Jerusalem Greer

The Theology of Place, Liturgical Shenanigans, Farm Living

Homemade Hootenanny & P-Dub

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If you have been following me on the Twitters or Facebook you may have heard something about a little Hootenanny we are having this weekend to celebrate the launch of A Homemade Year.
If you are not from the South you may not know what a hootenanny even is. Well, I like to explain that it is like a church picnic that got hijacked by a bootlegger.
Maybe that isn’t your version of a hootenanny, but that is mine.
Which is pretty much the only way to celebrate this book.
Which is also a little bit like a church picnic was highjacked by a bootlegger. 
Or at least a tasty bottle of Boones Farm Fuzzy Navel.
We are keeping it classy people!
To celebrate this party weekend (cause you know the celebration will actually last for the whole weekend, right?) I asked Ree Drummond (aka P-Dub, aka The Pioneer Woman) to kick things off for us.
Cause I am pretty sure she is the nationally appointed Master of Ceremonies for all Hootenannys.
I mean look at her and her sweet family goofing it up.
I think she gets where I am coming from- Fuzzy Navel and all.
Today Ree has generously posted about AHY on her blog. 
And I am just gobsmacked.
Because she also wrote this amazing blurb endorsing my little book:
 
“I began reading A Homemade Year one afternoon when I had no fewer than a thousand things going on in my house. Almost immediately, I was drawn into Jerusalem Greer’s beautiful writing and became fascinated with her journey through an entire year of liturgical celebrations—some of which (Advent, Epiphany) I celebrate in my own home, but some of which I never knew about before. Two hours later, I was still reading, happily resigned to letting my plans for the day slide. Jerusalem so clearly conveys the significance and beauty of liturgical tradition, and her celebration-specific recipes and crafts are sweet and meaningful, while at the same time completely “do-able” for everyone. This book is an absolute treasure. I want to share it with everyone I know!”
-Ree Drummond, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks
 

You don’t know how much her blurb means to me. You also don’t know how nervous I was to email her about my book in the first place.
Writing this book was a huge jump of faith and adventure.
Maybe more so so was sending each email to each blurber and blog tour host asking them to read and review the book. Myself.

Sending your baby out into the universe to be handled and critique by people you respect…wow. It is slightly nerve wracking at best.

So when I read each blurb that came in, and now reading each post, and I see and hear that people are getting what the book is about- the intersection of faith, mess, beauty, and family – I am beyond amazed and humbled. And I feel grateful to know that  I am not alone.

And that is how I feel about Ree.
She gets it. She is one of us.

But of course she gets it.
Look at that cake of hers.
Could there be a better image to show the intersection of messy and beautiful? Of  faith and humanity? Of juggling family life and work life and that third life going on in our heads?

If by some chance you have never gotten a chance to know Ree, her Marlboro Man and her adorable, funny kids, then hop on over to her site, or grab one of her books, or even set your DVR for her Food Network show. You will love her, I just know it.
And if you are feeling just a twinge of “how does she do it all?” envy. Please don’t.
A few years ago, before she was my P-Dub, I heard Ree speak at the Arkansas Literary Festival.
And someone asked her this quesiton- “How do you do it all?”
And she said, quite frankly,
 “I don’t. I have help. I am blessed that I have someone who cleans my house for me for instance.”
The sigh of relief that flowed over the crowd was audiable.
And I loved her instantly. So much for keeping up the super-woman rep.
See, not even PW can do it all alone. None of us can. 
As I get ready to celebrate the launch of A Homemade Year this weekend, I too want to say a huge thanks for all the help I have had over the past two years. This book- and my life- do not happen in a self-contained vacuum. And tomorrow night I am going to celebrate that-and each of the people who have made this adventure possible. I am going to say THANK YOU as loud as I can, and together we are going to celebrate the beauty of doing life in community, and the blessings that come from cooking, crafting and coming together.
See you at the Homemade Hootenanny!

Comments

  1. Been meaning to tell you congratulations on your book and this exciting time!! Our little walking path goes right by your house and I love being able to see sneak peeks of the inside on here! What a fun weekend ahead for you!

    Reply

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