Halloween – shockingly quiet

Marshmallow spiders – my kind of arachnid

By the time the younger Mudlets and I left the house to go trick or treating this Halloween, it had been dark for just over an hour and yet we had only had one set of callers. This was great news for the girls who were delighted at the prospect of loads of left over sweets, not to mention my marshmallow spiders but not so good for Mud, who wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of hoards of trick or treaters calling after we had left.

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Compact and Bijoux Pumpkins

Two Sugar Pies and a Jack O’lantern pumpkin are guarded by Middle Mudlets’ Lego figures

Well they won’t be breaking any world records but we have managed to grow eight pumpkins this year, off which six have already been harvested and the remaining two are slowly but surely turning orange. We ended up with five Sugar Pie and three Jack O’Lanterns and at least two of the Sugar Pies will be suitable for lanterns – albeit small ones. I have no doubt that a larger one or two will be purchased to supplement the Halloween decorations but at least I should have sufficient flesh to make a lovely warming soup and a gloriously sticky pie.

The Zombie, the Witch, the Vampire and a Werewolf

Pumpkins with candles: Little Mudlets’ (left), Eldest Mudlets’ (centre) and Middle Mudlets’ with the tall eyes.

It was remarkably mild this Hallowe’en which made the trudge around the village knocking on peoples doors that little bit more pleasant and the Mudlets were able to do the whole thing without either wrapping up so tight they could have been mistaken for Carol Singers, or shivering in their flimsy Hallowe’en costumes (although they usually have layers underneath the costumes as well). This year they were joined by one of their friends who was wearing a werewolf costume and Eldest Mudlet who dressed up as a Zombie. The friends mum and I also went with them and it was a pleasant evening all round.

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere and little children dressed to scare!

A haunted house according to Middle Mudlet

Yesterday was a busy day with a house to prepare for Halloween callers, pumpkins to carve and then Trick or Treating with the Mudlets and one of their friends.

Thinking ahead, I had already removed the seeds and stringy bits from the pumpkins the night before and yesterday morning I had washed, dried, oiled, seasoned and then roasted the huge mound of seeds that we had been left with. Each Mudlet had a bag of them added to their pack-ups instead of crisps and Little Mudlet wasn’t over keen, although she did eat quite a few, but Middle Mudlet really enjoyed them, commenting that they tasted like popcorn.

It’s my birthday and I’ll dine where I want to …….

When Mud asked Little Mudlet where she would like to go for her birthday meal, it came as no surprise to any of us when she said:

“Pizza Hut.”

Pizza Hut is Little Mudlets favourite place in the world to eat and she has even volunteered it as a venue for other celebrations such as Mothers Day, Fathers Day, everybody elses birthday but as much as she loves the place, so Mud hates it …. with a vengeance. No, when it comes to family restaurants, Mud would much prefer to sit down to the mixed steak platter at the local Beefeater and, to be fair, I can see his point because they have always cooked his steaks perfectly. Not that there is much cooking involved when it comes to Muds preference: not quite mooing but not far off!

Squash and Pumpkin weights (update):

My squashes are used as part of our Halloween display

I was really rather taken aback at the size one of my Anna Swartz Hubbard Squashes reached. I’ve never grown this variety before and I have managed to grow two of them, across two different plants and, to be honest, other than the colour they look nothing like each other really which was surprising to say the least.

However, I love growing squash and pumpkins (bet you hadn’t figured that one out :D), in fact I would say that squash and pumpkins are to me what yarn is to a fellow blogger Claire. I squeeze as many as I can into whatever space there may be and try to grow two or three different winter squash varieties, plus a pumpkin each year.

Ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties …..

Halloween in our house hold is traditionally a fun, happy time, with much laughter as pumpkins are carved, the hall is decorated and the two Mudlets don their costumes and face paints, ready to receive the “trick or treaters”.

The plastic Halloween lanterns are brought down from the attic, dusted off, fitted with new batteries and then we all hold our collective breath as we wait to see if they have survived another year of storage, or if their cheaply made circuitry has finally given up the ghost (excuse the pun), after 3 Halloweens of being dropped, bumped and generally neglected by the over excited Mudlets.

Of course the carving of the pumpkins, grown by me and two of which dwarfed the ‘extra large’ ones a certain well known supermarket had for sale this year (not that I’m bragging), is, according to Mud, the highlight of the day and a task only undertaken by Mud himself.

I grow the pumpkins, he carves the pumpkins, I cook the pumpkins, then we all eat the pumpkins in a variety of guises. This is the way it is and  has always been since the Student Mudlet was at home.

Unfortunately, this year, Halloween coincided with the end of Muds’ week off and, as a result, he was like a bear with a so