Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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New Every Morning! (re-inspired by lifeingrace)

   I am, like so many women, more specifically like so many women in my life (which is maybe why they’re in my life to begin with) heavily prone to writing lists and getting delightfully giddy at the beginning of a project or adventure. I tend to foam in my accident-prone mouth at the sight of blank paper, crisp, early sunrises, and January, which is pretty much our cultural embodiment of new beginnings, followed closely by Easter and spring garden planting.
   I have also had divided success with past lists, though, maybe because the lists are so great in number. Thinking the sensible thing to do this year was control my natural urge to change the world (or at least my red dirt covered corner of it), I thought and thought about everything I wanted for 2012. I tried to see through to the core of why these good and worthy goals haven’t been reached already, about why the same  wishes cling tenaciously to my Long List. I managed to boil it all down to the Lowest Common Denominator, into one articulatable “resolution,” though some would argue this is too broad to qualify: 
“Time Management.” 
Yawn.
   Then something wonderful happened to shatter the clay around my mind and loose a myriad of vivid feelings and ideas that were swirling around insistently anyway.
   What happened is that tonight I stumbled on an electrified post by Edie at lifeingrace, her thoughts and encouragement about writing New Year resolutions. The best part is that she (or perhaps a friend of hers) coined them reVolutions. I can’t get over how cool this is, you guys. Please go read her post as well as her very colorful list of personal reVolutions for 2012.

********************

Are you back? Or did I lose everybody 
because you’re off writing your own electrified lists? 
If so, that’s cool.
xoxoxo
This less photoshoppy list belongs to moi. I couldn’t wait.
And it just so happens that my new not blank anymore planner 
offers one large lined page just for personal notes.
This passionate brainstorming session was kinda meant to be.
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   What I liked about the switch that flipped here is the freedom, the encouragement to be truly wild with my wish making, my list writing and my hope forming. This is passionate, crazy-bones brainstorming, friends, and I groove it in a big way.
   Hopefully, better time management will underscore a lot of my new habits in 2012, sure, but the coming months are bigger than one goal. Life is rich and complex whether I lose 18 pounds or not (though I do hope this is the last year I fiddle around with that). Every day is beautiful and exciting far beyond the exact condition of my baseboards or compost pile and the exact number of times I post on my blog.
   Tonight’s reading and subsequent writing has me thinking BIG, you guys. Big in EVERY direction, and nothing on my hotly scribbled list is outside the bounds of love. None of it will do anything but add to the quality of life both for Handsome and me and for our friends and family.
   Here’s to lifeingrace for her inspired post on reVolutions that got me thinking about the whole list-making tendency on a spiritual plane. Thank you for the very C.S. Lewis-y phrase, “liturgy of life.”
   Here’s to early January in all of her blank-notebook splendor.
   Here’s to the power of Love, to the hidden but ever present designs and patterns in life that we sometimes fail to notice, and to the limitless creativity and renewal available to us through God.
Happy New Year *AGAIN* from the Lazy W
xoxoxo

Quick Post of Jubilation

   I have a lot to celebrate right now 
but only a few minutes to share it.

  • I traded happy texts with my first born today, for about an hour. It’s a really good thing we were texting and not talking on the phone, because I was so happy I couldn’t stop crying. My hands were shaking too, but I could steady them enough to type.
  • I am enjoying a lot of success in the sewing room this week. Feeling very blessed with both intrinsic joy and a steady stream of orders.
  • Our animals are particularly healthy, silly acting, and fully entertaining. I mean, sometimes Pacino is a little too loud when we are trying to have a quiet conversation, but that will never really change. The horses are sweet, fat cuddlers. The buffalo is just the gentlest snorting fluffy head you will ever see. And the geese and chickens are getting along this week. Dog walks have been a daily bright spot, too. xoxo
  • My little sister will be staying at the farm starting Christmas Eve, and I could NOT be happier. She is the shiz-nay. She has taken a little slice of Oklahoma with her to Los Angeles, making it a cool place after all. And I hope she knows I intend to blog lots of details about her visit.
  • After that we are hosting M Half and her Hubs, and that will be wonderful for a thousand reasons! I always enjoy our time together!
  • A much anticipated movie is now in theaters, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I thought it opened Thursday and may or may not have been dropping hints to you-know-who. We just found out it is already open, though, so his romantic opening-night surprise intentions are blasted. I still think we’ll go. I read the books and loved ’em. Can’t wait to see this and then the Swedish film and debate it all. Mostly, though, there’s the small matter of Daniel Craig on the big screen.
  • Our Charlie Brown tree hasn’t fallen down in almost a week.
  • I looked around myself this week and noticed how much romance plays a part in our happiness. Between the two of us here, in so many of our close friends’ relationships, and in a general appetite for living, a way of soaking up the universe, romance is in our daily fabric. And I love it. I feel very lucky to live this way and wish it for so many others, including my two beautiful daughters (but not quite yet, pretty please).
  • The sea monkeys are growing and thriving and in a pretty good mood. They have all been named now, and so a drama series will soon begin.
  • We have a kitchen full of oranges and apples. This is good.
  • I love my new coffee machine,. So much. So very, very much.
  • I have a lunch date on Thursday with two of this world’s sweetest, prettiest, funniest, most talented, most loving girls ever created. 
  • I have a Netflix date with Handsome right now. Gotta scoot.
Siiiimply
Haaaaving
a Wonderful Christmastime!
xoxoxo

Joy Pockets Cuatro



This week has felt almost like autumn in Oklahoma, 
which has been more than a welcome meteorological change;
the cooler temps have refreshed our minds and bodies, 
inspiring all kinds of productivity and joy-grabbing.  
I am so happy share a handful of stories  
from our week at the farm:

   

   On Tuesday, after several days of partying, laughing, making memories, and indulging in good food and great company, Handsome and I returned to our weekday routines.   I spread clean, smooth sheets on our bed, straightened up the outdoors, scrubbed the kitchen, and opened the windows while doing housework.  This last detail is powerful.  Open windows might mean a little bit more dust flying around, but it also means that we trade stale summer-conditioned air for mother nature’s freshest breath.  And the quiet that comes from the absence of an air conditioner that has been running almost non-stop all summer, that is golden.  I could actually hear birds again, and seeing the curtains billow inward from the cool breeze is so pretty.
   Cleaning the rooms one by one, burning a soy candle gifted to me by the M Half, and gradually refilling our bathroom cabinets with clean, fluffy towels, these are simple, pure pleasures.  It felt as good and healthy as removing three days’ worth of waterproof mascara and exfoliating my face.  The only consolation to seeing your house emptied out and quiet after that much fun is seeing it sparkling clean the next day.
   On Wednesday, I was very blessed to spend a few hours with my firstborn, my baby, my distant daughter who lives in my heart every hour of every day.  We shared a late breakfast, talked about a thousand wonderful things, laughed, and shopped.
   While looking at different running shoes (she is a cross-country runner, I am so proud) I noticed that she still ties her laces the same way she did in Kindergarten.  Her hands are grown now, leaner and stronger, and now her wrists are lined with dozens of friendship bracelets.  But seeing those familiar movements in that familiar flesh almost brought me to tears in the runners’ shop.
   Thursday was her birthday.  Sweet Sixteen.  There are almost no words for this, but of course there really are always words.  I can say that I always expected this to be a terribly painful time, especially considering the circumstances in which we now find our family, but mercifully the occasion turned out to be a lighthearted one.  I am so happy for her for a million solid reasons, and I still feel so incredibly lucky to have given birth to this beautiful creature.
   Chanta, the same horse who awakened me from last week’s sunny nap with his foot nuzzling, switched things up by falling asleep on my shoulder last night.  I had been brushing his wild blonde mane and whispering to him, telling him about Einstein wisdom and Pampered Chef parties, when he stepped in really close to me, exhaled a big, sweet breath of air, and closed his sleepy eyes.  His giant head just fell on my left shoulder, so I did my best to hold it with both arms.  His ears were loose, and I could see from my position at his driver’s side that his rear ankle was cocked up, both sure signs of relaxation.  As if the snoring horse wasn’t clue enough.  
   It was blissful.  We stood together like that for several minutes, and I had the sensation of having lulled a baby to sleep and not wanting to wake it.  So I continued in the Einstein/Chef speech, mixed in some singing, and just inhaled that wonderful, grassy, warm horse fragrance.  
   When the spell finally broke and he stepped back to look at me,  I figured our special time would be over with.  But wherever I tried to walk Chanta would criss-cross my path and intercept me.  He’s not small.  And he can get kind of bossy, so I suffered through his affection and spent probably half an hour just nuzzling  
   The extra joy here is that the quiet peacefulness attracted Daphne, our moody mare.  She became either jealous or just plain curious and ended up accepting some attention herself, which is unusual when other horses are nearby.  It was a wonderful string of moments in the middle field.
   I caught a nasty cold and was down and out for a few days this week, running a low fever, etc, and Handsome took really good care of me.  He grained and hayed the animals on my worst day, did the weekly grocery shopping after a long day at the office, and brought me comforting things to eat.  He constantly made sure I was resting.  It bored me almost to tears to sit still that long, but thanks to his TLC I am feeling healthy and energetic, sans medicine, just in time for another fun weekend!
   Life is so good.  
It is unpredictable and mysterious 
and sometimes painful, 
but still so brimming with good, 
healthy, nourishing joy.  
Very happy weekend to everyone!
xoxoxo


joy pockets

Joy Pockets #2

The past seven days have been emotional and busy on every front,
and midweek I thought I would just skip Joy Pockets
altogether because it would just feel phony.
Thankfully, mercifully, legitimate joy
burned through that fog pretty quickly.

1.  Drive In:  Going to the old-fashioned triple-feature drive in movies with Handsome and seeing a comet at dusk.  The flicks showing that night were all really good, too, and I stayed awake through to the end.  First time ever in my life.

2.  Naptime:  Falling asleep outside in the sunshine and waking up to our biggest horse nuzzling my bare feet with his whiskery, velvety face.  He sniffed my calves and looked at me super cute, probably wondering if I was dead.  That happened twice this week, and it was downright magical.  It gave me the feeling of cuddling with a baby.  A 1200-pound baby, but still.
3.  Lake Fun:  Playing at the lake with two cool and awesome friends last Saturday afternoon.  Eating too big of a hamburger at the dockside restaurant but then burning it off just by laughing like a crazy person.  Riding the wave runner until we were out of gas on the water.  Literally.  And then the girl half of those friends taking multiple photos of together, sensing my apprehension, and her having mercy by N-O-T putting them on Facebook, because she is very pretty and I take very weird posed face pictures for some reason.

4.  Affection:  Hearing a beloved young nephew call us by name using also our titles, “Aunt” and “Uncle.”  For some reason, this gesture in his sweet little boy voice melted my heart.
5.  Victory Over Myself:  Returning a very tall stack of borrowed books to the library E-X-A-C-T-L-Y on time and retrieving a reserved book there, which is now in danger of premature completion.  This never happens, folks, not the timely return thing.  I felt like a total celebrity walking in and out of the library with nary a dime of a fine.  Why wasn’t there confetti?  Handsome is worried my lack of fines contribution may lead to downsizing.  He asked if the main librarian is having to send her car back to the dealership.

6.  Surprise:  Learning that my Dad reads my silly blog.
 
7.  Avoidance:  Delaying a dreaded dentist appointment.  Again.  I am joyful over this.
8.  Birthday Week:  Firming up R-E-A-L-L-Y  F-U-N plans for Handsome’s birthday which is in exactly two days.  We do full birthday weeks around here, so we have much celebration pending.  He is a great guy who deserves great things, more than I can provide.  He is my dream come true, and I wish him the happiest, funnest, most relaxing and exciting birthday week ever!
   Big *Thank You* to Bohemian Twilight for having this in place.
Knowing the Friday link-up was fast approaching had to have helped with the fog.
XOXOXOXO
Happy Weekend Everyone!
joy pockets

Pockets of Joy #1

   A few days ago I stumbled on a lovely and complex blog called  Bohemian Twilight    Soooo worth a steady gaze, especially if you are in need of the creative person’s equivalent of a B-12 shot in your upper arm.  Check it out and see for yourself.  I found her through some luscious home interior photos on Pinterest (she has a Tumblr slide show), so you can bet I am already planning on how to gypsify the farm.  PLEASE don’t anybody warn Handsome.  Okay?  Okay.  Deal.

Credit for both amazing photographs:
You are welcome for directing you there.
   In addition to the visual feast, this blogger has a lot of wisdom and insight to offer.  Read  her post on anger and the full moon.  Enlightening!

   On Fridays she graciously hosts a link-up where you can share your “Pockets of Joy” for that week.  I groove this.  I warmly welcome the intervalled practice of expressing gratitude and joy for the beauty in a person’s life.  We have so much!  And  sometimes intending to just maintain an “attitude of gratitude” can be rather thin and quiet, at least for me.  Sometimes it’s nice to share those feelings of bounty.

   So without further ado, my fledgling entry:
1.  Rituals.  Piping hot, strong and rich coffee very early every morning, sweetened with real sugar and real cream.  This (especially the cream) is a luxury item that starts the day off wonderfully.  Showering in the afternoon, right before Handsome arrives home.  Cleaning the kitchen just at sunset.  Locking up the animals as the moon reveals herself.  Braiding my legs together with his while we watch some History channel.  Daily rituals are joyful in their regularity.  They help us keep the pace of home.

2.  Weather.  Oklahoma’s extended drought and extreme heat wave have finally come to a close.  At least for now.  This week we have joyfully worked and played in mid-nineties, shade, and even the occassional rain shower.  This is a wonderful refreshment, one we cannot help but celebrate.

3.  Feeding the chickens.  I love delivering kitchen leftovers outside to the chickens and watching them jump and scurry for the best stuff.  I love the way their little talons sound on the gravel paths, the way they skeedaddle and sprint this way and that in feathery bursts of energy.  I have said it before and will say it again:  Letting the chickens go free range in the mornings is the best animal decision we have ever made on this farm.  This week the chickens are enjoying the cooler temps and have been especially joyful.

4.  Speaking of birds, the geese…  They are getting bolder and bolder, waddling up from the pond several times a day now.  I love to be busy indoors doing housework or writing and hear that strange but happy chorus of honking outside the south door.  One goose in particular, Mia, craves human touch all day.  He (Yep, it’s a he named Mia; I will have to tell that story soon.) honks until I am seated in the grass then curves his long neck in an inverted bass clef shape and whines while I pet him gently.  Geese are hilarious and affectionate and joyful creatures!

5.  Blogland.  Meeting people through blogging whom I would never have met otherwise, like Keda from South Africa.  Hello there!  Staying warm?  Check out her blog too.  Thorough, sensitive writing, beautiful lifestyle.  Truly.

6.  Health.  This week I am keenly aware of how good our health is and that we should be grateful for that.  We ate lightly, slept well, stayed really active, and enjoyed the myriad benefits of this practice.

7.  Music.  I rediscovered a Carla Bruni album and listened to it three and a half times while plowing through my overflowing ironing basket.  Something about her effervescent sound and her poetry got me thinking about bubbles, circles, fractals, and mandalas, so I detoured from ironing long enough to get these words out of my head.

Whether or not you participate in the Pockets link-up,
I would sure like to hear about your joys this week.
May they be genuine, multiplied, and ever changing.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

joy pockets