Judi Morgan, San Antonio, TX Real Estate

Sonoma Ranch is a community on the Northwest side of San Antonio. Located just a few miles from IH-10 West and north of Loop 1604 (Anderson Loop) – between Kyle Seale Parkway and Hausman Rd. The Community consists of 7 neighborhoods – The Springs at Sonoma Ranch, The Meadows at Sonoma Ranch, The Summit at Sonoma Ranch, The Arbor at Sonoma Ranch, The Enclave at Sonoma Ranch, The Hills at Sonoma Ranch and Sonoma Ranch.

The Sonoma Ranch Community is conveniently located to University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), USAA, La Cantera Resort, Cedar Creek Golf Course, Shoppes at La Cantera, The Rim Shopping Center and Bandera Pointe Shopping Center which has made the Sonoma Ranch Community a very popular area for home buyers. Homes within the community range from the mid-$100,000’s to $1,000,000.

As the weeks go by, I will highlight different neighborhoods of Sonoma Ranch and some of the adjacent neighborhoods such a Grandview, Cedar Creek and Sonoma Verde. Included in my posts with be photos of the area, as well as, information about Real Estate, Education, Churches, Entertainment, Recreation, Parks, History, and Shopping.

When buying or selling a home in North Central, North East or North West San Antonio, TX, you deserve local expertise and advice. Judi Morgan provides full time, professional real estate services to buyers, sellers, corporate and military transferees in San Antonio, Stone Oak, Canyon Springs, Shavano and Shavano Park, Castle Hills, Rogers Ranch, Helotes, Sonoma Ranch, Alamo Ranch, Red Bird Ranch, The Dominion, Leon Valley and more. Copyright 2011. Judi Morgan, All rights reserved.

A few years ago I left the company I had started my real estate career with. I had worked hard and was ranked #3 in the company when I left -- looking for greener pastures. WHY in the world was I looking for greener pastures when I was doing very well where I was?

I still don't have an answer to that question -- except that I was influenced by some other 'friends' who suggested we form a Team at another company. I trusted them and made the move only to have one of them not move as planned and the other to do his own thing at the new office and ignore me. I was at that offiice for about 9 months when I decided it wasn't the company I wanted to be associated with and moved to another company. I loved the new company at first -- but, then realized that wasn't where I wanted to be either. I had been contacted by the company I had started with that the door was always open for me to go back -- and I considered it but decided to try another franchise I'd always thought I'd like to be associated with. Loved the company and the owner/broker and the office was small and comfortable; but it was so far from my house and closed on Saturday & Sunday so if I needed to meet clients there on weekends I had to go open up the office and meet them in an empty office -- but I stayed there for over a year.

Some of my friends from the first company I was with started asking me to go back and I knew I had an open invitation from management to go back. One of my favorite lenders took me to lunch and encouraged me to go back to my first company. I began thinking of it seriously and one day on my way to a training class at the current office; I was talking to my husband on the phone (speaker phone) and I said (out of the blue), "I think it's time for me to go home -- back to Prudential Don Johnson Co., REALTORS." He agreed and I thought about it more during the training class and the following day I stopped in for a visit and spoke with the manager and asked if they had space for me because I was thinking about going back. The answer was, "Yes, they always had space for me."

So the following Monday I made the change. I've been back at Prudential Don Johnson Co., REALTORS since early April and it's wonderful to be back HOME! There are a lot of new agents in the office as well as some of the agents from when I was there before. I even got my old office space back and I'm sharing it with 2 good friends who were there when I was there before.

I'm looking forward to staying at Prudential Don Johnson Co., REALTORS for a very long time.

San Antonio, TX is in the middle of celebrating FIESTA! Well, actually, we're on the downhill side FIESTA and tomorrow is Battle of Flowers Day. How do we celebrate -- with a parade of course. The first Battle of Flowers Parade was held in 1891 to honor the heroes of the battle of The Alamo and San Jacinto. The first parade had horse-drawn carriage and bicycles decorated with fresh flowers and the participants pelted each other with flowers. The parade has been held every year since 1891 with the exception of 1918 (World War I) and 1942 thru 1945 (World War II).

The Woman's Club of San Antonio is one organization that participates in The Battle of Flowers Parade. Each year 3 members are chosen (by the club President) to ride in the parade. The past 8 or so years, members have ridden in a Red, 1928 Ford Touring Car. This year is no exception -- the car was at The Woodward House (home to The Woman's Club) today undergoing it's transformation.

This is what the car looked like when "she" arrived at The Woodward House about 10:00 AM this morning.

This is what the car looks like tonight and during the Parade tomorrow.

Isn't "she" beautiful? All dressed up and ready to be in The Battle of Flowers Parade. :) Oh, I almost forgot the best part. I get to ride in this car in The Battle of Flowers Parade! I'm so excited, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight. We three ladies have coordinated our outfits for the day to go with the theme assigned our "float" -- "Texas Wildflowers". My hat is all decorated and ready -- a friend, Laura Sistrunk, decorated it for me this morning while I took care of some things at the Clubhouse.

Before. . .

After. . . :) Isn't it beautiful?!?

You'll be able to watch The Battle of Flowers Parade LIVE right here -- it'll be on from 1:00 to 4:00 PM tomorrow, Friday, April 24th -- which is Battle of Flowers Day. Oh, we're at the end of the parade -- yep, 3rd from the end (of the parade).

The Woman's Club of San Antonio's Annual Official FIESTA Flower Show was held at The Woodward House (home to The Woman's Club) on Wednesday, April 22nd and Thursday, April 23rd.

Here are some photos of the Ribbon Cutting and some of the beautiful floral arrangements entered in the Flower Show.

This one is entitled, "Designing Women" (The TV Show)

This one is entitled, "Dallas" (the TV Show)

I didn't get the name of this one -- but isn't it beautiful. :)

This one is entitled, "The Bold and The Beautiful". (yes, like the soap opera.

This one is entitled, "Gone With The Wind".

Ahhhh, FIESTA in San Antonio, TX -- there's nothing like it! Live here for a few years, and you can't help but get caught up in the fun and the history of FIESTA.

I'm a member of The Woman's Club of San Antonio -- which is a Charter Member of the San Antonio FIESTA Commission. Our Club hosts several FIESTA Events every year. Back in October of 2008, a committee was named to design our Annual FIESTA Pins & Medals. I was fortunate enough to be chosen to be on the committee and was chairman of the committee. We had a short meeting and decided to use a sculpture created by a former member of our club, Waldine Tauch. We placed the sculpture in front of a floral arrangement of white roses (our Club flower) and took pictures at different angles. I then, emailed the pictures to a graphic artist who created the initial design from the photos and emailed it back to me. After several meetings and changes, we had our final design which I presented to the Woman's Club Board of Directors for approval before placing the order.

We started with this. . .

Here's the 2009 FIESTA Pin/Medal for The Woman's Club of San Antonio. . .

Waldine was born in Schulenburg, Texas on January 28, 1892, her father was a photographer. The family moved to a ranch in Menard County and their home was a stop for the stage hack, or rental carriage. Her uncle supplied fresh horses and her mother cooked breakfast for the travelers. Waldine's carvings were displayed on a shelf around the dining room. Two travelers were so impressed with her work they influenced the family to move to Brady so the budding sculptor could have an artistic education. Mrs. F. W. Henderson, who had induced the family to move, wrote Pompeo Coppini about taking a new student. He declined. "No! Girls are not good pupils. They work one or two years, then quit. They get married. I lose all my labor." Mrs. Henderson persisted and eventually sent him a piece of Tauch's work-small enough to be easily mailed, yet intricate enough to be impressive. When Coppini received the box, opened it, pulled out the padding, and found still another box full of padding, he thought at first that a trick had been played upon him. But when he finally reached the tiny piece--depicting Little Red Riding Hood with her basket and the wolf-he accepted her immediately. Coppini invited her to live in the spacious home he and his wife had in San Antonio. Waldine came to town on June 10, 1910, just a few weeks before she graduated from high school. She feared that a postponement might change Coppini's mind. She made a promise to her mentor that she would give up marriage and family so she could give her complete devotion to her creative work-a promise she never broke. Waldine never regretted her promise, one that brought her to recognition as an artist of national stature.

The Coppinis moved to New York in 1922 and Tauch joined them there the next year. She created a statue of the four LeSueur Smith children in Pelham Manor. The late Mrs. Eli Hertzberg traveled from San Antonio to New York to pose for a bust by Tauch. The piece is located in the Tuesday Musical Club building.

Twelve years later, the Coppinis and Tauch moved back to San Antonio because of the Texas Centennial and the great amount of work they received from it.

She became an internationally known sculptor of life-size statues such as Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Howard Payne U., Moses Austin in San Antonio's City Hall Square, the Texas Ranger of Today-now in downtown Dallas. Waldine lived to be 94; she was a Club member until her stroke in October 1985. Her biography is found in From Chalk to Bronze by Alice Hutson in 1978.