Coventry in Spring TX celebrates National Night out!

I live in the subdivision of Coventry and I'm on our Coventry social committee.  I have been on lots of committees for lots of different organizations but if you want to be on a fun committee choose the social committee.  We basically plan our Coventry subdivision parties.  We recently had our first very successful Coventry Night out.  We thought we were planning the event for the National Night out but when we checked with Target to see about getting some of their freebies we found out that Texas is the only state in the Union who changed their National Night out to October.  We had already made the plans for the event so we decided to continue on; or so we thought. A little tropical storm/hurricane called Eduardo complicated our National Night out date.  We had the event planned so decided to postpone one week.  One week later we found ourselves in the middle of a much needed rainstorm but the weather cleared by late afternoon and we were on.

We debated on what kind of an event we would plan.  The purpose of National Night out is to strengthen neighborhood spirit, generate support & participation in anti-crime programs such as Neighborhood Watch; and heighten crime & drug prevention awareness.  With that in mind we scheduled 5 safety stations throughout the neighborhood.  Our neighbors could begin at the station of their choice.  They picked up a passport at the first station they attended and then had to have it stamped at each station to be eligible for prizes of five $50 Wal-Mart Gift Cards.

 Dane Hill had a station that served popcorn and snow cones.  This station was right in the center of the subdivision and had probably the most traffic of any station as the residents could stop coming and going to the other stations.  They gave out safety handouts to all the children who attended.

Marshbrook/Alderly had one of the most popular stations with a visiting fire truck from the Spring Volunteer fire department.  The kids loved it!  Not only was this station popular for the visiting fire truck; they were also serving lemonade and cookies.

Dane hill/Hawn was serving grilled hot dogs and ice cold water.  Precinct 4 Constables were on hand to fingerprint children at this station.  As you can tell by the pictures it was another popular station. 

Dane hill/Elmly served ice cold watermelon and handed out Emergency Contact magnets.  The magnets had the Coventry subdivision contact numbers along with emergency contact information.

Post Bridge Cul de sac served ice cream bars and handed out information about RAD Rape Aggression Defense.  RAD is a physical defense program for women that offers no-nonsense practical techniques of defense.  RAD was presented in Coventry back in 2002 but many residents think it is time to have another course.  If 15 women agree to sign up Harris County Sheriff's department will provide it for free.

Each household was allowed one passport.  With a subdivision of about 300 homes we had 50 passports handed in.  I think that is an INCREDIBLE success for our first National Night Out.   We were at the Post Bridge Cul de sac and it was a little bit out of the way but each one of those 50 had to come down our cul-de-sac to get a stamp.  For many I think it was the first time to come down an out of the way cul-de-sac but what a GREAT way to meet your neighbors.  We had people come walking, walking with strollers, on bikes and by car. 

Just as a side note.  That pretty chocolate lab is our Abby dog.  She wanted to attend our Coventry Night out also.

Spring TX, Let me tell you why I love living here!!

We have lived in the Spring Texas area for 11 years and we LOVE living here. I have to be honest we had reservations about moving here. My husband's job transferred us out of Denver and Houston was one of our options but we wanted no part of Houston. In our mind it was a big dirty city with lots of oil refineries. Instead we went to North Carolina which is a beautiful state but far away from all our friends and family who were in Kansas, Colorado and Texas. 2 ½ years later we were transferred again. This time we bit the dust and came to the Houston area. God knew what he was doing because I don't know that we would have been as happy here had we not traveled so far from family to begin with. We love living in Spring! We have a Spring mailing but are very close to Tomball, The Woodlands and Magnolia.

I think one of the things I love most about the Spring area are the friendly people. Even though Houston is one of the largest cities in the United States the communities still have a sense of a small community. I go to the grocery store, post office, the mall and see people that I know from my Spring/Tomball area and everyone is so friendly. I think friendly and Texas just goes hand in hand. It is nothing for people to wave as they go by. I have a friend who moved here and she said to begin with she kept looking over her shoulder to see who they were waving at.

The other thing that I love is the foliage. I had no idea it was such a pretty area. I love the mixture of trees and wide open spaces. North Carolina was beautiful but growing up in the plains of Kansas I felt a little claustrophobic with all the trees. The beauty of this area is that you still have all the trees but you also have the plains. We have towering pine trees, oak trees, sweet gums, dogwoods and all kinds of native bushes. It stays green here almost all year. The leaves come off the trees in December and on Valentines Day it is already time to prune the crepe myrtles because the leaves are getting ready to come back on. We have plants that grow in the ground that I thought were only house plants, split leaf philodendron and ferns to name a few. I just had no idea how pretty the area is, it is almost subtropical.

I heard a radio commentator once say we have two seasons here summer and January. That is really not far from the truth. I have to admit it gets a little steamy here in the summer time but air conditioning is a way of life. Personally I find that I can stay cool easier in the summer time than I used to try and stay warm up north in the winter. We rarely have a day over 100 degrees but it does almost become a broken record in July and August of 95 degrees, 95 degrees, 95 degrees and we do have high humidity. The good news on that is that it keeps our skin soft.

I couldn't mention all the things I love without mentioning the school districts. We moved here when our children were in 5th and 9th grade. Since that time they both graduated out of the Klein school district. They were well prepared for college. Our daughter went on to get a degree from the University of North Texas in Communication Design. Our son decided to join the Army as an Intelligence Analyst. He had that option because he scored so high on the military test. I think all the school districts around here must be as good because whether my clients live in Conroe ISD, Spring ISD, Tomball ISD or Magnolia ISD they all want to stay in the same district because they are so happy with the schools.

Missy brought up another reason that I love Spring in the comments. I’m surprised that I forgot to mention housing affordability when I wrote this post but I am rectifying that right now. In Spring we were able to buy a new home with more square footage than the houses we left in North Carolina and Colorado; plus the homes we left were built in 1960 and 1979. Additionally our houses are pretty I love the wide variety of architecture you find in our area. Most homes are mainly brick with either masonery or hardy plank along the back. If you aren’t familiar with hardy plank it is cement board and works great in our area with our pest problems. The home we had built in 1996 was one of the first homes to have Hardy Plank but it is now the common siding that is used.

If you are considering a move to Spring or the surrounding areas of Tomball, Magnolia or The Woodlands please give me a call or visit my web site for additional information.

"Did you really mean to schedule to show my home during a hurricane?"  Centralized Showing Service called me back with that question yesterday when I was scheduling appointments for today.  I told them to let the seller know that if the weather got where it was not safe I would call and cancel the appointment but yes I really did mean to schedule the appointment.  This was one of two sellers that expressed concerns that I was scheduling appointments with Edouard on the horizon;  this one was a little more forceful in their concern.

I have actually lived here long enough that I have realized you don't know what is going to happen until the storm hits land.  In this case I did buy extra water and filled my car up with gas.  I then watched the news as they were tracking the storm. I could tell it wasn't going to be a storm like Rita so went ahead and scheduled my appointments knowing I could cancel if need be.  I was showing in Spring within 15 to 20 minutes of my house so knew I would not have to traverse any freeways. 

I grew up in Kansas which is tornado country and there is no preparing for a tornado. I have memories of running to our neighbor's storm cellar when the tornado sirens went off but a hurricane is totally different.  With a hurricane you do have some time to see where it is heading and how strong it is going to be.

As a seller I guess you can know that if someone is scheduling appointments with a hurricane/tropical storm on the horizon they must have a motivated buyer.  I have an out of town buyer who just got in and they have a limited time to find a house.   Now had this been a storm like Rita I would not have been scheduling appointments but I could tell it was not going to be anything like that.  I figured if I needed to cancel I could but these buyers are on a time crunch.  As it turned out we got the good side of Edwardo and all we ended up with was some much needed rain.  Now we did end up getting fairly wet but to be quite honest it was a bit of a relief after how HOT it has been lately.  I think I found them their house also.  We are going out again tomorrow so they can be sure but we found a house that they fell in love with.

This is the second time that we have ended up on the good side of the storm.  If you are going to be in a hurricane the left side is the side to be on.  The right side is considered the dirty side and you get a lot more wind and rain.  Before moving here I didn't know that there was a better side of the hurricane to be on but I do now.  So my friend Deb in Huntsville I hoped you weathered as well as we did. 

Book Land in Spring TX - Buy - Sell - Trade!!

I am a big reader so one of my favorite haunts is a good used book store.  I found out about Book Land shortly after moving here in 1997.  I was working at a real estate company down that direction and it didn't take me long to wonder in.  I have shopped used book stores for years and Book Land is a premier used books store.  The owner Neil Surgi opened Book Land on August 4^th 1994 so I guess this is almost a 14^th anniversary post for them.

With 5000 square feet and 125,000 books there is something for everyone.   Book Lands main business is used books and out of print books but they also have some new books available.  Used books are normally priced at half the cover price unless otherwise marked.  The paperbacks in plastic bags are collectibles and are priced accordingly.  Hardbacks are marked on the first or second page in pencil and are priced as marked.  They have over 200 categories of books so if you are looking for something in particular you can go to that section.  I often go in with a certain book or author in mind and Neil or his helpful staff can lead me straight to whatever I have asked for (that is if they have it).  As I said they have a large selection of books and their inventory is constantly changing as they buy, sell and trade used books. 

From the time our children were born I wanted them to have the same love of reading as I do and I guess reading to them from the womb has paid off as they both love to read.  At Christmas they both give me an Amazon wish list but before ordering off the internet I always go to Book Land.  Since it is a present I want them to look new and many do.  Neil has also helped me to select many a book for my two readers.  I have told him what they like to read and he has led me to some phenomenal authors.  Our daughter ended up reading the entire series of The Dragons of Pern by Anne McCaffrey which was recommended by Neil.  Our son loves Chuck Palahniuk and I have always found a large selection of Palahniuk's books.

If you are looking for a bargain paperback you will want to check the books out in front of the store.  There is a large selection and you can pick them up for almost nothing. 

Book Land is also a place to recycle those used magazines.  The magazines are free and you are allowed to take 10 at a time.  With our son doing his second tour of Iraq I like to send him magazines and I have found this to be a great source.  It is a little hard to find the scientific magazines like our son likes but once in a while I hit the jackpot. 

Book Land is conveniently located at 7135 Louetta.  It is 1 ½ blocks east of Klein High School behind Shipley's Donuts and Taco Bell.  They are open 7 days a week.  Their hours are from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Monday through Saturday and from 12:00 PM to 6:00 Pm on Sunday. 

In this day and age it is often hard to find good old fashioned customer service like you get at Book Land.  I think you will find Neil and his helpful staff bend over backwards helping you locate that special book.  I hope you enjoy Book Land as much as I have. 

Christmas in July with the Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce; at Augusta Pines Golf Club!

The newly organized Spring- Klein Chamber has scheduled their first annual Christmas in July Banquet and Live Auction at Savannah's at the Augusta Pines Golf Club.  To keep with the Christmas in July theme it will be on Friday July 25^th, 2008.  It will have all the ambiance and feeling of Christmas along with dinner, dancing holiday décor, live music and a live auction.  The festivities will start at 6:00 and go until 10:00. 

Okay a live auction isn't your normal Christmas theme but it is for Christma in July.  The live auction will feature a number of items from sports memorabilia, Gift Certificates (photography, restaurants), home décor etc. etc. etc.  Mark Moore with Cheray Auctioneers, License # 15019 is volunteering his time in support of the chamber.  If you have something you would like to donate please contact Elle Carnes the banquet chair via email at info@springkleinchamber.org or phone at 281-912-1107.

Tickets are on sale now.  The prices are $55 for non-members and $50 for members.  The Spring-Klein Chamber is soliciting donations for door prizes and auction items as well as underwriters and advertisers for the event program.  Click here to go to the form you need to order your tickets. 

Please help to support the new Spring Klein Chamber.  All proceeds from the auction will go to support the Chamber.  In its first year the Chamber hopes  to increase awareness about the Chamber, boost its current membership by 20% and raise $5000 for its startup year.  This is a grass roots effort and all help from the community is appreciated.

I have lived in the Spring area for 11 years now and have always felt like I did not truly belong to any community.  I know there are already chambers in Tomball, Magnolia, The Woodlands and Northwest Houston but I live in Spring.  I have always felt there was a need that was not being met and this chamber feels that void.  Please join me as we support our new Spring-Klein Chamber.

"The Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce (SKCC) is the premier business and community support organization dedicated to bring the primary resource for area economic development, business expansion and overall quality of life in Spring-Klein.  http://www.springkleinchamber.org/" 

Houston US VETS invite you to spend a day with a VET! Saturday July 19th, Barbeque and entertainment!!

"Spend a day with a VET is a FREE opportunity for people to have a fun experience while showing their appreciation to our VETS by spending a little time with those VETS who live at the US VETS Midtown Terrace Facility."

HIGHLIGHTS:

9:00 AM - POW/MIA Flag Raising (local and state officials have been invited to attend).

9:30 AM - Flag retirement ceremony conducted by local scouts

10:00 until 2:00 Barbeque and entertainment ($10 donation requested per person.)

US VETS Midtown Terrace was opened in 1997.  It features 170 units of transitional and permanent housing and 72 program beds.  The facility is currently undergoing a complete renovation.  They are seeking support from the community through donations of materials and cash.

VIP Program Services Include

US Vets is the largest operator of homeless veterans programs in the country.   For more information on US VET Inc and their programs that are in support of our veterans visit http://www.usvetsinc.org/.  I have also written a post about US VETS that will give you more information.

This is your opportunity to come out and spend a day with a VET.  I know that we often think of our Vietnam Veterans but they have Veterans from all our recent wars going back to World War II.

The barbeque is being hosted by the Houston area chapter members of Rolling Thunder and the Rotary Club of Sharpstown. 

For more information on "Spending a Day with a VET" contact Gary Robinson the President of Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 at Gary.Robinson@ExpressJet.com.  His phone numbers are office 832-353-2626 or his cell at 281-734-6859.