Why Do We Do It?
Well, you guys know that Bruce and I have been going nuts getting ready for Halloween. This past weekend was utterly exhausting. Bruce spent 12 hours a day in the garage, (killing his knees) making these way cool zombies. I mean, these things are pretty serious– chicken wire base, covered with paper mache, carpet glue, paint. Life-size, complete with screaming skull heads, crawling bodies and reaching limbs
Our yard is so gonna kick ass.
Meanwhile, I was busy inside. Despite having to finish a novella that was due today (and which I finished this morning!) I started getting everything ready for the actual party. That included emptying my dining room of almost all the furniture, setting up the coffin, putting dead Grandpa in it, stuffing & placing dead Grandma, and setting the scene with cobwebs, bugs, rats, etc. Then, of course, there was all the general decorating–little touches here and there, a “witch alley” across the top of my entertainment center, tons of cutesy stuff on one set of bookshelves and gory stuff on another. That doesn’t even begin to touch on the food, I’ll be busy making–and labeling (dead man’s fingers for chicken wings, spicy brains for these sausage/cheese balls I make, moldy meatballs, gooey fingers…you know the drill)–all day Friday & Saturday.
But that really is nothing compared to what Bruce is working on. As soon as he finishes with the zombies, he’ll get to work on the torture chamber–the electric chair, pendulum, guillotine (the last two are already made, the chair will be new this year.) He works his butt off, groaning over his aches and pains at the end of the day, but going right out there the next one, right through this week when he’ll take off Thursday & Friday to finish up. I just keep supplying the coffee, hugs, Diet Cokes, and emergency trips to Lowes or Wal Mart.
At one point during the weekend, my father called, laughed at the crazy efforts we were making, and asked me why the hell Bruce puts himself through it.
Later, as I continued to go through boxes, I came across the reason I do it, which relates to the reason he does.
It’s a small box, carefully wrapped, lovingly taped, thoroughly marked. And inside it are the special costumes…the ones I hand-sewed for the girls year after year for Halloween. There’s the Snow White & Dopey ones I made for the older two when they were 2 and 5. 
The “Belle” from Beauty & the Beast gown I sewed for the oldest (and an identical one for her older cousin when she found out!) in gold lame, complete with hoop skirt.
Esmerelda from Hunchback, the little yellow duck that my youngest simply had to have 4 days before her 3rd Halloween. The Little Bo Peep, Jessie the cowgirl and a Green Alien Squeaky toy from Toy Story 2. 
Dorothy, Glenda, the wicked witch (that was me) and the Tin Man (that was Bruce.) And The Little Mermaid, which I made the same year that movie came out in theaters, complete with real oyster shells pried open, cleaned out, drilled and sewed onto a nude leotard.
I remember every stitch of every one. I remember the way my fingers started to bleed when I was trying to push a needle through the faux leather when I was making the wickedly cool Xena Warrior Princess costume. I remember their faces when they’d get to see the new creation for the first time. I still see them when I close my eyes.
Bruce goes all out with the house and decorations for the same reason I always went all out for the costumes: for the memories we’re giving our kids. (FWIW: After we moved away from our first Florida house, we’d occasionally run into the people who bought it and they said that as long four years after we moved, people would stop by on Halloween night and ask what had happened to all the neat stuff.)
I have some great memories from my childhood, typically surrounding Christmas or family get-togethers. Halloween was fun, but nothing huge. And I always remembered going trick-or-treating in last year’s costume, wishing I could be something other than a pilgrim girl. Or visiting the one house in the neighborhood that had the spooky graveyard and the noises in the yard.
Our girls had those costumes and they lived in that house. And that’s something they are never going to forget. When my girls are grown with families of their own, they’re going to talk about this. They’re going to remember the way I sewed every stitch because I didn’t have a sewing machine. They’re going to lovingly recall the way Bruce chortled when he got the guillotine to work and how awesomely scary he looked as the Grim Reaper. 
They’re going to tell their kids that they have never seen a Halloween until they see one like their grandparents used to do.
They’re going to appreciate it. Actually, I know they already do. It’s now become a family project that we all love to do together, a shared memory, a way to let our girls know just how much we love them, and just how special they are to us. Not to mention that we, the Kellys, are all just a little bit nuts and that is a-okay.
And that, my friends, is exactly why we do it.
PS: Didn’t have a whole lot of shots of the earlier years in jpeg, but I posted a few. Here are a few more shots of the kinds of props we do…from previous years.
Come back next week for a report on how it went…and a few pics of zombies. :ghost: :vampire:
:bat: :ghost:
:pumpkin: :arrr: WOW, those are some awesome pictures Leslie! I want to come to your house for Halloween. How fun. And what great memories to share with your kids - I love all the stuff you guys do. I can’t wait to see how things go this year :bat: :ghost: 
:arrr: : :pumpkin:
Comment by Stacy ~ — October 23, 2007 @ 6:24 am
I’ll be back later to read your post Leslie, actually I want to read it with hubby because this is the stuff that we used to do too, but I wanted to check on Janelle. Is she okay with the fires? On my RWA chapter board there’s all kinds of posts of various members being evacuated and I was travelling yesterday and didn’t realize the fires had gone so far south.
Comment by Jodie — October 23, 2007 @ 7:52 am
Crud! I just looked at the map. I thought she was down closer to San Diego. If I’d looked at the map over the weekend I’d have been more concerned then!
Comment by Jodie — October 23, 2007 @ 7:58 am
I am so jealous of your halloween house. Wish I had a reason to do it but I go all out for Xmas and would kill myself trying to do it for both of them. Can’t wait for the details of the party.
:vampire:
I just realized this morning how close they were to San Diego. Someone start doing a rain dance!
Comment by ev — October 23, 2007 @ 8:01 am
:pumpkin: All I can say is wow! You guys REALLY love Halloween. I can’t wait for it to be over!
Janelle, I saw the news last evening with the fires. It looks so horrible. You live closer to LA right? Are you okay?
Cher
Comment by Cher — October 23, 2007 @ 8:04 am
Wow Leslie! It sounds like a great family tradition. I hope you all have a great time this weekend. Can’t wait to see pictures.
Comment by Kelly H — October 23, 2007 @ 9:12 am
:vampire: :arrr: :pumpkin: :ghost: :bat: I love how y’all go all out for Halloween. My dad always did the “haunted house” at our Halloween Carnival and I loved to help get everything ready. Can’t wait to see the pictures next week.
Janelle, hope you and all your family are safe!
Comment by Liza — October 23, 2007 @ 9:14 am
Les — I love your post and can’t wait to see this years pictures!!!
Regarding the fires. I’m not near San Diego, but I’m very close to the Lake Arrowhead fire. I’m just at the base of the mountain, as well as right next to the 15 freeway that has been shut down through a pass. We’ve already had a few fires by us, but luckily they’ve been put out quickly. The Lake Arrowhead fire is very scary, and there is another fire burning right now in a place called Lytle Creek, and that’s about 5 miles away from us. The news isn’t focusing so much on these fires because they are “small” in comparison to the Malibu and San Diego fires, but they are still threats. Especially with the 60-100 MPH wind we’ve had over the past 4 days! And now the “firebugs” (arson) have come out of the woodwork and are DELIBERATELY starting fires, which is SO SICK. It truly looks like Southern California is on fire.
The news had been reporting that 250,000 residents have been evacuated from the San Diego area, but that number has increased to 500,000 residents evacuated. They’re filling stadiums with all these people, and it’s still not enough. Over 500 houses and over 100 businesses have burned to the ground. The fires are so out of control and they aren’t even close to containing any of them.
I’ll be sticking close to home today. We have a fire plan — what to take if things get bad. All in all, a very scary time!!!
Comment by Janelle — October 23, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Wow Leslie, that’s incredible. You do a fabulous job and you love doing it too which means a lot. I enjoy Halloween but I am not creative. I’ve never made a costume and could never do the decorations you do. But you’re right, your kids will always remember it.
Comment by Michelle — October 23, 2007 @ 9:22 am
>>And now the “firebugs” (arson) have come out of the woodwork and are DELIBERATELY starting fires< <
You know, there’s something to be said for public execution.
Stay safe and keep us posted Janelle!
Comment by Leslie — October 23, 2007 @ 9:33 am
Oh, absolutely, Les. I say tie them to a stake in the middle of the brushfire they started and let them watch their handiwork up close and personal!
With over 500 homes completely destroyed, and more to come, there are so many lives that have been utterly devestated by these fires!
Comment by Janelle — October 23, 2007 @ 9:44 am
Can I just take a quick aside to say how TOTALLY COOL it was to visit MSNBC and see NORA ROBERTS name in a sidebar headline???
Go Nora! Go Romance!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21428618/
Comment by Leslie — October 23, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Janelle (and everyone else)…please stay safe….
Hubby has a four day conference in San Diego (he left early this morning but the flight to SD was delayed). The conference wasn’t cancelled. I hope he isn’t evacuated. He hopes so, too. That would not be good for clients.
Leslie: That is truly amazing. I am more of a Disney Halloween person. :arrr: :pumpkin: You do it at Halloween like I do Christmas…
Comment by katie — October 23, 2007 @ 9:50 am
Oh, Janelle, I’m so sorry it’s so close and you’re having to watch it. My house burned down when I was a senior in high school and my heart breaks for all those families that have lost everything! Not thinking negatively, but this is good advice for everyone, please have your pictures either in a fireproof safe or have them to take with you.
I have no pictures of my childhood, or my brother who passed away when I was a teenager. All the other stuff was just stuff, and I have a really good sense of what material things are important now, but those pictures can never ever be replaced. My FIL used to laugh at me shoving pictures into the fireproof gunsafe until I explained my reasoning for it, then he completely understood and I think their’s are there now too.
Saying a prayer and keeping fingers crossed for everyone out there!!!
Comment by Jodie — October 23, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Leslie, I think you guys are awesome and I want to come to your party! You’ve put my decorating skills to shame! We’re having a party Saturday night too and I’m excited about my mad doctor and bloody body parts scene we’re putting together. What are you and Bruce dressing up as this year?
Janelle, stay safe. Where I am the sky is pretty blue this morning and there’s not much wind, thank goodness. But I have several friends being affected by the fires and I went to school in San Diego and actually lived where people are being evacuated. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone.
Comment by Robin — October 23, 2007 @ 10:40 am
Jodi that’s just heart-breaking to hear that your house burned down when you were younger. Pictures are top on the list of things to take. What’s nice is that now everything is digital, and my husband keeps all our digital pictures on one special hard drive, so it’s just a matter of grabbing that hard drive with all the pictures on it. But yes, there are many albums of when the girls were babies/toddlers that I would grab. A few years ago we were threatened by a fire and we DID have to evacuate — pictures were the first thing I grabbed!
I asked my daughter what she would take if she only had five minutes to grab what she wanted. And she said: My laptop, my cellphone, and my ipod. Sheesh. I guess she’s leaving it up to me to corral the dog and two cats!
Comment by Janelle — October 23, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Oh, Jodie, I’m so sorry to hear that. Fire is one of those things where you might just have a split second…if my family & dog were out of the house, pictures and a special musical clown that was my mother’s are the first things I’d grab.
In Florida, we always had at least a day or two warning before having to evacuate for a hurricane. In 01, the really bad summer, I had a couple of boxes that I kept packed and in the front closet…pictures, home movies, and one small box with all the most special Christmas ornaments.
Can’t imagine not having any pictures of your brother.
Comment by Leslie — October 23, 2007 @ 10:51 am
Wow. So scary. Assuming the kids and husband were safe? I’d grab the dogs, my laptop, I guess I’d learn to keep the photos from 2002 and earlier in one place so I could grab those, the rest are on Kodak Gallery, my purse (Id/cell phones/iPod all in there, LOL), … I’m looking around me, thinking about each room, and it’s just so overwhelming to contemplate. Janelle and anyone else out there …
Comment by Carly — October 23, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Les, you nutty woman, you! I can’t wait to see photos!
Comment by Carly — October 23, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Janelle, I can tell your daughter has her priorities in line!
The one blessing about our house fire was that no one was home. It was a trailer and it was all gone in less than 15 minutes. I’m sure if my mom or I had been home we would have been trying to grab things. The fire ran through the duct work first, which was underneath the floor. Therefore, if we’d been running through the house trying to grab things we’d have gone through the floor.
But, like I said, I learned the hard way the difference between material stuff that doesn’t really mean anything and the things that do..people (and pictures).
Comment by Jodie — October 23, 2007 @ 11:25 am
I love the memories you’ve made and are continuing to make. Although haunted houses scare the crap out of me, your’s is one I’d love to see. :pumpkin: You do it right!!!
Comment by Vicki — October 23, 2007 @ 11:49 am
Leslie, you and Bruce are AMAZING!!
Janelle, very glad you and your family are staying safe. And may arsonists burn in fires of their own setting…
Comment by Fedora — October 23, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
Janelle, so glad to hear your family & house are safe for now. I hope it continues to stay that way. So many people are affected by all these fires in the south of our state. I’m praying for unexpected rain or at least the dying of the Santa Ana winds. The pictures on TV are scary horrible. Take care & stay safe.
Leslie, your house would be the fun place to be for Halloween! It sounds like you are all having a ball getting ready despite the hard work. I love how people have so much fun now for Halloween. My neighborhood stays pretty quite. There are some people that do a lot of outside decorating & it is fun to see what they do.
Comment by Donna M — October 23, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
Leslie–your house is going to be the bomb!!!
Can’t wait to see some photos. Your kids are so cute all dressed up. This year my youngest wanted to be a vampire. :vampire: I thought okay, no problem. Then she started putting it all together and she is absolutely scary! My sweet little 6 year old has a wig that is black with red streaks and has crimped curl and is wider than her shoulders, a black dress, her fanged teeth and fake red eyelashes. We have gotten all sorts of comments from “that is awful” to “WOW what an awesome costume” all from adults. Who knows what the kids were thinking (this was our first outing for trick or treating at the zoo). Now she’s upset because I won’t let her get fake blood. 
Aren’t little girls suppose to be fairies and princesses? 
Janelle, you and anyone else in the area, please be careful! I can’t imagine going through what you all are going through right now. You all are in my prayers.
Comment by Laura J — October 23, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
I wish you lived in my neighborhood. I would love to see this stuff in person.
Comment by Estella — October 23, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
Janelle
Glad to hear you are safe from the fires and those FIREBUGS need to
stay safe with your family
Comment by Cherylann — October 23, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
Leslie,
WOW I can’t wait to hear all about your part
that is awesome that you made the girls costumes by hand and your decorations are way COOL
:bat: :ghost: :pumpkin: :vampire:
Comment by Cherylann — October 23, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
Leslie, it sounds like it is going to be a blast…wish I was a kid who would trick or treat at your house on Halloween…it is amazing what you guys do…straight out of a movie…I understand the “whys” of doing it and you are right…your kids will remember this as will the kids of neighbors and friends…maybe you will start a trend in your new neighborhood to see who could outdo who on Halloween…that would be the scariest block to trick or treat on every Halloween…you guys work really hard and you finished a novella too…what is is called btw?
Peace and love,
Comment by Paula R. — October 23, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
Leslie, you & Bruce are simply stupifying–LOL. May your party go swimmingly.
Janelle, Thanks for giving us an update. I was just going to e-mail you, as I heard on TV your town might have some difficulty as one of the towns at the “backside” of the Lake Arrowhead fire. The fact that someone started some of these fires, deliberately, is just unthinkable. May he be caught & hung up by his ba**s!
At my house, thankfully, we are receiving the burned particles from the sky, probably, as a result of the Canyon Country fire. I’m lucky that I’m not in the hills or outskirts. Good thoughts to you, & all who are, or might be, affected. Anyway, stay safe, & give us plenty of updates, so we know you’re OK.
Patricia A.
Comment by Patricia — October 23, 2007 @ 10:48 pm
For many years, my mother made all of my costumes. My Snow White costume was hand sewn and the apron was my treat bag. At age 10, I desperately wanted a plastic costume. Everyone had them! My mother finally gave in and bought me one. It took me a few years to realize that my costumes were much better than the store bought ones. Then, we started making them together. I was the Grim Reaper one year and handed out death certificates.
Comment by ThatBrunette — October 24, 2007 @ 8:22 am
that is cool
Comment by kim h — October 25, 2007 @ 6:47 pm