Hi....it's me...

Hi girls...remember me....I wanted to post something today as I have been rather silent the past 7 or 8 days...without going into a long rather boring "explanation"...I will just say I've been going to doctors...working....and resting...I wanted to write something every day on Loblolly...but when he day started....I was at a loss...so I decided to lean into the silence ....and wait...

I did put some fresh cuttings in my Ironstone pitchers on our Living room coffee table...the tree is up with lights ..one ornament my sister was sweet enough to give us..and a tree skirt...I have been spending a lot of time talking to the Lord lately...after all it's Jesus Birthday soon....I always find myself so thankful this time of year...it was foretold that a savior would be born...in God's timing...he was....he came to bring us hope and a future..

It doesn't really matter when time seems a little off kilter....when we find ourselves going through something we don't understand....when we are struggling to make the best of a situation or circumstance...the Lord shows up in the details..the specific things we are most of the time likely to MISS....like a husband that makes sure to make a Christmas tree appear when I needed it most...or hugs from my nephews when they're GROWN STRAPPING OAKS...and they could feel to old to shower me with strong ...caring...hugs....

Our little M is 4 years old this year....such a "Wonderful" time to look forward to Christmas day with her...I have had visits from her these last 2 weeks...blessed by her precious concern for her ...."Gigi"......she asked me the last time I saw her as she walked up to me..whisper close ...reached her little hand out and laid it on my back...asking.."Gigi ..will you feel all better by the time Santa comes...I don't want you to miss the fun"...so no matter what...I am learning during this time ...of off kilter living...that I am so blessed and thankful...what if God's blessings are in the middle of the pain and confusion...if they are..I decided I don't want to miss ANY OF THEM....

So my sweet girls...from my house to yours today I pray you have oodles of Christmas fun....time with your faces...and good health to enjoy it all....with big hugs and blessings until next time....Karena

Cooler Temps....A Christmas Tree....A Thankful Me....

Good Morning Girls....I am so happy....last night when my sweetie walked in the door ....he asked me ..."Do you feel good enough to go with me to get our Christmas Tree....I have one on hold"....of course my answer was ....YES....so I ran and got my jacket with a hood....another pair of socks.... and off we went to a neighborhood nursery that had some really tall ....thin....FRESHLY CUT....Trees....

Here she is....isn't she a beauty.....she is sitting in a tall bucket of water till tomorrow....after I get home from work we will begin transforming our brick beauty for the Holiday's.......I am over the moon....the temperature has finally dropped from the 70's to the low 40's....now it feels like Christmas...I am so thankful to have our tree....a plan....cooler weather....AND....a surprise bloom on our Christmas cactus to boot....

I am reminded again and again how blessed I am....no matter what the circumstances....I have SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR....I have been reminded of this as I've been at work helping people with their Yankee Candle purchases....I have the opportunity to share a moment with each customer..as they graciously allow me a peek into the window of their lives....some have new baby's in strollers....some have family visiting ....some come in to just experience some aroma therapy.....sharing that they've lost their Jobs....or have illness in their family's...but here's the thing....I realize every day how precious....how fragile....how magnificent....

THIS WONDERFUL LIFE .....IS

Even when we are challenged with seasons of want....we are blessed ....we can ALWAYS find a moment to thank our heavenly father for the provision of his love...peace...and tender watch care over our lives....I hope you all have a weekend full of family....warmth...happiness..... and a moment to take stock of the blessings in your life.....I am thinking of you all...I pray blessings over you today....big hugs too till next time.....Karena

Another Day In "Whoville".....

Good Morning Girls....It's another day in my....LOBLOLLY LIFE....I am STILL dealing with some health issues...I've never had a season in my life like this one...the doctor I went to has me scheduled with a pain management team after the first of the year....until then I try to do as much as I'm able...

But as I've shared in previous posts....the physical limitation has kept me from decorating yet for this BLESSED SEASON...I did manage to get down all our fall stuff...pile it up on our kitchen table ...so my sweetie could box it up and bring it upstairs.

The past week I've been going to work regularly ...my manager has been very kind to schedule me for no longer then four hours at a time...I have been so thankful to the Lord for this distraction...I just take my happy pills before I leave....that shapes me up JUST FINE..they are only prescription strength Advil and a muscle relaxer.....I go to the chiropractor twice a week...he has made an amazing difference even though I am still not back to my old self...he assures me in time my body Will heal....in the meantime I try to keep moving...what's that old saying..."A body in motion...stays in motion"...anyway during this time I've had extra time to spend on the computer just looking around at some of the things I am passionate about...

I found this site about ....little cottages that are under 900 sq feet of living space .....but.... pack a visual wallop of ....ADORABLE....it seems folks are buying these little beauty's to live in...  they downsize ....BIG TIME....to live SMALL....seems like a smart thing to do...we don't really need all the stuff we have....I like the thought of it.....

I love "Storybook" style houses this little peach caught my eye....I could see living in this little cottage....it reminds me of "Snow White" ......I am disappointed that I didn't think to bookmark this site for revisiting...if I find it again I will give you the link....how are all of you doing with your Holiday preparations ....I've seen as I check in on you...you are all looking very ....CHRISTMASIE......I guess that's it for today girls....I hope you have a blessed day...big hugs until next time...Karena

Still Dreaming Of A White Christmas.....

Happy Sunday to you girls....it's cool in the house ...temps are suppose to rise into the low 70's here....I wanted to say a quick hello as I am working today....4 hours that will fly by....helping folks pick or find their favorite "Yankee Candle"...conversation with some of my customers has included a like minded wish for ...SNOW..being a California girl It is always at the top of my wish list.....Last year the weatherman predicted we might have snow Christmas Day....after dinner  ....we all took a look outside to find the first floating flakes falling from the sky....I can't tell you how happy it made me...or how excited we all felt to receive Mother Nature's perfect gift....

My sweetie has tomorrow off....AND so do I....this was a precious gift from my Heavenly father...having the day together we might be able to get down our Christmas box's .....I am chomping at the bit to dress our little cottage up for the Holiday's....my sweetie mentioned it too so I know he's looking forward to the transformation....tonight when I get home from work I will call the Family to invite them for Christmas Dinner....

As we work....create...and share the ...JOY....of the season...I will be "DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS"....this photo is of a snow storm we had in North Carolina  two years back...our back yard was blanketed with white...the bird friends that were so use to eating out of our bird feeders and bathing in the bird bath showed up anyway....to see if anything was left for them to eat under the snow.......I took this photo out the Kitchen window...I remember that snow stuck around for a few days with more besides....it pleasures me to look at this picture... I know lots of you will or maybe already have snow on the ground....you lucky ducks....I pray all of you have a cozy day today....I will be thinking of you...thanks for stopping by....big hugs and blessings too....till next time.......Karena

Making A Merry Christmas.....

Good Morning girls....I am feeling a bit overwhelmed this morning ....actually ...I feel "Panic"...I HAVE NOT ONE BIT OF CHRISTMAS UP  YET....anyone that knows me knows how ....OVER THE MOON...I am at this time of year ...to get the box's out....put Karen Carpenter on in the background.... ....loud enough to hear throughout the house....crack open a new candle (Yankee of course)...and dive into making Christmas come alive in our home....

I haven't looked through any of my cookbooks to assign myself a  taste of something new for the family to enjoy....and YIKES .....I've still got the phone calls to make to invite everyone over for Christmas Dinner..

The one thing I have done is .... this......since it's  December second....I created my Christmas wish  for ....YOU....I found this wonderful clear glass ornament in Phyllis Hoffman's Holiday  magazine ... for all you ....

I will talk to my sweetie later this evening about ...(.Creating A Christmas Plan)....usually I just create Christmas while everyone is out of the house...so when they come home they walk into a wonderland of Christmas....this year...for the first time ....with  my back being  out....all the lifting...rifling through box's ....assembling our skinny Williamsburg Tree which is tall and thin sort of primitive looking is not possible to do alone....I am working really hard with some "SELF TALK" to stay calm and carry on....I have a Dr's appointment this morning at ten so I need to sign off for now...I am thinking of you girls ...in all of your cozy...warm...homes creating your own special ....CHRISTMAS MAGIC....blessings and big hugs to you .....till next time ......Karena

Tinsel Anyone.......????

Hi there girls....I woke up this morning thinking " It's time to decorate"....I love this time of year ....cradled between Thanksgiving and Christmas....to begin thinking about how I'd like to create Christmas ....I'm not sure why the first thing that came to me was whether or not you can still buy ."TINSEL"....I have wonderful memories of standing beside the tree with Marmie and my sister as we decorated our  tree it was always so thrilling ...we would work our way around the tree with the lights...then the ornaments....taking great care as we handled each one...I can remember asking where each ornament came from...some years there was garland....you know the aluminum kind ...in colors like gold, silver, green , or red....I was never a big fan....I thought it took up too much space on the tree...Marmie would step back now and then to observe our progress ...taking time to notice the "empty" spots on the tree....we took great pride as we chose each branch to make the tree look balanced as we chatted with on another...we always had Christmas music on the stereo ...Marmie said we needed it for inspiration....after all the ornaments , lights, and tree skirt were set the last step before hanging the star on the top of the tree was ....opening the box's of ...TINSEL...Marmie would tell us to do the bottom branches while she took care of the top....

Putting Tinsel on the tree has been a tradition for many years....

These Santa's look like they "embrace the tinsel"......

This picture is one I found online...I saved it because it reminds me of how our tree looked so many years ago...even the 1950's TV....the feeling of being 7 years old was overwhelming when I found it...so what do you think girls...do any of you have memories of ...hanging  tinsel on your trees ...

I'd love to hear your Christmas Memories....I know you all have some fabulous traditions I think we'd all enjoy ....It would be a thrill for me to hear some of them....I hope you have a good day today....by the way do you all have any special secret you use every year for placing your tree after it's in the stand...do you add anything to the water...like 7up...or aspirin....or ?....if you do I'd love to hear about it...I pray blessings on you all today....big hugs as well....till next time...Karena

What A Wonderful Day.....

Good Morning ladies....it's so nice to be in my posting chair again...I have been unable to sit still long enough to post anything...I am feeling much better with my back situation....the doctors have given me some ..."Happy Pills"..to help me while I heal...so on Thanksgiving Day I was a little spacey....a tad uncomfortable...but full of ...Joy....to be with our fam....all us together at our eldest daughters new house...BUILDING MEMORIES....

This is a picture hanging in the entry that I just love...it's so tranquil...

Everything looked so beautiful...my daughter and her sweetie had everything in the house ...."Just So"....they have almost all their box's unpacked even though both of them work 2 very demanding...somewhat consuming jobs...there were even these snaps blooming outside the dinning room window...

Our favorite cook book on the counter....GOOSEBERRY PATCH....always at the ready for assistance....

Allow me to introduce "Wilson"...he is always invited to every family gathering...looking out over the festivities as we laugh....eat...and enjoy one another...my daughters sweetie brought Wilson home 5 or more years ago after a hunting trip ...I think he's a very handsome mascot.....

We had every indulgence that day....apple slices to prepare a pie...

Cigars for the men folk ....some of them enjoyed a good smoke out on the patio after dinner...it was chilly but they all seemed to enjoy the moment anyway....

This is our ....BEAUTIFULLY BRINED turkey....yes the kids chose to use the exact Brine from William Sanoma I talked about in an earlier post...it was ....succulent....

So sweet friends how did you spend your... Turkey Day....I hope it was full of joy...fellowship....and lots of good food...I will be back soon ...I'm off today with a long list of things to take care of ....I will take it slow ...but it sure feels good to be able to move about ...to have the strength to take care of the simplest things....so till next time big hugs...I wish you countless blessings......Karena....by the way daughter thank you again for creating a wonderful memory for our family...you and PA are AWESOME....AND...I LOVE YOU...