So glad to have met you

We interupt the adventures of Sean and Katie in San Antonio to bring you this important message:

I met the Pioneer Woman!

And guess who forgot her camera.

My forehead is still sore from hitting it so many times. I remembered the cookbook, books to read while waiting, things I'd need for errands afterward, everything but my beloved Canon. Ugh.

Wouldn't it have been beautiful symmetry to photograph the woman who has taught me so much about the craft, inspired me to be a better photographer? Lost opportunities.

But Sean had his trusty cell phone camera, so at least we have a record!

That's Ree! With us! Together! I think our shoulders are touching!

Am I too excited about this?

Did you notice the funny backdrop? Yes, the signing was in a grocery store. Really, a kind of indoor farmers market. Originally, it was to be held in a bookstore but the expected crowd caused a venue change. To a place that was about twice as far from our house.

I discovered this while checking the details last night. I also found out the they'd been handing out signing line tickets for days already. So instead of showing up for her little speech at the beginning, then hanging for hours to wait our turn (while we were too far from home to know places to go to occupy our time), we decided to wait until a lot later and sneak in near the end of the line. It worked. We only waited about an hour and left with a signed book.

It was so awesome/weird to see her in real life, interacting with people. I'm so glad I got to meet her. Though I think I kind of babbled when it was my turn- an odd thing considering I might be considered a minimalist when it comes to small talk. But I'm happy I could tell her how much I appreciate her work.

The best best BEST part though was my bathroom visit. Seriously. The store had individual bathrooms and during my visit, I heard the doorknob jiggle. Happy for door locks, I finished washing my hands and exited. And there was Ree! My door jiggler was the star herself! She was talking to someone else, so I didn't say anything, but she went in right after me... her bum sat on the same throne as mine! I can't tell you how honored I am.

I actually told her about the incident during my signing turn. Was that too much? She laughed, I hope it was genuine!

And thus ended my brush with fame. With a free T-shirt to prove it.

Though the night wasn't over for us. After a brief loss of electrical power to our dashboard while driving, in which the dash lights and gauges went out, we stopped at a Target to pick up some dog food. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, our car wouldn't start. We weren't sure if it was some electrical short or the battery, because the lights still worked. So we checked all the pertinent fuses but they all looked fine. Luckily, we have AAA, soley because the discount it gave us on renting a moving truck back in the summer exceded the cost of a AAA membership itself. We called them and a technician came. All he did was give us a jump but all the auto repair places were already closed. We drove home and will probably need to get a tow (or another jump) to go somewhere to check our battery. But all in all, it could have been much worse. Thank goodness for modern conveniences.

Quite the Saturday, eh!