Pumpking Carving

Monday was pumpkin carving night for our family. First we needed pumpkins so GrandDave took Grandson Gabriel and his Aunt Amy to Patterson’s Fruit & Vegetable stand to pick out pumpkins. It would have been cheaper for GrandDave to go to Fred Meyer, but that doesn’t have the cache of something closer to the farmer and Amy loves Patterson’s. She keeps track of the turning of the seasons by the state of this Gig Harbor institution. She knows they will close after Halloween until the day after Thanksgiving when they will open with Christmas trees and a Santa waving from the corner on weekends.

Had either Gabriel’s mother or Amy’s mother been the one taking them to get pumpkins there wouldn’t have been the tonnage that GrandDave took away from the stand, but we were grateful that he was off from work and could be in charge. Amy & Gabriel thought that everyone in the family needed their own personal pumpkin and that bigger was better. After they’d picked out huge ones and GrandDave had loaded them into the trunk of the car they celebrated with sandwiches at Subway and movies from Hollywood Video.

The actual pumpkin carving occurred at Josh & Jamie’s house in Tacoma following Gabriel’s and cousin Linda’s gymnastics classes. There plastic garbage bags were cut open and spread and the carving begun. We only got three carved, one for each grandchild, before we sat down to a wonderful supper of curried chicken and rice and salad. GrandDave escaped actual carving that night by keeping baby Lydia out of the pumpkin goo since everything she comes in contact with goes into her mouth, but he’s been working on getting the rest of the gourds carved. The clock says he’d better hurry!

Last night the elementary school near our home did “trunk or treat.” When my youngest was in elementary school they had a Halloween carnival put on by the students and parents. The Born Again Hypocrites have since pressured the school into ending this tradition so since we are a somewhat rural area where trick or treating can be a dark and dicey proposition some of the parents willing to brave the invocation of Satan came up with the “trunk or treat” that just doesn’t do it for us. Parading around a parking lot isn’t the same as going house to house. It may be less mess than the carnival, but isn’t as much fun. We are opting instead to go to Tacoma to the Proctor District where there are neighborhoods with real sidewalks and where they close a business district street just so the little ones can have a safe, yet fun Halloween experience.

The Glories of Autumn

I love this time of year. The pretty flowers of Spring and Summer are delightful and I enjoy the warmth of the sun. The opportunity to turn inward in Winter is a necessity for me, but my very favorite season is the joy of Autumn with its colors and harvest.

This picture was taken at Gig Harbor High School. Each Fall this courtyard is my favorite spot at work.

My favorite holiday is Halloween with its chance to play dress up and its opportunity to remember those who have gone on ahead. Last Saturday my husband, son, and I spent the day decorating for Halloween.

Here is my breakfront in my kitchen with my pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.
Here's the witches in the dinning room with my son's considerable cobwebs!

On Sunday we rewarded ourselves with our annual Autumn drive. Last year it was Greenwater. This year we went on a crisp sunny drive over to Key Peninsula all the way to Penrose State Park and Far A Way. We’ve decided that Penrose will be a destination next summer with the children.

We took our dog Loki with us who enjoyed a long walk down a forest trail, away from a loud foursome who were sharing a picnic lunch and the echo the bowl of Penrose provides. They were not young people, but rather four retirees who haven't lost their sense of play, but didn't realize their antics were spoiling the silence of place.

My second favorite holiday is Thanksgiving when I can celebrate my family with a holiday that Hallmark has not been able to commercialize since Thanksgiving is about the emotion of thankfulness for all that we’ve been blessed with.

Here is our dear friend Jon cooking our turkey in Ilwaco last year. That bird was the best I’ve ever put into my mouth and he and his wife Jo are now our designated turkey cookers. They were already designated family.

Here we are last year sharing our Thanksgiving meal in Ilwaco.

This year we will have much to be thankful for. My mother has survived two bouts of infections and my husband has so far survived a work closure. And best of all we will have a new member of the family whose arrival will occur any day now!