What a Week!

   Welcome to the weekend, you guys! Wow, this has been a happy, productive week around the farm. I do not feel caught up exactly, not even close actually, but no worries. I do feel the swell of springtime and the momentum of so many worthwhile projects lifting me up out of what is normally lots of regret and worry. The magic of this time of year is in full effect, regenerating me day after day.

   As I write this, the buttery sun is at my back. The geese are waking up from an afternoon nap, unwinding their long necks and stretching those wings into asymmetrical shapes. The Oklahoma wind is blowing but relatively mellow. And I can see the newness of our downstairs rooms after rearranging some beloved artwork. The indulgence of an afternoon cup of very good coffee suddenly has me thinking of New Orleans. But then it usually does.

   What have we been up to...

   A few days ago my wonderful parents, my little brother Philip, and our Grandpa Rex joined us for dinner at the farm and also a chocolate-chip cookie taste test. That was fun! The six of us sampled three different recipes and then cast our votes. Do you know what happened? An even split! No kidding. Each of the three recipes received precisely two votes, so while there was no loser, there also was no winner.

   Soooo... in order to pursue a slightly more scientific model and to rid our freezer of the very tempting raw cookie dough, on Monday morning I'll be sending little taste test kits to Handsome's office for our friends and cohorts there to break the tie. And odd number of kits this time. Surely by Tuesday we'll have some results worth sharing! And you'll get to see the three amazing recipes too.

Special ingredients for recipe #2

My sweet Momma and my vivacious Grandpa, 

casually examining what I have not done in the garden yet.

We all agreed that my penchant for hand-painted signs 

is inherited straight form ol' GPS (that's what we kids call him). 

He has always, I mean for YEARS, always had hand-painted signs in his office, 

his home, and his garden. Suppose I come by it naturally.

Can you see how high the pond is now? This is wonderful news.

   A few days before that, I was very happy to welcome to the farm two young women who were interested in looking at textiles for sale. Jaimee and Rebekah visited on a particularly gorgeous evening, and we spent as much time playing with the animals as we did chatting about aprons. Turns out that Rebekah has discovered her "spirit animal" is a buffalo, so she and Chunk-hi spent several minutes bonding. It was really special. Not everyone gets why we love buffalo so much, but when someone does it feels so very good.

In honor of her spirit animal, I am adding to Rebekah's apron 

a herd of running buffalo, in applique form.

See how he presses so steadily against the wire grid?

He loves having his forehead and face scratched.

Don't worry. It's high tension, bison-grade fencing.

   A few days before that, last weekend in fact, we ventured about an hour from the farm to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of a local landmark's renovation. In Arcadia, Oklahoma, sits a very old wooden barn, all red, and perfectly cylindrical. And domed. Lots of people are fascinated by this structure, as well they should be. And over the years it has gained a bit of a cult following for all its owners' interesting stories and restoration efforts.

   Anyway, the day we visited was also the day of the predicted storms and tornadoes, so we were on high alert. You can see in the photo below that our skies were anything but blue that day.

There's our state flag again. Love it.

I am crazy about the colors and symbolism.

This narrow little stone staircase was perfectly uneven.

I want to build one here so badly.

Domed roof

Several groups of square dancers performed that day, all ages, 

and every single person was beaming with happiness!

Both Handsome and I have grandparents who square danced together. 

My guess is that lots of Oklahomans do.

Brand spankin new to Instagram, I get really stressed out 

when my phone doesn't upload properly or whatever.

Guess who loves to document this? He really does.

Oh, and this is the threadbare denim jacket I wear Every. Blessed. Day.

Here is what I was trying to get on my phone,

the inside of the barn's domed roof. 

It looks like a woven basket, right?

So cool. Thanks babe. xoxo

I know it is poor camera manners to take a picture with so much light behind the subject, 

but this couple caught my attention sitting near this window.

They were so sweet to each other, and the natural light 

and the noise of the square dancers they were watching just made me feel all nostalgic.

   All week we have worked hard, finished and started sewing projects, watched with bated breath as the hens sit on eggs, planted seeds and flower starts, and spent time with loved ones. We've celebrated amazing good news about Savannah. (If you have shared in praying for her, thank you... keep it up!) It's been a fruitful few days for sure. Then just last night we enjoyed a really special announcement...

   The Lazy W is hosting a wedding next month!!! A young woman at Handsome's office is newly engaged to her one true love, and we have the very humbling privilege of being their wedding venue. I'll share as much of it with you here as she is comfortable with sharing. For now, let me just say that we could not be happier about this! Surely I've said before that the farm pulses with life when we fill it up with happy people. We always get an emotional charge from the memories made here, and those charges last. They really do. They become part of us, so to have a wedding here is just the sweetest, loveliest gift we could receive.

   Okay, the afternoon is winding down and dinnertime approaches. We wish everyone a very happy weekend! Fill it up with love and romance, laughter and good food. Forgive each other. Be easy on each other. 

Celebrate the good stuff and let it multiply.

xoxoxo