Weston, Missouri

A few weeks ago while the weather was still very balmy, my friend Theresa and I made a day trip to Weston, Missouri.  This was during the time I did not have a camera, so I bought a plastic Kodak, and had to send the film away to be developed.  I finally have gotten it back.

Weston is a very historic town, full of pre-Civil War homes, and is built on a series of hills and valleys.  It's very busy on Saturdays, as it is full of small boutiques and restaurants.  Theresa and I shopped... well, Theresa shopped... and we had lunch at one of the restaurants located in an old house. 

Weston, a river town, was a hub for tobacco sales.  You don't associate heavy tobacco production with this part of the country, but northwestern Missouri was a huge tobacco-producing area, and the drying barns still dot the countryside up highway 29. 

This is the Weston Burley House, the auction barn, where auctions are still held.  It was the hub for tobacco sales.

You can see the lovely old historical buildings. And the tourists.

This is a B and B, but also an example of the wonderful old architecture abounding in the town. They have a candlelight tour in early December, but there is one thing about Weston that scares me into NOT driving to it at night.  Highway 45 abounds in rutting deer crossing the road constantly... and the road is very, very dark, narrow, and hilly.  Uh-HUH.

A scene from a very upscale home furnishings store which will remain anonymous.  People, do you see what I see?

YES.

Those are two baby black bears, stuffed, and being sold as home accessories.  They weren't the only ones.

Pardon Theresa's grin, but the idea of the brown bear's holding the fall wreath was ludicrous. 

I have to say that other than the stuffed animals, I really liked what this store carried, but I don't think my conscience would let me buy anything here.  It wasn't just bears... it was a lynx, many birds, and some standard deer head mounts.  But the animals... surely they didn't die to festoon someone's den!

Other than this store, there are many fine things to buy here, and many good places to eat.  We had a good day, got worn out in a good way, and were happy we went.  If you have time, look up the history of this wonderful old town, and I think you'll find it interesting.  There WAS a mini-horse in one of the stores, but alas, the Kodak point and shoot plastic camera did NOT get a good picture.  I guess these folks bring their mini in and keep it in a stall in a back "fairy forest" room for kids and adults to pet.  Strange.

I managed to not buy anything except lunch and a serving of some of the best hand-mixed limeade I've ever had in my life.  I would go back again just for that!   I guess I'm at the stage in life there "stuff" doesn't matter as much to me anymore, but it was sure fun window-shopping!

Monday Evening

I had a very long day at work today while my computer was switched from Lotus Notes to Outlook... I still don't have it back.   There's only so much desk-straightening you can do, so once that was done, I got caught up on a few things I could do by hand. 

I did have a huge laugh, though, when I read Ohio Farmgirl's post for tonight about Goat Pimping.  Take a minute to read it, especially if you have goats, or have had a long day.

I am still without a camera.  Over the weekend I went with friend Theresa to Weston, Missouri, a very historic Missouri river town.  I actually bought two point and shoot Fuji cameras from the grocery store... okay, one was made by Kodak... so I could take pictures of the pretty town.  On Sunday, I had the birthday party for Jax and Paiton to go to... they are three and four respectively, born three days apart, one year apart.  There was another orgy of present unwrapping and Jax got six guns (Nerf) by my count.  Paiton got at least three Disney princesses, and a big baby doll from me.  I'll tell you a secret... the doll was 11.74 at Walmart, and she liked it as well as the special ones. 

I'll take those two cameras to Walmart tomorrow or the next day and get them developed, scan the pictures... etc. etc. etc. 

I'm trying to get it together to get another camera, at least an inexpensive one to use until after Christmas.

Here is a picture taken 3 years ago... this is Baby Rambo!

Dovey hatched these three.. and the lovely red chick was killed by a snake.

And here he is today, King of the Big Henhouse.

It's fun to look back and see him as a helpless chick.

Old Cemetaries

I love old cemetaries. For some years, I belonged to the Civil War Roundtable of Western Missouri, and in fact, studying Civil War History is what brought Keith and myself together.  I like to stop while driving to investigate old cemetaries, and Keith does, too.  Before we married, I traveled very little... I was always too busy working several jobs.  However, ten years ago I treated myself to a trip to Gettysburg, and the following year, treated myself again!  I had a wonderful time, and since I was still riding regularly then, I rented a horse and rode on the battlefield.  It gave me chills to ride where the greats and the heros rode and marched and fought and fell.  I was the only one in the ride not listening to headphones, and brought up the rear that day.  It was misty, and difficult to see very far, and I swear to you that I heard the sounds of battle in the distance. 

In Wyandotte County where I grew up, we had numerous small cemetaries and there were many Civil War veterans buried in them.  When I asked at the roundtable meetings why there were so many, I discovered that many veterans "went west" after the war, and got their 40 acres that the government promised Union veterans.  Now they lie in forgotten cemetaries across our land.

Close to us here lies the little Missouri River town of Weston.  It is filled with wonderful old homes and a lot of history.  It was also a tobacco hub, and there was a large auction house there, the Weston Burley house.  Tobacco formed a lot of income for many small farmers in Platte County.  Now it is a town of antique and specialty shops, and good restaurants, and a fun day trip.

In Weston there is a beautiful old municipal cemetary, and one autumn day Keith and I drove up there just to see the color, and remember those who had gone before us in this month of remembering. 

The cemetary sits on rolling hills

"A Free Spirit"

I know there is a story there.

Great Grandson of someone I admire

In the Civil War Roundtable, we had a wonderful president who knew what every fold of cloth on a monument meant.... all things I have forgotten now, but fascinating.