Pumpkins, Buildings, and Baking...Oh my!

Saturday was a wash, weather-wise. It poured on and off for the entire day and through the night. So, it seemed like a good idea to carve my pumpkin. The only problem was that I didn't have one yet. This meant I had to go to the store and carry it home, it under one arm, my umbrella in my other hand. It was a little uncomfortable, but it worked.

I had a few hours on hand before I would be going with a friend to some sites involved with Open House Chicago, so I sat down and started transferring my design to the pumpkin. (The "Harry Potter" marathon on Freeform was on in the background.) Then, it was time to scoop and clean the pumpkin seeds. So far so good...

The carving went well; though, it took a lot of patience because of all of the small cuts where the knife was almost too big.

When the final cut was made, I turned down the lights, put in the candle, and lit it. Magical.

The timing could not have been more perfect. As I finished cleaning up my mess and drying the pumpkin seeds (for later roasting), my friend called and told me she was at my apartment. We were ready to go. We ended up heading up to Evanston, checking out "The American Toby Jug Museum," the Alpha Sigma Epsilon building (at Northwestern), and the Baha'i temple. All were quick stops, but it was definitely worth it.

My friend invited me to go swing dancing, but I passed this time around. The weather was swaying me in the other direction. But I will go soon - I love dancing!

Later in the evening I baked those pumpkin seeds. And, because the oven was on, I baked some cookies for my faculty too.

When the cookie recipe calls for softened butter...you hold it in the oven, naturally!

I must say, it was a delicious way to end the day. As for today, I got a run in this morning (though there were many puddles!), and I'm off shortly to see "The Princess Bride" and to attend the opening dinner and Mass at my church. Happy Sunday!