Just over a week ago, I visited Litebox Gallery (2825 2nd Ave S) at Pepper Place in B'ham and and Mimi Boston, who is a glass artist and runs the gallery. Here are a just few pics:
I am in love with this gallery. It's small, there's an emphasis on local artists, and the quality is really there. Across the breezeway are some pieces from the last show they did with Lonnie Holley that can be viewed...and because of their location, they have this great 'stage' where their artists can demonstrate to everyone that attends the Saturday morning Pepper Place Market.
Litebox Gallery hours are Thurs & Fri 12p-5p and Sat 8a-Noon.
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...and if you go to Pepper Place Market, don't miss a woman named Lou who makes the *best* lemon cakes ever!
This past weekend, we went to the Black Belt Roots Festival in Eutaw. I was hoping to see some artists that we don't see anywhere else, and we did!
Well, we did see some art that we know - there was a nice section with art by Charlie Lucas:
...so of course I had to get a pic of Av and the baby beside one of his assemblages:
Quilter Willie Poe was there, and she brought many pieces that she hand-quilts:
There were other quilters plus the women who do pine needle basketry, and a lady that makes white oak baskets (in the pic below). They were pretty rustic - finished, but not in that every-strip-is-even-and-has-perfect-edges way.
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Saturday from noon to 6p is the annual Okra Festival in Burkville. We went several years ago, and this year they're planning on having quilters, arts and crafts, and food - including of course okra. And Amos Kennedy with his posters, too! I don't think they have a website for the festival, but there are signs about how to get there on Hwy. 80.
While we were in Montgomery, we visited Oakwood Cemetery - here are a few of the more interesting monuments:
This is the monument of Daniel S.E. Starr and his wife, Sophronia. Mr. Starr was against the War (War Between the States) and was taken from his jail cell (where he was being held before his trial for writing what was believed to be an abolition manuscript) and hanged. He's believed to be the only citizen of Montgomery - although he was originally from Connecticut - to die for this position.
William Burr Howell, Varina Davis' father (Varina was Jeff Davis' wife):
She and seven of her children died from the scarlet fever epidemic and they are all buried here:
"Buried here are 78 officers and men of the Royal Air Force who lost their lives whilst training in Montgomery, Alabama during the Second World War. Nearly 1000 men who died during that war or the First World War when serving with the forces of Britain or the other Commonwealth countries lie buried in cemeteries throughout the United States of America. Their graves and this cross of sacrifice which commemorates them are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission."
Audrey and Hank Williams' monuments:
A metal monument:
Federal soldier section:
Sayre family:
Zelda and Scott are not buried with them but they have this marker there:
Samuel Wreford, 1866. His mausoleum was built to include eight family members but he is the only one here. His casket was a cast iron canoe.
John Schockler - this monument reads in part: "...rest my remains. Was born in N. Orleans the 22nd of Nov. 1844 was brought up by friends; not taking their advice, was drowned in this city in the Ala. River the 27th of May 1855; now I warn all young & old to beware of the dangers of this river, see how I am fixed in this watery grave. I have got but two friends to mourn."
Next to that is this monument, "In memory of my only friend, Mrs. Caroline Schockler..."
This unmarked space is where James Chastaine is buried. He attended all the high society functions of Montgomery - was considered a real dandy - and later burglarized the homes he visited. I believe this was mid-to-late 1800s.
When I think of broiled grapefruit, it's really during the winter holiday season because preparing them this way seems a little decadent - but the other day I bought a couple of gorgeous ones at Whole Foods and it only seemed right.
For each grapefruit half, mix together a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of brown sugar. To that, you add a few pecan pieces (a little or a lot, depending on your mood). Combine it all together in a bowl and spread on top each half:
Broil on high - usually somewhere between two and three minutes is perfect. Yum!
The Lowndes County Interpretive Center is run by the National Park Service and I've heard really good things about it for a while now (it's still pretty new - I think it's been open three years now) so on our last trip from Montgomery to Selma, we went in.
It's the first of three museums planned on the Selma to Montgomery 'National Historic Trail'. It only takes about thirty minutes to walk through the Interpretive Center and includes video and audio interviews with people who participated in the walk.
One of the things that was on display was a model of a State Trooper wearing a gas mask looking as if he were about to hit someone with his billy club. My PawPaw's cousin was a State Trooper (he was AL State Trooper of the year three times) and received special 'riot' training. I think I remember him telling me that he was part of Governor Wallace's anti-terrorism (or something like that) task force. He was with Governor Wallace when they had the famous stand in the schoolhouse door at Alabama, was at the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, investigated bombings, you name it. His sister and I keep in touch and she told me last week about him getting hurt in B'ham when someone threw a brick during the demonstrations. It was uncomfortable seeing that display of the State Trooper like that at the museum, but that's how history was.
One of the museum's displays was depicting a tent in a tent city. The sign read that when the Voting Rights Act was passed, many of the people who registered were tenant farmers. When some of the landowners found out that their tenants had registered, they threw them off the land and these displaced people gathered at tent cities where they lived for a year or two.
Another display was about how in 1965 some Lowndes county residents formed their own political party called the 'Lowndes County Freedom Organization' and they used the black panther as their symbol. This became the first Black Panther Party and they had a full slate of candidates in the election of November 1966.
This last pic is of James Perkins, Jr. campaign memorabilia - he became the first black mayor of Selma in 2000 after Joseph Smitherman had been in office for 37 years. That year, Av and I went to first-day Rosh Hashanah services at Mishkan Israel in Selma, and just as services were about to start, we heard a band playing music and coming down the street. It was a parade to celebrate Mayor Perkins being elected! We all got up out of the pews - in our High Holiday finest - and went out on the front steps of the synagogue to watch the parade. We thought it was great!
The museum really is good - and there's no admission charge, either - I'm wondering what the specific focus of the other two museums the NPS is planning will be.
The last Italian restaurant we went to, there was a wine cork wreath - something similar to this one - by the host's desk. That gave me an idea to make my own, but I wanted to do something different that could be used different ways...
Supplies:
Ceiling medallion from hardware store
Spray paint (I used a textured brown paint)
Wine corks - this one used about 65
Hot glue gun, hot glue sticks
Cork trivet (if you like)
Directions:
Spray paint the ceiling medallion:
Apply wine corks to the medallion's center using hot glue:
Here it can be used as a wreath:
...or you could hot glue a cork trivet (those are available anywhere from Target to chef's shops) to the back. Lying flat with a glass bowl or plate in the center, it could hold grapes, or part of a cheese course at a supper party. You could also hang it on a wall and make it into a message board:
Thumbtacks can hold notes on the cork trivet and the individual wine corks too:
If you haven't been saving your own corks, people have them for sale on eBay, too.
I've posted a few times before about the destruction of the mound in Oxford (last post here) and a couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by someone who grew up very close to the area of the mounds (there historically were several mounds here). This is the area known as the Davis Farm, which in the 1500s was part of a city called "Ulabahali" and is believed to be one of the sites that DeSoto visited during his trek through Alabama.
This is the home that Thomas Carver built there in 1850 near a natural boiling spring. I've seen it mentioned that the home was built on top of one of the mounds. Last weekend, we drove out to see the house and area. It's only about a mile from the Oxford stone mound that is the subject of so much controversy. In this picture you can see the elevation that the house is on:
This is a bit better view of it:
The main ceremonial mound on the farm was almost 40' high (it's now only about 5'). The Davis Farm was put on the Alabama Historical Commission / Alabama Preservation Alliance / University of West Alabama 2005 'Places in Peril'.
From the home, this is the view of the stone mound (Signal Mound):
This bridge nearby goes over the Choccolocco creek, along which was the historical town that DeSoto visited. Over this bridge - which you can no longer cross via car, there's a barrier up - were more mounds.
Pat Snow was generous enough to share these photographs below, and this description:
That mound is not the only mound in the area, but is the last to be disturbed. Across the street sits a house on Boiling Springs Road. The house I believe pre dates the civil war and that house is built on top of another Indian mound. The mound has an artesinal well coming out of it. Also while there was farming in the area you could see the remain of more mounds in the area. These mounds were part of a complex of dwellings and mounds that followed on the western bank of the Chocolaca (sp) Creek all from the Signal Mound all the way to the present day airport. While I was in high school I would go to the farm land in the spring after the fields had been turned and the first rain had come and would look for artifacts. I would find arrow points, shards. I would also find other artifacts like game pieces, hoes, grinding stones and decorative stones. I also found remants of post holes for circular dwellings.
Pictures of some other things excavated from the Davis Farm are here.
Yesterday, the Anniston Star published a report that a landowner has come forward saying that dirt from his land will be used for the Sam's site rather than the city continuing to use the hill/mound. Also, a sinkhole has developed on the Sam's site. The article reads in part:
In an unrelated move, the owners of the hill, the city's Commercial Development Authority met Wednesday to deal with a sinkhole found on the Sam's site. Members authorized putting $350,000 into an escrow account to reimburse Sam's for the cost of fixing the sinkhole.
...which...Sam's was so adamant in their response to my questions that they did not own any of the land that was under development, I'm curious as to why Sam's would be on the hook for fixing the sinkhole if the CDA is really the one responsible for site prep. Right?
Channel 13 in B'ham did a 'Fact Finder' report on the destruction of the mound that ran on their news yesterday:
On Sunday, August 30, a protest and reconsecration ceremony has been scheduled at the mound from 2p-5p.
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.
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. Chez Fonfon, B'ham, AL - Don't Miss: everything here is great...even the hamburger is amazing!
5.Taylor Grocery, Taylor, MS - Don't Miss: catfish, catfish, catfish.
6. Lusco's, Greenwood, MS - Don't Miss: pompano, and the atmosphere - with the tables with curtains and the little buzzer.
7.Jacques-Imo's, New Orleans, LA - Don't Miss: 'Godzilla Meets Fried Green Tomatoes'. Oh yes.
8.Big Bob Gibson's, Decatur, AL - Don't Miss: barbecue and white chicken sauce. White sauce got started here.
10.Drago's, Metairie, LA - Don't Miss: charbroiled oysters.
11. Ninfa's, Houston, TX - Don't Miss: (the original Ninfa's on Navigation) ohmygosh this place makes me so happy I can't wait to go back and have the entire rest of the menu.
12.The Bright Star, Bessemer, AL - Don't Miss: trout almondine, snapper throats, prime rib.
13. 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.
14. Duchess Bakery, Cullman, AL - Don't Miss: doughnuts early in the morning while they are still hot.
15.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.
16. Rabideaux's Sausage Kitchen, Iowa, LA - Don't Miss: anything and everything they have there is wonderful!! Bring a cooler.
17.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.
18.McGuire's Irish Pub, Pensacola, FL - Don't Miss: Everything there is wonderful - especially the prime rib.
19.Wintzell's Oyster House, Mobile, AL - Don't Miss: Wintzell's is just fun! 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.
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