This is Mallory's first Halloween.
Her family wasn't all that into the idea when she was growing up, and by the time she hit college, the idea sort of made her tired. And while there was a year where she walked with her nephew so he could collect candy, there was no dressing up... and no candy for her.
So this year, we are pulling out all the stops.
And that's pretty easy to do, since we've literally stopped.
We are parked in a driveway in Bradford, Vermont now. We know, we know-- November is not the time for a camper living folk band to be in the Northeast. But in just a couple days, we will be moving all of our things from our camper into a warm house with a real kitchen and a wood stove. We are house sitting for the entire month of November for our musician pals, Don & Jenn. But before we wave goodbye to them, they've agreed to help us celebrate Mallory's first Halloween. And they are the perfect friends for the occasion. You'll see why when we unveil our very special spooky edition of Double Americana at noon on Facebook Live. Not only are these friends the kind of friends who let you stay in their house for a month when they're gone, but they're also the kind of friends who will say YES to making costumes all day in the midst of readying their house, packing for their trip, teaching classes, going to their jobs, and running their errands. What we are saying is, they were really busy. Even busier than usual. And they still couldn't resist what we are now calling Double A-SCARE-icana. In fact, they not only are coming in costume, but are providing stage lights. Like we said-- the perfect friends for the occasion.
So, we spent all day making costumes-- sewing and painting and stuffing, coming in just under our $15 budget. We scavenged our local thrift stores and broke for some face paint at the dollar store. We will take Mallory Trick-or-Treating-- and this time, she will be the one knocking on doors. Mallory has already made plans to make Franken-Toast and Bloody Finger Sandwiches (don't worry, they're just Tofu Pups). Even our Fruitbowl got a facelift. And for Double A-SCARE-icana, we are playing you "The Monster Mash!" Tis the season, friends. We really intend to jump the shark on this one.
With all this space and time over the next month here in chilly Vermont, maybe our holiday fever will spark a few new songs, a few more recipes, and a few more firsts. We are lucky to be a traveling band during any season. But we are particularly grateful to be locking the doors this Halloween on a real house... a camper is no match for a Monster Mash.