Mercado - San Antonio

Well, I didn't make it down to Nuevo Progreso (NP) last weekend. My son had to work and I didn't feel like making the trip myself. So I decided to go to the Mercado (or Market Square) in San Antonio yesterday to see if I could scarf up some bargains in the way of Mexican decor. I've done a post on the Mercado a couple years ago...which is the last time I was there. It's a good hour to San Antonio from where I live now, so I don't go there much anymore.

I had forgotten what a big tourist draw the mercado is, so I knew right away I wasn't going to find any bargains. One of the things I was looking for was some little dishes like the one below. I got two of these in NP for $2.98 each. They're great for dipping things like chicken wings because they're flatter than a ramekin. But I lost one of them (Jared insists that he didn't break it), so I wanted to get a few more.

Well, I couldn't find anything under $7.00 and none of them were as flat as this one, so I didn't have much luck on that end.

The Mercado only has a few stores that on their own...most of the vendors are housed under one roof. This place was very nice, but pricey. Their jewelry was beautiful. This photo doesn't do it justice, but that necklace on the far left was gorgeous. It was made out of fire opal.

The one thing I treated myself to on my last trip to Isla was a ring made with fire opal.

It was a perfect fit, so I guess it was meant to be. I wanted it because it reminds me of the colors of the water there...

But the necklace was just under $500.00 (WAY more than I spent on the ring), so had to pass on that one.

They had some interesting things in this place...all from Mexico. They had a lot of things made with metal. I actually kind of like this cross mirror...

You can't see it very well, but a metal nativity scene...

Lots of Frida Kahlo stuff...

Pretty scarves/pareos...

I wanted to buy these guys and set them on my loveseat at home, then invite my son, Jeffrey, over...

Remember how he was weirded out when he saw the little skeleton I had bought on my trip in July? It would have been worth it to see the look on his face. Haha!

The window of the next shop. I didn't notice it when I was taking the picture, but I like the apple painting in the left hand corner.

So, you go downstairs in this place to a literal sea of Talavera.


And all of it's way overpriced. This little dish was about 3"x5"...if you can't read the price, it's $249.90. Does that seem a tad steep?

Especially when it's next to this big urn which is priced at about $299.00. Doesn't make much sense...maybe the dish was marked incorrectly.

Anyway, I did like a lot of the items which you don't see everywhere...like this birdbath and fountain. These were around the $300 price range.

I thought this sink and mirror set was pretty. And I didn't notice them at the time, but after seeing the photograph, I like those pendant lights next to my head in the mirror! I wish I would have paid more attention to those when I was there.

These planters were around $500.00. (I think I'll pass on the $5.00 flowers.)

I loved this...it's like they're going on a happy skeletal ROAD TRIP!!

These metal mirrors have really become popular. I like them (depending on the frame)...these ran about $150.00.

And here's the big market square where all the other vendors are. I swear, all of them had the exact same things for sale.

Lots of purses...

...and masks...

This guy was $240.00. You don't have to tell me twice not to touch.

And the piece de resistance...little Mexican butt toothpick holders. Something every household needs. You can't see the front in this picture, but it's a little Mexican guy in a praying position with his pants down so you can stick toothpicks in the holes. Who thinks up these things? It just seems so wrong...but you gotta laugh.

Now we're outside. They have some outdoor vendors selling characatures and photographs. I remember this guy was selling these last time I was here, so he must be somewhat successful if he's still here. They're photos on canvas. They don't really appeal to me, but I guess some people like it.

See that picture in the middle on the far left? It's hard to see in this photo, but it's a picture of the post office in Luckenbach, Texas. I have a photo almost identical to that and would never think about selling it. Hmmm...maybe I should.

The roaming mariachis...

These guys were playing in the courtyard...and were very good. I love the whistle things the guy on the left was playing...I don't know what they're called.

And here's the Mi Tierra bakery which is very famous here. It's open 24 hours a day and people come from all over to get this stuff.

I don't have a very big sweet tooth, so these things don't really appeal to me, but this placed was packed with a big waiting line, so I think I must be in the minority.




These guys were playing in the waiting area. Playing the xylophone must be pretty serious business because they...

...reminded me of these guys who play at Minino's on Isla. They don't look very happy, do they? Must be a xylophone thing. Haha!

This poster was in a window in the courtyard, which I thought made an interesting study in black and white...

So, did I buy anything? Not at the Mercado, but I swung by Lowe's on the way home and picked up this hibiscus for my front porch...so, it wasn't all for nothing. But I'll definitely be making a trip down to Nuevo Progreso in the future.

Next weekend will start a new adventure, so stay tuned!

It's 5:00 somewhere...

So, here he is...straight from the AT&T Center in San Antonio at the Stock Show and Rodeo. And, yes...this is my photo way from an upper seat using the zoom on my camera.

When I was first invited to the Alan Jackson concert, I wasn't aware that it was connected with the Annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo...a MAJOR event down here in Texas. I've never been to it before, so this was a first. Here's a view as we were near the entrance...

We stopped in to see the goat judging...

Here's the area where Alan would be playing. Little did I know that we had to get through a few "warm-up" activities before Mr. Jackson would take the stage.

My friend and I got there pretty early, so we had some time to kill and got something to eat. The activities started at 7:00 with a lot of running around on horses...

Personally, I love horses, so I don't mind seeing them on stage...

I bet some of these people have been doing this for years...


Then we got into all the fun rodeo activities that included bareback and saddle bronco riding which looked like it could have shattered every vertebrae in a rider's body; calf roping where the cowboy lassos a cute little calf, wrenching it by the neck as it falls to the ground, only to twist rope around its four legs so that it can't move; double calf roping in which two riders go after that pesky little calf...one throwing a rope around its neck while the other throws one around its back legs so that it's pulled in opposite directions (I can only imagine how much fun that would be to have that happen to me); bull riding (in which I perversely wished that the bull would give those cowboys a little taste of their own medicine); as well as jumping-off-your-horse-to-tackle-a-small-innocent-calf-who's-just-minding-his-own-business-twist-his-neck-so-that-he-falls-helplessly-to-the-ground competition. I'm definitely not a cowgirl and don't think I'll be returning to a rodeo in this lifetime.

So, I think it was kind of a blessing that my pictures didn't turn out well. But some turned out kind of interesting in a weird sort of way, so I've posted a few of those.

This was an interesting event. It involved 5-year-old children who would straddle the backs of sheep who were shaved everywhere except their shoulder areas. So the children would hold on to its fur and see how long they could hold on until they fell off. The first little guy held on for almost the whole length of the field. Everyone else looked like this right out of the chute:

Kind of pathetic, huh? She looks like she's dead. Then, everyone cheers, and the embarrassed child goes to the side of the field. Here's the group at the end. At least there were no serious injuries.

Then the emcee made a big deal about the winner kissing the rodeo queen.

Here are my ethereal views of the rodeo...which I prefer to the real thing.


I don't mind the barrel races with the ladies...at least it only involves the skill of a horse and its rider without harming another animal.

The rodeo clown...who frequently made fun of contestants, which I thought was strange...and uncomfortable.

At about 9:30, they finally started making preparations for Alan Jackson...which took about another half hour.


He only played for about 45 minutes.


Since I'm not a big country western fan, I didn't recognize most of his songs, but I enjoyed listening to them. I'll have to say that it was a pretty tame concert. Since it's been many years since I've been to one, I guess I was expecting more, but it was just so-so. He introduced the band and brought "Texas" into a few of his songs, but I certainly wasn't blown away by anything. I was talking to my son about it today and mentioned how I thought he looked older than I had remembered. I googled him and saw that he was born on October 17, 1958, so he's 51 now. We also talked about how that kind of life could get kind of old after awhile and you could get tired of these concerts all the time...especially when you get into your 50's. That's exactly how I felt when I was watching him last night...that he was kind of tired and just not into it. And, personally, I just can't blame him.



The one song I DID recognize was, of course, "It's 5:00 somewhere..."

They showed the video on the big video screens. When he sang, " At a moment like this, I can't help but wonder what would Jimmy Buffet do?"...I was really hoping Jimmy would walk through the door. That would have been WAY cool. But we had to be content with the video on the screen...

At any rate...it's 5:00 somewhere...and that was my experience at the Alan Jackson concert. So, let's keep it within the navigational beacons....

A global blog block??

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like there's a global blog block out there. I don't spend a WHOLE lot of time visiting other blogs, but it seems like my favorites have been experiencing a lull as well. And that definitely includes me. Since I returned from my Mexico trip last December, I have had very little enthusiasm about doing new posts. Maybe it's the lull after the holidays...I don't know. But other than doing a couple posts about my new digs because some people were curious, I just don't have the enthusiasm to post anything.

I was shopping for some pots today for a couple large plants I bought today. Lowe's and Home Depot's choices were about $40 per pot which I thought was pretty lame. Then I remembered when I took my road trip to Progreso Nuevo across the border in Mexico where I saw huge clay planters for about five bucks. Hmmm. I asked Jared if he was up for a Mexico road trip next weekend to check out some bargains. He was all for it. So I think that will make for another interesting blog post, because for the life of me, I can't come up with anything interesting here at home for the time being.

In the meantime, I am going to an Alan Jackson concert on Wednesday. It's been so long since I've been to a live concert, I don't know whether photographs will work, but I will take my camera just in case. I'm not a big country western fan, but I am a big fan of "It's 5:00 Somewhere."

I think this has been the first post I've ever done without a photograph. Till next time from Mexico...or from the concert...

...that would be me...

More on the new digs...

Some people have wanted to see more of the house where I'm living now, so I thought I'd do a post on that. Since I got back from Mexico last December, I haven't felt much like blogging because of everything going on in my life. Now that I'm settled into my home and have gotten some other issues resolved, I'm looking forward to getting back into a more creative mode.

So, here's the outside of my new house. I know, I know...there's no yard, but since it's new construction, they pretty much demolished the yard. The owners will be planting grass seed when it starts to get warmer. Then I'm looking forward to planting some flowers to make it look more homey.

See that mailbox? I moved in on Sunday, January 24th, and called in sick on Monday because I could barely walk due to knee pain from walking up and down my apartment stairs carrying heavy loads of "stuff." I had no mailbox on Sunday, but a couple guys came by on Monday morning and put that thing up in about three hours. That's one major mailbox and it ain't goin' nowhere anytime soon. But if you notice the brickwork around it, I guess I'll be planting some flowers there in the next few months.

This is the first house I've lived in that is done in tile, so I wanted to warm it up with the decorations and furnishings. Since my sofa is white, I thought it would just get "lost" in the room, so I shopped around for an inexpensive love seat in brown which I thought would be a better contrast with the white walls and light floor. This picture doesn't really do it justice, because it really does look warm and cozy in real life but the photo looks kind of cold.

I opted for a kind of funky rug to go with the orange sofa pillow cases I bought in Mexico in December. I thought the browns and oranges would warm up the white walls and cold tile.

Here's the other direction looking towards my bedroom and office.

My bedroom. The only complaint I have about this room is the EXTREMELY bright street light that is right out my window which is on all night. It's okay only if I close my blinds and pull my curtains...otherwise I would need to wear sunglasses in bed.

This is a view to the back of the house. The door on the left is the laundry room and there is a doorway to the right of the door to the outside which leads to my son's room and the room upstairs.

And a view back into the living room...

Here's Jared's room. Normally he's pretty good about keeping his room neat, but he had to be at work earlier than normal this morning, so it's a bit disheveled.

And here's his "Man Cave." This is the only room that is upstairs. It's shaped like a cross with windows on three sides and a wood floor. Since the couch we had in the apartment would have been too large for the the small first floor living room, we put it upstairs. This is the view when you get to the top of the stairs.

Then to the left...

And then over to the right...

We need to do a little more decorating up here, but it's Jared's space, so I'm letting him do what he wants. I primarily let him have this space because I don't want to deal with this...

And, finally...here's my office. I'm so excited to have an actual office space again because I had such a tiny space for my computer in the apartment.

It will also be a guest bedroom for whoever wants to come visit...

And here's the other direction. There's no way I can part with my sons' Mother's Day present a couple years ago of the virtual beach scene. I actually love this thing and turn it on when I want to imagine the sound of the surf. (Please disregard the wires on the floor...that's a work in progress.)

Here's a close-up of my pitiful sea glass from Isla from my last trip. I'll try to do better next time.

So, is my new home perfect? Heck, no. Here's the kitchen sink...

Whenever anyone comes to the house, they look at the sink and say, "What's up with this??" You think it would be flush with the edge of the counter. But they had to account for the spice drawer...

So, it turned out a little crooked. Haha! Who am I to complain? Like I said in my last post...I'm a happy camper.