Just so you know, I did not eat the FarmHands. As much as I wanted to, I refrained. I felt that would just be entirely too much red meat for any one girl to ingest in one setting. Last night was one of those nights when I felt like the Old Woman who lived in a Shoe. It's funny....that rhyme has so many variations, I'm never quite sure what she fed her children or did to them. Did she give them all butter without any bread or broth without any bread? Did she whip them all soundly, spank them all soundly, or beat them all soundly before sending them to bed? While I took none of those routs, I truly wanted to hog tie them & toss them in the closet until morning. Just a bad night.
But on the upside, Inkling called to make sure I hadn't yet devoured my kids. I've gotten to talk to her quite a bit lately and I'm really relishing it! Especially when we get to say more than 3 words without being interrupted by FarmHands.
Onto your questions! Kork asks: What is the origin/history of crossing your fingers for good luck, AND why then, does it negate a promise if you cross your fingers?
Oddly enough, I can find very little on the history of this. I do know the crossing of fingers (middle finger over index) is fairly recent. One site said the earliest reference to that was made in the 1890's. Another said it stems from an Old English tradition of making a cross with your index fingers (think cheesy vampire flicks) to ward off evil spirits. It was believed beginning spirits dwelt at the intersection of the fingers. Eventually this morphed into crossing your fingers for luck.
As far as why it's believed to negate a promise, I can find even less. One site stated it was mainly a dramatic device used in movies to let the audience in on what the crosser already knows.
Mrs.Pop says: I seem to recall you had a fruit fly problem last summer. What finally worked to get rid of them?
Ah yes, the infamous fruit fly infestation of 2007. That was truly nasty. There are two posts in my archives that can help you with this. This one describes the trap I made & the other has a picture of said trap. I hope this helps. It worked wonders for me!
Finally, Mrs.X queries: why is it considered proper etiquette for a woman to cross her legs at the ankles rather than at the knees?
While I have no idea if health concerns influence this area of etiquette, I do know crossing your legs at the knee is not good for circulation.
In my search, I found a Russian Orthodox site that says crossing your legs in church is unacceptable because you are not at home & should not maintain such a casual posture. They believe you should be constantly "ready to attend" or stand at any moment. Interesting.
Mainly I think the practice originated to keep women's skirts from riding up & showing something shocking...like their ankles. If you only cross your ankles you don't run the risk of flashing pantie in a short skirt.
I was in a play once where I played a prim & proper secretary (well, prim & proper aside from the fact she was pregnant with her dead, married boss' baby). I decided early on that Miss Trent would never have crossed her legs at the knee (something I'm overly prone to doing), so I taught myself to cross my ankles right over left. I think it was something I picked up while watching A League of Their Own. I never though much about it after that. One night after our performance I had an older woman come up to me & comment on how much she loved that I always sat with my knees together & my ankles properly crossed to the side. Secretly I wish I'd have attended finishing school....maybe when Art opens hers for the less fortunate, she'll let me attend.
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