With the coming of October, we decided it was also time to do a little pumpkin carving. To at least get warmed up for Halloween. Darcy had a little trouble with the guts of her pumpkin, but then discovered the handy trick of using an ice cream scoop to get them out. We later found out Martha Stewart recommends making your initial cut on the bottom of the pumpkin, to help get all the gunk out, and so you can light the candle and put the pumpkin over the top. Clever. We will be trying that out on our next go round.
Look at my precision and skill with the knife!
Darcy finished way before I did. The only think I can say is that I pulled out all of the gunk from Jeffreys' pumpkin before I started mine. But I will say Darcy did a fine job of carving the kitty pumpkin. The ears were my idea, though.
Once we got them lit, we were proud of our accomplishments. They have been standing guard outside our front door for a week and a half and are getting close to the stage known as "totally rotted." No matter. These were warm ups for the real deal. Another helpful tip we learned after we finished these was to rinse out the inside with a mixture of water and anti-bacterial soap to keep the pumpkin from rotting so soon. We will be trying that next time as well. Look at how scary my pumpkin turned out.
And Darcy's.
I did bake the pumpkin seeds, but I think I have a new technique after talking to a co-worker. Mine were great right out of the oven, but didn't stand up to an overnight stay. They got a little bit chewy. They still tasted ok, but weren't quite crispy enough. Again, this will be resolved on the next go round.
Halloween. I was a gut-shot, field-dressed moose and Darcy was a hunting Sarah Palin. Unfortunately we have no other pictures from later in the night. Fortunately, the camera made it home.
Our friend Scott picked out and carved pumpkins with us. I like how straight I made all of my cuts, but his turned out scariest. "And Darcy took home the "Too cool for school" prize with the sunglasses and cigarette.
Then we put the pumpkins out on the steps to guard our front door during the Halloween week. You can see Darcy's pumpkin better in this one too.
We also coerced Candice to carve a pumpkin later that night. She put us all to shame by completely finishing in 15 minutes, while we each spent about 40 minutes on ours.
And finally it got dark enough to light the candles and let the pumpkins shine. They look awesome. We also used Martha Stewart's tip about carving out the bottom of the pumpkin rather than the top. It works way better, plus, the top is the coolest part of the jack-o-lantern, so why hack it up just to pull the guts out?
I didn't even try to cook the seeds this year. I should have, but neglected my culinary duties. Last year I didn't come close to finishing my batch. I think it will only make me that much more dedicated to cooking them next year.
Jeffreys really wanted to dress as a cat for Halloween this year, but had to settle for being a fire chief.
The party at the Badlander was pretty incredible. I should have gotten some pictures of the Zombie Brothel, because it was totally impressive, but I was too enthralled watching. There were zombies of all kinds, even a spaceman zombie. Both the Badlander and Palace were packed and almost everyone was dressed up, which made it super fun. Pleaseeasaur was great as usual, I got a picture of him wearing the greatest shirt ever. I am smiling. Classic.
Volumen played a great Rocky Horror set even though I haven't yet seen the movie. I think I will now. I was way too far back to get a decent picture, so you'll have to take my word for it that they went all out with their costumes. Someone who was familiar with the movie told me they really took the songs up a notch. I always love watching the Volumen, they put on a great show.
Look at my precision and skill with the knife!
Darcy finished way before I did. The only think I can say is that I pulled out all of the gunk from Jeffreys' pumpkin before I started mine. But I will say Darcy did a fine job of carving the kitty pumpkin. The ears were my idea, though.
Once we got them lit, we were proud of our accomplishments. They have been standing guard outside our front door for a week and a half and are getting close to the stage known as "totally rotted." No matter. These were warm ups for the real deal. Another helpful tip we learned after we finished these was to rinse out the inside with a mixture of water and anti-bacterial soap to keep the pumpkin from rotting so soon. We will be trying that next time as well. Look at how scary my pumpkin turned out.
And Darcy's.
