Happy Halloween: Pumpkins

Halloween was great.

I carved two more pumpkins today.

I took this one from the cover of the Mutter Museum book.

And then my proudest pumpkin to date: Bat Boy

Tonight's Pumpkins

Evil clown. (a.k.a. clown)

Skeleton in a top hat holding a shiny needle. (I have no idea why.)

For My Next Pumpkin

Q*bert

This is my first time using different shades on a pumpkin. I went too thin next to the eye so now it looks like he just woke up and he can't wipe the gunk out of his eye because he has no arms.

I'm Melting! Melting! Oh What a World!...

It's Carving Time

Last Sunday was our second annual pumpkin carving party.

The turn out was great.

Mmmm I like the way it feels inside.

As people finished their Jack-O-Lanterns they displayed them in the graveyard.

Mike Tyson

Ninja (The little pumpkin is sliced in half.)

Michael Emerson did the one on the left in this picture.

This is the happiest pumpkin.

Beth carved this lantern one.

And this one's mine.

Halloween pumpkin closeout '08

We got back to the house yesterday at around 5:30 so we were scrambling to get ready for the trick or treating crowd. Beth still had three pumpkins to carve and it didn't look like they were going to get done. I started putting the pumpkins out and getting them ready for display. Beth started lighting the candles. 

I grabbed one of the uncarved pumpkins 

and did this: 

Then I helped her start her snake charmer. 

But the kids started showing up. And she took over the candy duties.  Not wanting to waste the pumpkins, because who's going put out a jack-o-lantern in November, I carved another one. 

Not my best.  But heck Halloween was happening without us. 

Earlier today I had carved my Star Wars pumpkins:

And the one in the middle here. 

It's a pumpkin version of "Saturn Devouring his Son."

Beth made this awesome lamp pumpkin. 

We might make a bunch of these next year. 

As for the night, my favorite costume was a kid I saw dressed as an old school Oompa Loompa. I was bummed at how many kids didn't even have bags to collect their candy in. They just held out their hands. 

A bunch of kids were dressed as "freedom fighters" (t-shirts wrapped around their heads and carrying toy machine guns). Luckily one of their mom's clarified the costume for me. Because I thought he was dressed as a terrorist. Tomato, tomahto. 

Still more pumpkins!

I have three more to carve tomorrow. But so far I've also carved these.

This one had really gnarly bumps all over it. So I knew I wanted to carve a face on it. But damn that was the hardest carve I ever did. The skin was so thick I broke two pumpkin knives. I was sweating like crazy and my arms were sore when I finally finished. 

This one was an experiment in carving a pumpkin in reverse. Where you look through the shell. It reminded me of those dioramas we used to make in school.

li'l pumps

Tonight we carved baby pumpkins. These are great. Super easy to scoop out. 

(Just one or two passes with an ice cream scooper.)

But I do recommend that if you carve them, you light them without their lids. 

Because they will burn. 

But then again, burnt pumpkin smells pretty good. 

Due to Overwhelming Demand...

Here is Nunu. In pumpkin.

Pumpkin Crazy!!!

So last night we had a Pumpkin Carving Party. 

And it was awesome. 

I cooked chili and mac and cheese. 

We also made caramel apples. 

The one on the left: Emerson, the right: Holloway.

And in case you were wondering, this one was mine.

And here's Beth's

 

Freddie!

Tonight's pumpkin:

Freddie.

Here he is with the lights out.

I screwed up the mouth which is why it looks like his lips are sewn shut.

P.S. Good news I know what I'm going to be for Halloween. 

Now I have to figure out how to make the costume.