family

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There are several wonderful bloggers out there that I love to read.
About once a week... I spend several hours with hot tea and some great music... and just peruse the wonderfulness out there in "internet land."

On one of the blogs I like *look here*.... I found a thoughtful post on gratefulness. Around Thanksgiving, I did a series of posts on that theme... but I think it's really appropriate during the "holiday rush" to slow down a bit and reflect. And so...

In her post, was a series of fill-in-the-blanks type statements ... to help prompt you into practicing an attitude of gratitude. The prompts, are shown in blue. What are your responses?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* I'm grateful for
... my life. Opportunities. Love. Family (and a new granddaughter!) and friends.
And friends who ARE family.

* My life would be dull if it weren't for
... the fact that I am slightly wink-wink crazy... and my love for travel.
I have this insatiable desire to see and know...

* I don't know what I'd do without
... BAJ--my husband. He is not only my one true love... he is also my best friend. My camera (nuf said)... and Sabrina... my little fur-face partner in crime :)

* I appreciate the following things about myself
... my generosity of spirit. I am told it is my best quality... that... and really tiny ears and feet :)

* This year I've been blessed with
... so very much. Not the least of which is an appreciation of life; after seeing so much sickness. Art... which keeps my spirit going. Opportunity... to live, love, and grow...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And... I am ever so grateful for all of you who actually read this dribble

... much love... and blessings...

*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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Every family has it's quirks... and mine is no exception. I used to joke with my dad that our family put the "fun" in "dysFUNctional"... but it was merely a ruse. He... in turn... liked to recount the time when I was a younger teenager, and I was bemoaning the fact that "between heredity and environment... I was screwed." He found it amusing, fortunately... but we both knew that truth is usually veiled in humor.

My family's particular curse happens to be addictions. We have 5 generations (on both sides of the family)... where the men especially, happen to be prone to alcoholism... but there is also drug addiction and smoking and such... as well.
Anyone who has every been around an alcoholic... will understand what I mean when I say... it's not easy.

Today was a family get-together, and while I certainly enjoyed the company and the great food... the scenery and the conversations... it seems like my family can't have a get-together without a little drama. And so it was with great disappointment that I had to take one family member home because of an issue... and check in with another because of the same...

My father was a complex man. He certainly was no angel... and he certainly had his struggles with alcohol in his younger years. But he quit drinking the summer I went away to Germany... and he was definately a better person because of it. I remember his not so pleasant days... but I also remember how he worked hard to change. It was a very profound lesson to me... that we can all grow and change...we can all strive to be better people.... no matter our age, heredity, environment... or past.
... and it made me admire him all the more... to know that he wasn't perfect... but that he was trying hard to be the best person he could be...with no excuses... and no exceptions...


Oh... and by the way... we had clams, and they were excellent!
I highly recommend steamed clams with just a little melted butter on top... YUM.


*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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*photos by Elaine A. Russell


"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive..." ~Eleonora Duse (1859 - 1924)

I have been rather despondent as of late. Part of it is a change in my medications (*or more accurately, having been without them for several months.. and going back on them), feeling overweight and out of shape, and having been through the great turmoil of life that is my family...

I am trying very hard to change what I can and be as optimistic as possible.
Some days are easier than others.

However, today was my dear hubby's birthday. And after dinner we went on a drive... chasing the sunset as far west as it let us go before it faded into the hills. It was awesome.


I have no answers to the depression that fills some of my days... I have no words of wisdom. I only know that I must keep on doing what I love... and hope that everything works out in the best way possible. Art and the love of my family are what is currently keeping me going...
What do you do when despair knocks on your door?

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photos by Elaine A. Russell


First thing after I awoke ... I somehow got convinced into cutting my niece's hair... and all I kept hearing in my head was Bones from Star Trek... " I'm a doctor Jim, not a barber... " well...She likes it... and I guess that is all that matters.


I took my mom to the hospital to see my dad; but merely dropped her off for a visit with him alone... I decided to take the afternoon off. I'm not sure how that decision went over with *the masses*.... but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I went on a drive through some of the Susquehannock State Forest... which happens to have an area not far from town. Even though it rained the entire time I was in the woods... and even though it was really coming down at times... and I was soaked.... it was absolutely fabulous.

Anyway... now I have some pics to play with for a day or so... if they turned out....

On the way out of town... just past the nursing care facility... is a farm that my mom says used to belong to the Leet family. Not sure if they still own it... but it certainly is picturesque... and there were several families of Canadian Geese there... so I stopped to take a couple pics....


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I left the house at 7am, after getting little to no sleep. The flight from ABQ to Phoenix was fairly uneventful, although I still don't understand why I had to travel west in order to go east. I had a wonderful conversation with an Air Force Sergeant on his way to Hawaii... sounds like alot of fun!

the Phoenix Airport... and the flight somewhere over Arizona


In Phoenix, I had a short lay-over.. and it gave me just enough time to check my email and play around a little on-line. However, I was one of the last groups to board the flight to Philadelphia, and we were told that we had to check all our bag due to no room in the cabin. Reluctantly, I did. Come to find out, the person who checked my bag marked it as if Philadelphia was my final destination... so when I got to Philly, I had to go the full length of the airport in order to get my carry-ons... and then I had to go thru security checks again.. and take a shuttle to my section of the airport to catch my last flight. A little chaotic... and a little nerve-wracking.. but it all worked out fine. The other thing was that I was supposed to get a meal on my flight, and I didn't... which means I was without food from 8am until 6pm. NOT that I can't lose a little... :)
Philadelphia has a great airport. I can't believe that I lived in PA for over 25yrs, and never went to Philadelphia. It looked vast and cool from the air...
Had a fabulous dinner at a "Hard Rock Cafe" type place where I had a really good Asian salad... YUM.

the flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia... some where over Kansas, and then over Missouri



and finally coming into Philadelphia....


And now... I am waiting for my flight to Williamsport, PA. From there, I have a friend coming to get me... and it will be a 2hour drive to my parent's house. Such is the quirks of living in the middle of PA forest country I guess.


and this was the sunset in Philadelphia..... and then coming into Williamsport PA


all photos by Elaine A. Russell


In other news... It has been an interesting couple of months... and the journey is not over yet. I had mentioned in my blog once that I never anticipated this time of my life... that glorious in-between time of children leaving the home/ whilst helping the parents into "older-age." It has been a vast learning experience, and one I am glad to have gotten... but at the same time... chaotic... and very emotional.
I have also learned that I am going to be a grandmother for the 1st time... and I couldn't be happier for my son and his new bride. Such an incredible time of life... a new life developing and coming into this world... as my father prepares to leave it for the next part of his life....

you can't pick your family

railroad station in Kane, PA

chicory plants in Indiana

scenic Route 6 near Roulette, PA
all photos by Elaine A. Russell

You can't pick your family. But if I would have been able to, there are members of my family I would have chosen -- for sure. Yesterday I got up and took my mom over to Bradford PA... about an hour's drive away ... to get her hair cut.
When my mother was a young girl, some of her family moved from Philadelpia PA to the very very small inlet of Mina PA. Population around 20. Seriously. My mom was the youngest girl out of 10 children, and had severe asthma. Her mother brought my mom, and a couple other siblings up "to the country" for her health, and stayed on the farm of a cousin. It was fortuitous, as that is how my mother ended up meeting my father. I can't imagine what it would have been like to move from a bustling city-- to the middle of nowhere. And my grandmother, who was willing to drop everything she knew and loved, including my grandfather, to save her child. My grandmother was an interesting lady.. very bold and independant for her time.
One of my cousins lives in Bradford, and cuts my mother's hair for free. Her mother (my aunt) passed away 9 yrs ago, and she has sorta adopted my mother as her own. Kim (my cousin) is sweet. My mother, being one of 10 children, has tons of family... and as such... I have tons of cousins. In fact, alot of them I haven't even met. But Kim, I remembered from fourth of July picnics with cousins over the years.
We then went to visit another of my mother's siblings... my Aunt Adeline. She is my favorite aunt....and her hubby is definately my fav uncle. My aunt looks like Queen Elizabeth. I am not even joking. When she traveled years ago to England to visit her one son who was stationed there in the military, she got stopped multiple times for autographs and salutations. .. thinking she was the Queen and had gone "slumming" amongst the commonfolk.
My Uncle, is a veteran of WWII. He saw alot of combat in Europe, and was priveledged to have liberated a concentration camp. He was also a photographer, and has images in his attack that he won't show anyone from his war years. At one point, he got trapped behind enemy lines and hid in the cellar of a farmhouse, surviving on potatoes and shear will. He is now 88.. and is still a vibrant, energetic man. He makes cabinetry, and still rides snowmobile and ATV with local clubs. I adore these people. It was sad to hear that they are going thru some rough spots with health and such. But I know that they are of hardy stock... that they will overcome.
We then went to visit another Uncle. He was married to another sister of my mother's. She passed away years ago, and he has since remarried (at age 86 ! ).. and I got to meet his new wife. He is a retired architect, who now has a thriving profession as a painter. He loves to paint scenics and what people consider 'americana.' He is also sort of a character. He reminds me of the Rat Pack of the 60's... having his cocktails on the patio before supper....gazing off into the woods and working on his latest painting. I remember years ago after he retired, he worked for the shriners. He went to clown school down in Florida, and happily made balloon animals and drove those funny little cars you see in small town parades. He has a crazy laugh.. sort of like Muttly from the Whacky Racers cartoons.
They are a colorful bunch... and ones I am proud to be related to. Not that they are perfect. No. But they have overcome the things they've been dealt, and have managed to still enjoy themselves and have loved well. They have a driving passion; be it.. playing music on the church organ, painting, carpentry... whatever.
What more can you ask.....