Thursday, December 28, 2006

Why I Named My Blog "Snake In My Shoe"

After buying the farm, if anything could have gone wrong, it did. The land had never been cleared, had no electricity, well, or anything.

First, I tripped on a rock and fell butt first into a huge fire, with SHORTS ON, and couldn't get out of it. Luckily someone saw me and pulled me out. I had second and third degree burns on my thighs and butt that required home nursing care for two weeks.

Second, I had various major ankle sprains due to holes on the property. Third, fell off a ladder from 10 feet up, traumatizing my inner thigh. Don't know how many orthopaedic physicians and emergency room trips I had during the first 9 months.

Many other things, but these were the worst. I was beginning to think doom was looming over my head.
I mentioned my ordeals to an old lady from around here and she indicated that the Indian spirits on the land were disturbed!

"What?" I asked, "Hubby is the one clearing the land with the tractor; I am planting flowers and tending animals!" "Why would karma or whatever be trying to kill me?"

The old woman indicated that I was a special soul that "They" could reach. Okay, whatever. Sometimes I do have dreams about things that have yet to occur and "know" things before they ever happen.

She told me to sprinkle special salt around the property and tell the spirits that I was not there to harm them or the land, until she could come out and "bless" the property.

Alright, sounds loony, but I had nothing to lose at this point. So, I did as she told me.

Guess what? The injuries stopped, but THEN

My first birthday here was to be uneventful. I planned on lying in the hammock under the stars drinking wine with Hubby. What the hell could happen?

A few glasses of wine later, I had to go potty. Slipped on my sneakers and BAM - snake in my damn shoe! Trust me, you will know immediately what it is!

Now I've never been scared of snakes, as long as I see them first, but I squealed and got that shoe off faster than a ho on crack. Hubby killed the snake. Then I began to fret that I had been sent some kind of bad omen and that killing the snake meant the worst.

Later I was telling a good friend of mine about the ordeal. She happens to have studied ancient goddesses and such. She relayed to me that this was a wonderful omen. The
Snake Goddess is believed to be a guardian angel over households.

I don't know if I believe in all that rigamarole, but while I have had alot of tragedy in my life as of late, I have not hurt myself. And I like to think that I am Momma - guardian of my babies and home!
So there you have it!

7 comments:

none said...

Interesting. Heck, I would have done the ceremony too. Anything that doesn't hurt might help.

I'm not a reptile fan and probably would have screamed like a pansy if I had a snake in my shoe.

concerned citizen said...

I love snakes. Although, not in my shoes! When I lived in arizona I got in the habit of shaking out my shoes in the morning in case a scorpion was in one.

Not a bad idea to appease the spirits, just in case.

Sarge Charlie said...

One think I can promise you is that a snake in the shoe with my foot would be all it would take, I have this phobia about snakes, the pace maker would have ceased to be of value.......

You may want to read some of my old post about growing up on the farm, back to being a sharecropper after my farther came home from the navy in WWII.

The old sarge

thanks for stopping by, next time have a tall glass of iced tea...

Sarge Charlie said...

i did mean thing not think

No Mas said...

Hammer: Yeah, I'd have probably done a rain dance if someone had suggested "no more evil spirits."

Tart: I usually check my shoes for vermin but the one time....

Sarge: I'll be sure to read your historical posts.

Anonymous said...

Many people believe the snake is a symbol of two worlds.

Sometimes it is the Devil and somtimes it is the healer.

It symbolizes transformation because only snakes shed their skin to become renewed.

Before the snake begins to shed its skin, and as its eyes begin to cloud over, the snake has a trancelike appearance. To many with strong medicine, this indicates the ability of the snake to move between the realms of the living and the dead, of crossing over from life to death and then back to life again.

The shedding of the skin is also a symbol of rebirth or resurrection...of letting go of old ways and accepting the new.

The snake is a guardian. It is found in myth and lore guarding treasures, the springs of life or sacred places.

I would still watch my shoes though.

No Mas said...

Two Dogs: Thanks for visiting and providing a very interesting comment.