A Little Flag-waving

There was an item I saw in a catalog, too expensive for me, so I decided I could make it.  The temperature heat index has been 102-110 degrees, so working outside or in the garage was not an option. I brought my things into the den, and worked  tried to work there. I had some help.

Look out Pottery Barn!

To be continued....

Churches of Santa Fe

One of my favorite things to do on trips, is to see the historical churches of the area. Two churches in Santa Fe, New Mexico are featured here.

                                                                                     

                                                                  
               
                                      

Below: Loretto Chapel  has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase." The story is that when the chapel was built in 1873, there was no means to get the choir up to  the loft in the back of the church. The sisters prayed for an answer and a man appeared at the chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. The rest of the mystery is about the contrucution of the  staircase. It has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

                                                                            

                              The stair rails were put in many years later, for safety, not support.

I am joining Chari for

Weston 10 Mile Trail Antique and Garden Show

The first weekend of August, Weston, Missouri hosts a 10 mile trail around historic Weston, with 4 stops to shop, eat and drink. What a deal! You drive your own car to each location and stay as long as you want. Weston is a beautiful area of rolling hills, lush farmland, orchards, and tobacco fields. It is the world's leading producer of twist tobacco. William Buffalo Bill Cody was at one time a resident of Weston, and the town was a major "jumping off" point for the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon Trail and the California Gold Rush.

Gourds for painting and bird houses.

And here is the gourd "house" made with cattle panels bent into arches. It was shady and cool inside.

Inside the Red Barn:

Oh Yum! Black Walnut syrup on ice cream and pancakes!

Lots of old insulators

American feed sacks, NOT French!

The antique dealers set up in the back of the barn.Then we walked around the rest of the farm.

LaMancha goats are  a medium sized breed of milking goat, known for their apparent lack of floppy ears.


The next stop was an interior design shop.

Cigar pics in tobacco country.

And lastly, the statuary store housed in the old grain elevators.

No colors anymore I want them to turn black.....

I am sooo excited. I just got these two urns at a garage sale  for $2.00 each! And they are big-- 31 inches tall. I will probably spend more on spray paint than I spent on them........... plants awaiting......

wanna see it tainted, tainted black.......

Lyrics from Rolling Stones 'Paint It Black"

And later the same day.....

One more to paint and fill!

I have some better ideas for the porch urn, but I will wait until next spring.

Santa Fe

     While visiting #2 daughter in Denver, we took a little trip south to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is about a 6-7 hour drive from Denver, and very beautiful. You can see forever, there are cattle and horse ranches and plenty of miles of wide blue sky and pastures.  I expected to see tall cactus and sand in New Mexico, but it is red dirt and small scrubby bushes, not a cactus to be seen, except the one planted at the rest stop in the landscaping!! All along the trip you could see mountains in the background.

                                Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico

 We saw antelope grazing in areas like this, but did not stop to take pictures.Why were we in such a hurry???

  Here is the lonely cactus bush thing at the base of the pine tree at the rest stop. Oh, my, we are such tourists! 

Santa Fe weather was beautiful. We were there for the July 4th weekend, and although it got to 91 in the day time, if you stepped into the shade, it was cool. There is NO humidity (unlike Kansas!) and it cooled down to low 60's toward evening, and was that cool in the mornings.

Being the rabid shoppers we are we headed to the historical downtown Santa Fe, which happens to be on Route 66!

This is Santa Fe's plaza, with a city park to the left, and stores around all 4 streets of the square. This was the end of the Santa Fe trail that started in Independence, Missouri. The church at the end of the street is the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.(see related post)

     The park in the center of the Plaza
                                                                                     

Below is the La Fonda Hotel in historic downtown. A hotel of some kind has been on this corner for almost 400 years. La Fonda has been here since 1922.

Inside the lobby of the La Fonda Hotel.

The Palace of the Governors faces the historic plaza and American Indians sell jewelry under the overhang.

 

City ordinances require that buildings in the historical district of Santa Fe, reflect the adobe style. By an ordinance passed in 1958, new and rebuilt buildings, especially those in  historic districts, must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style of architecture, with flat roofs and other features that model  traditional adobe construction.

 

     Above is a parking garage in historic Santa Fe. Can you tell? 

Lots of turquoise colored trim on buildings.

Our hotel lobby below.