Mission San Antonio Part 4

Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo,  was called Mission San Jose or "Queen of the Missions" because of its size and number of Indians living there. Father Margil de Jesus, a Franciscan missionary living in the Alamo, saw a need for a new mission. He requested permission from the governor of the Province of Coahulila and Texas to build a new mission in San Antonio. Permission was granted and they started building on February 23 1720.

The church is on the left and the guest quarters are on the right

The church construction began in 1768 and at that time there were 350 Indians living in 84 two room apartments. The Friars jobs were to convert the Indians into Catholic, tax-paying subjects of the King of Spain. As in all the missions the Indians had many changes to entail, including changing their names and learning two languages, Latin and Spanish. Their lives in the mission also included church bells that called them to worship three times a day. There were over 2000 Indians baptized in the 104 years that San Jose was a mission.

The Indian`s apartments

On February 29, 1824 San Jose ceased to remain a mission. Complying with orders from the Mexican government, the mission was fully secularized. Father Diaz turned the mission over to the Indians that were living there and Chaplain Maynes. The mission was neglected and fell into ruins following the Benedictines, Redemptorists, and the Holy Cross Fathers ministering there. The Franciscans returned in 1931 and are still there currently.

The side of the church with the Rose Window

The chapel in the Mission is very ornate and there is gold everywhere. The religious statues are beautiful and the ceiling is gorgeous. The beauty continues outside the enormous wood door with the carvings and architecture around the entrance.

The Chapel in Mission San Jose.

The Alter up close.

Ceiling in the Chapel.

Carving around the Entrance to the Church

There is a window on the side of the church called the Rose Window. They say it is a premier example of Spanish Colonial ornamentation in the US. They do not know who sculpted the window or why. The folklore about the window says that Pedro Huizar, a carpenter and surveyor from Spain, was waiting for his sweetheart, Rosa, to join him from Spain. On her journey Rosa was lost at sea. Pedro then carved the window as a declaration of his love. The more reasonable and less romantic theory is that it was named after the first saint of the New World, Saint Rosa of Lima.  Personally, I am going with the love story.

Rose Window

In the back of the Mission was a Grist Mill that was functioning in 1794 when the people of the mission were eating more than corn and wheat. The mill ran on the water from the irrigation system and aqueducts.

The Mill at Mission San Jose

The water system that worked the mill

This was my favorite of the missions. It was the largest, most intact, and it had a gift shop!

Hockey Stick Headboard

My youngest son has been playing hockey for close to 20 years. He is a senior in college and will have one more year of eligibility before it is off to Men's league. I think he would be a great coach one day, and I know that he will always ice skate.

When we moved to Indianapolis, from Fort Wayne, our son was in the 7th grade and I decided to make him a hockey headboard. We still use it today with a quilt that was made with all his jerseys and t- shirts from all the teams he has played for.

To make the headboard I bought a package of mite orange sticks and 4 adult sticks. All the sticks are wood. I cut the small sticks just at the end of the Sher-Wood label and the large sticks to the length that worked for the bed.

I laid the small sticks on the floor face side down in the pattern I wanted, and then laid the large stick on top of them spacing them in the pattern I liked. You can then put a dab of hot glue to hold them in place in between the spot where they intersect. I just got out the drill and drilled a hole through the back of the large stick and part way into the small stick. I then screwed the pieces together.  I drilled holes through the large sticks in four inconspicuous spots to screw them into anchors in the wall. It was all very easy!

The headboard started out on a twin bed and is now on a queen. They both looked great!

Hockey Weekend

Last weekend my Husband and I made the journey to the Midwest to watch our Son play college hockey. We went from sunny Texas to the freezing Midwest and saw three great games of hockey. This was the first time we have seen our son play this year, and we were not disappointed.  We were supposed to make the same journey last October, but he broke his arm in September, so we had to postpone the trip until this February. After being out for 4 months, and only back playing for 3 weeks, he looks to be back at 100%. I really missed seeing him play and was so glad he is back playing the game he loves.

This is the only picture we have of our Son during the first half of the season. 

My husband took pictures all weekend, and my Son's girlfriend and I  sat in the stands and watched three awesome games. I have sat in hockey ice rinks for the last 18 years, and this rink is one of the only ones that actually had the heaters working above the stands. I cannot tell you how many games I have left and needed to thaw out. Since it was 4 degrees outside with a wind chill of -30 it was nice to not freeze while inside too.

Three games played and three games won. Each game unique with the first a regulation win, the second an overtime win, and the third a shootout win. Like I said, three great games of hockey.

Our Son plays defense and has the perfect personality for the position, because nothing said to him gets under his skin, Yet, he certainly knows how to get under the opponent`s skin. His "signature" in front of the net is to push down on the back of the opponents pants. It is very effective and the other player tends to move out of the way, or risk maybe losing his pants, lol.

Pushing down on the back of the pants is a effective move.

The only person that gets to my Son, and everyone else, is the Referee. There is nothing worse in any sport than when poor refereeing can change the outcome of any game. There were certainly some questionable calls, one of the refs went a little ballistic on some of the college fans during the first game. In the second game one of the Refs shoved a player which is not OK, but most of the calls were maybe one sided, but did not change the outcome of the games.

I am sure the Referee is complimenting our Son on how well he is playing

For many this was the best play of the game

After the third game we went straight to the airport for our trip home. When we arrived home it was in the mid 60`s. I love Texas!

Mission San Antonio: Part 3

Mission San Juan Capistrano was the third Mission on our tour. Originally built in East Texas in 1716 this mission was called Mission San Jose de los Nazonis to serve the Nazonis Indians. Because they were not successful, they moved the mission to the San Antonio River and renamed it San Juan Capistrano on March 5, 1731.

Map of Mission San Juan Capistrano.

The mission had serious battles with epidemics of smallpox, measles and other European diseases along with being terrorized by bands of Apaches and Comanches. The mission still grew, and by 1762 there were 203 Indians living in the mission. The Indians were very industrious, and with a granary and textile shops, along with the aqueduct for watering, agriculture became the basis of their economy. The crops they grew included corn, beans, sweet potatoes, chilies, melons, cotton, sugar cane and squash. Outside the walls of the mission were orchards that grew peaches, pumpkins and grapes too. In 1762 there was said to have been around 3500 sheep and almost as many cattle at the mission. This was all possible because of the fertile soil, and the water supply from the irrigation system.

The church was constructed in 1772 and the exterior is covered with plaster. It was weather stained, cracking and in need of better support beams. The chapel went through a stabilization and preservation project in 2012 and was covered in an eggshell white plaster.

San Juan is still an active church and services are still held here. This would be such a neat place to be married. In the year 2000, three Spanish Colonial period pieces were stolen from the alter. These 3-4 foot statues are painted carved wood. These artifacts are not considered priceless because of their value as art, and they were not carved by someone famous, but they are priceless because of their religious history, and their importance to the people of the mission.

This was the site of an unfinished church started in 1780. In the Ruins lies the remains of the indigenous people that built the mission. The sign reads "Sacred Earth".

The chapel at this mission looks so beautiful with the white plaster. My husband took his favorite picture above with the sun behind the bell towers. Screen Saver!

Next Stop, Mission San Jose