personal

The Greatest Gift: Pictures

October 29, 2008 by joewatts

Well, yesterday I had a busy day in Thomasville at a meeting with the tourism group that represents the 11 county region we are working with for the www.alabamafrontporches.com website. After the meeting, I zipped out to my sister Julia’s house for a minute (really about 20 minutes) for a quick visit. She had some great birthday gifts for me and for Ann. But what was the greatest gift of all was a photo album she had of Mama’s. Loads of great photos to add to my blog. Starting with these two: on the left, Uncle Bud Hinson (Mama’s brother) and on the right Mammy, Papa Hinson and an unknown man holding a shotgun–can’t tell if that is Mammy’s shotgun or not. Great stuff and much more to come!

The Greatest Birthday Ever

October 29, 2008 by joewatts

Well, that would be some years ago. I was driving up Highway 5 yesterday through Centerville and saw two of my favorite birthday spots. We went there SEVERAL years. The Sawmeal Restaurant was one. We would go there and have chili and saltine crackers. Great stuff. Thankfully, the Sawmeal is still there. The other, the most wonderful place in all the world, the best place to find anything, was the Army-Navy store pictured below. Anything you could imagine would be there. Well, if you could, as any healthy young boy would, imagine only things in camoflauge or knife-like. Mama took me some years. Aunt Gladys and Uncle Edward took me several times (once after Mama was convinced that Uncle Edward wasn’t the world’s greatest driver anymore). Mama and Papa, Mama and some assortment of my wonderful sisters. It was a great ritual. I still have some of the things I got for my birthday. I suspect the old WWI gas mask is somewhere in Octagon still.

Sadly, the store is no longer around. A Mexican restaurant now, no less. I imagine that the original owners drive by and feel the same sadness.

Three Out of Six Today

October 19, 2008 by joewatts

Siblings: oldest (but never old!) Suzanne, middle child Julia, and Youngest (that’s me!) . I’ll go for the other three later–this was mainly an attempt to cover up my desire to show my awesome Easter outfit! Check out the shoes.

Early 1940’s Photo Near Auburn, Alabama

October 17, 2008 by joewatts

This must be either Mama (Inez Watts) or Aunt Sadie Lou. Taken in Chewacla State Park near the falls just outside Auburn, Alabama. This photo appears to be taken at the same time as one of my personal favorites titled “Goddess of the Woods.” A great photo with a great story for another time.

Watts Family Cousins?

October 12, 2008 by joewatts

Okay, who can help identify these people? I’m sure that they are cousins from somewhere. Again, an Uncle Edward Waddell photo. Wow, quick answers abound! A sister emailed me within about 30 minutes of posting.

Billy Watts, Ed Watts (both sons of Bill Watts, my father’s brother), Jane, Julia, (back) Suzanne, Carol and Cynthia on the horse.

Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

October 7, 2008 by joewatts

Wow. Looking back on some old CD backups from the late 1990’s, I found about a dozen letters I sent to family (mainly Mama and Papa but also Aunt Gladys and others). Interesting stuff. I also found some old recipes I developed when I worked at Weight Watchers. This Bread Pudding recipe actually got a perfect score in the Test Kitchen–I don’t think it ever managed to get printed, though. It was for a section of the magazine that was, I believe, abandoned. If it ever ran, it did so after I had moved on to work at Scenic Alabama. The recipe was a good one, though, so thought I would share it here.

Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce

3       cups milk
1/2    cup raisins
1/2    cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4    cup sugar
1       tablespoon vanilla extract
1       teaspoon ground cinnamon
3       large eggs, lightly beaten
2       tablespoons butter, melted
9       (1-ounce) slices French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
Cooking spray
Whiskey Sauce

          Preheat oven to 350`.
          Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Add bread cubes; toss gently. Let mixture stand 30 minutes.
          Spoon mixture into a 13-x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350` for 45 minutes or until pudding is set. Serve warm with Whiskey Sauce. Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1/10 of pudding and about 3 tablespoons sauce).