Costumes and sea moss

We went to St. George's today in search of supplies for Liam's Halloween costume. There is no Target here where I can just buy him a pre-made costume for $10.99 or believe me I'd be doing that.

There is also no Michael's or Hobby Lobby for the homemade variety. Which left me wondering if I would be able to find pipe cleaners, felt, red tubing, Velcro and red paper plates for the cute little lobster costume I wanted to make.

I was optimistic that I could piece something together. Life did go on before big box stores (really?), surely I could find the things on my list with just a few extra stops in the capitol city.

I decided to start at the fabric store, a logical place to look. I showed a worker in the store the picture of my perfect-for-the-island-oh-so-creative-do-it-myself costume. She gave me a little scowl and said she doubted I would find all those things here.

I didn't want to give up, but I realized this was going to take more effort than just a few stops. If the fabric store doesn't have pipe cleaners or felt, who would? Maybe the lobster costume was too ambitious for Grenada.

Luckily I had a simple Plan B, and I found everything I needed for that, so stay tuned for the "First Halloween" post.

I did have a successful visit to the market in St. George's. I bought mangoes, cucumbers, cinnamon, ginger and sea moss. That's right, sea moss. Moss that grows in the sea.

I got a lesson from one of the vendors on how to prepare it. Soak it in lime, boil it with cinnamon, strain it and add milk and sugar to it. Sounds delicious, don't you think?

A quick Internet search reveals that sea moss is actually very good for you and can be used for medicinal purposes. It makes a popular drink in the Caribbean, known for fixing all kinds of ailments such as infertility and depression, and can of course be mixed with rum.

Wait, who needs pipe cleaners, maybe I could die some sea moss and use it for lobster antennas.