Paraskevidekatriaphobia

With all my pictures on the sending of good luck for Lao new year, I forgot yesterday's date. I guess that shows how concerned I was about it.

http://skepdic.com/paraskevidekatriaphobia.html has an interesting set of articles on Friday the 13th, starting off with the following:

"Paraskevidekatriaphobia is a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Therapist Dr. Donald Dossey, whose specialty is treating people with irrational fears, coined the term. He claims that when you can pronounce the word you are cured."

Nothing unusual happened yesterday, other than I was able to find time to update my blogs and write some. Of course, as I write this, it's still Friday the 13th in the US!

"Haut nam" - for good luck. 

Giving good wishes to the Mor Phone for a good new year and long life. 

Blessing the hearth of the house, using the sticky rice cooker as the symbol. 

"Get off the bad luck of the last year and receive the good luck of the new year."  

Rice field in Phou Kout, where we spent one day of the Lao new year holiday. It's the site of one of the scenes of my story, "The Memories of Old Men."