Lazy W Marie

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

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mid-winter farm update

January 7, 2015

Well, friends, we are past the holiday season as well as the winter solstice, and there are only eleven cold, barren weeks standing between us and springtime. So I think it’s safe to say we are mid-winter. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all. We can endure anything for just eleven more weeks, right? And there is so much to do before then, anyway. So much to enjoy. So many cozy pleasures. How about a little mid-winter farm update? We’ll take a Lazy W tour, starting at the front.

Front Field:

The bachelors (Chunk our buffalo and Chanta and Dusty, our two horses) are doing great. They are faring very well in this cold weather, having grown nice and fat as well as quite furry ever since, well, since around Labor Day weekend. We’ve been periodically buying extra bales of “free choice hay” to keep them constantly fed and warmed from the inside out, and since the truly frozen days have been few and far between, keeping their trough filled with clear water has been a totally manageable chore. We may have to swing a sledgehammer to break the ice once in a while, but it seems like every time the water level drops, the temperatures are just high enough to open the faucets. The Lazy W has seen far worse winters than this.

 

f5f dusty shades

 

When Jocelyn has time to visit the farm she makes sure Dusty gets some exercise, which I love to watch. She is so confident, and he is so playful. You can tell just by watching them that they love each other dearly. If she parks her car in the gravel driveway between his field and the house, he whinnies and bellows until she relents and walks over to him. (Such a tough sell.) She is teaching him some basic footwork here and there, and he is teaching her that he prefers bareback rides, no saddles please and thank you very much. All of this, of course, always results in extra cookies from me, whether she approves of my methods or not. : )

Yard Birds:

The geese are still patrolling these nine acres noisily, with unfathomable angst, honking and strutting with their wings extended like sky gliders forever anchored to the earth. Duck Duck in particular has put on an obscene amount of winter weight. He is barely recognizable now, no longer the fuzzy yellow baby we rescued in summer! But to a goose, at least to a goose who’s never heard of Norwegian winter feasts, this new-found obesity is excellent news. Duck Duck struts around the farm waddling his fat belly and shimmying his thick, flightless wings. He and Momma Goose laugh haughtily when I go out back to run miles against whatever sugary indiscretion I have most recently committed.

By the way, Duck Duck the adopted Canadian Goose is the main character in our first children’s book effort! I am so excited about this. Really excited. But I think he knows how excited I am about his story and is using it against me, like, emotionally? Instead of showing any appreciation? Geese can be very manipulative. Most people don’t know that.

 

??????????

 

Despite the cold temperatures our Lazy W hens are laying consistently. I am so grateful for this, because their eggs are absolutely divine. Heavy, yolky, delicious. And such pretty brown shells! I collected seven eggs on Monday morning and found one of them to have hairline fractures. Really beautiful. Not crushed, but frozen apart like burst pipes. I know! Frozen eggs. Completely edible. I couldn’t resist pressing my thumb against the vulnerable spot.

 

egg cracked

 

The Middle Field

This is the only sad news I have to report this week.

I may or may not have written this for you here, though I’ve whispered it to visitors, but I have for a while believed our young female llama, Dulcinea, to be preggo. Just judging from her behavior with Romulus (or, more to the point, his behavior with her AHEM), her increasing appetite, growing midsection, and overall neediness with Handsome and me but aversion to Meh, I was placing little bets with myself that she would give birth before Easter 2015.

 

dulcie in snow

 

Well, unfortunately, she couldn’t keep her little baby that long. We walked out to the barn this past Saturday morning to discover that she had delivered her very first baby far too early, and he did not survive. I’m glad she took herself to the warm barn for delivery at least. The tiny, clearly premature cria had exactly the colors and markings of Seraphine, our recently deceased matriarch of this gorgeous llama clan. Seraphine would have been the new baby’s grandmother. The cria was absolutely precious and so fragile looking, so thin. Dulcinea had expelled the placenta in tact and was not too bloody herself, only swollen, but also sad and ravenous. Once Handsome had removed the little thing for burial, she looked and looked and sniffed for him, crying in a way I’d never heard from her. It was incredibly sad. So we feed her heartily and give her as much affection as she would accept. Though needy, Dulcie had grown skittish since her coming of age. Ever been through that, ladies?

Life goes on. Death is certainly a part of life, like it or not, and we may never get all the answers we want or understand exactly why we have to endure so much of it. What we can do is continue to earnestly love those who are still here, those who are in need of what we can offer.

So that’s my mid-winter farm update! Thanks so much for visiting. We certainly collect more joy here than sorrow. More beauty than work. And that is why we stay.

Now I am going outside dressed in three million layers of warmth to feed and talk to our menagerie! I hope your day is cozy and productive. I hope your animals, if you have them, lend you some of their magic today.

Hang in there.
Winter is halfway over.
XOXOXOXO

 

 

11 Comments
Filed Under: animals, daily life, Farm Life, weather, winter

Dinner Club With a Reading Problem strikes again xoxo (and a biscotti recipe)

January 6, 2015

This past Saturday night our famous little Oklahoma book club, affectionately known as Dinner Club With a Reading Problem, gathered again for food, fellowship, and more fun than a small group of women might legally be allowed to enjoy. It was technically not a book discussion dinner, as we are between titles; we were just in withdrawal from not seeing each other over the holidays. We missed lots of pretty faces, but those of us who were available all met at Seri’s house, which is not too far from the farm. (Bonus for me!) She served us a really luxurious shrimp boil dinner complete with potatoes, smoked sausage, and corn on the cob. The rest of us brought appetizers or desserts, keeping well to our chosen moniker.

We never go home hungry.

We also never go home sad or bored or feeling alone. This is a really special group of friends, and we are increasingly grateful for each other. Also? We are increasingly grateful for each other’s strict discretion. RIGHT, LADIES?

 

What happens in book club stays in book club.
What happens in book club stays in book club.

We also enjoyed thick cucumber slices topped with creamy cheese and tomatoes from Kerri (pictured above kissing the elk with me). Homemade peanut brittle from Tracy. Pillowy soft banana bread DeLana brought from a church fundraiser, and a massive veggie tray provided by Steph, which included a weirdly spicy (and addictive) roasted-something veggie dip. Who brought the crab meat dip? And those cashew clusters? Oh man! I am hungry again.

I took two edibles with me Saturday night. One was an appetizer inspired by Smitten Kitchen. It was basically sweet grapes and salty olives roasted together with some spicy stuff then served with plain ricotta cheese and stale sourdough slices. It was pretty good! but I overcooked it all just a bit and really preferred the combination raw. Dressed with good olive oil and a few spices, the salty-sweet grape-olive bites were super delish, juicier.

Okay, the second edible I contributed to our fun dinner party was an accidental biscotti worth repeating. It’s not like that little cranberry-almond number from November (the base is different) but is, I guess, true enough by definition in that it was baked twice. So, close enough? Anyway here  it is, in all its three-recipes-mashed-together glory:

“Fancy Chewy Dark-Chocolate Browned-Butter Oatmeal Pecan Biscotti”
chewy, crunchy, sweet, & filling
also healthy… because of the oats, nuts, & dark chocolate? : )

What you need:

1/2 cup shortening
1 stick butter (melted & browned)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
big splash of vanilla
2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup pecan halves
1 bag of dark chocolate chips

What you do:

This is easy! It’s basically just cookie dough, baked twice, with a couple of extra steps in the middle.

  • First, brown the stick of butter in a small skillet. (Don’t cheat and use the microwave! You’ll need this buttery skillet again soon.) Let the butter cook till bubbly and brown then remove skillet from heat. Let it cool while you gather everything else and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • In one large bowl, cream together the shortening and butter then mix with one cup of the flour plus all the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. This is the nice, thick beginning of your dough. Add to that the quick oats and the last half cup of flour, mix well.
  • In that buttery skillet from a few minutes ago? Pour the pecan halves and toast them a little bit. Just scoot them around long enough to become fragrant and glossy, not change color. Add these pecans along with the bag of dark chocolate chips to the cookie dough and stir to mix well.
  • Okay, as with any biscotti, just form the dough into a flat, even rectangle on a cookie sheet. No greasing is necessary since the dough is so buttery. The thickness is up to you; just remember that it spreads out a little in the hot oven. Bake for about 20 minutes then allow it to set up a bit at room temperature. It needs to be firm enough to cut.
  • Now using a large, serrated knife, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise then into maybe half-inch strips. Or however you want! I like to plan on dipping my finished biscotti in a cup of perfect coffee or glass of icy cold milk.
  • Flip the once-baked strips onto their cut sides and put the pan back into the oven for another fifteen minutes or so, or long enough for all the edges to become crispy. Not burned, just cooked and crunchy. Don’t worry; it will still have a nice tenderness and chewiness, thanks to all that butter and oatmeal.
  • Once the twice-baked slices are out of the oven, let them cool completely. Done! See? Easy. And so delicious. The next morning I may or may not have eaten two of these with perfect coffee, despite having sworn off further carb indiscretions after our fun Saturday night.

 

cookie coffee new sticker

Incidentally, the most recent book we discussed was a true crime story, Stranger in My Bed by Michael Fleeman. Our group gave it mixed reviews. The next title we’re working on is a relatively new release, Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. This one is long, so we are happy to have a little extra time to have read around the holiday season. I’m really enjoying it so far! Feel free to read along and share your thoughts here when I post a review late in January. We’d love that!

How about you? What have you been cooking lately? What is on your book shelf? What does your little tribe of friends do to stay connected? I bet it involves food…

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking
if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. “
~Voltaire
XOXOXO

2 Comments
Filed Under: book club, Dinner Club With a Reading Problem, recipesTagged: biscotti

marathon monday: shifting gears

January 5, 2015

Happy New Year, and happy running! Is any new fitness program on your agenda this month, this year? If so, I hope it’s part of a gentle, realistic, healthful mindset for you, something that serves you well in many ways, not something that lords over you and makes you miserable.

Because you’re awesome and don’t need a big ugly guilt trip. xoxo

At the start of this recent holiday season I mentioned that marathon training was starting again and that I’d chosen the Hal Higdon Intermediate 1 program to get me ready for April. Week one was really good, and I felt great and was strongly motivated. Mileage was right on the mark.

Theeeennn… It was Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, and time for family and cuddling and watching movies. I had much better things to enjoy than running alone. Then I tried to get back on track (err, trail) and the weather turned nasty. Quite nasty most days. I can make excuses as well as anybody, but these bumps in the schedule were true obstacles. Family and safety first. Thank goodness this is happening early in the 18 weeks, when I have lots of time to make up for it.

So… Taking the same loving advice I would give you, I’m neither giving up nor accepting the guilt trip. 

I just looked again at the schedule to see how badly I’d slipped behind. As it turns out, things could be much worse. No towels have been thrown in! But still… Looking at the next few weeks of weather I don’t see things improving much; so I’ve simply regrouped and shifted from Intermediate 1 to Novice 2, which is a program with the same number of weeks but slightly lower mileage. There’s a real mental benefit to not feeling quite so far behind. If over the next month or so I feel stronger and life opens up a bit, I may step it up. We’ll see.

Current Plan:

For now? I’m doing short runs plus strength on Mondays and Wednesdays. Longish runs (they are still pretty short this early in the program) on Tuesdays and Fridays. Cross training on Thursdays. Taking the weekends off so Handsome isn’t too lonely. That will likely change over time, too, or from week to week depending on our social calendar.

Our Talking Tree, filled with sleepy guineas, on a day so cold the air around us stayed bluish gray.
Our Talking Tree, filled with sleepy guineas, on a day so cold the air around us stayed bluish gray.

A question for you:

Speaking of all this cold weather, and by cold in Oklahoma I mean temperatures between 15 and 38 degrees, how cold is too cold for you to run outside? My friend Norma asked me this on Facebook recently and it got me thinking. Apparently the world boasts some pretty hard-core runners who will lace up for miles in sub-zero temps. I MEAN REALLY. haha

I don’t mind bundling up quite a bit, and rain itself doesn’t bother me, but if it’s both cold and wet I rethink it. Or if the winds are blowing down our pine trees, making it too hard to climb hills, I tend to give it about half an hour then reevaluate. What about you? I am so curious.

Thanks for stopping in, friends! I wish you all the best this week, whatever your goals are. I wish you just the right measure of challenge mixed with a deep personal motivation to overcome it. Happy first full week of this new year!!

If you want to live, you must walk.
If you want to live long, you must run.
~Jinabhai Navik
XOXOXO

2 Comments
Filed Under: daily life, hal higdon, runningTagged: Marathon Monday

lazy w reflections, 2014

December 31, 2014

What a year! Emotionally, socially, demographically, professionally… Just in every conceivable way, the Lazy W residents have had some unforgettable experiences in 2014. Good, bad, ugly, miraculous, and everything in between. We sit here at the tail end of the calendar feeling pretty wonderful, too. Despite and because of it all.

We have seen miracles. We have enjoyed the deepening of friendships. We have seen small crops grow and animals born in the sun. We hatched chicks and buried a mama llama. We said goodbye for now to Handsome’s Dad and hello again to our oldest daughter.

 

squash bloom

small crops

four in new orleans coffee shop

seraphine with baby chick

These two. xoxo
These two. xoxo

 

What got us through this incredible year? Depending on the day we might answer either “prayer” or “Hot Tub Summit.” Usually both. Prayer is powerful! And no joke, those early mornings soaking in the steam together do wonders for our union. It’s more than sexy; it’s a melding of minds and a harmonizing of hearts.

Alliteration is awesome.

This year I ran my first full marathon and discovered I was hooked on the distance, the overall experience, just all of it! I almost ran another full this autumn in Tulsa but made family time a priority. Zero regrets! Training for the April 2015 race has started, and I feel amazing.

The finish line! I was so happy to say i never walked, and I had energy to spare after the race. My husband and our friends will tell you I used that energy by talking no stop for hours. : )
The finish line! I was so happy to say I never walked, and I had energy to spare after the race. My husband and our friends will tell you I used that energy by talking non stop for hours. : )

Handsome is, as always, the hardest working person I know. I’d say “hardest working man,” but that sounds sexist and if I learned anything in 2014 it is that language and nuance matter a great deal and maybe I should avoid sexist vernacular, subtle though it may be. Anyway, he is working so hard at the Commish, and I could not be more proud of him and his team. They have faced down some pretty ugly monsters and can boast not just success but integrity. Here’s to an even more amazing, satisfying New Year, PUD! xoxo

Besides his professional endeavors which are never-ending and rarely afford him two consecutive hours to catch his breath, my guy has been jamming out one wonderful farm improvement after another, and I am so thankful for this!  He’s also taken up painting interpreted fleur-de-lis and sugar skulls on reclaimed wood scraps, giving them to family and close friends as gifts. This has infused our home with a wonderful new artistic perfume. I love it! And I know the recipients of his artwork love it, too.

Here is Pacino being kept happy with a candy cane. Behind him is a surprise Handsome painted for me. The French words mean, "Always Now and Forever." xoxo
Here is Pacino being kept happy with a candy cane. Behind him is a surprise Handsome painted for me. The French words mean, “Always Now and Forever.” xoxo

 

In May, Seraphine and Romulus gave us the sweetest little cria, and we loved him instantly. His big sister Dulcinea? Maybe not so much. The second photo below pretty well sums up the family dynamics.

fresh out of the oven baby llama
fresh out of the oven baby llama

 

Dulcie is annoyed at no longer being the darling of the farm. Seraphine is fussing with Romulus, who is easily cowed down by her. Meh is bright and chipper, oblivious to the conflict.
Dulcie is annoyed at no longer being the darling of the farm. Seraphine is fussing at Romulus, who is easily cowed down by her. Meh is bright and chipper, oblivious to the conflict.

Sadly but naturally (no predator or disease, just gentle old age), we lost Seraphine later in the year. Meh was inconsolable for days, but we are happy to report that now he is strong and happy, growing well, eating aggressively on his own, and well bonded to his big sister whether she likes it or not.

 

The llamas are such snow sweeties! They love it.
The llamas are such snow sweeties! They love it. And we love them.

 

I completed the education piece of the Oklahoma Country Master Gardeners’ program, and in addition to learning a metric ton of great stuff I also made a hundred wonderful human connections. I walked away from those months of lectures deeply inspired to garden better on our nine acres here, and in 2015 I get to share more of that with YOU! So exciting.

 

With Schroeder and Pat, my two wonderful mentors throughout the program!
With Schroeder and Pat, my two wonderful mentors throughout the program!

 

This year I also replaced our honeybees and did my best to give them a good, strong start before winter hit. Fingers crossed, prayers uttered, essential oils dropped lovingly, in spring we will see the fuzzy foraging babies out and about, eager to pollinate our gardens and gift us with the sweet molten treasure we so crave. For 2015 I’ll also be writing a quarterly newsletter for our Oklahoma State Beekeepers’ Association, so if that’s something you’re interested in I’ll have more and more beekeeping information to share with you!

 

bees

 

In 2014 I traded my black Camaro for a white Jeep. It was an emotional adjustment (silly how attached I was to that Camaro) but now I LOVE it. This Jeep is the vehicle for me, for this farm, for this stage of my life. It’s perfect.

 

In lieu of a stick family, animal decals.
In lieu of a stick family, animal decals. haha

 

We visited our favorite city, New Orleans, approximately 3,962 times. Not really, but we did enjoy more quick jaunts down south than usual. And our souls were nourished for it. We feasted heartily, we soaked up the music and the art, the architecture and the people. And this year we finally purchased a CD from a local favorite, Steamboat Willie. He and his well established jazz band play every. single. night. at a little outdoor jazz garden and cafe on Bourbon street. We love it there so much that I usually weep a little while we dance. I listened to the CD this week while doing housework and got a little teary again.

 

I left my heart in New Orleans.
I left my heart in New Orleans.

 

In 2014 I turned 40, woohoo! and have never felt better. Handsome and a whole slew of our wonderful friends and family members helped us celebrate, making me officially the most spoiled woman (err, person?) on this beautiful planet. He even rented a big pink castle-shaped bouncy house, and I could not stop laughing! Everyone jumped, too. Even my Mom!

 

As cliche as it sounds, I wish i had felt so good at 20 as I do now 40.
As cliche as it sounds, I wish I had felt so good at 20 as I do now at 40.

Our phenomenal little Oklahoma book club, Dinner Club With a Reading Problem, read eight books together in 2014. We enjoyed six or seven discussion dinners (sometimes we double up our titles) plus a handful of bonus gatherings throughout the year. I love this growing group of women even more now than when we started book club four years ago. FOUR YEARS! We are all together the closest of girlfriends. Did you know we have official t-shirts and everything? Well we do. It’s pretty swell.

 

We have a new book club member this year! Welcome Marci! xoxo
We have a new book club member this year! Welcome Marci! xoxo

 

This holiday season, really this entire past year, has been the perfect illustration of brackish water, emotionally. And I have written about it before and enjoyed the outpouring of your words and love. Our oldest was with us, which flooded the house with light! She is a total joy and made every childhood memory come pulsing back to life. Having her nearby to love and dote on made every single silly little tradition wildly meaningful again. Who knows when we’ll get to do Santa next? When we’re grandparents? It was pure bliss for Handsome and me and we hope for her too.

But, being apart from other loved ones… Both of my husband’s parents (so many fresh wounds there), my sister Angela, our west coast family, our youngest daughter… It definitely hurt. We could look at this weird life intersection as a way that grief tempers joy; but we choose to look at it all as a way that joy floods the valley of grief. It’s very real, friends, and I hope that if you are ever in a deep valley of grief, you can find all the joy you need to flood it until your miracle happens!

our youngest, the goose whisperer
our youngest, the goose whisperer

 

xoxo

xoxo

 

So overall 2014 was a year of both growth and evolution. Fun and recovery. Our adapting skills were tested, and I think we passed with flying colors. That doesn’t mean we didn’t hurt; it only means that we weren’t destroyed by the hurt. We were actually strengthened, changed by it in wonderful ways. And lest anyone think this is selfish, I am excited to soon tell you about how these changes made us even more ready for that moment our oldest daughter came home. God prepares us not just for ourselves but for others.

Do you feel ready for the new year? I sure do! I’m excited. I feel healed, nourished, energized, motivated by good, worthwhile things, and just overall amazing. I’m so grateful to be stepping into 2015 with my best and closest friend, my biggest fan and strongest rock. And we are going to have so much fun!

 

black and white silly

 

Happy New Year, friends! Thank you so much, really deeply truly, for following along this past year. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Thank you for helping us see the funny stuff. The Lazy W will be offering way more in 2015. Buckle up.

“It’s not so much how busy you are
but why you are busy.
The honey bee is praised.
The mosquito is swatted.”
~unknown 
XOXOXO

7 Comments
Filed Under: memories

looking back at 2014, video clip

December 31, 2014

Okay, this is fun! I am diving right in this new year to participate in some vlogging with Mama Kat. She hosts the funnest weekly link-ups and is an all around great person, so I can only assume this little adventure will be wonderful too. Try to ignore my afternoon hair and makeup, ok? I’ll try to do better next time. Maybe. But probably not.

You Tube tag: 2014 Looking Back

 

http://youtu.be/-IXaXl9EDEM

Now you tell me something! Please feel free to answer some of these questions here in comments. I’d love to read a glimpse of your year, looking back!

I am in desperate need of a tan.
I am purple.
XOXOXOXO

7 Comments
Filed Under: Mama Kat, memoriesTagged: You Tube tags

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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

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