Lazy W Marie

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

  • Welcome!
  • Home
  • lazy w farm journal
You are here: Home / Archives for Vesuvius at Home

please don’t read this

September 25, 2015

Thursday night I was strolling with Handsome through our local Wally-marks in search of a very specific action figure toy to replace one Klaus had just destroyed. We were also in search of hot glue sticks to aid a possible repair job for said toy, a new, more appropriate chew toy for Klaus, and ice cream. Because apparently yesterday was both National Daughters’ Day and National Ice Cream Cone Day. Not that we need an excuse to celebrate our girls or buy ice cream. And not that we only ate only one cone.

A man passed me down the center aisle who was the spitting image of Brittany’s husband, so alike in features and expression (as far as I know him from her blog) that I could not resist trying to meet him. I said his name to see if he’d respond, “Noah!” Nothing. He walked past. I turned around and said it again, sort of toward his back.

“NOAH. Noah. Noah… (n-o-a-h...)” Again, nothing except a confused glance over his shoulder before he changed his retail trajectory with some stiff-backed abruptness. Apparently even grown men can feel creeped out.

To clarify, my second attempt to get his attention was less friendly and more hushed, like a descending, vibrating whisper, Friday-the-Thirteenth-soundtrack style. If that man was Noah, Mr. Vesuvius at Home, he clearly wanted nothing to do with being recognized by the crazy blonde wandering the toy department looking like she could really use some refined carbs at that moment.

Okay. That’s the end of that story.

klaus

Have you ever noticed that the fastest way to sand off some jagged edges from your heart is to bring them to light and invite the Universe to connect them with someone you love? If you want to have your ugliest opinions challenged, declare them staunchly. Use harsh, hurtful language, say something judgmental and condescending about another human being, and wait to see how long before you realize someone you love dearly and unconditionally falls into the category you have just slammed. It’s like counting seconds between lightning and thunder: how close is the storm? And then, can you weather it?

Okay, next:

When gardening, would you rather start with a smooth, uncultivated piece of earth, design your own garden from the ground up, having started fresh? Or would you rather dive into a wild, neglected space, re-imagining and reconstructing, nourishing what is diseased or forgotten, and breathe new life into it? Don’t make me choose. But if you make me choose, I will always go with the second option. Always.

Last thing. Have you tried this method of roasting chicken? I saw it recently on bon appetit and had to try. You brine some bone-in chicken pieces (yum) and cook them directly on the oven rack, no pan, allowing the juices to fall below to a tray of vegetables. The chicken turns out extra crispy and much less fatty. Gloriously golden and flavorful. The vegetables, on the other hand, are flavorful but turn out kinda mushy. I just don’t know. The Lazy W verdict is to continue with this chicken roasting method but leave an empty pan below, then just recycle that broth later. Let’s have stout, crispy veggies, ok?

ckn

Okay, cool.

What are your fun plans for this gorgeous weekend? Handsome and I are looking forward to some local art and street food, specifically the Ten Percent Celebration for Every Point on the Map, maybe family time and an outdoor movie at the farm, possibly an easy little car show. Should be a full, relaxing weekend with mild weather. I’m already happily exhausted.

Ok friends, go carpe some diems! Be nice to strangers. Be careful with your words. Choose your storms carefully whenever possible. And roast your chickens openly, no shame, no secrets. Thanks time a million for visiting.

ksh ksh ksh ksh ksh ksh ksh ksh
no no no no no no no no
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

1 Comment
Filed Under: anecdotes, Vesuvius at Home

Angel Food book release & review!

July 25, 2014

Usually when you read an author’s debut novel, it’s a complete mystery. Who is this new writer? What will she* write about? What will her style be? Will I groove her message, voice, tone, undercurrents, ending? Will I drag myself through this book, just hoping to accomplish another title? Or read the last page breathless, wanting more? Will I want to recommend it to my friends, or better yet… to my book club?

But what if you are already pretty well acquainted with the author? What if you have been reading her blog for a few years now, growing slowly addicted to the way she distills her thoughts and manipulates language so that it forms smoky genies of ideas in your head, rather than plainly telling you blunt things? (Sorry, King and Hemingway. She rises above your advice.) What if every time you read her blog posts, you wish they were longer? What if she has already seduced you a thousand times in small, short ways?

Well, then as soon as her first full length novel is available you read it. You gobble up every page and celebrate every literary wish fulfilled and savor every complex surprise she doles out.

My friend Brittany Tuttle, published many times over online and recently with Shebooks for her novella Stone and Spring, has just today released her debut novel Angel Food. I am over the moon excited for her! I loved this book. Not only because I love her, but that certainly doesn’t hurt.

I was lucky enough to read Angel Food several months ago, while Brittany was still editing it, and I literally could not put it down. I sat on the love seat in our front room on a weekday. It was snowing outside. I remember rising early to feed the animals and tidy up the house, then I sat down with a cup of coffee and started reading. Then all of a sudden it was afternoon and I hadn’t moved. I hadn’t eaten or ran a mile or anything, but the light had shifted and the house was dark. So I made some dinner for Handsome and went back to reading. I read all night and finished it in a hotel room the next day. I remember not wanting it to end, just like her blog posts.

 

Do you know this woman? You should.
Do you follow this woman’s writing? You should.

 

Angel Food is part science fiction, part family dramedy, part something I have never read before. It’s action-packed, sexy, hilarious, darkly fascinating, and just exactly the right amount of off-putting to keep you from blinking or breathing regularly. It has a thread of suggestive incest, but in a way that is actually delicious. (Shut up, you have to read it to know what I mean.) And how the characters handle this is so funny! Only really smart people can get away with this, and Brittany does.

Brittany crafts these incredible scenes. These bloody, violent, highly sexual, emotionally charged and laugh-out-loud funny scenes, the likes of which I have never read before. Do you know how some chefs have a knack for striking bizarre flavor combinations, but it works? It is suddenly the most wonderful thing that has ever touched your tongue? That. She does this with characters, dialogue, and surprise events. She folds together one element with another in ways that leave you shaking your head and wanting so much more.

“I’m a Methodist and a Republican and I do not wish to see your bosom.” This is a spoken line late in the book, and let me assure you I peed my pants laughing. The inner dialog is just as fun and sharp, too. She develops each character with either desperation or aloofness or something else miraculous, and every single creation is perfect.

So those are my thoughts on a brand new piece of fiction hitting the shelves today. I hope you seek it out! I hope you spend a day or two completely immersing yourself in this bizarre science fiction family road trip. You will not regret it.

Angel Food by Brittany Tuttle: 5 stars. Rated R. Be sure to catch the author’s own clever synopsis right here. So funny. You’ll see a quote by me, too!

“It smells of syrup and sausage and the past.”
XOXOXOXO

*Or he, of course! But this is all about a girl-crush I have. Spoiler alert.

Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Angel Food, bloggy buddies, book reviews, Vesuvius at Home

Hi! I'm Marie. Welcome to the Lazy W. xoxo

Hi! I’m Marie. This is the Lazy W.

A hobby farming, book reading, coffee drinking, romance having, miles running girl in Oklahoma. Soaking up the particular beauty of every day. Blogging on the side. Welcome to the Lazy W!

I Believe Strongly in the Power of Gratitude & Joy Seeking

Pages

  • bookish
  • Farm & Animal Stories
  • lazy w farm journal
  • Welcome!

Lazy W Happenings Lately

  • her second mother’s day May 10, 2025
  • early spring stream of consciousness April 3, 2025
  • hold what ya got March 2, 2025
  • snowmelt & hope for change February 20, 2025
  • a charlie and rhett story February 13, 2025
"Edit your life freely and ruthlessly. It's your masterpiece after all." ~Nathan W. Morris

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

Looking for Something?

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in