Hurricane Season Is Almost Over and Fall Has Arrived

Well it was bound to happen, Fall I mean. With the end of Hurricane season comes Fall. And with Fall comes shorter cooler days and longer cooler nights. (Fortunately this year there were no hurricanes in the gulf.)

We had been having such beautiful weather; nights in the upper 60's/low 70's. Great weather to sit outside and enjoy the stars in the sky; Days in the mid to upper 70's with a little breeze and occationally a little shower but the last couple of days have been Fallish-cold wind (Houston cold) and lower temperatures. No more capri's and flip flops, now it's time for jeans and actual shoes.

I know in the grand scheme of things we have a great fall and winter in Houston. We don't have to worry about the 2+ feet of snow like Denver just received or brave the unbearable chill factors in the Texas Panhandle.

What can I say...Craig and I have adapted quite well to southern living. We like the heat and the humidity. We don't miss the icy roads or the dry chapped winter skin.

Our fall and winter doesn't last too long. We have a short season of both. It lasts from about the first part of November to the first part of March. I guess 4 months out of 12 isn't bad!

Happy Fall everyone.

Sneak Peek

Tuesday October 13, Joshua will join the ranks of a homeowner.

This is a sneak peek of his, Raider and Cooder's new digs.

Kitchen

Breakfast area

Family room

Family Room looking toward dining area

Deck

Side yard and patio

The Best Weekend

Kimberly and Mark came for a weekend visit with fantastic news!!!

Kim and Mark told us in the usual family discussion way our house has perfected; try and get a word in.

Craig was late getting home and had to shower before we went to dinner. As we were getting ready to leave Kimberly announced she had something to say. That's when the "fun" began.

Kim and Mark waited patiently as Craig and Josh had a mini side discussion about work. Kimberly kept trying to get their attention. I finally said I'm listening. When I said that Craig and Josh turned to hear what Kimberly was going to say.

The tears started, Kimberly said "Mark you tell them." Then Mark announced..."Kimberly is pregnant."

It was the best weekend!

Diving Cozumel

Last October Craig and I went on a dive vacation to Cozumel with good friends Albert and Laurie Davis and Mark Fairbanks. These are the same friends we went with to the British Virgin Islands on the sailing vacation a couple of years ago.

Mark is our offical photographer. He takes beautiful underwater photos. He always takes thousands so it takes a while to edit them. He was kind enough to send me a few to post until he is finished with the rest.

Brain Coral

Octopus

Craig and Diane diving together

Diane

Craig

Craig and Diane "sitting" in the eye of the coral.

The eye is the only place you can touch so you don't kill the coral.

I think this is a parrotfish

Craig and me on the sunken WWII U.S. Navy mine sweeper. 84' down

It was intentionally sunk in 2000 to create an artificial reef.

This was really cool, our dive master took us in the ship too.

For the kids, Guns Up...Wrech 'em Tech.

Crab Legs and Laughter

Good friends, dive and sailing buddies, Albert and Laurie Davis joined us for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate both Laurie and Albert's birthdays.

Before dinner, Albert was getting out of hand so we had to hang Albert from the rack.

Just kidding he needed to stretch his back but we told him if he didn't behave we would leave him there.

The menu was steamed crab legs, fried okra salad and Craig's "famous" homemade Key Lime pie with real whipped cream topping.

We all ate too much and laughed alot.

Friends + dinner = crab legs and laughter.

On the Road Again...

This week has been a busy one.

Joshua's boss gave Josh the "go ahead" to move to Austin so we are looking for him a place to live.

I can't tell you how excited Joshua is to get settled.

I have been back and forth to Austin twice this week looking at houses with Josh in the evenings. We thought we found the perfect place. It is a condo but not in the traditional sense. It is more of a townhouse with a little back yard for the dogs. The problem is FHA is not loaning on condos so he has to have more of a down payment. It was about 8 months ago financing on condos was no problem but with the wonderful world of financing right now the lender will no longer do traditional financing because they can't resale the loan on the secondary market.

We are back to square one.

If the builder had been wise they would have declared the units townhouses and they would have qualified for traditional financing but in all their infinite wisdom the builder had the development recorded as a condo community.

Right now he is bunking at his sister and brother-in-law's house in Cedar Park during the week. Kimberly and Mark have been great to let him stay temporarily but Josh needs and wants a place of his own as soon as possible.

We know it would be quicker to find him a place to rent but with the $8000 first time home buyers tax money available, interest rates being low and home prices being low it is a great time for Josh to buy. If he locks himself into a lease then he will miss the opportunity to receive the $8000 refund.

So for the coming weeks, I will be preparing for my clients pending closings (everything is already at the title companies so all we need is the lender docs) and driving back and forth to Austin as time permits and hopefully find something perfect for Joshua and his 2 dogs.

So for now I'm....on the road again.

Two Days without Technology and I'm Lost

I can't tell you how many times I have said I would love to just turn off my phone and email to have a quiet day with no interruptions. A day of just nothing except for what I want to do. A day of selfish pleasure with no work involved. Even on vacation I get email because they come to my cell phone. I can't get away!

On Sunday morning ,my office Prudential Gary Greene Realtors, took down the server for changes and updates. I got my wish; as far as emails are concerned. The only problem is I have constantly been checking my phone for email messages. I keep thinking there must be something terribly important I am missing. I can't even enjoy the "off" time.

I know if something important were out there I would get a call. My out of office message tells email senders to call if an immediate answer is required. I've had a few calls but most of my clients prefer to do everything by way of email.

I'm walking in circles. I can't relax. UGH, this is terrible.

Tomorrow when all the held emails are finally sent to my inbox, I will want to scream. Tuesday will be catch up day.

I can't believe two days without technology and I'm lost.