When the Spirit is Willing

For a number of reasons (no trick-or-treaters, no time, no interest) it's been a while since I've carved a pumpkin. A couple of weeks ago, I resolved that this year would end the drought, but to be honest, I've made and broken that promise to myself before. Even so, last night at around 5:30, when dinner was warming in the oven, and we were waiting for our neighbors to join us for our annual Halloween Light Crawl, it seemed like the perfect time to bring that big ol' pumpkin in off the porch and carve a proper jack o'lantern. 

It occurred to me then that I needed the right tools for the job, and I started with a Sharpie and an idea. Next came the utility knife-- the razor gave me more control of cutting than any implement I've used before. Once I had incised my design on the front, I took my keyhole saw and opened the pumpkin at the top. The insides were far stringier than I remembered, more like a spaghetti squash than a pumpkin, and I started excavating them with a big kitchen spoon like my dad used to use for the job. 

It quickly became clear that an implement with a shorter handle would give me the leverage I needed, and I tried first a rice spoon and then a scraper that fit in the palm of my hand. This last was a champ, and I soon had the insides down to a smooth shell. Then it was back to the saw to cut the eyes, nose, and mouth all the way through. A votive on the bottom, and before you could say oogie boogie, my jack o'lantern was lit and on the stoop. 

Later, as we strolled through the neighborhood admiring lights and decorations (but so many fewer than last year-- the stay at home orders really inspired folks last year, and we may never see that level of holiday decor around here again), I noticed how few real pumpkin jack o'lanterns there were. "It's a lot of work to make a real one!" my neighbor said when I voiced my observation.

"I guess you just have to be in the right mood," I agreed.