PW in Houston!

Last year I got to meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (The Yarn Harlot). Today I got to meet Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman). I can now die and go to Bloggy Heaven! Those are the first two blogs I ever read, back before blogs were something everyone had, back before I'd discovered Google Reader, and so I actually checked each site every day. (Crazy, I know!)

Ree's talk was at Georgia's Market in Houston, a cute place that focuses on locally-sourced food from small farms in addition to carrying more standard organic fare. Ree did a little talk/Q&A and then started signing books. She's so sweet and funny, and very gracious, chatting for a bit with everyone who was in line. I can't even imagine how long it took to get through the line...there were a lot of us! Luckily, mom had pre-ordered our cookbooks from Blue Willow (the bookstore that sponsored the event) early enough that we were in the first signing group, so we didn't have to wait very long at all.

Pictures! (There were lots of Nikon DSLRs in the audience...coincidence? I think not, haha.)

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I DON'T like Ike.

(Image from Weather Underground)

Get ready, Tejas. Based on the outermost bands that we started getting last night, this storm sucks. A lot. Good luck to everyone in the path - stay calm but alert, don't be stupid, evac if you're told to, and be excellent to your neighbors when the power goes out.

(We're certainly taking a harder hit because we are still in a damaged state, but we've got street flooding and have lost a lot of the power that the energy companies had worked so hard to restore. And remember my awning, that Gustav blew over on itself? Now it's dangling by a screw and a half, right in front of my door, banging my door every time the wind blows. I'd get it down myself but I don't have a ladder, so hopefully my complex will come get it today!)

Good luck! Sending good thoughts and prayers for calm winds and not much rain!!!