This week in Picture Perfect the theme is Summertime Fun!  I can't enjoy the summers outside a lot but I love to go to the different fairs and events.  One that is like a family tradition is the Flower Festival in Aibonito, PR.  We used to visit that one with my grandparents when we were little girls.  Now I accompany my mom to it when I'm in Puerto Rico.  The Flower Festival is a full week of flowers expositions, music, food and artesanal vendors.  Aibonito is a little town in the center or the island's mountains.  The name means "Oh, beautiful" in Spanish.  No joking! 

The photo above was taken on the Orchids Festival 2006 in San Juan, but I arrived late for that one this year.  So I'm waiting next month to visit the one in Aibonito with my mom.  Also this was the very first photo I took with the camera!!!

If you want to see the rest of the photos they are in the Orchids Festival 2006 album.

This week in Picture Perfect the theme is Safe.  I haven't been out of the house too much due to a fall that hurt my left hip and knee and my right ankle.  I was just walking when I fall.  Why?  Because I didn't use what make safe for me to walk: my WALKER!  I'm suppose to use it all the time I go out to walk and even inside the house it helps me if I'm in too much pain.  But, I guess, pride and trying to look strong, I keep leaving it in a corner.  Tsk, tsk...  It's been 2 weeks of pain, labs and x-rays.  From now on I'll use the walker to move safely!!!

This week on Picture Perfect the theme is Illumination.  I know that there will be tons of photos like mine, but I couldn't think of any other photo.

This week at Picture Perfect the theme is Gobsmacked.  That's a very strange word and I had to look for it at the Dictionary.

Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry:      gobsmacked
Part of Speech:      adj
Definition:      flabbergasted, astounded, shocked; also written gob-smacked
Etymology:      from gob 'mouth' + smacked 'clapping hand over in surprise'

Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2003-2008 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

Well, after thinking all afternoon what to post I think this is the perfect one.


 
This is my youngest sister Naida.  This was on her 25th birthday.  She was opening her gifts when she came with a very special gift.  My other sister, Letty, got her the DVD of Annie.  What's so special about that movie?  Well, let me tell you a little story... 

When we were small (or younger, 'cause I'm still small  ) one of my uncles gave Naida a video tape with several movies recorded and one of those movies was Annie.  EVERY single day Naida asked to see the video.  She was like 4-5 years old and she knew every song in the movie.  Gosh!  Was a torture!!!  One day Letty and me hide the movie and Naida cried so much and when mom asked what happened Naida told her that we hide the movie and to make the story short Letty and me got a scold from mom and we had to put the movie so Naida was happy. 


So here is Naida happy again with her favorite movie!


The photos were taken by me using my Kodak C-310 on 2006.

This week on Picture Perfect the theme is Empty.  Hmm...  What kind of photo I can take that is empty?  Well, I found the perfect one and was taken a couple of days ago.

It's Thursday already!  Gosh!  TIme flies!!!  This week Picture Perfect has the theme Movement.



I took this photo in the Escambron Beach, San Juan.  I was a long time that I didn't visited that beach and one day mom and I decided to go out and walk a little on San Juan.  I think I took over 100 photos that day and yes I moved a lot!  Who knows me know that it's difficult for me to move due to my health.  Anyway...  This photo I was trying to capture some little fishes that were playing near my feet.  I was mesmerized by how the sun reflected on the water.  The water was moving just a little with the gentle breeze.  The fishes can't be notice because of their camouflage, but it was ticklish. 

Just another little glimpse to my dear island.  Where I'll be traveling soon!!!

This week's Picture Perfect's theme is "Infinite".  I know that the 1st thing that comes to mind is a beautiful horizon and though I have beautiful horizon's photos I decided for this one.  It's a view of the Historical Cemetery of San Juan, plus the brown building is the fort El Morro and the horizon is the Caribbean Sea.  I think there's 3 "infinite" in this photo.  First the cemetery, where most people find an infinite peace after a gruesome life.  In this cemetery, great Puerto Ricans from our history are buried here: politicians, poets, governors...  Their names preserved for the eternity among the white stones.  The fort is also an infinite example.  It's been there over 5 centuries; having resisted pirates and invasion attacks, hurricanes and strange phenomenons (this is part of the Bermuda's Triangle).  Tons of stories and legends have been forge here also.  Specially in that garita (overlook) that is called "Garita del Diablo" (Devil's Overlook); but that's another post.  Last, the beautiful horizon...  Miles and miles of beautiful deep blue sea, until it mixes with the Atlantic Ocean.

Hubby wanted to help me with the theme this week and he choose another view of the same area, more or less...  I'm posting it here also because he got interested in the theme.  SO it's like he's the one posting this one.  He has never been out of Egypt and he dreams of traveling with me to Puerto Rico and live near the beach and the rainforest.


As usually, click on the photos to get a bigger view.

This week on Picture Perfect the theme is Shadows.  It's getting more challenging each time.  Specially now that my card reader damaged and I  can't get the photos from the card of my camera to transfer them to the pc.  But I have tons of photos saved on a CD and the external HDD.

Anyway...  I decided to use this week this photo I took on 2006 in San Juan, PR.  This is the Park Luis Muñoz Rivera. This huge tree is called Ceiba and they grow in strange forms and live centuries.  This one is pretty "young" but have been in the park at least for a century.  It has lasted years of storms and hurricanes.  The park is beside the beach.  These trees offer a lovely and cool shadow in summer, and on rainy days you can take cover under them.  The woman taking cover under inside the tree's shadow is my mom.  There's one Ceiba tree, famous in PR because has over 300 years old and it still as lovely as a century ago.  I'll be traveling soon to PR and will go and take photo of that one.

Thanks for looking!

This week on Picture Perfect the theme is Red.  I have been thinking what to post in this week's challenge.  I'm not a person that likes the red color.  Never wear it and things that are red usually don't impress me.  For a few exceptions like this one:


This is the "Parque de Bombas" (Fire Station) in Ponce, PR.  It was constructed in 1883 and is still in the original place.  It's been transform into a museum now and inside you can see a couple of original tank trucks and several models of the station's designs among other things, everything related to the fire station and firemen.  It's famous not only because of it's age but for the colors red and black.  Ponce is called also the "Regal city" because of it's beautiful buildings, parks and gardens.  Visiting the city is like been transported to the old colonial era.  Ponce was also the 1st capital of Puerto Rico and was named after Juan Ponce de Leon, the 1st governor of the island.

You can find more photos of Ponce in this album.

This week's theme on Picture Perfect is Water.  Since child I have always been in love with waterfalls.  I grew up surrender by water everywere.  Our home was around 15 minutes drive from the beach and like 45 minutes from the rain forest El Yunque where plenty of waterfalls, rivers and ravines could be found.   The poetic Rio Grande de Loiza is now "literally" in the backyard of my mom's apartment.  I still remember the weekend trips with grandma to the mountains and rivers.  Puerto Rico is pretty small and you can drive around the island in a day.

The photo in this post is the ravine Caimitillo on El Yunque Rain Forest.  This place is so peaceful and quiet.  When I started with my depression attacks I often came here and sit for an hour or two to calm and meditate.  It's very small and you need to hike a few minutes up the mountain to arrive to this part.  There are some cement benches along it.  Hurricane Hugo (1989) and later Andrew, destroyed a great part of the rain forest and this ravine was badly damaged.  But when I returned to PR on 2006 the ravine was almost perfect.  There are still some boulders in some areas and they couldn't be removed, so the course of the ravine changed a little, but still you can enjoy the beauty and serenity of it.  If you go on a rainy day or like 2 hours before sunset (sunset in the rainforest is ealier) you can have the treat of listening to the coquis (little tree frogs) singing and that is the most calming thing you can do for the soul!

This week's theme at Picture Perfect is about Around the World.  "The idea of this week's theme is that you look around you and snap a photo of something that is Unique to your part of the world. Look at your world through the eyes of those of us in other lands."

This time I'll use two photos.  The 1st one up was taken the 1st time I travel to Egypt in 2004.  That's the touristic Egypt.  Yes!  The pyramids, the deserts, the camels...  But here is the photo I really want to show for this week's theme:


What's behind the pyramids?  Well, there's a very modern city, full of contrasts.  A city where you still see people dressed in the old ways driving modern cars and talking on cell phones.  Egypt is not only the pyramids and museums.  There's so much to see, so much to do and still the lifestyle can be so relaxed.  It's not full of terrorists, bombs and stuff like that.  It's quiet (politically speaking) and people are bubbly and at the same time respectful and curious about you.  I took this photo the day I moved to 6th October.  I have been living for a year now in Egypt.  The first few months lived on Alexandria, to the North, and now I'm living near the pyramids (about 30 - 45 minutes drive).  Even after years of visiting and living in Egypt I still wonder and amaze at the sight of the pyramids.  I miss my country (Puerto Rico) but this is an experience that I only dreamed about it when I was girl and now I'm living it.

This week on Perfect Picture the theme is Contrast. I searched on my photos to see if I have something with contrast and I think this is a lovely one.  It's my favorite photo.  I took it at the Palmetto's Tatting Event on 2004.  This is an antique chest used to keep and organize lace making things.  When we talk about laces we immediately form an image of a grandmother making small doilies or dainty edgings.  But laces are not a thing from the past. Here the contrast!  Laces are as popular as before and even some laces (like tatting) that were almost extinct are having a new revival.  The piece of lace (tatted tablecloth or shawl) here was recently made and still gives that "old" feeling.  The materials are mixed; new threads lay down with old shuttles and hooks; computer-printed Victorian cards finish the look of old.  Kinda like a "new" time capsule from the past. 

The camera is a digital Kodak C310.

I'm a little behind with challenges but I think today I'll catch up.  This week theme at Picture Perfect was "A Song Title".  The 1st song that came in mind was Preciosa", a popular Puerto Rican song about Puerto Rico's beauty and some political struggles.  The song is in Spanish, but I'll try to translate it.  The video is by Marc Anthony, who is Puerto Rican (actually New York-rican - a person born in NY from Puerto Rican parents).  The song was easy to choose but not the picture.  I have so many gorgeous photos of PR  but I think this is my favorite.  It's called "San Juan's Gate" and it's literally the gate of the city.  San Juan is the capital city of PR and is surrounded by an antique wall.  This spot was a strategical point of entering to the island and so the huge gates were made.  I love it because of its beauty and significant, and I thought it was perfect for this song and challenge.  The camera I used is a simple digital camera Kodak 310.  I don't have (yet!) any fancy camera.  Enjoy!