Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Odd Jobs

  • My Pencils are Sharp Enough

      I slept a full eight hours last night. And I cleaned my bathroom this afternoon. Two things I haven't done in a long, long time. That's about all I've accomplished today, but I'm okay with it. It's my day off and I've relished it. Middle son, Daniel, is home for the weekend, mostly because…

  • Five Things on Friday

        1. Our property is dotted with small iron crosses, marking the resting places of so many precious furry or feathered or scaly loved ones we've been blessed to know. I miss them all. The one above is Charly's and Frankie's.   2. I will never get rich monetarily through my blog, but the…

  • Signs of Spring, and other Sweet!s

    Like the Munchkins when Dorothy first arrives in the (movie) land of Oz, yellow flowers are popping up and peeking out at the world, one by one, to see if the coast is clear and the rumor is true..that the wicked old winter is gone. (Not that our winters here around Austin, Texas are actually…

  • Another Random Analogy, Kids!

    Do you iron? I don't. I mean, I can, but I haven't in a long, long time.  My husband will vouch for that. He stopped buying shirts with wrinkle-inclined collars and button panels when it became clear he'd have to iron them himself. "I buried a lot of my ironing in the back yard." ~…

  • Validation (and other sweet!s)

    I stood in the empty bathroom staring at myself in the mirror, repeating the same sentence over and over and over, forcing myself to look me in the eyes as I spouted my pitch. Practice, practice, practice. Breathe, breathe, breathe. There were two of them, one right after the other. They each sat at the…

  • Here I Go Again (a BlogHer Book Club review)

      Think about your life. If you found a way to go back in time to some point in it, would you try to change anything? Would you take advantage of the chance for a do-over? Perhaps swallow some angry words you've always wished you could take back? Or would you leave things just as…

  • On A Windy Day

    A brisk north wind roared through the hollow this morning, whisking cobwebs from the corners of my brain and slapping my face with its cold hands, saying "Wake up! Look around at this glorious morning! Isn't it great to be alive?" I love the wind. It has felt like spring the past few days, and…

  • Choices, Decisions, and Foggy Roads

      A thick blanket of fog settled on the Hollow every morning earlier this week. Heading out on my walks, I could only see a few steps ahead before the fog obscured the path.  Isn't that the perfect metaphor for life, that our paths are hidden, clouded by so many unknowns? And yet we know…

  • Rejection (and other sweet!s)

      "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." ~ James 1:2-3  I received another "sorry, you're not the right person for this job" email earlier this week. It was for…

  • Surprise! and other sweet!s

      I can't believe it. I surprised my friend Darla with a Diva gathering in her honor at my house this past weekend. Ten women who graduated from high school with us piled into my house for a slumber party, one even driving from Louisiana to be here. Many more who couldn't attend still donated…