NIOSA piñatas

I thought this was a nice decoration for La Villita during Fiesta. Can you smell the gorditas and anticuchos?

St. Jude Catholic Church

I used to pass this church all the time, but now we only pass it every once in a while. I've been trying to get a good shot of it, and this is the best so far. This church was my mother's church when we were wee bairns. She used to go here at the very least every Sunday. We went with her a few times until she barred us from going, apparently we didn't act well enough to go to church. When we were older-high school or college we came here one spring to get a palm cross and a bloodied nail for my grandmother. My sister also got ash on her forehead, I couldn't since I never did my communion.

Judson's Candies

I came across this old building on the ride home. I always get turned around in downtown as I thought it was somewhere else. This is one of those old buildings that is being remade into lofts if I read the construction signs right. I love their red sign. My madrina used to work here when I was a kid, but now that I think about it, I don't ever remember reaping the rewards from that...hmmm.

If You're Happy and You Know It

This is another photo from the King William Fair parade. I glanced over to this sheriff and had to smile and smiled each time I caught a glimpse of his gun. If you look closely you can see that he has a happy face on the butt of his gun.

Pirates 'Hoy!

I'd been wanting to go to the King William Fair for a couple of years now. This was the first year I actually went. I liked this parade entry as it came down the street they raised their pirate flag. It was pretty cool. They also had some pirate wenches sitting on the flat bed. You can see the rest of my pics here, it's a limited number because my batteries ran out, and I have yet to load up the ones I took with my sisters camera phone.

Flowering Cactus

This is not quite in San Antonio, but close enough. Today was the Battle of Flowers Parade, but we didn't go so no pictures from there this year. I did notice this cactus and its beautiful yellow flowers. I'm not sure I've ever seen it flower before, but it did this year. I'm glad I noticed and took a pic, because summer is coming up for us in San Antonio, and I'll take some beauty and color before everything dries out in 100 plus temps.

Bill Miller Now Has Big Red

While this may not be big news to anyone out of Texas or San Antonio, or heck even me I just had to post it. Big Red is an institution in Texas, since it can only be found here. Both my brothers (one who is former Army and one who is current Marine) missed it when they were in the military so we had to ship it to them wherever they were. I call this the drink of the gods, especially when you mix it with Mountain Dew. Code Red ain't got nothing on that mix. My co-workers fear me when I'm on that high. >:)

Java Nook Coming Soon

Saw this as I passed the display window of Central Library. I know a lot of people can't wait for this to open. A lot of libraries have some kind of coffee thing going, and I know with Starbucks and Ruta Maya so close people were hoping they would take up the challenge, but no such luck. Blimpies was in the Central Library basement a few years ago, but they didn't last long.

Alamo Area Square Dancers River Float

This was the day after the River Parade. We were on our daily walk and got to river level right when this float went buy. I was asked to take a picture of it, because just the day before my walking partner had seen some of his friends on this very float go down the river. He said his friend did very well. :D

River Volunteers in Red

Walking on the river today we encountered a lot of activity. Chairs were lined up for the River Parade. Back in the day my mother used to love to watch the River Parade. We never sat in these chairs, but instead watched them from above. I'm assuming the people in the red shirts are some kind of volunteers as I saw them loaded into boats that were labeled with something or other. I also saw the river going through a final clean up, with those boats with those long arms and nets that pick up all sorts of refuge. We passed by the Arneson River Theatre and saw all the cameras on one side to catch all the action and the stage itself was being dressed up for it's appearance.

Double Decker

I had never seen one of these in real life, I've only ever seen them in the movies. Today when coming back from my almost daily walk I was surprised by this. It's from the Lion & Rose. We totally wanted to sneak in and go up top, but I really wasn't in the mood for some B&E.

Robert E. Lee Lived Here

I've been walking the River Walk for a while now and almost every time I walk it I find something I haven't seen before. The plaque reads

Gen. Robert E. Lee lived here
in 1857 when a Lieut. Col.
of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry
De Zavala Chapter Texas
Historical and Landmarks Assn.
1924

The Torch, Not Human

I see this sight every time I walk on the River Walk. This piece of wall is directly to the south of a Mexican restaurant with tables outside. I can't be sure how long it has been there or when was the first time I saw it, but I wonder if it was put there because of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics Torch run that came to San Antonio in December 2001. I saw part of the run that passed in front of Fox Tech High School in downtown San Antonio.

Green as a Cricket

CricKet is one of those companies that have sprung up around cell phones. I'm not sure if it's one of those pay as you go, or one of those flat rate ones. You see stores all over town and advertising on buses and billboards everywhere. I've never used them before but I know people who do. I still have my little trusty pay as you go phone, no camera or any of the fun stuff, but as long as I keep it charged it sends and receives calls/texts.

Security Service Federal Credit Union

The bank to service members, their families and many others. I applied at this very location one time. They told us that there had once been a hold up at the location what with it being right off the highway. They added security guards after that instance. The tests they made us do included one where we had to make change. I didn't get the job, but it wasn't cause I couldn't make change. :D At least I hope it wasn't.

Possum in the City

We were visiting at my brother's house when the kids all came in screaming that there was a big rat outside. My brother went to investigate and found not a rat but a possum. It went from the side of the house to the front. My niece tried to get a pic of it but didn't succeed. I finally got this one at the front of the house. My niece went inside at this point running to close the window because the possum had started climbing up the wall and she was worried that it would climb into the house through the window.

I thought it looked kind of cute at this size. I've seen a bigger on out in the boonies, when it climbed into a trashcan and couldn't make its way out again.

Peppermint Amaryllis

I was out of town for a few days in Washington D.C. (Hi Michelle!) and when I got back I noticed these amaryllises had bloomed in our flower bed. They remind me of Starlite Mints!

(Can I say that? Is that a trademark?)

Library Arcade

I'm not an architecture whiz, so I'm not sure if I used the right word there. I think the definition of an arcade is a walkway composed of arches supported by columns. Well, we have the walkway and the columns but no arches. Regardless, it looks interesting in the morning with the rising sun casting oblique shadows between the columns.

Shine On

We woke up to a beautiful spring day...all shining sun, breezy winds, and blue skies. We stopped at a yard sale and scored a carousel for my nieces bedroom. I also found some clear, dangly earrings, and a Fiesta corona for the niece.

It was a beautiful day, to say goodbye if you had to. Goodbye. /me waves

Little Hat for a Little Car

I've seen trucks and cars before wearing these little yellow hats. I once knew someone who called these kind of cars baby booties. I wonder how they keep those hats on the top of the vehicles?

Coming In for a Landing

We live pretty close to Lackland Airforce Base now. We see a lot of these big a$$ planes every time we are on the road. The kids still consider it a novelty and point them out too each other. I think this is highway 90 before it turns to 151, but I could be wrong.

A Place of Legends

We take this road home almost everyday now, and it's nice because these were our old stomping yards back in the day. My sister told me this used to be a club called El Cameroncito (The Little Shrimp). My mom used to tell us a local urban legend about the Devil appearing here one night and dancing the night away with a girl (who had been fairly nasty to other club goers). The dancers around noticed before the girl that he had a cloven foot and a chicken foot. He then disappeared and left a smell of sulfur behind. Did it really happen? I don't know, I wasn't there.

Waiting for the Bus

Saw this man on the way home. I hear more and more people are taking the bus and trading in their gas guzzlers for something cheaper with the gas prices going higher and higher. I was watching a news story the other day that said how some people are having to spend half their hourly pay just to put a gallon of gas in their car.

And All That Jazz

This is part of a display at the Central Library right in front of the Circulation Desk. There are many a nice art piece, but this one really caught my eye. The winner of this contest will have their art made into a poster for the Battle of Flower Battle of the Bands.

Border Town

Did some shopping for the new abode today. I'm afraid I didn't find much at Garden Ridge, or I should say I found a lot I wanted, but not that I needed. We stopped to eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken because I hadn't had it in a while. This is one of those shared fast food joints, which includes Taco Bell. I've never liked Taco Bell, so I ordered the chicken, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes of course. It's never as good as I want it to be, but it wasn't bad.

Ray's

This is a Mexican restaurant on the west side of San Antonio. It's owned by the same family as Henry's Puffy tacos. I like Ray's better. Their chicken puffy taco's are almost as good as the chicken tacos my sister makes at home. We tried to go here one time for my birthday but they were closed. Who knew!

Flyleaf at Cuatro Cuatro

My nieces were after me to attend a concert with them. One of them was all excited because she likes Flyleaf. I like them too, in fact we both own the same cd. I finally gave in and went with them. We got to the front of the line with our tickets and they said no camera's and of course I take my camera with me everywhere. So of course we had to get out of the line. (Well at least I did, I told my nieces they could stay in line but they were loyal and stayed with me.) We finally got to the front and of course they weren't really checking by then. I had my niece and nephew take pics with their cellies so I could get something for the blog.

The concert was at the Sunken Gardens and it was a beautiful day for it, windy and cool, but not too cool. They had a free throw contest where if you got three baskets in a row you got VIP tickets to another show. My niece got all three and she scored VIP tickets to a Kid Rock show.

The only drawback for my niece was that of all the port-o-potties they had none had toilet paper, since all of it was being thrown around in the crowd. :D My nieces experienced their first mosh experience. One of them was fine with it until she got her earring bearing ear bashed into a wall, the other had enough with one time being in the middle of it.

It was a nice mix of people, the very young, to the older generation in their black concert tees from bands of the past. Flyleaf did really well. I'm not too big on concerts but it wasn't bad at all.

Breakfast Tacos

Back in August of 2006 Sarah, founder and former blogger for SADP posted about the love affair San Antonio has with breakfast tacos. I was so surprised when I heard that other states don't have breakfast tacos. Some people don't even know what tortillas are. When we visited my brother and his family when he was stationed in California we ended up having to make breakfast at home because the only tacos we could find were carne asada...that to us is not breakfast, but lunch.

In this picture you will find egg and cheese and bean and cheese tacos in flour tortillas from Blanco Cafe in downtown San Antonio. I love the cheese they use. I only ever really eat these tacos from Blancos. My usual weekday fare is bacon and eggs. On the weekend we usually have barbecoa and sometimes tamales and every once in a while menudo. (This is more of a Sunday breakfast-Saturday is usually breakfast cereal.)

Screen Envy

Went to our local H.E.B. They had this sweet game/movie section. I was checking out their TV on DVD section. I love me some of those DVD sets but have to limit myself since they are expensive. I have to really love a series to get it. Lately my sister has been getting me a set for Christmas and/or my birthday. So far I have House, Veronica Mars, Firefly and Bones. I still want to get a few more, like Angel (maybe, not sure yet), Battlestar Galactica (the current, not past), Buffy, CSI (Las Vegas, no other), Invasion, Law & Order: SVU, NCIS, Roswell, Space: Above and Beyond.

April Theme Day: Water

Today is the theme day for Daily Photo sites. It was fortuitous that they picked water as I've been walking farther and farther down the River. These two or three days passed we've walked down to this spot. Before we've always stopped right before and I had no idea this was here. I'm assuming this is some kind of flood control, but if anyone out there knows better please let me know. This is right past the spot where the weird birds hang out and where the weird noises come out of. I mentioned that this was our one mini version of Niagara Falls and of course my walking mates mocked me.