in love with the added history we enjoy on the East Coast...

This is a house that existed back in the 1920's in a place called "Corolla North Carolina"...it took 2 hours or so to get from our home to this stretch of beach...when we first found the Whalehead Club it was in the process of being restored...this was back in 2003 ...it was so grand...back then it was painted white it had been sitting empty for years...

http://www.whaleheadclub.org/visit/photo-gallery/

This is a picture of the restored Library I think of it more as a Living room...I have included the links these photos came from I think you might enjoy visiting some time...the little town of Corolla sits on a long strip of beach that is accessed by a two lane highway...on the left you have the beach and ocean...on the right as you drive along are HUGE ...BEAUTIFUL...Summer rentals that could hold 5or 6 families...these homes are elegantly built..the town of Corolla is very like Balboa Island in California with much more history...from the Whalehead Club you can walk across a large field to walk through the streets of old town Corolla...and take in the beautiful Light House..

This is the Light Keepers home...Charming....

One of my favorite book stores ever....so quaint...

The Gard House...

Front of the Book store

A really good shot of the Light Keepers whole house...look how close it is to the Light House you can almost picture the keeper walking with a lantern in his hand across the property at night on his way to check on the Light House...

http://www.outerbanks.com/corolla/history/

The link for the Corolla Light House is included above...if you ever have the chance to visit this wonderful place you should ....especially if your a lighthouse lover....North Carolina has some of the most famous Light Houses in the country...I hope you girls have a wonderful day...I thank you for stopping by...blessings and big hugs till next time...Karena

We Had To Say Good-by......

Good Morning girls...It is a SAD Monday morning for my sweetie and I....Saturday with our daughter's help we had to say ...GOOD BYE TO My BOY...."Terza" ....I have been so blessed...well loved...and taken care of by Terza for many years now...he was the only one to keep me company...make me laugh....hear my chatter...and always care about me during some dry seasons of my life....he ALWAYS BROUGHT ME A FRESH BREEZE OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP...when I needed it most...I THANK YOU FOR THAT TERZA....SWEET BOY....

We also had to say Good-by to our ...LILLY...we would never have expected to say good-by to our animal friends so close together....Lilly first....then our sweet boy....I still have waves of grief that come over me truthfully I have cried more over these angels then I have over any human I've lost through the years. I will have a hole in my heart for some time to come....I am not one to try and replace our animal faces with others ....we will adjust to having our Frankie Coffee Cake...our sweet Tuxedo kitty ...and we will tuck the memory of our Lilly and my sweet Terza into our hearts to be cherished ....laughed over...remembered and treasured for the rest of our lives....I thank you for letting me share my feelings about this with you....I am just so sad still....there was nothing else I could write about this day then our last wave....GOOD-BYE....blessings and hugs....Karena

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