Market Days in Wimberley...

So, a co-worker friend lives in Wimberley and we decided to get together this weekend to check out Market Days. It's been about 15 years since she's been to one and I've NEVER been to one, so it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. On the way, we stopped for lunch at this place.

Doesn't look like much, but it was a really cute place. We decided to sit outside since it was a gorgeous day.

I had the bleu cheese burger and onion rings (Lord, help my arteries)...

...and my friend (I'll call her "C") had the chicken enchiladas.

Everything was VERY good and I would definitely go back to check out other things on the menu. From there we went to the Market Days. This is a very big deal and could literally take a whole day to check out if you went into every booth. I had thought that it was going to be a crafting deal, but most of the booths were antiques.

The plants at this booth were beautiful. But every time I've purchased a plant like this, I take it home and after about a month, it's history. I sometimes wonder if vendors bring out plants at the peak of their lives when they're looking their best...only to shrivel away after a week or so. But, then again, maybe I just don't know how to keep them thriving. Any suggestions would be welcome.

A mint green rabbit jacket. Actually, I think it's kind of cute, although I wouldn't purchase one myself.

This was in the same booth as the rabbit jacket. I could see me buying this, because this is what I feel like I look like some mornings before work.

I also kind of liked this cactus sculpture. I wouldn't mind having this on my balcony...especially if I didn't have to pay for it.

I liked these colorful rugs...or wall-hangings...I'm not sure what they really were.

Oh, my gosh...a clown! And don't we all love clowns? (Not!) In fact, this clown reminded me of...

...this friendly character. Other than the extremely raised eyebrows, tiny little red hat and the pink $20 sticker slapped on his forehead (and, okay...the hair is slightly more scarey), these guys are identical. I think I'll pass.

These were different...but, again, I think I'll pass.

I really liked this southwestern cookie jar. Since I'm downsizing my household, I didn't snatch it up, but it would be a good catch for someone from Arizona or New Mexico. Beck, you want me to go back next month to see if it's still available?? Hahaha!

I only saw one booth offering these...

They're not really very popular in the states...like they are in Mexico...

I don't even know what the heck to say about this one!

So, C showed me her mom's house which backs up to the Blanco River. You know how I complain about the blandness of Texas scenery, but this was very nice.

I could handle a back yard next to this...

And I could actually see some Fall color changes...

Have you ever seen cars parked in a parking lot with signs advertising puppies and kittens for sale? On my drive back home, I saw this guy at a highway intersection...

Seriously?? Sure...let me just get my wallet. I'll give you a couple hundred bucks and you tie the horse to my bumper. Or just throw it in the trunk and I'll tether it in the parking lot of my apartment complex. Is this even legal?? Maybe only in Texas. If anything, it sounds like a desperate attempt for people to get rid of their horses and make some money.

A guy was riding around on a horse on the corner next to the guy with the sign, but I couldn't get a picture because of the traffic. I stopped across the street to get some gas and took this long distance shot which shows the horse in the middle under the sign. I wonder if they made any sales.

So, after a full day at Market Days, here's my only purchase. I'm just a sucker for Mexican stuff...five bucks. I put it on my wall. Jared came home tonight and saw it...his only comment was, "Mom, it's weird...and it's staring at me." Oh, well...I like it.

Bobcat Homecoming!

It was Homecoming yesterday at Texas State University...

Our department's student organization was sponsoring a booth, so I was elected to go take photographs. There were quite a few other booths, and it took awhile to find ours, so I took some pics along the way.

A live band...

You know Bud Light's always going to be represented at these deals...

Finally found our tent...

Everyone was doing washer tournaments. I had never heard of washer tournaments before I moved to Texas. Do they have these anywhere else??

We have some new profs in our department. Here's one from Chile...

And this guy's from Turkey...

These guys are a hoot...funny, laid back...definitely not the snooty, holier-than-thou types that a lot of professors can be.

Here are two of the student organization officers. They are really nice guys. I'll have to say that 99.9% of the students in our department are very polite, respectful and great to work with.

The guy on the right (below) is another new prof...he's from Korea.

He brought his adorable little son who is VERY shy...

And here's our little student worker in the pink. She's a sweetie.

One of the students fixed me a Bloody Mary as soon as I got there. Whoo...it was strong!

Texans take their BBQing and tailgating VERY seriously and some bring out some pretty big rigs for this...

Here's ours...

The guys spent some pretty long hours preparing and cooking...

To get this...

And the fixins'...

These were the guys next to our tent. Everyone wants their pictures taken, so I obliged.

They must have been making a pretty spicy dish, because they were cutting up a few jalapenos...

A lot of people brought dogs...and many of them were outfitted with the Bud Light beer carriers.

But not this one. One beer would have toppled this little thing right over.

A couple of the profs and I took a walk around the parking lot to see what was going on. Since they're not Texas natives, they couldn't understand why girls would wear cowboy boots with short shorts. Neither can I, but that's because I'm not a Texas native, either. But it sure is popular.

It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, so it got pretty warm...as you can tell.

Here's a little different set of boots. I had actually thought of getting my black patent leather stiletto boots out, too, but decided against it. Good thing...I wouldn't want to be competition for this little lady. Hahahaha!

Some advertising characters were also out. This guy doesn't look very happy, but then if you're always worried someone is going to eat you, I guess I can understand why.

Notice the walking grocery bag behind these guys...

San Marcos' finest were out ready to keep things calm...which didn't seem to be a problem since these are all just a bunch of friendly Texans who want to barbecue and drink and throw washers around.

Since it was Halloween, I thought I would see more costumes, but only caught a few...

Ronald McDonald comes to mind...

I was hoping I would run into this guy, but I guess it wasn't meant to be...

Just some closing shots of our group...

These are two of the very few female students we have in our department (being silly)...

And here's another new prof and me. (I can't remember if he's from China or Korea.) This guy is hilarious. He's always talking about wanting to meet someone so he can get married, so anytime someone takes a picture of him, he says, "Wait!!" Then runs his hands through his hair to make sure he looks good for the picture.

So, on my way out, I took a picture of the stadium filling up for the game. On Friday, I asked three people who the Bobcats were playing for the Homecoming game. No one knew. Apparently, it's all about the tailgating...NOT the game. Haha!

As I was walking out, the cheerleaders and band were marching in. The cheerleaders looked pretty happy...

But the band looks pretty stoic. I guess it's a band thing.

By the way, the Bobcats played the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (which I have never heard of) and won 28-7. But that's besides the point.

A tribute to dogs...

Kind of a random post tonight. A couple who lives in my complex own a Boxer and they walk it pretty often. This picture is off the net, but it's what he/she looks like...

I love Boxers because I grew up with one. A white one. The white ones tend to be a bit uglier than the brown ones...as you can see here... (Yep, that's me on the far right.)

Ours had the original name of "Whitey"...and she was very attached to my dad. This shot was taken shortly before my dad died. I was only eight years old at the time. Whitey was devastated and developed skin cancer shortly afterwards. My mom had to put her down not long afterwards.

Didn't mean for this to be a depressing post. Just a tribute to the past.