August 23-27, 2018: Prudence's Birthday in San Antonio
	August 4, 2018: Birthdays for Ron Mathis and Fred
	Return to the Index for 2018

Our friends, Larry and Denny, moved to Leander, Texas (about twenty miles north of Austin) over a year ago when Denny retired. They have been anxious for Fred and I to come and visit them, and we have finally been able to work in a stop at their new house as we are traveling down to San Antonio for Prudence's birthday.

Getting to Larry and Denny's House

Neither Fred nor I have been to Leander before. It is, essentially, a small town bedroom community for Austin, populated by folks who don't mind a long commute to be able to get out of the city and live in a kind of wilderness area.

Neither of us had been to Leander before, much less the rugged area where Larry and Denny live, so we had to follow their directions. Getting down past Georgetown was easy; we do that all the time on the way to Austin or San Antonio. Just south of Georgetown, we exited I-35 and followed the signs to Leander. There, we had to follow the directions Denny gave us to go through town and then take a road out west a bit to reach the entry gate for the development where they live. Then, we had to wind around to get to Rancho Mirage- the street at the end of which their house is located.

The area where Larry and Denny live is a development situated in an area of shallow canyons, rocky hillsides, and few places suitable for house lots. Because of this, the houses are not close together, and the typical lot is a couple of acres or more. And while there are restrictions on the house you can build, these have more to do with the outward appearance of the house, rather than its size or orientation. Some of the houses are quite large, but most are just on the high side of normal size. But they all look generally the same, fitting in to the landscape quite nicely.

I made a wrong turn or two on the way to their house; all the streets look the same, as do the houses, and all the street names are "western" themed.

But we arrived at their house at the end of Rancho Mirage (which, as you can see in the picture at left, is a cul-de-sac) in mid-afternoon. We did some catching up, and then Denny took us on a driving tour around the area. From the balcony at the back of their house, Fred got a nice picture of houses on the opposite ridge:

Larry actually feeds the deer that roam the canyons between the houses; there are also wild boars and a good many other animals as well. The entire development is less than ten years old, and since the houses are so far from each other, the wild animals haven't been driven out.

In the morning, after breakfast, I thought I would like to repeat the tour Denny had given us yesterday and take some pictures (now that the light was better). I began by heading outside and up the driveway until I could get a picture of the entire house, and you can see that picture at left.

On the first floor, when you come in the entry, the master suite is ahead and on your left. On your right is the dining room. Moving in, you pass the stairs to the lower level and then find yourself at one corner of the living room, with the kitchen on the other side of the open rrom to your right. If you walk towards and into the kitchen, there is a door to the balcony on this level, while through a hallway to your right as you face the kitchen, are the laundry room, pantry and storage, and the entry to the garage.

The walk I just described is in effect a U-shaped walk through the main level, so that when you enter the garage from the kitchen, you are pointed back towards the front of the house. (Lowery would have liked this house as the garage actually opens to the side.)

Here is a series of pictures that will show the rooms of the house (except for the master suite) as you might see them if you followed that U-shaped route across the first floor:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Another major aspect of this main floor is the balcony at the back of the house, a balcony that runs the entire length of the house, with doors onto it from both the master bedroom and from the kitchen. Going out through the kitchen, there is an screened "room" to your right; it is designed for summer to keep insects out. Looking to your left, you are looking down the length of the balcony towards the master bedroom. As you walk down in that direction, you are overlooking the small yard and fountain below, and you also have views out across the canyons. Here's a set of pictures taken in that sequence:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Downstairs, there is, in effect, another house- and I like the way it is laid out. At the bottom of the stairs, you can turn right and find a bedroom- which Larry and Denny have set up as an office- and a full bath. That bedroom has a door out to the ground level patio which, like the balcony above, runs the length of the house. If you turn left, you are in a living room that has seating areas, bookshelves, a media center, a kitchen, and a door out to the ground level patio. Across that living room area and through a doorway and you are in a second master suite with its own bath.

Coming back out of the bedroom, here is the view back across the living room looking towards the stairs. I went down the hall and through the office, stopping at the door to the outside to get another view of the office. Then I went out to the patio.

The Patio, Garden, Yard, and Water Feature (Mouseover Image Above for Video Controls)

While it is possible to get to this level from the outside (there is a walk from the front of the house that comes to the left end of the patio), Larry and Denny are always using the indoor stairs. But if someone ever wanted to use this as a separate suite, all they would really have to do is lock the door at the bottom of the indoor stairs.

Anyway, there are seating areas on this patio, and a set of steps that lead down to the yard and water feature. It's a lovely setting, and a really special part of the house.

Here are some pictures that we took on and from this patio:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Before I left the downstairs, I let my little camera take a panoramic picture of the ground level patio:

Before we end our visit, I am sure that Larry and Denny would like me to mention that they share their home with a few animals- a cat and two dogs. I don't have a picture of the cat, but we did happen to photograph the two dogs, and you can see them here and here.

Denny had to leave on a business trip about noon, and needed to get to the Austin airport, so we took our leave in time to give him a lift to the airport. From there, we continued on down to San Antonio to help Prudence celebrate her birthday.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	August 23-27, 2018: Prudence's Birthday in San Antonio
	August 4, 2018: Birthdays for Ron Mathis and Fred
	Return to the Index for 2018