Lazy W Marie

Glittery Sunday

January 5, 2014

We woke a bit late this morning, a small miracle in itself for our eyes to not fly open before dawn… to a snow-dusted, sun-bleached farm. Much kinder than the usual thick cloak of ice, this snow was dancing and whooshing past us in great, billowy, magical plumes of white. The winds are so high and wild this week that a person might believe it to be springtime in Oklahoma, not early winter. All day, when the intense, though frigid, January sun has hit the whirling snow dervishes just right, each soft, dry flake has taken on the glittering, delicate appearance of metallic confetti.

January snowfall and cold sunshine at the farm.

The animals are enduring the cold just fine, for which I am so grateful. Chanta, our big orange and white paint horse, is the golden glowing boy in a pale blue and silver landscape, especially when he stands directly in the sunshine. He is so beautiful. He looks how my heart feels right now… Warm and peaceful. Safe. Fat. Ready.

Our life may be on the verge of big changes once again, and that is wonderful. God has been working both Handsome and me in so many ways, healing us from old hurts, training us toward outreach, comforting us, inspiring us, knitting us tightly together… And I know deep in my well fed bones that Love will have His way. While at first glance life’s details may seem wild and unpredictable like today’s spiralling snowflakes, just shine some light on them and suddenly they are beautiful, rare blessings.

I am now off to make pie crusts for a deep dish chicken pot pie, our chosen wintry feast. The chicken breasts and garlic aromas are mingling together already . Two fresh new books are waiting for me on the love seat near the sunniest east window. Prayers for my girls, my Aunt Marion, and so many other loved ones are constantly on my lips. Gratitude is swelling big and sweet in my belly.

I hope you all are warm and safe enough to slow way down and truly enjoy this rare day. I hope you can eat food you love and cuddle people and pets you love, too. I hope your snow is glittering and your heart is fat and ready . For anything.

So many unknowns. So much Love to answer them all.

The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.

~Japanese proverb

XOXOXOXO

Last Year’s Strength is This Year’s Inspiration

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year friends! As we close the book on 2013 and open the first page for 2014, I am flooded with emotion. Absolutely drenched in thought and reflection on all the things we have experienced, suffered, learned, and enjoyed these past twelve months. A year ago I chose the word “strong” for the coming year, and it turns out I would need it more than expected.

Learning to love these men more deeply, more generously, has required strength but it has offered me strength too. More than I ever thought possible. I am so thankful for them, so thankful to be Handsome’s wife and his father’s daughter-in-law.

This little hobby farm of ours has seen wonderfully productive months, overflowing with eggs and veggies, herbs and fruits. I feel like a stronger gardener now and am so excited for the 2014 growing season. You know what takes strength in the garden? Dealing with broccoli caterpillars and squash bugs.

We have celebrated new life and soaked up all the magic that it brings. We have dealt well with animal injuries and illnesses and built a lot of strength for whatever comes next.

Dulcinea is so big now. We love her way too much.

And we have mourned heavily, bitterly. The anguish of grief that seems to come on a conveyor belt saps our strength and replenishes it all at once.

Judy Wreath

Tom Sawyer

My beloved Daphne

We have made thousands of amazing memories with very dear friends in every corner of life. Handsome and I do not take lightly the gift of such close adult friendships. They have taught us a lot about ourselves, distracted us in painful times, and helped us laugh uncontrollably pretty much all the rest of the time. Our friends have been patient with us, too.

This past year brought opportunities to reach new goals and be inspired toward bigger ones.

And books have played such an important role in my life. I can say with a lot of joy that reading has infused me with much needed strength. I am so thankful for this. So thankful for my book club. So thankful for all of it.

So what for this new year? Yesterday, New Year’s Eve, brought new worries and challenges for our little corner of paradise. All we could think yesterday was how overwhelmed we were, how tired and spent, how gun-shy of the next major life change (there have been so many this winter). But this morning? This morning I am full of brightness. Full of energy to dream big.

This morning I feel one-hundred percent inspired to not be desperate, but to be still and focused. To keep my face bent toward the Light, where I know Truth and Love and Peace reside.

So…Happy New Year from the Lazy W! Handsome and I feel so grateful for this life we have been given and for the wonderful people who share it with us. We are once again on the verge of major life changes, so your prayers and love are appreciated, as always.

But we’re not afraid. We are strong. Filled with Love. Ready to face anything one day at a time.

Much love from our home to yours!

XOXOXOXO

Marathon Training Begins

December 29, 2013

Ah, January… you temptress. You flirt.

Forever seducing me and scandalizing my imagination with possibility, with promise, with high energy and blank-page calendars just begging to be scribbled with lists and fantasies about all the good things I want to accomplish and become.

But this year, I have a more concrete plan for you.

As January is every year, this month in 2014 will be replete with new beginnings. Fresh starts. Our gardens will need planning and cleaning; the sparkly holiday decor will get swapped for scrubbed baseboards and fresh pillow covers; and I might even be studying Spanish and attending a series of beekeeping classes. All good, worthwhile stuff. But there is one new start that will require more focus and discipline than all the others put together…

OKC Marathon official site

On December 30th, I begin serious training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. After talking about it for several months, the time has finally come to get to work. Quit goofing aroung and start putting in the hours and miles. Following a wildly successful and really fun half marathon last spring, my excitement level for this new challenge is through the roof!

Our west field is not warm and verdant like this right now. But I am dreaming of it hard.

As this cold new month pries open her sleepy eyes, a mere 117 days remain until the race. One hundred seventeen days to train my body (and more importantly, my mind) to run 26.2 miles safely and smoothly. I will be more or less following the Hal Higdon training program dubbed “Novice 2.” You can see this 18-week plan right here.

If I am reading this plan right, then the coming weeks will accumulate a whopping 397 training miles. EEK. I might need new socks.

Are you running this winter and spring? Are you training for any particular race? I hope to write weekly or bi-weekly updates on marathon prep in the coming months, so I would be really jazzed if you followed along. I’m a sucker for encouraging words, and if you’re local and training too, even better!

Besides running, what other fresh starts are on your January horizon?

Jogging is very beneficial. It’s good for your legs and your feet.
It’s also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed.
~Charles Schulz
XOXOXOXO

Pause to Focus

December 27, 2013

It’s the day after the day after Christmas. Our tree is still up, as are all of our holiday decorations, and it all will be for at least another week. To me this is comforting, although the great late winter purge and scrub will be comforting too.

The recent cloak of thick ice is nearly melted, the sun is shining and warm for two more days, a little taste of spring right after the Winter Solstice, and all the animals are thankfully very happy and healthy. Our intermittent power outages have proven to be memory makers more than serious inconveniences, too. So that is nice.

Handsome and I are carving a path through the holidays one gathering at a time, battling high fevers, terrible coughing fits, and threadbare nerves day by day. Honestly, friends, it has not been an easy Christmas. But our blessings are innumerable and we are choosing to count them and rest in the coziness of love and peace every chance we get.

We do a lot of maniacal laughing at the Murphy’s Law vibe life has been displaying, too. It’s funny, but maddening, how difficult planning has been this month. I mean, I should really sit down and record all the lessons we have had to learn about living in the moment. Being present and focused on the here and now rather than always stretching, yearning, preparing for the next event or tomorrow’s list. We have barely felt safe planning what to eat for dinner lately! But… these are good lessons to remember. So we bow our heads in either obedience or resignation, depending on the emotion of the moment, and get back to simple things.

Maybe if I list the things I would like to plan for, I can rest a little and get back to the business of right now.

Things I am Thinking About

That Life Keeps Telling Me Are for Later:

Painting the Apartment and finishing window dressings there.
Shampooing all of our carpets and upholstered furniture.
Rethinking the herb and veggie gardens for this spring.
Planning a lovely little book release reception for Dee. (I dreamt about this last night.)
Beginning serious training for the full OKC Memorial Marathon in a few short months. (I have barely been free to run a few miles here and there lately… Will I be able to turn this around in time to be ready for 26.2?)
Switching from blogger to a legit website and getting serious about writing.
Attending beekeeping classes and starting with fresh colonies.
Spending more time with my parents and my Grandpa.
Catching up on reading all these great books in my house.
Spending time with our friends. I miss our friends.

Some of what I crave right now is purely selfish, so I try to remedy that by making unselfish choices hour by hour. Take stock of how much I have already received, how much is already working in my favor, and how much I can afford to emotionally and practically give away to others. Plenty. I can certainly afford a more open handed life than what I have been living. A less clenched way of moving about the world. Terribly, it has been with the people closest to me that I have been most clenched.

So life is good. It is full of teaching things and celebrating things. It is rich and meaningful and delicious, even with its bitter surprises.

How are you holding up?