Snark Talk: Home, Home on the (De) Ranged

[Lura]

I thought it was interesting that Ree's mother's name is Gerre, but that she has always been known as Gee.  So they're a Gee and a Ree and quite a bit alike, according to some observers.  Her mother is an independent woman, and so is Ree.  Ree seems to adore her father but seems nothing like him.  One author described him as "quiet and retiring."

One writer mentioned that Ree's parties don't really happen (at least as shown), but her mother was a consummate party-giver.  Does this mean that Ree wishes her life were more like her mother's, or what?  If she makes everything up about her life, it seems hard to draw the line between what is real and what is dreamed up for its entertainment value.  The authors complain that everything is fictionalized and portrayed the way Ree wants them shown.  Ree's attitude seems to be "This is my blog/life/movie -- I can make them however I want.

[cathy]

I remember reading a comment on a blog somewhere where a local woman wrote in and said that Ree's dad was known to be an asshole.  He is probably also "quiet and retiring" as most men of his generation are (and emotionally shut down as most old guys are).

[film noire]

On 5/12/2017 at 6:40 AM, Lura said:

I've been trying for more than two hours to link up with two or three articles about Ree and how she is deceiving her followers.  Sorry to say, the links refuse to work.  These articles appeared in Psychology Today and in the New Yorker magazine, both of which are pretty legitimate sources.  Essentially,, the claim is that Ree's home life is totally different from her TV portrayal -- that she invented the kind of life she wished she could lead and then made her blog, TV show and books/movie to sound like the real deal.  Why?  Because she can.  Sorry about the links, but you can google "articles about Ree Drummond" and read them.

@Lura: Are these the right links, Lura?

Psychology Today:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homeward-bound/201303/the-pioneer-woman-selling-fake-image-domestic-bliss

(The most recent reader comments on the article include allegations that Ree hired Ladd's first cousin, Kimberly Drummond Thomas - and all her sock puppet IDs -  to go after her online critics, especially Marlboro Woman.)

And this might be the New Yorker link:

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-pioneer-woman-gets-lost-on-the-range

Edited May 13, 2017 by film noire

[Lura]

Film noire, this is interesting.  The links that I have are:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homeward-bound/201303/the-pioneer-woman-selling-fake-image-domestic-bliss   (Psychology Today)

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/22011/05/09/o-pioneer--woman  (NewYorker magazine)

Could a glitch with my service provider have created a problem?  It did go offline for a few minutes but then came back on.  I know next to nothing about the inner workings of a computer, but that seems unlikely to me.  Interesting comment from that poster.  THANK YOU for trying to help.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Lura

[ariel]

What ever happened to the Marlboro Woman?  She just seemed to disappear into thin air.

[jcbrown]

On 5/10/2017 at 6:35 PM, cathy said:

She pretends she was going to go into "elder law."  That is a bad thing.  It is used to take control of an incompetent elderly person's finances, basically drain it dry in "fees" (for nothing) while keeping the old person drugged.  It is a terrible scam, and is allowed to happen in our country.  No wonder she was attracted to it.

Not to take this too off-topic but I have recently worked with an elder law attorney to help do Medicaid planning for my dad, revise his will/POA/etc and the woman has been a freaking godsend. Dad had some documents previously prepared by another attorney who did not specialize in elder law and we were able to get revised versions that are allowing my sister and me to protect him and his assets much more completely. It is actually good to have an attorney who specializes in the area where they practice.

Not to defend Ree, who is a rodent-faced hack riding her lack of talent and deal with the devil as far as she can.

[film noire]

4 hours ago, Lura said:

Film noire, this is interesting.  The links that I have are:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homeward-bound/201303/the-pioneer-woman-selling-fake-image-domestic-bliss   (Psychology Today)

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/22011/05/09/o-pioneer--woman  (NewYorker magazine)

Could a glitch with my service provider have created a problem?  It did go offline for a few minutes but then came back on.  I know next to nothing about the inner workings of a computer, but that seems unlikely to me.  Interesting comment from that poster.  THANK YOU for trying to help.

Happy to try and help, Lura ; )  

I think it's the link, not your service provider. Your first link works fine for me, but the second link is truncated. It's missing the last few words ("gets lost on the range") that are in the link I posted, so that's my best guess ( I'm no computer genius here ; ) as to why it's not working.

And yes, VERY interesting comment in that thread -- thanks for directing me to it! 

Edited May 14, 2017 by film noire

[maggiemae]

OMG - her grilled cheese looked anemic. And way too much cheese and butter and thick bread. 

4 cheeses? IMO they didn't compliment each other and would cancel themselves out. I'm a huge fan of gc - even (especially) with bacon. But hers - not a chance. Guyere...sure. Sourdough or rye? Sure. A good sharp cheddar....sure. Monterrey and parm not so much. Oh - and yes.....tomato soup - especially Campbell's Bisque. 

Why does she overdo everything? And what is up with the un-sliced bread in the middle of nowhere?

[anneofcleves]

5 hours ago, maggiemae said:

Why does she overdo everything?

Ooh, please allow me to psychoanalyze this: ?

1.  She doesn't know how to cook to bring out food's flavor, so she tarts it up with extra butter, cheese, bouillon, etc.  Like the chicken noodle soup she made yesterday where she couldn't be bothered to make actual chicken broth.

2.  She learned how to cook while living with a guy who runs a cattle ranch, has the metabolism of an Energizer bunny, and whose favorite meal is a cube steak sandwich boiled in butter.  A cube steak sandwich.  Calories don't matter and the only flavors that count are beef and butter.  And lemon pepper.

3. She makes this for Food Network, so...Guy Fieddi...extreme everything...a well made, one-cheese (or heck, two-cheese) grilled cheese is so boring...not off the hook...not wonderful, scrumptious, and amazing.

Edited May 14, 2017 by anneofcleves

[Lura]

Oh, you're so  smart, film noire!  LOL  Not only did you solve the mystery, but you also used the word "truncated," which earns you 100 bonus points!

[peacheslatour]

10 hours ago, maggiemae said:

OMG - her grilled cheese looked anemic. And way too much cheese and butter and thick bread. 

4 cheeses? IMO they didn't compliment each other and would cancel themselves out. I'm a huge fan of gc - even (especially) with bacon. But hers - not a chance. Guyere...sure. Sourdough or rye? Sure. A good sharp cheddar....sure. Monterrey and parm not so much. Oh - and yes.....tomato soup - especially Campbell's Bisque. 

Why does she overdo everything? And what is up with the un-sliced bread in the middle of nowhere?

One of my fav combinations is smoky provolone with sourdough wheat. I like to pair it with bean and bacon soup.

[film noire]

1 hour ago, Lura said:

which earns you 100 bonus points!

And my reward is NOT eating a Reegrilled cheese! ; )

Edited May 14, 2017 by film noire

[HyeChaps]

Actually, I did like her suggestion about putting the noodles in last. I use orzo in my chicken noodle soup and for a while now, I've been cooking it separately from the soup, putting it in at the end. Keeping it separate until serving makes sense. Whatever noodles stay in the leftover soup do get mushy in the reheat.  

[grisgris]

I heard that tip from Rachael Ray ages ago. If you put cooked pasta in a soup and refrigerate it over the course of a few days, the pasta absorbs more of the soup broth and swells up and gets nasty. I have done that actually and it's pretty unappetizing. Not saying that Ree ripped off RR, just that her advice was nothing new.

I nearly had a heart attack watching Ree make that quiche with all of the cream. Wouldn't half and half be better? I was thinking terms of obviously, fat and calories, but that quiche is going to yield some huge honkin' slices.

I didn't really understand the soup component of the mac 'n cheese with broccoli.  I just saw mac 'n cheese with broccoli and some other veggies added. ???

The final thing that I thought was weird was when Ree said that she used low sodium chicken broth for Todd's soup because regular chicken broth was too salty but then she added two chicken bouillon cubes, which to me are like miniature salt licks. 

I was embarrassed for the people waiting outside who had to play stupid games with Bryce-y and whomever that other rube was. I wonder if the guy who stuck his head in the panty hose got a free lunch or coffee personally made by Paige?  I call total BS on those kids chomping at the bit to work at the Merc.  Todd seemed to be enjoying his work as a bus boy porter, though.

[Aquarius]

8 minutes ago, grisgris said:

I was embarrassed for the people waiting outside <snip>

You could stop right there AFAIC.

[ariel]

22 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Actually, I did like her suggestion about putting the noodles in last.

That "suggestion" has been around forever on the various cooking shows.

[cathy]

I just saw her new show about breakfasts.  Omelet in a bag.  I looked this up online and found it on "all recipies."  Stirring it with a fork while it is in the plastic bag is part of the official recipie.  But it is still kind of a bad idea.  I like to use a wisk and a bowl to ensure it is fully scrambled.  Now she is on the "healthy smoothie" bandwagon.  Yawn.  Everyone is now into (or pretending to be into) healthy stuff like smoothies with mango and kale.  Her freezer was filled to the brim with carefully labeled bags of healthy stuff.  She is moving away from gorging on butter.  I haven't seen any of her commercials for Land O' lakes butter recently.  A year or two ago I think she was an official spokesman for land o' lakes.  Maybe they dropped her?  Maybe sales did not zoom up wildly like they thought it would.  There is only so much butter one can consume without vomiting.

[ariel]

I thought I read that omelets in a bag are not a good idea because they can be toxic.  Not that Ree would care.  It feeds her family fast, that's all that matters.

Edited May 20, 2017 by ariel

[Lura]

I started to watch an old show about Ree's after-church brunch for the family, and before I got very far, I had to turn it off.  Ree is so self-absorbed in that episode that I couldn't take her anymore.  However, before I nixed the recording, I saw Missy decorating her blueberry and lemon cupcakes, and I had a thought:  I'd like to see Missy have her own baking show.  She is so easy-going, so comfortable and likeable on camera, and so different from Ree that she's really a pleasure to watch.  Plus, she's pretty and doesn't dress in "maternity tops."  It seems to me that Missy could be much more popular than Ree is.  It's time for Ree to take the back seat.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Lura said:

I started to watch an old show about Ree's after-church brunch for the family, and before I got very far, I had to turn it off.  Ree is so self-absorbed in that episode that I couldn't take her anymore.  However, before I nixed the recording, I saw Missy decorating her blueberry and lemon cupcakes, and I had a thought:  I'd like to see Missy have her own baking show.  She is so easy-going, so comfortable and likeable on camera, and so different from Ree that she's really a pleasure to watch.  Plus, she's pretty and doesn't dress in "maternity tops."  It seems to me that Missy could be much more popular than Ree is.  It's time for Ree to take the back seat.

Seconded.

[grisgris]

I've been pushing for a Ladd-only show, but Missy would be just fine!

[peacheslatour]

46 minutes ago, grisgris said:

I've been pushing for a Ladd-only show, but Missy would be just fine!

 

46 minutes ago, grisgris said:

I've been pushing for a Ladd-only show, but Missy would be just fine!

They could be the next Snoop and Martha!

[cathy]

Missy is better on camera, but I think the whole point of TPW show is to suck people into a fantasy life that supposedly all American woman want. It is all so phony, all put on for the cameras.  Ree is nothing but a product, her show and persona is so white bread and bland.  I saw an episode this morning, of a picnic for her daughter, where she makes fried chicken using cornflakes.  She says that this is "weird" and carries on about how the food she is making is so unusual.  Not really.  Making fried chicken with cereal coating is not weird, it has been around for a long time. One thing her food is, however, is unhealthy.  She put a lime-sugar concoction over slices of watermelon.  This is unnecessary as watermelon is as we all know, sweet.  She dumps a lot of sugar on things that don't need it.  This encourages children to overeat, and develop bad eating habits.  Her show does this more that the other cooking shows.  Giada and Martha Stewart are sophisticated, and make less unhealthy food.  Also, I noticed on her website that the "giveaways" (click-bait, and tax write offs) are becoming less and less frequent.  And the prizes are less valuable, and go to fewer winners.  I guess now that she is a big business she does not need to be so "generous" because "I love ya."  I was in Barnes and noble yesterday, and saw the new children's book there. The illustrations are professionally done, as you would expect, but the storyline, about a little girl named Ree who moves to the county, is very very bland.  Even for a book aimed at small children, it is bland, and nothing special.  The book costs, if I remember correctly, $17.99 sold in the U.S., and higher in Canada.  I wonder how long she and her handlers can keep all of this going, when will the stupid sheeple wise up and see that they are being duped?  

[Lura]

Cathy, I saw this book at Amazon and peeked into it for a sample few pages.  I have to agree with you 100%.  It's trite and boring.  It isn't nearly as well-written as most children's books are.  My 5-year-old niece would be totally bored by it, I know.  How Ree can put such junk between two covers and sell it for $17.99 is beyond me.  I think Ree is striking while the iron is hot and her show is up there in the ratings, and she'll sell anything to make a fast buck while she can.  How can she take any pride in what she does?  I'd be embarrassed. 

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Lura said:

Cathy, I saw this book at Amazon and peeked into it for a sample few pages.  I have to agree with you 100%.  It's trite and boring.  It isn't nearly as well-written as most children's books are.  My 5-year-old niece would be totally bored by it, I know.  How Ree can put such junk between two covers and sell it for $17.99 is beyond me.  I think Ree is striking while the iron is hot and her show is up there in the ratings, and she'll sell anything to make a fast buck while she can.  How can she take any pride in what she does?  I'd be embarrassed. 

Just because you are writing for children, it doesn't give you license to write drivel. Children are intelligent people, just inexperienced. I think in some cases it's more difficult to write for children than adults because you can't just throw in some sex and violence when you run out of ideas. Ree is an utter charlatan who would sell her own mother if it meant she'd make a buck.

[ariel]

Let me get this right, Ree wrote an illustrated children's book about herself?  Talk about hubris.

[Lura]

Well, Ree wrote a book about a little girl, then decided to name the little girl "Ree."  (Surprise, surprise!)  It's a shame the quality is so average when Ree could really leave a legacy of charming children's books, IMHO.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Lura
repetition

[peacheslatour]

9 hours ago, Lura said:

Well, Ree wrote a book about a little girl, then decided to name the little girl "Ree."  (Surprise, surprise!)  It's a shame the quality is so average when Ree could really leave a legacy of charming children's books, IMHO.

I don't think it's in her nature. She should have hired an, oh I don't know, actual WRITER to ghost the thing. (Like all good hacks).

[ariel]

Is this new book a children's version of "High Heels To Tracker Wheels"? If so, I hope she leaves out the part where she says Ladd makes her hiney tingle.

Edited May 27, 2017 by ariel

[grisgris]

Ha! Ha!

I still think that Ree fancies herself as a modern-day Laura Ingalls Wilder. Sadly, I don't think that "Veggies For Vaginas," "Meat For Men," "Sugar for Both Sexes" (or whatever the stupid books are called) will ever be on par with "Little House in the Big Woods."

[HyeChaps]

I work in said bookstore. That picture book is nothing special. However there are some $4 Beginning Readers about Charlie which are a better value for the money. 

P.S. She wrote the foreword for the new edition of Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

[Lura]

Her hiney tingle???  Did Ree actually write or say that?  LOLOL!  I don't want to get too anatomical, but is she sure it's her hiney that tingles?  If so, she really IS different from the rest of us!  I think Ree is confused and means another organ up in another county! *snort*  *chortle*  *cough*  Somebody catch me!  I'm laughing so hard I'm falling over!

I think Laura Ingalls Wilder just turned over in her grave.  Someone's tingling in the front of her book!!!   OMG, I've lost it!

Edited May 28, 2017 by Lura

[ariel]

16 minutes ago, Lura said:

Her hiney tingle???  Did Ree actually write or say that?  

In the early days on her blog, she did use that term in regard to Ladd.  

[anneofcleves]

1 hour ago, HyeChaps said:

I work in said bookstore. That picture book is nothing special. However there are some $4 Beginning Readers about Charlie which are a better value for the money. 

P.S. She wrote the foreword for the new edition of Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

That series was the first series of books I read as a child, several times over. It honestly galls me that she would write the forward.  The reigning Queen of Walmart.  (spit)

[grisgris]

Me, too. I was in second grade and we used to be able to con our "elderly" teacher into reading LIW's books to us for the entire school day.  I fondly remember spending a cold winter school days in when it was too cold and snowy/icy to go outside for recess. We'd have to take breaks and get up from our desks and walk around the perimeter of the classroom like a conga line!

[Lura]

It galled me when I read it, too.  With a number of excellent authors of children's books, why Ree?  The publisher must have wanted someone who's currently hot, and Ree fits that bill.  It helps sell the book.  One of the things that stymies me is that if you read Ree's blog, you can see that she can't write.  How, then, is she churning out books?  Her editor must tear his/her hair out!

[cathy]

I remember reading a comment somewhere (can't recall where) that the writing on Ree's blog seems to be from several different people.  Different styles.  I wonder if her BFF Hy writes some of them?  Ree has a good education, because she went to good schools, and had educated parents, but her innate taste is lowbrow.  I just read an article that the U.S. is the fattest country in the world.  No surprise there!!  We eat like TPW cooks, lots of fat, sugar, processed garbage.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, cathy said:

I remember reading a comment somewhere (can't recall where) that the writing on Ree's blog seems to be from several different people.  Different styles.  I wonder if her BFF Hy writes some of them?  Ree has a good education, because she went to good schools, and had educated parents, but her innate taste is lowbrow.  I just read an article that the U.S. is the fattest country in the world.  No surprise there!!  We eat like TPW cooks, lots of fat, sugar, processed garbage.

I don't know if it is her innate taste. I think it's her schtick, she knows better. She thinks that's what her drooling fans want. They should be insulted instead of eating it up.

[chessiegal]

I read somewhere she hired someone to write her blog, so no doubt that's why you're seeing different styles - probably more than 1 someone. I tried looking at her blog - I just can't. Complete waste of my time/life is too short.

[Lura]

Peaches, I think your comment is right on the money.  I can't count the times when I've read one of her senseless blogs and thought how ashamed I'd be if I'd put that out there for the world to read.  Not that I'd write the world's best blog, but at least I'd PROOFREAD IT!

I don't feel good today, either.  Maybe that's why I'm right in the mood to say that I've also had it with Ree's BFF, Hy, and her flirty daughter who shakes her tail at any guy within a country mile!  I'll bet you anything that Ree and Hy can gossip about anyone and everyone all day and night, but they act so sanctimonious when the cameras roll.  Two of a kind.

[grisgris]

Lura, sorry to hear you're not feeling to good, so maybe this will bring a chuckle to your (and everybody else's) Face!

Look what showed up in my FB feed.

I present:

http://www.delish.com/restaurants/g4129/pioneer-woman-mercantile-products/?src=socialflowFB

I won't spoiler it for y'all but I think she comes out swinging right off the bat! I am eager to see what you guys think is the weirdest, tackiest, WTF-iest, etc.!

[MargeGunderson]

My vote is for emergency googly eyes. It's the emergency part that gets me. I clearly lead a sheltered life since I have never needed to pull out googly eyes in an emergency situation.

I know this has been said many, many times but sweet fancy Moses, Ree, dial back the eyeliner! Save some for Robert Smith and all the goth kids.

[ariel]

With the so many tacky tchotchkes she's hawking, it's hard to pick one.

[maggiemae]

All of them except for the pickle bandaids.......I think they would be cute (for a moment) for a kid.

[grisgris]

She got me right out of the gate with the tacky Marie Antoinette s/p shaker.  That was a hard act to follow but I would nominate the baby chaps for a close second!

[Lura]

You get high marks for trying, grisgris!  :)  I think I've seen most of those things at online gag gift sites, but I agree that the Marie Antoinette s/p shakers were my faves!  Wow -- Ree doesn't know junk when she sees it, does she?  It amazes me how much highbrow culture she's bringing to the people of Pawtuska!

[ariel]

 The finger puppet Pope.  I'll admit, I'm a recovering Catholic, but I do find it rude to stick your finger up the Pope's butt (especially the current one). It appears like he will also stick to your fridge. Ree's version of the Pope is quite the multitasker.

Edited May 31, 2017 by ariel

[SanLynn]

Bacon lip balm?! gross.

I knew what craziness was coming from the introduction when they say "let's face it girl can cook" or something stupid like that.

 

but seriously bacon lip balm? I can't even.

[peacheslatour]

I'm sorry but I want all the finger puppets. I will make it my life's work to possess them all.

[grisgris]

It does make me wonder who else is featured in the puppet collection.

I was disappointed that there wasn't a rubber snake featured. (But you know she's sellin' them at the Merc!)