Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

recent posts

about

Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Inspiration and Heroes

  • Five Things on Friday

    1.   We stopped by the little pond on our walk this morning. I noticed that when the puppies waded in and drank from pond, drops of reflected sunshine splattered across the surface. It was magical!   2. I did it. I registered for Real Estate School today. I scheduled the classes (which begin next…

  • Wild Turkey and other sweet!s

    Belle and Max dashed off in the direction of a dry pond this morning on our walk, triggering a loud commotion as a mama wild turkey flew for the safety of a tree on the other end, squawking the whole way. Half a dozen small turkey-ettes followed her…squeaking, more than squawking. Of course, it could…

  • Remembering Rena

    Once upon a time, I was an elementary school librarian. Well, technically an aide, barely making minimum wage and working 50+ hours a week …but essentially I ran the library and absolutely loved it. If I had the time and money to go back to school, that's what I would be if I ever grow…

  • A Rich Inheritance (Happy Father’s Day!)

    Friday my mother thought Daddy was having a stroke. She's seen enough of them to recognize the symptoms in him. He wouldn't let her call an ambulance, so she called my sister, who in turn called me en route to their house.  The kids and I already had plans to leave early yesterday morning to…

  • Why I’m My Father’s Daughter

      If Daddy answers the phone when I call my parents, our conversation is a quick one. "I can't talk," he'll complain.  "You sound fine to me," I'll tell him.  "What? I can't hear you. Here's your mother." And that's that. Strokes have taken their toll on his vocal chords. The effort to speak is…

  • The Sugar on Top, Part 2 – Happy 80th Birthday, Mom!

    Today is my beautiful mother-in-law's 80th birthday. She didn't want a big celebration, although she deserves it after raising nine boys into nine wonderful men. …Probably because that would tempt all nine boys plus their families to converge on her house (or nearby vicinity) all at once…and even for a wonderful mother, that's a lot…

  • Five Things from La-La Land

    Linking with A Rural Journal's Random 5 Friday    1.    This card, full of words of love and encouragement and inspiration, waited for me in the mailbox earlier this week, a precious gift from my friend Rae.  How could I not share them with you, because the words are true for all of us,…

  • God, Grant Me The Serenity…

    Through the window, I see my brother-in-law's SUV pull up in front of the house. Several younger men gather to help maneuver my mother down from her seat and into the waiting wheelchair. For a moment exhaustion pinches her face from the three-hour road trip and constant struggle to breathe, but then I see that…

  • Five Things

    1. What a week full of tragedy, heartbreak, and heroism. First the bombing in Boston and subsequent acts of unselfishness and goodness that proved only light can conquer darkness…and that there's plenty of light in Boston. We witnessed it in the behavior of all of its citizens. Next, the explosion in West, Texas, so close…

  • Coach Christine, Queen of the Cosmos

    We could hear her screaming from the other side of the soccer field, giving directions, shouting encouragement, and even growling disapproval at bad calls, voicing our own outrage so effectively we didn't have to.  She was the epitome of a Mama Bear, fierce, loving, and protective of all of the girls on the Cosmos, TG's…