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

Wednesday....Middle of The Week Day....

Afternoon girls....the clock is just striking 1:00 pm....this quiet Wednesday ...I thought I would spend some time posting...it has been a busy beginning to the new year....

We have left our Christmas decorations up until this weekend...we will take them down on Sunday I think....we have some ideas for changing some things around in a few places...a fresh perspective is always A GOOD THING....I have been focused on getting myself back on the FEELING HEALTHY track these last weeks...little by little the Lord has been gracing me with doctor's...tests...and eventually I KNOW ....healing....so while I've been able to spend some quality time online and in books I started to think about ....old houses.....I have a fascination with them....

The way they look....the starkness of their surroundings sometimes....the simplicity they were built with....a shelter for us to raise our family's ....live our lives....experience the different seasons life brings ....The house waits...but while it does it gives off tons of ...EMOTION...

I am always charmed with the "possibilities" a house that's been forgotten for some time offers when someone makes the decision to ...CARE....to fix a place up...replace bad boards ....fix windows....clean up the yards....get her ready to breath   life into her old forgotten walls.....

some houses don't start off as just a house at all....some dwellings are created for a purpose...they are built with a job in mind....and for a lot of them ...it's an important job at that....

Like this plucky structure....it was created to be the ...ROANOKE RIVER LIGHTHOUSE...in North Carolina...lived in for years smack dab in the middle of the river....then floated on a barge to retire as a lighthouse ...destined to become someones home for many years....then as the life of a house often does when the people that have lived...loved...and passed in it....this gem found itself somewhat forgotten....ignored....and barren for MANY YEARS...until the town it sat in raised funds to save her...move her...and restore her to her former...original...intended self....with a job again ...only this time she will be taken care of by the state of North Carolina....she will teach...inspire...and renew folks as they tour her beautiful self as a museum...I can't help but find abiding joy in this story...first because it's true...then because I watched it happen....the wonder of nothing being impossible if only someone has...A VISION ...some day I will take a picture of her finished...till then I keep stopping along the way whenever I see an old forgotten house....they still have one thing they give to me every time....a heart that flutters....and INSPIRATION.....blessings and big hugs girls...till next time...Karena

  Each Day

     A new year just beginning,
     Each day a fresh, new start,
     To fulfill your hopes
     And pursue the dreams
     Sustained within your heart.

     Put God in charge;
     He'll plant the seeds
     Of affection, love and care.
     Like a garden, your life will grow
     With kindness flowering there.

     And as you face the wonder
     Of each day's mysteries,
     You'll see God's hand
     Unfolding, daily, possibilities!

     And as each day comes to a close,
     Dream a dream or two,
     Then with a prayer thank dear God
     For each day given to you.
                      Poet, Gael Phaneuf

Welcome Ladies to the second day of 2010....yes...it's finally here ....I woke up this morning to a thankful heart...reminded again of the "WONDER" we all wake up to every day...it truly is such a miracle this life we live...so as I try to get my day started I wanted to take a moment to share this poem that was in my daily devotions from "God's Minute"...it lifted me up ...giving my heart a song for the day...I hoped it would give you the same thing...I pray we all see God's hand unfolding the possibilities each day holds for us....I hope you have a blessed day today....hugs till next time....Karena

Good Bye 2011.....

GOOD-BYE 2011....your times run out....I stand beside these time worn hands...as the last hours fall like sand....I shed no tear to see you go...no ol lang sine will I sing tonight....your hold on us is all but shadows in our sight...so hurry up...mount your star....2012 is not so far....at midnight when the clock strikes last....A BRAND NEW YEAR ....we'll toast to her with smiles and hugs....a kiss or two ....at long last....

We hope 2012 will be a BLAST....

I know ....my poem is a "CHEESY" indulgence but I have given myself permission to take risks....indulge myself a little...so the following post is really just a mix of things I'm thinking about this afternoon....

Like moving into our house a year ago...

Getting our "Cabin in the Attic organized"....

Finding collections we hadn't seen for some time...

Seeing the Anniversary of 9-11....the death of Bin Laden....the beginning of our troops coming home.... 

All the storms ...earthquakes....tornadoes....etc....we seemed to survive ....with  the Lords help...

Dinner's in our new home....

And the knowing place deep in our heart's .....of who we have to thank for  the celebration tonight when a BRAND NEW YEAR....is finally here........hugs everyone....Karena

Opening My Heart To "Possibilities".....In 2012....

As I was thinking about the coming New Year....it crossed my mind that this is the time  some of us begin pondering  a Resolution to mark our HOPES for the months ahead....we begin diving into the "Thing's" in our lives we would be glad to say good-by to...extra pounds perhaps...our attitudes on one thing or another...maybe we'd like to be more "Present" in our daily lives...it can be a mixed bag of should do's....I was watching TV over the Christmas Holiday and saw a commercial for Jane Seymour's ..."OPEN HEARTS" pendant...I fell in love with the  look of this piece of jewelry....and with the saying she came up with when she created it...."IF YOUR HEART IS OPEN ...LOVE WILL ALWAYS FIND IT'S WAY IN"...I am not typically a jewelry loving kind of gal...but the deeper meaning I found in her creating this pendant sparked a thought....... I've decided to forgo any resolutions this year....I am going to try and LIVE  2012 with an open heart....

To look around as the year begins to all the beauty ....all the perfect everyday  things I so many times take for granted 

To stop straining against the clock....time is a wonderful  thing if we  look at it as our friend...

I want to smile more....laugh every day....find kind words to share with the faces the Lord  brings  into my  life...

Pamper myself and my loved ones more....I want to love luxuriously....find the  Peace our  Lord intends for us everyday...

Oh yeah....and I will take time to indulge my love of...creating... designing ...and finding  ways to  use my treasures...I hope you girls have a splendid day today...thank you for stopping by.....blessings and hugs till next time....Karena

Looking Forward To A New Year......

Good Morning beautiful girls....well ....I don't know about you but I am thinking of ...NEW YEARS EVE...we will say good-by to 2011...this year has been a mixed bag of blessings and challenges for me...I think I look forward to 2012...I've always liked the even years better then the ODD ones....the hint might be ... they're called odd for a reason....have you all made big plans for this Saturday night....I think we will be at my daughter's with the whole family to greet the new year I'm really looking forward to it...I wanted to ask you girls a question....have you all heard the rumor that 2012 is the last calendar year recorded...I think they say some cultures through history believe the world will end by 2012...now of course I don't believe that for a second...but I thought it makes for interesting conjecture as to why the calendar would stop this coming year...I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas...the family came to our house to be with us...I was so thankful to have all my faces here....we had fun...ate good food...everyone chipped in ...it was nice...the day is calling me girls so I better say so long....I pray blessings on you this day....big hugs from me to you...till next time Karena