Frank Stitts on last night's Nightline

Birmingham Alabama master chef, restauranteur and author Frank Stitts was on Nightline last night.  It was great to see another wonderful example of the South at it's best and most creative.  He was cooking big flounder with baby peas and clam sukatash, and discussing sustainable organic farming.  I haven't yet dined with Frank, but have been looking forward to it for years. 

Showing at the local Florence-Lauderdale Public Library

We delivered this HEAVY solid walnut "Scraps" dining table yesterday to be on display through the month.  But, the reason for being featured this time is quite a story.  When I have a few minutes, I'll get back and fill in the details.

finishing thick walnut tables

Applied the last coat of oil to these thick walnut tables, all in preparation for our baptism in the High Point Furniture Market in a few weeks.  We have six new tables to photograph today, then Photoshop and Illustrat(or) over the weekend, so we can have the 100 or so press books ordered Monday.  I'll share the completed pics soon.

rocky creek bed

Here's a pic of our rocky creekbed behind the house.  It's only 4 or 5 inches deep in this little shallow spot.  The light reflection thru the little waves from the dogs roaming was - entertaining.  I'll start sharing more pics of Cypress Creek and it's rocky creek bed in future pics.

sketchup oven design

I design most of our furniture in Sketchup, Google's aweme little 3d modeling program.  A few times during this oven construction project, I've just brought the MacBook onsite to work out a few some details.  Here you can see that we're beginning the sandstone work.  You can also see the planned roofline.  just fyi:  (just in case you can't clearly tell already) I'm NOT in the (or should I be) in the wood fired oven business. 

concrete cladding

Last weekend we added some thermal mass to the oven with 3" of concrete cladding (portland cement) - surrounding the arch of firebricks.

one more conference table delivery shot

I haven't yet been able to get a good shot of this walnut streatcher (at least an inside shot).  I'll bring some lighting and my panasonic back out to the club house soon to see if we can improve on this trailer shot.

Making progress on the creekside wood burning oven

Now that we are finally back on the project, we are making nice headway.  Yesterday my buddy Nolen helped mix and lay the 3" of concrete cladding over the arch of firebricks.  Then proceeded to lay the first three courses of sandstone bricks along the front and chimney.

With sketchup's 3d modeling program (which I use religiously for furniture design) I completed the design including the planned 4x4 walnut timbers and transluscent roofing. 

Today, we should have the brickwork completed.  From here, we'll let the new portland dry naturally for a week or two before we start drying it out further - slowly - with small fires at first.  I doubt I'll have time to start cooking before we get back from High Point. 

Local bakers - come out come out where ever you are!!

our first conference table delivered this morning

It took 10 to carry this bigun up the stairs and into it's new home at the Robert Trent Jones club house in Muscle Shoals.  Beautiful new home.  I couldn't be more proud of this 14' conference table.  I'll get more pics of the table and it's new surrounds over the weekend.

navigating thru an alabama bamboo forest

After navigating this sideyard alabama bamboo forest, I took 5 wheelbarrow loads of stone, portland cement and sand down the hillside to the creekside pizzaoven.  This should be near the last of the supplies to complete this long overdue project.

20 foot oak log

A friend dropped off a 12,000 pound, 20 foot oak log yesterday.  It's 36 inches wide on the small end and 48" on the big end.  My 6000 pound Heister forklift wouldn't come close to lifting it off the trailer, so Mr Bradley just pushed it off with my Heister.  I took a little video of it rolling off the trailer.  If it took, I'll try to post this weekend.

The largest slabs I've cut so far were 16 feet long.  Not sure if my sawmill will cut this bigun intact.  Should know before long.

creekside pizza oven

I started this creekside pizza oven several years ago, and got side tracked when we began the remodel of the a-frame.  Found an experienced mason to help with the final couple of stages of this process.  Here is a pic of the oven at this point, along with a sketchup drawing of it with the stone facade and roof beams.  I'm leaning toward building some 4" walnut beams and using clear roofing.  Just a few more saturdays and I think we'll be cooking.

cherry first cut

I'm getting caught up on a few posts from last week.  This was taken right after we made the first cut through this beautiful cherry tree.  It's rare to find a cherry tree this large removed from a residence by the city's utility department.  Really fulfilling to have been able to save it from the landfill though.  Check back in a couple of years, after the natural, then kiln drying process, to see what becomes of her.

southern fried catfish - Linda's b'day choice

Two year's ago, planning Linda's round numbered birthday celebration, I asked her where she wanted to dine.  She chose one of her fav's - Joe's Stone Crabs in Miami Beach.  This year, we saved a few bucks, when Linda chose Taylor's Restaurant, down the road in Russellville, Al.  Mrs. Taylor starts cooking at 4 each morning, and to Linda, tastes exactly like her mom's southern delicacies.

Everything is great at Taylor's, including this scrumptious southern fried catfish. 

finishing - or finally finishing this conference table?

It's looking like we are finishing this 14' oak and walnut conference table.  Plan to apply one more coat of our tung oil/linseed oil mix next week - and move her into her new home at the Robert Trent Jones clubhouse.  I hope to get some pics of the install.

John T. Edge (Southern Foodways Alliance) on Nightline last night

I'm clearly not the only Southerner that struggles to work through our Southern history.  John T. Edge, Director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, always has a refreshing take on it, as well as leading us to a bright future - thru one of my favorite things - FOOD!  Last night on Nightline, he showcased North Charleston's Scotts Barbecue. 

It was interesting to hear him use the term "honest" when describing Scott's, food, and the South in general.  . . .  See the watermelons on the front porch.  Obviously somebody grew some and needed to sell them.

Thank you John T. Edge and the Southern Foodways Alliance for helping us work all this out.

Full parking lot

Our parking lot is almost maxed out, but we only have 5 cars in it!  Several interesting local urban trees have made their way here - to our parking lot lately, and more are on their way.  Our fork lift has been down, and we've been getting behind on our sawmill work.  Always plenty of work in this garden, that's for sure.

eggs benedict with southern fried chicken

On the way hme from Atlanta, we always like to check on my uncle Del.  It was Saturday morning, and he suggested The Trackside Grill (located just under the railroad tracks in Kennesaw, Ga).  Being a world traveler and gourmet cook for decades, I knew it would be good - and it was.  The eggs benedict with southern fried chicken was exceptional, and very delectable change from my usual breakfast of blended fresh carrots, cellery, apples and blueberries (in season). 

eggs benedict with southern fried chicken - a southern treat

MARTA - good example of architectural restoration in Atlanta

When visiting Atlanta, Linda and I usually stay with her sister and family in Alpharetta.  And we almost always take Marta into the business district.  Friday, I was able to slow down for a moment, and enjoy (and take this pic) of this wonderful piece of architectural restoration way.  It's deep into the underground Five Points Marta station.  Throughout the MARTA complex is full of modern precast concrete, marble and glass.  This building exterior provides an interesting and dramatic counterpoint.  And, one of the best examples of architectural restoration I've seen in Atlanta.

International Woodworking Show

I always look forward to attending the IWF Woodworking show.  Held only every other year, it's the largest woodworking show in North America.  This show provides access to the experts in all fields of woodworking.  Linda and I walked, studied and took notes at this show Wednesday thru Friday. Saturday I was on my own to fend for myself.  We will be implementing several new processes in the near future, and I'll be sure to share as we go.

I've worked (or walked) the Georgian World Congress Center for a couple of decades.  They have continued to remodel and keep quite current throughout.  Here, the business lounge could easily be an AA Admirals club.