There Goes Connie

Bayou la Batre, Alabama — Shrimp and Crabs

12/26/2016 By: CCPearsoncomment

I’ve been to Alabama’s Gulf Coast at least a dozen times. Those waves, that dazzling white sand, and the fresh seafood draw me back over and over. I’ve also been to Mobile and spots along Mobile Bay, but I had never visited Bayou la Batre until last month. All of the food bloggers who were gathered in Orange Beach for a conference were loaded on a bus early one morning, and we made the 1 1/2 hour trip to the tiny town that has such an incredible impact on the seafood industry for our state.

The population boasts a whopping 2500 +/- mix of Asians, whites, blacks, native Americans, Hispanics, Creoles and Cajuns, and out of that there are 829 shrimpers, oystermen and fishermen who make up the Organized Seafood Association of Alabama. Try to imagine the economic, physical and psychological damage caused by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005 and then the BP oil spill in 2010. You have to truly love that life and be dedicated to it to survive and continue year after year. Yet, they do, and somehow God’s providence as seen in nature replenishes what is lost, and the seafood production goes on.

A quick review of the plot of the movie “Forrest Gump” will remind you of why Forrest entered the shrimping business after his tour of duty in Vietnam. His friend Bubba Blue talked non-stop of his dream of owning a shrimp boat and of making his living by hauling in catch after catch. When Bubba was killed, Forrest left his own hometown, fictional Greenbow, AL, for Bubba’s hometown, the very real town of Bayou la Batre, to fulfill that dream for his friend. He and his beloved Lt. Dan went into business together. Lt. Dan invested some of the profits into a “fruit company” that turned out to be Apple, Inc. and both of them became multi-millionaires. Along the way, viewers got a great glimpse of the shrimping process and its highs and lows.

Those images were in my mind as we rode into Bayou la Batre, and what we saw made the mental pictures even more vivid.

Our group got a closeup look at Olympic Shellfish Company, owned by John Grevenitis which processes tons and tons of crabs. And, we visited Graham Shrimp Company, owned by Ernie Anderson. Both were gracious hosts who spoke with justified pride about the work done by their companies.

We got to Olympic Shellfish in time to see a number of Asian workers finishing up for the day.

Olympic Shellfish — crab processing

Hard at work prying meat out of crab shells.

Olympic Shellfish

One by one.

A freezer full of processed crab meat.

And at Graham Shrimp Company, we saw several shrimp boats conveniently docked, having just unloaded their catch. Then, we went inside to watch the sorting/deheading/flash-freezing process.

A shrimp boat hugging the dock at Graham Shrimp Company.

Some shrimp are pink.

Some shrimp have black tails.

These boxes are labeled and ready.

In both places, we were completely impressed with the efficiency and cleanliness of the plants. I can very comfortably recommend shrimp and crabs caught and processed in Alabama. Happy eating!

Emmanuel/Immanuel — JESUS

12/23/2016 By: CCPearsoncomment

The word “Emmanuel” draws me every time I hear it. The concept that GOD IS WITH US is almost too big to comprehend. I am in awe that God, who was already surrounding us, protecting us, wooing us, loving us and sometimes reprimanding us while still extending His mercy and grace also chose to come to earth to “be with us.”

Isaiah 7:14 — “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

Matthew 1:18-23 — (Matthew, the disciple and author of this book, quoted the verse in Isaiah and proceeded to translate it for us). “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.”

The Greek words here describe an association that means “with us in very close association.” “With” in this context suggests a firm bond. And, we can take that a step further. Not only is He with us now, but He has been with us in the events of our lives leading up to the present, and He will be with us when our lives come to an end.

That’s Jesus, the One whose birth is celebrated this month. As the angel instructed Joseph before Baby Jesus was born: “And she (Mary) will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” God the Father made provision for us through God the Son so that we could receive forgiveness for our sins and not be separated from God because of those sins. Hallelujah!

Back in the 80’s, I was teaching chorus at Hartselle Junior High School, and a popular song by Bette Midler came on the scene called “From a Distance.” The students, especially the girls, loved to sing it. Many of the lyrics were nice:

From a distance
The world looks blue and green
And the snow capped mountains white
From a distance
The ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance
There is harmony
And it echoes through the land
Its the voice of hope
Its the voice of peace
Its the voice of every man.

But the chorus always made me cringe:

God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us
From a distance.

No, no, a thousand times, no. God is NOT watching us from a distance. He is right beside us and watching us from as close as it is possible to be watched. He even has the power to watch us from the inside. He knows our hearts and our thoughts before we even form them. My students probably rolled their eyes as I repeated my correction to the words over and over. I sure hope they have remembered.

Because of EMMANUEL, God is with us . . . right beside us . . . inside of us . . . CLOSE.

Definitely a reason to celebrate. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Edgar’s — Fresh Deliciousness at The Village of Providence

12/19/2016 By: CCPearsoncomment

Beware! This post will make you plan a trip to The Village of Providence in Madison SOON. Edgar’s the long-renowned bakery in Birmingham has spread its goodness to North Alabama. But, not only is it a bakery, it is also a gift shop and a great casual restaurant option. Check out the breakfast and lunch menus here.

Exterior of Edgar’s on a prominent corner in Providence.

Located at 472 Providence Main St. NW #100 in Huntsville, AL, Edgar’s is open from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day except Sunday. If possible, go before Christmas because the decorations, gifts and pastries are so beautifully-decorated. But, if that’s not possible, then plan an occasion early in 2017. Even if you’ll be on your new diet, they have lots of great salads to keep you out of trouble.

Crab cake salad.

Salad trio with chicken, tuna and egg salad.

Chicken salad croissant.

Enjoy these photos while your mouth waters.

View from the front door to the display and order counter.

Wandering through the gift shop area.

Temptations galore. “One of each, please.”

Perfect for holiday trays or for contributing to parties.

Looks like a painting by Wayne Thiebaud.

The layers of a lemon square.

Perfect petit fours.

Lesson from a 5-Year-Old

12/16/2016 By: CCPearson1 Comment

Because of my dad’s death this past July, we had Cousins Camp the week leading up to Thanksgiving this year. During one of our fun meals around the table here at home, I decided to use the opportunity to get some Christmas ideas from the 10 grandchildren that were here, knowing that they could also chime in about ideas for the other two. The suggestions were pretty predictable, especially knowing their various personalities. Art materials, doll clothes and hairbows for the girls. Sports items and gift card requests for the boys, etc. A pretty normal, run-of-the-mill list until we came to Sam — actually Samuel Pearson Rodgers, age 5.

Samuel, age 5, with his 2-year-old brother, Silas. They like being all dressed up for church.

Sam’s suggestions were surprising — doll clothes, a purse, baby dolls, a Candy Land game, skates, etc. After each item he mentioned, he’d grin when we said, “No, surely not, Sam.” Maggie, Sam’s 9-year-old sister, finally figured out what was happening and shared her insight. “He’s not asking for things for himself. He’s naming what he’s heard his sisters and friends say. He wants us to give those things to him, SO HE CAN GIVE OTHERS WHAT THEY WANT.” Did you get that? He wanted gifts he could give away. I don’t know why that startled me so much. I know Sam is a very sensitive, intuitive little boy, but, doesn’t it go against the normal “bent” of a person to think of OTHERS first??

As I’ve made my way through store aisles and crowds in past weeks trying to fulfill as many desires as possible, Sam’s perspective has stayed with me. Don’t worry. Steve and I have found a couple of gifts that we think he’ll enjoy, but I believe if we had given him “something pink” or “something for a 2-year-old brother,” Sam would be perfectly content to turn around and give it to his brother or one of his sisters. Thank you, Sam, for this very timely reminder.

Hebrews 13:16 – “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

Philippians 2:4 — “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.”

2 Corinthians 9:7b — “God loves a cheerful giver.”

Happy gift-giving and gift-receiving, everyone!

Some 2016 Cousins Camp “Wins”

12/12/2016 By: CCPearson1 Comment

We just concluded our 9th Annual Pearson Cousins Camp, and by now, several must-do’s have been added to the Camp Clipboard of Fun. Among them are a bowling trip, eating at Cracker Barrel, making crafts (this year we made candy turkeys for the Thanksgiving tables), free play time and grandchildren-created “shows.” One of the special shows for this year was presented on Steve’s birthday and was based on a poem written about him by granddaughter Maggie.

Since the swimming pool was already closed up for the winter, we spent more time making music this year and presented a short program for the parents before our Thanksgiving Day lunch. I was amazed at how quickly they mastered songs on recorders and Boomwhackers!! I must confess that it felt good to kick into music teacher mode for a few days.

One day that was a huge winner for ALL of us happened in the Shoals. We started in the morning at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. The exhibits are all so very well done. The grands loved seeing the fancy performance outfits of the stars and walking through a tour bus used by the group Alabama. But, their absolute favorite activity was making a CD in the real-live recording studio. Rosie, Megan and Penelope recorded “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Seth and Nathan chose “Deck the Halls,” and Allie, Luke and Maggie sang “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” They all joined in for “Jingle Bells.” We had copies made for each family, so I’m sure the parents have heard it dozens of times by now.

Allie, Luke and Margaret singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.”

Penelope, Rosemary and Megan with “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer”

Seth and Nathan belting out “Deck the Halls”

The whole gang singing “Jingle Bells.” Poor Sam was really stretching his neck.

For lunch, we made our way to Umi Japanese Steakhouse in Florence for a little cultural exposure. We were very pleased at how willing they were to “try new foods” — something that is a yearly challenge. As we were leaving, they all said, “Let’s do that again next year!”

For our final stop before heading home, we visited Tom’s Wall near the Natchez Trace in Florence. Tom Hendrix spent over 30 years building a wall in memory of his great great grandmother who was forced from her home during the Trail of Tears and then spent 5 years walking back. He wanted to place a stone to represent every one of her steps, and in the process hauled 8.5 million pounds of stones from the Tennessee River to his home. The result is the longest unmortared wall in the United States and the largest memorial to a Native American woman in the world. A very impressive work by Mr. Hendrix.

At one section of the wall created by Tom Hendrix.

The next day we drove to Huntsville and spent several hours at EarlyWorks Children’s Museum. I would say that the hands-on displays are designed primarily for children ages 2 to about 8. Even though we had some that were older than 8, they all managed to find activities of interest. The pioneer town, complete with costumes for pretending, was probably the favorite area. They acted out all kinds of situations and cooked numerous meals using the period-appropriate props.

In the front hall of Earlyworks.

Dressing up in pioneer costumes.

Umi Japanese Steakhouse, waiting for the lunch preparation to begin.

So, if you’re thinking of hosting your own Cousins Camp in the future, you might want to add one or more of these Pearson-tested attractions to your own Clipboard of Fun.

More Christmas Thoughts

12/09/2016 By: CCPearson2 Comments

If you live in the vicinity of Athens, AL or will be in the area December 17 and 18 — next week — I want to cordially invite you to our choir’s Christmas program called “An Athens Christmas.” It will be presented at 6:00 p.m. both evenings in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church at the corner of Clinton and Hobbs St. We have been working diligently on our music, and I believe it will be a worshipful service that will greatly contribute to your holiday spirit. Admission is free. Look for me in the alto section. 🙂

In the middle of all the attention we pay to notes and rhythm, the WORDS will be the most important part we need to communicate. I actually like ALL of the songs we’re singing this year, and our soloists are outstanding. One you will recognize is a very jazzy, jivey arrangement of “Go Tell It On The Mountain.”

In 2002, Steve and I had our tickets ready to leave for Ecuador on December 27, a mere two days after Christmas. We were spending a lot of time saying good-bye to family and friends and getting in hugs that would need to last for a very long time. On the Sunday morning before our departure, we were asked to “say a few words” to the congregation at Central Baptist Church in Decatur. I used the song “Go Tell It On the Mountain” to help in asking our fellow church members to pray for us. Since we were going to be serving in the Andes Mountains, I asked them to visualize a mountain in every way they could — a mountain of work piled on their desk, a mountain of laundry waiting for the washing machine, a trip to the mountains for vacation, etc. etc. — and to let that word be a trigger for remembering us as we started our work. It was a rallying cry, so to speak. So, every time we sing the song, I remember that time.

Two other words have become dear to me, also, as we’ve rehearsed this fall. “Noel” and “hallelujah.”

In a strict sense, Noel means Christmas. Joyeux noel in French means “Merry Christmas.” But the word COULD be derived from the French word novelles, which means news. I like to believe that at Christmas time the meaning is news, and not just news but GOOD NEWS. “The first noel the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay. In fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Noel. Noel. Noel. Noel. Born is the King of Israel.” Yes. Very, very good news indeed.

The first and last songs in our program contain a LOT of “Hallelujahs.” PRAISE THE LORD is the meaning. Hallelujah and Alleluia mean the same thing. It is interesting that this word is found 50 times in the Old Testament but in only one setting in the New Testament. In Revelation 19, at the wedding feast of the Lamb, after all of the enemies of God have been destroyed and Christ is victorious over all, HALLELUJAH is the only word strong, majestic and grand enough to describe the outpouring of praise and rejoicing that will happen in heaven by God’s people. So, I will happily sing those words in our program and picture the time to come when we’ll sing it in heaven.

Read Revelation 19:1-6 and enjoy those “hallelujahs!”

HERE COMES THE JUDGE

12/05/2016 By: CCPearson2 Comments

When I was selected to attend the 2016 Food Bloggers Summit in conjunction with the World Food Championships in Orange Beach, I was thrilled. Even though I don’t technically consider myself a food blogger, I have written a lot about food and restaurants here and in other publications, and I have 45+ years of experience being a cook in my own home. And with the growing interest in and popularity for the Food Channel on TV, I couldn’t wait to get an up close view of what great chefs were doing.

Judge Connie about to go into action.

To add to my excitement, I learned that on the last day of the summit, we as participants would be invited to attend a judging certification class and be seated as judges for the first round of the dessert competition. DESSERTS. Did you hear me? For a fluffy, prissy, Southern grandmother, that session had my name written all over it. Bring on the sweets!!

Well, it didn’t take long to learn that there is much more to being a judge than just tasting a dish and giving it a thumbs up or a thumbs down. The World Food Championships uses the E.A.T. judging criteria. 35% of the score is based on EXECUTION, 15% on APPEARANCE, and 50% on TASTE. Each entry was to be judged on its own merit, ranking it on a scale of 1 to 10 in each of those three categories, and it was NOT TO BE COMPARED to any of the other dishes. Believe me, that is much harder than it seems. Especially when 5 different dishes are presented in a very quick procession. While we were at the judging class, we were asked to score two different chef-made burgers. Look at the ones we sampled. I was starving. They were both amazing, but if you look closer, there are subtle and specific ways to judge a superior burger. Color, combination of ingredients, even the size of the bun had to be considered. I don’t know which one ended up with the highest score, because we had to hurry on to the actual competition. But, I will say that both chefs created wonderful burgers. Oh, and as a side note, no, we weren’t expected to eat ALL of both burgers. Mercy, no! We were given much smaller sections of each one to taste.

Bleu cheese burger. Yummy!

Italian burger. Look at the size of that beast!

There were 37 teams of chefs competing in the dessert competition, and 8 different teams of judges were seated to rate the entries. I would love to have seen and sampled all 37 entries, but I doubt that ANYONE could handle that much dessert! Talk about a sugar rush!

The first category was called the Structured Build. The chefs were told in advance that they would be expected to submit their version of orange crepes for this round. Look at the variations on that same theme that my team had to score.

This chocolate crepe was delicious, and the fresh orange gave a great flavor balance.

Chocolate crepe with fresh oranges.

What a pretty dish this one was! It got very high scores for appearance.

An unexpected take on orange crepes.

Orange crepes in sushi form? Only a very imaginative chef would have thought to do that.

Orange crepes in the shape of sushi??

One team decided to go very traditional, but I don’t have a photo to share of that one. You would have had to taste each one, I realize, but based on appearance alone how would you have rated these entries?

Then, the chefs were given a certain amount of time to present their Signature Dessert. Some of these photos were fuzzy because the desserts were whizzing by, but maybe you can get some idea about the wide variety. My team judged 5 dishes in this round.

Spice cake with ice cream and served with a very strong beer. ???!!!

A tiny, light strawberry tart.

Sorry for the blurriness. This was a nutty, oatmeal bar with a mint sauce and basil.

A cupcake filled to the brim with goodies, even raspberries.

Chocolate lava cake with whipped cream and berries.

In a last-minute serendipity, Steve was allowed to take the judging class and judge with a different team in this dessert competition, too. Since we are now both E.A.T. certified, I hope we will have more opportunities to judge in the future. Other categories besides desserts, by the way, were bacon, barbecue, steak, chili, seafood, burgers, sandwich and recipe creation. Are there any budding chefs out there who want to enter in 2017? Check the website for lots of information. You can even see a list of this year’s participants and the scores of the Top 10 in each division.

Funerals and a Christmas Song

12/02/2016 By: CCPearson5 Comments

Two things have been happening all around me in recent days. The funerals of my friends’ loved ones and practicing for our church choir’s annual Christmas presentation.

My friend Betty Dean lost her husband. She was by his side for over 50 years of marriage and watched him battle cancer for 14 years. She and her daughter have some huge adjustments ahead and now have a big hole in their lives where Julian used to be.

My friend Jan lost her mother. Mrs. Britt was a saint at my church and lived a very active full life until receiving a diagnosis of end stage colon cancer. She was 89. Jan and her sister faithfully took care of her during much of this past year.

Seven-year-old Kayleigh McClendon died of a brain tumor the week before Thanksgiving. Thousands of people followed her mother’s posts on Facebook chronicling Kayleigh’s 6 1/2 month long journey through the valley of death and into the presence of Jesus.

Debbie, the wife of my cousin, was stunned by the news that her 18-year-old nephew had died in an automobile accident on Thanksgiving night.

My friend Susie buried her mother Joy yesterday. She suffered a stroke and was gone a few days later. Joy was an icon in Hartselle, AL and a much-beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend.

Facebook friend and former fellow church member Gayle died this week after having a sudden stroke. She was buried yesterday.

The very good news is that all of the ones I’ve mentioned were saved. They were followers of Christ who are now in heaven. Their grieving family members can take great comfort in the fact that they are no longer suffering. They are now in a place of unending joy, praise and worship, where there is no pain.

A song that has become a traditional part of our Christmas presentation is called “All Is Well.” Here are the lyrics:

All is well, all is well. Angels and men rejoice, rejoice! For tonight darkness fell into the dawn of love’s light. Sing alle, sing alleluia!

All is well, all is well. Let there be peace on earth. Christ is come, go and tell that He is in the manger. Sing alle, sing alleluia!

All is well, all is well. Lift up your voice and sing. Born is now Emmanuel. Born is our Lord and Savior. Sing alleluia. Sing alleluia. All is well.

Born is now Emmanuel. Born is our Lord and Savior. Sing alleluia! Sing alleluia! All is well! All is well! All is well! (Words and Music by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Michael W. Smith)

There is deep, almost unspeakable sadness when a loved one dies. We miss them terribly and long for a chance to have one more hug, one more conversation, one more smile. But, it is so very important to remember that if that loved one is a Child of God, they are okay now. All, indeed, is well. And, hopefully, that can be our comfort, too.

Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants.”

Two Cullman Icons: Ave Maria Grotto and Busy Bee Cafe

11/28/2016 By: CCPearson4 Comments

The day after Thanksgiving Steve and I made our way south to Cullman, AL to make lots of photos for an upcoming article in the Athens News Courier’s BOOM Magazine in my series called “90 Minutes from Home.” Everybody knows about the All-Steak Restaurant and its famous orange rolls, but what about other hidden gems in this town.

I remembered visiting Ave Maria Grotto when I was very young and then about 10 or 15 years ago, but I thought it would be good to go back and see what was happening there now. Steve and I were very impressed. These serene acres adjoining the campus of St. Bernard Preparatory School showcase the work of a Benedictine monk, Brother Joseph Zoettl, who enjoyed a fascinating hobby of constructing miniature buildings out of stone, concrete, and discarded donated materials, such as plates, jewelry, tile, beads, marbles and seashells. In addition to his time spent in prayer and working in the Abbey shoveling coal into the furnaces, he loved studying photographs of famous buildings and attempting to make identical replicas. The Grotto (an Italian word for “cave”) includes 125 structures.

Jerusalem in minature as conceived by Brother Joseph Zoettl.

There is a lovely gift shop at the entrance to the Grotto. The grounds are tastefully landscaped, and there is a concrete sidewalk with railing to guide visitors along the path. It opens every day at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. in the spring and summer and at 5 p.m. in the fall and winter. Admission is $7.00 for adults, $4.50 for children and $5.00 for Seniors and AAA members.

A miniature building at Ave Maria Grotto constructed of concrete and donated materials.

Then, it was lunch time. We loved Carlton’s in a previous visit but wanted to try something new. We made our way to the Busy Bee Cafe. Located on the corner of 1st Avenue SE and 5th Street, we learned that it was established in 1919. The original building was on Highway 278, but Busy Bee has been in its present location since the 1960’s. On April 27, 2011, the cafe along with everything on the block was flattened in a devastating tornado, but as a testimony to the resilience of the Cullman people, it reopened exactly one year later and has been thriving ever since.

Busy Bee Cafe, a favorite of the locals in Cullman, AL

Busy Bee Cafe is primarily a breakfast and lunch kind of place that opens at 6:00 a.m. with a neighborhood diner atmosphere. The burgers looked fabulous, but since it was the day after Thanksgiving, we opted for simple sandwiches and soup. It was very good, and the prices delightfully reasonable. Definitely a place to “eat with the locals.”

SO Thankful

11/25/2016 By: CCPearsoncomment

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind.” Psalm 107:31

Cousins Camp 2016 (officially the 9th Pearson Cousins Camp) ended yesterday afternoon when the last family carload drove out of the driveway. 10 eager campers (a.k.a. Pearson grandchildren who are at least 4 years old and potty-trained) arrived before noon last Saturday. Then about 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day the parents arrived with side dishes and desserts. We enjoyed a last few hours together sharing our tales, and then they all headed back to Somerville, AL, Franklin, TN, and Rome, GA. The house had a very, shall we say, “lived-in look” about it, but it was suddenly much quieter than it had been in 6 days.

Steve and I took awhile to reflect and revisit our favorite moments from the time we’d just spent with those amazing children. Oh yes, we’re tired, but this is a treasured event for us each year. We will continue as long as we possibly can or until the kids are too old to want to come — a thought that makes us incredibly sad. We will admit to a sense of relief when the children are safely delivered back to their parents, but there is also a feeling of extreme gratitude to God for blessing our time and keeping all of us safe and healthy.

On a Mystery Trip to Tom’s Wall in Florence – the longest unmortared wall in the United States.

We had a slightly-mashed finger at the bowling alley, a couple of bumped heads during the Laundry Ceremony, 2 lost teeth, and 3 with allergy-type coughs, but those issues were very minor.

We rented a 15-passenger van for the week and drove several hundred miles back and forth to Decatur, Florence, Athens and Huntsville without an accident — something that we are SO thankful for.

We shared 16 meals together. Not everyone liked everything they were served, but no one starved, no one choked, and no one threw up. Hallelujah!

The 16-year-old in the group hung in there with all of the younger ones. She’s the one they all look up to. It’s amazing that she keeps such a positive attitude.

MOST of the activities planned were approved by the campers with one notable exception that is sure to become part of the Cousins Camp lore in years ahead.

We laughed A LOT.

Steve and I LOVE having these days to listen, to watch and to teach. We have been richly blessed with these young people — the children of our children.

Thanks be to God.

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