Watts Consulting

More than you ever wanted to know about Alabama native Joe Watts

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My Secret Girlfriend

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If you ever happen to hear a baby crying when talking to me on the phone, have no fear–we haven’t had children. Burmese cats sound a lot like crying babies. Roxy, in the photo, is the worst about creating a fuss.

She’ll sit outside my office for half an hour or more and howl until I come out. At that point, she hurls herself up towards my chest and starts to purr.

It can get a little old, but overall it makes you feel pretty good. You just can’t get that kind of “urgent, got to have it” love from anything else. And yes, she does stroll around with her tongue sticking out, though she does it less lately.

Ann took this photo earlier this summer shortly after we got a new lens (a wide angle 17-40). Thus the distortion.

ACA Calendar: A Last Minute Christmas Idea

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Here’s an idea for a last minute Christmas gift, and one that really can make a difference. Give someone a calendar for 2008 from Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama. Okay, it’s a plug for something I worked on, but still, pretty worthy when you think about it. The proceeds from the calendar sales go to fund the mission of ACA–which is to help people with Alzheimer’s and the people who care for them. Visit www.alzca.org and you can buy the calendar online (using paypal, so you are safe as can be).

The brightly colored flowers of the cover art were created by 86 year old Dapsie, who was born in Briarwood. Her family of four children, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren tell us that she was a wonderful seamstress and cook.  Dapsie, who has lived in Tuscaloosa for over fifty years, is known for having a smile as bright as this artwork and for being very generous with hugs!

All the art is created by Alzheimer’s patients–several area nursing homes have art therapy programs and reportedly the creation of art gives the patients something rewarding to work on and can help them have a more enjoyable life.

Just a thought!

Aunt Gladys’ Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Ever since I can remember, my Aunt Gladys made chocolate chip cookies for me every Christmas. She passed away several years ago and hadn’t been able to make cookies for a few years before that, but every time I bite into a chocolate chip cookie, I think of her. There was really nothing like watching her pull those trays of cookies out of the oven.

She was one of those people that lived an amazing life, another of those folks from the greatest generation. She moved to Alaska before World War II and lived there for over 20 years. She taught school and met her husband (Uncle Edward) while in Alaska.  They even used a dog sled to commute sometimes. This is her in an early photo (I have tray upon tray of Uncle Edward’s photos–his love of photography is something I picked up too). A different world…

Anyway, about 9 years ago, while working at Southern Progress (a publishing company that produces Cooking Light and Southern Living) I submitted a recipe for my Aunt Gladys’ Chocolate Chip cookies. It ran, along with a short story about her, in the book Christmas with Southern Living. I, of course, gave a copy to her and lots of family members–she was pleased. Nothing else on that for these 9 years, but then, just last week one of my sisters got the recipe in an email from her recipe a day email newsletter–lo and behold, there it was. Here’s a link: cookies

The War: Watch It

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Ann and I recently (well, several months ago, actually) watched the Ken Burns documentary, The War. I’d suggest anyone who hasn’t seen it watch it. I have always been interested in WWII, but watching this really got me thinking. These folks really were the greatest generation. And listen to the music that goes along with it–I’d be hard-pressed to find better music than some of the awesome music on the soundtrack. Benny Goodman. I really wish that my father had been around to watch this–and I know that my mother would have been glued to the TV–this would have been an easy Christmas present for them both.

I guess what made me think of this today was that I was chatting with someone yesterday and mentioned the series to them. They hadn’t watched it. For some reason, when it was announced I think I thought of it like it was the Super Bowl. I still can’t even begin to imagine why anyone didn’t watch it, but if you are one of those that hasn’t just go ahead and start watching NOW!

If you have not watched this series, you owe it to yourself–and all the men and women who gave their lives, their hearts, and their time to fighting for the world–to watch it. I understand my Dad and my Mom better after having watched it and having seen more about what they went through. (Papa was in the Pacific Theater, who is shown in the photo–he’s the fellow on the left–,and was really on the front line. His brothers were in the European Theater–one was shot down over Germany and captured and another was one of the troops that invaded on D-Day. Mama was in college at the time, but worked with the Red Cross and also went to Mobile one summer to work doing her part. And everyone talked about rationing and worrying.)

Website In Progress

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Just finished designing a website for an insurance company in town. The site still needs to be built out, but the overall layout and template are completed. Now, all that’s left is gathering the information and deciding the best way to handle some of the submenus–but that should be pretty straightforward.

I’m also in the process of developing a couple more sites. Got a really nice compliment the other day on one of my personal favorite sites (not so much from the design, but from the actual content.) www.yourtownalabama.org/news/index.php. I was giving part of a presentation on marketing strategies as they relate to tourism and was introducing myself. I explained  what I’d be doing as part of the team of people working on the Southwest Alabama tourism initiative. Someone who knows me also chimed in that I do work for Your Town Alabama, the Alabama Scenic Byways Program and a few other things. About an hour later, we went around the room and asked everyone to talk about themselves and explain what they did. One of the people stood up and said that, before she started talking about herself, she wanted to thank me for the Your Town Alabama newsletter. She went on to say that it was full of useful information–everybody loves to find out about grants they can apply for and what’s going on in communities around them. It is always really cool to have someone thank you for something–especially something that you enjoy working on.

On the Farm

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Ann and I are getting ready to go south for a day or two and I’ve been going through old photos of my family. This is really one of my favorites. (I’m the one driving the tractor.)

This year will be a really hard Christmas, but it is great that all 5 of my sisters will be at the house for Christmas, along with Ann, of course.

Well, enough about family–it is 7 a.m. here and time to get to work.