Happy fall, y'all-- Lenora Worth

It's fall! And it's Monday. Elnora is not at her best on Monday mornings, but I do love the changing of the seasons. So I was wondering what you like about fall. What is your favorite fall thing? I love the first fresh crisp hint of chill in the early morning air. Not that I rise and shine at the crack of dawn but I do love to sit on my porch and drink coffee without sweating it all out before I finish the cup. That nice crisp cool air is just wonderful after the heat and humidity of summer.

Fall is a time to reflect, cocoon for winter and gear up for the holiday season. And if you are a writer, fall is a time for great stories involving pumpkins and family and home and hearth. Or maybe a little bit of mystery and suspense, too.

So, what do you love about fall? (I forgot football, of course!)

Pumpkin Carving 101

Hello and happy autumn! Christine Johnson here today to chat about pumpkin carving. Huge disclaimer: Not only am I not an expert, I had never carved a pumpkin until preparing this blog post. My husband stared in astonishment when I told him this fact and promptly asked, "Where did you grow up? Russia?" Uh, no. I just remember my dad doing the carving. He probably realized that his accident-prone daughter shouldn't be wielding sharp knives.

So, now that I'm older and presumably less accident-prone (don't ask my hubbie on that one), I decided to head off on this new adventure. First, I selected a fine looking pumpkin that I could actually lift off the ground without hurting my back.

 

Next, I consulted the Internet for the how-to and found a site with free patterns, Pumpkin Carving Patterns, which seemed like a really good idea since that meant I wouldn't have to draw freehand. Since I'm a cat lover, I chose a kitty cat face. The pattern noted that a 10-year-old had successfully carved it. I figured if a 10-year-old could do it, maybe someone many years older could manage. Here's the pattern taped onto the pumpkin.

 

 

 

Note the sharp instruments I used to gut the pumpkin. With hubbie hovering near in case of disaster, I managed to get the top off and scrape out the seeds with a sharp-edged spoon. It's then that I discovered the pumpkin had really thick walls of 2 inches (or 5 centimeters). Yikes! That was a lot of pumpkin to cut through. Hubbie ooohed and aaahed over the thickness of the walls, saying we could make enough pie to feed 14 people. I'm not even sure if jack-o-lantern pumpkins can be used for pumpkin pie. Does anyone know?

 

 

Next I used a nail to punch through the paper to "transfer" the pattern to the pumpkin. Then I used a serrated steak knife and any other viable kitchen tool to cut out and remove the necessary pumpkin. After several hours of cutting and scraping, I managed to complete the project, just as darkness fell.

 

 

 

What a fun experience! My cat even enjoyed sniffing out this new creation in her world.

 

Now, how long will it last? What should I know about lighting it? I'd love to hear your pumpking carving stories and tips. What went well? What did you learn? What can you pass along to a newbie like me? What was your favorite design? And at what age did you let the kids pitch in? Let's chat.