Italian Catholic Cemetery Near West Blocton, Alabama
The other day when we were in West Blocton, we went to one of the places that's been listed on the Alabama Places in Peril list...the Italian - Catholic cemetery.
What makes it so interesting is that the monuments are inscribed in Italian, and some of them have stories. This first one is of Nargiso Nucci:
It very roughly translated reads: "On the land of the extinct --- the mortal remains of Nargiso Nucci of 52 years who died in Blocton, Alabama on July 7, 1908 after having suffered for 12 consecutive years on the altar of a painful disease. Death took him from those suffering, and the affection known for its kind quality leaves already his wife Adrietta and his seven children his enduring memory. Pray for his tomb." This one is for Elizabeth Castelli:
It translated reads something like this: "Here lie the ashes of poor deceased Elizabetha Castelli born in 1864 murdered at the young age of 36 years, robbed and killed by a murderer of the black race at 8am on December 15, 1902 leaving behind her husband and son, weeping and sobbing".
This area of Alabama has coal mines all around, and this monument has the miner's tools sculpted into it:
We subscribe to Alabama Heritage magazine, and in the last issue they asked for readers to send in pics of "story" monuments, so I sent the top two in. The editor wrote me that they're putting together a web page for all of the ones they've received, so it should be interesting to see all the others!
Update On Wade Wharton's Endangered Art Environment
Thanks to Kim for letting me know that the Huntsville Times had another article in the paper about Wade Wharton and his art environment.
(my original post about Mr. Wharton, with pics and video, is here)
Mr. Wharton received notice on April 25th from the city to appear in court for "unlawful storage of junk".
I've gotten emails that people are organizing to help Mr. Wharton keep his yard/garden neat and tidy. And Felder Rushing, who I think the world of, paid Mr. Wharton a visit and was quoted as saying it was a "paradise garden" and that the art should be "celebrated" - *and* that he's seen these kinds of issues between private citizens and local governments before and that "the city always loses". A video of Felder in Mr. Wharton's art garden is here.
One thing that is promising is that the director of the Department of Community Development (the dept. that started this whole business), Jerry Galloway, said that Mr. Wharton is not being summoned to court for his artwork, just his "scrap material" - which sounds a little different than what they have said in the past.
Thank you to *everyone* who has let me know that they did something - wrote a letter, sent an email, talked to someone.
Let's keep this going so that the city stops harassing Mr. Wharton and instead does like other cities with artist environments and starts promoting visitors to come see the quirky, artsy, off-beat part of town that's easy to love.
This weekend, we went up to Hollywood, Alabama in Jackson county to visit the rock zoo. It's a collection of rocks that a farmer has painted to look like animals:
Shug liked sitting on the elephant:
(he loves to pull his socks off! We probably have Shug-socks in three or four states!)
Lots of other animals:
...even a slice of watermelon:
Shug riding the happy turtle:
Av's favorite was the anteater!:
...even a couple of people:
Nice!
Directions: take US 72 NE from Scottsboro, turn left onto County Road 33 (just past the Hollywood City Hall). Go over the railroad tracks, through the little downtown, and follow the road for about six miles. You will see the Harmony Missionary Baptist Church on your right, turn right onto County Road 32. That road will wind around but stay on 32 for about two miles and you'll see the rock zoo very clearly on the left.
We decided to go to the Poke Salat Festival this weekend in Arab, Alabama (Arab: "AY-rab"). On the way, we stopped at a U-Pick strawberry farm, but because it's been raining so hard, the ground which is usually very sandy in those fields had just turned into this super-sticky clay. It was so yucky/mucky that we decided to just come back when the ground was dry and pick then.
The state of Alabama has a PDF of U-Pick farms that can be downloaded here. I can't wait to take Shug to pick all kinds of fruit!
This is the sign for Wayne's Bar-B-Que in...I think it was around Cleveland. They had a sign for their homemade fried pies (yum!) so Av and I decided to get one and share it:
This is what a good fried pie looks like!
In Blountsville, we passed a re-enactment that they're holding all weekend:
There were *lots* of cars driving in. We drove in just to see what was going on:
The actual battle wasn't going to happen for another couple of hours, plus I was afraid that it would be too loud for Shug, who even dislikes the sound of the Dyson when I vacuum two rooms away (although he doesn't mind if I put Roomba in another room, so ha(!) that's a pretty good excuse for me letting Roomba do most of the vacuuming!). It would have been fun to see all the different campsites and horses, etc., but we decided to go on. I do wish I had run over for just a minute to this gentleman selling pottery:
The Poke Salat Festival was right in downtown Arab. I didn't see any real art/craft vendors, although one person was selling what looked like homemade candles and there was maybe one other 'nice' tent. It doesn't bill itself as an arts/crafts type of festival though - it's just a good reason for the residents of Arab to get out and visit and go shop downtown:
Now what we did get while there? Um, poke salat, of course (tastes sort-of like cooked spinach)! They were serving it at the L-Rancho Cafe, which was standing-room only!
We drove through Pontotoc on the way home and saw this old Sinclair station (there are just four in Mississippi and I think that's as far east as Sinclair goes):
Downtown was nice, and they had some advertising murals, like this one for the Pontotoc Cream Station and Oneeta Flour:
:
A mural for Barber's milk:
The post office had a WPA/New Deal/Section mural dated 1939 called "The Wedding of Ortez and Sa-Owana, Christmas 1540":
There's a barn under all that kudzu:
...oh, and not too far outside of town, there was a patch of kudzu with a big sign saying "Kudzu Control Demonstration" that Mississippi State is working on (along with a bunch of others). This page shows them putting a fire lane down to keep it from getting to homes. We have kudzu in our backyard - well, behind the cleared 'backyard' part of our backyard. You just have to keep a watch on it and make sure it stays cut back because it grows soooo fast.
One thing that is taking over right now is the honeysuckle! Oh it smells so good!
Last weekend when we were on our way to the Double Decker Art Festival in Oxford, we stopped for a little while in Tupelo so we could get Shug out of the carseat for a while and have some fun (thank goodness, he takes great car naps and doesn't mind riding in the car, ever!) at the Elvis Presley Birthplace.
We bought tickets to tour the house and the museum ($7 combined). Pictures aren't allowed in the museum (which is very small to begin with). This is the chapel with pretty windows by Laukhuff Stained Glass of Memphis - I've seen their windows in a couple of different Temples at least - their style is nice:
This statue of Elvis is 5'5" tall - Elvis' height when he was 13 and moved from Tupelo to Memphis:
This is Elvis' house with Av and Shug on the front porch. Shug knows that as a good Southerner, he was born with a special place in his heart for both Elvis and Bear Bryant!
There are two rooms in the house - the bedroom, where Elvis was born:
...and the kitchen. That's it.:
Can you imagine what Elvis' mother must have thought of Graceland, after starting out in this little two-room house in Tupelo?
We had a nice time and got to meet a couple from England who were spending a week in the US. After leaving Tupelo, they were off to Nashville to see everything about Country music. They were really nice - and I noticed that as we were leaving, of the 12 or so cars we could see in the parking lot, there was maybe one car with an in-state tag!
We visited Mooresville, Alabama for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It's the first town established by the newly-formed state of Alabama in 1818, but it's not the oldest town in Alabama by far - Childersburg claims itself to be America's oldest occupied city (est. 1540).
Mooresville is, though, postcard-pretty, almost like a museum setting.
The post office (still in the same building) is from 1840 and is among the oldest in the country:
So many pretty homes:
This is the 1854 Church of Christ. James Garfield preached here when he was a general, before he became president:
The 1839 Mooresville Brick Church - atop the steeple is a hand:
Tom Fitzmorris published his guide to Jazz Fest food, and one of the things on it that got three stars was a dish called 'grilled chicken livers with pepper jelly' being served by the Praline Connection.
I thought that sounded different, so I went to their website but there wasn't really any better description than that so I decided to just make up my own way. I didn't do the livers grilled - I actually made them into the simplest chopped liver, and since I wasn't sure how they were served, I decided to make it into an appetizer by cutting rounds of baguette toasted, covered with a little hot pepper jelly, and topped with chopped liver. Wow did it ever turn out great!
Ingredients - this will make 15-20 appetizers: 2-1/2 lbs chicken livers handful of white or yellow onion, chopped (I used vidalia) salt olive oil hot pepper jelly baguette
Directions: First, I just sauteed my onions in a little olive oil, then added the (thoroughly washed) chicken livers and cooked on medium-high until they were done (added some salt here too):
Drained off the liquid and poured the liver and onions into a bowl, then used my Braun hand mixer to chop it into a smooth consistency:
I poured a little more olive oil into the skillet that the livers cooked in (so they would pick up a little of the liver/onion flavor that was left) and let them fry just a little so they would be toasty on one side:
They came out nice:
Then I covered the toast with sweet hot pepper jelly (I used Stonewall Kitchen brand):
...and finished by topping each piece with the chopped liver:
It's not terribly photogenic but oh was it good! I'm definitely making these as appetizers for our next big supper with guests!
This morning, I made chilled avocado soup - it's enough for about two servings, so I'll have it today and tomorrow for lunch. It takes all of three minutes to make and it's so delicious.
Ingredients: 2 Hass avocados - they're the bumpy blackish ones 2 cups of milk (I use 2% so it's not so heavy) salt to taste scattering of diced roma tomatoes and vidalias to top
Directions: This can be made in the blender or Cuisinart - peel and pit the avocados, scoop into the bowl:
Whirl until completely smooth (use a spatula and make sure any bits sticking to the side get blended), add milk in a stream so you can check for the consistency you like, then add salt to taste:
Here it is, ready for to be covered and put in the refrigerator until lunch. I'll just dice up a roma tomato and a bit of vidalia to top it with, and it'll be perfect.
This birdhouse gourd - I've shown this one before, a couple of years ago - we bought in Mississippi and wish I could remember the name of the artist. It's my favorite birdhouse, and every year we've been lucky enough to host a new family in it:
This year as with other years, a mommy Carolina Wren has chosen it to have her babies hatch inside. So sweet:
She's such a good mommy, too. She must make at least a hundred trips a day back and forth, always with a little goodie in her mouth to feed the babies. Precious.
A couple of weekends ago, we took a nice trip over to Tallassee. One of the first places we stopped was here at Sears Chapel Methodist Church in rural Coosa county on Highway 231, not too far from Rockford. The congregation was founded in 1860 and had first a log cabin building, but this pretty building was completed around 1895.
This sign further down the road is two miles from Rockford, just as it says. I don't think I've ever seen a marker like this before:
This is the old rock jail, circa 1842, in Rockford. It's a museum now:
...and behind it is the monument for Fred, the town dog. He was inducted into the Alabama Animal Hall of Fame and they describe him:
"Fred" the town dog lived to be about 13 years of age. He was a male, Airedale mix with a heart for all of Rockford, Alabama. He truly became Rockford's ambassador by welcoming visitors to town and he was invariably the first to welcome newcomers. He was steadfast in guarding the children at the elementary school, or guarding the bank, or local foodmart. He was adept at helping to raise funds for charity, and his likeness still sells souvenirs and other items for the city. He had served as grand marshall in numerous parades and he brought fame to the city through local newspaper and magazine articles, local television exposure and even national television coverage.
Downtown Rockford - the population is fewer than 500, but when we were there, Av remembered that Rockford had been in the news this past year because two of the football players in the Super Bowl, Adalius Thomas for the Patriots and Justin Tuck for the Giants, grew up here and played football at Coosa Central.
We decided since it was such a pretty day to just drive around and see what we could find. The more dirt roads, the better:
We stumbled upon this cemetery, Old Shiloh Cemetery, on County Road 63 in Coosa County. It was established in the late 1700s:
This monument is for Mary S., consort of A.J. Thomas:
We had to stop when we saw it just because we could tell it was so old:
We went further toward Lake Logan Martin and drove in to Camp Smile-A-Mile (oops! earlier I called it a different name here, but it it is Camp S-A-M). It is right on the banks of the lake.
Right when we got out, this mommy goose was tending to her sweet babies:
And right behind this chapel:
...there's a lighthouse!
This is the first lighthouse we've gotten to take Shug up close to:
Late that afternoon, we got to Hotel Talisi in downtown Tallassee - they serve fried chicken that's one of Av's favorites. Fried chicken, dressing, black-eyed peas, spinach, and squash casserole:
On April 15th, L.V. Hull, a famous artist from Kosciusko, Mississippi passed away and was buried at Bethlehem Church Cemetery. She was 65 years old.
L.V. started creating her art in 1975 - she said she didn't know exactly why - and eventually as the art overflowed her home and into her yard, visitors came from all over to 123 Allen Street to see her and her creations. In fact, the city of Kosciusko's chamber of commerce promotes it, as does the official Natchez Trace site.
A doctor in town wrote a piece about Miss L.V. that appeared in the Star-Herald:
“Jesus is coming to Kosciusko, Ms. 39090.” This was one of her favorite sayings to put on her gaily painted wooden crosses. And, indeed, Jesus came last week to Kosciusko, MS 39090 and took home one of his truly unique creations, L.V. Hull, THE Artist of Kosciusko. Although her unusual art style was often sadly underappreciated and misunderstood, it could never be ignored!
I would like to think that L.V. considered me a friend. She loved company, and once you were allowed inside her humble house which was chocked full of the interpretations of her imagination, time seemed to stand still. Her no-holds-barred brand of homespun philosophy probably didn’t sit well with some visitors, but she certainly had an uncanny knack of telling it like it was.
Last year LV. was invited to display her art at a rather prestigious exhibit at Mississippi State University. Though some quirk of fate, it fell my responsibility to get The Artist and samples of her work there. Beth and I pulled up in front of L.V.’s house in our Ford Explorer which, as you know, does not sit low to the ground. Well, try as she might, L.V. was unable to get herself into the vehicle. I finally locked my hands like the stirrup on a saddle, leaned down and had L.V. put a foot in, then hoisted her in. “Don’t worry,” she reassured us. “If you can get me in, I can fall out!”
One of the last pieces she did for me was to be given to the president of our Mississippi State Medical Association when she spoke at our component society meeting here in Kosciusko this past December. The day of the meeting I received the following message taken by my office staff: “Your package is ready. When you come by to get it, bring me two pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken (extra Crispy) and a biscuit.” Needless to say, we both ended up satisfied!
L.V.’s impact on our town will probably never be fully known, but suffice it to say, it has been considerable. Since her arrival in Heaven, I imagine that she’s probably already tried to personalize the Pearly Gates. I can just hear now. “St. Peter, ain’t that cobalt blue BAD?”
Stanley Hartness, M.D.
Lots of nice pics of Miss L.V.'s home and yard are here (I'm trying to find our pics of her yard, but I think the last time we were there I was still taking pics with film!).
We drove over to Oxford yesterday and had the *very* best time at the Double Decker Arts Festival! Ohmygoodness was it ever so great! It was right in the square, and it was as busy as game day in the Grove. Loved it.
I just wish I'd taken more pictures of everything! Besides all the great artists, we went into several of the shops and got Shug some books at Square Books Junior, which is the kids' version of our favorite bookshop anywhere, Square Books (and whether or not you get to Oxford much, Square Books puts out this great weekly email about books that are coming out, authors that are making appearances (and they can hold a signed copy & ship it) and lots more - the signup is here). Oh, and their signed first editions club is something we've thought about doing for a while and probably will soon.
Sooo...back to the festival. I'm going to start with what was really special - there were two or three artists there with bottle trees:
***But*** the most special one was this bottle tree arch by artist Stephanie Dwyer (her website is here):
Isn't that great!!?? Av's ready for us to start house-shopping again...so I think it would make a very nice addition to a new garden area...hmmm...
There were lots & lots of other great artists there - a full listing of them all is right here.
Double Decker is on our don't-miss list of festivals from now on...already can't wait for next year!
On Friday, Shug and I picked up Daddy from the office and went over to the Magic City Art Connection in B'ham. A lot of the artists are the same from year to year - our favorites this year were:
Av contacted Neal Boortz yesterday (he has a nationwide radio program - smaller than Rush, but still huge), and today Neal put the link to the Huntsville Times article about Mr. Wharton's art on his website! See here: http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html
The next Slotin Folk Art Auction is this weekend in Buford, Georgia - but for those of us who can't be there in person, the auction is also run online in real-time through eBay (I've bid on their auctions before through eBay, and it really is easy).
As usual, there are a lot of nice folk pottery pieces including face jugs by Lanier and Cheever Meaders, art by Sam Doyle, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Purvis Young, Howard Finster, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, B.F. Perkins, Mary T. Smith, Mose T, Son Thomas, and...think of somebody in that genre and they're probably included. A complete listing of all the auction lots is here.
Wade Wharton lives in Huntsville. He has an amazing art environment. And the city wants to get rid of it.
He lives at 3100 Nassau Drive in Huntsville and is just tickled to give tours. He gets visitors all the time and is just really generous.
The Huntsville Community Development Department wants this art gone because it does not fit within their black-and-white Code of Ordinances. The H'ville Times writes that the city sent Mr. Wharton a notice because "it is unlawful to keep or store any inoperable vehicle, auto parts, metals, tree limbs, litter, debris or similar items unless such items are stored in an approved, fully enclosed and covered structure."
That's a problem, because Mr. Wharton makes his art by recycling things that are cast-off. Whereas other Alabama artists like Charlie Lucas and Lonnie Holley and Joe Minter (and I could go on & on) who develop their art similarly are celebrated in museums, Mr. Wharton says that what the city is threatening "worries me to death".
All those gorgeous bottle trees in his back yard - the city wants them gone. In this clip, Mr. Wharton explains why, and at the end of the clip explains how he was told by the code enforcement supervisor that if his yard is art, that makes the landfill a museum:
He has such a wonderful sense of humor too. About these, he said he threw down a bunch of lugnuts and "just look at what sprouted up":
Mr. Wharton says he had a stroke when he was 36 and had always been right-brained, but after his stroke, he became "whole-brained" and gets "unique ideas". He had another stroke before all this business with the city began. Then he says, "this is my last fight, I guess. I'm going to fight".
It's hard to believe that the Huntsville Museum of Art or the BMA or the High hasn't heard of him before and put on an exhibit.
This is a sculpture he calls the cowboy - he's made out of VW Beetle parts:
This praying mantis even moves:
When I was invited in his home, he showed me some of the other things he made - lots of things with gourds, and lots of woodwork. He carved this bowl with a model of his hand in it - all one piece.
It's upsetting that this art and this artist is being threatened. I wonder what the Huntsville Museum of Art's position on this is, and if the mayor can be persuaded to step in (I'm writing emails).
All over Alabama we are blessed with genius artists - I remember Bill Arnett, who brought the world to Thornton Dial and the Gee's Bend quilters, was quoted as saying "Alabama is America's answer to Tuscany".
Rather than scaring Wade Wharton, we ought to be showering him with thanks and promoting his art environment.
(This is a screenshot from the M'ry Advertiser this morning)
John McCain was in Alabama yesterday and visited Selma, Thomasville, and Gee's Bend - Av says there's a pic of his campaign bus on the ferry to Gee's Bend in the B'ham News, and apparently some quilters rode over with him, singing Gospel songs. Before he left Alabama, John McCain bought three large quilts and paid $14,030 for them! Nice!
(oh, and (I don't know who I'm voting for yet, but...) thank you to John McCain for not coming down here and trying to put on some crazy-fake accent, or trying to speak colloquially to the crowd about "y'all got that cold Popeye's out for breakfast". Cringe. Really, thank you!!) ---
We went to the most *amazing* art environment yesterday, and I'll try to post pics later today or tomorrow...can't wait to show it!!
We're planning our garden right now, ordering seeds!
In 2005, I got my first digital camera - a Sony Cybershot - and since then I've just been taking pics of everything. Lucky (& happily!) for me, some of them have been published!
Av and I travel soooo much, and we really try to avoid most all chain restaurants. I highly recommend the places below next time you are in any of these towns!
Favorite Restaurants/Food:
1.Commander's Palace, New Orleans, LA - Don't Miss: every single thing there is *amazing*. Be sure to have Creole cream cheese cheesecake for dessert, too!
2.Antoine's, New Orleans, LA - Don't Miss: the fish, the soft shell crabs, and the baked Alaska...and the service is incredible.
3.Doe's Eat Place, Greenville, MS - Don't Miss: steaks (one steak serves two easily) and tamales.
4.Prejean's, Lafayette, LA - Don't Miss: incredible fish dishes, like the Catfish Oscar Prejean.
5. Lusco's, Greenwood, MS - Don't Miss: pompano, and the atmosphere - with the tables with curtains and the little buzzer.
6.Jacques-Imo's, New Orleans, LA - Don't Miss: 'Godzilla Meets Fried Green Tomatoes'. Oh yes.
7.Big Bob Gibson's, Decatur, AL - Don't Miss: barbecue and white chicken sauce. White sauce got started here.
9.Drago's, Metairie, LA - Don't Miss: charbroiled oysters.
10.The Bright Star, Bessemer, AL - Don't Miss: trout almondine, snapper throats, prime rib.
11. Ezell's Fish Camp, Lavaca, AL - Don't Miss: Ezell's is a *real* fish camp - right on the water with excellent catfish (obviously), fried pickles, and hush puppies.
12. Duchess Bakery, Cullman, AL - Don't Miss: doughnuts early in the morning while they are still hot.
13.Mary Mac's Tea Room, Atlanta, GA - Don't Miss: the the vegetables, the pot likker, the lovely lady that comes by and rubs everybody's back. Mary Mac's is old-line Atlanta, the Atlanta that's easy to love.
14.Gambino's Bakery, Metairie, LA - Don't Miss: the Doberge: it is six layers of yellow butter cake with custard between each layer and the whole production is covered in fondant.
15. Rabideaux's Sausage Kitchen, Iowa, LA - Don't Miss: anything and everything they have there is wonderful!! Bring a cooler.
16.The Dillard House, Dillard, GA - Don't Miss: the process: your table automatically gets everything on the menu that day, and you can ask for more of whatever you like. Expect three or four main dishes, six or so side dishes, and dessert.
17.McGuire's Irish Pub, Pensacola, FL - Don't Miss: Everything there is wonderful - especially the prime rib.
18.Vrazel's, Gulfport, MS - Don't Miss: just about any of the seafood dishes.
19.Wintzell's Oyster House, Mobile, AL - Don't Miss: Wintzell's is just fun! There are three Wintzell's now, but only go to the original - the one downtown on Dauphin Street. Obviously famous for their oysters.
20.The Dinner Bell, McComb, MS - Don't Miss: it's a revolving tables restaurant. Especially good dressing and eggplant.
21.Walnut Hills, Vicksburg, MS - Don't Miss: making friends with everyone at your table. Another revolving tables restaurant.
22. Niki's West, B'ham, AL - Don't Miss: whole fried flounder, and dozens of vegetables available, all of them excellent - when ordering, just think of your two or three favorite and chances are, they're available. Don't miss the rutabagas.
23.Bob's Clam Hut, Kittery, ME - Don't Miss: Bob's may be a clam hut, but they make the most *amazing* lobster rolls.
24.Faidley's, Baltimore, MD - Don't Miss: The crabcakes. Best ever. Ever.
25.Joe's Dreyfus Store, Livonia, LA - Don't Miss: Bread pudding. And cheesecake. We've only had dessert here, but we can't wait to go back for supper.
We travel constantly, so I thought I would share some of the ones I enjoy the most.
2.Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, LA Ah, the Ritz....as a guest, almost everyone at the hotel will know and remember your name.
3.The Alluvian, Greenwood, MS The Alluvian is a real treasure - the rooms and amenities are first-class. The hotel was completely refurbished by the Viking Corporation, which is headquartered in Greewood as well. I don't really recommend the spa, but Giardina's is a nice place to have supper (skip their tamales, though) - right next door.
5.Le Meridien Apollo, Amsterdam, Holland This hotel has great memories as it was the first place we stayed at on our honeymoon in Europe. The staff was wonderful to us and really made us feel special; the room and room service were both excellent, the location was nice and we had a great view.
6.Imperial Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark The very best thing about the hotel was its location - it was in the center of the city and we were walking distance to everything. The room wasn't especially large but was decorated in classic Danish design which I love.
7.W New Orleans, New Orleans, LA The W strives so hard to be swanky....and it is. The rooms are black, white, and red; there is a chaise lounge, which automatically makes me happy and the beds are SO comfortable.
8.Le Meridien, Eilat, Israel The rooms are nice but what makes the whole experience is the location - the Edom Mountains and the Gulf of Eilat (the Red Sea). The pool is nice but the beach is wonderful (the hotel puts lounge chairs sort-of over the water and it is niiiice....).
9.Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans The guestrooms here are somewhat small, but they're furnished nicely. The hotel itself has been around since 1886, and the lobby is fantastic. The hotel's in an excellent French Quarter location, too.
10.The Beach Club, Gulf Shores AL This is a condo, not a hotel, but it's our favorite place to stay at the beach. Everything is really nice and I love to 'play house' and cook in the kitchen and that sort of thing. If you get a two-bedroom (which is only a bit more), the master bedroom will open onto the balcony so you can sleep listening to the waves. Nice!
Favorite Shows:
1. The Waltons (The Waltons will always be my favorite show!!)
Doing new: Selling books we'll never look at again on Amazon, and decluttering by selling things on eBay
Short-term Planning: Getting the garage organized
Long-term Planning: In the next ten years, I'd like to have a condo on the beach in Pensacola or Gulf Shores, and a farm in the Delta.
Discovering: How to sew. That one's taking a while. A long while!
Feeling: So happy! I am a new mommy!
Favorites:
Book: 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' by James Agee
Play: 'The Last Night of Ballyhoo' by Alfred Uhry
Poem: 'A Supermarket in California' by Allen Ginsberg
Singer Eva Cassidy
Designer: Zang Toi
Inspiration: Eugene Walter
I have several orchids; I've got a phalaenopsis that once bloomed for over six months. I really like Oncidium Sharry Baby - they smell like chocolate! Yum!
