The Twelve Days of Halloween, Days Nine and Ten, Movie Nights and Pumpkins!

So sorry that I skipped yesterday! I was dashing around baking treats for a movie night and catching lunch with two lovely lady friends in Ballard!

I'm going to share two Halloween traditions today to bring us up to day ten.

First: Scary movie nights! Gather friends around, bake some treats, pop some corn, and watch great movies. Or even better, watch terrible movies. Last night we screened a little of both, the great Army of Darkness, followed by the indescribable Zardox and ever campy Barbarella. The season brings many get togethers, but a movie night can be a little more laid back and relaxing before the costume parties and candy festivities really take off.

Second: Pumpkins! The earthy smell, the gook, the seeds baking in the oven, the overly satisfying stab into the gourd, pumpkins are a hallowed hollowed Halloween tradition. (Like that?)

I'd like to share my wonderful friend Amy Forbes' talents in the pumpkin realm today! She carves the best pumpkins of anyone I know and I think everyone who knows Amy can say the same. Amy has the amazing ability to transform a pumpkin into a canvas. She treats the flesh very much like a wood carving, and creates beautiful lithograph-like images for the candle to light.

She also has a great deal of New England lore and graveyard knowledge, after years of historical cemetery classes in college and trips to old graves throughout the northeast. This lends an antiqued and genuinely eerie feel to some of her lovely designs.

They're even pretty in the daylight!

Aren't these fantastic? Many thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her delightful pumpkin creations!