Halloween

The Cardinals were playing the series at the time. Jeff slaved over that one. 

In October, one of our good friends came down from Minneapolis and stayed with us for a couple days. Since it was right before Halloween we decided to carve pumpkins one night. Jeff and I had bought a few to carve and it was a great night. I roasted the seeds (which didn't last two days) and we had jack o'lanterns on the porch for a couple days. The first night we went out with candles and lit them up and took pictures. I love how the camera takes dark shots. The ones above are both Jeff's pumpkins. The ones below were Josh and mine.

 Left to right: Cooperative, Josh's, mine

Seedless

Another Halloween has come and gone and once again I have denied myself one of my favorite things. Not candy, which I've eaten way more than my share. Not costumes although it was one of the few years that we didn't have a party to attend. And not even trick-or-treaters, since we never get any of those at the townhouse. What I'm talking about is pumpkin seeds. I'm seedless again this year.

One of my favorite things about Halloween is pumpkin carving. I'm terrible at it but I love to create my happy smiling pumpkin heads for the front porch. But this year I didn't even buy a pumpkin much less carve it. No smiling or scary orange heads for the neighborhood kids to smash. And even worse, no seeds. Pumpkin seeds are one of the great pleasures of the fall. Almost better than pomegranates and you know how much I like those. I like to roast my pumpkin seeds with a bit of salt and cayenne for a touch of heat. Done right, they are one of the best snacks, addictive and good for you.

Two years ago, Jeff and I had some friends over to carve pumpkins. I had gone to the store and picked up six of them. We carved and laughed and drank wine and had a good time. After everything was cleaned up I washed the seeds and spread them out on paper towels on the kitchen table to dry. I promised some of the roasted seeds to our friends and they went home. I headed upstairs to change and came back down to find the cat sitting on the table amid the seeds, chewing on them. Needless to say I tossed the whole batch. No seeds that year.

Last year we went to my sister's place to carve pumpkins and answer the door for trick-or-treaters. It was a ton of fun and food and by the end I was so full that I went home without even taking any of the seeds. None that year. So this year I was determined that we would have another carving party and this time I would just roast the seeds without drying them. But I never got to the store. We never had the party. And I never made any seeds. I'm going seedless again this year. It just doesn't feel like Halloween. I'll have to pick up some old pumpkins and carve them up tomorrow. Do you think my neighbors would find Thanksgiving Jack-O-Lanterns odd?

Trick or Treat, Des Moines style

Des Moines is bizarre when it comes to Halloween. I've grown up with the traditions but to anyone else the customs are strange. It has been this way since the late 1930s. Last night was the night that kids go trick or treating. It is known as Beggar's Night. Since the late 30s kids in Des Moines have always gone out dressed up on the night before Halloween. Even with this holiday falling on a Friday, the tradition held. 

Apparently this was started by the head of the Parks and Recreation board in 1938. The city was dealing with terrible vandalism. Kids were being too rowdy for the staid Des Moines residents. So they made the rule that trick or treating would be done before. This actually worked, cutting vandalism significantly. And then the most bizarre tradition was added. The joke. 

Kids in Des Moines are required to tell a joke to the homeowners they trick or treat. Normally these are the terrible jokes you find on bubble gum packs or popsicle sticks. "Why did the man throw the clock out the window? He wanted to see time fly." I know I told some terrible ones over the years. I always had one joke memorized and told it at every single house. And it was a struggle to think of a joke at 7 but it was fun too. Now I love the tradition. I love that the kids stand at the door with their bags and tell silly jokes. And the adults laugh. Because it's kind. And some of them are actually pretty good. 

Since Jeff and I are in a townhouse, we don't get any trick or treaters coming to the house. We haven't had a single one in the three plus years we've lived here. So last night my little sister invited us over to celebrate the holiday. And I had a blast. Jeff couldn't go because of World of Warcraft stuff he had signed up for last week. I brought a bag of candy, some sharp knives, and a pumpkin. And Em spoiled me. 

I walked in to ham, apple, and brie crescent rolls. Mmmmm. They were wonderful and so easy to make. She had carved a small pie pumpkin earlier and made pumpkin soup. There were pumpkin seeds in the oven roasting. As we started carving, my older sister and her fiance came over. So the four of us carved four pumpkins, getting our hands gooey and harvesting seeds. I'll roast mine tonight. I made a very happy pumpkin, with a strange goofy grin. 

We drank hot chocolate and ate brownies. We got about 20 kids or so which is a pretty small number. My boss told me today that he had 80 kids at his house. We had a Morticia Adams, a Hillary, a Power Ranger, and a pug. Em answered the door most of the night. It was a lot of fun. Jeff still needs to carve his pumpkin tonight.