Just Horsin' Around - Thoughts on Central Texas Real Estate and More

This is a quick and elegant dish when you come home from a hard day listing houses and realize (or learn!) that you have dinner guests coming.  Served with a fresh salad and a lightly steamed and seasoned vegetable of your choice, a loaf of crusty bread, and some white wine, a sorbet out of the freezer for dessert, and you're good to go!

• 4 salmon fillets

• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt

• 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon chopped onion

• 1 tablespoon capers

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Now there's another place to check! 

The Austin Circle of Theaters, a nonprofit performing arts service organization, has launched Now Playing Austin, Austin's Ultimate Guide to Arts and Culture, a website that offers not only who's performing what where and when, but also information on classes, workshops, jobs, auditions, organizations, venues, public art, exhibits, individual artists, and more (even sports), all in one convenient place.  If art is your thing, this is clearly the place to be!

More information on the launch and the software behind it can be found in the Austin Business Journal article about the new website.

Georgetown is growing by leaps and bounds.  In an attempt to guide that growth for the good of the city, the city has put certain parameters in place.  And now we're seeing the results of that effort. 

A new subdivision is coming to town - Water Oak at San Gabriel, a conservation subdivision.  Out of 1900 acres (4000 homes, 100 acres commercial/retail, 1500 multi-family homes), 650 acres are being reserved for conservation. 

It'll be interesting to watch this development grow and see how well the new rules work.  They're intended to protect our environment as well as the overall ambiance of the area (not to mention our water supply).  I've seen other developments in the works or in the planning stages that reflect this more holistic approach to developing.  Some that are planned or under construction include a "true urbanism" approach, with communities within the subdivision designed so that living and shopping can be done close to home and no part of the community is more than a ten minute walk from any other part. 

I'm hopeful that this new vision for development will not only work to preserve the good things about our community, but that it will be profitable for the developers in a way that will sustain it into the future and encourage other developers to do likewise.  I know that it will be profitable for those of us who live in, or around, or whose environment is impacted by, these developments.  Growth will be with us always; the trick is to do it right. 

This recipe, found in the Joy of Cooking many decades ago, is a staple in our house.  It's wonderfully restorative, easy to make, and when you're on a soft diet (dentist day or something), it makes you feel like you've eaten Real Food, unlike most soft-diet foods.  It freezes, so when you come home from a long and tiring day showing houses, you can pop it in the microwave, throw together a salad, grab a chunk of good bread, pour a glass of wine, and put yourself right back together again. 

• 3        medium  leeks -- White part, washed thoroughly and sliced in thin rings
• 1        medium  onion -- chopped
• 2        tablespoons  butter
• 4        medium  potatoes -- Sliced very thin - I don't peel them, just wash them
• 4        cups  chicken bouillon -- Made from 2 Knorr cubes and 4 cups water
• 2        cups  whipping cream
  

Saute leeks and onion in 2 tablespoons butter, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.

Add potatoes.

Add 4 cups chicken bouillon.

Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Puree in blender and return to pot (I do this about a cup at a time as that's about as much as my particular blender will handle and puree well).

Stir 1 to 2 cups cream into the soup.   (I usually do two cups).

Serve.  You can, if you want to get fancy, sprinkle chopped chives or green onion on top, though I rarely do.

In real estate, photos are very important.  Without photos, we'd be lost. 

However, I've noticed an occasional problem with photos online, either on websites or sent to me via email when I have to request them because there are none (or only one or two) on the MLS listing. 

The problem is with oversized photos.  The worst case that I've experienced recently, where I requested photos on a new listing that popped up on the MLS with only one.  A couple of days later, I received the requested photos - all 15MB of them!  Not only took forever and a day to download (even on broadband, which is all I can get at home), but when I clicked on the folder the email went into, THAT was slow as molasses to open.  I had to delete the post to get my computer back to normal. 

The same photos, on a website, would cause such slow download time that a prospective buyer would move on (if possible), at best. 

On the internet, a much smaller file size is necessary (and appropriate) than is needed for print quality.  I save my photos in both ways - larger resolution for print, and about 100kb for online use.  That way, I don't risk annoying potential clients or other agents by hogging their resources. 

This morning I arose and, as usual, went first, bleary-eyed (no contacts) to feed the critters (ten cats, 1 dog). 

I opened the door; J.D. the Heeler was in his crate where he waits, door open, for me to bring his food.  I filled his bowl, bent down to put it in - sniff???  SNIFF!!!! 

J.D., on guard last night, had finally learned from personal experience why I called him off of that oh-so-fascinating black cat with the fluffy tail and the white stripe down its back that he was trying to herd in the paddock the other night.  Sigh.  Why don't they listen?  Why can't they learn from our experience? 

So, today, I'm off to town to pick up a lot of Massengill, which has shown itself to be superior to just about everything else in dealing with such problems.   (Though I have fond memories of the year Moon, our Great Pyrenees, had this same experience and I used, first, tomato juice, and, then, whitening shampoo to wash the tomato juice out, on a dog that was NOT AT ALL fond of baths and struggled mightily, resulting in a big white/pink/lavender dog for about a week - but she smelled good!)

The porch, and her crate, full of hay for cold evenings' bedding, smell quite interesting, as well, and will need their own treatment.  Who knows of great treatments to remove skunking from inanimate objects?

This is information that should be readily to hand for those who handle rural property. 

According to Unique Homes' list of 25 markets to watch in luxury real estate, Austin, Texas, due to such factors as last year's record home sales gains, the University of Texas, two lakes, and the bragging rights to the "music capitol of the world", is number five on the list, behind Annapolis, MD, Asheville, N.C., Aspen, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia (San Antonio, Texas, came in 19th; Provence, France, and Puerto Vallarto, Mexico, came in 17th and 18th, respectively). 

With its unique blend of casual and elegant (for decades now, those waiting for tables at Jeffrey's, a gourmet food-lovers heaven, could be seen in blue jeans or evening gowns), its fine restaurants both high-brow and low, its music at every corner, the rivers and lakes, Zilker Park,  its high tech economy, and so much more, Austin's been The Place to Live in Texas.  (Ask all the movie stars who come here to film and end up buying a home!)Unique Homes appears to have figured that out!

Interesting editorial at Country World News regarding alternative fuels and the impact they can have on Texas agriculture.  We're not only leading the pack in biodiesel, but we've got several ethanol plants developing, some of which are owned by farm co-ops, a great way of helping the planet and at the same time helping save the family farm. 

In addition, the editorial states, waste products from other industries, forestry, and even household garbage can be used in the production of ethanol, keeping fuel prices lower, and helping the economy.  And, no doubt, ultimately increasing the value of rural property, as well.

As real estate agents, we need to be familiar with issues that might impact our clients.  One of those issues, for people who have animals or who are buying land with the intent of raising animals, is NAIS.  There has been much furor since the USDA introduced this idea - the trick is to sort out the propaganda on both sides of the issue and determine what's fact and what's fiction.  As someone who is a real estate agent who has animals, I have grave concerns regarding NAIS as it was initially presented and the premise upon which the necessity for it was built.  Fortunately, the populace rose up and has been speaking its mind, quite loudly, and it has been put in the bright light of public view for all to see.

One thing that IS fact is that several states have passed laws making sure that NAIS will not be mandatory in their states.  Representative Bryan Hughes of Texas has introduced a bill, HB No. 637, to the Texas House of Representatives that would ameliorate some of the worse effects of NAIS.  If you're a Texan, I suggest that you study up on NAIS, read this bill and let your legislators know what you think, for good or ill.  Even if you do not have animals or plan to do so, or handle property for those who do, NAIS can have a serious impact on your life simply by driving small producers out of business due to the impact of the costs on them.  This reduces your choices of what foods to buy and from what sources.  It's not just something that impacts the farmers and ranchers; it's something that can appear on your plate every day.  Organic meats might become more difficult to acquire because many organic producers are small producers and may disappear.  Fewer people may be buying that place in the country to have a few critters, and that can impact your pocketbook as a real estate agent.  And, worse, the system, as designed, would not achieve the goal is purports to have nor would that goal increase our safety, if one looks at the actual statistics. 

Those are just a few of my thoughts on NAIS.  Have you thought about it?  Were you even aware of its existence?  Tell me what you think!

We've all run into the situation with a listing that is in serious need of decluttering.  One problem is that the seller doesn't want to just "throw away" their precious "stuff" - to them it IS precious.  Well, there's a solution to that that recognizes both the need for the "stuff" to move on, and that it has value - to them or to someone else.

That solution is Freecycle.  If you're not familiar with it, Freecycle was created some years ago by a man who saw the need for a way to keep things out of the landfill - things that no longer had a use for their present owners, might not have great monetary value (though I've seen some pretty valuable things, up to an including a doublewide, on our local Austin, Texas, and Round Rock/Georgetown Freecycle groups), but still have some use in them for someone. 

The way it works is, you go online to Freecycle and find your local Freecycle group (they're all over the world now).  Join that Group (at YahooGroups), and read the rules.  You can offer things for free, or you can post Wanteds so that someone who might have what you're looking for but hasn't Offered it yet can contact you.  It's amazing the things that appear - sometimes something that you'd think no one would want is just the thing someone else needs, or wants to use in their artwork, or something.  I've freecycled 5 gallon kerosene cans to people who are going to use them for their personal biodiesel production for running their vehicles, collecting used cooking oil from restaurants.

It's a perfect tool for decluttering, it helps the planet, it serves the community, it's environmentally-friendly, you meet new and interesting people - and it might even bring in a buyer for the house being decluttered, who knows!  What's not to like?