“Way out in the country tonight he could smell the pumpkins ripening toward the knife and the triangle eye and the singeing candle.”
I am way behind my time. This morning I went to The Owl show at the community center. A slide show was first then came the owls. I saw owls of all different sizes and one kestrel up close. One of the moderators mimicked a few different owl hoots. Most of the owls had been injured in some way which prevented their return to the wild. It was fascinating.
It is a bit chilly today. I am glad for the storm doors. I’m wearing my chilly weather ensemble: flannel pants, socks and a hoodie. I’ve no plans for the rest of the day. I still have that maybe I’ll do it list, but I’m feeling sloth like. After all, I did set an alarm this morning.
The weather report is for rain tomorrow. We’re supposed to have an outdoor concert in Hyannis, but that looks doubtful. But if the rain holds off and we do have the concert, they’ll be no Coffee tomorrow.
When I was a kid, on a Saturday sometime before Halloween, we’d pick out our pumpkins. I was always partial to one with a tall curved stem on the top. Either my mother or father would cut a circle around the top so we could take it off intact. Our jobs were to clean out the insides of the pumpkin, the gross insides of the pumpkins. We did the cleaning with the pumpkins sitting on pages of the newspaper covering the kitchen table. I didn’t mind the seeds, but I did mind the strings of pulp, the guts, hanging from my fingers as I pulled them from inside. I think I gagged. After I had pulled out as much as possible, it was time to give my pumpkin a face. The finished pumpkins pretty much looked the same every year with their triangular eyes, a matching nose and a wide grin. When I was older, I sometimes jaggedly cut the mouth, or I gave the pumpkin a tooth right in the middle of his grin. The look of it didn’t matter. I loved seeing my pumpkin lit up by an inside candle and sitting on the front steps.
I have a small sugar pumpkin on the front steps, but I think I may buy a big one for carving. Given my artistic talent, it will have triangle eyes, a matching nose and a big grin with a tooth or two.
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October 14, 2023 at 3:40 pm
Hi Kat,
Today is a gorgeous day with clear skies, a light breeze, and a comfortable high temperature of 73°.
We also did the pumpkin carving as a kid, and now I recall from your post, why we always bought our kids plastic Jack O Lanterns. No mess and they lasted for several Halloweens. Also, the kids carried them while going door to door to collect candy. Halloween is a dentist’s delight. 🙂
Because we are very reformed Jews, we let our kids enjoy Halloween. Many religious Jews think of it as a Christian or pagan holiday. The Jewish dress up holiday including revelry is Purim. It comes in the wintertime and it recalls the story of Esther and the evil Hayman as told in the Book of Esther. Many religious holidays have been monetized such as the winter solstice holidays. That’s what capitalism is all about. 🙂
October 16, 2023 at 10:14 am
As a kid, I risked life and limb doing jack-o’-lanterns with a steak knife. My cuts were always hit-or-miss. I highly recommend the inexpensive carving kits that they sell in variety stores and drug stores, if only for the little saw, which is not sharp but just right for sawing precise shapes out of a hollow pumpkin. Scoop out your pumpkin as usual. Work out a design to actual size on paper. Trim away the part of the paper you don’t need so you can easily tape the design to the pumpkin. Attach your pattern, and prick the design with a punch or a nail to give yourself a dotted line to follow with the saw. Peel off the pattern, and carefully saw out the shapes.
October 16, 2023 at 2:12 pm
Rowen,
I am also of the steak knife school of carving. I had plans in mind, but my pumpkin’s face never lived up to my expectations. It was always crooked. I actually found a carving set when I was cleaning out a basket, but I don’t remember where I put it. I even think there was a template. I’ll have to check the basket again. I did read where a hand mixer will work well to clean out the pumpkin. I will give your method a try. It sounds easy enough for me!! Thanks!!!