Hotel Talisi, You Are Missed

Posted by ginger On Monday, November 30, 2009

We were coming back from the Wiregrass Saturday night and talked about taking the boys to supper at the Hotel Talisi in Tallassee, then decided since it was so late we would just drive straight through and instead have Sunday brunch there this week.


Well now we won't get the chance. It burned down overnight.
Hotel Talisi, Tallassee, AL

One of the owners, Dawn Bodenburg, had been emailing me about Hotel Talisi opening back up and us coming back...I'd even gotten an email from a reporter with the Tallassee newspaper about how local businesses were getting involved by sponsoring the redecoration of the hotel rooms.

Oh the way I *loved* the crazy upstairs hallway, like someone's slightly batty grandmother's living room:
Hotel Talisi, Upstairs
It even had an old fashioned telephone booth.

Oh, and the fried chicken and everything else they served downstairs in the restaurant...dressing, blackeyed peas, broccoli casserole, squash casserole...if it had 'casserole' in the name, they served it.
Supper at Hotel Talisi, Tallassee Alabama

Here's hoping the insurance company sends Dawn and the other six owners a nice big check and we'll all be enjoying the Hotel Talisi again very soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by ginger On Thursday, November 26, 2009

Nelva Fine Food Sign in Meridian, MS

Hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving with everyone you love today! Plenty of fine food, too.

Saving Margaret's Grocery

Posted by ginger On Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Margaret's Grocery 2005, Vicksburg MS



Thanks to my friend Larry for telling me about this - according to the AP, Margaret's Grocery in Vicksburg (which the story called the "Bible Castle") is:

...being taken over by a local church that hopes to preserve it.

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The couple sold the home to Cool Springs M.B. Church, on condition that they be allowed to live there as long as they were able.

Since Miss Margaret passed away last month and the Reverend is in a nursing home, the church will be kept going - not sure how, but should be interesting. Can't wait to see what they're up to on our next visit!

Etsy Shop Open!

Posted by ginger On Monday, November 23, 2009

I *finally* opened my Etsy shop! The first two things I have listed are for personalized English and Hebrew menorahs - here are some pics from ones I've done in the past:




...and here's the Etsy shop; I hope to have several things more added to it over the next few days:

The English personalized menorahs are listed here and Hebrew here. Yay!!

Pumpkin Gourds And Indian Corn Wreath

Posted by ginger On Monday, November 23, 2009

Last month, we took the boys to the Alabama Gourd Festival in Cullman before seeing the new sculpture at Ave Maria Grotto. I was really excited about going to the gourd show this year, because our friend Wade Wharton (who has the great art environment in Huntsville) let us know that he entered and won in the toy category!


Besides people entering their own creations, there are *several* people there selling the gourds they grow themselves. We bought two of these pumpkin-shaped gourds - I think they were each less than $3 each:

I took a regular craft foam brush and coated each with Minwax PolyShades 1-Step Stain & Polyeurethane in Antique Walnut Satin #340. The reason the one on the right is so much lighter is that even though I shook and shook and shook the little can, the dark stain stayed on the bottom. I just thought it would turn darker with time! Finally on the second, I dipped the foam brush far into the can and found all that dark stain...but actually, I like having them both a little different:

I stained and left them outside all day - so pretty!

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The last time we went to visit the Amish community in Tennessee, we stopped at the Green Valley General Store in Bodenham TN.

Seven words sums it all up: Sun Drop, country ham biscuits, fried pies.

It's one of those have-to-stop-here places if you're going toward Pulaski. If you catch them at the right time, they're making the fried pies fresh and you can leave with a hot one. Oh yes.

Well, there's tons more in the shop, but one thing I found was this Indian corn wreath, which I brought home:

It's too late in the season now to make one, but all it is is just several ears of Indian corn cut in thirds, a hole drilled through the middle of each, and a wire frame inserted through the hole in each corn section. Definitely going to make a couple of these next year for friends!

Stray Art Salon Show

Posted by ginger On Friday, November 20, 2009

Last night, Av and I went to the Stray Art Salon show at The Club in B'ham. I wish it were open to everyone, but it's only from tonight through Friday and Saturday in the Gold Room (11a - 9p) for members and their guests only. Thankfully we're members so we got to see the show and then have a little supper. I wish somehow they had opened this event up to everyone, but I'll post again when Stray Art Salon is at a different venue - we'll definitely be at that one too. Here I caught a rare lull and got this pic of part of the space:


The group is made up of ten members -

Deborah Ballog, who I met yesterday in person when Leslie and I took a glass jewelry class from her (more about that early next week!!) - wish I had taken a pic of some of her glass art but I was so busy going on & on about it...anyway...great pics of her work here.

Laura Brookhart - photographer, photo montage artist

Don Estes - oils and pastels

Toby Klein - mixed media...lots of glass. Av's parents have several of her works.

Warren Mullins - watercolor

Beverly Owen - oil

Deb Paradise - porcelain:

Jeannie Robertson - watercolor, pastel, oil, paste

Hank Siegel - photography

Arthur Umlauf - sculptor - he works in everything from ceramics to wood to bronze, alabaster, and Sylacauga marble, which this piece below is made from:

We were talking about his family being from Austin and his dad was the late Charles Umlauf. If you're 'into' sculpture or are familiar with the Austin area, you probably know the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. Nice!


Back On Monday

Posted by ginger On Thursday, November 19, 2009


...back on Monday!

American Village

Posted by ginger On Tuesday, November 17, 2009

One weekend, we gathered the boys up to take them to American Village in Montevallo. It was closed! Turns out, it's only open during the week, largely (I'm just guessing here) because they host many weddings, and secondly because it's a huge draw for school groups - but again that's just a guess. Either way, seems like it would be wonderful for kids who can't go during the week to have the opportunity to visit on a Saturday.


Anyway, we took one weekday morning and visited...and I have to say, it was great. Much better than I had expected. The American Revolution period of our country's past was exciting, but it wasn't ever my favorite part of history class. That doesn't matter. It was really nice.

This is a reproduction of the Liberty Bell. They had a historic marker there for it, and it read that the last time the *real* bell was rung was in 1846 for George Washington's birthday. The bell cracked that time, and since the bell had already cracked and been repaired several times previously, it was decided that would be it.

This is the Lucille Ryals Thompson Colonial Chapel, inspired by one of the churches in Williamsburg:

No wonder so many people want to get married at American Village!:



This building houses the "Greatest Miniature Museum in America" - that's what the 35 dioramas that toured the country back in the 1960s was called. A gentleman from Tuscaloosa, Pettus Randall Jr., thought it would be a great way to teach schoolchildren about American history. Eventually, it was put in storage and then just a few years ago it was 'rediscovered' and restored.



Betsy Ross:

The war:
At Ford Theatre:

23rd Amendment:

FDR's Fireside Chats:

MLK and the Montgomery Bus Boycott:

Space Age:

All the Presidents and First Ladies up to LBJ and Lady Bird:

You know who this is:

Each day they give tours (although you absolutely don't have to take part in one - you're free to explore on your own) and here one of our founding fathers is getting the crowd really riled up over taxation without representation:
...and when I say they were riled up, he really had them going!

The whole campus there is just gorgeous:

This is inside the main building in the picture above:



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It was announced last week that a $6 million replica of Independence Hall will be built at American Village. It is supposed to include a visitor's center and a colonial coffee house.


Dedication At Ave Maria Grotto

Posted by ginger On Monday, November 16, 2009

The middle of last month at Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, they held the dedication of the statue of Brother Joseph, so we went to see it. They were also showing off the renovation and addition of the visitors' center:

It's *so* nice inside. They carry honey that the Brothers harvest, plus candles from their candlemaking shop at the Abbey. Of course they have a huge selection of rosaries and books etc etc etc.

The grotto was beautiful as always:

I love taking the boys here and one nice thing is that they are now doing family memberships so that you can pay a yearly fee for unlimited admissions.
I grew up in Cullman and know that my love of self-taught art came from visiting Ave Maria Grotto - the way Brother Joseph used cast-off items like jars, plumbing supplies, old costume jewelry, and tile to make the most magnificent creations was and still is so inspiring.

This is the new statue of Brother Joseph that Ira Chaffin made:
Besides working in bronze, Ira has just opened a new carousel woodcarving school in B'ham.

After we left the grotto, we took the boys to see the small chapel closeby:
Beautiful.

My set of previous Grotto pics, like these below, are here on Flickr.

Ave Maria Grotto, Cullman AL

Colisseum in Miniature at Ave Maria Grotto, Cullman AL

The Temple in Miniature at Ave Maria Grotto, Cullman AL

Open Door Churches

Posted by ginger On Sunday, November 15, 2009

I think Av is starting to feel as though his weekend isn't complete unless we've at some point been on a dirt road:


So...last weekend we were in the Black Belt and came across this road...and over on the right we saw this:

What a gorgeous church. I mean - well, right now it isn't the conventional kind of beautiful but it's definitely there, just in a different way. The door was standing wide open and I wanted to see what condition the interior was in:



There's no telling *when* the last time an active congregation was there.

And if that wasn't enough, on the same road we came across this Second Empire style church. The door to this one was also hanging open (this building has shifted on its foundation so that it may be impossible to close the door. I was certain it was also abandoned.). Looking straight-on, the building seemed to be leaning left:

...ohmystars the interior!!

I stood there at the door, and after a minute of just taking it all in, I realized: this building is still being used. There's a flower arrangement on the piano, the collection basket there on the table, all the decorations in the back, and in this cabinet were several funeral home-sponsored church fans:

Wasps were taking over the inside. There had to be at least twenty flying all around the room - and when I came outside, Av pointed up to to the top of the tower and there had to have been another 30 wasps swarming all around there - not sure you can see all the black dots:

I'm going to send this church a little check with my Amazon earnings this month and see if we can't help them get rid of these wasps.

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Does the place you worship keep the sanctuary doors open all the time?

When I was in college, there was a discussion on the chapel we had on campus about its hours and so on. There was a group - and I felt this way too - that said that the doors to the chapel should always be open. It was a non-denominational chapel and anyone could go in just for a moment of peace or a longer session of prayer. As a college student (um...and today also...) the moments when I appreciated somewhere to go for quiet and connectedness didn't always happen during 'business hours'. It was comforting to know there was a sacred place there on our campus that was always open.

One of my Catholic friends told me that he sometimes would get up at 3 in the morning when he wasn't sleeping well, and go to his church to pray. The doors were *always* open (and this was an opulent, opulent church). Occasionally, the congregation would have a sign-up sheet for people take hour-long stretches around the clock for days where they would pray about one certain issue or concern.

The building where our family worships stays locked when services are not going on, and when formal services are taking place, a security guard is posted at one of the doors. I wish my children did not have to pass by a security guard to get to our place of worship.

Here's to future always-open doors.

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