Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Hitting the road

  • 2023 Part 1 – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

      "…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." ~ Charles Dickens If ever there was a year of ups and downs, it was 2023. We lost too many loved ones, and yet also experienced amazing new adventures and…

  • 2023 – A Year for Gratitude

      Gratitude. That's my word for 2023. While I've faithfully written in my gratitude journal every morning for a few years, and have gotten better at noticing my blessings and telling God thank you, I realize I've become neglectful in telling the people around me thank you and showing my appreciation when they help me,…

  • I blinked and somehow it’s November, so Happy Thanksgiving!

      It is a glorious autumn day here in Long Hollow. The window behind my monitor is filled with cloudless blue sky and shimmering leaves of orange and gold. Tomorrow I will be focused on cooking and celebrating with a few of my kids, so today I'm indulging myself with reflection and the sharing of…

  • Sweets in the Time of COVID-19

        Hi, how are you?  I hope you are doing well and staying healthy.  What a strange time we're living in, right? But to be honest…. my life hasn't changed much over the past couple of months, despite the shelter-in-place orders, toilet paper shortages, and face masks. Realtors are considered "essential workers" because people…

  • On Peace, and a decade of surprises

      "There will be peace in the valley…"   Almost every morning I run up a small hill near our home to take in this view of the Texas Hill Country. The last couple of days of 2019, I was greeted with this image of golden light, crisp blue skies, and mist forming over Lake…

  • On Joy … plus a smattering of sweet!s

        “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).   A few months ago, in a process I can't really describe, Joy stepped up to be my word for 2019.  When pulling out my Christmas decorations, seeing it written on so many ornaments, I realized it had…

  • Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a bunch of sweet!s

        The sky put on a grand finale sunset outside my window as I started reflecting on this past year.  However, it doesn't take a lot of reflection to know that 2018 will go down in history as one of my favorite years. It's the year I became a grandmother!    Watching Little C…

  • Before we go any farther into November…

      … let's take a step back to October. I need to finish a post I started weeks ago, because October is one of my favorite months, for lots of reasons…  Although we met in September, it was in October that we knew we were in love.      Aren't we cute? Sigh. That's probably…

  • Call me BiBi (Have I mentioned I’m a grandmother?)

        Yes, yes. I know I've already mentioned it, but hey, I'm a grandmother now, so you'll probably hear about it a lot!  It's hard for me to believe, but my grandson will soon celebrate his 1 month birthday. He is still mostly just eating and sleeping and growing, but it's so amazing to…

  • A Post-Florida / Pre-Grandbaby “Sweet” and “First” Update…

    "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." ~Jack Layton     When I headed to Florida with Tom last weekend, weather forecasts indicated we could be meeting up with a mini-hurricane. Ever-hopeful,…