Lazy W Marie

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

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Our Chanta

   Friends. Happy Monday to you! We have a lot going on, as usual, all of it really wonderful stuff. My girls are happy and well. Our home is safe and good. We have work before us and love between us. Life is magical.

   Among the work before us is tending to an injured horse. A few days ago our big paint horse, Chanta, got into a bit of an alpha male conflict with the super protective and territorial Romulus (daddy llama). While Chanta delivered several good solid kicks himself, he did suffer a small cut on his beautiful leg from Romulus’ crazy sharp hoof. Everyone is totally fine, just enjoying some tender loving care and medical attention for a bit. In fact, the conflict seems to have cleared the air between the two, and now everyone is tucked safely and happily in their own spaces.

   In fact, Handsome and I have enjoyed the extra snuggles at least as much as Chanta, and I am happy to know that we can handle an injury.

   Just hours before the manly kerfluffle happened, oddly enough, I sat with Chanta for over an hour, brushing him, kissing him, detangling his gorgeous mane and tail, stroking his muscles and long, amazing legs. Admiring the permissible layer of blubber he has grown lately. I clearly remember sitting on the grass in front of him while his big head dropped almost on top of mine. My hands, middle fingertip to thumb, can fully encircle his bony ankle. How can those skinny ankles support this magnificent beast? I don’t get it. Chanta loves having his legs and feet touched, so I brushed that silvery little forelock above his hooves too.

   
   Chanta is so big. and so sweet. and so in love with us. He adores being brushed and loved. He likes the Beatles’ songs Penny Lane and Norwegian Wood, but not as much as his favorite, Raindrops on Roses. After just a few quiet minutes like this, he usually exhales all of the air in that big round belly, a long gentle snuffle collapsing him into relaxation.

   Chanta is just the bees knees. We love him incredibly, as do all of our friends who visit the farm. We are super thankful he is okay, and to keep it that way if you believe in praying for animals would you do so?

XOXOXOXO

She Tries to Complain, but She Can’t

   Last week I accompanied my friend Tracy to help our friend Kim do some clean up from the tornado. We all are in book club together but have known each other for many years before that. Kim and Tracy both live in Moore, Oklahoma, about twenty minutes from the farm. Kim’s house was hit directly and is without a doubt unlivable. Walking through the gutted and scarred place was chilling. Just imagining the sudden and extreme violence that would cause that kind of damage made me feel sick.

   Any mood that day would have been understandable. Any level of anger, frustration, tearfulness, or despair would have been completely natural. But Kim surprised me. I was awed by how she handled everything  She portrayed a one-woman, ground-level example of the spirit of Oklahoma.

   Kim was literally all smiles. She was a bit shaky, sure, but really she floated through the debris and glowed with thankfulness and optimism  Perhaps you’re thinking, Sometimes shock will do that; it will insulate a person and carry her through the worst, with a sort of numbness. Okay, fair enough. But there was a streak of intense awareness and gratitude in Kim’s countenance that totally inspired me. Her spirit has infused my attitude all week long.

   As we worked, Kim told us more of her story. She described how close her son was to a very painful death. He had been in one of the elementary schools that was flattened. He was injured but miraculously, incredibly, survived. His little sister was at a nearby daycare, took shelter there, and also survived. Kim told us about how much her neighbors have endured. She showed us what needed to be done to move her family out of their shredded home. She thanked us a million times for doing, actually, very little. Because no work feels like very much in the midst of so much destruction. She introduced us warmly to her other friends and coworkers who had gathered to help, playing the perfect southern hostess. She apologized for her messy house, making everyone laugh much harder than we had expected to. She made sure everyone had icy cold bottled water as they worked. She had lost her house and most of her possessions, yet she was taking care of us.

   Then she said, “I keep trying to complain, but I can’t. We are so lucky.”

   Still tonight, just recalling her soft, pretty face as she said those words gives me the best chills.

   How often do we complain about common, every day things? I certainly do. I complain about my hair. About my mile speed. The price of gas. How time flies or how it stands still. I complain about the weather, even though I tell everyone else not to. I complain about the dirty carpet in my car. And about how often the chicken coop needs to be cleaned. It’s almost an addiction. Complaining can be an easy but temporary pain relief. A sort of self medication to soothe your nerves, but it’s really like drinking salt water. Like worrying, complaining does not fix a single problem. It only causes you to magnify it.

   Walking through the Briarwood area, Tracy and I saw block after block after block of unspeakable devastation. I don’t even want to describe it; you all have seen and heard enough of it already. But I did muster the nerve to snap a few cell phone pictures of just of the good things. The sparks of humor and brightness. Not surprisingly, there were plenty.

“Welcome to Paradise.”
If you can’t see it yet, know that it will return.
And in the mean time we can find glimpses of paradise with each other.

   The loss of life and security here in Oklahoma is unspeakable. Certainly. So it is without intending to minimize the very real grief around us that I want to encourage you to focus on the good when possible. Inventory your blessings. Count the miracles around you as often and with as much gratitude as possible. Because doing this not only lifts your spirits; it lifts the spirits of those near you, and it causes the good to multiply.

   When you feel the urge to complain, remember it will not solve anything. Remember Kim and how she can’t complain because she is so aware of how blessed she is. Then take a deep breath and know that you can choose to see your life in the same joyful way.

Keep praying for Oklahoma!
xoxoxo

Spring Garden Update

   Spring is really, truly here you guys. It is here to stay, at least for a while. We may only have a couple of weeks before Oklahoma Summer 2013 descends on us in all of her hot and humid glory, so I have a lot of green and dirty living to do. Lots to prepare and enjoy before facing that particular seasonal brutality.

   The gardens are filling in their own blanks quite nicely. They require thinning and grooming every day, especially in the radish and carrot beds, but no watering! Our rainfall in Oklahoma has been mercifully consistent.

My Grandpa has always gently scolded me for planting radishes too thickly.
The result is having to thin aggressively, but my chickens & geese eat the sprouts.
Sometimes I do too, in a green salad. They look like clover & taste peppery, tangy.

   The potatoes are finally multiplying. The spinach, rainbow chard, and myriad lettuces are drop dead gorgeous. And even more delicious than the are pretty. The sweet pea and English pea vines are as tall and fluffy as anything you’ve ever seen in your life. Honestly? This year the actual leaves on the pea vine are ginormous! Like, Jurassic big. Way too big really. I am afraid of how big the peas will be. Bowling ball size? Probably.

Back Seeded Simpson and Romaine lettuce sprouts, photo taken a couple of weeks ago.
Imagine they are a million times fuller now. Because they are.

   Last night I discovered my first butter colored cauliflower you guys! She is pale yellow, dense, and perfect. Tucked primly inside the massive green plant she calls home, dreaming calmly of low-carb recipes. Her neighbor, the brussel sprout, is putting on evidence of edibility too. Broccoli, two kinds of cabbage, blackberries, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, you name it. So far, except for corn and basil, we have a little bit of everything growing somewhere around here. Even chocolate mint which smells like angels in heaven are making York peppermint patties for breakfast while watching Casablanca.

This broccoli bolted on a hot day. But if you pinch off the center blooms and keep yellow leaves cleaned off,
the plant will set food peripherally and the results are DELISH.
Colorful green and red (purple) cabbages are tightening up finally, and the spinach fills in beautifully.

   Another sign of spring, Chink-hi the buffalo has begun his annual shed extravaganza  So cute. I need to snap some photos for you, because the way his body releases its winter coat, the patterns in which he gradually achieves his warm weather version of nudity, is so hilarious. Right now his skinny little rump and the wide spaces around his giant liquid eyes are the only bare spots. And they reveal how crazy thick his coat has been all these months! Like an inch of matted, woolly fur all over his strong body. No joke.

   I have had our house windows open for days. Very little wind here except during the nighttime thunderstorms, just cool crisp breezes. And temperatures are looking better and better every day. This is a rare kind of meteorological bliss for us here in Indian Territory.

   I am done substitute teaching for the school year.

   The laundry is caught up.

   The kitchen is stocked.

   And I have that “the world is my oyster” kinda feeling. Can you guess that today and for as many days after as I can manage it, Handsome will find me half-buried in the gardens? Dirt manicures, rolled up jeans, and careless ponytails. These are the days. These are the weeks.

Thornless blackberry vines crawling up our forest-pole arbor.
They have set dozens, maybe hundreds of buds already.

   This is the life.

   What’s growing in your garden? Please connect with this blog on Facebook and share photos! So fun to see what people love in different parts of this beautiful world. Happy Spring-slash-Summer you guys.

“Won’t you come into my garden?
 I want my roses to see you.”
 ~Richard Sheridan
18th century Irish playwright & poet
xoxoxoxo

 

Grateful for my Tuesday

   Because of the time change this past weekend, Hot Tub Summit now begins while the sky is still blacker than black. Even the birds are sill silent at this new hour. Today Handsome and I crept outside with two mugs of perfect coffee and let the scalding hot, bromine scented water deliver us gently from Monday to Tuesday. We watched the brilliant stars fade into a denim blue morning sky. And we spoke softly about our plans for the day. I felt my ribs ache pleasantly because my heart is so full right now. I think he mistook my quietness for something else.

   Life is really good right now, friends. We are not without stress or hurt, for sure, and plenty of important questions remain unanswered. But we also are not without pleasure, hope, friends and family who love us, or purpose. Every day is packed with opportunity and energy.

   Today, while my dutiful and talented guy is toiling passionately beneath florescent lights, balancing industry needs with consumer demands, making difficult and delicate management decisions, and bearing the brunt of ugly and irrational political agendas, I will be holding down this happy fort. Today I get to play in the dirt, soak up the sun, and embrace our silly animals. I get to clean our castle, play chef in the kitchen, and go for a long run. The blessings of my unique lifestyle are not lost on me. And I hope my husband knows how much I appreciate all of this.

For at least a couple of hours today, I get to finish work 
on the new herb bed right outside my kitchen window.
The Lazy W will soon be overrun with perennial herbs, annuals, 
medicinal flowers, and everything else under the Oklahoma sun.
Our honeybees already seem to know what pollen-ish feast
is being planned for this curvy boxwood corner.

   I have lots of birthday weekend stories to share with you wonderful people, as well as one final installment of Unsolicited Advice. But this swell of gratitude could not wait. I wish everyone had someone to care for them as much as he cares for me.

   If you’re a Commish friend and you see this today, please be extra good to Handsome for me. Know that he is even better than you already believe he is.

I Love You Sir.
xoxoxoxo

My Earliest Mornings

   For a few weeks now, on as many days as possible, I have been enjoying a lovely little early morning ritual that you might find interesting or useful. By early I mean before Hot Tub Summit, which on office days is before dawn. So on the days I manage to practice this little ritual, it is literally the first thing I do. And on those days my energy levels and outlook on life are noticeably better.

   No, they are amazingly better. The ritual is very simple and takes maybe thirty or forty five minutes. Here it is…

   First, I tiptoe downstairs alone, like an itchy elephant ballerina with a full bladder, trying my best to not wake Handsome. Most times this is only marginally successful. Once downstairs, I switch on only as many lamps as I absolutely need and barely whisper to Pacino (the parrot). I don’t want him to wake up my guy either. Then I press the start button on my beloved coffee machine. For the next ten minutes while it is brewing, hissing, and bubbling, gulping out that fragrant steam like the faithful companion that it is, I do some very unprofessional but still infinitely satisfying yoga stretches and deliberately say thanks for as many blessings as I can summon.

breathe in blessings

breathe out peace

   This is easy to do, because my life is sparkling with good things. It really is. So is yours. I believe the good outweighs the difficult every time you pay attention.

the grass is greenest where you water it

   The wannabe yoga stretches warm up my body and loosen my joints and muscles from the tethers of slumber. The gratitude exercise unlocks my heart and quiets any hurts or complaints I might have taken to bed with me the night before. The threshold between my days, then, is a positive one. A dimly lit room seems best for this first part. It’s also poetic, allowing an inner light to be the first spark between dark earthly days.

   By the time the coffee is brewed, dark and strong, my body is fairly awake my eyes are almost bright. I follow my nose to the kitchen and dispense a big, perfect, creamy mug of my personal addiction then sit down in my favorite weird green chair to read.

   For this next beautiful little slice of the day I indulge in reading very positive, motivational, inspirational stuff. I save the challenging texts for other times, allowing this first hour of my day to be a tank-filling time, a time for cushioning my heart and fueling my mind with the positivity I’ll need the rest of the day.

every action is preceded by a thought

   Sometimes I read from just a creative devotional book, or maybe a bunch of various quotes, or maybe a few chapters from a particular book that just happens to flood me with goodness. No major rules here, just that it’s positive.

   Lately, and this is a sign of personal spiritual progress, I’ve also been reading from the Bible. Our Pastor has been encouraging us to read certain scriptures repeatedly throughout each week, and the timing is funny. Because is the Bonhoeffer biography I just finished, Bonhoeffer spoke about the value of not just reading the scriptures but meditating on them. This is different from vain repetition, too. So I’ve been doing just that. I choose one or two chapters maybe every week or so, selections that either feel relevant to me or have been assigned at church… and just soak into them day after day. I try to allow them to soak into me, more accurately, and see what changes happen. It has been wonderful.

for the body is not one member, but many*

   That chapter in Corinthians has helped me conquer some plaguing insecurity. If you know me personally, then you know what a big deal that is.

   Then I spend a few minutes writing circular mandalas (more thankfulness) and focusing prayerfully on a special loved one. In the quiet house, with darkness still cloaking the big east window, I write down my hopes and prayers for that person. I imagine those hopes coming to fruition. I visualize those prayers being answered.

   The last thing I do is read and write creatively for a little bit. I finish drinking a cup or two of coffee, check email, and feed and smooch Pacino. This is all such a nourishing start to the day, preparing me for whatever lays ahead. My heart feels full, thrumming, overflowing. My body craves strength and healthy food and water, not junk or inactivity. I almost always go on extra long runs on these days. And my mind is centered and framed with a positive attitude. Sometimes I feel downright giddy at the end of this early morning ritual! The beauty of life becomes so deliciously overwhelming.

*********************

   So… there is a dark, quiet house in the earliest possible hour of the day. Yoga and thankfulness. Perfectly fresh coffee. Inspirational reading. Prayers and meditation, asking for blessings on the people I love. And finally more reading and writing, of any variety. What a glorious, lucky way to start any day! Just writing about it tonight makes me look forward to tomorrow.

   What is your earliest morning ritual? How do you insulate and energize yourself for a day of work? If you want to try any of this, I’d love to know about it. I’d like to think that some of my friends and loved ones are also up at that hour, counting their blessings and filling up on love and hope.

“Morning is when the wick is lit. A flame ignited,
the day delighted with heat and light,
we start the fight for something more than before.”
~Jeb Dickerson
xoxoxoxo

*I Corinthians 12: 14