Happy Halloween!

We started off our Halloween the night before when we took a family trip to a wonderful neighborhood haunted house* and then came home to eat Chinese food and carve pumpkins.

Beatrice drew on her pumpkin with a marker and then I carved along the lines she drew (correcting for basic structural soundness). She was so, so proud of the pumpkin she carved "by herself," especially when we took it outside on the porch to light it up.


Then we were up early Monday morning to attend her preschool's Halloween party, which featured a costume parade, trick or treating around the church building, and classroom parties. Beatrice had a wonderful time, even if she was terrified of Adeline's father in his Shrek mask.

Then, trick or treating!
This was the highlight of Beatrice's month, not least because she spent all of October "practicing" trick or treating every night, wearing her costume, carrying her treat bucket, and running up and down the sidewalk, getting ready for the Big Night. (For a month now she has been reciting over and over, "On Halloween you dress up like Madeline and eat chocolate candy.")
Arthur also enjoyed his owl costume, or at least put up with it quite well.

After making the rounds ourselves, we all sat on the porch and Beatrice handed out candy and toys to other kids. Trick or treating was particularly nice this year because it gave us a chance to get to know our new neighborhood better - the families on our block all stayed outside talking while we distributed candy.

And with that, sadly, a month of leaf hunts, corn mazes, petting zoos, pumpkin festivals, pie baking, cider drinking, face painting, pony rides, pumpkin carving, seed roasting, apple picking, costume sewing, mask making, Victorian galas, "scary" stories, and chocolate candy comes to an end. I can truly say this year's was the best Halloween I've ever had.

*When the zombie popped up from the ground at the haunted house, Beatrice shouted at it, "I love you!"

(Mostly) Sewing My Own Halloween Costume

I knew when I bought my Halloween costume pattern last July that I was in for a challenge. My only other experience sewing clothing was a pair of simple drawstring pajama pants, and this was a 24-piece, 61-step pattern requiring zippers, stay-stitching, gathering, boning, yolks, and ruffles. Plus something called a "sleeve flange."

But I went into it confident that when I got in too far over my head my mother would bail me out. Which she did. Repeatedly.

Still, I sewed the skirt and the coat mostly by myself. (My mom sewed the bodice, which is why the bodice looks so much better than the skirt and the coat.) And I learned so much on the way, including how to set zippers and how to attach sleeves. I also got to stay up until 3am one night pleating and hemming 27 feet of fabric for the skirt ruffle.

Of course my mother and I were up at midnight a few days before the party working on the finishing touches when my sewing machine broke. On step 58 of 61. My industrious mother got up at 7am to finish the sleeves by hand - and as for me, I took one look at all the yards of fabric left to hem, went to Jo-Ann's, and bought some fabric glue*.

Thank you, Mom, all your help! I couldn't have done it without you!

*I told my friend Stacey that I felt bad about gluing the ruffles and the hem of the coat. "Don't feel bad," she said, "they do that all the time on 'Project Runway'!"

The Royal Geographical Society Annual Gala

This year we welcomed more than four dozen adults and children to The Royal Geographical Society Annual Gala, a Victorian/natural history/exploration/steampunk/cabinet of curiosities-themed party.
We set up the Royal Geographic Society Explorer's Club ballroom in our backyard, complete with shelves of curiosities, artifacts, and rare specimens, as well as armchairs, an Oriental rug, and a fireplace.

In the back, partially obscured by foliage, you could find some large-scale specimens: a femur and a tentacle, each about eight feet long.

In the background we projected old black and white travel documentary film footage from 1900-1930 showcasing various "exotic" places - this 1909 North Pole journey is one of my favorites.
Our distinguished guests received the RGS Medal of Valor.

Our Junior Members received these gift bags filled with Diversions and Amusements and amused themselves in the Junior Members' Library (playhouse) with a bean bag toss game and a trunk full of disguises*.

Thank you so much to Sam, Lilli, Colleen, Amy, and Summer for all your help!

There are tons more photos on Flickr and Facebook.

*The trunk is full of costume parts from previous Halloweens, my old clothes and jewelry, and items I buy on after-Halloween sales to stock up our ever-growing dress-up clothing chest.