No better place then the Texas Hill Country.                                                                                   Spring has historically been the best time of the year to sell houses. The old place won't do anymore; it is too big, or too small. Or families want to move to where the schools are better or the climate is best for golfing year round. Folks going into retirement may want to look at tax rates in communities. Look no further; The Texas Hill Country, Canyon Lake or maybe New Braunfels Texas is the place for you.  Find yourself a realtor; buy a new home or an existing home. Maybe buy a lot and build your own. Whether you are buying or building, please have your home inspected by Carl Winters, Advanced Inspector and certified by TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission),... 04/10/2010

Seagulls in sepia tone on Padre Island, Texas.   I enjoy nature photography. Visit my photography website! JeaniRichie.com Creatively Capturing God's Marvelous Creations! 03/28/2010

Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Upcoming Events! Welcome to Canyon Lake, the Water Recreation Capital of Texas!  We are excited about the growth and activity in our community and want to take this opportunity to invite you out to attend some local events.  The Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce is doing a fabulous job of keeping the community informed of upcoming events that may be of interest to you and EXIT Hill Country Realty is happy to share these events with you to help get the word out! April 24th BBQ Cook-Off! Fundraiser for the Canyon Lake Chamber Held at Mountain Breeze Camp on River Road 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Food service 12:00 Noon – 4:00 p.m. Entertainment all afternoon! 54 Cook Teams vying for trophies and cash awards! Participate by being a Cook Team, a Volunteer... 03/20/2010

Photography by: Jeani Thomas Richie, Photographer, Copyright 2007 CANYON LAKE RESIDENIAL WATERFRONT MARKET REPORT FEBRUARY 2010 Residential sales on the waterfront at Canyon Lake Texas continue to be slow going.  Due to the previously almost impossible to get Jumbo Financing that many of these properties require and the lack of second home buyers which tend to be a large part of the buying population for the majority of these homes, the market has been the slowest to recover from the recent effects of falling markets in other locations.  Many second home buyers that were purchasing the waterfront homes on Canyon Lake Texas were from many of the now depressed and distressed markets across the nation.  With the loosening up of Jumbo Financing, we may see some increased sales activity goi... 03/15/2010

There is always something cool going on at and around Canyon Lake.  Come on out and join the Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce as they welcome these new businesses to the community and network at the monthly business mixer! GRAND OPENINGS & RIBBON CUTTINGS MONDAY, MARCH 15TH BAD GIRLZ OF TEXAS 5:00pm Sattler at 1642 FM 2673 in Old Time Plaza Bad Girlz of Texas has a wild array of items, described as beachy, fishy, quirky, fun & funky gifts, plus clothing, jewelry, hilarious magnets, rude greeting cards, and much more! WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH BLESS THIS MESS 5:00pm Located west of Startzville at 10530 FM 2673, Suite 200 Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Bless This Mess launched a new website: www.bless-this-mess.com. Offering ‘service packages’ relative to housecleaning and personal services, p... 03/14/2010

March 20, 2010 First Day of Spring...Home Inspection Checklist It won't be long before we see some Texas Bluebonnets and blooming Texas Mountain Laurel's....It's a sign to check your home for some items that may need attention or repair.                                                                        Exterior:                                              Examine porches and decks for loose rails                                                              Examine for loose boards                                                              Examine posts are firmly in the ground                                                              Examine for rotted footings                                                              Examine siding for water damage                        ... 03/06/2010

Can a CONCH shell really talk to you? Ceil is from Key West and is called a Key West CONCH. I guess that is part of tradition from the island. One trip to Key West years ago we collected conch shells, removed the animal, cleaned the shells and brought the shell back to Texas and made night light lamps for the boy's.                                                                          The story from Ceil's uncle was, "if you hold it up to your ear and listen" you can hear the sound of water, wind and waves. If you "listen", really "listen", you can hear your future. Now this may be a little far-fetched but I wonder, just wonder??? Can it tell us the future of real estate? The future for home sales? Just the future in general? Well we found some of these Conch Shells and we are going ... 03/06/2010

I thought this quote may be appropriate for all of us here in our Active Rain neighborhood. Quote from Ann Landers "Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, "I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me." - Ann Landers Some very wise words to live by that may help you through the month. Maybe a New Beginning for some folks.                                                                                 The Guadalupe is flowing again! Localism - March 1, 2010 New Braunfels and Canyon Lake, TX. (Home Inspection News - Good times are coming back with all the recent rains. Time to tube and think spring and summer fun. Time to think new home in Comal County TX. Call your realtor today. Blog by Ceil Winters ... 03/01/2010

Sveral months ago we were in a very bad and sad situation here at Canyon Lake TX. Like much of the state we were experiencing a terrible drought. The lake had reached it lowest ever and even the boat ramps were closed. Now it is time to celebrate: The boat ramps are open and we are open for visitors at Canyon Lake.                                             Think Nice Warm Weather, Think Snow and Sleet I know you think sunshine, sunburn, sunbathing. You best read this all the way to the end as a Breaking New Bulletin has come about.  Only in Texas you announce all of the above and sleet and snow in one day. Here is a partial announcement I saw in the New Braunfels newspaper: "The near-record drought that sapped local water supplies appears to be officially over for Comal County.More th... 02/23/2010

FIRST MIXER OF THE YEAR!!! Sponsored by the Canyon Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Hosted by Pro Active Health Club & Canyon Lake Nutrition You are Invited! Make plans now to join us: Tuesday, February 23rd at 5:30 p.m. For the first gathering of 2010! Take advantage of this great networking opportunity, reconnect with your neighboring business men and women, enjoy refreshments, music, door prizes and more! Tour the Health Club to see their new machines, learn about programs offered, and enter for a chance to win a cruise! A special new membership price will be offered this evening, only! Meet New Members from November, December and January! Meet up at Pro Active Health Club in downtown Sattler 1175 F.M. 2673, near Wells Fargo Bank. Bring your business cards! $2 Admission. Non Members sho... 02/17/2010

                                                                                                                                    Good New Bulletin for Canyon Lake                                                                                                All boat ramps now open at Canyon Lake After months of being closed from  drought conditions and low water, the lakes are now open and folks can come fish, ski, sail, swim and picnic.                                                                                                   GOOD TIMES ARE HERE AGAIN. Accessibility to water recreation is now back to normal levels. All boat ramps are now open. Now all we need is some warm, sunny weather to begin enjoying Canyon Lake. As of Feb. 8, all boat ramps operated by Comal County are a... 02/10/2010

CANYON LAKE WATERFRONT MARKET REPORT FOR JANUARY 2010   The new year and 2010 are finding our market more active than in the previous year, however, waterfront homes on Canyon Lake are still not what would be considered a hot market.  It is still imperative to price correctly because there is a 14.25 month supply of waterfront homes on the market, which is down from 21 months, but still offers a lot of competition.  The following data was taken from the Central Texas MLS. ACTIVE RESIDENTIAL WATERFRONT LISTINGS There are 37 active residential waterfront listings on Canyon Lake ranging in price from $239,937. to $1,295,000. with an average listing price of $528,881. and a median listing price of $449,000.  The price per square foot ranges from $82.12 to $384.57 per foot with an average pr... 02/08/2010

 Club Soda ?  Saturday was a beautiful sunny day and I decided to work out in the yard. Yes, I did. I got into the Fire Ants. Yes, they sting, bite and can make you do a litle Texas-Two Step.                                                                    If you are new to Texas this is what to look for. If you haven't met up with them, I can assure you that you will sooner or later.        Typically they will measure about 1/8 to ¼ inch in length and are reddish brown or black in color.        You see a number of mounds made up of loose soil.        They are aggressive and begin to swarm whendisturbed. Their bodies look like ordinary ants in that they have three sections: head, thorax, abdomen; three pairs of legs; and elbowed antennae. Usually the head will be a lighter color and t... 02/07/2010

www.canyonlakechamber.com WINTER TEXAN RECEPTIONThursday, February 18th10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Held at CRRC below Canyon DamQuestions? 830.964.2223                                             Localism: Canyon Lake, Texas Save the Date! The 2010 Winter Texan Reception is set for Thursday, February 18th from 10:00am - 1:00pm. and  held at the Community Resource & Recreation Center (CRRC) below Canyon Dam at 125 Mabel Jones Drive.    Enjoy games, food, door prizes plus you are sure to see familiar faces among the new!  We sure hope to see you there! If this is your first winter staying here at Canyon Lake here are some things you can do while in the area. Highlights of our area include the prolific site of dinosaur tracks at the Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country ~ open daily.  Enjoy ... 02/05/2010

Some of you know that Ceil and I have been remodeling the kitchen. The oversized sink we took out was put in when our home was built back in the early 1960's.                                                                    It was still sitting in the garage so Ceil decided to put it on the bulletin board at our local Frank's Grocery  at Startzville here at Canyon Lake and also Craig's list. Well, I'll be darn if we didn't sell the thing. We could have sold five of them. So the story goes, someone's trash is someone's treasure. The couple was tickled with the purchase. May be time to clean out your garage and get busy making a few extra dollars. Tips: Building a homes with a lot of reclaimed materials sounds cool - if you can find the goods. Luckily, locating material for reuse in hom... 02/02/2010

January 22, 2010 - I saw this on the Recall List: Below is the description. Forwarded by Carl Winters, Complete Inspection Service for information you need to contact Conair Corp. 2.  Lysol Steam Cleaning Mop Recalled by Conair Corp. Due to Burn and Laceration HazardsNEWS from CPSCU.S. Consumer Product Safety CommissionOffice of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 21, 2010Release # 10-117  Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 687-6916CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908  Lysol Steam Cleaning Mop Recalled by Conair Corp. Due to Burn and Laceration HazardsWASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products.... 01/21/2010

                       What Happened To Global Warming?                                 Looks like the whole country is experiencing some very cold weather...Even in Texas.                                                                          Just started a big fire in our fireplace. We expect to be in the teens Saturday morning in The Texas Hill Country. Tip for the Day: Remember to inspect your outside faucets.   The 3 P's.                                                                                                              Plants, Pets, Pipes 01/08/2010

                                   Old man frost has come a visiting to The Texas Hill Country   Winter Freeze headed our way. Ice on powerlines can cause an interruption. Some tips to get you going again. Hey its cold in Texas Step 1To determine if the problem is limited to your house, reset your home's main breaker by switching the breaker off and then completelly back on. If the power is not restored, the issue may not be with your service and you should go to step two. Step 2See if your neighbors are without electricity. If they are also without service call toll free 1-888-554-4732 (PEC Pedernales Electric Coop) for parts of Comal County. Step 3To reduce the risk of an appliance an injury or an accident turn off all electrical appliances that were on when service was disrupted. Ste... 01/06/2010

                                                                                                                                                   Reve up your engine and get ready for the ride of your life. I just noticed we had two neighbors that have moved in. These homes were foreclosures, I didn't even realize we had new neighbors until a few days ago. I see this happening everywhere. People are buying foreclosures, beginning to build new homes, taking advantage of the tax credits. Get ready. Put your car in drive. Plug in your telephone or pay your cell phone bill.                                                              Good Times Are Here Again!                                                              Think positive and good things happen.                                ... 01/06/2010

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