Long Hollow

 

Howdy! Have you missed me?

It's hard to believe it's been over two weeks since my last post. A lot has happened! But don't worry … I'll just give you the sweet! highlights, not all the boring details.

First of all, it's Easter Sunday – Resurrection Sunday – for me, the source of all hope, a reminder of renewal and rebirth and begin-agains. 

 

 

My heart also felt light from the moment I opened my eyes because I knew all of my kids were here under the same roof as me and Tom.

Of course, it wasn't the same as Easter mornings years ago. I knew the Easter bunny hadn't paid our house a visit during the night. The colorful baskets were still tucked away in the storage room, covered with dust, not crowding the dining room table filled with candy and toys, and we had no colored egg hunt scheduled for after church. 

I did, however, make some mini-quiches for breakfast before heading off to Mass, and they were almost as big a hit as those baskets of the past.

Almost. 

After church, we enjoyed smoked turkey a la Tom. He woke up at 5 a.m. to start it cooking so it would be ready on time, bless his heart. And I still got him to smile for the camera!

 

 

Here are a few other sweet!s, in no particular order…

The bluebonnets have popped! Every year it's like they count to three and spring up all at once, blanketing roadsides and pastures. The yellows and purples and even some reds have joined them. It's a wildflower fiesta! 

 

 

Yesterday I met a cousin for lunch for a long-overdue catch-up session, then we both visited Mama. My cousin always brings her gifts… this time a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers and a box of gourmet chocolates. 

Last week … or maybe it was the week before …  I had dinner overlooking Lake Marble Falls with a friend, celebrating her birthday a little late and mine a little early…

…then we celebrated again a few nights later in an awesome Italian restaurant with two other friends. I love dragging my birthday celebration out over days, weeks, months… 

An agent friend brought me some beautiful handmade pillow covers back from India to thank me for helping her with a property while she was away helping her father. Aren't they gorgeous?

 

My brother-in-law paid us a surprise visit on his way home to Arizona from Arkansas, where he bought a three-wheeled motorcycle off of Craig's List. No photos, but it was wonderful to see him!

There have been a ton of new home events lately. At one I met Vince Young…

…and at another I test-drove a Tesla!

 

Last Saturday evening I was able to help friends celebrate their 20th anniversary by listening to the music of Shake Russell, Mike Roberts, and Michael Hearne, as the sun set on Lake Travis.

 

 

Earlier this week I finally reconnected with a high school friend who only lives a few miles away. She introduced me to a great Cajun restaurant right in our little town that I've passed every day for years. Two sweet!s in one!

Then there were the usual sweets, that are so easily taken for granted or overlooked … morning walks with Belle when the sun first peeks into the hollow, the sight of a llama in a pasture along a highway, hawks singing and soaring over the hollow, the brilliant green of new leaves against a blue sky, the purple splashes of redbuds and mountain laurel and wisteria, and sunlight highlighting a spider web before you walk right into it…

 

 

On Easter Day the veil between time and eternity thins to gossamer. 

~Douglas Horton

I hope all of you have been paying attention to the sweet! moments in your life, the big and the small. Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Sunday!