Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real: Pre-Halloween Edition Part II

~Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life~ Every Thursday at Like Mother Like Daughter

So, after spending most of the weekend lolling in front of fires, sipping cider, roasting marshmallows and reveling in wanton Autumness, we now find ourselves in the thick of our typical end-of-October nuttiness.

We're only a week from Halloween and play-off season is about to begin.  Thus, 'tis been nothing but  costume preparation and field hockey from sunup to sundown around here.  And as soon as play-offs are over it will be a mere few days until Thanksgiving!

I'm getting a wee bit ahead of myself...suffice it to say we've been busy.

But not too busy to find contentment, even if we have to be a little more intentional about slowing down enough to find it!

So Pretty it makes me Happy

None of these photos do justice to what greets me whenever I look out the window or step outdoors.  Today, the leaves were floating around like we were inside a giant snow globe.  You know, but with leaves instead of snow.

Neither can photos capture the crisp nip in the air nor the dreamy smell of wood smoke lingering from our fire.  Wood smoke is my favorite scent in the world.  If someone could bottle that smell and put it in perfume or candles, I would make them rich!

Oh yes.  We're those kinds of people.  The kind you begin to wonder about a bit after you've seen their...enthusiastic...Halloween decorations.

Funny

See what I mean?  Daria made those eyes for me when we threw a Halloween party two years ago.  They look great from the inside all day and from the outside all night.

Real

Progress on Calvin's costume continues.  Can you guess, yet, what he is being?  For those interested, we found a skateboarding helmet at Goodwill for $1, plugged up a few holes and spray painted the whole thing a metallic bronze color.

Daria then found patterns for the decorative elements and traced them onto and cut them out of brown foam sheets and glued them to brown stiff felt.  The raised bits were treated with antique gold Rub and Buff.

(Sorry about the poor quality of these photos; some numnut left the camera on the "sport" setting after Redheaded Snippet's last game).  The above (epaulet-type thingies, an ear flap and a helmet medallion) are also made of brown foam, brown felt and rub and buff.  Their purposes will become clear later...

Here we have gauntlets, made from the same brown foam and having been stamped with eyelets, being coaxed into a forearm shape, another ear flap, some Mod Podge and the all-important plate of biscuits and muffins.

This isn't quite finished.  It's not glued together properly, just enough so we can get a general idea of the right shape and placement of all the pieces.  But it's looking pretty cool, isn't it?  Do you know now who he's going to be?

Hmmmm?

I'll give you a hint: he's going to be wearing a long red wig and a long red beard...

Now can you see it?

And, finally, one last shot of the very real work space in its entirety, complete with teacups and biscuits.  I think this is going to be one excellent costume, but I will be glad to have my life (and my dining room table) back when Halloween is over!

Where has your contentment been found this week?  Join in and let us know!