Here are a few photos of my new wonderful house in Austin.

I also live in the best neighborhood in Austin. Many residents here have such wonderful things as xeriscaped lawns, compost piles, and rescued dogs and cats. We have an award-winning "Green Classroom" which teaches kids about recycling, rainwater collection, organic gardening, and other environmental issues. I am so fortunate to have found my perfect home in the perfect neighborhood. I had been riding my bike to work or on unpleasant days, taking the bus. Being able to rid myself of the need to drive is the main reason I decided to move so close to town and pay twice as much for a house. And it was totally worth it. But that company failed as so many start-ups did. So now I am stuck driving up to north Austin every day. But I am still hopeful that I will eventually be able to ditch the car some day soon.

I just put in my vegetable garden and I have all kinds of long-term plans for the rest of the house. I eventually want to get solar panels so that I no longer have to rely on the City of Austin Utilities which has a city mandated monopoly (and it's customer service is reflective of that). Solar power is also better for the environment of course. Xeriscaping parts of my lawn is high on my list. I am also considering a rainwater collection system. The water would have a hardness of 0 and have no chemicals such as chlorine (Austin water has twice as much chorine as a swimming pool). And it is one more big way that I can be more self-sufficient, government-free, and environmentally friendly. I just installed a few small rain barrels which I will use for watering my gardens (I will be getting a $60 rebate from the city of Austin for the barrels). I hope to have all of this completed over the next 5 years.

A wonderful local artist and activist painted native flowers on my fence to match the flowers growing in my garden.

Another part of that endeavor involves supporting cooperatively run businesses such as Wheatsville Food Co-op and credit unions. I have also been making an effort to support local shops instead of evil corporate giants who don't care about anything but money.

If I had made all of these lifestyle changes at once, it would have seemed like an enormous task. Taking one step at a time, while keeping the ultimate goal in mind, has made it an easy and rewarding transition. I still have a long way to go.