Category Archives: Dirtshoe Blog

In keeping up with my tradition of posting once every three months, give or take, I felt I should get that Merry Christmas post moved down the page a little. I hope that all three of my readers are doing well. This past week was my Spring Break and I assure you it could not have come at a better time. Work has been particularly stressful and I needed to shut the door on that side of my mind for a bit.

So, we headed to the cabin for a few days of relaxing and visiting family. Despite a quick trip to the emergency room (with my Nanny who seems to be better now) and one cursed conversation with a heartless operator from Medicare Part D concerning prescription benefits for my grandmother, we were able to unplug and have some fun. I did learn that my definition of relaxation and Nathan’s definition don’t really jive. I like to read and sleep, he likes hiking. When combined, hiking while sleeping or reading can be very dangerous depending on the trail.

In between visiting with family and dog wrangling, we went to Beaver’s Bend State Park to do an easy short hike. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not really the “hiking kind” — to say the least. But, I tried to put on a happy face and except for the excruciating pain and my concern that first responders were not going to be able to get to me quickly when I broke my ankle, I think it went well.

Nathan had a really hard time keeping up with me. He kept stopping to smell the roses. In opposite world, all that is true.

We had to cross treacherous rivers by crossing fallen timbers. Not really.

This is really more representative of the hiking trail we chose.

The scenery was very pretty even though the Spring colors are still missing. The next day, I pulled my sore body out of bed at the crack to mid-morning to go fishing. On our fishing trip, Nathan caught a lot of fish and I only caught one tiny fish — ON OPPOSITE DAY! I totally redeemed myself on our fishing trip and I’m sure that Nathan is crushed though he’s hiding it well.

Then, to wrap up our week, we came back to the city for a completely different experience. Nathan was playing dobro with our friend Clay at my favorite venue, the Blue Door.  Amazingly, they were opening a show there for Bill Carter, Charlie Sexton and Will Sexton. Charlie Sexton is one our favorites and we listen to his music around our house on a regular basis. Not to mention that he has been Bob Dylan’s guitarist for some time. I’m rarely star struck, but this time I was. I’ve seen Will play several times here in Oklahoma City and in Austin and I always love his songs. But, the chance to see Charlie play in an intimate setting was so great. I didn’t know much about Bill Carter, but I quickly realized I’ve heard many of his songs through the years and I love that he collaborates and co-writes with his wife.

So, to wrap up the night, Clay, Nathan and the cello player they met the night before the gig, totally killed it! And, Charlie and Will were totally awesome. And, I’m so glad I got to see Bill Carter play. Plus, we got to hang out with some great friends and we stayed out way past our bedtime.

Clay Berkes

Nathan Lanier

Will and Charlie Sexton

Charlie Sexton

It seems to me that we had the best of both worlds this week.

Spring is coming folks … I can almost smell it in the air.

Merry Christmas from the Family!

When my friends Duy and Winnie invited us to their wedding celebration, I really didn’t have any expectations. I know Duy well enough to know that the food would be great, but beyond that, I really didn’t know what to expect. I also knew that there would be several old friends there to celebrate. Duy warned me in advance that their Vietnamese celebration would be very different than American weddings.

Wow! Oh em gee! Jazz hands! Cartwheels! Whatchu talkin’ bout Willis?

What a party!

Winnie hand-made most, if not all, of their decorations. And, I had to smile when I saw that the centerpieces for the tables were in Mason jars. I think she and Nathan first bonded over their fondness for Mason jars.

On each table there was a bottle of champagne and a bottle of cognac. I don’t know if cognac is a traditional thing, but it is a Duy thang. It only took about two minutes before our friend Brad was serving up drinks.

Duy and Winnie made a grand entrance!

But, let me tell you about the food. I lost count of the courses — they just kept coming. I was sitting between Nathan who eats like a bird at public events and Clay (like me!) who samples everything. I think Clay and I ate Nathan’s portions as well as our own.

Everything was served up family-style — another Duy touch! I ‘m not entirely sure what all the dishes were, but they were all great! This dish had a salad, sliced steak and bacon-wrapped shrimp.

But, it was this dish that amazed me the most. Those are steamed buns and beyond is the best duck I’ve ever tasted. It was amazing. I’ve not really ever had that “duck experience” until now. I’m sold. I’ll have the duck with the crispy skin, thank you. I missed an entire course of scallops because I was so focused on the duck. I did recover enough to remember to take a picture of the lobster — though we had already eaten half of them.

And, just when we though it was over, they brought another plate of beef with broccoli.

The only thing that topped the food, was getting to see old friends. One of my favorite parts of the evening was that Duy, Winnie and Duy’s brother Long and his wife Kim went table to table. Apparently, it is customary for the bride and groom to go to each table to greet their guests and thank them personally. I think it’s such a wonderful tradition. Many of the tables had funny games for them to play and the whole affair was a perfect blend of formal and fun. I did notice that toasts were made at most every table and by the time they arrived at our tables near the end, I’m amazed that anyone could even stand up!

I knew that Tony would also give a speech so I made sure I went over to listen. Duy gave the “best man” speech at Tony’s wedding several years ago and it’s a fond memory of mine that Duy said to a packed crowd that included Tony’s mother Donna, “I was pretty nervous about this speech, but I just want everyone here to know that you are all naked to me right now. Sorry Donna.”

First, Duy’s brother spoke to the table.

Then Tony spoke about his and Duy’s long friendship and his wishes for the couple.

Then we all took a million photos and laughed. No wait. I think we toasted Duy and Winnie a million more times. I can’t remember if we toasted with champagne or cognac. It was both? Okay, I admit it. We toasted with both.

Duy and Winnie, may you have the love-story of the century and we hope all your dreams come true. We are so blessed to be your friends.

If I had a personal assistant, I believe I would write more. I believe I would take more pictures. I would tell my personal assistant to edit photos continually and to bring me more pumpkin spice lattes. I would also tell my assistant, Florencio — I think that would be his name — to write down all the wonderful recipes that Nathan cooks and to email them to me once they were edited and ready to post. I would drink my latte, write a few funny lines and click a few buttons. I would definitely make him take care of our crazy, out-of-control dogs!

But, reality creeps in and Florencio is but a distant dream. Distant, as in, it ain’t happening. Thankfully, I occasionally download my own photos and spend a moment or two on this page. Thankfully, Nathan still cooks wonderful recipes for me to not write down.

But, if Florencio existed, my Thanksgiving photos would already be up. I would have already told you about our trip to the cabin and how Nathan cooked most of the food we ate right on the campfire.

My personal assistant did not take notes on what was in these pans. I should fire him.

The one thing I learned from watching Nathan cook on the campfire was that the correct technique involves shoveling coals instead of using an open flame. I would have built a big fire under these pans and everything would have burned. But, Nathan has the patience I lack. He also has the good sense to learn how to do things before he does them. I usually just have a very broad open plan in place like … maybe I’m gonna cook some stuff on the fire. Shovel? Oh wait, did anyone bring a shovel? Or pans?

Nathan restores a lot of cast iron. These pans looked like they were headed to the trash, but he has some sort of magic that he works and then they look brand new. One of these belonged to my great-grandfather.

The best part about cooking outside is that you need a campfire. Most of our time at the cabin was spent sitting around the campfire.  Fire scares away the vermin. That’s what I tell myself anyway.

And, to top off any successful trip to the woods, one must have a little bit of that “high lonesome sound” and a good hound dog. It looks like Annie is pleading with him to teach her to play the dobro.

If only Florencio had been there to take notes on what song Nathan was playing… or maybe Annie thinks Nathan is Florencio.

I wondered what would inspire me to post next. I have taken a hiatus lately to posting. We have been very busy. Our cabin in the woods is a lot of fun and a lot of work. My job is — well, let’s just say it’s not a lot of fun, and it’s a lot of work. We still cook as much as ever, but I don’t seem to write down the recipes much.

I decided to post because I saw an awesome show this last week at the Blue Door. My friend Camille and I went on a Tuesday night. Let me just tell you that going out on a Tuesday night is kind of a big deal for me. However, the band Shovels and Rope was playing. So, I sucked it up and made myself go.

I really like this band.

Here’s what I like about them. A large portion of their songs are uptempo. There is no chance to get bored. They switch instruments almost every song. She drums, then he drums, then she plays guitar then they both play whatever instrument they pick up … it’s fun to watch. Plus, the best part is they look like they are having a great time singing and playing music together. I first listened to them on this video on YouTube.

One of the best parts of this night was getting to see my friend Heather who now lives in Tulsa. I haven’t seen her in so long and I should have known she would be a Shovels and Rope fan too. She made the drive from T-Town to OKC and I got to see a great band and hug her neck! Bonus.

I must say that Shovels and Rope totally made it worth going out on a Tuesday night because I woke up early Wednesday morning tapping my foot.

We just spent another week at the cabin in Southeastern Oklahoma. This time it was a tiny bit overwhelming as the amount of work we have ahead of us is beginning to set in a little.  We know it will be worth it in the end, but our list keeps getting longer. Plus, a recent hail storm damaged our home here in OKC quite a bit and our cars are pretty beat up as well. With so many “projects” ahead of us, we are making the most of our vacation days before we dive head-first back into reality.

I was quite lazy this week with my camera. It was sooooo hot that I really didn’t want to do anything but sit in front of an air conditioner and complain about the heat. I did go to my cousin’s annual 4th of July celebration, but I forgot my camera and could only marvel and take bad Iphone pics of the fireworks. Ugh, they just don’t do it justice. Their fireworks display was amazing!

It was one of those weeks that you have big plans and then it just gets away from you. We didn’t accomplish a lot or do half the things we planned. I would say it was a lazy week.

We did make some new friends.

So, this miniature horse and a donkey walk into a bar …

These two belong to our neighbors. Nathan calls them the Dynamic Duo. Annie and Mya don’t care what you call them. They have never seen such creatures and were sure to alert us every time they so much as looked toward our place.  I was showing my “Nanny” this picture and without missing a beat, she raised up the phone, looked sharply at Nathan and said, “they favor you a little bit.” She has a keen sense of humor sometimes.

One morning, around 8 a.m., the little horse took his big chest and started pushing on the fence. I thought he was scratching his chest for a minute or so. Then I notice that the fence was coming away from the posts and the donkey seemed to be egging him on a little. Annie and Mya were in full meltdown. So, Nathan and I waved our arms wildly and moved them back and looked at the damage. Just another push and they would be right over to visit. I was pretty sure that Annie and Mya would die of cardiac arrest if the Dynamic Duo came across the fence. That’s when Nathan’s fence-building skills went into action.

Since I grew up with a “PaPa” who believed in creative fence building, I was really impressed with Nathan’s ability to improvise right on the spot. I was not the only one who was impressed.

“This guy really knows how to fix a fence!”

Along with new fence building techniques, I learned how to enjoy the best “camp cocktails” as well. I’m always fighting bugs when I make a fruity drink. So, Nathan got some Mason jars with lids. Pour in your favorite drink and shake it up with ice to chill — then cap it with a lid to keep out the bugs and gnats. It worked so well! I like the plastic lids, but if you need to strain your drink, you can use the metal lids and poke holes in one of the flats to use like a shaker. The possibilities are endless . Use small jars if you like wine. Or, go ahead and pour your wine in the big jars — I won’t judge.

I’m still hoping to do “before and after” pictures of some of the cabin renovations, but we won’t officially start those until the middle of August. I’m glad because it’s a 120 degrees in the shade right now and I just can’t take the heat or the bugs or the lack of high speed internet … oh woe is me. I’m a little emotional that vacation is over and I go back to work tomorrow. Hope your summer is as entertaining as a miniature horse and a donkey!

Go ahead and get back up off the floor. I know you’re surprised to see two brand new posts in two days! We’ve been busy ya’ll!

When we got home from the cabin, we did an extreme van makeover in 24 hours. Out with the dog crates, in with the guitars and we headed out for parts unknown. Actually, we drove straight into the heat and dust of Odessa, Texas. Our friends Brent and Tina live there. Unfortunately, it’s a seven hour drive from our doorstep to theirs. Thankfully, it’s a really scenic drive.  Wellllll, scenic may be stretching it just a little. Okay, a lot. But, I made the most of my time as a passenger.

In this one town, it looks like you might drive right into this pretty building.

I’m sure it’s not a mermaid holding a knife, but wouldn’t it be cool if it was?

It was on this trip to Odessa, as I gazed at the science-fictionesque wind farms on the flat Texas horizon,  that I realized I would like to be a farmer — a wind farmer. I think I might be good at it. I don’t know what wind farmers do, but I figure there’s no tractors and even if it gets hot, there’s always a nice breeze.

These things really freak me out a little bit.

The one, and maybe only thing, I appreciated about this long drive to Odessa was the blue sky.

I also appreciated the fact that we were heading for the wine shop! And, Nathan was meeting Clay and Brent to play some tunes and do some recording. Tina’s big Italian family was all there and it was a lot of fun. I was also introduced to something called a “wine slush” — my summers may never be the same.

The guys played some tunes.

Nathan played his mandolin and dobro with Tina’s cousin L.D. who is a musician.

I just love the mandolin and hate that it often get pigeon-holed as a bluegrass instrument.

There were friends and babies and wine and music …

Tina, Clay, Brent and Baby Rhett

The best queso we’ve ever had … an all night recording session … and a long “scenic” drive back home.

Not really.

But, we did buy a small cabin in Southeastern Oklahoma. Thankfully, my mom has a not-so-hidden agenda to get us to visit her more often. I have to admit, she may be a genius … it also helped that she gave us one of those “mom” deals that was just too good to pass up. I’m sure we will post some remodeling pictures over the next few months as we get things all ready. The cabin hasn’t been lived in for a while and I do think that some of the bugs we found in there may be straight out of Africa!

I didn’t take a lot of pictures while we were there last week, but I did capture a few things. I called our first trip there a “camping” trip because we did have to rough it just a little bit. Even though we had power and indoor plumbing — it isn’t quite like home yet.  I especially missed our Internet connection. I felt like I was living “off the grid”. We are waiting to move a lot of things into it until we get things painted.

The cabin has white countertops on the bar. Nathan says they are going away, but they make food pictures so easy!

I also fell in love with our new electric skillet. I’ve never had one. Nathan is kinda like Bubba Gump when he talks about it. Apparently, the electric skillet is one of the most versatile small kitchen appliances one can ever hope to own. Shrimp scampi, shrimp and grits, shrimp creole, fried shrimp… and so on.

We made breakfast tacos right away.

We spent a lot of time cleaning and working, but we did take some time out for fishing. Just a few miles from our new place is a lake with lots of places to fish. I think this is part of the river that flows into the lake.

I’m pretty sure there’s some fish in there. I’ve heard there are. I can’t say for sure.

We are headed back down there next week to reunite with our electric skillet and to kill more bugs. Let’s just hope that someday I get to see if we can cook some fresh fish in our skillet.

One of my best friends in the whole wide world is getting married tomorrow in Vietnam.

His name is Duy and he is one of a kind. Someday I may chronicle the story of how a country girl from Southeast Oklahoma and a bartender/business owner from Cam Ranh Bay Vietnam became the best of friends. Here are just a couple of tidbits about Duy.

1) He once told me he was moving to San Diego. My reply, “Schmandiego, you’re not moving anywhere.” So, when I told him I was dating Nathan (my husband), his reply was, “Schmathan, you’re not dating anyone.” They get along famously now.

2) We like to call Duy the “Third-World Redneck”.

3) The story of how Duy came to live in America is one of the greatest adventures ever told.

4) Duy loves cooking and fine dining, but he is in constant search of the stew he used to get in his school cafeteria. He has never found it despite eating at many cafeteria-style restaurants.

5) Duy is one of the funniest, most generous people I know. His new wife Winnie is a lucky lady and I’m so excited for them!

I might also mention that Winnie looks like a Barbie Doll, only prettier.

See. I told you.

This picture is a blast from the past. Everyone looks so young!

Send your camera with Duy to Vietnam and this is what you get:

This is cobra that Duy ate on one of his trips. I can hardly stand to think about it … insert shivers, goosebumps and nausea here.

Here is Duy in his element — making great drinks and playing the perfect host to his friends and family.

Here’s to Winnie and Duy and their life together!