Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Family

  • My backburner is getting crowded…

    I fidgeted in the swivel chair — the 'good' chair, the teacher's chair — twisting it back and forth by swinging my crossed leg up and down.  Mostly unfamiliar faces stared back at me, except one or two I've known since their toddler-hood. But then, the whole high school felt unfamiliar. Odd, considering all the…

  • Rambling on a Monday in May

    Before I was fully awake this morning, I started the coffee brewing and switched on the television. Up popped the devastation in Joplin, Missouri – that hospital with blown windows surrounded by mangled vehicles, toothpick trees and piles of rubbish … the videos, the woman's voice praying "Help us, Jesus…" After saying a prayer for all of…

  • The Difference a Few Years Can Make

      Back then… He was short. He loved Honey Nut Cheerios and Cyclops cookies. He loved building things with Legos. He loved books, making up stories, and playing 'what if…?' He had a wild, wonderful imagination. He could get lost in thought, observing and wondering about the world around him. He loved learning. He was…

  • A Sweet Saturday (and my Friday Favorite Photo)

    Last night we heard our middle son's name called, watched as he walked across a stage in his cap, gown and stole, watched him shake hands and receive a piece of paper that essentially read "Congratulations! You did it!" That's why I waited until today to post my Friday Favorite Photo… Congratulations, Daniel!!! We're so…

  • The moon, my honey and Los Lonely Boys…

    Saturday night, a Texas moon smiling down on me and Tom by my side, I had one of those Aha! moments. I realized I was finally experiencing Austin with all five senses in a way I hadn't yet in the nearly sixteen years we've lived here. I could feel it in the just-cool-enough breeze blowing…

  • Happy birthday, Tom!

    I'm going to spend this day celebrating Tom – we'll have the boys and Kirby here (TG is still mired in finals and studying, poor baby), eat pizza and cheesecake, go for walks with the puppies and (fingers crossed) play some ping-pong. But this is Tom's day. I think he also mentioned finishing up work…

  • It’s Our 49th Anniversary! (Sweet! #9)

    Yes, we've been married for 49 "Friday the 13th"s now, starting with our wedding day. Tom is the one keeping count. This afternoon he greeted me with "Happy 49th Anniversary!"  I don't know how he does it – I can barely keep track of my age these days, but it makes me feel good that…

  • Happy Mother’s Day! (and Sweet! #4)

    It didn't take me long to break my own Sweet! rule – I didn't post one yesterday. But I've forgiven myself and will just get back on track today with this one… Listening to soulful music sung live and loud by the Shake Russell Trio and Michael Hearne right in my own livingroom, surrounded by…

  • Tough and Beautiful, inside and out. That’s my Mom.

    My mother, a pony-riding, chin-up champion tomboy, grew up…       …to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, inside and out. She's only 17 in the photo above. I certainly didn't look this glamorous, elegant, or self-confident at 17. I'm not sure I ever have!    She's a combination of strong,…

  • Spring Fever Frenzy and Sweet! #1

    Frenzy is my word of the week, (where's my copy of Pearl Jam's song Just Breathe?) so please forgive me if this post seems a little harried and unorganized. If it jumps around a bit, it's just a reflection of my life right now, hopscotching from one project to the next in haphazard order. Tom…