Halloween, Grover, and happy memories

Grover - 1989 - Obviously Homemade.  

When Heather was 7, she wanted to dress up as Grover (from Sesame Street) and I made this furry costume out of bathroom carpet type fur.  Sounds awesome, right?  It never dawned on me to paint her face blue, but we did add a  red clown nose, and red lipstick. She even carried around her Grover stuffed animal.

Sadly, NOBODY guessed who she was.  Heather was adorable - the costume, not so much.  But every Halloween it gives us a reason to laugh and smile.

Heather is such a trooper for posting this picture.  I mean come on.  We all have those pictures tucked away from our childhood.

My Mom did make some of my costumes and they were wonderful.  An even better and funnier memory was my Mom walking us around the neighborhood for trick-or-treat, cigarette in one hand and sometimes a glass of wine in the other.  No judgements made here.  Just a sign of a more simplistic time without cell phones to capture those moments best left in your memory.  But I digress.

As for those store bought early 1960s costumes, I fondly remember how awkward they were to wear.   The plastic masks were attached with an elastic band with metal clip that always broke on one side so you had to hold it in place.  Better than that - how about the small eye holes so you couldn't see where you were going.  Excellent memories - fun times - wouldn't trade them for anything.

When I think about Halloween and spooky things, I reflect on things that terrified me as a child:

• SNAKES (you can read my previous blog about snakessss - eww  http://businessedge-basil.blogspot.com/2015/05/hate-and-fear.html
• daddy long leg spiders,
• sleeping alone at night (the foot of my parents bed was the safest and most peaceful place in the house, 
• dark houses, 
• basements (where trolls may live under the stair case), 
• the monster that lived under my bed and could grab my legs if I got out of bed.  Leaping from the bed to the door entrance became an art, and
• so many more that may make me sound like a neurotic freak.  Ha 

Well - happy to report that I have grown up and conquered some of these fears.  I no longer have the dexterity to jump from the bed to the door - but I do have a security system.  Ha.  Take that bed trolls.

Back to Heather and her cute Grover outfit.  To redeem my sewing skills, here are a few pictures of costumes that I made.  Sorry Grover - you are one cute loveable furry guy, but we love looking at my Grover creation and laughing.


Remember to live, laugh, and love.  XO
Lisa