Pumpkin carving time with mom! First, we need the proper tools. For me this means the right earrings. For mom, it means the right socks.

Then, of course, we need pumpkins:

It was icky cold and rainy outside, so we did all the work – even the messy stuff – inside. Like cleaning out pumpkins:

We decided to do three this year – all rather large. Two are double-carved to cast shadows, so it’s really like doing five. Plus two little guys, so it’s more like seven. Felt like hundreds as we cleaned them out – and that’s even with the uber-cool power tool/drill attachment we use to get the guts out after the seeds are removed for roasting. Three big pumpkins leads to a giant pile of pumpkin guts:

And at this point we STILL hadn’t had any wine (because it seemed unwise with slippery hands covered in pumpkin guts). Once all are cleaned, it’s time for the carving (and some wine – and yes, the logic of wine while you’re using sharp tools is debatable but we had no injuries so it was clearly fine). Mom did a bat in a cape with shadow-bats and ghost and stars (which totally should have worked way better than they did, but at least she got to use the drill to make the holes so it was fun, if not effective):

I did an uber-cool spooky tree, with a somewhat lame shadow of a cloud-covered moon:

And because this is my blog and my pumpkin, here’s the close-up of the coolness:

Mom and I also collaborated on a new venture – a pumpkin gobbling a small pumpkin. Mom carved the victim:

I carved the eyes and nose (save the nostrils, which mom did with the drill), and mom carved the mouth and painted the glow-teeth on the cannibal pumpkin. I carved the clueless future-victim:

Here’s what it looks like lit:

And finally, we roasted and ate pumpkin guts, which may be the bestest reason of all to carve pumpkins: