Long Hollow

Where seeds of thought have room to grow

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Realtor, writer, blogger in Austin, TX

Category: Texas

  • Canyon Wrens, Laptops, Irish Beer, and other Sweet!s

      I sat on the front porch for a few hours this afternoon. The sunshine and blue sky were so crisp I couldn't stand to be inside any longer. I grabbed my laptop and planted myself in a rocking chair to listen to training webinars while watching a cardinal and tufted titmouse take turns at…

  • Life in the Underground (and other sweet!s)

    Austin is a wild place right now, caught up in South by Southwest fever. I wish I had the time to just hang out downtown all day and night, catching interesting seminars and random stars performing. Maybe next year… But I moved a little closer this year by attending a kickoff party downtown for Austin…

  • A Saturday Morning at Austin’s Franklin Barbecue

    On the surface, getting up extra early on a Saturday morning to wait in line four hours for lunch doesn't sound very appealing, especially when the weather is kind of chilly and drippy. But I did it this past Saturday anyway, just to experience Franklin Barbecue for myself. I'm on a continual quest to discover…

  • On the Northshore of Lake Travis…

      …you'll find homes in just about every size, style, and price you can imagine, from simple vacation cottages to million dollar homes in gated communities. There are homes lining golf courses, homes perched on the edge of the lake, homes in perfect suburban neighborhoods, and homes on acreage down winding dirt roads (like mine.)…

  • A Home with History in Old Town Pflugerville

    Beginning in my teens, I dreamed of renovating an old house. My aunt joined in on the dream project, picking out potential projects in the countryside around Killeen, where she lived. Tom picked up on the dream. We loved touring Victorian homes that had been lovingly restored…or sneaking into neglected ones and imagining their potential.…

  • Not the Sweetest Valentine’s Day…

      I received my Valentine's Day surprise early Friday morning – a stomach bug. It knocked me out all day and left me feeling like a ragdoll all weekend.  Thank goodness my son Daniel was able to deliver the fancy box of Millionaire candy I bought for Mama, so she still had something special, and…

  • From rustic to urban…exploring Lake Travis- and Austin-area properties!

      Tuesdays are my favorite day of the week, because of property tours!  We started this week's tour by traveling back in time to the days of the pioneers. The Lake Travis pioneers, anyway, who braved the narrow, twisty road out from Austin to the north shore to enjoy life on the lake. (It's now…

  • Frances Nail

      Today I went to a friend's Facebook page to wish her a happy 90th birthday, and that's how I found out author/artist Frances Nail passed away, sometime before Christmas. So she probably didn't see the note I scrawled on my Christmas card to her…"I hope to see you in the coming year!" If she did,…

  • An Austin Winter

    A sky of faded gray flannel. The swoosh of a cold wind bullying the treetops, making the old cedars creak and groan down to their roots. Frozen toes eager to be back inside, warming near a fire. After days of sunshine and spring-like temperatures that sent juniper spores partying through the atmosphere, we're reminded that…

  • Closings and Close Encounters

    "…and suddenly, it was Thursday night." That was going to be the title of this post, because there I was, still chipping away at my Monday To-Do list, "…and suddenly, it was Thursday night." Does that ever happen to you? I did have a couple of exciting things happen this week I want to tell…