Karen Staha, CRS,GRI,ABR REALTOR

Today was the Pflugerville Pfamily Pfestival & Expo and it could not have been a more perfect fall weather day for the event. The turn out was great and people really enjoyed all the happenings.

There was something for everyone including over 100 business and community organization exhibits and demonstrations featuring Classic car show, Travis County Star Flight and Texas National Guard helicopter displays, public safety displays, performances by local school, youth and church groups plus a lot more. Oh, and plenty of food from some of Pflugerville's fine restaurants.

The Greater Pflugerville Chamber of Commerce hosts the Expo each year to showcase local businesses and community organization exhibits. This year marked the 10 year event celebration. The theme for this years festival was ‘Celebrating Our Community Cultures' and celebrate we did.

I enjoyed visiting all the venue booths, making new friends and seeing so many familiar faces. Thanks for all who stopped by our Gaston & Sheehan Realty booth.

Here's me sporting my t-shirt of the unofficial Pflugerville slogan ‘between a rock and a weird place.' And the meaning behind this in case you don‘t know? Pflugerville is located between Round Rock and Austin - whose slogan is ‘Keep Austin Weird.'

My camera battery gave out early so I was only able to take a few pictures.

One of the three large exhibit tents

Kids loved sitting in the fire truck

Pflugerville's DARE Vehicle (Drug Abse Resistance Education) DARE is a police officer-led series of lessons given in our school classrooms that teaches students good decision making skills to help them avoid high-risk drug behavior. It's a great program, and I think every school should offer this.

Travis County Star Flight (Shock Trauma Air Rescue) as they were leaving the expo grounds. Star Flight is a unique public safety air rescue program that performs everything from the transport of critically ill patients to fire fighting, and rescue to law enforcement

I love the fall season. Here in Texas, with a hint of cooler air and a nice seasonal selection of vegetables, flowers and other assorted outdoor plantings, it's like spring all over again for gardeners. One of my favorite places to shop for all my landscape needs is Green N Growing located in downtown Pflugerville. On a recent visit here, I took a few pictures to share your way.

Enjoy the tour of flowers, plants and trees at this captivating garden palace - Green N Growing.

Green N Growing is a family owned Garden Center and Nursery open year around. Tim & Rhonda Pfluger own and operate Green N Growing since 1975. Their daughter, Michelle, is also part of the day to day garden business here. The Pflugers know everything there is to know about gardening.

The indoor gift and garden center was once the parlor room of the home where Tim's great grandfather raised his family many years ago and raised cattle on the land. There's always an exciting assortment of garden items and gifts here.

Green N Growing has earned a lot of faithful customers over the years, many who drive from Georgetown, Taylor, Round Rock and Austin for the quality and selection.

All the beautiful huge oak trees you see were planted by Tim & Rhonda. Green N Growing sits on 2 acres of land. There's a variety of everything garden: Trees, shrubs, vegetables, flowers, herbs, potted plants, garden art, organic fertilizers.

Ceramic pots, garden benches, bird houses and other 'for sale' outdoors art are nestled amongst the gardens.

Behind this rustic gate are the water gardens where you'll find a wonderful selection of pond plants and goldfish.

The greenhouse is filled with an assortment of indoor and shade plants.

This path takes you down to the shrubs and beyond this is Tim & Rhonda's personal vegetable and herb garden. They actually have two vegetable gardens, the other is at their home.

Tim, Rhonda and Michelle Pfluger welcome your visit to Green N Growing.

Green N Growing is located at 601 Pecan St, Pflugerville, TX 78660. For hours call (512) 251-3262

Information provided courtesy of Karen Staha, CRS,GRI,ABR, REALTOR - Selling Texas Since 1995 - Gaston & Sheehan Realty Cell 512-217-2435 Email: kmstaha@aol.com Web: www.karenstaha.com

Round Rock's first leash free dog park - opened in March 2008. Like many cities, Round Rock has a leash law which states that dogs are to be contained in a fenced yard or on a leash at all times when outdoors - so the Dog Depot is a welcome addition for non-aggressive dogs to play and interact thanks to the City of Round Rock.

Located within Round Rock's Lake Creek Park at 800 Deerfoot Drive, The Dog Depot is a 1.85 acre haven designed for off-leash play between canines of all sizes. The park is broken into three sections consisting of a large dog area, small dog area (under 40 lbs.) and an open area that serves as a rotation to allow for grass regrowth.

The fenced park features agility elements such as a tire jump, A-frame contact ramp, tunnel and some jumps. There's ample open space as well to run, roll over, work out, play and socialize with canine friends.

The park has double gates to keep dogs from escaping, water for pets and benches for owners to meet and greet other dog parents.

Future Amenities: Running water, dog water play area, benches, parking, volleyball courts in park, and trail connecting to AW Grimes and Clay Madsen Recreation Center.

View Map of Dog Park Layout

Review the Dog Depot Pet Rules before bringing your pet to the park.

For more information, contact Round Rock Parks and Recreation, (512) 218-5540 or view the website at City of Round Rock, Parks & Recreation - Dog Depot Park

Information provided courtesy of Karen Staha, CRS,GRI,ABR, REALTOR - Selling Texas Since 1995 - Gaston & Sheehan Realty Cell 512-217-2435 Email: kmstaha@aol.com Web: www.karenstaha.com

Vista Oaks is a beautiful and established master-planned community located north of Austin in a serene setting of Round Rock, Texas. Mature trees, quality built homes and recreational amenities are a few highlights that make Vista Oaks a wonderful place to come home to.

• There are 936 single family homes in Vista Oaks Subdivision
• Homes were developed in 'sections' between 1989 and 2002.
• Builders in Vista Oaks: Hammond Homes, Wilshire Homes, Plantation Homes, Buffington Homes, Jeff Watson Custom Homes
• Square footage of homes range from 1629 to 4584 square feet
• Homeowners Association dues are currently are $360.00/year or $90.00/quarter.

Amenities offered in Vista Oaks Include:

• Jr. Olympic Size Swimming Pool
• Tennis Court
• Sand Volleyball Court
• Horseshoe Pit
• Playground
• Lighted and Scenic Hike and Bike Trails
• Open Area Greenbelts
• Picnic Areas

Year around activities include: Easter Egg Hunt, 4^th of July Parade and Celebration, Children's Play Group, Winter Holiday Party, Block Parties, Resident Newsletters.

Vista Oaks is located in the highly acclaimed Leander School District and children attend: Parkside Elementary School (opened 2008), Wiley Middle School & Vista Ridge High School.

You'll enjoy everyday conveniences of shopping including Round Rock Outlet Mall, dining, fun, 800 acre Williamson County Regional Park close by, and a few minutes from several golf courses and Dell Diamond, home to the Round Rock Express triple-A minor league baseball team.Vista Oaks offers convenient access to major thoroughfares including IH-35 and Hwy 183 and a short commute to major employees including - Dell Computer, IBM, Westinghouse, Motorola, Cisco Systems, Abbott Labs and 3M. Nearby.

Utility Companies Serving Vista Oaks: Pedernales Electric Cooperative 331-8883 - TXU GAS 800-460-3030 - ECO Resources 335-7580

As of this publishing, there are 20 active listings between 1994 and 4488 square feet priced from $167,000 to $355,000. Click link below to view an updated list of homes for sale in Vista Oaks.

Directions: From I-35 take FM 1431 West and go 3.4 miles on FM 1431. Turn Right (North) on Vista Hills Blvd (View Map)

If your relocating or already here and would like more information about area neighborhoods or assistance in buying or selling a home, I welcome your call or email. I know and specialize in Austin, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander or Hutto.

Karen Staha, CRS,GRI,ABR, REALTOR - Selling Texas Since 1995- Gaston & Sheehan Realty - Call me direct: 512-217-2435 email: kmstaha@aol.com website: www.karenstaha.com

This past weekend I had the pleasure of showing Round Rock area homes to clients relocating here from out-of-state. While looking at one home and as we entered the master bathroom, the Mrs. eyed over the master bath shower and commented to me, "My, you'd think the sellers would have taken the time to clean the shower." The truth is, as I explained to her, the shower glass and inside walls had a hazy film of mineral build-up caused from hard water, and it's lot easier to prevent this problem than it is to remove it.

If you've lived in an area where water is ‘soft,' you might never have of heard of ‘hard water' but the fact is, 80% of US homes have some level of water hardness. Central Texas is no exception and is known for large limestone formations that contribute to hardness of water in some areas. Here, having some type of water softening system is more of a necessity than a luxury and for many good reasons.

Hard water results from high levels of calcium and magnesium in the water supply. While studies show drinking hard water doesn't pose a safety issue, it can present problems that can be frustrating and costly for homeowners.

In laundry, hard water causes clothes to look dingy, dulls colors and gives whites a grey or yellow appearance. Overtime, hard water can damage fabric fibers and shorten the life of clothes by up to 40%.

Washing dishes, glassware and silverware in hard water can cause spots and an unsightly cloudy coating - even more so when cleaned in dishwashers because the minerals from hard water are released faster when in contact with the heat.

Bathing in hard water leaves a film of sticky soap residue leaving skin dry and itchy. The residue left on washed hair can make it dull, dry and hard to manage.

Hard water causes limescale build-up on faucets, shower heads, glass shower surrounds, tubs, water heaters and inside pipes. It eventually reduces water flow and, in extreme cases, puts water-using appliances out of service and clogs pipes. I've actually seen water pipes blocked off completely from limescale build-up.

Most builders of new homes in our area of hard water don't normally install water softeners as a standard feature but they often do install water softener ‘loops' in the garage and it's up to the buyer to purchase a water softener system. Surprisingly, many homeowners opt not to invest in hard water softener, yet beyond all the inconveniences hard water poses, it can be costly to replace failed appliances and replace water lines. Plus, limescale has been known to increase energy bills up to 25% because of reduced efficiency of hot water heaters.

There are a few options available for treating hard water so you might want to do some research and get price quotes. The ‘traditional type' water softener we purchased for our home cost $1400 including install but there are less and more expensive brands on the market. Ours was purchased back in 2002 and it's working like a charm from day one. The only expense we incur is about $30 once every three or four months for salt pellets that takes the hardness out of water.

Once installed, the water softener services all inside water lines. Your outside faucets are not part of the looped system simply because softened water is not recommended for watering plants, lawns, and gardens due to its sodium content.

While there are many signs of hard water, you might want to contact your water service provider who can probably tell you the hardness level of the water they deliver. Another option is to have your water tested. Some companies that sell water treatment equipment offer free water tests. Alternatively you can buy a home water test kit found in many hardware stores. I found a site online that offers free test kits from Diamond Crystal water softening products. They can be reached at (800) 428-4244.