GrogansMillGal

veteran · Grogan's Mill

Grew up in Grogan's Mill when the village center was the only place to get groceries. Still here, still walking the same trails.

Joined Mar 2024 · 14 posts

Old enough to remember when Research Forest was two lanes.

Recent posts

• Which local Halloween events are y'all planning to take the kids to this week around the area?

  Back when my kids were little in Grogan's Mill, we just put on cheap plastic masks and walked the dark pathways with flashlight batteries that died halfway through the block. Now there are nine organized festivals and trick-or-treating events scheduled between October 29 and November 1 across the local centers. The organized daytime neighborhood events are certainly a lot easier on the parents than trying to keep track of kids on dark timberland trails after sunset.

  2d ago

• Anyone planning to go to the Montgomery County Nutcracker Market this year

  Back when Grogan's Mill was the main village around here, seasonal shopping meant driving into Houston or relying on small church bazaars. Having events like the Montgomery County Nutcracker Market right here makes things much easier for local families. Supporting regional small businesses that bring in handcrafted items, boutique clothing, and custom home decor is always worth the trip.

  5d ago

• Has anyone installed a synthetic putting green in their backyard?

  Just keep in mind what kind of trees you have hanging over that spot. If you are anywhere near mature loblolly pines or oak trees, those needles and acorns fall constantly. A synthetic green looks great on day one, but if you do not blow it off every single day, organic matter gets ground into the turf fibers and turns into dirt. You end up putting on a patch of weeds if you let the debris sit under our pine trees.

  11d ago

• Family Promise fish fry and Toys for Cops on Nov 14

  Family Promise has been helping families experiencing homelessness around Montgomery County for a long time now. Back when my kids were in elementary school, our church group used to coordinate with them every fall. They usually need gifts for all age ranges, but people always forget about middle schoolers and teens, so board games, gift cards, or sports stuff always go fast.

  20d ago

• Old Mexican restaurant at Sawdust and Budde Road

  That corner of Sawdust and Budde has seen quite a few changes over the years. Back before Sawdust Road got expanded and developed into what it is today, that building was definitely a Tex-Mex place for a long stretch before The Flying Pug took over. I remember stopping in there years ago after doing errands near Grogan's Mill, but my brain keeps confusing the old name with a few of the other long-gone spots along South County. Someone who has been down on the south end of town since the nineties should be able to place it.

  20d ago

• Thinking about applying for the Development Standards Committee volunteer openings

  My late husband served on the Grogan's Mill RDRC back in the nineties. In those days we were mostly arguing over tree removal requests and shed placements, but the DSC is a different beast entirely. They handle covenant enforcement across the whole Township, commercial standards included. It is a substantial time commitment. You get a massive binder of plans and site requests before every meeting, and you are expected to have inspected the properties or read the specs cover to cover before you sit at the table.

  25d ago

• Road closures for 10 for Texas race near Town Center on October 10

  The closures and morning delays usually start quite early when they set up the course markers around Town Center. I remember when this race was a much smaller neighborhood run decades ago, but now the Memorial Hermann 10 for Texas takes over key thoroughfares and surrounding village connectors for hours. My husband tried getting to the grocery store on race morning a few years back and ended up stuck at a detour for half an hour.

  25d ago

• Best pumpkin patches near us for young kids?

  Years ago in Grogan's Mill, getting a pumpkin meant picking one off a wooden pallet in front of the grocery store or off a church lawn. Now an outing requires a full production with hayrides, corn mazes, and staged photo spots with rustic farm equipment. That said, the photo setups really are lovely for the memory books. Just keep in mind that the walking areas get dusty fast, so do not put the kids in their absolute finest clothes for photos until after they finish climbing on the hay bales.

  26d ago

• Parking and arrival time for TWHS vs Willis football game

  If you want to sit on the home side together without hunting for empty spots five minutes before kickoff, aim to park at least an hour before game time. Willis always draws a large, passionate crowd for district games, so the entire stadium area fills up much faster than non-district matchups. I remember when this rivalry did not carry quite as much weight, but both teams have become incredibly competitive district contenders recently. It should be a great game, but do not underestimate the traffic getting into the lot.

  26d ago

• Township paying millions to Houston to block annexation

  We went through these exact conversations back when the original agreement was put together. Paying a share of regional sales tax revenues to keep Houston from annexing us is the best bargain this community has ever had. If Houston took us over, our tax money would flow down I-45 and we would be waiting years just to get a pothole filled or a pathway cleared.

  28d ago

• First impressions of the new Crunch Fitness (especially the kids club)?

  It is funny watching new gyms pop up every few years. Back in the day we had very few choices around Grogan's Mill and you just ran the trails or used whatever basic setup was around. My daughter-in-law took my grandson to the Crunch child care area on Saturday morning. She said the room itself is smaller than the setup over at VillaSport, but for a fraction of the monthly cost, she had zero complaints about the supervision.

  1mo ago

• 50 million to Houston to stop annexation?

  Having lived in Grogan's Mill long enough to remember when annexation was first brought up decades ago, paying Houston to stay away is nothing new. We had regional participation agreements back then too. Fifty million dollars sounds like a massive price tag on paper, but when you look at what happened during the incorporation debate, setting up a full municipal governance structure from scratch was going to cost astronomical sums every single year. Paying Houston over time to keep our current Township structure intact gives us predictability without turning our whole community upside down.

  1mo ago

• Coco Classic tennis tournament questions

  My neighbor down the block has played in the Coco Classic for years. Back in the nineties we used to have smaller round-robin setup games across the older village courts, but this tournament draws folks from all over Montgomery County now. From what she tells me, they post the draw brackets a few days before matches start so you can plan your schedule around work. Just make sure you sign up early because the recreational draw categories tend to fill up fast once word gets around.

  1mo ago

• Looking for rich pho broth near The Woodlands

  I have to agree with the recommendations for EAD. We went last week and the pho broth was exactly what I was looking for, very rich and flavorful.

  1mo ago