Pioneer Woman Book Signing

Me, JW, Ree, Alice

I got to meet Ree Drummond, AKA the Pioneer Woman! I was reading what others experiences were on facebook, under PW’s fan page, about how they wanted to say something but when they finally got through the line all intelligent thought left their head. Well, the same thing happened to me.

All of us went, the three kids, Chris and myself, and the wait was LONG. We got to Third Place Books for her cookbook signing at about 3:30PM and didn’t get to Ree until 9pm! I knew it was going to be a popular signing, but honestly didn’t think it would be nearly as crowded. I got a ticket for the “F” line – and they started with A. Luckily for us (I mean Chris and the kids) there were five restaurants to pick from and a lot of tables for space. The bookstore was great, the kids area had a large chair that JW and I sat in while the kids read or played.

Jake on the maze mat showing me the route he would take, if he had thought to bring cars inside with him.

We read books, ate dinner and visited with others who were also there for the signing. I was sort of surprised at how many people were talking about their favorite recipes or how the cookbook stayed out all the time. I mean sure I’m a fan, I think Ree’s hilarious, but I don’t keep my cookbooks out on the counter (I don’t have much space) and I generally don’t use a cookbook unless I’m baking, otherwise I’ve memorized my favorites. Okay, I suppose these recipes are basically new to many, many people so of course they would be out. Maybe its that I was caught off guard by people asking what my favorite recipe was, they all knew what theirs was and what their kids liked, what others said was good, etc.

The long wait – totally worth it. I love author signings. Ree was nice, Alice and JW were the only ones with me because Chris went to buy our books so we could leave right after I was done (we did have a two hour drive to come home) and Jake went with him. Alice was eating an ice cream and asked what she should do with the very bottom part because we were next. I said just eat it – I didn’t mean immediately, I just meant don’t throw it away. But what does Alice do, she shoves the entire thing in her mouth. So she’s standing on the other side of Ree not talking because her mouth is full. Ree talked to JW, who just stared at her, admired Alice’s soccer jersey and asked how to say my name.

I wanted to take a few minutes and tell her how much I enjoy her writing, how funny she is, how I know so many people living her life but not writing about it. I grew up on the plains, surrounded by cowboys, heck I thought I’d marry a cowboy someday. I wanted to say more then how to say my name and where it comes from. But I didn’t.

I can’t imagine having conversations like that with everyone either. I was in “F”, 50 people were in each letter, and the last letter I knew someone was in was J. That’s 500 people! The signing was supposed to go til 9 and I’m not sure how long she stayed, but wow, that was a very long night for her. Oh and I saw her daughter walk by – I’m not sure how old she is but she was a good five or six inches taller then me! It’s not hard to be taller then me, but I was still surprised.

I loved seeing her daughter too, tall, hair in  ponytail, and she looked like a country girl. It’s something easy to describe but even easier if you just saw. She looks like some of the girls I grew up with.

The cookbook is great – its full of stories and pictures – and I made the cinnamon rolls. SO good! They were great. I made half a batch and ended up doing it a little wrong – I put them in a cake pan, spread apart like cookies, so they spread like cookies – but they still tasted delicious! I’m going to make another batch this weekend. I highly recommend her cookbook! I also grabbed a copy for my friend Holly, now if I can find my way to the post office sooner then later…