Little Elves

Come as a fairy or an elf, the invitation said. And so, I walked the streets, looking for an elf costume, or anything vaguely elf like. A fortnight before Halloween, I’ll be sure to find something, I told myself. But no, not a single elf to be found. Which is how I found myself at the fabric shop. The day before the party. A couple of metres of homespun sat before me, I called over Bubba Boy, and with a piece of green cotton folded in half, held it at his shoulder and roughly measured the length of him. Snip snip snip, and then he was back, arms outstretched, as I measured out his sleeves. A couple of quick seams, and the top was together. A similar theory for the pants – a rough waist measurement, some tailors chalk to mark out a shorts shape for a left leg and a right leg, a seam and a casing for the elastic, and the shorts came together. Half an hour at the machine, and I had two little elves. The off cuts from the shirt hems piled on the table were too tempting, and with a couple of quick folds, a seam and some bobby pins, two little caps topped off the ensemble.

Then, Running Bear came in to admire our efforts. “Oh, are they going as Peter Pan?” I burst out grinning – having used Peter Pan as my inspiration, it was confirmation I’d got it right. “Yep”, I beamed proudly. “But aren’t they supposed to be elves? Peter Pan isn’t an elf.” “Yes he is” “No” “Yes. Well, what would you say he is?” “i dunno, but not an elf” “well, close enough. I don’t have time for anything else”.

And so, two happy little Peter Pans went off, and were the hit of the party. Not a bad effort for half hour and $10!!

Tuesday is rolling along slowly. A sore throat is threatening. Bubba Boy is on the improve, but still home from preschool, so we are rocking out to Land Before Time. Again. My to-do list is piling up, but my body is screaming for rest, so that’s what I’ll do. A cup of tea, and a lay on the lounge with some cartoons for the other sicky. The housework will wait. The folding will still be there. The baby sleeps, the boy is happy, it’s rest time for this mama.