Visit San Diego, California

San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities in California! It is well worth the visit. Not only is the weather perfect year round, but there are beautiful beaches, marinas, and water related sports to enjoy everywhere! Balboa Park and Gardens is a must, and Old Town San Diego is quaint and beautiful! If you have the courage and the time, cross over to Tijuana (preferably during the day) and enjoy some wonderful Mexican food and shopping! See Old Missions that have been there for hundreds of years and enjoy whale watching in the bay and out to sea in the beautiful Pacific. Just sitting and enjoying the sailboats sail the bay is exceedingly lovely.

http://amypursifull.wix.com/photography

Finish a Painting in One Day

I don't usually finish a painting in one day, but I did this one. I used acrylic paints because they dry much faster. It wasn't a small painting either. The size is 3 x 2 feet (90 x 60 cm) It took a long time but well worth it. I love to paint trees. This one is full of color as a symbol of the life trees give us. It's title is "Color Wrap".

Painting by Amy Pursifull (all rights reserved)

http://amypursifull.wix.com/photography

Go Whitewater Rafting

There is an exciting fun summer activity that I was a little reluctant to try, but am glad I did. Whitewater rafting is so much fun. Of course having a guide to help you down the river and through the rapids makes things safer than setting off on your own so we got ourselves a guide. Mike was a fun guide and told us things about the river and the surrounding area. In the Smoky Mountains there are many rivers to enjoy the sport of whitewater rafting. It is something I want to do over and over again!

I am third (back of picture in yellow) on the right side of the boat that looks like its down in the water, next to Mike the guide. Yes, I yelled through all the rapids it was so much fun! What a great time!

Help out with a project to build a 2-story cardboard house...

The Lucky Penny (Blake Beckham and Melina Rodrigues) along with many volunteers, are working on a project at Georgia Tech called Threshold, a two-story house made out of cardboard to provide a dance space for a contemporary dance. The composer is Santigo Paramo and the dancers are all so very wonderful! The architects (Mack Scogin and Merril Elam) are working to help build this two-story cardboard house with the help of volunteers.
I have never helped out with a project that involves so many interesting elements. It was a joy to be there today to see all the enthusiasm and commitment everyone brings to this project! The show will run from August the 16th through August the 19th, so be sure and try and see it if you live in Atlanta.

                                                                      Get Tickets at

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/261818

For more information or how to support this project click on the following links:

http://clatl.com/freshloaf/archives/2012/07/19/a-cardboard-house-takes-shape-at-georgia-tech

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1042894430/threshold-3?ref=home_location

Remove a Tree From My Driveway

Finding a tree across my driveway after an afternoon storm, right when I was headed out with a friend, was not what I expected for this evening. Since I can go nowhere, the only thing left to do is remove the tree so I will be able to get to the airport in the morning. Yes, I do have a chainsaw just for this purpose. I live in the woods.
I must add that I am very glad it didn't fall on my house. It did take out two other trees and a wonderful spruce tree that was once a Christmas tree and I had planted in my yard. At least I can get in and out of my house now and I got it off the driveway before dark. I have more work to do to remove the rest of the tree from the yard, but one good thing is that I have firewood for this winter now.

Watch the Fishermen Return at Sunrise in Zihuatanejo

There are small sleepy fishing villages in Mexico that begin stirring before the sun is up. One such place is called Zihuatanejo which stands for "home of goddess women." As the legend goes, these women would rise by afternoon to lead the sun at dusk into the depths and the the realm of the dead to bring a dim light to the dead. It is located on the Pacific Ocean in an area called "La Costa Grande" which means "The Big Coast." It is in a sweet little cove and the bay is named the same as the village. The people are hardworking and have big hearts. They enjoy the visitors to the area. Sport fishermen come from all over the world to fish in this area.
Meeting the fishermen meant getting up very very early, but so very worth the rise before dawn. This is one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever had the privilege to photograph, although while photographing the sunrise I did almost get run down by a fishing boat coming up onto the beach with their morning catch, but a fisherman saved me. I can't imagine what time these fishermen must have gone out to fish to be returning at sunrise with their catch. The birds all gather to collect and eat the fish discarded by the fishermen, so there were many birds around too. It was a magical morning. 

http://amypursifull.wix.com/photography

Give a Perm

Giving a perm isn't as hard as some may want you to think. It is time consuming, but as long as you are not charging and it's free they can't complain. Rolling the hair onto the rods is what takes the longest. After that it is simple to follow the directions on the box, that way you can always say, "I just did what the directions said!" Oh yes, also very important, make sure the person wants a perm and find out what kind of perm they want. There are perms from wavy to very curly.