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Neighborhood Spotlight : Lakeway / Bee Cave

capty99 — Thu, 29 May 2008 12:03:05 -0500

With its irresistible combination of stunning lake vistas, evergreen rolling hills, outdoor recreation opportunities and close proximity to Austin's hot urban center, the Lake Travis area is drawing in people from all over the world to enjoy an incomparable way of life. The area, comprised of the city of Bee Cave, the Village of Briarcliff, the Village of the Hills,the city of Lakeway, Apache Shores, Comanche Trail, Hudson Bend, and Spicewood, offers the best of both worlds: the charm of small town living and access to all the major amenities of urban living.

A huge development boom, fueled by the influx of residents eager to enjoy a hip community among a verdant landscape, has resulted in thousands of new homes and eclectic shopping, dining and outdoor recreation.

Epitomizing this development is the Hill Country Galleria, a 1.3-million-square-foot lifestyle center situated on 152 acres that represents an evolving way of life. With its blend of residential, retail and office space, it seeks to meet and exceed the desires of Austin’s growing metropolis. Best of all, it is doing it in a way that embraces and protects the natural beauty of its surroundings. The parks, outdoor amphitheatres and hike-and-bike trails that surround the development encourage residents and visitors to enjoy the nature pressure cloaked with wildflowers, native trees and rocky streams.

Of course, the chief attraction to the area is beautiful Lake Travis with its countless adventures for outdoor enthusiasts, not to mention some of the prettiest sunsets this side of the Brazos. Offering remarkably clear waters and more than 270 miles of shoreline, Lake Travis is an ideal retreat for boating, windsurfing, scuba diving, camping, fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, picnicking, swimming and sunbathing.

Numerous marinas with covered docks, open slips and boat and trailer storage facilities make the lake a boat owner’s dream, and there are countless rental dealers to add excitement to the day. Whether you are looking for water skis, jet skis, a pontoon boat, or a party boat, Lake Travis vendors will provide all you need!

For more information, please contact the Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce at 512.263.5833 or visit www.laketravischamber.com.

Transitions: Get Clear & Get Going!

capty99 — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:02:18 -0600

The sad truth is that the holidays are no longer a holiday. They’re not relaxing, they’re not refreshing, and they’re not rejuvenating. Where’s the peace? Where’s the joy?

The holidays are jam-packed with obligations both real and imagined. For some women I know, the season is one long to-do list: grocery list, gift list, packing list, guest list . . .

It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, the holiday season is an ideal moment to kick what I call the “in-action addiction.” You know what I mean, that compulsion to keep moving: volunteering more hours, running more errands, making more commitments. Shopping more, entertaining more, decorating more. On top of working more.

I always wonder: what is she running away from?

The first holiday after my mother died, we all gathered around my father for the ritual feast. I took responsibility in the kitchen (not my usual domain), even trying out new recipes, to make sure the day was a good one for Dad. It was emotionally draining for me, and I soon tired of all the conversation. What I soon discovered, as I politely rebuffed all offers of help in the kitchen, was that cooking, serving, and cleaning up by myself was an effective way to hide in plain view.

I think our culture confuses action with accomplishment. At the holiday season, we confuse action with good cheer.

In-action addiction makes no distinction between what you want to do and what you “should” do. All tasks are reduced to lowest common denominator of the “to-do” list. In-action addiction means never having to say “no.” You off-load the burden of having to decide your priorities and set your boundaries, but in this Faustian bargain you also give up the power to control your own life.

What can you do to enjoy the holidays more authentically? Begin with these three deceptively simple strategies.

1. Replace the phrase “I should” with “I want”

Just don’t use the phrase any more, ever, whether you’re saying it in conversation (“I should go get Nana’s present before they run out of the comforter she wants”) or in your head (“I should call Sally about when we will meet at the party”). And don’t cheat with the word “need.” “I need” assumes the same external, Wizard of Oz imperative as “I should.” Take ownership of your own desires. Use the word “want.” “I want to get to the store today before it closes.” “I want to find out from Sally what time to meet at the party.” Words are powerful, and they will help you take back the power over your life, once you begin to take responsibility for owning those words and the intentions behind them.

2. Practice saying “no”

After you become accustomed to saying “I want to,” you’ll become able to say “I don’t want to.” Now, I’m not imagining you saying this with a pout and a stamp of your foot. I’m imagining you saying it matter-of-factly, with a sense of self-possession and compassion. You’ll find out very quickly who your true friends are, because they are the ones who will respect your preferences. The hangers-on will pout and stamp their feet.

3. Do 15 minutes of nothing a day

Really, I mean it. Do nothing for 15 minutes each and every day. Watch the grass grow, walk around the block, settle into your favorite chair with a mug of hot chocolate. This daily time-out is the way you’ll figure out what you want. Reflection is the necessary partner to action. Together, they add up to true accomplishment. Together, they’ll enable you to plan a holiday season of good cheer.

Happy Holidays!

25 Ways to Give Back This Season

capty99 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:56:37 -0600

There is no better time than the holidays to teach your children the importance of charitable giving. We all know the story of the 12 days of Christmas, but why stop at 12? Take every day during this special time of year to instill in your children the value of giving back to your community.

1.

Bake cookies and take them to your neighbors

2.

Bring fresh flowers to a favorite teacher to show your appreciation

3.

Volunteer with a local organization like Keep Austin Beautiful

4.

Rescue a pet from Austin Humane Society

5.

Participate in Austin’s Trail of Lights 5K

6.

Gather the clothes you have grown out of and donate them to Goodwill

7.

Go Caroling

8.

Collect and distribute blankets for the homeless

9.

Donate old shoes to Shoes for Austin

10.

Tell family members how much they mean to you (along with a hug and kiss!)

11.

Sponsor an angel on your local Angel Tree

12.

Give Mom a break and make dinner for the family one night

13.

Visit a local park for a clean up

14.

Give your old books to a local children’s hospital

15.

Buy an extra dry good for the food drive bin at HEB

16.

Start a recycling program in your home

17.

Send a letter to Grandma

18.

Make a new friend at school

19.

Call a family member you have not spoken with in some time to wish them Happy Holidays

20.

Bring treats to a local Nursing Home

21.

Participate in Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade

22.

Volunteer to wrap gifts for Orange Santa

23.

Donate your old jackets to Coats for Kids

24.

Take time to learn about another culture’s holiday traditions

25.

Help an elderly neighbor decorate their home for the holidays

Dreaming of a "Green" Christmas

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:00:42 -0600

Holiday Tips for Sustainable Living

With the Holiday season on our doorstep, it is time to consider how little changes made by a large number of people can really make a difference.
Becoming “green” is almost a mandate now, and we all know little ways to do it. This season, try to incorporate these tips to help the environment together.

Americans throw away 25 percent more trash during the holidays than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about one million extra tons per week. Keeping this in mind, we can consciously make an effort to decrease waste.

If you’re buying new lights for the ole tannenbaum look for 5-watt bulbs. They are up to 30 percent more energy efficient than 7-watt bulbs and are available in a variety of festive colors. Low wattage bulbs have two advantages: they consume less energy and give off less heat, making your lights safer.

Put indoor and outdoor lights on a timers for 4 or 5 hours. That way they are off when you are not home and when you are sleeping.

Shipping Light

When buying gifts to send by mail, pick items that are easy to ship and won’t require excess packaging. Reuse packing cartons and shipping materials such as peanuts, wood shavings, shredded newspaper and bubble wrap.

Avoid using polystyrene “foam peanuts” as packing material. Instead, opt for recyclable materials such as shredded newspaper or cardboard or peanuts made of cornstarch. Polystyrene peanuts can be reused, but there are virtually no collection programs available to recycle them. Drop off extra packing peanuts at local private mailing centers.

For Kids

Start a savings account or give stocks or bonds. It’s fun to watch money grow and it teaches children the value of financial conservation. Learn about stocks and funds that are “green” and socially responsible from the National GreenPages - (800)58-GREEN or go to
www.socialinvest.org.

To instill the idea of reuse, help kids make their own tree ornaments from things you have around the house. Or use materials they might find in the backyard such as twigs, bark, flowers and herbs, pine cones, acorns, berries, etc.

Add an energy-saving fluorescent light bulb to your child’s stocking to use in their bedroom lamp. Talk to your children about saving energy and how it helps to preserve the Earth’s natural resources.

Have a wonderful Holiday and remember to do your part and give a little something to Mother Earth this year!

Transitions

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:42:46 -0600

BY ANN DALY

When I was 11, my family moved from Long Island to New Jersey. The neighborhood was brand-new, and our yard was a sloping corner lot consisting of mostly dirt and rock. Before the sod was laid that first spring, we kids were enlisted to help remove the rocks. The larger stones were used by my father and older brother to build a retaining wall at the lower end of the property. Where the smaller ones were moved, I don’t recall.

I do remember how much I hated that chore. It was boring, and tedious. And I didn’t like being in the dirt. In a photograph my father took that weekend, I’m sitting on a dry sea of brown, next to my younger brother, with the plastic bucket between us. I’m wearing yellow and a sulking scowl.

That was before I discovered the joys of dirt and rock.

Two years ago my husband and I purchased nine acres of an old ranch in the Hill Country. Our property is a long sloping lot consisting of mostly dirt and rock. (And overgrown cedars.) Some rocks were used to outline the civilizing boundaries of a “backyard.” Some serve as a faint, overgrown reminder of an underground water pipe. Some were assembled and abandoned in heaps. Most remain lodged in their original habitats above, below, and at the soil line. And in the springtime, a new crop erupts if there have been any winter freezes. We came to truly understand the caliche when we rented a rototiller to dig a garden bed. You do that only once in the Hill Country.

The folly of rototilling isn’t the only lesson that I’ve learned from the caliche.

For one thing, I have gained patience with my Sisyphus-like fate. I rather enjoy the meditative rhythm of loosening the stone from its setting, tossing it into the cart, eventually pulling the full cart to the gully and upending it. What was tedious, and boring, when I was 11 has become calming and restorative decades later. If I can be present, clearing the land also clears the mind.

For another thing, I have renewed respect for the infinite capacity of human creativity. Soon after we moved onto the ranch, I began collecting a library of large, glossy-paged books illustrating stonework from around the world. I keep the one documenting artist Andy Goldsworthy’s “Wall” opened on a display shelf. The fact that a nuisance material like fieldstone, unloved and unglamorous, can be transformed into art is a testament to imagination and to our innate need for beauty. A lot of folks around here go for monumental stone gates, as if a ranch were to the manor born. My deepest desire is for two mortarless stone walls winding alongside our entry drive under the live oak trees. But for the time being, I’m delighted with a pair of stele-like sculptures--made by our local stone carver--that welcome visitors at our front walkway.

From time immemorial, rocks have served as the tabula rasa, literally, where people have inscribed their laws, their creeds, their souls. Rocks have been hewn into the heroic and the prosaic. Stonehenge and fire pits. I spent a breathtaking interlude in Sausalito last summer watching an artist balance rocks one atop each other at the edge of the ocean. And the summer before that I was moved by the dozens and dozens of cairns built by visitors to a temple in South Korea.

Rock exists in a time frame that dwarfs our own human lifespan. That’s why we stand in awe of the Grand Canyon. We are humbled by the natural forces of time, water, and gravity. I will manage the rocks here on the ranch from year to year, and I will have my stone wall. I will even build a few cairns along the trail down to the creek. But these rocks will easily outlast my efforts and intentions. They will crumble and heave, and they will be rebuilt (hopefully) according to the creative vision of its future owners. In the meantime, I keep a few favorite stones arranged here and there, on my desk or at the front door. Each one reminds me to remain patient, creative, and humble.

Healthy Food, Healthy Family

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:38:01 -0600

BY JENNIFER KING

A Guide to Home Remedies

capty99 — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:26:19 -0600

BY CAROLINE ITTNER

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