Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Celebrations

  • Epiphanies (and other sweet!s from the past week)

      epiph·a·ny  noun \i-ˈpi-fə-nē\ Epiphany : a Christian festival held on January 6 in honor of the coming of the three kings to the infant Jesus Christ : a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way   Yesterday was Epiphany in the Catholic world. It's the 12th day after…

  • Christmas Firsts

        I was on the road early Monday morning with TG, heading east to Houston. We gathered my mom's belongings from the nursing home, spent a few hours at the house gathering more things and visiting with my sister and friends before loading up and heading west into the sunset, back to Austin to…

  • (Bitter)sweet

    Tomorrow is going to be a day of transition, of goodbyes and new beginnings. I'm traveling to Houston and bringing my mother back here to live in a nursing home minutes from my house. Except for occasional weekends in her house – my childhood home – she has been living in a nursing home near…

  • Dancing, Sunshine, and other sweets

              After several days of gray skies and temperatures below freezing, the sun finally made an appearance yesterday afternoon. And the clouds even stayed away long enough for me to say hello to a half moon and a sky full of stars that dripped all the way to the tree tops.…

  • Twenty-Eight, and Wishes Come True

    "May your coming year overflow with love and blessings and wishes come true!" Last year I wrote that in my oldest child's birthday post, in honor of his 27th birthday. A few months later he married the love of his life, honeymooned in Italy, and bought a home in a city he loves. My wish…

  • Mom hugs, singing frogs, and other sweet!s of the week

    We couldn't have asked for better weather in Austin, Texas on Thanksgiving Day. Clear blue skies, a touch of autumn in the breeze…perfect for throwing open the doors to cool off a small kitchen full of cooks trying to get dinner on the table.  I'm so grateful we were able to stay here and celebrate…

  • A Thanksgiving Shift

        I'm up late, waiting for pumpkin pies to cool enough to go into the fridge until tomorrow. Fresh, clean, asparagus spears and cornbread dressing (my mother's recipe) are already in the fridge, waiting to be popped in the oven first thing in the morning.  It's not the first time I won't spend Thanksgiving…

  • Daughters-in-Law and other sweet!s

    Yesterday I drove to the other side of Austin to wish my daughter-in-law a happy birthday in person for the first time, grateful that they finally live close enough that I can do that. It comes in handy for someone like me who always forgets to put birthday cards in the mail in time to…

  • Lesson #82 (Thank you, and Happy Birthday, Mama!)

    Today is my beautiful Mama's birthday. Soon I'll be on my way to Houston to celebrate another year of having her in my life. I hope the coming year will be full of laughter and happiness for her. She's been through so many changes this past year, the toughest being having to say goodbye to…

  • Thanksgiving Comes First

    This is a repost. I hope one day I can stop reposting it…   Halloween is behind us. According to the calendar, the next holiday here in the states is Veteran's Day, followed by Thanksgiving, but have you noticed there are already Christmas commercials on the TV and jingle bells are taking over the stores?…