Monday, June 23, 2008

These hands...


...taught me to make pasta when I was a kid.
I spent this past weekend in Milwaukee with my 83-year-old Sicilian auntie, whose hands these are. She gathered friends to celebrate Summer Solstice with drumming, dancing, and howling at the moon in her backyard .

5 comments:

  1. Wow. My family gatherings are fun and all, and they usually involve drinking a little beer, which is good, but if there's any drumming, dancing or howling going on, it must be while I'm in the bathroom or something.

    I did the family thing (the in-law thing anyway) all this past weekend myself as my SIL and her partner had a commitment ceremony that was absolutely beautiful, and I am very tired today. (Oh, and they loved their gift--of course!)

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  2. I saw only the photo when I opened your blog (not the corresponding text), and my first thought was, "What nun is this?" I guess it's the backlit glow that gives the photo the feel of something sacred?

    Anyway, it's a fabulous photo and a wonderful tribute to our Auntie.

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  3. R: Do I have to get married to get that Smitten Kitten/Zen Buddhist combo package?
    Can I qualify some other way? : )

    Yeah, those Sicilians skip right past centuries of Catholicism to their pagan roots, pretty easy...

    D: Honestly, it's the glow off auntie's LINEN shirt that gives it a sacred feel.
    I think linen is the most sacred fabric, and I'm not kidding.
    Yeah, I had a kinda hard visit, but I can't deny the strength of those loving hands.

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  4. What a photograph, F, quite a sacred atmospheric quality, very powerful.

    The hands were incredible for an 83 year old woman. I'm ten years younger and my hands look like something out of the beginning of time.

    Did you get to use the orange gauze?

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  5. I couldn't help noticing what a nice shirt auntie was wearing. Very fashionable--as befits an 83 year old who works in a boutique!

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