Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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about

Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Odd Jobs

  • Adventurous Kids, No Dead Armadillos on the Porch, and other sweet things

    My kids are off adventuring this weekend. I'm living vicariously through them. That's my right as their mother, isn't it? The oldest and his love are in San Diego… yesterday they caught a glimpse of a migrating grey whale while kayaking! The other two are off caving, separately. One in Austin and one a bit…

  • Adding to my collection…

    I started substitute teaching again. Three years ago I started a (mostly) full-time job and, except for Voting Day and a couple of quick visits to talk about writing to students, I didn't step a foot into the schools during that time. I missed it, and I'm so grateful the district accepted me as a sub…

  • Catching My Breath (and other Sweet!s)

    I haven't blogged in a whole week. I think that's a record.  Snippets and ideas for posts have popped in my head – random words are scribbled on scraps of paper all over the house and in the car – but I haven't been able to stop long enough to work them into full posts.…

  • Fiction, Fires, Family… and other sweet things

    Bonfire sparks drifted up to the sky where clouds parted like curtains and stars crowded the stage, accompanied by the singing creek beside us. No moon softened the darkness – the pitch wall of night rose just beyond the reach of the firelight.  There was a time not too long ago when I would have…

  • Snowflakes and other Sweet things

    Winter remembered us here in Austin this weekend. Right after lunch today, I headed up the pathway to my car, loaded down with jewelry, catalogs and order forms for a Silpada party at my friend Darla's house. Raindrops speckled the stones, but only one or two drops hit my head before the rain turned to…

  • God Bless the Late Bloomers!

    Those things, good Lord, that we pray for, give us the grace to labor for. ~St. Thomas More   It's inside of me. I can feel it pushing, trying to stretch and uncurl its petals, this flower of mine. This flower of Me. Some days it's stronger than others and I feel it's almost there,…

  • Friday the 13th

    Up late last night, writing and coming through on a months-old promise of photos to a sweet friend. Reset alarm, later, later. Finally staggered out of bed at 6am to kiss Tom before he hit the road. "Happy Anniversary!" he tells me. My sleepy brain scrambles for the meaning behind his words. Through the fog,…

  • Small Steps and Safety Nets

    According to my resolved writing-career strategy for the new year, the first ten pages of my children's book should be dusted off, attached to an email and on its way to an agency by now. I'm sure you can guess from that sentence that my plan has gone awry. The time to begin writing an…

  • Kids, Jewelry, Birthdays, Weddings and other (belated) Sweet!s

    A rumble of thunder and whisper of rain woke me in the night. It continues today, another steady, soaking rain falling from a colorless sky. We've had enough rain in the past few weeks that I almost take it for granted, despite the months of drought. Almost, but not quite. Waking to the sound of…

  • Looking Back, Looking Forward

    "A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." ~ Thomas Mann If that's so, then I'm definitely a writer. There are times when writing isn't just difficult for me – it's pure hell. But other times it's heaven, and that's why I stand here in January of…