Gina, Ree, and Me

Back in the day, say around 2008, I was a member of a scrapbooking community that had a very large and active message board. I can’t say that I was an active poster, but I was a faithful reader and lurker. And you can’t even imagine the diversity of topics and wealth of information I gained from this seemingly innocent scrapbooking community. It was on that message board that I was introduced to Ree the Pioneer Woman and her Marlboro Man.

Back then The Pioneer Woman was a blog where Ree Drummond (her last name was a mystery for awhile) shared recipes, insights into the ranch life, and chapters of her story with the Marlboro Man. I would check in a couple times a week and read through the recipes and admire the photographs of her horses, cattle, and basset hounds. I was a Ree fan.

On this very same scrapbooking site, I met one on my closest friends. I noticed a very active and outspoken member ginacivey. She held nothing back and wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers when she needed to. Her location was listed as Missouri. As she would comment on various posts, I began noticing that she would reference places near me or within 20 miles or so. At some point, I messaged her and asked where she was from and then realized she was indeed about 15 miles from where I was living and even knew some of the same people. Easy to do when one lives in a town of 3,000 and the other a town of 150.

She continued to post daily and I continued to lurk. We would occasionally message or email about random topics. But then at a rather difficult part of my life, events put us closer into each other’s circle. We began to communicate regularly. Because of busy schedules and kids, we became friends mainly online and through texts. We shared several of the same interests and viewpoints. We just “got each other.”

Every so often we would do things together. Attend kids’ fundraisers or go listen to her husband’s band. Her son was a few years older than mine but occasionally they would end up in the same baseball league, so we would see each other then. But we continued to communicate almost daily.

One of those shared interests was The Pioneer Woman. We would discuss recent blogs or the specifics of her photography. It was about this time that Ree was releasing her first cookbook. And we found out she was coming to St. Louis. The Left Bank Bookstore was hosting the event. We decided we needed to go to the event. It wasn’t just a book signing where you are handed the book and herded along. It was going to be a question and answer event then the signing.

The initial signing was suppose to take place at the bookstore, but once the interest increased it was moved to the Episcopalian Cathedral that could accommodate more people.  I don’t have an exact number, but if I had to guess I would say there was around 200 fans there.

As I mentioned earlier, this wasn’t just a hand-them-your-book-signing-and-move-them along event.  It was a question and answer event that if I remember correctly lasted about an hour. Anyone in the audience was welcome to approach the microphone and ask Ree a question. Gina and I were positioned on the back row (by choice) so didn’t make our way to the front, but just sat back and let others do the asking.  It was an entertaining time.

After the question and answer session came, the actual book signing. Did I mention we were sitting on the back row? Well that meant that we would be last for our book to be signed or nearly last.  Ree wasn’t one to move you along quickly either. She would chat a moment and pose for a photo opportunity. She was most accommodating.

What does one do for two hours in a church while waiting on your cookbook to be signed?  I, not being the most chatty, let Gina do most of the talking to our new found friends on the back row – Barb and Dana.  

Ree wasn’t the only attraction or draw of the evening either.  The infamous Marlboro Man himself was in the house – or church.  He was in charge of handling the free t-shirts. Yes, that’s correct – free t-shirts.  Ree was thoughtful enough to share free Pioneer Woman t-shirts for all those in attendance.  Gina and I were sweating about this one for a bit. What happened if they ran out before they reached the back row?  We love a freebie and didn’t want to miss out. No worries though, we were able to snag a free shirt. Now I can’t say that it was exactly my size, but it does fit on those skinnier stretches of months in my life.

If you weren’t chatting with Ree or accepting freebies from Marlboro Man then you had a chance to visit with the boys.  They were making their rounds amongst the fans and doing their own signings. Gina found a page in the book that had their pictures and had them sign that page.  It was truly a family affair.

Our turn was finally near and we made our way to the front of the church to have our moment with Ree.  She was most hospitable and we posed for several photos. Marlboro Man, who reminds me of Cal Ripken Jr., indulged us as well.

So one may think that a cookbook signing may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but to me it was a wild night. (I was out until midnight on a school night!) I spent a few hours with one of my best friends and we met one of our favorite bloggers.-I have actually been to two cookbook signings, with the other being Melissa Gilbert from Little House on the Prairie.  – In both cases, the cookbooks included personal stories and were more than just recipes. Being able to share those stories in person with people we admire is a worthwhile adventure.  I would suggest going to book signings, especially those that include a question and discussion section.  Grab a friend, have dinner, and enjoy one of the more relaxing adventures.

A Lagom Adventure is a “just right” adventure and sometimes we find those in the most unexpected places.  I encourage you to always be seeking and searching for something new and different even if it’s “just a cookbook signing.”