Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Indulgence

  • Merry Christmas, when the kids are grown…

       The pitter-patter of tiny feet woke me early on Christmas morning, but it wasn't the sound of excited little children as on Christmas mornings long ago. It was Belle, letting me know she was ready to go outside.  I granted her request, then crawled back into bed. That's one good thing about Christmas mornings…

  • Perseverance, Christmas Parties, and other sweet!s

    On my way to a friend's Christmas party last night, I stopped to buy a bottle of wine. It didn't take me long to find just the right one: Perseverance. I had no idea if it was any good, but I loved the name and it was affordable. That's the kind of wine afficianado I…

  • Blessings in Disguise…

        Mama and I were visiting in her room yesterday when the sound of Christmas carols reached our ears, even over the high volume of her roommate's television. I stepped into the hall. It was coming from the dining room.  She wanted to go listen, so a couple of aides helped get her situated…

  • Don’t Stop Believing!

    I didn't become Catholic because they consider it okay to dance and drink, but I have to admit, those are great fringe benefits! Every year I look forward to our parish "adult" Christmas party, where there's always great food, great dance music, a huge dance floor, and a mostly older crowd who make me feel…

  • Thanksgiving, Advent, and other sweet!s of the week…

      I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did. I feel especially blessed that in my 55 years I've only been responsible for the whole dinner a handful of times, thanks to my mom and, more recently, my son and daughter-in-law.     For the second year in a row, my son did an…

  • The Power of a Wheat Penny

    Like my Daddy, and his daddy before him, I have a coin collection. My coins aren't categorized into small blue books like theirs, though. Mine -all wheat pennies - jingle around in an old bourbon bottle.   This doesn't look like much of a collection after fifty years, does it?   I'm not sure when or…

  • I took a walk…

      After a long day of driving and showing houses to clients all over Austin, then a never-long-enough visit with my mom, I arrived back home yesterday evening just as the sun started its goodbyes. The light was golden, the sky a crisp and an ever-deepening blue.  I set aside the list of things I…

  • Nightowls, Revisiting Spring, and other Sweet!s

      Temperatures here have been in the 70's and 80's. Wildflowers, mostly yellows and purples, line the roadside and dot the woods. Birds chatter and sing in the treetops, bright green bushes dotted with new blooms hum with industrious bees, and Monarch butterflies dance among the snow-on-the-prairie.     Is this spring or autumn? It doesn't…

  • Silver Linings of a Not-So-Empty-Nest

      On Monday my middle son turned 26. He celebrated by taking the day off from work, sleeping in, and then relaxing on the back porch with Belle, reading and drinking his coffee.  He's definitely a child after my own heart.  The day started out a rainy one. But by the time Belle and I…

  • Sweets and Sorrows

        Each morning since my old puppy Max passed away, Belle and I have ended our walk in the little cemetery where he, Charly, Chewy, Ruthie, and Frankie are all buried. It may seem like a bittersweet way to start the day, but I believe it has helped me, and maybe Belle, transition to…