This year we went to the 'trunk-or-treat' [1] at the Church the weekend before Hallowe'en and then on Hallowe'en day we took Lilli trick-or-treating in the neighborhood south of our apartment complex. It was cold and rainy, so we only went to about ten houses. This actually worked in our favor because the people we visited were afraid they wouldn't get any more trick-or-treaters, so they gave Lilli handfuls of candy. She quickly caught on and started asking for "another person" as soon as she'd gotten her candy from someone.
Lincoln didn't try out as many costumes as Lilli did her first year.[2] One of my co-workers found this baby-sized labcoat online and bought it for me. It's monogrammed "Dr. Q. T. Patootie".
Lilli was a scarecrow, just like last year.[3] This isn't the greatest photo, but she was too busy being silly.
Here are our jack-o'-lanterns. Mine is on the left [4], Lilli's is in the middle, and Leann's is on the right. Lilli told me what she wanted and I carved it for her. Not too shabby!
In the week leading up to Hallowe'en, I bought some white almond bark. We melted it down [5] and poured it onto wax paper to make ghosts. We added semi-sweet chocolate chips for the eyes (and, in a few cases, a mouth).
And here is the final product. (For some reason Lilli refused to eat them.)
Oh, and a few days later I had my birthday. (That's supposed to represent 33 years, not 6.) I ate the cake for breakfast for the rest of the week.[6]
Last, but not least, here are some of the autumn leaves I managed to photograph before the trees all became barren and the ground became covered with snow.
Notes:
[1] Not because we endorse them, because we don't (see my post Hallowe'en), but rather to participate in the chili/soup cook-off that preceeded it. Lilli ran around and collected a lot of the table decorations. She came home with toy mice, spiders, flies, cockroaches, ants, bugs (in the entomological sense), centipedes, scorpions, snakes, and a grasshopper.
[2] See my post Lillian's First Hallowe'en.
[3] See my post Hallowe'en 2012.
[4] As you can see, I wanted to incorporate the shape of Wisconsin into my jack-o'-lantern. I tried a couple designs (see below), but neither of them were working for me, so I just went with the basic outline. The hole was so big that the candles inside constantly sputtered and never really illuminated the pumpkin very well.
[5] When Leann and I were dating, I tried making these and they turned out horribly (gross-tasting and chalky). Since then I've learned that melting chocolate (or almond bark) is a bit tricky. On that occaision I probably microwaved the white almond bark too long and burned it. If you decide to try this (and don't want to invest in a double boiler), microwave for 5–10 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate/almond bark is melted.
[6] See here.
Lincoln didn't try out as many costumes as Lilli did her first year.[2] One of my co-workers found this baby-sized labcoat online and bought it for me. It's monogrammed "Dr. Q. T. Patootie".
Lilli was a scarecrow, just like last year.[3] This isn't the greatest photo, but she was too busy being silly.
Here are our jack-o'-lanterns. Mine is on the left [4], Lilli's is in the middle, and Leann's is on the right. Lilli told me what she wanted and I carved it for her. Not too shabby!
In the week leading up to Hallowe'en, I bought some white almond bark. We melted it down [5] and poured it onto wax paper to make ghosts. We added semi-sweet chocolate chips for the eyes (and, in a few cases, a mouth).
And here is the final product. (For some reason Lilli refused to eat them.)
Oh, and a few days later I had my birthday. (That's supposed to represent 33 years, not 6.) I ate the cake for breakfast for the rest of the week.[6]
Last, but not least, here are some of the autumn leaves I managed to photograph before the trees all became barren and the ground became covered with snow.
Notes:
[1] Not because we endorse them, because we don't (see my post Hallowe'en), but rather to participate in the chili/soup cook-off that preceeded it. Lilli ran around and collected a lot of the table decorations. She came home with toy mice, spiders, flies, cockroaches, ants, bugs (in the entomological sense), centipedes, scorpions, snakes, and a grasshopper.
[2] See my post Lillian's First Hallowe'en.
[3] See my post Hallowe'en 2012.
[4] As you can see, I wanted to incorporate the shape of Wisconsin into my jack-o'-lantern. I tried a couple designs (see below), but neither of them were working for me, so I just went with the basic outline. The hole was so big that the candles inside constantly sputtered and never really illuminated the pumpkin very well.
[5] When Leann and I were dating, I tried making these and they turned out horribly (gross-tasting and chalky). Since then I've learned that melting chocolate (or almond bark) is a bit tricky. On that occaision I probably microwaved the white almond bark too long and burned it. If you decide to try this (and don't want to invest in a double boiler), microwave for 5–10 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate/almond bark is melted.
[6] See here.
We made these ghosts with white chocolate a couple of times. My kids wouldn't eat them, either. I love Lincoln's lab coat!
ReplyDeleteNice. Glad y'all had a good Halloween.
ReplyDeleteYeah, chocolate can be temperamental. I once used two bowls to make an impromptu double-boiler. You just have to be extra-careful of the water as even a drop can crystallize the whole thing.
Have you tried putting allspice and cinnamon on the inside of your jack-o-lantern's lid? As the candle heats the lid the scents mix and the air smells like baking pumpkin pie. Pretty nice.
I have not tried that. It sounds pretty good!
ReplyDelete