Tricia Jumonville, The Agent With Horse Sense

To my mind, the holidays are a great example of what our business is really about.

Think about it. Families gather to share the holidays, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Festivus or any other. They eat food, lovingly prepared and redolent of holidays past. They talk and laugh and cry and remember and tell stories and give and receive gifts.

Where do they do all these things? For the vast majority, it is in homes – all gathering at the home of the grandparents, or the first holiday hosted by the now-adult children who not that long ago sat at the “kid’s table”, sometimes the adult children switching back and forth between sets of parents, sometimes, as we did it this year, all celebrating together.

But gather in homes we do. This is, in a sense, the culmination of all of our efforts as real estate agents – families, celebrating together in the homes we helped them find and acquire.

At this time of year, every year, hearts are opened and people reach out to help those in need.

Here in Central Texas, because of the drought and the wildfires that resulted from it, there are more of those than usual, and many organizations are focusing their efforts on those who lost homes and more in those fires.

The Native Plant Society of Texas is one of those organizations, and the donations raised with their efforts, while only totaling $1800 in dollars, will multiply into more green than you can imagine, and will be of greater value than dollars in the end.

300 groups of children, from schools, churches, and youth groups, took the materials purchased with that $1800 (compost, clay, and seeds), and made 150,000 seed balls containing over 50 varieties of native Central Texas seeds to be given to the victims of the Bastrop County fires to use in restoring their land to its former beauty.

Right now, they look just like what they're made of, balls of mud. But once they're distributed and used by the fire victims, they'll be a beautiful bounty of green helping the land restore itself.

Photo Credit: skodonnell

Anyone in this neck of the woods who's spent any time at all on the roads or in stores has to have noticed a distinct change from this time last year - CROWDS! Whether it's a grocery store or a book store or a department store, there are crowds everywhere you go, and they seem to be buying things. Yesterday, in the middle of a Monday afternoon, my husband and I were out and about, and even at that time of the day, on that day of the week, it felt like a busy Saturday.

I've been showing more houses to more buyers, and had more calls from buyers looking for property - the numbers are up.

Then, today, the Austin Board of Realtors released the November figures, and the news that Central Texas home sales were up about 11 percent and that median home prices were up 3% over November 2010.

Add that to some other positive signs that I've seen here and there, and maybe, just maybe, that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train after all!

Photo Credit Iain Sarjeant

Photo Credit DHuss

Many people, when they think of Central Texas, don't think of vineyards and wineries. But we have quite a few award-winning ones in the area (there's even a vineyard half a mile up the road from me between Jarrell and Salado), so it's possible to Shop Local for wine, as well as other things. I thought I'd prepare a list of wineries - some you can visit and pick up wine for gifts or yourself, others you can find in local stores.

Driftwood Estate Vineyard & Winery south of Austin

Salt Lick Cellars, likewise in Driftwood

Duchman Family Wines, Driftwood

(Are you seeing a pattern here?)

Spicewood Vineyards, Spicewood

The Vineyard at Florence, north of Austin between Florence and Jarrell

Rising Star Vineyards, Rising Star and Salado

Perissos Vineyard and Winery, Burnet

Stone House Vineyard (on Lake Travis)

This is just a start. You can find more Texas vineyards and wineries at Texas Wine - Toast a Rising Star.

Or, can't make up your mind? Give a wine tour!

Anyone who’s lived in Texas for any length of time knows about the ongoing Great Texas BBQ Wars that are a major source of entertainment in these parts. You know, “XYZ BBQ has the best brisket!” “No! ABC BBQ does!” On a good day, this can be good for several hours worth of “conversation”, not just of the best BBQ joints, but also the best (read: ONLY) way to cook BBQ at home.

I admit to being a BBQ aficionado, myself. Not in the preparation (I leave that to the menfolk in the family, resting on my gumbo laurels), but in finding the best commercial BBQ around.

You may have heard that Bon Appetit, a few months back, declared Franklin’s BBQ in Austin to be The Best BBQ In The Country. Now, no insult intended to Franklin’s, but the Texas BBQ expert who dubbed them so is from Georgia, then New York City, and my guess is that he hasn’t had the proper grounding and experience in the pit boss’s art - and art, not science, it is - necessary to make such a statement.

I propose that he come back down to Texas, and be taken on a Grand BBQ Tour of Central Texas. I have my own list of places that I’m pretty sure he should try, and then he can revisit the issue. I’d be surprised if you do not have your own such list; why not post your suggestion or suggestions in the comments section and we’ll compare notes, and perhaps make up a list of suggestions to send off to the fine gentleman?

My list would be sure to include the following (this is by far not a comprehensive list; I am not going to give away ALL my secrets!): Sam’s BBQ in East Austin (recently closed and I do not know if it's reopened - it's been in Austin as long as I've been in the area); House Park in Central Austin; Cooper’s in Llano or New Braunfels; Laird’s Barbecue in Llano; Black’s in Lockhart; Schoepf’s in Belton; Taylor Café in Taylor; City Market in Luling; Perez BBQ in Bartlett; Snow’s in Lexington, O.D.'s in Jarrell. That would be good for a start, and then we could drive the roads of Central Texas looking for those priceless jewels, the little BBQ shacks that can be found dotting our highways and byways, offering the intoxicating aroma of pit smoke and the promise of the BBQ of your dreams.

What about you? Where would you take someone to initiate them into the delights of Texas BBQ?