“The pumpkin is a uniquely American plant, widely regarded as one of the most magical plants in all the world.”
As soon as I woke up, I could feel how cold the house was. When I got downstairs, I checked the thermostat, and the house was only 63˚. I turned on the heat for a while until the house felt warm.
Today is a lovely day. There is no wind so 56˚ feels warmish. The sun is bright, but there is a winter sharpness to the light.
I have a few errands to do so I’ll add the dump to my list. The car already has some trash bags, but one is still upstairs. It is filled with used pine litter and is really heavy. It will be a move a few feet then stop to rest then move some more sort of trip to the trunk.
I find myself talking out loud a lot. Some conversation is directed at Henry, and when I’m upstairs, the cats and I chat. Cat1 is vocal. His meows are for attention some times and for treats other times. He follows me into the kitchen and meows near the Temptations. I always give him a few. Henry barks at anything he sees moving outside. He does listen when I talk to him but tends to ignore me if I make a request like stop barking or get your feet off the table.
I love autumn colors so maybe today I’ll go to the farm store. I’m thinking I need a couple of pumpkins and some mums for my front steps. When I was a kid, we always carved our pumpkins. The worst part was cleaning out the pumpkin guts. It was best done using our hands. Naturally we’d pretend to throw the guts at each other. There was a lot of screaming and tattling to my mother. We carved the usual pumpkin faces. Once I remember a bit more sophistication: my pumpkin had a toothy grin.
We’d put our pumpkins with candles inside on the front steps and light them as soon as it was dark enough. They were beautiful especially when the flames flickered, and the pumpkins took on a devilish look. I loved sitting outside looking at the pumpkins. I thought them works of art.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
October 5, 2019 at 1:46 pm
Today we conclude the celebrations of Mrs MDH’s birthday heading to the Apparatus Room in Detroit for a family dinner.
The patio furniture has been removed, Spurs have lost, the car washed and vacuumed and a bunch of laundry done. Guess it’s lucky I get up 5 am each morning, there is plenty to do.
I am still waiting to buy the Abbey Road super deluxe edition waiting for its flamboyant price to drop below $80. We shall see.
October 5, 2019 at 4:57 pm
My Dear Hedley,
What a perfect way to conclude the celebrations: with the whole family and dinner. We all used to make dinner for my mother on her birthday though we did go out sometimes.
My deck is still waiting for its winter make-over. I haven’t been able to get a hold of Skip. I opened the deck so maybe I’ll be stuck closing it, but that’s for another weekend.
Saving for Ghana means no extravagances, even The Beatles!
October 5, 2019 at 4:45 pm
Hi Kat,
It was 59ºF in my house this morning. You betcha I turned the heat on for one cycle. So much for trying to hold out until November 1. We had frost here, too. Very light frost that disappeared quickly but it did a number on some of the things growing in the swamp. I did remember to bring the old Christmas cactus in from its summer home on the bench in the side yard. The AC unit is out of the window and all but one of the storm windows is down. It’s back to opening the front porch door on sunny days to let the heat IN. 😀
I talk out loud to myself, too. Most of it is at Rocky and Piki Dog. They generally ignore me unless I’m in the kitchen where food might involved.
It’s sunny and warmer now with a bright blue sky and a breeze that makes it not as warm as it might be.
Enjoy the evening.
October 5, 2019 at 5:26 pm
Hi Caryn,
After the house got warm, I turned off the heat but still wore my sweatshirt around the house. I only wore a flannel shirt outside, and I was a bit chilly. I did switch to flannel pants.
Henry generally pays some attention, and cat1 does if there are treats involved. Cat2 is just happy for the company. She comes when I call and purrs when I scratch her.
My house is getting cool again now that the sun is gone. I do have the back door open but the storm is on. Henry still needs encouragement to go out and seldom comes in by himself. I try to leave them there but he still waits for me to let him in. Yesterday he came in any himself twice, but it didn’t take.
Have a great evening!
October 5, 2019 at 6:53 pm
Hi Kat,
There’s nothing about a pumpkin that I like. Don’t like pumpkin pie, nor pumkin soup, nor pumkin spice including anything else about this fruit (learned that on the Food Network because it’s a squash). When I was kid we also carved Jack O’ Lanterns out of them and then burned candles inside one year and then skipped the mess and bought plastic ones which were easier and reusable. 🙂
Although the temperature here is the same as it was in Phoenix last week but the higher humidity here makes it feel more uncomfortable. That’s why people don’t retire here. 🙂
October 5, 2019 at 7:03 pm
Hi Bob,
I love pumpkin. My favorites include pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin rolls, soup and breads. When I was young, I didn’t much like pumpkin, but when I started trying a variety of recipe, I found out I liked pumpkin.
I remember the plastic pumpkins. We sometimes used them for going trick or treating. I have a few really old pumpkins and all sorts of monsters for decorations. The worst are the rats and crows.
It is cold right now at 51˚ and it will go as low as 40˚ tonight. It is bundle up weather!
October 6, 2019 at 12:49 am
Chilly morning once again over here, less cold than yesterday though because I can see a thin layer of clouds up in the sky, I think we still have frost though.
I talk out loud all the time, mostly I say No Albin 🙂 🙂 but I do have long conversations iwth them all, the cats too of course. I can have long talks with my self while driving to and from work too.
I’ve carved pumpkins once in my life and it was trickier than I thouhgt it would be. It is a totally new tradition over here and quite often I see uncarved pumpkins and a light beside it instead 🙂 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
October 6, 2019 at 12:10 pm
Hi Christer,
It was a cold morning here too. As soon as I woke up, I knew the house was really cold. Outside felt warmer.
Like you, I also talk to myself. I comment on things that have happened. The talking to the cats and dog is just a disguise for my talking to myself. One time I got home from work and asked out loud how the day went. I jumped to have a voice answer me as I was talking to the dogs and cats. It was my brother who had let himself in. He wanted to know how I knew he was there. I made up a story.
Sometimes I carve then and other times I just leave them on the step for their color. Uncarved do last longer.
Have a great day!
October 6, 2019 at 8:42 am
I remember my folks trying to draw some basic jack o’ lantern features lightly on the skin with a pencil, then going after them with a steak knife. I thought that was how it was done until I figured out you could draw what you wanted on paper, tape it to the pumpkin, and pierce the outlines with a nail before making your cuts. The little saw they sell now is a major innovation too.
October 6, 2019 at 12:06 pm
Rowen,
My sister was the first to start using outlines on the pumpkin. She carved the best faces. Her Frankenstein was a work of art. I bought a book of stencils which also had the itty saw. My last carved pumpkin sort of looked like the picture of the cat.
We just willy-nilly cut the faces. The eyes were sometimes off kilter. I once in a while broke teeth making other teeth.