Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: My Country Life

  • Rambling about Dogs, Children, and Butterflies

      The sun still yawned under a light gray blanket this morning when the puppies and I headed out for our walk. Josie, my grandpuppy, took the lead as usual; she's still excited about her visit to the country. Belle, my sweet companion, fell into step near me. She never strays too far from my…

  • Five Things on Friday

    1. I've spent the last two hours in shorts, relishing the sun on my skin and the brilliant, cloudless blue sky. Tom has the chainsaw out and is busy trimming branches in the woods in front of our house. I'm dragging them down along the side porch and tossing them over the back railing. We'll…

  • I Won’t Think About Good-Bye

        I lingered on the back porch this morning with my coffee after the dogs finished their breakfast, listening to birds chirp their confusion over the unseasonal cool temperatures and the wind play rough with the trees.  The sun was shining, and I could see the surface of our little pond sparkling through the…

  • Back to Reality

    The fairy tale is over, at least for me and Tom. While my son and his beautiful bride continue their romantic story over in Italy, we've said goodbye to the rehearsal dinner leftovers and the last out-of-town guest. My mother-in-law left this morning. No more eating out or playing cutthroat games of 3-13, where I actually…

  • Be Still

      It was a gray morning, the sun not yet able to break through the clouds above the Hollow or the dark thoughts clouding my brain. Worries and what-ifs mingled with sorrow for the people of Boston and scenes of the explosion in West were fresh in my mind. My feet tread a familiar path…

  • 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…

  • I Blame LinkedIn

    Instead of exercising this morning before heading to work, I made the mistake of clicking on my LinkedIn profile when I got on the computer to pay some bills. By the time I finished updating it, I was scrambling to make it to work on time. So as soon as I stepped in the door…

  • Birthday Cards and other sweet!s

    Does anyone read blog posts in the middle of the night? It seems it's the only time I finally get to post, after finishing up the higher priority items on my to-do lists.  BlogHer is asking for nominations for their Voices of the Year, in the categories of Heart, Humor, Inspiration, and OpEd. I had…

  • Five Things on Friday

    1. Last night I attended a funeral for the mother of one of my long-time, closest friends. Hers was one of the houses where we all congregrated, from middle school on up (I had my first kiss on the sidewalk in front of that house)… and now my friend opens up her home to all…

  • Oh, my aching back…

    So yesterday, I get home from work and Tom tells me he needs my help, which makes me happy, because he rarely accepts help on his projects. That's the artist in him, I think. Anyway, he needed my help lifting a heavy rock he'd found on one of his scavenger hunts through the countryside in…