Back to Georgetown

 A small town square decked out for Christmas + lots of friends + my camera =

my idea of fun!

For some reason, taking photos of things I love is almost as good as buying them. 

And much cheaper!

For instance, I'm a sucker for children's chairs, like the one above and especially, the one below. 

There's just something about these little festive painted chairs... 

...but I already have two, 

so I was satisfied with a photo of this one.
(Especially after seeing the price tag!)

When I was small, we had an aluminum tree.

I didn't like it, and longed for a real tree.

So why do I love these now?

I'm Texan, but this purse is plain creepy!

This photo below turned out a little blurry, but I decided I really like it and had lots of fun playing with it.

I love old glass ornaments, but my tree is over-saturated as it is.

Sigh.

I took this one for my friend Mary Kay. 

She loves buttons and making things. 

(And I have lots of wine corks!)

I tried to take different photos this time, but I just can't resist a repeat of this metal stairway.

Sculptures dot the square.  

Here are just a couple.

This little girl posed for me on the turtle. 

I have one of me trying to imitate it, but you're not going to see that one.
You'd have nightmares.

But I'll share this one of all of us. 

I love good wine, but good friends are priceless!

P.S. I did buy something.

This square picnic basket was just $3!!!

Last, but not least... the Pigeon! (Georgetown Flashback #5)

I'm just returned and not quite recovered from a weekend at the coast with 15 other women and haven't yet had a chance to sort through the zillions of seagull and pelican and sunrise photos I snapped. 

In the meantime, I remembered these shots of a Georgetown pigeon I met while looking up at the glorious buildings.

He couldn't quite figure me out...

"Aren't you through snapping?"

(I know what he was thinking because I see that look on Tom's face all the time!)

Little Church on the Square (Georgetown Flashback #4)

I'm drawn to old churches, anyway, 

but this one just a few steps off of the courthouse square in Georgetown, Texas, 

especially caught my eye, 

with its castle-like, fleur-de-lis tipped architecture. 

  

But what I loved most about it (as you'll see) 

were the windows, the clapboard siding, 

and the pretty red flowers lining the ramp.

Beautiful combination, right?

It doesn't take much to make me smile.

It's now the home of the Georgetown Heritage Society. 

Very fitting.

In Homage to the Architects of Old (Georgetown Flashback #3)

I look up when I wander through old sections of small towns, where progress looks outward, into the farmlands, filling the fields with unadorned concrete, glass and sheet metal buildings, built to be replaced.

The buildings in these small Texas towns were designed with pride and built to last, to show off, to stand out. 

It breaks my heart when I see them neglected.

That's not the case in Georgetown, though. At least not now. 

“Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul.” ~  Ernest Dimnet 

"There are three forms of visual art: Painting is art to look at, sculpture is art you can walk around, and architecture is art you can walk through." ~ Dan Rice

Can you tell I love these stairs? Such a great example of function meeting art - anything can be made beautiful, if attention is paid to the details and worked with pride.  

I almost missed this, hiding under an eave at the corner of a building. 

It becomes art when every surface is a part of the canvas.

“The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” ~  Frank Lloyd Wright

“This building is like a book. Its architecture is the binding, its text is in the glass and sculpture.” ~  Malcolm Miller

“An architect is the drawer of dreams” ~  Grace McGarvie 

In these old towns, each building has its own personality.

“Architecture is music in space, as it were a frozen music.” ~  Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling

Georgetown Flashback #2 - Around the Square

I love a courthouse...the architecture, the history...but I'll be honest, I love the square around it even more, all the eclectic shops and wonderful old buildings.

Especially if it's revitalized like the one in Georgetown, where the old buildings are put back into use, refurbished, painted, filled with antiques, crafts, books or quirky gifts and busy with customers. 

Our first stop was Handcrafts Unlimited, an amazing Co-op that has been in business for more than 25 years, a place where senior citizens can sell their handmade crafts and art.

I came across these crocheted watermelon slice potholders - exactly like the ones my Grandmother made. In fact, I found several things in the store exactly like my Grandmother made. I wish she'd had a place like this to sell her products!

What tempted me the most were these pottery pieces. But as I mentioned in my last post, I was on a strict budget. To fight the urge to buy anything, I just snapped more photos...

...like this one of my friend Mary Kay. She bought a few things, I believe, but mostly she gathered ideas. But also take a look at this shop, at the wood floor and tin ceiling and quilts draped along the railings. Such a cool building. The women working there are all volunteers.

Of course, there were plenty of antique shops as well.

I had to go into the Georgetown Winery Tasting Room and gift shop. Loved this sign!

Decorative man-hole covers and old brick sidewalks added lots of personality...

...as did this sculpture on a side street.

Another junky antique shop lured us farther down the side street.

I've posted this book-chair before but had to share it again... it's so original!

I shot it from several angles. Just love the detail on it! I wonder where I could find one of these?

And look at this vintage beauty I spotted on the square. See the blue in the hubcaps? Nice touch!

Stay tuned for more scenes of Georgetown. 

(Yes, there are more! My camera saved me a lot of money that day!)