When in Darrow, Louisiana, by all means, have a meal or two at the Carriage House Restaurant on the estate grounds and take advantage of breakfast at Dixie Cafe included in your room rate, but also take time to explore the area within a short drive of Houmas House. By doing so, you can get a better understanding of the importance of the Mississippi River, agriculture, and oil refineries to the local economy. (In case you missed it, here is my post about Houmas House Estate & Gardens). Grapevine Cafe in Donaldsonville, LA Grapevine Cafe is a longstanding favorite among the locals of Donal ..read more

"The Passion of the Christ," a movie written and directed by Mel Gibson, was released in 2004, while Steve and I were living in Ecuador. Pirated versions quickly appeared for sale on street corners for a couple of dollars. I learned from my colleagues that an edit had been made to match the Catholic culture of the country. In that case, instead of Jesus saying, "Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit," the "fixed" version had Him saying, "Mary, into your hands I commit my spirit." I remember seeing advertisements and clips about the movie on television. Those brief scenes were more than I c ..read more

Steve and I spent two nights at The Inn of Houmas House Estate and Gardens in Darrow, Louisiana last week and enjoyed every minute. The azaleas were showing off, and the gardens were stunning. The house and grounds of Houmas House served as a sugarcane plantation in the 1800s, and the house was known as "The Sugar Palace." The massive trees on the property would certainly tell tales if only they could talk. Tours of the mansion are available, and an amazing Great River Road Museum was added a couple of years ago. The 1964 movie "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" was filmed there. (A fun sidenote is ..read more

It's Holy Week, the most important week on a Christian's calendar. Easter Sunday and all it means, along with the events leading up to Easter Sunday, are the reasons we can live with the settled assurance that Christ has conquered death and one day we will be with him in heaven for eternity. Today my mind is on the word "holy" and what being holy means in my life. It's important because those are the instructions I find in scripture. 1 Peter 1:15-16 -- "But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, ‘Be ye holy; for I am holy." 2 T ..read more

Today is our 53rd wedding anniversary. Never once since I said "I Do" to him on the evening of March 20, 1971, at Oak Park Baptist Church in Decatur have I doubted that Steve Pearson was the one God created to be my husband. (In case you haven't known us very long, I did a series of posts leading up to our 50th anniversary celebration telling the story of how we met, fell in love, got engaged and married, then lived for a half century. You can read those posts here, here, here, here, and here). There were actually quite a few young men (a.k.a. potential marriage candidates) in my life until th ..read more

Two testimonies of faith I read this week impacted me so much that I decided to share them with all of you. Remember last week when I told you about the faith in time of tragedy expressed by Hailey Clark, mother of 4-year-old Beau Clark who was killed by a neighbor's dog? Well, Beau's father Kevin wrote heartfelt, eloquent words when he got home from his son's funeral last Friday. You need to know that BOTH of Beau's parents are trusting God and relying on His strength in these days. Here are Kevin's words: From the bottom of our hearts, we want to say thank you for all of the support and pray ..read more

This past Monday night a horrible tragedy occurred just outside the Hartselle City Limits. A four-year-old boy named Beau got off his bicycle to play with a dog on his street he had played with many times before. Beau had been in this neighbor's yard often. His family and this family are friends. This time, though, the dog was eating, and according to my veterinarian husband, that is a time when a dog can sometimes feel vulnerable, threatened, or overly protective. Even the most amiable and docile dog could have a quick, devastating reaction. Beau didn't know any of that. That dog bit Beau in ..read more

The Southern Table, brainchild and passion project of Ryan Yokley, recently closed its location in Pulaski, TN (a disappointment for those folks) but opened a new place in a familiar spot in Athens. The Southern Table is beside U.G.White Mercantile and occupies the space previously filled by Terranova and LuVici's before that. If you spot the colorful murals inside Merchant's Alley on North Jefferson Street, you'll be only a few steps from a great meal. To call this a meat-and-three place would sell it short. The Southern Table does offer several meat options, but they are elevated, as are the ..read more

If I close my eyes tightly enough, I can still taste the salty tears rolling down my cheeks, feel the sobs heaving in my chest, and relive the raw emotions. It was 2004. Steve and I lived in Cuenca, Ecuador in a second-floor apartment on Nogales Street. We had been in the country since December 2002. During 2003, all three of our children had managed to visit us -- Matt and Katie in May, Laura a few months later, then single-parent Julie with our only grandchild Allie in November just in time to celebrate Allie's 3rd birthday. We invited another missionary family with several small daughters ..read more

The new, bustling 609 Social Market & Provisions at 609 Bank Street in historic downtown Decatur, AL is filling a long-awaited, much-needed niche in our culinary world. Here you can buy ingredients normally found only in Louisiana for shrimp and crawfish boils along with other coveted provisions AND the freshest possible seafood straight from the Gulf of Mexico, salmon from the Atlantic, or yellowfin tuna from Hawaii. Raw oysters shucked on the spot, anyone? I also spotted some great-looking meat and heard there are plans to expand those offerings and have a farmers market location out the ..read more