Small Town, Big Family

This Fourth of July holiday, my kids and I went to Silver City, New Mexico, to visit with family..... it actually turned into a mini-reunion of sorts, as one of my brothers was also in town with his wife, their four kids, her sister, her sisters kids, her brothers kids, all kinds of kids! It was a veritable melee of Moms, Dads, Aunts, Uncles, Daughters, Sons, Nieces, Nephews and as someone was heard to say, it was  "all cousins, all the time!"  Some of us went downtown mid-afternoon to see about an Ice Cream Social going on, but decided to go to the local Gelato shop instead. As we were walking to get the Gelato, I was noticing all the little details of historic interest, things that set small towns apart from their cousins, big cities. In places like this, there is no Starbucks, no hustle and bustle, no mall......It seems to force you to slow down and really notice your surroundings. Here are some of the things I noticed on holiday with my big family in a small town.

 

A very cool Hacienda Door....I only just now noticed the Quail on the top beam!

Local Color

Here you see the stylized sun symbol of New Mexico on some street side planters....nice touch!

 One of the old building facades...that is original, antique purple glass in those transoms! What I wouldn't give to have a window pane of antique purple glass in my stash! And check out those corbels and the other whatcha-ma-jigs on the top! It was also a very nice red, white and blue colorway....fitting for the occasion.

A cute, colorful store front. Small towns seem to be so much more colorful than big cities.....can the same be said of the town inhabitants? ;-)

Cool architectural detail. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

A very cheery contribution....even the curtains inside look cheerful.

Mid Century Modern in tha House! Or rather, in the small town.

This is something I've always wanted to try....glass bottles set into a wall. This was at the top of a stucco courtyard wall and it was sooo neat!

My kids and I made a game of finding 'Art'

We found some.......

 

And this stunning piece of moulding on the side of a building, at eye level no less, was my favorite sight of the day.

Love Love Love Love Love this. Color, shape, detail. Did I mention I love it?

And of course, since it was the Fourth of July, there were plenty of flags lining the main street. 

I'm glad I 'stopped and smelled the roses' or, in this case, 'took in the eye candy'

I'm not a small town convert yet....I like my city with all it's fodder for distraction, but it was nice to slow down the pace just a little.......

Have you spent time in a cool small town recently? Do Share!