Austin ModHouse

I'm helping some friends find a home here in west lake hills (eanes school district).  one of the really amazing features of this area is that many homes have these views yet we are really just five miles from downtown and the capital.  this home is perched over the wild basin preserve.

to get such views you really have to get creative and deal with the slope, check out the S curve driveway

then the drop from the parking level down to the entry of the house

another project here in west lake hills that is addressing an upcoming grid failure and resource war.  the idea is that this home will not require air conditioning, will have a garden area large enough to support the inhabitants, solar panels and what you see above is a 40,000 gallon rain water collection cistern.

try these links to get a youtube video of the owner-creator giving some background details on the project so far #1   #2

he got off to a rocky start when he told joked to the building inspector that he was building a residential nuclear reactor and also sent off some letters to city officials that included some colorful language.

the holiday party circuit has started

some friends that also moved from santa cruz at about the same time we did hosted a nice party, their lovely 3 story modern shown above also has amazing views.  it was funny to note that it seemed everybody present could be put into at least one of three categories, artist, realtor or was here from california.  and several fit into all three categories.

it's been cold here.  like a real holiday season.  we were unable to get a campsite at the last minute so we stayed home the entire thanksgiving break.  we got bored and started inviting friends over for wine and outdoor fire pit action.  we used the area down by the lower carport, kids made smores and we used the airstream's stereo to let stan getz provide the background music.