You know you're an apostate when... Or, My first Jack-o'-lantern!

seattleniceguy

That's right, that's right, I carved my first Jack-o'-lantern! It was much more easier than I thought it would be, and much more fun, too! I don't think I did too shabby for my first try, but I definitely picked up some valuable insights by observing my roommate and her awesome cat-o'-lantern. Check 'em out!

SNG

Elsewhere

Those look GREAT!

How did you do them? I tried doing one once and it looked like something Charlie Brown would end up with.

Black Sheep

They are awesome SNG.

Halloween ain't that big in NZ and pumpkins that size are pretty rare too.

I'm jealous. My JW missus would be horrified if I did that to one of our pumpkins.

I like them.

Must have a look in our seed catalogue and see if they have some suitable seed. I'm sure my nieghbors kids would love to carve some.

Chris

seattleniceguy

Hey Elsewhere, thanks!

We first sketched out what we were thinking on paper, and then used a pen to draw on the pumpkin. I used a sharpee, but we discovered that a ballpoint pen is better, since you can erase with a little water and a fingernail. As for the cutting, we used the little tools that they sell at point-of-purchase displays this time of year. The most effective one of the bunch was a small knife with lots of medium-grit teeth. That thing burned through the pumpkin like a hot knife through butter.

And here are the lessons I learned after the fact which I will be applying toward my next pumpkin:

When you cut out the top, notch one side so that it's easy to tell how to the lid goes on. (Mine is octagonal - almost, but not quite perfectly so - so you have to just try each side until you find the correct orientation. I remedied this with a sharpee, but the notch is definitely a more elegant solution.
What looks really cool about a Jack-o'-lantern is all the reflected light from inside. But you won't see any of the light unless you really open it up. This really came home to me when I saw the difference between mine and my roommate's in the dark. Hers is practically alive.

Seriously, for any ex-JWs who haven't done this yet, it's really a lot of fun! I think I'm going to try another one next weekend!

SNG

Piph

Those look AWESOME!

I was thinking about doing one for our front porch, but I'm a little timid. I am sort of overwhelmed by the thought of scooping all the seeds out...I dunno why. Somehow I'm afraid of screwing it all up...

I'm definitely feeling inspired by that cat though...hmm, might have to go ahead and give it a try anyway.

See, you just pick up on all SORTS of bad association on these ex-JW boards!! Like, pumpkin carving.

seattleniceguy

Hey BlackSheep,

It's funny that Witnesses are so mortified by such benign things. I mean, I remember last year, it was the first time I had ever given candy to the kids that came to the door. A kid knocked at the door, and I opened it up and here's a little guy with his dad, all smiles, and I thought, it's amazing that the Witnesses can be so harsh about stuff like this. It's so absolutely healthy.

That really came home last night while I was working on my Jack-o'-lantern. The tradition of carving Jack-o'-lanterns didn't come to be because people were looking for ways to be evil. It came to be because it's a great way to have fun as a family. It's inexpensive, it's creative, it forms great memories, and it helps mark the passage into the Fall season. I really think traditions like these help to give us a collective frame of reference, help us enjoy and understand life.

For Witnesses to be bent out of shape about it - it just misses the point in extraordinary fashion. I just have to shake my head about it.

SNG

Elsewhere

And you have to admit that digging around inside it with your hand to pull out all of the squishy goo is a load of fun in itself!

-Elsewhere, of the Will always be a kid at heart Class.

seattleniceguy

Hey Piph!

(Boy, I'm racking up the posts on this thread!)

Yeah, it's great fun. And actually, the seed part was way easier than I thought. I was envisioning pounds of sloppy innards, all stringy and wet. But actually, if you pick a pumpkin up, you'll notice that it's almost entirely air. I mean, you cut the lid open, and you can see straight to the bottom. All you have to do is take a normal sized spoon (small is better because it gives you more elbow-room than, say, a serving spoon) and scrape the walls clean. And you don't even have to scoop it out, really. Maybe at first, but after that, you just scrape for a bit and then dump it out the top, right into the garbage. I think I prepared mine in about 10 minutes.

Look a' me, I'm the pumpkin proselytizer over here. You know what? We should just make this the XJW Jack-o'-lantern thread! Everybody that makes one, post it here! I hope to see one from Euph and Piph! :-)

SNG

avengers

I carved my first Jack-o'-lantern!

I'm gonna make my first one this year too. Yours looks great.
When I'm done I'll see if I can take a picture.

Andy

(ps) next year I'm buying you breakfast.

Stephanus

A kid knocked at the door, and I opened it up and here's a little guy with his dad, all smiles, and I thought, it's amazing that the Witnesses can be so harsh about stuff like this.

Q. Why don't JWs like Halloween?

A. Because they don't like strangers knocking on their doors and bothering them!

You know you're an apostate when... Or, My first Jack-o'-lantern!

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