Lazy W Marie

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

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life after travel, garden thrills, & loving staycation

Home sweet home. After a week away, we are back at the farm and loving every minute of it, soaking up every detail. In fact, our front-gate landing in the wee hours of Saturday morning segued neatly into a week of stay-cation, a July tradition to celebrate our wedding anniversary. 

Seventeen years!

It’s good and healthy to be away, to break from routine and explore a new part of the world. Last week we had the opportunity to see Virginia for the first time, in large part to join my family for a really special family event. (More on that soon!)

Mom and Dad with our entire family, missing only three of the grand kids. Baby Connor was asleep and my two girls were back in Oklahoma.
group candids are hard

Then it’s so refreshing to get back and return to normalcy. Home comforts. Farm chores. Oklahoma heat and humidity, even. All of it. Mostly home-brewed coffee, you know? I mean I’m grateful for restaurants and coffee shops, but…

Nothing compares to waking up at 5 a.m. to walk around in a tee shirt and day-old makeup with the day’s first perfect cup of coffee. Surveying the gardens at daybreak, with that first hot drink, it’s my favorite. 

The relief of being home rarely has anything to do with being desperate to end the travel we have just enjoyed. In fact, sometimes the more beautiful the trip, the more fervently we dive back into real life. We are recharged, deeply nourished, and ready for more living.

I ought to write more about what specifically we glean from each trip we take. New Orleans, for example, is a vastly different experience form Virginia Beach, and so the bring-home wisdom and inspiration are totally different. I love it all. 

The beauty of travel is that each destination offers something uniquely enriching, something that stays with you long after you return. Hawaii, for instance, offers a refreshing blend of tropical landscapes, rich culture, and adventure that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

When you’re surrounded by such beauty, it’s impossible not to feel deeply nourished and energized. Whether you’re exploring the hidden beaches or learning about the local traditions, the island is an endless source of inspiration. And of course, the mopeds are fun, offering a perfect way to breeze through the charming streets and enjoy the full experience of the island at your own pace.

Every trip, from the peaceful mornings on a Hawaiian beach to the lively nights in Waikiki, teaches us something new. It reminds us to slow down, take in the world around us, and find joy in the simple things.

A key part of truly embracing this way of travel is finding the right means to explore. That’s where this rental service becomes essential, offering an easy and effortless way to glide through the island’s most scenic routes. With a scooter, you’re not just getting from one attraction to another—you’re experiencing Hawaii in a way that immerses you fully in the moment.

There’s an unmatched freedom in pulling over on a whim to watch the sunset from a secluded beach or stumbling upon a hidden roadside café where locals gather. The journey itself becomes as enriching as the destination, turning an ordinary trip into a collection of unforgettable experiences.

The contrast between the serenity of the ocean and the vibrant energy of local markets is something I carry with me long after the trip ends. There’s a special kind of freedom that comes with exploring such a beautiful place, and it’s something I try to remember when life’s daily routines start to take over. 

sunrise on a Virginia beach
“Let’s go hiking. Can we hike? Le’ts go THERE.”
Jamestown settlement! We actually made it!

sunset on the way home

This recent homecoming gifted us with everything we needed. Lots of rest, plenty of Klaus cuddles, some time outside, some time with movies and popcorn. Romance. It is our anniversary, after all. We have enjoyed a few days of slow-paced home-bodiness, having left only for groceries and one dinner out with friends. And I think I have run at nearby paths three times.

Everything has exploded with life and color, texture, fragrance, and pollinators. The growing things are all so big and thick. Lush, although I use that word too often. We walk from the house to any flower or vegetable bed nearby and share the pathway with bees, wasps, butterflies, dragonflies, and bumbles. So far not one sting. Just lots of fly-bys. Yesterday I mixed up some simple syrup with essential oils to offer the bees. Such a thrill to peek inside the hives and see what progress they have made since spring.

One raised bed is filled to the brim with tomato vines. Jungly, unkempt, wild in the best ways. And not a problematic bug in sight. The vines are so thick and fuzzy that a smattering of marigolds and basil plants are barely seeing enough sunshine to grow properly. Ha! But they are trying.

Every morning since we arrived home I collect more green or pink tomatoes, all shapes and sizes, absolutely ugly-beautiful. Some are pale purple, which is cool. Heirlooms. And they ripen more quickly than I expected. The photo below was snapped on Sunday morning, and by Monday afternoon they were all ruby red. 

And delicious, I don’t mind telling you. Raw, just salted, is divine. I can’t wait for pasta night to make my own marinara. Maybe a sun-dried version too, soon? And tomato-watermelon salsa? Yes. A tomato tart!!

Quick tomato tip: This afternoon I accidentally broke off a good, healthy branch from one gigantic plant, but instead of tossing it to the compost I just stripped the lowest suckers and dunked the whole thing into a tall, strong jar of water.  In a few days, it should have sprouted hairy little side roots and be well on its way to a autonomy. Ready for soil. 

bumblebee on a zinnia in the Blue Bike garden xoxo
I’m obsessed with voluptuous hyacinth bean vines, and this one growing up and over the French Quarter trike is my fave. It is kind of a centerpiece for the shade garden, at least to me.

Basil plants elsewhere on the farm, the ones not choked out by tomatoes, are lush. (So sorry, it really is the perfect word.) I have lots of pesto recipes in mind for the rest of the month. Come over for dinner if you groove the spicy green goodness.

Tonight we get to see more friends for a few hours. The husbands are installing a much-anticipated Corvette engine. We plan to get some local Mexican food, which is great because last week I suffered some pretty outstanding food poisoning from a subpar taco salad out east. I cannot wait to have girl time with Kellie, too. She dives deep in conversation, and that’s one of many things I adore that about her.

Life is really beautiful right now, even with the unknowns, the lingering petitions. I am keenly aware of how drenched in blessings I am. So happy about our trip and even happier to be home, exactly where we are. 

More soon, I hope you’ll check in!

And feel free to send me alternates for the word lush so that I might describe my gardens with more variety. 

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
be it ever so humble, 
there’s no place like home.”
~John Howard Payne
XOXOXOXO

my favorite tree in colonial williamsburg

This past Monday morning, Halee, my brother’s wife and one of my truest friends on earth, brought me with her two boys to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. We explored everything slowly and had such fun before a super refreshing and kind of fancy lunch.

I rate fanciness by the smallness of an espresso cup, and I’m telling you that “The Blue Talon,” a French bistro, provided a thimble. But the food was plentiful and delicious!

super fluffy omelet stuffed with veggies and an arugula salad…xoxo

One memory from the day will forever stand out. It was this magnificent old tree in the middle of the village.

We were all walking toward the restaurant area when we spotted it, and looking back the day would not have been the same without this small excursion.

Greg, soon to be a second grader, was all in when I suggested we climb it.

It was one of those ancient trees, undamaged by ice storms, several stories high and just as broad. A dense, shady, domed paradise. Was it maple, I think? Not oak. Something else. It boasted thick, sprawling branches as substantial as tree trunks themselves, the kind that reach out several yards away to touch the earth then curve back up and out again, elastic and strong. The actual trunk of this specimen was downright beastly. As big in diameter as a freight elevator. I easily imagined a spiral staircase carved within the wood, secret and hidden. Lit by elves with magical glowing rocks, instead of candles, leading to a subterranean apothecary and library.

The tree had both masculine and feminine qualities. I felt both vibrating, alternately, as we played. It was everything you want an old tree to be.

A braided steel cord ran up from the ground, along the smooth but deeply textured bark, up toward the sky. The cord had popped free here and there from its spiked tethers and eventually disappeared into the leafy canopy. We said it was a live electrical wire and took turns pretending to shock-zap each other with its nearness.

Okay, I admit I thought it was a live wire and sweated in my armpits a little when my calf accidentally touched it.

As we climbed and scooted around, the conversation flowed freely.
At one point Greg unknowingly touched on one of my most favorite philosophical topics, fear.

“Babies don’t have any fear.” His little brother, Connor, played contentedly on ground level with his Mom.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because they don’t know anything yet,” Greg answered, shrugging his tiny shoulders and wiggling his close-cut, bright red hair. Freckles shining in the shade.
“Like, what can happen?” We had been trading commentary about which branches were the safest route, how a fall to the ground might feel, why I hated busting out my teeth, etcetera. I was in a full body, wrap-around, chimpanzee grip on my chosen branch.
“Right, all they know is their Mom and Dad and stuff.” Greg was walking upright like a kid from the Swiss Family Robinson, counting black ants as they raced around his sneakers.

“So maybe that’s why grown-ups worry so much? Because they know what might happen?” I was not too subtle about defending my dental catastrophe concerns. My fears.

“Maybe, but still I’m not scared,” Greg said this with absolute lightness, and he scrambled a little further away.

A few strangers were passing by beneath us. We heard one man say to another, that there were signs posted not to sit on the tree. Soon Halee figured out it was a small deception by that man meant to keep the second man from violently bouncing the lowest branches. Or maybe to keep his own kids from climbing the tree, because they definitely saw us. There were no posted warnings, but the whole scene played really nicely into our exchange about fear and adulthood.

And persuasion, using both truth and untruth.

Greg observed that while adults may have fears, it’s up to kids to convince them otherwise. Kids are there to persuade adults, in his words. Just as he was managing to persuade me to keep climbing.

This is where I confess that while it was originally my bright idea to climb the tree, one of my very favorite things to do in life, eventually I needed motivation. Mostly because after kicking off my wedge sandals I found the bark to feel much smoother than expected and my bare feet had trouble gripping. Plus, you know, my teeth you guys. The burden fell on my young nephew to keep me from giving up. Once when I nearly disembarked (ha! Get it?) near the trunk, he persuaded me to stay in the leaves with him and retrace the long limb we had just traversed, exiting instead the long way down. He said it would be more fun. He used truth to persuade me, unlike the man had done, and he celebrated this fact.

Also. Let me point out that from the get-go I fully expected Halee to keep our adventure in check. I thought she would slow the roll if needed, and at some point, I was kind of counting on that for personal reasons.

But she didn’t. Apparently, I was the only fearful adult that day. She just stood there on terra firma, cheering us on, encouraging further exploration and assuring us of how manageable the jump would be should we feel the urge. Once, she even offered her slender shoulders when I hesitated at the 8-foot drop.

Thanks, Halee. (haha!)

And thank you, Greg! I am so glad we explored that beautiful tree together and I feel enlightened by your young mind’s view of fear, persuasion, trust, and fun. I love you. Meet me on the trampoline anytime, too.

Signed,
Your Slightly Nervous but Fun Loving Aunt Marie
XOXOXO

Epilogue: Since this day, my whole family visited Colonial Williamsburg, and rumor has it that three generations of tree-climbing Dunaways made a memory together in those gorgeous, substantial branches. I missed this fun but enjoyed the photos immensely. Life is good. Trees make it better. 

no frills tuesday, deep well of gratitude

Around 5:20 this morning I wobbled myself downstairs to let Klaus outside and achieve Caffienation Level One. I opened my spiral notebook and two devotionals and began waking up slowly, filling my brain with all the good stuff first.

I started writing a stream-of-consciousness gratitude list, and my pen could not keep up with my feelings.

Every day lately I am just plain grateful for so much. It’s this overarching sense of domestic tranquility and peaceful momentum. I’m grateful for physical health and bright, wide-reaching hope for the future of our family. I get these delicious waves of pride for my husband’s professional work, not to mention admiration for everything he does for us here at the farm. And the gardens this year take my breath away. They aren’t perfect, nothing is; but they are lush and strong, wild and productive. Often I walk around and cannot believe I get to live here.

One of my devotionals this week is all about the “Forgotten Art of Biblical Meditation.” I chose it because meditation is such a big ingredient to the Tibetan culture and I loved all the Buddhist expressions of faith in The Book of Joy. All of this together has got me thinking pretty hard about the differences and similarities between prayer and meditation. This sphere of thought nods to using our imaginations to support our prayer lives, too.

Handsome lingered a little before heading to the Commish. They are plowing through a heavy “Windcatcher” case this week (a big deal in Oklahoma), and he knew he would have to stay late again.  So he drank coffee slowly with Klaus in his lap, tackled a few quick jobs outside, and during our morning prayer teased me about being able to run a 12-minute mile today. I realized he has no idea how fast I can run, and now I want to prove it to him, ha! On that note, I cannot seem to release the craving to get really fit and learn to run really fast so I can qualify for Boston and just kind of have that under my belt. Most likely, a short list of other fitness related things should happen first, but BQ is there, stubbornly glaring at me from the horizon.

THE HORIZON OF MY IMAGINATION YOU GUYS. (ha!)

After feeding everyone and wrapping up a few more chores around the house, I too set off, but to a nearby park instead of to an office. About three miles into an easy run that was not easy today (thanks Shark Week), my friend Sheila caught me and we shared her cool down. She is training for a faster marathon using the Hansons method, and she is owning every step of it. Incredibly athletic, she is also smart, beautiful, affectionate, holistic, centered, independent, and just plain happy. She’s one of those people whose nearness just makes you feel brighter and sweeter, like drinking good orange juice. Those few minutes chatting and running together was exactly the shot in the arm I needed to finish 7.2 miles. And moving my body helped me sort out my thoughts, too.

That luscious detail of seeing Sheila today just reminds me how much one person’s aura can uplift others. Staying afloat really does matter, to each of us privately, for our own sakes, and to the people we encounter. Thank you, friend.

After a quick stop at Walmart for a handful of forgotten items including face scrub and a tension rod for curtains, I made my way home. Oh. There was a hot tub sitting on the side of the road. We already have one, but I was captivated enough to take a photo.

Once home, Klaus saw the tension rod and tried to pluck it from my hands. Fetch. Always fetch with him. Sweet boy.

My sister Angela texted then called me with some amazing personal news. Something for which she has been hoping and praying came true. We have been praying along with her, and today she learned that the prayer had already been answered last week; today’s appointment is just when she learned the details. God is amazing like that. Providing for and surprising us at every turn. Changing our lives when we let Him. 

Around midday, while ironing shirts and folding laundry in the Apartment, I watched a Netflix nature program about plant science. It included lots of anecdotal information about pollinators, too, and I loved all of it. It did, however, almost make me cry because it reminded me of a small bouquet of sunflowers I had cut and brought inside. The gorgeous blooms had each dropped about a Tablespoon of vibrant yellow pollen on the bookshelf where I’d put the mason jar/vase. I was suddenly so sad and regretful to have stolen this meal from our honeybees.

Hey there, hormonal fluctuations of Shark Week, you are not only making running difficult, you are also causing a cheerful bunch of flowers to be sad. Not cool.

Speaking of plant life, the hot pink crepe myrtles are finally blooming, and I am so happy!!

After half an hour of yoga with Tara Stiles, Klaus and I had a late lunch of a grilled chicken wrap and some Greek yogurt with cucumbers and watermelon. Then the rest of Tuesday was spent alternating between gardening and indoor tasks, retreating to the cool house when we were hot down to our skeletons. 

Although my physical energy kept dipping, all day my heart felt strong and steady. Life really is beautiful right now. or maybe it always is, and sometimes we just notice it better. Maybe sometimes we are more malleable, more receptive to wonder and more attuned to grace. 

Oklahoma enjoyed a lush, rainy June, so our wells and ponds and lakes are full. My heart is full. I feel a depth right now, and a sense of calm for the things we don’t yet see as answered. They already are, of course, just like my sister’s miracle. It is out there, every good thing for which we wait. We just have to hang on and trust, keep watching the horizon. 

I hope your Tuesday, whether average or insane, brought you lots of clear vision. I hope your well of gratitude is deep because it will nourish you in dry times. I hope you had some great food today and that, whatever miracle you’re waiting for, you have the strength to imagine it as already accomplished, in outrageously beautiful detail. 

“You can choose another thought.”
~Oprah Winfrey, to herself
XOXOXOXO

 

a few things for friday

Happy Friday!! I have a few gorgeous things to offer you today.

First, please try this recipe by Brittany at Eating Bird Food. She calls hers, “Mediterranean Diet Pesto Pasta Salad,” and it looks divine. The photo below is of my own finished product, which had lots of adaptations based on what I already had in my kitchen.

MAN you guys. So good and simple, so satisfying, so GREEN and decadent too. I used raw kale instead of arugula, almonds instead of walnuts, and frozen shelled edamame instead of peas, based on an idea my daughter gave me. (Just boil frozen veg in with dry pasta, genius! Why have I never done this?)

Basics:

  • whole wheat pasta
  • frozen peas, edamame, etc
  • fresh cherry tomatoes if you have some
  • lots of great olive oil, salt and pepper, also garlic
  • equal handsful of fresh basil and leafy green of choice (I went heavy with kale)
  • a good scoop of raw nuts for the pesto
  • lots of lemon juice
  • more leafy greens

I ate half of this warm and the rest once it had chilled. Both iterations are great. I will be making this again, all summer, with whatever extras I have on hand. Anything less would be a sad waste of basil season, as basil is the King of Herbs. Amen.

A note about making pesto in your blender: If you want to go easy on the grinding and pulsing and keep some texture in your leafy greens and raw nuts, do that. It is a good life decision, especially if the pesto is meant as a salad dressing. And if you’re shy with lemon juice, are you really living your life fully?

Okay, this might be an excellent take-along to a cookout if you’re gathering for Father’s Day this weekend!

Our festivities started today, with Handsome escaping the Commish just in time to make our 1:00 lunch date at Texas de Brazil in OKC. So luxurious for special occasions! This time we celebrated not only his early Father’s Day but also the culmination of a long-term project at work, a huge success and relief (soon a relief, at least). I am always proud of him; but lately, my seams are bursting. He is in a state of sleepy protein bliss as I type this.

Tomorrow we have a few fun things from which to choose (hopefully a long run for me early in the morning because my run today had to end at 9 miles), then on Sunday all of my family are descending on my parents for a rowdy and loving cookout. Even my little brother and his east coast bunch are here! They flew in for his 20th high school reunion. 

I predict so much good-hearted teasing, excellent grilled meats, and a few too many desserts. Our family is blessed with stellar men, each deserving of all the love and attention we can muster for Father’s Day. And food, obviously. They deserve a great meal.

I still want to tell you so much about The Book of Joy. Why don’t you go ahead and read it, and we will soon have a small online book club discussion about it? Okay? Ok. That will be awesome. 

How do we embrace the reality of our lives, deny nothing, but transcend the pain and suffering that is inescapable? And even when our lives are good, how do we live in joy when so many others are suffering? ~Douglas Abrams

Finally, friends, please take a few minutes to read Dee’s blog entry titled, “Why Do Gardens Matter?” Ahh Dee. I love you so much. My gardens feed me, certainly. In every possible way. Mind, body, and soul. Yes.

Her name is Corian-DEER. Please note the cilantro gone to seed, ok.

Thanks for clicking over and reading along, friends! I hope your weekend is off to much beauty, deep refreshment, and a tall stack of happy memories in the works.

“You become a person through other persons.”
~African teaching
XOXOXOXO

P.S. I am back to preparing a monthly “Bliss List” because it matters. I hope you curate some version of it, too.

 

 

 

weekend moments & a serious question

Friends, honestly, these days I am enjoying more fun and more overflowing love than any one woman deserves. I could blog all day every day and not keep up with the thousands of beautiful details.

My private notebook journal is filling up quickly with sketches of daily life, and my phone is loaded with snapshots from all the diems being carpe’d. I try to stop, breathe deeply, and soak it all up, try to somehow slow the clock, which only works a little. Life is full to bursting in the best ways.

My sister Angela recently celebrated not only her 40th birthday but, more importantly, her third year of sobriety. I cannot overstate the joy here, the refreshment and encouragement it brings our entire family.

So many swim nights!! Pup friends make it even more fun. And I love my husband. Gosh.

I want to share more stories from our family Seattle vacation. You deserve full and proper reviews of Radium Girls, a book Gen and I read in tandem (fascinating and disturbing!) as well as The Book of Joy and some peripheral reading I am doing about prayer and meditation.

Running and fitness are going pretty well, although I am not training for anything and in fact and going pretty easy on my schedule just to enjoy summertime. I’ll pick up a new marathon plan late July.

The gardens!! The gardens on every side of the farm are pure joy and explosions of life. 

Lots to talk about and many good stories to tell, and not just the surface beauty. Our prayers are being answered in deep and stunning ways. 

Here are a few more happy photos, then if you will stick around for a few minutes and indulge me, I have a serious question about something. It’s a long-standing curiosity I have had, and it appeared in the book I finished.

Our friends’ son Tanner, taking some chalk art very seriously. Cutie!!
We were all at a car show in Stroud, OK, and had lunch at the semi-famous “The Rock.” Fun!!
The Bandit & Leroy!

My running friend Marcia has just retired from an incredible military and teaching career, and she celebrated this weekend. I was so happy to attend her party. She is widely accomplished and much loved by her people, and I left having made a new friend! Such a happy event!!

This morning I joined three other running friends (all women I admire so dang much) for about 8 sweaty, low-heart-rate miles and then some Panera food and coffee. All four of us happened to order the exact same delicious whole grain sandwich with egg white, spinach, and avocado, ha! We caught up on the life stuff we don’t put on Facebook and wished Lisa well, who is soon relocating to Colorado. Tiny T posed for a Boomerang video but is still thinking hard about a worthy caption. I love mornings with running friends. I don’t do it enough. They are fantastic humans and very positive, healthy influences. STRONG HAPPY BOSTON QUALIFIERS!!

Here is the fascinating (to me) question:

Do you think the world at large is improving, or growing worse, or is it neutral? Why?

What about your individual, private life? Please tell me why you fee this way, if you can. 

Okay, now Handsoem and I are getting ready to drive to OKC for my beautiful Mom’s birthday dinner. Nice and casual, just immediate family and a few of the grand-kids. We will feast on excellent Tex Mex food plus two homemade desserts per her request. She is 60 today and we all love her so much. Another topic worthy of its own deliberate blog post. My mom really is the best. 

Thank you for reading and for sharing your thoughts on this topic, friends. I can’t wait to read what you write. And I will be sharing soon why it’s on my radar and what the book had to say. Super interesting stuff.

Happy Sunday evening!!

Carpe those Diems!

XOXOXOXO