Jack-resize-150x150What do you do with a root cellar full of pumpkins? I guess there are a lot of things that could be done such as preserving pie filling, making dozens of pumpkin  pies, or you could call your granddaughter and ask her to come out for an old fashioned Jack-O-lantern carving party.  We considered all of the options but concluded that the best choice was the latter.

We called our daughter Kate and our granddaughter Hope and asked them out for an afternoon of creating and sculpturing.  Hope brought her good friend Tyler along as well and the four of us handpicked our pumpkins and went to work.  Nancy was canning tomato sauce and thus opted out of the carving, but encouraged our efforts from behind her stove counter.  She also fed us lunch and dinner to sustain our creative energy levels.

Using a wide array of kitchen tools and some gnarly deformed carrots (which we dug from the garden) we sculpted faces that only a Jack-O-lantern’s mother could love. It was a wonderful time of joking and laughter that motivated us to conclude that we would grow twice the pumpkins next year so that Hope could bring many more friends for a grander party yet.