Weekly Photo Challenge: FRAY
History always has a few tricks up its frayed sleeve. It’s been around a long time. Terry Pratchett
Weekly Photo Challenge: FRAY – A window display of a wolf shredding the curtains
Weekly Photo Challenge: FRAY – Tangy leaning against a fav spot on the sofa showing frayed thread from his scratching.
When I think of the word – fray – what often comes to mind are images of the persecuted, the lonely, the frazzled, and the homeless. I know that we can see it all around us and, perhaps, in our own lives too. One thing the word reminds us to do is to count our blessings and find the good and joy in even things that could make us feel so down.
I didn’t think I could come up with suitable shots but, lo and behold, I dug deep and found a few. I hope you like them. The first shot is an Anthropologie store window dressed for the holiday season; depicting a wicked wolf tearing up the frayed curtains, trying to ruin our fun. The second one is of our family cat, next to his favorite scratching post, the right arm of one of our sofas. I caught a glimpse of Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness book behind his head and it’s perfect; I highly recommend reading Tony’s book.
“It is of course a magic carpet.”Abdullah had heard that one before … Does it welcome a man home to his tent? Does it bring peace to the hearth? Or maybe,” he said, poking the frayed edge suggestively with one toe, “it is said to never wear out?” Diana Wynne Jones
Weekly Photo Challenge: FRAY – A window display collage of a wolf shredding the curtains
I was walking around Rockefeller Center, during the last Christmas holidays, when my eyes caught a series of remarkable displays in nearby shop windows. I took a ton of pictures of the figures in the intricately created displays and saved them. I was thrilled when I found the photos above; perfect for the assignment. While the wolf/fox(?) might be trying to wreck havoc in some fairytale, in real life, frayed items of clothing are precious in the eyes of people who have nothing but the clothes on their backs. My dear friend and fellow blogger, Nicole Melancon, shares a fantastic series of shots of children in frayed clothing in Ethiopia. They remind us to be GRATEFUL and to GIVEBACK! You must take a look and support her peace efforts.
I told Nicole that her beautiful pictures and post brought back memories of my trips home and elsewhere; it’s quite common for children to wear clothes shipped from far away countries. Often the clothes are sold in the marketplace for pennies… When feasible, some care agencies provide the clothes for free. They are appreciated and valued by the families and kids. Hope (See Gilly’s post on Hope ) is something that people hold onto in poor areas and the clothes offer a glimpse of opportunity and possibility for more. Some kids go naked when such aid is unavailable.. Both set of photos reminded me of the war in Nigeria when shiploads of clothing arrived from aid countries. Nicole also recommended an inspiring book worth reading – The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz. You won’t regret checking out both Nicole’s and Gilly’s blogs, and reading Jacqueline’s book.
More Below!
“Fear is a hammer, and when the people are beaten finally to the conviction that their existence hangs by a frayed thread, they will be led where they need to go.” “Which is where?” “To a responsible future in a properly managed world.” dean r. koontz
Weekly Photo Challenge: FRAY – A collage of Tangy in the fray…
If you own a cat, you probably know cats enjoy scratching things for a slew of reasons; including claiming ownership of a spot. Our Tangy has a scratching board but rarely uses it. Instead, our sofa and one of the tops of our dining table chairs have been claimed by his forever growing claws. Yes, we trim his claws.
In the collage above, you’ll see one of him perched atop the chair that I have strategically draped with a robe and scarf. Ha! Tangy knows how to jump into the fray of things; there’s one of him in a laundry basket of washed kitchen mitts and cleaning towels. And yes, another one of him in the middle of my books and bible… What can I say, if you can’t win em, join em in the fray? Have a restful weekend and stop by to say hello again!
This post was inspired by a Daily Post Prompt: Weekly Photo Challenge: FRAY. This week, share a photo of what “fray” means to you — it could be a tear in a favorite pair of jeans, a street rumble just about to begin, or a friend diving into an oncoming wave at the beach.
Positive Motivation Tip: You can stand on the sidelines of life, or jump right into the fray… Pick your poison wisely.
More Weekly Photo Challenge Posts
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos: from my Personal Collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Checked out Nicole’s ”fray”. I love the smiles on the children’s faces and the colorful boots. They look happy and inquisitive and I’m sure that’s all mixed in with grateful. Thanks for the link. Your photos are perfect for the challenge. You dug up some good ones.
Thank you for checking out her beautiful photos and for your feedback too.
Eliz, hey its Jackie, we started blogging around four years ago together, my other blog got hacked, I have been in college the last two years, and I finally grad in AUGUST, I am back in the Security industry working more hours than I care to with college…It’s been awhile since I wrote, but here I am – Love ya Jackie
Of course, I remember you Jackie. So good to hear from you. I’ve been on hiatus too because if health matters. I’m glad you kept up with your study goals. Hope to see you blogging again. Congratulations! 🙂
Fun! Tangy is so cute. He does love being in the fray! I remember seeing that same window display in NY. The animals were made from spools of thread….
Exactly Genevieve! There were other displays and the close up details of materials used were impressive. Yes, the wolf is made of thousands of small spools of thread.
I have a few of those fry spot with my kitties too =) LOVE the wolf/fox display!!
Haha! I thought so Pamela. Good to know we share this common cat experience. He also scratches against piles of books.
The picture of the wolf is amazing. I had no idea at first what it was but the texture is so rich that I had to check the post out 🙂
Thank you Joanna! I do have close ups of the materials used but didn’t add them because of the topic. It is intricate and quite beautiful. Glad you noticed that too.
You have some amazing photographs. Thanks for sharing them.
Thanks for your feedback Lilith. Did you have a favorite?
What a fun challenge! I love how you shared so many different meanings of “fray,” especially your can waiting to jump into the fray of things – I wouldn’t have thought of that!
Oh thank you Jen! I appreciate the thought. Sometimes, we try to figure out another way to respond to the assignments. This one was a bit hard because it was so specific.
I think the shop window is something that had to be seen to be enjoyed! Your Tangy is a clever cat, funny how they love the clean laundry. Thanks for the link to Nicole, I have similar pictures of children in Africa, it really makes you appreciate what you have. It’s worrying how things donated to charity in the west are also big business in Africa though. How incredible that Jacqueline Novogratz came face to face with her old sweater, what are the chances of that?. Happy a lovely weekend Eliz 🙂
Oh thank your alerting me of your shots Gilly! I will definitely add a link to yours so others can see them. It would be interesting to see two different perspectives. Yes, the business part of it gives me pause but you know the story; the strong bully the others and get a bigger share. Jacqueline’s story is spectacular. What is the statistical possibility that a sweater you donated to charity would show up on a kid thousands of miles away, and that you’d see the child wearing the sweater while on a trip abroad! Fascinating. It still amazes me and I hope others read it too.
Ahh I didn’t mean for this weeks challenge, just generally in my files. There is one here though, by all means delete this comment ! http://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/weekly-photo-challenge-hope-2/
My kitties have left me with a few frayed items…but, you have to love them anyway!
Yes, we do. They leave us no other choice but to see the love behind that annoying habit. 😆
Very creative, Eliz! I am going to have to use the word fray in my writing. I love the connection to cats. 🙂 Karen
Hi Karen, and I’m sure you’d do a fantastic job of it. Share the link so I can add it. So sad Zemanta is no longer around to recommend our work. Thank you!
We are lucky to have what we do in our lives. And giving some of what we have is easy to do. Donating clothing to the poor is so simple and one hopes that when we put the clothes in the bin they go to children and adults who are in need of them.
I couldn’t have said it better Colline. It is so easy to do and we never know who the grateful recipient might be. TY for checking in.
I love the photos of your cat. He’s adorable. My favorite is the pic with the shot of his favorite scratching post in the background. LOL
those are some wonderful photos!
Tangy is so cute. My son would love to have a cat. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to cats 🙁
Very nice! I love all those beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing ^_^
Your cat is so adorable! Yes, I must agree, I have two Persian cats and two rescue cats, and they all love to pull their nails on everything plus the scratch posts. They are certainly marked their territory on numerous pieces of wooden furniture.
Very interesting take on fray. It is obvious you put a lot of thought into it. Thanks for sharing.
The pictures are great. I really like the display in N.Y. Your cat Tangy is really cute.
I think you did great on the challenge. 🙂 And I love the “fray” quote/motivation at the end.
As owner of cats I totally know what you’re talking about. Our Kitty rarely uses her scratching board and instead loves to use my couch to sharpen her claws. Great photos btw
Your photos are nice. I haven’t really done pet / animal shots because you need a lot of patience to capture a really nice shot. They barely stay still, lol. So yea, great job on the shots!
I looked at Nicole Melancon photos of children in frayed clothes. I’ve seen many other photos like this and there is no reason for it. We throw away so many clothes in this country. There is no reason everyone shouldn’t have clothes to cover their bodies and food in their stomachs.
These are great photos. How long did you take those pictures of the cat? It’s different when you take animals as models because they have their own minds and don’t understand what we humans instruct them to do. So their poses are completely on their own.
It took me a minute to figure out the first picture…lol…but now I totally get it! I think you matched and described the word Fray perfectly!
Awesome. Grateful that you like it.
Beautiful photos! We have cats and sometimes they love to tear our stuff up, too.
I’m glad I’m not the only one… Tehe! I hesitated to share that because I didn’t one someone telling me to lock him out of the living/dining rooms.
Awww I love all of these photos! I miss my kitties! We had 3 but had to get rid of them when we had kids because one was allergic.
Ohhh. I understand. Cats can shed a lot and sometimes, it bothers me too.
Great photos! I am not a cat person though. Had one traumatic event with them when I was a kid :X
Thank you for sharing these! I love that wolf, there is so much going on in that picture, it was very intriguing.
Glad you liked it… It’s a beautifully created Holiday season window at the Anthropologie store in midtown Manhattan.
thank you for sharing! those wolf pictures were cool!
Great post. I agree that when you don’t have much, even the frayed items have value. Great photo!
Awesome pictures! Tangy seems to be a cool cat! And I loved your take on the word Fray – “One thing the word reminds us to do is to count our blessings and find the good and joy in even things that could make us feel so down.”
Good post!
I think you nailed this photo challenge! I always thought about participating in one, but then I completely forget about them. (Minor detail, LOL.)
great photos! I’m always so envious of someone who can take such good shots
So true what you’ve said about frayed items being highly valued by those who don’t have much. It’s a good reminder to be grateful. We typically toss things when they are frayed but this is a new perspective!
I agree. If we stop to imagine how much others appreciate things we take for granted, we might be more conscientious about waste.
What an unusual window display. I love it!
I checked out the pictures of the children wearing clothing with frays and tears in them, it’s pretty sad and your right we should be grateful for what we have and give back when we can.
Indeed. It’s sad and yet comforting to know that we can do even a little bit to make a difference.
The display is impressive. Very artistic. Window displays not only catch our attention but our imagination to dream and find a bit of much needed escape. Happy Sunday my friend.
Thank again for your feedback. I love the way they pull us in to fantasize… 🙂
To me frays might be a symbol of wear and tear to others but to me it shows love and use. For example a battered pair of shoes that I wear so often that it becomes scuffed x