Today is Friday the Fourteenth. Ahhh, yes, we just escaped that dreaded Friday the Thirteenth by one day. Whew. The only thing worse could have been the thirteenth, filled with black cats, spilled salt and ladders to walk under. Ack - total bad luck!
Are you superstitious? My first response would be to say, no I'm not. I love Friday the Thirteenth. Its always been lucky for me (got a fab kiss from my crush one memorable 13th), I have three black cats and spill things all the time. Then I realized I actually AM superstitious. Just not with traditional superstitions.For instance, I used a very special pen to sign my first Harlequin contract. A gift from some amazing writers who I love to pieces, it's engraved with my sale date and title. It was a ritual of delight,
as I filled the gorgeous purple fountain pen with ink, signed that page, then toasted with champagne. Now, my second Harlequin contract I couldn't find the pen. We'd built new cabinets and I knew it was in there somewhere, but had no clue where... so I went ahead and signed the contract with a plain ole pen. The results? Not nearly as positive as the first round. Insane line edits, an early release that affected numbers, promotion challenges... you name it. Let me tell ya, with my third contract due to arrive in the mail any day now, my purple pen is sitting right here on my desk, full of ink and waiting!Ano
ther of my personal superstitions? Pajamas. Really!! The first year I finaled in the Golden Heart, back in 2004, I was still in my jammies on my way to get dressed having given up on getting a call, when the phone rang. 2005, I had just gotten up, still in my jammies when that GH call came in. 2006 the GH call woke me up! I was in my pajamas when I got THE CALL from my editor offering to buy Double Dare, and again when my agent offered me representation. I've always wondered if I'd have won at least once if I'd worn my pj's to the award ceremony.Before I sold, I was a total contest diva. I always color coordinated my entry, so the rubber band matched the clip, which matched the colored paper between the entry and synopsis. Which color depended on which manuscript it was -each had their own "feel" and was coordinated accordingly. (Hmmm, maybe this post is simply letting everyone know I'm a little crazy, rather than an ode to superstitions).
In a week and a half, the Golden Heart and RITA calls will go out. How many of us will sit there, waiting by the phone with a rabbit's foot clenched in our fist, or a four leaf clover held between our fingers? Me, I'll be in my jammies, of course.
Do you have any superstitions that are yours alone? Any special steps or rituals you follow? How does that work for you? Have you ever skipped it and regretted it? If so, do you think the power of your superstition (mind over matter... you think something bad is going to happen and your belief creates the result) plays into the results, or are you like me and my special pen, and realize how vital that superstition is after the fact?
66 comments:
Oui?
Oui!
Tawny, love those jammies!!
My main superstition is never to expect good things to happen--then I might be pleasantly surprised. Actually, I don't even want to think about the R...R... no, I can't even say the word. But certain people keep bringing it up!
What people would do that, Christine? Not me ;-) Heck, as far as I'm concerned, I might as well go to bed in my clothes that day LOL.
My brother thinks the same way you do. He says he's never disappointed that way.
Oh, and yay me, I won the Golden Rooster! We're suddenly having summer here, so he's definitely soaking up some sun--in between cocktails of course:)
Christine! You little beauty. Now, be kind to him. He's been in combat training all day!
I'm actually quite superstitious - I've been in denial for many years saying I wasn't as my mother had a range of very odd superstitions that I used to find highly embarrassing as a young 'un. But I'm really careful about tempting fate. I never sit and count my chickens before they hatch because I know something somewhere will hear me and jump in and smash my eggs before those chickens get out to chase Golden Roosters. And I firmly believe things happen in threes. And I'm yet to be proven wrong on that one (mind you, perhaps because I get to choose what the criteria for the three are!).
I was raised by a superstitious mother and grandmother, I had no choice. I don't have any superstitions that are personal to me though, it is more a case of I know about a lot of them. I think my superstitions are more a matter of training from birth than an actual belief.
Christine--congrats!
Tawny--boy, do I believe in this! And Anna, it's weird, but that "three" thing is something we just take for granted around here. Like the second my dishwasher broke, my parents and my husband said, "ok, what are the next two things to go?" And I swear it always works out that way! Course, like you, I'm always wondering if believing too much in that is actually giving the bad luck more power, which is another nod to being way too superstitious....
Christine, congrats on nabbing the GR!
Tawny, I love your personal rituals. I think it's fascinating how much power we give completely incidental things in our lives.
Such as: every time I've gotten a finalist call for any contest, it has been a complete and total surprise. As in, I didn't even realize they were making calls that day. So, I didn't sweat it, didn't sit by the phone (which is why I missed most of them), didn't stress. The few times I actually realize it's "call day"...no call. So I've about convinced myself I simply need to ignore the chatter on the loops and do something fun that ENTIRE WEEKEND. Maybe it will be a lovely surprise! *g*
I keep telling people that it is a writer's sacred right to work in her jammies!
Now,instead of "Yes, I'm in my jammies, I'm WORKING! I can say, "Yes, these are my LUCKY jammies!"
Hey, my characters will be getting lucky, in any case!
And my last heroine was superstitious. It was great fun researching some of the old beliefs!
Tawny - If I were you, I'd live in those jammies. I know I try to *g*. I'm another believer in threes. And if something happens in a set of four - well, it just the second three set starting. Unfortunately, I've always counted the bad things that happen in those three sets - but good things can happen as well. So that's my new rule. Good things happen in threes. Like Christine will have two more good things happen to her now that she's snagged the GR.
Tawny, I have lots of superstitious folks in my family, but I seem to have escaped. Too busy to be superstitious!
Except I am a lot like Christine--the eternal pessimist. The way I see it, if you think nothing good will happen, you can only be pleasantly surprised!
(My eternal optimist husband thinks this is crazy, by the way.)
I grew up with a family who always expected the worst. And a few years ago I finally figured out that if you expect bad things to happen, then bad things happen. But it also works in reverse. Since changing the way I think, countless wonderful things have happened to me.
I haven't eliminated doubt and worry completely, but I try very hard to stay positive as much as possible. It keeps me sane (mostly *g*) and it's working so I'm sticking with it.
Congrats, Christine. Give that GR some soothing tea for his throat. All that battle crying...err...bokking had to take a toll.
I used to be a huge believer in my childhood, especially where exam times were involved. But today, I had to think really hard about what would be termed a superstition.
Is having a bobble-head Nora doll and a Jane Austen action figure (thanks, Donna!) around me count?
If so, then there's a candle with a special scent that I use only when I'm writing The Book. There are many things that remind me of Hawaii, the ocean, and the sun. There are Hawaiian Tikis, a picture of The Dalai Lama and Medicine Buddha. There's a mug from Candice Hern and a T-shirt, a hand-painted (by me) little trunk, a small picture book about the story of Jemima Puddle-duck by Beatrix Potter, a gorgeous filigree metal bookmark by Annie West and empty chocolate tins of Ghiradelli and Valrhona.
Front-center are two signs: BREATHE and B.I.C.H.O.K. (butt in chair, hands on keyboard).
OMG, Tawny! I too was in my jammies the day I got the GH call!
But, um was in scrubs the other day with the Suzannah call...though I WAS very close to going home and THINKING about my jammies.
I'm Irish. Of course I have superstitions. The main one being "knock on wood". This is especially useful at work when some naive person walks onto the floor and comments "It sure is quiet here." Ack!!! Knock on wood before we have 2 codes, a patient going off the deep end or the )*(&& floor waxer guy comes back!
*pant, pant*
Ever tried to find REAL wood at a nurse's station?
Well heck, Keira I consider those items less superstitious than tools of writing.
Looking at my hedgehog, goat, polar bear, penguin, dragon...rock from Irish beach...
Oh yeah, I'm superstitious. About sports. Obnoxiously so.
You see, I'm a HUGE professional football fan. The team that I love was once a glorious champion and now is notoriously mediocre. I start every single football season saying, I'll just be happy if they go .500. But, if they do start to get one a winning streak, I MUST wear the exact same outfit down to undies on game day, ever week. No one is EVER allowed to articulate that they think my team might go to the playoffs. EVER. Unless, you know, they're going next week or something.
Christine--you get the GR! Congratulations!
Tawny, this is an interesting subject. As for superstitions, I share Christine's about expecting things. I don't like to say where I've submitted in case putting the name in the ether jinxes it somehow. At our first big college debate tournament, my partner and I lived on Rolaids because we were so nervous. And we won! Thereafter, Rolaids at every tournament. We didn't always win, but we believed the Rolaids were vital to success. Tums or other such products wouldn't do. We had to have Rolaids!
Your pajama ritual reminds me of one of the guys on the team. He had a "lucky" shirt he always wore if he and his partner made the finals. He'd never lost in it.
Keira, I love your candle ritual.
As for call day, I just avoid the phone and the computer. Being near them makes me nervous and gives me faint qualms about being presumptuous and jinxing myself. If I can't avoid knowing what day it is, which I work very hard to do. So don't look for me online that day!
I don't have any superstitions other than "knock on wood" *g*
Although I do tend to believe things happen in threes. But like Anna, I chose the criteria for the three things which make it much easier to believe :-)
Hey Tawny! Love the jammies! :> I'm quite superstitious, but usually it comes down to the "real" vs. the habitual ones. Habit ones are those from childhood about stepping on cracks and walking under ladders. Don't really BELIEVE I'll break my Mama's back or that I'll have bad luck, but avoid it nevertheless!
As to "Real" ones, the "touch wood" is always in force to avert evil or bad things happening. "Death comes in threes" is usually in force, once one goes, I wait for the other shoes to drop - and that applies to appliances as well as people! Ha!
I have to say, seeing the pretty pen, I'm going to get one and use it for all my contracts from here on out. Great idea! :>
Oh, forgot to say, congrats on the GR Christine! He'll need a rest and a few cocktails...(hmmm, just thinking about that word...perhaps we should say "Drinks" around the GR!) after hanging out w/ P226 yesterday. Be sure he gets a good wash too, with all that shooting and field manuvers he'll be sure to be sweaty and dusty. Grins.
I actually have no superstitions and don't believe in the supernatural. But I LOVE to read about that stuff because it's such an interesting window into the human mind. Everyone heard about the supernatural garden gnome recently spotted in Argentina? If not, you can read about it here:
http://tinyurl.com/297tyv
Tawny: Working in jammies is the BEST. Those are really cute!
Keira, I have a wee bust of Ms. Austen, but now that I've heard about your bobble-Norah, I feel behind the times.
Glad the GR went to Oz. He needs a little R&R after p226's intense training.
I'm with Christine on this one. If I never expect something to happen, then I won't be disappointed. I HATE being disappointed, mind you. I try to banish the date of the GH and Rita announcements from my mind!
LOL, Tawny, on the pj's. I should be getting calls right and left because I'm never out of my pajamas unless I leave the house. Sad, isn't it? But, you know, otherwise it's a waste of clothing and makeup!
I don't think there's a superstitious bone in my body. I'm too cerebral for that. It is fun, however, to note what other people do in the name of superstition.
I so get that Three Thing, Anna. Dr. Big INSISTS that famous people die in threes. It's proved amazingly true, too!
What a fun post, Tawny! And love the jammies!
I'm sort of randomly superstitious--I'm mostly like Christine, trying not to anticipate or uh, count the chickens, as it were ;) Then I'm extra happy when they hatch! And since we got married on a 13th, I've since decided that 13 is our lucky number :)
And congrats on the GR, Christine! See any demonstrations of his sword play or target practice yet? Or is he too busy recuperating?
Hmmmm. I think I'm not superstitious. I'm one of those believers in "creating your own by the thoughts you put out to the universe" I guess. I was born on the 13th, and have never had any obvious adverse affects.
I do have rituals, but they're for putting me in the right mindset to write. Coffee is a ritual for me. I went off caffeine recently, and I'm swigging enough decaf to make up for it. Even when I write at Panera with my laptop (going there in a few minutes) there HAS to be a cup of coffee sitting next to me. Even if I'm not drinking it.
You know what though? I have a certain "meal" for each book. While I was writing my first book I ate roast beef and swiss with spicy mustard on rye bread. I swear. That's almost all I ate. I pounded that draft out in three weeks. Later, as I re-read the draft, the hero is making a sandwich...and yup...same stuff.
The sequel to it was peanut butter on bananas. Got my protein during that writing streak.
There was a "grilled steak" book, which was harder since that's not a quick-to-fix meal.
I've just started a new series--totally off what I normally write--and I haven't found the food yet. Hmmm.... maybe that's why it isn't flowing....
I love the special pen idea!
flchen1 said:
And congrats on the GR, Christine! See any demonstrations of his sword play or target practice yet? Or is he too busy recuperating?
Oh, Christine. Don't give him a tiny sword with a cherry on it in his cocktail! I'm afraid he'll go into attack mode! And a toothpick could be a tiny staff--he could attack with that too! Better just dump the cherry into the drink. He'll have fun trying to fish it out.
Cassondra: A special meal for each book... Now that's a new one.
esri said:
Cassondra: A special meal for each book... Now that's a new one.
Weird, isn't it? I didn't plan it. I just started craving that particular food. When I'm at my best as a writer, I write in binges--hardly any sleep, just write like a maniac when I'm "in the flow" and this seems to be part of my "flow."
I'm too afraid of the girls in the basement to say no to what they want. Although right now on the "no caffeine, no bread, no preservatives, no refined sugar" diet from h*ll, it may be a bit challenging.
Hey, I am not one to fight my muse. I have a hard enough time getting the girls in the basement to come out and play.
I will say though, that in each experience, that particular food I'm craving is a favorite food of one of my main characters. Whether it appears in the book or not, that's what it is. Maybe it's some wonky way of getting into my characters' heads...????
LOL Anna! Definitely an egg theme you have there. Now I'm imaganing you crafting a romance between the GR and some sultry chicken.
I do get what you're saying. I never count on things. For instance, I treat myself to a pair of new shoes when I sell a book. But I won't even look for the perfect pair until I get the actual check. Agreement isn't enough, signed contract isn't enough. It has to be 'final'!
Jo said:
I so get that Three Thing, Anna. Dr. Big INSISTS that famous people die in threes. It's proved amazingly true, too!
Jo, My grandmother believed that all people die in threes. In other words, if someone you know dies, watch for the other two people. As I grew up and watched it, that also has proven amazingly true.
I don't buy into it or worry about it, but you know, when I hear about someone passing in the community, that thought pops into my head--who will be the next two--so my grandmother's indoctrination is still there, whether I "own" it or not.
Dianna, I really do think that we draw things to us. So like you say, belief does give energy to superstitions.
Gillian, Donna & Jo - that three thing is interesting. My SIL is a huge believer in it. Me, I figure one bad thing happens and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure it stops there LOL. Um, especially now that you all are talking about dying in threes. I'd definitely want to step off THAT merry-go-round!
Caren that is such a healthy, stress-free way to handle contests :-D I always told myself to ignore them, but I never managed it. Probably because I'm the anal freak that puts the announce dates on a calendar.
LOL Deb. The irony is, I don't work in my jammies *g* At least, not often. Since I write at night, I'm already dressed. I do, however, tend to still be in jammies till late morning, and most of the good stuff happens earlier since I'm on the West Coast.
See... I can explain the superstition away with logic. I realize there are perfectly good explanations... but I swear, if I ever final in the RITA, I'm finding a way to wear my jammies!
LOL Kraig - at least with you an eternal pessimist and your husband an eternal optimist, you've got a great balance going on!
Terrio, have you read The Secret? Its based on the Law of Attraction, and says almost exactly what you just did *g*. What we focus on is what we draw into our lives. Like you, I'm never quite able to toss off the doubts or worries, but I do try and believe that good things are coming... eventually.
Congrats Madame D-W! Make sure the GR is nicely cleaned up and dashing before he has too many drinks.
Tawny, LOVE the post and the pen! And hey! I was also in jammies when I got the GH call and THE CALL, because I was asleep both times. hmmmm maybe there's something to this whole jammie thing?!?!
And YES to the whole "expect the worst so you'll never be disappointed" mindset. That's me. Plus, stuff really does happen in 3s, good and bad.
As for a personal superstition, anybody ever hear this one? My Gramma always said that if you tell your dreams before breakfast, they will come true! Now mostly this was meant in the negative sense (see expect the worst above). If you have a nightmare, DO NOT tell it! This is a practice I've followed all my life. I don't talk about my bad dreams. Talking about the "good" ones hasn't seemed to work, however. :-P
AC
:-) Keira, it sounds like you've got a fabulous ritual for writing! I teach a workshop called Courting the Muse that incorporates a lot of what you already do. Scent, sight and surrounding yourself with things that create a relaxed, yet empowered atmostphere that helps you write. By using the same scent, writing in the same space, you basically create a self-hypnotic state that helps you write.
Ever tried to find REAL wood at a nurse's station?
Tongue depresser, JT? LOL I'd carry one in my pocket ;-)
I guess I do the knock on wood thing, too. Isn't it funny, if I'd had to list my superstitions I wouldn't have even thought of it. I guess its one of those childhood things that are so ingrained you just don't realize you do it until its pointed out.
ROFL Marykate... right down to the undies? You can do laundry, though, right? I've read about sports superstitions but hadn't ever chatted with anyone who actually had them, so I've always been curious about that detail ;-)
Rolaids, Nancy? I love it LOL. and you know, the thing about my jammies is it wasn't always the same ones. I couldn't tell you from call to call which pj's I was wearing, so I can't even pinpoint the 'lucky' ones. Its just, you know, jammies.
;-) Way to make your superstition work for you, Beth!
Jeanne, I think you're totally right with the habitual vs 'real' superstitions. I'm still not jumping on the death in three's bandwagon though. I mean, whats the deadline on that? A month? A year? Three years? Ack!
I did have three lousy sucky things happen, career-wise, last week, though. Would that count and now I can have all good stuff?
btw, the pen rocks!!
Esri, no superstitions at all? Go you! ;-) That is one mean garden gnome story, though. It looks like a demented potato *g*
Jo - we homeschool and my husband got all wierded out at the idea of the kids being in their jammies for school - he insisted that they have to get up and get dressed 'as if' its real school (sigh, it IS real, doh) and it just wasn't fair that I keep my jammies on, too. But I hear you, why waste the makeup and all that if you're not leaving the house.
btw, if Dr. Big believes, and you've seen it over and over... does that mean YOU believe? Hmmm?
Fun post, Tawny and congrats to Christine on the GR nab. Treat him kindly. After his commando class with P226, he probably needs a bird massage!
Supersitions? Well I never mention the "Q word" at work. Q-U-I-E-T. As soon as someone utters, "Boy, it sure is Q around here", poof four patients come through the door!
As for writing? Well, I do try to work the night before GH/Rita calls. And I always call my CP early before going to bed. If she hasn't called me first!
First, I'd say frame those jammies, Tawny, and second - keep that pen handy because you're going to need it a lot.
My good luck charm is a pair of balls one of my blessing gave me when I needed something to hang onto. We all need something that we can count on in a pinch and in a time of anxiety - good kind or bad. My second crutch is summoning up my angels. Since I need a flock of them to watch over me, I find at least one is around when I need them.
Tawny, I love how you relate special moments in your life with special things. Me, I have never really given much thought to superstitions, but I can tell you one thing, you've made a believer out of me. lol AM is going to sit down and really think hard on this on how and what will bring her some good luck.
Wow, what a pile of interesting comments! Esri, love the gnome! Cassondra, giggled at you and your special menu for every book. I have music that is associated with every book but a particular sandwich? Nuh!
Tawny--I love the idea of your special PJs conferring some kind of charmed luck on the GH/Rita calls! I'm reluctant to try it here at my house, though, because I've only ever received one GH call & I was STARK NAKED when I received it. :-)
True story. I wish I could block out awareness of call dates like Caren does, but of course I knew it was the day. I'd been waiting for it, what, six months? But, like Christine, I wasn't allowing myself to imagine I could possibly get a call, so I'd forced myself to just do my morning thing.
I was in the shower when the phone rang & you'd better believe I hauled my cookies to the nearest phone where I tried to sound as if I weren't naked & dripping wet. "Oh thank you," I said, as if I finaled in the GH every day. I hung up, grabbed a towel & squealed like a prom queen. :-)
So I hope to god being naked isn't my lucky charm. :-) Chances are good that my phone won't ring, & I'd be in for a very long, chilly morning. :-)
Fedora, another #13 fan! Happy anniversary (whatever month it might have been *g*) yesterday ;-)
Cassandra, WOW. Talk about a ritual. You really have the same meal all during the book? It takes me 3 months to write a book... thats a lot of sandwiches *g* Do you eat them while you write, or just randomly?
Tawny - I've never read that book. I had no idea. LOL! Maybe I should pick that up!
And I believe in the 3s thing. Everytime a celebrity dies, the first thing my sister says is, "I wonder who the other 2 will be."
And I won't let my daughter open an umbrella in the house. I guess that counts as a superstition.
I really didn't think I was superstitious, but after I read all your comments I find a lot I hadn't noticed! The "three" thing is common here too, but not about dying, more of bad things to happen, and to knock on wood. I don't believe in seven years of bad luck when you break a mirror,but...I don't like it...
Tawny said:
Cassandra, WOW. Talk about a ritual. You really have the same meal all during the book? It takes me 3 months to write a book... thats a lot of sandwiches *g* Do you eat them while you write, or just randomly?
LOL! Well, it's not like I can't have anything else. I can eat whatever I want. It's just that I crave that particular thing. It's almost like I'm pregnant with the book I guess...and have to feed the cravings. And although I was aware that I do that, I never put it together solidly until today when I read your blog--that I've had a different craving with every book. And I don't do it much during revisions, which take...dear Lord...YEARS. But during the initial "flow" of getting the first blast of the story out of my system...I do that really FAST in binges. The best books have been the binge books because I can totally indulge the creative flow. When I've tried to discipline it and put it on a schedule, it never works as well. I don't get the cravings then either.
And yes, I eat while I write. That's what made me realize this is an actual "thing" I do. I was trying to think of what's beside me while I write. Certain music puts me in the mood for that book, and it's coffee and the food the characters have chosen. Fortunately they haven't chosen anything too weird or yucky yet. ;0) I might have to balk on them if that happened.
Okay, now you all are gonna call the men in the white coats aren't you.
I think the knock on wood...as I understand it...has to do with blocking the hearing of the mischevious wood elves/sprites/trolls/termites? who will hear your concern and then do their best to make the bad thing happen.
LOL, Susan on being naked being your good luck charm.
AC --talk about dreams before breakfast? I've never heard that one before. Of course, I don't talk before breakfast at all if I can help it. Words just won't flow until there is a mass quantity of caffiene in my system LOL.
Well done Christine I am sure he is going to enjoy the weather after his training.
Great post Tawny I don't think that I am superstitious I believe what will happen will happen but I am a firm believer in things happen in threes.
One thing that I won't do is put shoes on a table it is something that my mother always said and it has stayed with me but black cats Friday 13th they don't bother me but I won't walk under a ladder though.
Have Fun
Helen
Suz, LOL on the Q word ;-) And on your GH/RITA ritual, it sounds like a good one! Especially the writing part.
Marlene, you do rock those brass balls!! I love the flock of angels, too :-) You definitely deserve them!
Anne-Marie, heeheehee, brought another one over to the dark side. ;-)
Anna, I have a playlist for each book, too! I don't call that superstition though, more along the lines of, well, hypnosis. I play it while I write, then when its time to revise, do line edits, etc, I play it again and am right back in the mindframe and connected with my characters.
C'mon Susan... aren't you just a leeeetle tempted to be naked the morning of the GH/RITA calls? Just a leeeetle? *beg* I would be. And there is an excellent chance of your phone ringing...you finaled before for a very good reason!
Terrio, its a pretty good book. Odd format, but good info ;-) I'm laughing about the umbrella in the house. I don't allow it either, but thats because we are a houseful of klutzes. If there was an open umbrella, someone would fall on it and poke out their eye... guaranteed!
Eva, isn't it intriguing how little superstitions become a part of our culture? Like Jeanne called them, habitual superstitions.
Okay, now you all are gonna call the men in the white coats aren't you. LOLOLOL Cassandra! I'd say no, although I love your analogy of birthing a story and pregancy cravings!!
Susan, if nothing else, your dh would have a great morning! He'd probably encourage you to enter LOTS of contests! Hee hee
One thing that I won't do is put shoes on a table
Um... well, yeah, I can see not doing that LOL. My stepmom was a clean freak, so the idea of putting shoes on a table makes me cringe a little. I'm with you on the ladder thing, though.
ROFL Deb, methinks Susan should try the naked thing. Really really!!
Tawny, where I can get a pair of jammies like that? I need a pair of lucky ones. Maybe my problem is I get up and dressed too quickly. I need to spend more time in my jammies.
Gillian, I sooo believe in the law of threes. It happens all the times.
Honestly though, I'm not as superstitious as I used to be. I definitely am one who believes in hunches. If I get that feeling I shouldn't do something, I go with it.
Thanks, Tawny! :) I completely spaced that yesterday was the 13th, but at least it wasn't the right month--whew!
Susan, and all of you jammies-wearing special-phone call answerers, aren't we glad that the whole video-phone thing hasn't really taken off? ;)
And yes, Susan, I'm with Tawny and Deb--just plan on taking some extra time in the shower that morning. Your DH will probably really enjoy it, too. Although how might that affect your rituals for awaiting future contest results? ;)
Christie, the key is finding your oldest, rattiest, 'do not even think about photographing this moment' jammies. Those are the special ones LOL. And hunches... I'm a HUGE believer in hunches, too! Of course, after reading
Fedora - video phone?!?! OMG what a scary thing! You're right, I'm SOOOO glad they haven't taken off ;-)
Good evening, Banditas! Sorry I am so late to the party. Had to pick up my bassett/dachshund from the vet. (Don't tell her, but I had her S-P-A-Y-E-D)I am such a spay neuter fanatic that my iguanas have all been spayed or neutered and the horse I owned for over 35 years was a gelding. My brothers joke that it is not a good idea to stand still at my place for fear you might lose something!
I had a Cherokee/Creek grandmother and a Welsh grandmother. OF COURSE, I'm superstitious!
Tawny, I LOVE the jammies story. I am a big believer in working in my jammies, but I only get to do it on my days off. Wal-Mart objects to my wearing them at work!
Congrats on the GR, Christine. He was craving some Aussie sunshine and hospitality. Who can blame him??
I have carefully stored the pen Nicola Cornick sent me from the Jane Austen Centre in Bath so that when I finally do get published I can sign my contract with it. Of course it may be completely dried up by that time. Hell, by that time I may be all dried up!
I can tell you that singers are very superstitious. We all had our little rituals before we went on stage. One that used to drive the professors and maestros crazy was whenever one of us would enter the Mozarteum main hall, whether for lessons or a performance, we would genuflect and bend a knee to the statue of Mozart that looks over the foyer at the top of the marble staircase. And say "Ave Mozart" when we did. They would yell at us every time and every time we did it. We each had a story about when we didn't and how badly a lesson or performance had gone.
I always wear the birthstone ring that was given to my mother when she turned sixteen when I sing. I also wear a silver locket that contains a picture of my dh. It may not be showing, but I wear it on my person.
For writing I have to have the little figurine of two goldfinches huddled together that my dh gave me before I left for Austria.
My grandmother taught my brothers the Cherokee prayers for hunting. When they kill a deer they say the prayers - praising the deer's courage, acknowledging his sacrifice, and apologizing for killing him. It ends with a thank you for providing for their families. They then make use of every part of the deer. Nothing is thrown away. All of that is supposed to assure them a successful hunting season. In all these years they have never failed to kill a deer. They are teaching my nephews the same prayers and reverence.
I gave my nephews traditional Creek knives for Christmas and demanded a penny from each of them in payment because my Mom said so. Anybody know why?
doglady said:
I gave my nephews traditional Creek knives for Christmas and demanded a penny from each of them in payment because my Mom said so. Anybody know why?
There's a superstition that giving a knife severs a friendship. Is that it?
I don't adhere to that and have given my husband many, many knives as gifts (he and I both love knives and he has given me a lot of nice knives as gifts as well--for one anniversary he asked what I wanted and I said "A Browling three-bladed skinning knife"....not what your typical wife asks for as a gift.)
There may be other superstitions surrounding the giving of knives, but I don't know them.
Love the prayer for hunting though. We do a form of that as well. When my husband hunted (he doesn't hunt much any more though he's very good at it). Thanking the animal who gave its life so that we might live is an important ritual I think. And great that they're passing the ritual on to their children! It teaches kids the reality of life and death. An important lesson I believe--that life has no reset button.
Doglady and Cassondra, the payment of the penny is so that you don't sever the friendship, or that none of the ties between you are cut. The other person essentially "pays" you for the gift of the knife. :> Grins.
Right. That's the superstition I'd heard before.
I never demanded a penny from the dh though, and he never demanded pennies from me. Hmmmm. My dad used to give me knives as well. I never gave him pennies.
I've heard this more than once though.
OH! I know one thing we adhere to strictly. My husband has a celtic arm band tattoo. The celtic arm band should never be completely joined. There should always be a gap in it. I blow off all the sidewalk crack-ladder-horseshoe-mirror superstitions, but even I adhere to that one about the arm band. I guess I'm more superstitious than I thought.
Tawny, this was a really cool subject for a blog!
Doglady, working on ones jammies is definitely a job perk, huh? I love your rituals (well, if I were a dude I'd worry about the spaying one, a little) and think it rocks that you have your pen on hand for that awesome contract when it arrives!! How cool that Cassandra and Jeanne had your answer, too, huh?
Leave it to the Bandita's to know a little bit about everything!!
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