Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Odd Jobs

  • I’m Still Here! (and other sweet!s)

    I took advantage of the "icy roads" warning yesterday and just huddled inside my toasty warm house, not even venturing down the highway to see my mom. I was probably being over-cautious, but when the roads you travel are twisty and hilly, and not made to resist icing, it's better to play it safe than…

  • Treasure Boxes and other sweet!s…

      I drove Tom's truck to Houston on Saturday. The kids and I made a one-day trip there to continue sorting through things at my parents' house, my childhood home, where every square inch and every random object holds a special memory.  What to keep and what to sell from a lifetime of memories, when…

  • 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…

  • My son, at not quite 30…

      He doesn't take himself too seriously. For instance, this is his latest post on Facebook… "I jogged through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel… To Bangers for a beer."   It makes me so happy to know…

  • 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…

  • Party Girl

      This evening my family commandeered the sunroom where my mom lives to celebrate her 83rd birthday a few days early. It was the only day we could all be together, but besides that, when you're turning 83, you really should start celebrating early, don't you think?     I know Mama loves being with…

  • House dogs, Hangar Parties, October(fests), and other sweet!s

      Belle is snoring behind me, curled up on a purple and pink fringed blanket TG gave to her. The past couple of nights she's slept beside my bed on a small rug. She's getting better about sleeping through the night without waking me for attention. Just like a baby.  I've never had a house dog…

  • 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…

  • Sunday afternoons and belated sweets

      Just before sunset this afternoon, I escaped to the front porch swing with a glass of wine and a long-lost book from my childhood. I'd spent the day taking care of the dogs, going to church, fixing one of my signs that got knocked over by city mowers, visitng my mom, and finally making…

  • Reality (or “Why I need you to sign this contract and show me your ID”)

        I worked in a chemical plant for thirteen years, where all kinds of explosive and flammable materials swam through the pipes surrounding us. Propylene, hydrogen, syngas, and methanol, to name a few. For the first decade it was a DuPont plant, where safety and proper procedures were taken very seriously and drilled into…