Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

recent posts

about

Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Indulgence

  • Goodbye to LOST

      It's sad – very sad – but I made sure I left my parents' house by 1:30 this afternoon so I could be home in time to watch the whole LOST finale.  My son Tommy doesn't understand our fascination with LOST – he says it's silly, that they never answer any questions, just keep…

  • Loose Ends, Apologies and Clarifications

    I owe my kids an apology. I implied in XOXO Nina Barbara that they were slackers in the Mother's Day department. I didn't intend to, but nonetheless, reading back over it now, I understand why my sweet Tommy slipped a pressed flower into the card he sent me with a note explaining "I couldn't let…

  • Why I Blog

    I talk to high school students every year who are preparing to take the AP exams or write college entrance essays. I tell them "Make every word count. Read back over what you've written and if there's an adverb, yank it out and use a better verb. If you see "is", yank it out and…

  • Today’s the Day

    Yesterday I was stressing out, overwhelmed by how quickly May was filling up – its busy-ness is rivaling the Spring Green and wildflowers that are taking over Long Hollow. After months spent snuggling (and snoozing) on the couch, watching movies with Tom, suddenly I'm faced with a full dance card.  I'm socially out of shape. The…

  • A Two out of Three, Lazy Weekend

    I needed a weekend like this with days that weren't overfilled, but not so open that I simply drifted through the hours, finding myself on the other side with nothing whatsoever done.  The weather the past few days has been perfect, just what I hope to find in heaven – blue skies … temperatures warm…

  • Shake-in’ it up … Deep in the Hollow with Shake Russell

    It was one of those moments you can't forget … one of those "I remember the first time …" events that are seared into your memory so deeply that if you close your eyes, you're back there again, just like that: … It's 1978-ish. I'm sitting in my friend Bruce's truck, watching him pop in…

  • Anticipation

    The frenzy has passed …the planning, the emails, cleaning, shopping, cooking. Now I'm just waiting, trying to comprehend that it's actually here … an event I've been looking forward to for months. Now I'm just sitting here, waiting, watching the clock.  Tonight some of my favorite songs will be sung right here in my own…

  • You know you’re over 50 when …

    … you find the paperwork for your scheduled colonoscopy mixed in with the birthday cards in your mailbox. Oh, man … I really, really dread that test. Well, not so much the test itself as the "preparation" for the test. But I can't very well spout off about eating healthy and exercising if I don't take…

  • It’s here! Come see…!

    Like Sasquatch, Max emerged from the shadows of the woods when I drove up to the house.  I wasn't fooled – he was waiting for Tom, not me. But Tom was late. Max figured I was better than nothing. Yesterday's blog post was fresh on my mind…all the to-do lists…all the squeezed, stretched, crowded minutes…but…

  • Shallue Go Bragh!

      Bridget Shallue was just 52, barely older than I am now and already a widow, when she said goodbye to Ireland in 1852 with her grown children…chased away by the potato famine, I'm sure. If she ever returned, it isn't mentioned in the family lore. Accompanied by two daughters and two sons, Bridget arrived…