It's still raining... and for brief periods... it is snowing. Somehow, I managed to sleep 'til almost 2 o'clock this afternoon... woken only for the phone ringing... and for the Jehovah's Witness lady that came to the door. (I think she saw my car with out of state plates... and figured I needed religious help).

By 4pm... I was on the road with my niece... driving to Bradford, PA to the Walmart store there (*the closest one in the area... and about an hour away). She got new bunk beds for her 2 boys who are sharing a room. Miraculously, we got the box in the van.... along with her 3 children, carseats, both of us, some toys, etc. While we were in the area... she stopped at my Aunt's house so that I could see my Aunt and Uncle. I love these guys ... and I think they are some of the best people on the planet. They have been having some health issues... and I was glad I was able to visit for a short while.
And... we got back to my hometown around 8pm.

~~~

Talked with my mom... no word on a possible transfer of my dad to a local facility. He still has an NG tube... but no further bleeding in his stomach/bowel/ innerds. Still has an IV... still getting pain meds... which are (fortunately) holding back most of the pain.

In other news... my mom's only living brother passed away early this am. Mom is the youngest daughter of 10 children (5 boys/ 5 girls)..... and now it's down to just my mom and her next older sister who survive. The news was very traumatic for both my mom and her sister... whom I visited with earlier today.

~~~

The photos for today's post are a bit of a diversion for me ... I guess I needed one.....

The first shot is a house that was built in the 1930's by architect Lynn Hall. He later became the lead contractor for Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Waters" house... which is pretty famous. When you look at the photo (and the link)... you will see that Lynn's house heavily influenced Wright's house. (link: Lynn Hall House info)

We were driving in the rain when I took the shot... so when I edited it, I tried to make it look very retro feeling... to set the mood.

The next photo is of a mysterious looking factory in the middle of nowhere ... in the woods... just outside of the town of Smethport PA. I didn't even realize it was there until we took this road to get to Bradford. Apparently, it was built in 1923, and was originally an oil/petroleum factory. Later... it bacame a wax factory (wax that is used to line cups, boxes, and also for tires, candles and such). Somewhere along the way the EPA got involved... because the info I saw on-line about it mentioned that they were working to resolve some issues in regards to soil and water contamination. Yikes. (link: Weird Factory)

I digitally colored this photo. I used to do alot of Infrared B&W photography, and I hand colored the photos with Marshall's Oil paints. I love the look... and tried to replicate it here with this shot of the factory.

Then... just some pics of what PA looks like right now... (ie: chilly and rainy)....

And lastly... a photo of the woods near Bradford PA. I thought it was looking rather "Blair Witch" out there in the dusky light... so I tried to make the photo appear a little creepy....

(link: The Blair Witch Project website)

...............................................................all photos by Elaine A. Russell