280:365

Migraine... (I actually went back thru my blogposts and discovered that it's day 10 of this horrible migraine). And it's going as well as you'd think it would be. However... I did help my mom get some financial stuff settled today... and we did take a drive... and I did get some photos... and I did visit briefly with a friend of mine from high school... and it was all good.

If I can finish the paperwork that needs done... and help my mom with a few things on the "To Do" list... then I feel like I will have done as much as I can for this trip. Not to say that I've done alot... as I feel like I have been pretty much useless (*but I have tried... I think it's just that I have been sick and I always feel pretty much useless when I am sick)... but right now I am overwhelmed... and ready to be going home...

(and in the words of my very wise daughter... it's time).

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

267:365

You already make a difference.

One of the greatest misconceptions that people have is that they feel like they don't make an impact on the world.

Julia Butterfly Hill, a novelist, once wrote "The question is not 'Can you make a difference?' You already do. It's just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, during your life on this planet."

"Your life can be a path of coincidence, happenstance, and luck, or it can be a purposefully charted course to touch the lives of others and make the differences that only you can make in the world."

Food for thinking on today...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

107:365

I feel as if I am closing the door on something. I can't explain it. ... nor do I really want to think about it. All day I have been depressed. I am sure it has alot ot do with my back really really hurting, and the knowledge that I am leaving in the am. It is physical, and emotional ... all tied up into one big ball of string.... endlessly rolling about on the floor and tangling me up.

And so. I forced myself to take some motrin... take a hot shower... and go and take some photos. I didn't go far... I didn't really need to. There are so many things in this part of the country that I would love to be able to take photos of. Today was a strange day weather-wise... raining... snowing... and the sun trying to peak through the clouds very briefly... it was odd. Many would consider this bad weather to try and take photos in... but it was still alot of fun for me.

Kristin and I are leaving in the am. We have put it off as long as possible... knowing that my parents really need help. But the reality is, is that my son is getting married on friday... and if I have any hope of showing up on time ... I need to go.

This has been a bizarre few weeks.... full of happiness, trauma, illness, joy AND pain... it has been a wild ride. I am hoping that things will begin to settle down soon...

And so... I am off to work on some laundry, and to try to go to sleep before 1am so that we can begin the journey tomorrow....






---------------------------------> all photos by Elaine A. Russell

83:365

I took some time this afternoon to go and take some photos. Just outside of town on Route49... in Colesburg... is the WaterWheel Farm. I think it is still owned by the Regis Family, who live nearby. Either way... it is stunningly beautiful. Even with winter's coat still on.... and spring but a whisper away... it is still gorgeous.

And so... Kristin, Sabrina and I all walked around the farm, ponds and such. This red winged-blackbird kept calling to me... but stayed just far enough away that I really couldn't get a great shot of him.... but I tried.

There is a creek that feeds the several ponds on the farm... and it was bubbling with fresh cool water from the hills surrounding the farm ...

Sabrina found several gopher and rabbit holes to investigate... and was having a wonderful time frolicking about. We weren't there maybe an hour or so... but it was timed right so that we had the opportunity to see the sun beginning to set while we were there...

We then drove to get my mom from the hospital from her visit with my dad. My mom is quite sick with the bronchitis... her cough is just awful. She is on a good dose of steroids as well as antibiotics now... and the meds are giving her some fits as well (hot flashes, really flushed and sore cheeks, upset stomach, etc). I think she is just plain wore out.

Kristin also came down with the flu this am... although tonight she seems a bit better for having taken some medicine and gotten out in the sun...

And then there's my dad. He is not doing well. Seems like every day he is getting a little worse. He is on nebulizers now for a bad cough, and continues to be distended in the abdomen and very swollen in his legs. Additionally, he is becoming somewhat lethargic... and has no appetite at all. I just don't know what to do...

On the home front... my son and his girlfriend have gotten engaged... and are planning their wedding! They are anxious to begin their new life together... and want to get things moving along. So much has happened while I have been gone... I just can't believe it...

And tonight my hubby told me that he picked up this week's issue of the ALIBI ( the local ABQ newspaper we get)... and it looks like I have WON their annual photo contest in the category of "manipulated images"... holy cow!

It all seems like such a merry-go-round at the moment.... I can't process it all. But I am trusting that everything will work out just the way it is supposed to... and I just need to "keep calm and carry on"... as the saying goes.....

**all photos by Elaine A. Russell

77:365

...barefoot in the backyard.... warm grass and moss under my toes...

...snowdrops blooming in a neghbor's front yard...

...a childhood friend's house (also a "station" on the historic Underground RailRoad)...

...white birch at the local Patterson Cancer Center...

...views from a typical barn in the area...
(all photos by Elaine A. Russell)


Today was an odd mix of answering countless phone calls... taking a few pictures... doing laundry... getting groceries.... visiting with my dad.... cooking... cleaning... and (later) visiting with my mom who got back from Philadelphia late tonight.
It's late. I am exhausted... but I am thinking that (hopefully) things may be beginning to settle down.