10/09/2026
Hey everyone, Norm here. Emily introduced herself a while back, so figured it was finally my turn.
A little about me: I've worn a lot of hats to get where I am, helpdesk tech, substitute teacher, Bible college student. These days I run CookieBytes Technologies, a dev shop based right here in the Shoals, and I'm an ordained pastor, though I'm not here to preach at anybody. Emily and I are the kind of people who try to find the good wherever we land and build something worthwhile out of it. That's part of why we're invested in the Shoals, and part of why this homestead exists in the first place.
My brain is wired a little different (ADHD, so there's usually about three projects running at once). Part of why Emily and I ended up building a homestead on top of everything else is that I needed something that wasn't a screen. Working with my hands grounds me. Making something you can hold, taste, or smell at the end of the day beats closing another browser tab.
That's where this page comes in. I'm the other half of Hess Homestead, pulling trays out of the freeze dryer, taste-testing with Emily, and dreaming up what we should try next. Right now most of the action is happening in the kitchen; once the Alabama heat finally lets up we'll be back outside knocking out the last 8 raised beds and getting the garden the rest of the way built. The way we run this place comes from a conviction we share: steward what you've been given, work with your hands, feed people well, look out for the folks around you. Our hope is that what comes out of this little operation blesses your table the way making it blesses ours.
What you'll see from my corner:
• New freeze-dried flavors we're testing (we eat the failures so you don't have to)
• Progress on the garden build-out once the weather breaks (8 more raised beds to go)
• The honest mess of running a homestead, a business, and a household at the same time
• The occasional tech tip, because that's just how I'm wired
Quick ask to get us acquainted: what's one freeze-dried snack flavor you've been chasing and can't find anywhere? Drop it in the comments. If three or more of you want the same thing, it goes on our development list.
