Animated Cat Lunch & Pumpkin Carving

"I'm so happy that Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year!" said no teacher ever. ~Author unknown

First A Comic Overview Of The Day.... Be Prepared (Page Seven)


We dine at Panda Palace


First we prepare the pumpkins... The real hard work


Then we carve and cavort while eating pumpkin seeds and sparkling cider

To Panda Palace For Lunch Before The Carving Begins

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
We needed a boost of energy before attacking the pumpkins
We have been going to this restaurant for a quarter of a century...

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Robin makes sure we have sufficient seating... Such a Mom

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Theo shows off his toofies... The boys get aloong so well!


Wat cha doin' ?

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
I'll try a Chinese Beer

Did You Know? - Production and consumption of beer in China has occurred for around nine thousand years, with recent archaeological findings showing that Chinese villagers were brewing beer type alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BC on small and individual scales. Made with rice, honey, and grape and hawthorn fruits, this early beer seems to have been produced similarly to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

However, after the Han Dynasty, Chinese beer faded from prominence in favor of huangjiu, which remained the case for the next two millennia. Modern beer brewing was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century, when Russians established a brewery in Harbin, with another three following (also in Harbin), set up by Germans, Czechoslovaks and Russians respectively.

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Frank is the owner of the restaurant.... and he does everything!


We be here

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Bob is attempting to order "One Of Each"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Bob tries his Chinese

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Don't know what he said but Frank got mad..... Kidding
This symbol means "I am hungry"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Frank takes our orders.... One order of paper-wrapped-chicken
will be air freighted to New Hampshire

Did You Know? - For Jon in New Hampshire... The receipt for Franks Paper Wrapped Chicken

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 green onions, finely chopped
40 -50 pieces aluminum foil, cut into 5 x 6 inches
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry wine
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions: Prep Time: 30 mins; Total Time: 45 mins

1 Cut chicken into 1"x1" pieces.

2 Place in a shallow pan. Sprinkle green onions on top.

3 Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken. Marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.

4 Wrap each piece of chicken in a square of foil. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

5 Bake at 450º for 12 minutes.

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Watch out when these two are around

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Nick and Theo are almost joined at the hip

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The family is here...

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The ladies get some "girl time"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Michele, Robin, and Pete

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The gaggle is forming and getting ready to leave

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013

Knives At The Ready

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013


We were ready to go!!!!

Did You Know?

  • Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
  • Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
  • Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
  • Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
  • Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
  • The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
  • Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
  • Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
  • Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
  • Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
  • Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The tools are at the ready

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Tables are set up

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The watch dog is on duty..... "Watch dog???"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013   Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013 Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013   Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013  

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
They are about to meet their fate

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Robin and Bob cut the tops off with the BIG knives

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Not a great idea to make them mad

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Franklyn joins right in

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Great digger

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Scoop the poop... Save the seeds

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The ladies are getting ready to join the cutups

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Keziah is from Kenya... She has never done pumpkin carving before or so she says....

Did You Know? - Keziah is a person in the Hebrew Bible. She was the second of the three daughters born to Job after his sufferings (Job 42:14). Her sisters were Jemima and Keren-Happuch.

A number of etymologies have been suggested for her name, among them the Hebrew for Cassia, from the name for the spice tree. The name has been taken to symbolize female equality, since all of Job's three daughters received an inheritance from their father, an unusual circumstance in a time period when women and men were not treated equally.

Did You Know? - Top 10 Fun Facts about Halloween:

  1. Halloween candy sales average about $2 billion annually in the United States.
  2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups rank as the most popular Halloween candy, followed by Life Savers, Baby Ruth, Tootsie Rolls and Milky Way. M&Ms and Hershey bars are also very popular.
  3. Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
  4. Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green.
  5. The Count Dracula Society was founded in 1962.
  6. To this day, there are vampire clubs and societies filled with members who claim to be real vampires.
  7. Medieval stone carvers crafted gargoyles to ward off evil spirits.
  8. The movie "Halloween" was made in only 21 days in 1978 on a very limited budget. It was shot in the spring and used fake autumn leaves.
  9. Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
  10. The setting of the “Halloween” movie is in Illinois, but the vehicles have California license plates.

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Ladies... Pick a punkin

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
"Oh... We have to read the instructions???"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Sue gets the seeds underway.... Each try is a different flavor

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The spices make the seeds taste amazing

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Meanwhile outside the pumpkin guts are flying

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
We love to watch work....

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
"It's icky but fun!!"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
"Now tell me again why you do this??"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The girls are working hard

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Boys and their electronics

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Franklyn found his pattern

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Someone is having fun

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Carve a little... Text a little

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Paul provides assistance along with official kibitzing...

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Gwen dives right into the fray


Lisa is doing a great job


Jen is being very scientific about this


Keziah is carefully marking the punkin

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Serious work underway

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
She is talking to her pumpkin

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Greg is visiting everyone ... That's becausehe is Gregarious


Gwen takes a short rest

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Greg and Laurie catch up on things

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
It's going to be a work of art

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Sue and Michele look at old pictures while the girls are nearing the finish line

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
We have been doing this for over twenty-five years....

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
It's a beehive of activity around the tables


Sue provides guidance as requested


The homeless lady from next foor came over...
She came in the back door and scared us all!


She looks different out of costume

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The "Old Folks" love watching all the hustle and bustle of activity

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Punch punch punch

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Punch the pattern and then carefully cut it out and volia... Works of art

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The Adams family hard at work....

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Bob is working real real fast

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Theo visits everyone

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Meanwhile back at the main table

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Gwen inspects her work....

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Greg is up to something???


Keziah asked for Romeo and Juliet.... and got it

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Ah ha... Shakespeare

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Fun AND entertainment...

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Champagne for all.... OK, it's Martinelli's Sparking Apple Juice

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Pour another barkeep

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Fun with family and friends

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
This is cute.....

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Girls... Get ready for the lighting ceremony

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Paul and the ladies

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
OK... Grab your punkin

The Lighting Ceremony Is About To Get Underway

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Can't tell much until the light go out

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Now they come to life

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The Spooky Tree was the best one... Keziah wins

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The cat and the spider were super...Eek was pretty good also

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The artists with their works of art

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Art for the masses

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The tree was fairly intricate

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Eek!


Great artistic work

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
What a mess... But cleanup took about 6 minutes...
We have it down to a science

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
OK... Maybe seven minutes

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Michele visits the last of the Summer garden

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Yes... You should take those home

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Swiss Chard

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
...herbs everywhere

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
The lemons are year around....

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Vicky came over to visit


Heading home to study... So they say!


Bob is now "A Pumpkin Master"

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Heading for home

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013
Bye bye Theo

Pumpkin carving with family and friends 10/27/2013


We went to Old Ranch for some Happy Hour....

Halloween Costume Ball at the Santa Ana Elks October 26, 2013

Page 8 - Pumpkin Carving Slideshow