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Today was the annual town-wide yard sales extravaganza here in Coudersport. This event was cooked up by Shirlee Leete... who is a great friend of my parents. It takes alot of organization, but she managed to gather over 100 different homes for the event... plus people who sold on the courthouse square... and lots of impromptu sellers... and even had a map for the event that was distributed. As a bonus... there were stands of Kettle Corn, home-made baked goods... even the band boosters were selling barbecue chicken! It also coincided with the Saturday Farmer's Market... so there were lots of fresh, organic produce to be had as well.

Needless to say, I not only had alot of fun... but also had a fab photo opportunity as well. PLUS... I got some great deals.... alot of old books for art/collage/reference, a shirt for my daughter, a baby blanket and some stuffed toys for my soon-to-be-born granddaughter, 5 large puzzles for my husband's aunt who is in a care facility, a small tv with a built-in DVD player for my mom, a pair of earrings for myself, and lots of organic produce, home-made bread and a small blueberry pie (YUM).. all for about $50...

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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About the photos for today's post: These were all taken at various sales around town. I saw everything from toys...to clothes... to books... to dishes... to antiques and collectibles... even (yes) a brand new kitchen sink! Photo opportunities are everywhere if you take the time to look.

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Today I was able to spend time with family.... enjoying the holiday. I saw both of my nieces and their families, and my former brother-in-law and his wife. It was a time of good food and good fun.
Spring is definitely in full swing here. Trees are trying to bud... the grass is becoming really green in spots... plants are pushing their way through the dirt. Birds are coming around and singing joyfully.... and last night I heard the snorting of a nearby bear whilst taking a walk (yes, I remember my bear encounter last year... ).

Today was also my parent's 58th wedding anniversary. They got quite a bit of company, and dad was able to enjoy the sun on the front deck while visiting with friends. My dad has been having alot of swelling in his legs still; and for the past couple of days... he has had bouts of severe cramps in his backside and upper legs. I can only assume his electrolytes are off... and we are trying to fix that through diet and a multivitamin until we can get a follow up with a doctor. He has been using massage and heat as well... with some relief... but it continues to come with some frequency.... and usually at night.
Mom hasn't had any more additional problems since her episode in the ER... thankfully.

And so .... we are all very grateful for the healthy progress so far..... but very tired.....





These are all photos from a house here in town. The people who live there have decorated the entire yard and house with decorations... including a huge ceramic basket full of ceramic eggs (top photo in this series), lots of bunnies and flowers and such... and these massive ceramic eggs in all colors... scattered about their flower beds. Each egg was just smaller than the average shoebox. It was pretty amazing......

*all photos by Elaine A. Russell

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-----------------------------------a collage of photos taken at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital today



Today was one of those weirdly busy days... I ended up driving alot of people different places... to the store... to get groceries... to get movies.... out for dinner.....to the hospital and back... just different things. Kind of a "hurry up and wait" kind of thing at times.....
The hospital that dad is getting his rehab at is Charles Cole Memorial Hospital. It is the closest... and basically.. only ... hospital in the area. The next closest is about an hour away. And the one that dad had his surgery at is about 3hrs away.
CCMH is a good hospital. It has undergone sooooooooo many changes since I last worked there in 1990. But then, that is to be expected.
Dad had a bad day today. Alot of pain... still alot of swelling.... poor appetite... and generally not feeling well. He promised to take some pain meds tonight and try to rest......

........................................................................... a couple photos from one of the few alleyways in Coudersport. The mural was painted on the back of this building when I was in high school, by some fellow high school students. I think it still looks pretty cool.

I also love the brickwork on the buildings here. Alot of the downtown area features buildings built around 1880... so they are all brick... with Gothic and Victorian touches here and there. This is the backside of one of the buildings... and I just love the old iron staircase....

For dinner.... Kristin and I went down to Fox's Pizza... (formerly the Tastee Freeze when I was a kid). It still looks exactly the same as it did in the 1970's.... only the food has changed ever so slightly. You can still get pizza, burgers, fries, and soft serve ice cream and sundaes... but now they also offer Gyros and sub sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and other "fast food" items.

When I was a kid... they actually had a brown bear in a pen out back for "tourists" to gawk at... fortunately... they do not do that anymore. It's one of the few places for people to hang out at.... and the ice cream is still pretty good.....PLUS... ya gotta love that they still have gumball machines with cheesy toys in them.....

And then there was this guy... just taunting me from his perch on a porch in town. Nothing screams EASTER... like a plastic light-up bunny . My mother-in-law would've loved it... so in her honor, it became my photo for the day.....

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

Links:

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital: here

Fox's Pizza: here

Info on Coudersport, PA: here

cleanin up the back 40

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

We've been working on it most of the weekend, and the weeds are GONE. This coming week we are planning on fixing up the fire pit area, and trimming a couple more of the trees. We still need to patch some stucco on the wall in spots. And.. there are alot of stuff that needs to go as far as yard waste... and there's just no room at the moment.

But... it is looking pretty dang good.

The puppies are happy... more room to romp without weedage.

AND-- I planted seeds in the garden, so we'll see if they decide to come up.

In the meantime.. here is a photo of a very happy Buffy. It was a good time for "men at work."

It's yard sale day

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

It's 4am. I can't sleep. I get this insane idea to have a yard sale once a year....and I have it scheduled to start at 0800. I've been working for a couple weeks gathering stuff.
If you are brave.. come on out !
I will be the harried looking lady with a coffee cup.

UPDATE 0800: people were coming at 7am. Good thing I was awake and setting up early.
UPDATE 0900am: Why is it that 95% of the people coming speak very little english.. and yet still want to try to haggle with you down to the last penny >
UPDATE 10am: no traffic. no sales. depressed. It's just me, a bunch of stuff, and some cold coffee.
UPDATE 11am: hubby reprieved me, and I got a shower. Only customer while I was gone was a lady who gave my hubby a WATCHTOWER pamphlet. I'm thinking this is not a good sign.
UPDATE 12noon: thinking about packing it in. Posting offers on Freecycle. Making a list of items going for Charity donations. oooh.. but wait... there's a last little "rush" on stuff !
UPDATE 1pm: all done. Stuff (for the most part) has been loaded in the car and gone to charity. One lady is picking up some items for a local shelter, and one lady is picking up a bunch of craft items and supplies, and some quilting frames for a local Senior Center. Hubby is retrieving my sale signs.
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On the whole... I think I just suck at having yard sales. I am much more inclined to just give stuff away, and yet I am perturbed by people who want everything for a quarter.
In the end, I made about $100.
The lesson in all this though, is that I should just give to charity organizations, friends, family, whatever.. and not worry about selling stuff. I'm just not very good at it... not when it comes to my own stuff. I'm great at selling stuff for other people :)