198:365

-----> photo by Elaine A. Russell


I am taking it slow today... a lack of sleep and what is probably bronchitis has reared it's wheezing ugly head. But it's been a wonderful day...organizing, donating, and throwing stuff out... we even sold a couple of things.
Progress is being made on what will be the hubby's new office space... we had lunch at Flying Star... some friends came over to the house for a short visit..... all is good.

I am trying to envision what my new workspace will look like when I am done with it. This is going to be my next project, and I have been giving it some thought. I have been re-reading "Creative Time and Space" by Rice Freeman-Zachery... and it has given me lots of inspiration. While it will still (obviously) be a garage studio... hopefully, I can get it organized... and cleaned up... and full of charm and motivation in the on-coming week. I have a major photo shoot next weekend... and at the end of the month my father will be discharged to home and will need round-the-clock hospice care. I am not sure when I will be needed to potentially help out... so I am trying hard to get things sorta caught up before then...

About the photo for today's blog post: This is actually a pretty clean and crisp photo of a coffee cup (with steaming goodness) taken at the Flying Star Cafe. Today I altered it by decreasing the saturation of the colors, adding some grit and grime... adding some "noise" or texture to the main part of the picture, and adding the vignetting of an old time camera shot. Once the "feel" of the photo was properly goth... I added a tattoo design to the cup by way of making it a new layer on top of the original photo.
With coffee holding me together for most of today.... it seemed appropriate to fashion a cuppa into some kind of deadly brew...

70:365

-----------------------------------------------photo by Elaine A. Russell

Today we woke up and left the hotel around 9:30. We drove until lunchtime... and stopped at a Waffle House in Indiana. Those of you who know me... know I love diners. I know the food isn't the best for you... I know the music is generally awful.... I know they are usually all sorts of tacky.... but I just love 'em. There was a park nearby, and Sabrina was so happy to see actual grass... she ran around and ran around and rolled in it; smiling and panting the whole time.

We made several short stops today... but basically concentrated on driving and getting as far as we could. Surprisingly, there is very little snow about. I remember it usually having tons of snow still in March... so it really surprised me.

We saw tons of police en force on the highways.... really. Not sure why. ... but things were pretty uneventful. Kristin did have a relatively close encounter with a groundhog... she even got a photo of him... which was pretty cool.

Had my last Starbucks around dinnertime... figured it was the last one I was going to be near for awhile. It was good ♥

Made it to the backwoods of PA... about 2hrs from our destination when I got a call from a friend of my parents to call my mom "immediately." So I pulled off and called. Turns out my dad has had a turn for the worse. This am; they had told my mom that he was going to be transferred tomorrow to our local nursing home for rehab... and that he would be leaving by ambulance tomorrow.. and that I would need to come and get her in Geisinger. Well. Apparently he is not doing well...and that is all on hold for now. I am anticipating driving the 3hrs to the hospital tomorrow sometime to be there.... but my mom told me to just stay put for now.

So... At this moment I am at my parent's house in PA... doing laundry... and unpacking.

I have a "1 bar" connection here.... so ... internet is sometimes fleeting...but I will post when I can.

cake in a cup

---------------------photo by Elaine A. Russell

Did you know that you can make a chocolate cake inside a coffee cup-- in the microwave-- in about 5 minutes? I know. I am shocked too. It's not a crusty dry cake, but an ooey gooey kind of cake. Great with ice cream on top.

You take:
4 tbsp of flour
4 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of cocoa (I used nutella and peanut butter in mine cuz I didn't have any cocoa)
*mix all the dry ingredients in the cup.

Then add:
1 egg
3 tbsp of milk
3 tbsp of oil
splash of vanilla extract
Choc chips (optional)
*mix that all in your cup with the dry stuff.

Cook in your microwave at 1000 watts for 3 minutes.
When it's cooking, it will rise above your mug.. don't freak out.

(I used a pretty big cup.. and had enough for 2 people)
Just let it cool for a couple minutes after cooking.