Lazy W Marie

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

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Watering My Soul Roots Deeply

   What a whirlwind of emotion and thought my life has been lately. Even more so than usual. And that’s totally okay with me. This change in atmosphere has caused me to focus more deliberately. To slow down drastically. Sometimes being led around by the next very most important thing is weirdly refreshing, as opposed to just coordinating a circus of marginally worthwhile projects. Being in a state of intensity allows the fringey stuff to fall away, mostly unnoticed, forcing me to deeply water the roots of my heart and hopefully the roots of my family, too.

   I am sick. Bodily, I am run down and exhausted and though on the upswing finally, battling a cold virus like I have not felt in years. I don’t get sick too often, so when it happens I feel almost angry about it, bored, frustrated, useless. This time, I was too emotionally spent to indulge that way. I just sought medical attention, slept, and allowed my husband to care for me in his own ways. When your primary role in life is to be the caretaker, surrendering this can be difficult, especially when your house is full of extra loved ones. But I’m grateful to have a guy who insists on it.

   I have been reading more, which is one of the very good things that had been abandoned this past difficult month. I picked up Stitched by Anne Lamott and devoured it in one night. Then I picked up One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and am now immersed in that beautiful volume most happily. These modern books, on the heels of reading Chesterson’s Orthodoxy and C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man, well… Let’s just say I could spend all winter sitting with these words, sorting them all out, comparing, drawing parallels, pressing out and preserving the rich, oily truths they offer. It’s thrilling to sense that life is orchestrating your reading, your spiritual education. I’m paying close attention.

   It all is so in step with the vision I had of the Worry Door and those precipitating lessons about gratitude, positive thinking, faith despite the circumstances, and the incredible, limitless power of Love.

 

   Pomegranate seeds. Spinach. Oranges. Sweet Potatoes. Raw salad. Chicken broth. Hot tea. Water. Rest. Reading good, inspiring, nourishing books. Writing down my blessings in a thorough, celebratory list. Being present with my people and just soaking up the farm, minute by minute, hour by hour, not rushing a single day. Internalizing how blessed and safe we are, even in the face of ongoing grief. These are the features of my focus right now.

   There are so many things for which to be truly, deeply, madly grateful. Slowing down and noticing them really does strengthen our bones. it waters the roots of our hearts.

   In the eye of the hurricane again, I truly feel at peace. Wishing you the same blessing and every good thing that waters your soul roots deeply.

I only deepen the wound of the world 
when I neglect to give thanks
for all the good things
God gives.
~Ann Voskamp
xoxoxoxo

Pause to Praise the Garden

   I garden for a million and a half reasons. In the garden I find poetry, purpose, art, science, sustenance, exercise, rest, imagination, miracles, defeat, and hope. Lots of my like-minded friends are fond of saying that the garden is all sex and death, and I absolutely agree.

   It’s mid-October now, and Oklahoma is moving gently into autumn while trying not to think too much about the fierce winter predicted. While most of the growing and harvesting activity is tapering off, plenty is still happening if you pay attention. And a lot of it is edible. See these gorgeous hot peppers? All harvested this past week. And about ten times as many are still green, on the plants. Plus bell peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers. I am not even kidding you. I know.

   Don’t even get me STARTED on the herbs and all the beauty and potential there. Swoon.

   Well, a few days ago I was taking stock of the herb garden, just sort of checking things out and maybe planning a few things in my head… when I got the nicest surprise. The marigold plants had all grown pretty big and fluffy, and more than half of the orange blooms were going to seed. So I stooped down to collect them into an empty mushroom tray and squat-scooted around the garden, exploring. That is when I found a stray watermelon vine, still bright green and well hydrated! Overly excited, like I was on a spontaneous Easter egg hunt or something, I followed it out from the plant.

   Somehow, at summer’s end, I had missed a whole, beautiful, unmarred watermelon! Tucked discreetly behind a thick boxwood shrub sat a heavy, striped, dark green watermelon about the size of a volleyball. They curcilue strand of stem directly above it was brown and crispy. This is the surest sign I know that the fruit is ripe. So I snapped the stem and carried my little green baby into the kitchen, more or less dancing all the way.

   A few good whacks from a butcher knife, plus a few scoops with a spoon to remove the plenteous seeds, and I had this beautiful bounty…

   I’m just so happy about this!

   In a few short minutes, without even breaking a sweat, I was rewarded with all of this:

  • a neater flower edge in the herb garden (from deadheading marigolds)
  • marigold seeds to dry and keep for next spring
  • a juicy, healthy, practically FREE snack for me to nibble
  • sweet, crunchy, delicious snack for my horse! (Chanta LOVES watermelon rinds. LOVES em.)
  • watermelon seeds for next summer
   Amazing!

   Truly, instead of trying to answer why DO people garden, I wonder why more people DON’T. Next to reading, it is the most complex and rewarding solitary activity I can imagine.

   Okay. Back to Tiny T soon! Thanks for stopping in!

Grow Yourself Something Wonderful
XOXOXOXO

It’s Definitely Still Summer, Y’all

  Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! I know this weekend marks the beginning of lots of fun autumn traditions. The season *seems* like it’s changing. School is in full swing for most folks; football games are on every other television everywhere; and apparently Starbucks has started serving their famed pumpkin spice latte again. Don’t even get me started on Pinterest, Hobby Lobby, etc. Not that I haven’t grabbed a few ideas myself… But I open Pinterest and cinnamon-orange wafts up from my laptop. It’s just too much, too soon.

   So, the man made environments we create for each other all tell us it is no longer summer but now already autumn. What does nature say? Maybe not quite yet. Here in Oklahoma the temps are still right at 100. The humidity is high, but the rains are pretty far off. The horses are still sweaty the birds still spend their afternoons seeking shady refuge, doing nothing; and everything is still blooming and producing! Only the sumac has started to don tinges of crimson. Everything else is still a lush, verdant, summery green. It’s still summer!

   The Farmers’ Almanac says we still have 22 days of summertime. TWENTY TWO DAYS before autumn officially begins, folks. That is almost a month. And we all know that autumn itself is in flux. You just never know what it will bring.

   So in protest of a premature fall, I will be wearing all the white cotton sundresses I want, even if I have to wear them once in a while with tall boots or a scarf. In fact I will wear all the white I crave. And I will be laying out to read my book club book. I’ll be tending the garden, swimming, and grilling outdoors every chance I get.

   Because I just LOVE DANG SUMMER SO MUCH.

   Let’s not be in a hurry to see it slip away from us, ok? Let’s cling to every hot, miserable, extended day we can. Grill with me Swim. Pick wildflowers. Take naps outdoors. Watch the summer stars. Count dragonflies in the afternoon and fireflies at night. They’re still out there! They still need love too. Eat as many watermelons as you can find. And fresh basil, while you can.

   The idea that basil will soon be bidding us adieu makes me weepy.

   The only autumnal tasks I’ll participate in THIS EARLY are planting some garlic, starting seeds for lettuce, kale, spinach, etc. maybe a few new trees.

   If your’e not yet convinced to continue enjoying summer… Consider this:

   The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a hefty winter for most of the continental United States. See for yourself right here.  We should expect and prepare for colder than normal temps and wetter than normal conditions, too. It’s gonna be fine, but seriously wintry.

   Remember how miserable you were last spring, after Groundhog Day but before Easter? Remember waiting waiting waiting for that first blush of green? That first daffodil? That first day warm enough to run errands or work outdoors without a heavy coat?

Dormancy has its place in life. Let’s not rush it.
Lets embrace and celebrate the life before us while it’s here!

   Those final weeks of winter are so. Flipping. Long. I was on the brink of insanity last spring, with all the days and weeks of waiting. Every DAY was long. So right now… every day should COUNT.

   For September and early October, then, I intend to squeeze out every last drop of summer. Every grilled meal. Every lap around the pool. Every early morning run. Every weed pulling, even. Because too soon the weeds will disappear, but so will the zuchinni. And the zinnias. And the melon vines. So will the roses and basil.

   Join me, please! Let’s let Summertime 2013 know that she is loved and will be soon missed. Celebrate every remaining week. They will pass quickly. Let’s endure the heat. Let’s endure the humidity and the electric bill and trips to the store to buy chlorine for the pool. Let’s even endure the mosquitoes, friends.

   Because the beauty of summertime is so temporary.

   We can soon enough go back to our fluffy sweaters, orange-clove simmering spices, and pumpkin recipes, I promise. Just not yet.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Let’s Swim Through It.
xoxoxoxo

Colorful Chaos

   Hello again! I have been alluding to a lot of activity and excitement here lately, and the truth is that I am so loaded with good stuff to do that I have not really slowed down to share much of it. The days and nights pass by like quicksilver. In fact, this morning I barely have time for a list. Exactly one and a half cups of coffee stand between me and the rest of this beautiful day, and I will use them to organize some of this chaotic energy.

  • Th Apartment is messy again, big surprise; but the good thing is that all of the dresser drawers and the adjacent closet are empty, so the messes are soon to be corralled back into said drawers and closet. In a more organized, productive fashion, Oh, and the curtain dilemma has been more of less resolved. Thanks to some excellent advice and insight from all of you fine people, I know now exactly what I want up there. More on that eventually.
  • Even in the midst of a messy Girly Apartment, crafts are running rampant in my life. Lampshades, yarnish things, paintings, apron sewing, and more are being squeezed out of or into every week. And I just love it. Our friend Marci recently had surgery (again) and one day had just barely enough energy to do a little one-handed crafting of her own. Hopefully she will let me share that soon.
  • Books-books-books. Since our Dinner Club With a Reading Problem (DCWRP) meeting earlier this month, I have been raving non stop about Same Kind of Different as Me. And I do not apologize for that. It’s just so good. Read this book! Also since then I have enjoyed a Tom Clancy espionage thriller and some other easy stuff. I’m not saying it hasn’t been garden-related reading material or old poetry. Our next selection for DCWRP is The Horse Whisperer. It should arrive at the farm via Amazon any second now, and I cannot wait to dive in.
“Our limitation is God’s opportunity.”
Amen amen amen.
xoxoxoxo
  • Speaking of books, I am considering the purchase of an E-reader. I know. My own eyes can’t stop rolling at myself.
Tiny T pities the fool who does not eventually embrace new technology.
  • The garden is going just plain gangbusters. Except for the gross,weird, destructive squash bugs, every bed and every box is thriving. We get food and enjoy beauty daily. In fact, even the squash vines, under siege as they are, still throw  big, heavy veggies at me when I walk past. The melons are only a couple of weeks away from ripeness. The herbs… Ahh, friends… Even Handsome, who is decidedly not a scent-loving guy, enjoys the fragrant herb bed. This morning after Hot Tub Summit he inhaled appreciatively as he walked past it and said it smells like an Italian restaurant. I almost fainted.
  • My children are growing up. I don’t talk about it here much because it breaks my heart a little and I barely know what to say. They are recently sixteen and very nearly eighteen and as beautiful inside and out as any two young women can possibly be. I am working on a special tribute to them but that will take some boldness to share. I do not mention it here even a fraction as much as it is on my mind. Which is constantly. But please know that God is answering prayer in this most precious chamber of my heart, and life is good. Very good.
  • The farm animals are all doing great. Chanta’s leg has healed beautifully. Dulcinea is growing like a weed. In fact, I have lately been saying that the weeds are growing like llamas. Even our hens are producing again, making it more or less possible for me to sell fresh farm eggs for $3 per dozen.
  • I’ve picked running back up, having laid it down gently in the midst of some hot weather and hectic schedules, and thereby having failed at my Iron Goat attempt. Anyway, while intense training for the full marathon next April will start right after the holidays, I am spending the next few months doing speed work and stress-relief runs. 
  • Thanks to my ten-four good buddy Stephanie, my newest design obsession a luscious woman named Tracy Porter. I mean, her Pinterest boards and such are called, “Poetic Wanderlust.” Seriously. She doesn’t even need to be a real person for me to have a beautiful-girl crush on her. And the fact that Tracy Porter also has Instagram means that now I need an extra half hour in every day.
http://www.poeticwanderlust.com/
  • The Apartment is not the only room getting a window-makeover around here. The downstairs living room has two new ball gowns, which I scored at a garage sale for ten bucks each. And the tiny kitchen window, which overlooks my beloved herb bed, is about to shed her silly turquoise cafe curtain with the black and white skinny ruffle… and start wearing something smarter and more grown up: A true-blue roman shade! Made of linen printed with monkeys and fruit, lest we get too serious around here. For this project I have enjoyed the advice of a friend and professional, and  I cannot WAIT to share those details!
   Honestly, I better scoot.My last cup of coffee has cooled off now, and the day outside is heating up. My time to run a few miles and work in the garden is fast escaping me. Then errands in the City, Taco Tuesday for dinner tonight, and projects in between. Quicksilver, I tell ya.
   Thanks for stopping in! I hope your world is colorful, chaotic, and joyful just the way you like it. I hope your prayers are being answered. And I hope you have great books stacked in impossible numbers between you and the television. 
Carpe Diem
xoxoxooxo

Tranquil

   I hope you and yours are enjoying a peaceful, loving, restorative Sunday. Whether you are with your babies or your parents, as this llama family below, or with your lover or your friends, or alone in the beauty of solitude… I hope you are soaking up the details of your life and giving thanks for all of it.

   “If we have no peace, it is only because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~Mother Teresa

   Big stuff coming from the W, friends. Also lots and lots of little stuff, because life is good.  Love is real. And prayers are being answered.

   Have a wonderful end of this gorgeous weekend. Hope to see you around here this week!

xoxoxoxo