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Halloween '09

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Oh, it was a lovely evening, after all. It was as if the saints all smiled at once, parted the clouds, stopped the rain, and let the children play.


Calvin and Hobbes, ready to go!

Halloween's weather did not bode well for us. It poured all morning, never got out of the 50's, and the forecast was dire: rain, with a low of 38. Yow. Phoebe with a scratchy throat and full sinuses, Liam with a fervent desire not to ruin his costume with a coat...a mom's dilemma. We multilayered long underwear beneath the costumes, packed umbrellas, and went. And the rain stopped and it stayed about 60 degrees, and it was luverly.

First, to suit up and get to the elementary school Halloween party, which was small and thus much more sufferable than usual, thanks probably to porcine flu thinning the ranks of little revelers.

Electrician's tape came in handy this year in our costume-making efforts. There is always tape involved, since I am nobody's seamstress. I was worried that Liam would find his Calvin "costume" too prosaic, but some hair wax and a sign on his chest helped. He never complained. He just wanted it to be true. He IS Calvin, in his mind.
Jessi and MacKenzie were crayolas.

Daddy kept having to re-do Calvin's spikes. Ow ow ow!
Phoebe's sisterly tenderness toward her younger brother, which extends to teaming up with him for Halloween, and attending his elementary school party and competing in the costume contest, never fails to melt our hearts.
They didn't win anything but our hearts. I kind of doubt the judges knew who Calvin and Hobbes are, but c'est la vie. It didn't hurt their feelings, and that's what matters.


We drive the kids into town to trick-or-treat, since there are so few homes out our way. I always forget until the moment we get out of the car that Marietta smells absolutely amazing on Halloween. The sweet gums and sycamores that line the streets have an intoxicating, spicy scent that is more intense when the fallen leaves get wet. I go into an instant state of rapture and stay that way as the evening comes on. Between the scent of wet leaves and the feast of visual images of trick-or-treaters and front porches and jack-o-lanterns lit in the night, I am in heaven.
Two little bugs compare their wings.
Sophi and Oona, our treasured little girlfriends.

Eyob and Abel, surprised by the flash, and trying to figure out what in tarnation is going on all around them.
The warm light of porches, the friendly smiles, the ghoulish masks...
The folks who go all out...
A tiger's stripes, melting into buttermilk.

I will continue tomorrow. I'm overloading on visual and olfactory memories, not to mention Almond Joys.

13 comments:

Love Calvin, love Hobbes, love our little bugs.

And Marietta does smell delicious. Who knew? New gifts every day....

Calvin and Hobbes! That was a great strip. They're perfect for them!

I miss Calvin and Hobbes in the daily paper. But re-reading their books nver ceases to make me smile. Liam and Phoebe made me smile, too.

Sweeeeeet! :c)

Brilliant idea! I've always loved Calvin and Hobbes. With your handiwork, Phoebe and Liam hit it spot on. So sweet the way they hang together.

That is really Halloween. Here, it was 91 degress and all the little lady bugs and bumblebees needed no turtlenecks or long johns underneath their costumes. Sounds like a wonderful day.

Kudos to you all for being Hallowe'en original in costume choice and assemblage.
I saw one little tyke come by our house--and I said Power Ranger? He said, no, Bumble Bee? Gulp--is bumble bee just bumble bee? Or is it a new super hero? I don't know.
At least, Calvin and Hobbes I would know. Both the original ones, and the cartoon ones.

Yay for Calvin and Hobbes. I love "Calvin's" spiky do, even if it did have to be re-done by pappa every now and again. And Phoebe makes an excellent Hobbes - their differences in height is just perfect for this duo. C&H is my absolute all-time favorite cartoon. Such sweetness. Glad you all had a grand ol' time. Hope Phoebe's feeling okay.

Ohh, Calvin and Hobbes! My heart broke when Watterson stopped the daily strip. We have the entire collection in books so not all is lost. I knew who Phoebe and Liam were without even looking at the caption. And goodness, has Oona grown or what? since the time Chet babysat for her. Little girl now, no longer a baby.

(KGmom- Bumble Bee is a Transformer from the movie!)

oh how I miss my 'babies'...Your post captures exactly how I used to feel with my two kids...now a tad old for mom to take them trick or treating! Enjoy the moment, treasure it!

This is awesome. You were wise to add a descriptive name tag; I dressed my two as Calvin and Hobbes two years ago (Ivy loves dressing as a tiger) and doubt that one person in three knew who they were!

The kids could instantly tell when people got it. There would be this crow of recognition and then they'd dump double handfuls of candy in their buckets! Yes--probably one in four knew. But those that knew made all the difference. And it was Liam's idea. Which I love.

I suffered through the New York Daily News' glib, sensational news coverage every morning just to get my Calvin & Hobbes fix. When they stopped appearing, I embraced the New York Times, once again leaving behind "childish" pursuits and adopting the more bland and desultory vestments of weary adulthood.

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