A Trip to Mesa

Our trip over to the suburb of Mesa was occasioned by my daughter's desire to visit Design Lab, a unique retail shop full of stuff just worthy of checking out.

It's located in a beautiful old red brick building right in the heart of the arts district on Main Street in downtown Mesa.  The trappings are warehousey and you can spend a couple of hours just browsing the one-of-a-kind items, writing implements, papers and journals, lamps, pillows, doodads, furniture, and a little bit of just everything you might want to decorate your home.

I loved the rustic doors located down the hall toward the corner of the store.

The hallway leading to the entrance is lined with posters, signs,  photographs, and other pieces of framed art.  This is one of my favorite quotes.

There are also some shops upstairs in this building and I believe some professional offices but we didn't veture up this shiny metal staircase.  Maybe next time.

Vintage Walgreen Sign

Downtown San Antonio

Horny Toad Farm

Just seeing a sign for the Horny Toad Farm puts a smile on my face.  Do they really have horny toads or do they have horned toads (I feel another smile developing)?

This photo was taken last year during a trip to Arizona when I visited one of Phoenix's wonderful farmers markets.

Humorous Sign

I think this is a very funny sign but for the life of me, I can't see why a retailer would put a sign like this up next to their cash register.  Wouldn't it give you pause for thought?

Misplaced Apostrophes (not Apostrophe's)

Meyersville, Texas, Burger, Biker, BBQ shack.  When will sign painters ever take a grammar course and learn the difference  between plurals and possessives!  I see the place is for sale so maybe the new owners will have studied fifth grade grammar.

Wisteria on Run Away Lane

What's in a Name?

While I was in Stephenville, Texas, a few months ago to photograph their historic courthouse, I couldn't help but smile when I saw this sign painted on a glass door across the street.  I'm sure this lawyer has been the butt of many jokes during his career about his name.  The courthouse is shown in the reflection of the glass.

A Shopper's Delight

There is a little town 40 miles southwest of Ft. Worth which has kept its economy alive by catering to shoppers.  Granbury is only a town of about 8,000 but practically every square inch of it is thriving as a shopper's mecca when so many other small towns in Texas are just slowly dying as they lose their industry and their retail business.  I can think of several towns that could learn some lessons from Granbury.  When I first drove into town I thought there was some kind of festival going on.  I couldn't find a place to park anywhere near the courthouse square - and that's why I was there, to photograph the courthouse.  I finally stopped and asked a young lady who was serving as a hostess at a patio-style restaurant what was all the action about.  She seemed genuinely surprised at my question and said it was like that every day.  After I looked around I could see what was happening.  I fell in love with all the unique boutiques and would love to go back for a real shopping trip someday.  And there were cute signs all over the place!

Redneck Country

Ratcliff, Texas

Deep in the Piney Woods

A Jeep with a Sense of Humor

Bright and Early

I never knew there was a Bright and Early Coffee and Tea sign at the Bugscuffle crossroads in Rusk County, Texas, until recently when I drove past and could actually see it because the leaves had fallen from the trees in front of this old country store.  Bright and Early advertisements were once prevalent on the sides of barns and old stores throughout Texas and other areas of the South but today they're a rarity.  In fact, after doing a little research, it is believed that this particular ghost sign is the last remaining one in East Texas.  If you use your imagination you can see parts of the words "Coffee and Tea" underneath the yellow painted portion of the sign.  By the way, there are several communities in Texas called Bugscuffle.  This one is near the somewhat larger community of Reklaw (Walker spelled backwards).  I've photographed one other Bright and Earl sign in my travels around Texas.  That one was in Hico, Texas, a small Central Texas town, and it was posted on this blog this past summer.  If you're interested in comparing the two, you can see the previous one HERE.

Reb Cabbage?

I'm always on the lookout for unusual signs or signs with catchy phrases or misspellings.  I couldn't resist snapping a quick photo of this one at a farmers market in Phoenix this past fall.  There are actually over 700 hits for "reb" cabbage on Google but in several random clicks on links it was "reb" in the headline and other references in the article were "red."  Is there such a thing as "reb" cabbage or is this just a common typo?  What do you think?

Painting Cow

This is my current favorite billboard.  I'm sure there's more than just this one across the country but this one happens to be located between Nacogdoches and Lufkin in East Texas on U.S. Highway 59.  And what is this cow painting?

Joining in with Signs, Signs

Billy the Kid and Hico

In the 1940s an old codger by the name of Ollie Roberts, aka "Brushy Bill" Roberts or William Henry Roberts, a resident of Hico (pronounced HIGH-co), Texas, claimed to have been the outlaw Billy The Kid.  Although his claim has been pretty much debunked, the little central Texas town of Hico has capitalized on his infamy and the town has become somewhat of a tourist attraction.  Billy The Kid keeps the commerce of Hico in good shape with the local museum, a statute of the outlaw in the center of town, several antique stores, a well-known restaurant known far and wide for its chicken fried steak, an ice cream parlor, a fudge shop, and plenty of authentic ghost signs.  It a fun little place to visit.  Joining with other sign sillies at Lesley's Signs, Signs.  Check it out!

The Famous Ben Wheeler Sign

Some of you who are everyday visitors to this blog may remember back in August I featured a portion of ghost sign which can be found in the tiny hamlet of Ben Wheeler, Texas.  I had made a special trip off the beaten path to see and photograph this sign for myself, only to find a large portion of the sign blocked by a local tinkering with his car.  On a recent trip back to that area with some friends, I cajoled them into detouring our planned route since we were in the vicinity of Ben Wheeler (unlike me, most people would rather travel interstate highways rather than the back roads) so I could have another chance.  This day I was luckier - only a rather inobtrustive motorcycle stood in the way of the complete sign.

Link to the original post

What's in Moodyville You Say?

A darned good barbecue joint, that's what!

Shelby County, Texas

I had lunch in Moodyville today as a group of family members got together to celebrate an aunt's

90th birthday.  The place was clean, cutely decorated, the food was good,

the service was excellent.

If you're in Moodyville, it's the only place to go!

Moo-La

Erath County, the Dairy Capital of Texas

Courthouse Square in Stephenville, the county seat

Love Signs?

Check out many others at Lesley's Signs Signs

Eighter from Decatur

Building in downtown Decatur, Texas, Wise County

The phrase "Eighter From Decatur" is said to have originated in Decatur, Texas.  It is a slang expression of craps shooters who are hoping to roll an eight.  There are a couple different local legends concerning how the phrase was coined in the early 1900s and how it spread throughout the world.  Rather than repeating a long rendition of the stories, if you're interested you can find them at this link.

Joining in on one of my favorite memes, Lesley's Signs, Signs.  

Go on over and take a look at some of the other signs.

Fleas 'N Tiques

Seen in an Alleyway

Hillsboro, Texas

Linking to Lesley's Signs,Signs

Proofreader Needed

Canton, Texas, First Monday Trade Days

Since I work as a proofreader 

(and I don't proofread my own work - only that of others!) 

I always get a big kick out of seeing signs which contained misspelled words.

If you love signs, join all of us

Silly Sign People

at Lesley's Signs Signs