Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Critters

  • From a Certain Perspective

    We had two Christmas parties this weekend. Saturday night was so much fun and we stayed up so late, though, that it was hard to work up enthusiasm for our annual church dinner/dance Sunday night. None of our closest friends planned to attend and I couldn't help but wish we had bought tickets to the Daughtry…

  • The Next Day…

    This morning I slept later than usual…I reset my alarm three times and finally just turned it off. Eventually, I remembered all of the things I needed to do before work and rolled out of bed, just as the sun was coming up. I stepped through my morning routine, piddling with little tasks. I knew eventually I would have…

  • Charly Dog

    Charly stopped eating last night. This morning he was too weak to go for a walk…even though Tom had the day off and would be joining us. So I stayed behind and petted him until Tom and Max returned, not wanting him to be alone. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. I had…

  • Making the Rounds

    It has happened before…I step outside to take the critters for our walk, and they've started without me! But this morning I was surprised to find Charly gone – he isn't moving very far from his bed these days unless we say "walk"…several times…loudly. But nonetheless, both beds were empty, so I started calling their…

  • Post-Thanksgiving…Pre-Christmas

    The turkey soup landed in the garbage can tonight. I was sad to see it go…it was the first Leftover-Turkey Soup I've ever made, and it was good! But Tom and I can only eat so much…and then only so much of the same thing for just so many days in a row. That's one of…

  • Fading Away

    "…I want to get leaner and meaner, sharp-edged & earth-colored, till I fade away from pure joy." This is part of a verse written on a plaque that a friend gave me a few years ago. I thought of these words as I strolled beside Charly this morning on our walk. Yes, he's still scrambling…

  • December 1st

    I'm playing hooky from work today (with permission)…maybe not the wisest decision in many ways, considering the holidays last week (I don't get paid when I'm not there), the expenses of this past weekend, bills that will need to be paid and Christmas just around the corner. But last year I had boxes piled around the house…

  • A Not-Quite-Treasure Hunt and My Favorite Color, Gruene…

    I have a million things to do before company arrives this afternoon, but I have done a wonderful job ignoring them so far…I slept in, and then it was such a gorgeous morning that Tom and I had to take the critters for a walk (these days, with Charly, there's no way to rush that.) And…

  • Cribbage and…St. Frances?

    It's like magic…whenever Shallue families gather in one place, you can count on a cribbage board and several decks of cards materializing on a nearby surface. Tom's mom and dad arrived Saturday evening and already there have been dozens of cribbage games, 3-13 matches (a kind of rummy), and the curses, whines, excuses, (and pages and…

  • Updates from a Week with Wings

    It's almost too much for me to fathom that Thanksgiving is only a week away. Why does time speed up so much as you get older? Is it because you start to realize how precious each minute is and you know you've wasted zillions of them already that you can't get back? Do we then…