Category: Texas Hill Country

  •   Belle turned 15 in January. So of course we threw her a party with a cake that she and her two nieces shared.  We've never had a dog this long. And as of right now, judging by how she'll still chase after the neighbor's truck if we let go of her collar too soon,…

  •   For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time…

  •   It is a glorious autumn day here in Long Hollow. The window behind my monitor is filled with cloudless blue sky and shimmering leaves of orange and gold. Tomorrow I will be focused on cooking and celebrating with a few of my kids, so today I'm indulging myself with reflection and the sharing of…

  •   Every morning Belle and I take a walk on our caliche road. We have a set path of about 1.5 miles. First we head in one direction where the road twists and turns and dips, then we backtrack past our house and up a short hill before turning around and returning home.  Belle sets…

  • Being a mother means that your heart is no longer yours; it wanders wherever your children do. ~Author unknown   In the old days, before masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing became customary, I would get an achy feeling in my heart if it had been more than two weeks since I saw my grandson…

  •     Hi, how are you?  I hope you are doing well and staying healthy.  What a strange time we're living in, right? But to be honest…. my life hasn't changed much over the past couple of months, despite the shelter-in-place orders, toilet paper shortages, and face masks. Realtors are considered "essential workers" because people…

  •   Man has made many machines, complex and cunning, but which of them indeed rivals the workings of his heart? ~Pablo Casals   I had just stepped into the last house on a property tour when it happened: my heart seemed to turn a somersault, I nearly passed out, and the pounding started …as in,…

  •   "There will be peace in the valley…"   Almost every morning I run up a small hill near our home to take in this view of the Texas Hill Country. The last couple of days of 2019, I was greeted with this image of golden light, crisp blue skies, and mist forming over Lake…

  •     “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).   A few months ago, in a process I can't really describe, Joy stepped up to be my word for 2019.  When pulling out my Christmas decorations, seeing it written on so many ornaments, I realized it had…

  •     The sky put on a grand finale sunset outside my window as I started reflecting on this past year.  However, it doesn't take a lot of reflection to know that 2018 will go down in history as one of my favorite years. It's the year I became a grandmother!    Watching Little C…