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Sometimes I feel a little bipolar in the sense of loving life in two very different worlds. On one hand... I love going to PA... being surrounded by all the nature, trees, lush farmlands, and critters... the peace and quiet, the stunning beauty of a simple sunrise on the hills...

And yet... I also love being back in the city. The excitement and the buzz of city life. Cafes, bookstores, shops of every specialty... the whole urban landscape and the little nooks and crannies of art and urban decay.

I have determined that it is OK to live in one of these environments on a permanent basis... but I simply MUST be able to travel on occasion. I need to travel like I need to breathe... even if it's "just down the road..."

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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Pennsylvania is a gorgeous place. It really is. If nothing else.... my daily drives prove this to me. On the flip side... I have had bad allergies... and a migraine to top all migraines... and I feel as if my body is at war with me this week. It will pass... I know it will.... but in the meantime... I am cranky, sleep deprived and miserable.

Fortunately for you... I will quit whining... and just show some pics :)

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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One of the "perks" of being here in the country... is that when the weekend comes... it is pretty much your own to do with as you choose. I think living in a city of substantial size kind of ruins the weekend in a way, as I always feel compelled to get out there and do alot on the weekends, as so very much is going on. But here... not so much.
See... the week (for me) is busy with phone calls to utilities, insurance, etc... to straighten things out. But on the weekends... things aren't open... so it's a built-in excuse to take it easy. Also... my mother's sabbath is Saturday... so, we take it as a day of rest ... and Sunday... well ... Sundays ya just don't want to do anything either.

So. Today we went for another one of our "famous" drives... this time over to Genessee where there is a Natural Food Store. We got some great foods ( on an aside... I was astonished to discover that my mother has never ... NEVER.... used olive oil. This is just wrong)

... and then we went into the town of Genessee... where we proceeded to drive around and just look at stuff. We ended up stopping at a fabulous diner... after starting up a conversation with a girl who works there.... and got one of the best cups of coffee ever.

Jeez..... I really, really, love diners.

This weekend has been full of visits to friends and family... and it has been fun.

We also saw a mother deer and 2 young-uns today.... but alas, they were camera shy...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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Today I was feeling a bit giddy. See.... I had woken up early to take my mom to her church services, and knew that I had a couple hours to myself. WoOt!!!

And so.... I made some coffee.. and settled in for a good hour or so of reading some of my favorite blog writers. I then decided... that I could take advantage of the quiet, and take a nap. And so... I let Sabrina out to run around the yard, and prepared myself to settle in to some super fine quilts. I let her in and she raced to the bed... happy and ready to nap. I crawled in... and started sneezing. Then I started wheezing. Then my eyes started to burn...

and I realized that there was something fowl in the air.

You see... there has been lots of construction in this neighborhood, as they are repairing one bridge, and removing another -- at opposite ends of this street. Apparently, Sabrina had found a nice smelly puddle of creosote or some such fowl smelling liquid... and brought it home with her.

So... after several puppy scrubbings... and several loads of laundry

... I gave up on the whole notion of a nap.

Instead... my mother, Sabrina and I went for a drive in the country. We saw gorgeous fields of corn, cows... and then we saw an entire field of sunflowers!!!

For a photographer... this is pretty much as close to nirvana as you can get.

We had a great time... and here are some photos from the day...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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Today was filled with the fine details of the memorial service... arranging songs and verses and such in order for a program to be printed, ordering and paying for the flowers, and gathering photos for a video that is being made by the funeral home as a service for the family. It is frustrating... because certain photos we had wanted to include... we just can't seem to find copies of.

In 2005, I had made a point of copying all sorts of family photos that belonged to my parents, and also of my sister's family... and arranged all the photos into boxes at my parent's house. Copies were made and distributed to various family members. It was a huge expense at the time... but well worth it.

Somehow in the interim however... things have gotten wonky and mixed up.

Such is life I suppose... but it is annoying when you are looking for something in particular.

One of the things I hope to do over the course of this coming year, is to (once and for all) get all my photos onto digital files. I have tons and tons... and sorely need to get them organized. Times like this remind me how important it is to me to have photos such as these readily available if they are needed/wanted.

In other news... we went on our daily drive today... and explored some of the county back roads. We saw lovely fields, cows, pigs, sheep, horses.....lots of farmland... we even stopped at a roadside stand and got fresh tomatoes and cucumbers which we ate for dinner.

The photos for today's post are from this drive...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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Today has been an interesting day.

I was told that the American Black Bear... the one of my encounters... was trapped and moved to a secluded area just a few days ago. And I also was told (and noticed) that there is a photographer about the area with a pro set-up... who happened to be taking photos of the same things I have posted these past few days. Apparently someone reads my posts? or perhaps it is coincidental.... either way... it's flattering.

I also had a well-meaning individual mention that after being here for 3 months... that my business was probably down the toilet at this point. Probably true... although I hope not. Be it good or bad; my art/photography/jewelry business has definitely been on the back burner while I helped out the parents....but I would not have chosen to do anything any differently. Sometimes in life; you have to make choices like this... and while it's been extremely difficult, I would have felt horrible if I had not helped.

Ah...but enough of that.


The other day I took my mom for a drive to Brookland, PA. I am not familiar with the area at all... but it sure was some gorgeous scenery. We went in that direction.... because I had been told about the All Saints Episcopal Church there; and was told about it's architecture and beauty.

I was not disappointed.

From what I gather... the congregation was around for several years prior to the current building being built in 1888. It is a stunning building, made of grey stone... with a gorgeous woodland setting that makes it look straight out of an English fairytale.

I was not able to see the inside; but I am told it has a font made of Italian marble, and some stunningly beautiful stained glass windows. These items were either donated by, or in memory of Henry Hatch Dent; whom I mentioned in a previous post as being the person who donated the clock for the courthouse building in Coudersport.

(it's a small world here...cue the music to "It's A Small World".. )

At any rate... the photos for today's post are photos of All Saints Episcopal Church.



*all photos by Elaine A. Russell

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Today is monday... and I have had very little sleep. I am beginning to get cranky and exhausted... and so I took some extra time this morning to rest.

I picked up my mom from the hospital after lunch, and decided to take her for a drive in the countryside. It was a beautiful day today... and it was wonderful to enjoy the sunshine... the very blue skies.... and the plant life bursting to life around us.

We went onto some of the backroads today... and it was teeming with the critters and such of springtime. Bunnies... hawks... cows... goats and sheep and horses... even a turkey vulture looked at us as if we were disturbing his springtime frolicing.

I have been taking lots of movies and music up to my dad... and we have been enjoying them all over again. He rests alot in between times... but every so often he will burst into laughter and grin like a kid at Christmas over something.

It is a joy to see.

I am trying to make sure my mom is well rested and eats...

sometimes this is easier said than done.

But for now... here are a couple shots from our drive today...

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

roadtrip !

photos by Elaine A. Russell... taken at the Lancaster Farmer's Market

webshot of Shamoken dam

First, I apologize for not posting yesterday. I got up early (6am) and had breakfast with the family. After visiting for awhile, my niece and my brother in law's new wife and I went to the Lancaster Farmer's Market. This is a huge thing that happens every Tuesday. On one side of the grounds, it is all antiques, flea market type stuff and more. You wouldn't believe all the cool stuff I saw ( and even bought a couple things !). On the other side of the grounds are all kinds of fresh vegetables, fruit, crafts and even a music group or two. In spite of it being unbearably hot and humid.. it was awesome.
Then I was on the road again. Having gotten some fresh fruit and food, I was ready to travel.. but was having a bad allergy problem still. Between my eye swelling shut, sneezing my fool head off.. and sweltering in the heat... the drive became a nightmare. Couple with tons of rain, mist, fog and even hail.... the road became hazardous as well.
The road was unfamiliar to me too. I was mostly on I-76.. which is a toll interstate throughout the bottom of PA. It was a great road.. but expensive ($13 toll fees). I was a bit confused as well... traveling in parts of PA, and in parts of Virginia all in the same day. As it turns out, I was on the right roads... it just felt awkward at times.
A bonus... was that I got to go thru a series of tunnels. They were huge.. and went thru various peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. Incredible. I also went all around Shamoken Dam (huge)... lots of pretty Amish countryside.. and lots of fertile farm land.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamokin_Dam,_Pennsylvania
I stopped early for the night at a Super 8 in Cambridge Ohio. The management (Ms. Fry) and crew were very nice, the room was really nice, and in spite of not having internet (it was down due to the storms)... was great. I got dinner from a nearby KFC, and enjoyed a relaxing night in the room.