Friday, October 28, 2011

Cousin Itt (Aka Sweetpea)

Ivy checks out Sweetpea's costume!
Mom grew up loving the TV show The Addams' Family so when she found the wig at the thrift shop, Cousin Itt came to mind!  For those not familiar with the show, Cousin Itt is the diminutive, hairy gibberish speaking cousin of Gomez who often comes to visit the Adams family.  Sweetpea was asleep on the chair and Mom dropped the wig and sunglasses on her before she woke up.  This is the usual way to get us to wear any form of costume!  She got a couple of shots in before Sweetpea made her escape!

Sweetpea backing out from under the wig!

The TV show which ran during the 60's for a few short years was very poplar and based on the New Yorker cartoon by Charles Addams.  His work was called many things - bizarre, demonic, humorous and enchanting.  People loved his take on life and death with a very black humor.

New Yorker cartoon by Charles Addams

Addams passed away in 1988 but in a style uniquely his:
Charles Addams died on September 28, 1988 outside his home.  As a lover of cars, Charles went out and sat in his car.  After a long cruise, Charles put his head down on the steering wheel, and passed on to the other side as his heart gave out.  

He wanted to be remembered as a fun loving artist and had requested a party instead of a wake.  At the New York Public Library, a party was thrown complete with a banquet and jazz bands.  In a Boston newspaper, a cartoon was depicted in which the cartoon Addams family looked sadly down at a grave, while Charles crawled out from the other side.



The real Cousin Itt.


Happy Halloween!   We leave you now with a clip from the Addams Family with Cousin Itt.  If you can't see the clip below go here.




Tuesday, October 25, 2011

We're Off to See the Wizard....


Help! It's me, Mamacita, trapped inside the Wicked Witch's crystal ball!  The Witch and her her Flying Monkey will keep me in here forever!


I know the Wizard of Oz is not a Halloween movie but wasn't the part at the Witch's Castle scary?  When Mom was a kid she would hide when that part came on!  For work, a couple of Halloween's ago Mom and her friend Sallie dressed up as a flying monkey and the Wicked Witch respectively.   Mom made a great flying monkey and even had wings altho they don't show up in the pics too well.  Sallie's witch was scary! Pretty cool huh?

Mom on left and Sallie on right.

Now for some Wizard of Oz trivia.....

Did you know that Margaret Hamilton's portrayal of the Wickedest Witch of the West was so frightening that most of her scenes were edited out?  We only see the softer side of her witch!!!  Yikes!!!!



Did you know that the head winged monkey was named Nikko after the Japanese town that is home to the shrine for Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil?

Did you know that the crystal ball in the movie was also used as a prop in the movie The Mask of Fu Manchu and Chandu the Magician.  The 25" diameter ball sold at auction in May 2011 for $126,500!



Did you know that Hamilton's green make-up was copper oxide and was poisonous?  Since it took hours to put on, Hamilton had to be very careful not to ingest it while eating.  She mainly lived on a liquid diet while in make-up.

Did you know what words the castle guards are chanting in the scene with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion watching from the rocks?  Some people think they say things like "Allwe own, we owe her."  Mom thought they were saying "Or-e-o, oreo."  Actually, she was close.  They say "O-ee-ya! Eoh-ah!"

Here is the scary clip from the movie.  Sit back (or run and hide) and enjoy. (f you can't see it below, click here.)



Sunday, October 23, 2011

Demon Cat Wants Treats


Just put the treats in the bag, walk away slowly 
and no one gets hurt!



It's just little ole me, Minnie, helping Mom unload the groceries - not really demon.  But have you heard the story of the the demon cat in the Capitol in DC?  

There are many stories circulating about a black cat who appears in the building as an omen before national tragedies like presidential assassinations.  As the tale goes, the cat appears as a normal sized black cat to either a night watch person or security guard and grows right in front of them into a large creature with glowing eyes.  The legend of the demon cat states that the cat made an appearance before the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations, before the 1929 stock market crash and on 9/10/01.  It seems there are even cat paw prints in the cement at the Capitol!  So is there a demon or is this just another black cat story gone wild?


We like the idea of a demon cat - stay posted for more spooky stories and photos this week through Halloween!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Friday News

Minnie snoopervizing the back yard.

 Mom apologizes profusely for not visiting this week but they have been scrambling to get some kitty projects done before the cold weather settles in for the long term.  Pop closed in our back stoop so we can go out there and keep an eye on things.  He had added a nice all glass door earlier this year.  We like this!

Sweetpea claimed the porch as hers!

Woody and Tabitha went to see if neighbor cat Jack was luring in the yard.


They settled in to keep a look out for Jack!
Then Mom put up all the plastic on our screen room for the white cats.  This keeps it cozy in cold temps and on sunny days it is nice and balmy out there.  She gets up on a ladder and staples all the plastic to the outside. She was "wore out" as they say in the mountains from doing this over several days this week!  But the cats are sooo happy to have their big sun room.  She still has to add some more windows to it so they can see out!

Whitesters screen room.


We like our window flaps.
We got company coming too over the weekend but Mom will still put up our week long Halloween extravaganza next week so be sure to stop back by beginning on Monday!  Have a super weekend!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Celebrating 'Tock- Tober

Snowball, Norm, Sam and Georgie


We are participating in 'Tock-Tober, the celebration of Derby's birthday.  Have a look at our 'tocks!  Mom did not have as many pics of them as she thought she did!  We said enough is enough Mom - who wants to see our 'tocks anyway?

We wish Derby a wonderful 'Tock-Tober birthday!!!

Tabitha

Get ready for our week long Halloween fest next week!  We will scare you silly with our costumes and posts so be sure to check it out. Don't forget to enter Hansel's Costume Contest -see the sidebar for the details. Let's make it a super spooky Halloween!


Miss Chica

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