Pursey Galore Does Manitou Springs

Sunday was epic.

Picture this: 15 homemade chocolate peppermint lip balms, 15 homemade bath sachets, friends, a camera, and a legendary purse. Add in 50 unsuspecting visitors to Manitou Springs.

We rocked the town. All of us. (By “rocked,” I may mean “confused” but semantics have no business here.)

This all happened because of one woman: Lori at In Pursuit of Martha Points. Last year, she began a crusade with one godawfully gaudy purse and a dream: To help raise awareness for stroke caregivers and money for the American Stroke Association.

Visit Project Purse and Boots to learn ALL about it, see where it’s been, and donate to the American Stroke Association.

The purse you see before you, Ms. Pursey Galore, has traveled far and wide to many a blogger over the past months. It landed in my hands this weekend.

Little did it know what it was getting into …

What to Do With Pursey Galore?

The idea behind Pursey Galore and Project Purse and Boots was to encourage caregivers (and women alike) to take a night out for themselves. By taking Pursey out to party.

Unlike many other bloggers, I didn’t want to take Pursey to a bar. That’s just not my idea of a relaxing night out. (Ever since, like, my birthday last week. When I turned 36. And got old.)

Reading a Tom Robbins book while curled up in a recliner and drinking tea, that’s as wild as I (try to) get these days.

But that doesn’t make for a very interesting tale, now, does it? I put down my book and wracked my brain for more ideas. What else relaxes me?

Surprise.

I made things. That’s what I did Saturday night. I made lip balm and bath sachets (after visiting the store for beeswax, containers, and bacon). The bacon was for me, although you’d better believe I contemplated making bacon lip balm.

Pursey was sad. And bored. So I promised her a tour of Manitou Springs the next day.

For four hours yesterday afternoon, my friends and Pursey and I cased the streets, finding people to talk to about stroke awareness, and snapping pictures with Pursey. Afterward, if they were very, very good (read: didn’t smash my camera on the ground) – I gave them free lip balm and bath sachets.

The results? PRICELESS.

Here is a collage of the pictures I took yesterday – I encourage you to click on the picture to visit the link at Flickr. From there, you can choose to “view in original size” and see everyone close up – the confused, the surprised, and the happy.

See if you can find Pursey with the parking enforcement guy giving a ticket, see if you can find her on the motorocycle, jumping through the air, and draped over the arm of a romantic Valentine’s Day couple. And don’t forget to look for her with the bald guy. (He’s very manly in real life.)

Pursey In Action – Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before

Everyone was so very kind – and if you’re visiting my blog because I took your picture: THANK YOU so much from the very bottomest of my crunchy little heart.

As I was on my way, early this morning, to mail  Pursey off to the next incredible blogger, I realized that after all the time I spent with her – and all pictures I took – there was none of US together.

Coincidentally, I happen to have to walk through the Arcade to get to the post office.

So I snapped a quick goodbye picture. In a funhouse mirror.

(It only seemed appropriate.)