Alligator Loki Pumpkin Stencil

It is always a monumental decision figuring out what pumpkin design to do for the pumpkin party, at least for a few of us who labor over the decision leading up to the big day.  I know that sounds kind of funny, but we never want to come in there and just do some random face on a pumpkin.  Josh is one of those guys who just comes up with brilliance on the spot and can get away with such things, working just as hard as the rest of us on an idea he comes up with at that moment.  So anyway, before we retire our pumpkins from the carving party this year, I thought I'd share the stencil I made up beforehand to do my pumpkin.  I found an alligator stencil online, and then I added the hat afterwards to create the overall idea.  I think it turned out pretty good.

I took another photo of Maddie's pumpkin tonight, because it turned out pretty good too!  This is a blob fish carving, which was her theme for the year.  I shut the lights out again tonight, lighting up our pumpkins at the fireplace as we sat and watched a movie together on the couch.

Here's Alligator Loki again - or is it Crocodile Loki?  Regardless, it wasn't too bad.  I made the stencil's lines much thicker in the actual carving.  I think I was wanting more light, but ultimately we lost a little of the precision in the stencil itself.  But it still came out okay, which is to say you can still tell what it is if you are familiar with what an Alligator Loki even is.  Maddie suggested carving a small hand to the side or something, which would have been funny.  Otherwise, you'll just think it's a dragon of some sort, which is what Nana keeps calling it.  And that's okay!

Tonight's movie was "Something Wicked This Way Comes," which has plenty of creepy atmosphere to it, and I was so intrigued by the story that earlier today I dropped by the library to pick up the book by Ray Bradbury.  Tonight before bed, I was actually reading this one aloud to Mom.  We made it about one chapter before I was ready for sleep already though.  I'll have to start earlier tomorrow.  I was also reading to Maddie as well, continuing the "Unforeseen" novella.  We said our prayers and were off to bed tonight a little earlier, as I was super tired.

We had taekwondo tonight - it was such a beautiful day and there were so many students that Maddie was outside swinging her bo staff around in practice with several others.  Usually, they can go into another room for that sort of spacing issue, but with the weather so ideal outside, why not go outside?

I was finishing up the third RL Stine Dummy book, which featured Slappy again, this time in an attic filled with ventriloquist dummies.  Now that's something creepy there!  These books are pretty quick reads - I started this one in the car line to pick up Maddie from school, and finished it at taekwondo.  They're also fun reads.  Last January I found at a thrift shop about four of these hard cover collections of RL Stine books.  It turns out they're worth over a hundred dollars online together, or at least that's what people are selling them for.  The point is, it's a nice collection.  Each book has about three of his novels within, so that's why I've been reading the three Slappy stories this year.  Next October, I think I'll pick up on one of the others and so on.  It's fun seasonal reading!  Speaking of which, I also picked up at the library the "Haunted Mansion" graphic novel.  It's a series of comic books that takes place within Disney's Haunted Mansion.  I was listening to a podcast about that story, so I was able to get that from the library too in order to check it out.

I was on the podcast this morning while walking in Montana, at least on the treadmill.  The virtual POV walks have been pleasant.  It was a autumn walk along a trail in Montana today.  Who knows where I'll walk tomorrow - maybe some place in Europe, or back to Hilton Head... I don't know!

Maddie's enjoying her theater class very much.  She's got a production upcoming, one that requires a few rehearsals that will bite into her taekwondo time.  She's okay with that, as she really likes the theater class.  It's basically the only class we hear about, in fact!

All in all, it was a good day today.  A beautiful day outside.  The tiki torches are charged up and light up each night automatically, and that area by the fire pit in the back yard sort of calls out to you to come down and relax a bit. We might do that tomorrow!