Lazy W Marie

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

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home sweet home

That last morning we rose to a gentle cell phone alarm, dressed quickly in still wet swim suits and cover ups, and scrambled across to the beach for an even gentler sunrise.

It’s the exact opposite of a mountain-enclosed sunrise, in that it begins ahead of schedule and is far from shy. That far south, dawn illuminates everything with concentric rings of glowing pastels, not unlike what we love so much at home.

The sky above us was ice blue, and the sky that drew our gaze- all the way to the razor edge horizon- was now stacked with intense pink and lilac, no longer stormy grays from the day before. The moon still hung smooth and silver over the fishing pier. Just barely less than half full.

The waters were evenly choppy, calmish, a brilliant metallic blue. Sparkling. Again, not unlike our pond at home lately. What few waves cropped up in little crescendos managed to strike flashing moments of gold in the blooming daylight.

We fed the birds again and walked barefoot once more on the damp, pliable sand. We inhaled the salty air and scanned the bay for our shark friend. I felt that familiar mix of emotions tied to leaving a place you love to return to a place you love. We had just done this a few days before.

A little while later, dispensing hotel coffee into my Styrofoam cup, I thought of buttered grits with salt and pepper, of dense, creamy scrambled eggs and warm watermelon. Chicory coffee and the smell of powdered sugar and fresh pralines. Spicy shrimp scattered over excellent salad greens and sub-tropical potted greens exploding from every iron balcony. Live music and unbridled artistic expression, crooked sidewalks and smooth carved statues, some of them now removed.

Then I thought of our beautiful farm and even better coffee. And my own wild gardens and that upstairs closet full of recently edited artwork that wants to see the light of day again. I thought of our animals and our family, of Mother’s Day and summertime and new adventures on the horizon.

I thought of Colorado sunrises and a certain artist who enjoys them.

This morning I woke to the strong fragrance and gurgling sounds of my own coffee machine. I felt my big, muscular, silky dog nuzzling my feet and growling in that early morning, contended way he does. We crept outside together to see the shimmering daybreak and feed the horses and chickens, explore the gardens again, and play an early round of fetch.

Our own Big Easy, our own beachy sky, our own home base thrumming with all the Love we have cultivated.

And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
XOXOXOXO

 

greek relish (quick cheap & easy)

Do you ever crave something that’s cold and salty, tangy and juicy, something with a bite to it but also some delicateness, maybe a grassy freshness, something that will fill you up but not bring along a thousand calories? And while you could always use more veggies, you have already eaten enough actual salads that day, so how about something different?

Me too. Frequently. And I have a suggestion for you.

I realize this barely counts as a recipe. It’s just an excellent combination of average ingredients, really, and likely not too original. But I stumbled on this edible pleasure last Friday and wanted to share. I also want to document it for myself so that on some hungry, salt-craving, fresh-food needing summer afternoon this “recipe” might pop up and make me happy all over again.

Let’s call it “Greek Relish” or maybe “Grain-Free Tabloueh” or just “Olive Salad,” whatever you fancy.

It’s just green and black olives mixed with tomatoes and cucumber, a couple of flavor helpers (garlic, black pepper, oregano, and fresh parsley), all chopped up and refrigerated for a while. Easy peasy.

I ate mine greedily stuffed inside whole wheat pita bread, and it was perfect. Had it been diced more finely it would have made a really great dipping salsa for those tortilla chips.

I didn’t add any oils or dressings, just drizzled some of the green olives’ juice into the bowl (the black olives were drained).

All you need, just combine and chill:

  • 1 medium can black olives, drained & chopped
  • 1 similar sized jar of green olives, juice retained, chopped
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 cucumber, chopped
  • half bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
  • oregano, black pepper to taste

This was fast and easy, delicious, satisfying, and inexpensive! Surely you could get a bit fancier and use kalmatta olives, sun-dried tomatoes, maybe feta cheese and grilled chicken breast, etcetera, but I love having pantry staple ideas like this in my back pocket. Craving killers that do not require trips to the grocery store.

I served this at an impromptu bonfire party we hosted last Friday and everyone who tried it loved it. I can’t wait to make this again.

Welcome to warm weather, cold food, easy eating, healthy season!!

Over and out!
XOXOXOXO

 

monday may first

How fun to begin a fresh, new month on a Monday. And what a gift that our Oklahoma skies are (at least temporarily) clear and blue, warm and friendly. This has been an auspicious beginning.

I spent most of today setting up for the rest of the week. It’s an easy-rhythm thing around the farm, every Monday, and I like it. Plenty from my list of good intentions remains unfinished, but I feel content and even a little drunk on tiny pleasures.

Honeybees exploring tomato blossoms near the kitchen door. Pacino chittering to the wild songbirds. Klaus, black and shining, panting, catching his breath after several exhaustive romps with Meh.

Our pond is higher than we’ve ever seen it, rippled by the stout afternoon breeze and glittering, really truly glittering and navy blue instead of muddied by clay It’s a welcome sight, as are the rolling green hills and soft, lush pine trees. 

Having neglected to collect eggs yesterday, today I found twenty-six! They are scrubbed clean and drying now on a thick towel on the kitchen counter. The smell of soap. I have this ever-expanding vision of supplying fresh edibles at a local market. A detail of this vision is inviting people to select their own eggs, taking home only the shell colors they like best. I have a large powder-coated basket and stack of empty cartons perfect for this fun. Until then I mix them up, tan and green and dark brown. ($3 per dozen, locals!)

As Handsome was driving home from the City, I sat on the kitchen patio and wrote and played some easy fetch with Klaus. The breeze was mostly cool, but sitting still in the afternoon sun baked my jeans against my shins and melted away some tension. Like a massage for my bones and my emotions. I stood up, stretched, and planted a new rose bush he had gifted me before bedtime last night.

I feel full and empty all at once, and I have stories stacking up inside me like hurried, disgruntled train passengers desperate to disembark at the perfect destination, heck any destination; but I can’t slow the train to let them exit safely.

Things I hope to tell you wonderful people this week:

  • All about the Listen to Your Mother event on Sunday. Wow. 
  • Some exciting running accomplishments from a few of my favorite humans.
  • The easiest non-recipe I have ever shared. I made it by accident last Friday.
  • My own running lately and a plan for May and June
  • Two books I read recently that you just might LOVE. Or hate. Your choice.
  • Bliss Lists!!
  • Even more about LTYM because I just had no idea what it would really be like. 

As we go about the first few days of this gorgeous new month, let’s urge each other to be grateful for the gifts we have and gentle to everyone who crosses our path. Let’s work really hard at our goals (more focus, smarter ingenuity) but also rest more often and luxuriate in what we have already accomplished. Best of all let’s take time (and help me remember this ok?) to sometimes not even think about those things. Just love our men and our dogs and our horses and gardens. Once in a while that has to be enough. And, because life is truly magical, it will make us stronger for the things we can’t do much about, after all.

See you soon, magical hard-working people.
XOXOXOXO

motivation monday: running not racing & a good lesson learned

Hello and Happy Motivation Monday! I would love for these Monday posts to be all about marathon prep, but since last we spoke on this topic things have changed. I am still running, just no longer training for any upcoming event.

Not that this kept me from enjoying last week’s Boston festivities! Between watching progress of local friends running it and reading tons of runner-bloggers’ recaps afterwards, I was full to busting with BQ inspiration! Maybe one day.

Okay.

You might remember that shortly after Valentine’s Day I was super happy to have discovered Kara Goucher’s 10-week half marathon training plan, the one that allows for all kinds of flexibility and cross training, and the one that incorporates more speed work than I was used to? I actually found it the night before the ten week plan would bring me up in perfect timing for the OKC Memorial weekend. Which is this coming weekend already!!

Friends, this plan has been great. For the first five and a half weeks I had a blast! And I was already seeing results, believe it or not, like faster sprinting, gobs of delicious adrenaline while running hill repeats, a little bit of surprise slimming down, and just overall an abundance of energy day after day without eating enough food to feed nine teenagers. A big priority for me this time around was to get ready for a race without depleting my energy and cutting corners around the farm. Things were going well. I was so happy.

Until I hurt myself a little bit. It wasn’t the plan’s fault.

Somewhere along the way, especially as the weather improved, I got a little addicted to tacking on extra miles and gradually started neglecting the all important core work and strength moves that Kara Goucher (and my smart friend Christy and all good, decent runners in the world!) recommended.  I maaayyybe did some mellow stretching after each run, but zero dynamic warm-ups and maybe one or two 8-minute abs video per week. Even fewer cross training days. That is not enough, you guys! Although my energy was better than ever, I threw my body out of balance. A minor foot discomfort translated to some sort of compensatory twisting and a painful blister, which was exacerbated by speed work and eventually resulted in ferocious leg cramping, which showed up one other fine day as a true knee pain and some limping. All on the left side.

You know that old song, The foot bone’s connected to the knee bone! The knee bone’s connected to the hip bone! Etc? Well it’s true. Haha

First my husband gave me a killer massage to eliminate the knots in my calves. That hurt so much I actually cried, but it felt wonderful too. The next day my knee was still pretty bad off, so I rested almost completely for one week (it also happened to be my Shark Week, so… cranky!). Eventually I added in some long walks and yoga then more yoga and some strength exercises, understanding that stronger supporting muscles would help my joints.

I should have been doing yoga and strength exercises all along, remember. These are actual elements of Kara Goucher’s 10-week plan!

Most of these activities during week 7 felt great, or at least they helped me believe I was helping the situation, haha. Little by little I was able to move comfortably throughout my days as long as I elevated my left leg at night.

But I still wanted to run, and I still wanted to try for a fast half at the OKC event. It just did not seem like my left side was bouncing back to normal quite on schedule. So I reluctantly decided once and for all to not register. My procrastinating ended up saving me some money. 

Since this Gigantic Learning Experience Disguised as a Bummer of a Situation began almost three weeks ago, I am now markedly better. I am running again, albeit much more slowly, and am up to about 28 miles per week with no more than 8 at once.

I am using the extra time to do more deliberate cross training and yoga. Lots of yoga. A woman in a local running group said that yoga is what cured her of a similar complaint, and although it took her a few months to recover she has had zero problems since.  This is encouraging! And I am grateful to at least be able to run again so soon, even if I am dropping out of the OKC Memorial fun.

There will be another race, always and obviously. Zero to be sad about. (I keep telling myself this.)

Dinner one night recently was a giant green salad topped with lots of raw veggies, grilled tilapia, and a mango seasoned with this heavenly stuff. Have you tried it??

 

So going forward I am trying to keep it simple:

  • Eat as much good, beautiful food as I need to have energy all day long, with a special emphasis on produce (see above).
  • Run just 5-8 miles per day without the pressure of speed work right now, maybe one longer run on Fridays if I feel good.
  • Make strength and yoga a priority several times per week.
  • I have a short series of dynamic warm-ups memorized now, and the whole thing takes only about 6 minutes, so no excuses. 

No events or deadlines or measurable goals for a little while, just a healthy life until I am 100% lusciously recovered and at peace with some things in my head. Maybe by summertime I will be happy about looking for another race. (My half-marathon time goal, by the way is 1:45. I don’t have a full marathon time goal right now but want to run one soon, when I feel strong about it, not sloppy.)

Misguided urgency can be the enemy of progress. 

If I can not just run consistently and keep my time and energy balanced with the rest of life, but also keep my mind and body strong and happy, then I will call every bit of this a lesson well learned.

A big part of the pleasure here is learning for ourselves what strategies serve us best. And every person is unique. Servant not master, right? 

If you are running any of the OKC Memorial events this coming weekend, I wish you all the best!! Our weather forecast looks gorgeous, and it is such a fun, loving community tradition. Enjoy every second and know that I am rooting for you.

“Take care of your knees, Mom, your knees love you!”
~My daughter, avid cross country runner, age 21,
giving me advice and permission to rest
XOXOXOXO

 

friday 5 at the farm: rainy indoor day edition

Today Oklahoma is gladly receiving a heavy late season rainstorm. It woke us around 3 am, actually, with the luscious violence of thunder and window-shimmering lightning flashes. The deluge now is calm and warm, drenching all the prairie green to a deeper, more exotic shade, exactly what our eyes have been craving. Our own little jungle hemmed in with pine trees and buffalo grass. The pond is high far beyond its banks, and we are so grateful.

 

 

The saying goes that rainy days are when gardeners do their housework. With only two of us living here, our big house stays relatively tidy and dusted up, minus some evidence of a rambunctious two-year old German Shepherd living here too; but some projects do get neglected in favor of long mornings spent running both miles and errands, and maybe playing with the horses, and long afternoons spent working in the gardens. So today’s flood watch invites me indoors to play catch up.

Here’s my Friday 5 at the Farm this week, rainy indoor day edition:

Read & Write: I have two gorgeous fiction books I have been wanting to finish reading, a family cookbook project I would really like to nibble at before Mother’s Day is upon us, and several blog post ideas that only need some time applied. This little corner of the Apartment is calling my name.

 

Sewing: Once I finish repairing a fun tablecloth order for my friend Suzanne, I have a small pile of apron projects cut out and ready to assemble. I am loving the fresh summer fabrics and am kinda extra happy about getting back to basic shapes. Do you need an apron? Send me a note!

 

 

Laundry & Ironing: One big load of laundry to wash and fold, then this easy line of shirts to press for Handsome for next week. During ironing time lately I have been listening to podcasts. Stuff about either minimalism or running and nutrition. Good stuff, man. Great stuff. I am learning so much.

 

 

Deep Stretch & Strengthening Yoga: No running today, though I could easily use the garage treadmill. I am actually taking the day off on purpose to do some seriously indulgent, profitable yoga, core work, and foot exercises. I have more to share about this on Monday, these lessons learned recently about not being in balance and how it can lead to injury.

 

 

Poor Klaus: Clearly the most important thing on my rainy day agenda is keeping my big playful pup happy and occupied. He is currently pining hard for his llama buddy, his barnyard chores routine, a romp around the back field, and maybe another swim in the turtle habit, aka our overflowing pond. Poor buddy. We will be playing lots of indoor fetch today, I predict.

 

 

How do you spend offbeat days? Do you relish the chance to do something different, to indulge in a new routine and catch all of those elusive loose ends?

Seize the days, whatever they bring and however they look. Redeem the time. The common and the lovely moments, the surprising and the rare.

Happy Friday, friends. I hope you are getting all the rain and inspiration you need.

XOXOXOXO