There is also Garden Voices, but I am not sure who handles that GW section where can link to your blog and put in a feed to it. Use the "contact us" link that's at the bottom of every GW page and ask them how to go about getting your blog onto Garden Voices. Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Voices

Newhomeseeker, I think that the reason that Sylvia may be upset is that you've started numerous threads over the past few months that are mainly complaints about agents with whom you dealt and realtors in general. In addition to this thread, here are the titles of some of the others that you started: Why do some realtors lie when advertising a house? What is wrong with the realtors in my area? Does this sound like a scam? Can't get rid of realtor. Listing agent wants me to sign something before I look at house. Agent calls right after showing (in which you asked the question: "Is this just a slick realtor?") Now, I'm not taking sides in the spat between Sylvia and yourself, and in fact, every one of your posts may be warranted; I'm just trying to offer an explanation as for why she (and perhap other real estate agents reading this board) may be perturbed by your postings.

My DH and I were both raised in suburban homes. Neither of us ever lived where we could not walk right outdoors (except in college). After DH retired, we moved from one suburb to another twice as far from Chicago to escape increasing noise and pollution. That was 15 years ago, and at the time I hoped we could have at least 20 years in our new, one-floor home. Hmm...out in five? Eventually...and then what? We could stay in our home longer with taxi's to grocery, dentist, local hospital, and the RR station (four minutes). Our doctors are currently 20 minutes away. Our DS and family are 30 minutes away. We could move to assisted living in a townhome in this town -- or in an apartment closer to the city. We could become permanent passengers in a cabin on a cruise ship and keep circling the globe! LOL I think we will stay in our home and add help until we need assisted living -- or until the expenses of maintaining the home and yard outweigh our enjoyment of it. (Assisted living isn't *cheap* either!) One other thought: We've spoken of dangerous driving by impaired seniors. Yes, it is terrible news when one plows into something or someone, but I am more concerned about drivers of all ages who are overtired, distracted, or drug- or alcohol-impaired. News about these drivers infrequently makes it beyond the police blotter. My DH was broadsided by a 17-year-old girl who failed to yield to traffic coming over the RR tracks in the middle of our town. Didn't even make the blotter.

Pains me to see such good intentions go to waste though writing about the experience here will help others. This situation is why some builders advocate for being involved in the design process. Even if just a consulting roll, a collaborative team effort might have prevented this unfortunate outcome. I think designers often fear their vision will be watered down but with the right people involved, costs and alternative construction details can be evaluated as the design is developed without sacrificing design or aesthetics. Design-bid is a bit antiquated for those seeking higher performance. In my experience, everyone benefits in a collaborative approach. To address some confusion above, Passive house (PassivHaus Institute PHI) is a German born building certification. Passive House US (Passive House Institute US PHIUS) is the N. American split from the German version. Passive Solar Design is the traditional term used to describe getting free heat from the sun. Being mindful of those strategies can help reduce cooling loads in TX, like stretching a home from east to west helps minimize windows on those vulnerable directions. Keeping Homes Cooler is a blog I wrote for new and existing homes. Often Passive House homes end up with passive solar design elements as do other designs looking to maximize efficiency with no extra upfront costs. Some passive house projects are approaching cost parity with typical crappy construction. I always enjoy Steve Baczeck's articles in Fine Homebuilding. If you can't do Passive House, at least do Energy Star. This will involve a third party energy rater who will help push a home towards current international building codes. Though these codes are rarely adopted and enforced locally, they represent a very good balance of cost and efficiency. Involve the rater early in design process. Matt Risinger is an awesome resource for building in TX and anywhere in the south. I would follow his advice as much as possible. His videos and articles on airsealing, insulation, waterproofing and humidity control are particularly important.