The theme this week is Hanging Out and was suggested by Kate
Kate:
This photograph isn’t at all what I had in mind to begin with...I call this one “Mehndi Toes”!
I was planning on posting a photograph of my favourite cafe but time was running out and I realized that really, I’ve been hanging out at home a lot recently. I’ve been living with my daughter and her family for seven months now and for the past three weeks we had another family friend join us. It was a very full house but we’ve all had so much fun together and the laughter has been non-stop. The feet above belong to “the girls” of the house who’ve been hanging together.
I used a texture on this that was full of swirls and curls and it reminded me of the beautiful Mehndi patterns used by the women of South Asia, and parts of Africa to decorate their hands and feet. In Arabic speaking countries like Morocco and central Asia, it’s done for any special occasion; during the seventh month of pregnancy, after having the baby, weddings, engagements, family get-togethers, and Diwali. It became popular here in the west in the 90’s where it’s known as a henna tattoo.
The idea of women gathering together to share, support, celebrate…and yes, decorate themselves…has always appealed to me and it seems to be a universal activity, common throughout most cultures. When I was young my friends and I often got together for an evening of painting toenails, putting on make up and trying out new hair styles. Do girls still do that? I guess Spa parties for groups of teenage girls are the current version, only a lot more sophisticated!
There hasn’t been a lot of “spa” happening around here but we’ve been relaxing and enjoying each other's company.
We’ve been “hanging and chillaxin”.
Martie:
This week's theme was hanging out. Sharing a photograph of a place I enjoy hanging out in. I thought about my favorite coffee shop, so warm and cozy and filled with wonderful smells and friendly folks. I thought about my favorite Mediterranean restaurant - where I feel like I'm dining in my own home. I thought about my comfy purple chair where I curl up and read, knit, watch TV. But in the end I decided on the place I go to when I need to recharge.
Just outside my dining room is a little "courtyard". It's very private. It's still "under construction" but I have a little, old, mosaic table and two chairs out there. And that is where I go to recharge my batteries, spirit and soul. I sit there, face to the sky and enjoy the kiss of the sun, the gentle caress of the breeze. At night I star gaze and wonder who is looking at that one bright star at the same time. It's my little piece of heaven on earth and it's what I need to ground myself.
Who knows, perhaps one day you will join me.
