Halloween!

Halloween has a place in the Terrill annals - some years it has been more prominent than others though!

The year we moved to Monrovia, Bonny wanted to be Miss America, Harry wanted to be Luke Skywalker, and Phoebe just loved dressing up.

And it all came out pretty well!

 

And many years later, Star Wars was still on the list for preferred costumes - Henry as a young Luke is charming also - just like his Uncle Harry!

Wonder what this year will bring??

Halloweens now and then!

Some classic Halloween shots over the years - and even a Halloween Christmas for your viewing pleasure!!

Every year I fantasize about some very cool Halloween costume.  I never get past just thinking about it.

Someday - maybe!!

Happy First Day of Fall!!

The calendar says it's fall.  The temperature says it's summer!!  The above is a fall photo - but the short sleeves at night tell me it was probably warm then too - it's always warm in September and October - and we're always surprised.

I even ordered a Christmas sweater last week - and a fall sweater too - for the chilly fall days I might enjoy when we visit Phoebe or Eliza or Hannah.

Thank goodness for fall somewhere!!  At least the days are going to be shorter - I did notice nightfall coming earlier!!

Happy Halloween!!

I guess I'm not a total Halloween Scrooge after all - looks like I dressed up one year - I think this hair was from the Santa costume.

And I've always been a willing participant in the trunk or treat activity. (But I did stay at home this year - my dogs were killin' me that night!!)

I'm thinking that Alli and Meli's kids will come trick or treating again this year - maybe I should show them this!!

This is from the last Sunday Halloween that I remember - although there have been others since this one - I just don't remember them!! Probably because I didn't have 3 little kids at home who were told they were not going trick or treating - they seemed to enjoy themselves anyway.

And of course, the all-time fave Halloween photo - Phoebe commented this year when I was telling someone about it, "I'm really amazed that quiet Linda came decked out like this." I guess Linda does have her zany side!! We "Girls of '45" are like that you know!!

I was also thinking about how Sunday trick or treating didn't exist in my day. And even 30 years ago, after we moved here, Halloween was on a Sunday - and everyone trick or treated on Saturday night.

Times have changed.

Halloween

Eliza posted about Halloween - and her supposed deficiencies as a Halloween afficionado. And it made me think about all the Halloweens over the years - there have been many, that is for sure!!

I grew up in a family where Halloween meant digging through the rag bag and coming up with either a gypsy costume or a hobo costume - depending on your gender. And if you were old enough, you dug around for an old pillowcase to bring in your trick or treating haul. Eyebrow pencil took care of the make up. And no one, absolutely no one, decorated their house for Halloween - except for Jack-o-lanterns. (A haul meant getting full-size candy bars - and trying to keep them away from my dad!)

With the advent of cheap, store-bought costumes, the get-ups changed a bit. This shot is from 1965, the year I stayed home fall semester to earn the money for Grenoble. The kids are Bobby, Leslie, Donna, and David. I think I did the honors with the eyebrow pencil. I think I took them trick or treating too. And can you find Richard, hiding in the picture??

Our children have usually been enthusiastic about dressing up. And some years I went to a lot of trouble making costumes. And for Bonny's kindergarten year, Dad made a beanbag toss wooden pumpkin that still gets used at ward Halloween parties.

But I remember one year when I made a charming gypsy costume for Bonny - she was three - and she let me dress her up and even take a photo - but she would have nothing to do with trick-or-treating - or even opening up the door for trick-or-treaters!!

Over the years, as decorating for Halloween became almost de rigeur, I was known for decorating the house. And I wore Halloween themed clothing too - and jewelry. I've toned that down over the years. I gave Halloween socks and kitchen towels as gifts. I sent - and send still - Halloween cards.

But I don't dress up - and really never have. I have a tee shirt that says, "This is my costume," and that's about it.

Dad used to dress up - and the two of us wore Julius Caesar costumes a couple of years ago - but no one could tell what we were - that was disappointing! Dad also has some famous Halloween moments - probably the most notable being the time he came as a housewife!!




Maybe you have a Halloween memory you'd like to share. But it's okay if you don't. And it's okay if you don't go to incredible lengths to outfit yourselves or your kids. And it's even okay if you are Halloween Scrooge.

Be sure to save me the candy corn and the circus peanuts though!!

Memories

Memories are funny creatures. Odd events trigger them. They are usually different for everyone. And they are often random.

I was thinking that I should post something on my blog. I couldn't think of much that needed saying - at least that needed saying into cyberspace! So I grabbed the top photo in my "to be scanned" box - and this is what I found.

It's obviously in the '80s. We are living on Lime. We have Bonny's bird Hiccup in his/her cage. (Can't remember the gender!!) Damond and Harry look like they just wanted to smear Halloween make up all over the place. Maybe this wasn't even Halloween??

We still have the copper plate that's shown hanging above the fireplace. The jacket Bonny is wearing was one I bought at Bullock's Wilshire when I was in college and paid more than it was worth, probably. It was camel's hair - and I was so impressed at owning it. I actually never wore it much - I kept thinking the perfect occasion for wearing it would come about - and it would be there in my closet, ready to do its job! (Those were the exact reasons it took me so long to actually get rid of it - once it made it to the dress up bin, I figured it was time to let it go!)

And do you notice how many LA Dodger hats are in the family photos from the '80s? (And the basket below the birdcage was around until just last year, when I finally gave it the boot as they say!)

And the pottery pitcher on the mantel - purchased from a U of U Art Show - met its demise in the earthquake of '91. (But I actually still have it in its damaged form - I really don't know why either.)

How's that for funny, odd, different - and random?