On Friday Bob and I took a ride to Brownsville, TX, to see what we could see. We started out with a drive around town. Brownsville has some lovely areas and some not so lovely areas. We stopped into the Visitors Center to find out some more about the area. A very helpful woman suggested Lola's for lunch, a nice place to eat overlooking a pond. The food was excellent and reasonably priced.
The woman at the Visitor's center also suggested we check out the Costumes of the Americas Museum located in the Children's Museum, so off we went. They had a lovely exhibit of women's clothing in the Americas, including wedding raiments.
This dress is interesting. The poster next to it states that designs depict coyotes, armadillos, and dead turkeys called chompipes muertos. The dead turkey is significant because the bridegroom's parents decorate a dead turkey with flowers, place it in a basket of goodies and give it to their in-laws. The turkey is then eaten on the day of the wedding, and the complete skeleton is saved. The skeleton of the turkey is hung in the kitchen of the newlyweds to protect the excitement and sacred bonds of the marriage.
Hmmmmmmmm.....
Many of the pieces were handwoven and embellished with beading, quills, and embroidery. Bob is a trooper to let me drag him to these places and I really appreciate it!
I pulled out the Christmas tree and ornaments after we got home. It took me about fifteen minutes total to set up, quite a difference from the hours of decorating I used to do. It's nice to have it up without spending all day. And I think it looks quite festive :)
I will never look at a turkey the same way... Ewww!
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