Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Hitting the road

  • A Feliz Navidad to Remember

    When my kids were young, I liked spending Christmas at home. I liked Santa coming down my chimney and leaving gifts under my tree. I liked my children having memories of waking up surrounded by Christmas magic in their own beds. But one year we made an exception. My husband's youngest brother (he has eight) was getting…

  • Mastering the Fine Art of Procrastination

    If we are ever in doubt about what to do, it is a good rule to ask ourselves what we shall wish on the morrow that we had done. ~ John Lubbock It's all John Lubbock's fault that my Christmas decorations still languish in boxes piled in the middle of the living room. Instead of…

  • Babies and other sweet things

    My plan for today: To clean this filthy house and, while I have 2/3 of my kids here to help, get all of the boxes of Christmas decorations upstairs and ready to unpack. Instead: I slept in, watched an episode of Rick Steves where he and his family travel to Europe at Christmastime, went for…

  • Small Things

    I made it to my writing group tonight for the first time in weeks. At least, I think it's been weeks since I've attended. Time has been playing tricks on me lately. At any rate, I made it there tonight. My compadres critiqued the handful of pages I submitted and I critiqued theirs and we…

  • Transitions

    My Uncle Bobby passed away this week. Daddy's younger brother. Like Daddy and the other men in his family, Uncle Bobby had suffered from heart and vascular problems for years, but it was a slow battle with cancer that took him away. He was a sweet man. In my heart I will always see him…

  • Lesson #81 (Thank You, and Happy Birthday, Mama!)

    Today is Mama's 81st birthday. I get to spend the whole day with her, and for that I am very, very grateful. A few years ago, in honor of her 77th birthday, I started compiling a list of things she has taught me. Each year since then, on her birthday, I've added to it.  I wish…

  • My Village

    Summer and autumn traded places while I was gone. The purple flowers have faded, and the splashes of gold have moved from the blossoms that used to line the road up to the trees. It's amazing the change a few days can make.   “Friends show their love in times of trouble.” ~ Euripes I…

  • Good (Halloween) Morning

    I might see some trick-or-treaters this evening. I'm excited about that. When you live a mile down a dirt road in a Hollow of few houses and no small children, Halloween is like any other night. Quiet. No one ever comes to your door. Even when my kids were actively hustling for candy, I had…

  • A Week of Blessings

    This is the way I remember it: Tom and I were driving down the highway, headed to Houston's Methodist Hospital for the first time, because Daddy was about to have surgery for an abdominal aneurism. I was pregnant with my first baby and worried about Daddy.  I was praying, praying, praying… …and then I was…

  • A Ping-Pong, Mums, and Fossils Week

        Ping-pong season has arrived! Afternoon temperatures are still flirting with the 90's, but cool fronts have pushed the mosquitos and most of the humidity off of the front porch, so Tom set up the table Saturday afternoon and we played for the first time in months, listening to music and talking about random…