Guess what we did today

Had some weird salt & pepper shakers

My wife and I decided to make Jack o’lanterns. This is the one I made using these Halloween salt & pepper shakers for eyes. This is the first time I’ve ever peeled the skin off the pumpkin as part of this project. The potato peeler was no help, because a pumpkin has too many hills and valleys. I resorted to a paring knife and survived with all of my fingers in place.

Bills are paid, guests are travelling home, pumpkins are carved. I’m going to finish my Halloween beer tour, then I have to pack for my work seminar. No writing this weekend, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Maybe I can do some writing and publishing next weekend.

It’s Thursday; time for more Macabre Macaroni

I’ll dedicate this one to Doobster and Rachel, both of whom are not fans of pumpkin.

Jack ‘O Lanterns

She placed the project on the counter, turning it this way and that. Maybe the stump should be on the bottom this year. Something classic with triangles, or should she go with more detail?

More classic, I think. She used a felt tipped pen to make the triangular eyes and nose, then added a huge crooked grin from one side to another.
She thought about her son and smiled. A quick glance at the clock told her he’d be home from school in about ten more minutes. Four quick strokes of the knife across a honing steel and the edge was ready. She sliced open the top and scooped out the nasty parts.

The wind picked up and the sound of rustling leaves moving toward the door made her smile. She quickly stabbed out the facial features of her classic Jack ‘O Lantern and threw the pieces in the garbage. A quick wipe with a towel, a short fat candle, and her masterpiece was finished.

The door knob turned and she gushed in anticipation of her son’s approval.
“Mom, I’m home!”

“In the kitchen. Come see what I made.”

She loved him so much. The summer sun combined with the frosty air outside gave him the most adorable flush.

“Oh man! We always carve it together. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

She reached out a leafy green vine and unfurled a tendril along his smooth orange skin. “Don’t worry, Pumpkin. Mama got you one of your very own. Get your human out of the fridge and I’ll help you take out the nasty bits.”