Why should you never trust a train? They have locomotives.
Today was fantastic, starting with Mary joining me for a morning swim before we had to go to the Himalayan Grill for the pre-pumpkin carving lunch. I picked her up early and told her the pool was 92 degrees; she could not resist!
We got to the grill right on time but had to park well away from the building as they had a crafts fair in the parking lot.
You know by now that Miss Mary is a “spice woose,” meaning ketchup may be too hot. Yours truly, on the other hand, likes is hot! So we all ordered, but I forgot to tell everyone what I ordered and when it arrived on the iron plate, the fumes were still rising. Poor Mary and several others had to cover their noses to protect their nasal passages.
Nose hairs generally curl up and fall out when the spice level hits a firm SEVEN; mine was definitely a TEN today!
Poor Michele was downwind of my delicious plate of Chili Chicken Tika! It looked like the fog was rolling in as she grabbed for the nearest paper napkin to shield her eyes.
Her hair is normally black, but the fumes must have had a chemical reaction!
Mary now knows one of my medical conditions, OCD! Must have the hot stuff every few days to clean out the system!
Two quarts of ice cream, please!
What fumes? You can see the smoke rising, and it has been sitting there for five minutes. We are lucky the Seal Beach Fire Department did not show up!
Burn baby burn!!
Keta took a vote, and I was voted off the island! Me and the Tikka had to vacate the premises until the food was consumed.
Who? Me?
I think Miss Mary’s response was, “Oh my!” just before she passed out! She also mumbled something like, Lips that ate that shall not touch mine!”. Oh, dear!
It was scary hot today!
Mary tried two items; one was “out of the box for her,” and the other was a tandoori salmon, spice level ZERO! The spinach dish was delicious, but it did not look appetizing. Some of the things that came to mind shall NOT be identified here.
Be afraid, be very afraid!
I made sure Mary did not get into anything she shouldn’t, but she did poke my sauce and smelled it. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she asked if I could use that to take the chrome off a bumper hitch. Of course, and it also is good for removing paint and rust.
We all had a super lunch and at 1:30 PM headed back to the house where Connor was awaiting us.
Keta had the best seat in the house; she could see all the goings-on!
Step one got underway quickly with the guys gutting the pumpkins and getting them ready for the carving to begin! They worked hard in the front yard.
You are never too young to gut a pumpkin or so, says Remy and Lilly.
Connor found a new friend while Mary and Franklyn hit the puzzle table.
A new friendship is established!
Serious carving began, and the house got quiet. All you could hear is the sounds of steel saws cutting the pumpkin flesh and an occasional #*$%&@*(^&.
MAry fit right in with this bunch! She is a natural, and she also loves traditions and family!
Watch out guys, she is a surgeon, so carving things up comes second nature!
Everyone has a pumpkin except Paul, Keta, and Zack– we are providing adult supervision! Did I say we are supplying adult supervision; maybe a bit of an overstatement!
In keeping with tradition, I assumed the position, but it was due to the icepack on my knee!
The carving got more intense as I heard sirens and someone yelling, “Get a bandaid, quick!”
It’s OK. We have a doctor in the house!
MAry did two, sort of… Check out the frog and the dog!
Making life easy!
Time to examine the finished products! Lined up and ready to be lit. They all looked pretty good!
They all looked great!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch Miss Lilly and Miss Mary discuss the finer points of cookie decorating.
I think they came to a mutual decision on what to do with the decorating activities.
After everyone left, Robin and Bob stuck around, and we talked for quite a while. They assisted in the cleanup activities, good kids that they indeed are!! Mary and I puttered for a bit and then headed to her house.
Tomorrow is a day of rest, and we both need it badly!
