Spring in the Garden

by Celia Hayes

Yes, we know very well that the official date for 'last frost o' the season' for San Antonio is March 15th – but the trees are tentatively beginning to put on new leaves, the new grass – or what passes for the grass in weedy fields and verges – is already thick and green, and so it is time to get back to the garden. The suppliers have gotten the early spring vegetables starts in already. So – we went out this last weekend to get started in a bigger way, especially since the early lettuce and greens that we put in pots a couple of weeks ago did very nicely.

The topsy-turvy planters had been emptied of last year's plants and the soil; we were so encouraged by the success of growing peppers and

"It's a Number Game" Crosswords Puzzle #3 Solution

NO PEAKING, NO CHEATING! ... Click here for the Crossword Puzzle 3 without the answers filled in.

Papa's Gems Crosswords Puzzle #2 Solution

NO PEAKING, NO CHEATING! ... Clickhere for the Crossword Puzzle 2without the answers filled in.

SATXBlog Crossword Puzzle 4-"Tricolored"

Tricolor by Myles Mellor

San Antonio Board of REALTORS  January 2012 Sales Statistics

A five percent increase in sales shows the steadiness of the San Antonio market,” said Angela Shields, President and Chief Executive Officer of SABOR.

January 2012’s average sales price for single-family residential homes registered at $174,789 while the month’s median price was $141,200.

“This month, we saw a slight decrease in both the average and median sales price, but nothing to be alarmed about,” said Liza Reyes, SABOR’s 2012 Chairman of the Board. “Slight fluctuations are very common to the San Antonio market. San Antonio is known for being a healthy market and any healthy market will reflect little ups and downs, it is very natural.”

According to recent Newsweek comparison of

Texas AgriLife Extension Service offers Wellness Training

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County will present its 2012 Master Wellness program volunteer training March 8-April 19 in Suite 208 of its San Antonio offices in the Conroy Square business complex, 3355 Cherry Ridge Dr.

Training will be 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on March 8, March 15, April 5 and April 19. The deadline for registration is March 2.

“Participants in Master Wellness program training receive 40 hours of health and wellness education,” said Dr. Connie Sheppard, AgriLife Extension agent for family and consumer sciences and Bexar County training coordinator. “Once they graduate, they’re required to give at least 40 hours of volunteer service back to the community.”

Chocolate Covered Bacon

by Celia Hayes

It's one of those odd side-effects of having knocked around the world for three decades that there are places that feel more like a home-town to me than the town where I actually grew up. This is compounded by having had to research certain places down to almost the sub-atomic level, with the unsettling result that I finish up knowing the history of certain places in the Hill Country almost as well as a long-time native does.

Last Saturday, my daughter and I had to be in Fredericksburg for the German Heritage Foundation; a breakfast meeting at the Kuckucks' Nest shop to talk about certain historical things, and what was going on with the planning for this year's Pow-wow? Was it still going to be held at

SATXBlog Crossword Puzzle 3-"It's a Numbers Game"

"It's a Numbers Game" by Myles Mellor and Sally York

 Best of Texas - Newsweek Says Texas Cities Can-Do

Five Texas cities “have it going on” even in the face of economic worries, according to a 2011 Newsweek comparison of the 200 largest U.S. cities.

El Paso leads the pack with strong scores for business development; transportation and infrastructure; sustainability; and livability. Assigning each of those categories a point value, Newsweek ranked its list of “Can-Do Capitals” while considering emissions, education levels and unemployment.

Texas Best Can-Do US Cities

Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

 San Antonio Home Uncluttering

One of my favorite moments from childhood was going to my aunt's house to hang out with my cousins. Aside from getting to play video games with my cousins, my aunt's San Antonio home was an adventure in itself. It was a quaint little house only five minutes away from my own house. It wasn't big at all, but what lacked in size made up for mini-adventures. Bookshelves stacked with large books about different wars, model airplanes, and chain mail and armor from the medieval times. My seven-year-old self would always look up at these things with awe. My uncle would continue to buy model airplanes, assemble them, and display them proudly up on his bookshelves. From an early age I knew that it was very "Look, but don't touch."