I’m not a huge fan of Halloween in general and never have been. The whole scary costume thing and gory decorations isn’t something I embrace. Scary movies? Not me!
My tastes fall along the lines of cute and funny. I enjoy seeing little kids dressed up as princesses or cartoon characters. Keeping things light and funny is much more to my liking. Throw in some fall colors, the smell of apple cider and cinnamon, pumpkin carvings and there ya have it … I’m all in … fall fun!
In my last post, I already shared photos from my visit to an engaging pumpkin exhibit, but since it’s Halloween, I felt compelled to share even more images from the pumpkin event.
Pumpkin Carvings
Visiting the Enchanted Pumpkin Garden in Carefree, Arizona, was my kind of autumn entertainment. These pumpkin displays are a delight for people of all ages, but especially for those of us on the mature side. To compliment the amusing display is an equally humorous newspaper.
Check out the Stem Enhancement Clinic …
Check out the big stems on the pumpkins on the left exiting the clinic – those are some huge stems 🤣
Stem enhancement clinic?
And even a coupon for stem enhancement in the newspaper …. This is too funny!
(To enlarge photos in a gallery, click on any photo. To return to the post, click on the x at the top. To read the newspaper articles, you may have to zoom in via your internet settings. Sorry, I tried my best scanning the newspaper.)
The jail exhibit was comedic. While the sheriff bends over to pick up money on the ground, a mouse on a stick is lowered down to grab the jail keys from the sheriffs hip. Someone is trying to escape from jail with the help of his buddies!
I had the opportunity to visit the Enchanted Pumpkin Garden on three different occasions, and during each visit, I noticed more pumpkins carved and a few changes here and there in the scenes. Talk about creative, imaginative, and talented!
Carrots used as darts. Now that’s a mouth full.
Someone had a little too much to drink.
Dr. Sanibal Pepper aka The Pumpkin Gutter
Hannibal Lecter? No it’s “the Pumpkin Gutter” waiting for his turn to be hanged.
I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into putting on such an entertaining exhibit. The show ran from October 19-28 and every evening the pumpkins are collected by the local fire department and floated in the fountain pool … 1. to keep the carved pumpkins hydrated and 2. to keep them out of reach of javelinas.
Near the end of the exhibit, rumor has it, the night guard fell asleep in his truck and javelinas started noshing on the 693 pound pumpkin that the sculptors had yet to complete carving.
You can see where the javelinas started eating this 693 pound winning size pumpkin, bottom left.
Every morning, the pumpkins are returned to their display/scene. The sculpted ones are sprayed with water periodically throughout the day to help keep them from dehydrating, but many do not last for the entire show. Thus, new pumpkins are carved regularly. Yep, it takes a lot of talented people to provide us with this free entertainment.
And a few more photos just for fun …
dealing with the septic truck – no wonder his nose is plugged
jumping from a burning barn!
Rock climbing pumpkins
On belay!
Dog walking with poop bag!
Another drunk pumpkin gets sick!
The sculptors who carve the pumpkins are quite talented.
Each display tells a story. A septic truck pumping up pumpkin seed waste.
Happy Halloween everyone …. hope you enjoy YOUR kind of day!
Sundays are fun days in my book. When I ran my own business, it wasn’t uncommon for me to work seven days a week, and although I thought I was doing a great job, such was not the case. At some point, it was brought to my attention that burn out was setting in. I could feel it, but didn’t want to acknowledge it.
I wasn’t doing myself, my customers, or my family any favors by being a work alcoholic and not taking a day off work. We all need time to recharge, and Lord knows, I definitely needed time to recharge. That’s when I made Sundays my day off, my fun day, and began focusing on myself and my family. I made a rule; absolutely no business on Sunday …. well, maybe just a little bit here and there 😉. Taking Sunday’s off was such a smart decision and Sunday Brunch’s became something our family looked forward to.
Now that we’re semi-retired, I don’t need to make a conscious effort to take time off work, but that still hasn’t changed how I view Sundays. It’s still our day to relax and do something fun. And sometimes that fun revolves around food …. or boating …. or hiking …. or hanging with friends ….. or all of the above.
Boating on Lake Havasu is definitely fun. No, that’s not us. First breakfast, then a boat ride.
Al loves Eggs Benedict, but it’s a rare treat. All that Hollandaise sauce isn’t exactly waist friendly, but then again, that’s not something he wants to hear. Also, considering all the elements needed to make Eggs Benedict, it can be a little challenging to make, especially in a small kitchen like a RV.
The key is organization and enlisting the help of your guests, regardless of the size of your kitchen.
We recently spent a couple of weeks this past September visiting friends in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. We had a fabulous time. More on that to come. With a full size kitchen at my disposable, I quickly and willingly stepped up to the title of resident cook.
Al didn’t waste anytime putting in his order for Sunday Brunch, and it turns out our friends are every bit the Eggs Benedict fanatics that Al is. Me? Nope! I make it, but don’t eat it. I don’t like Hollandaise sauce or Canadian bacon. A plain toasted English muffin with a couple of over easy eggs on top and I’m happy. Ooh, and let’s not forget a few Mimosa’s for this gal. Everyone else can enjoy their Bloody Mary’s while I cook and down champagne and orange juice.
So grab your favorite beverage, and let’s get cooking. Since Eggs Benedict comes together very quickly, we need to be organized and have everything on the counter and stove ready to go. Seriously, you’ll be serving your friends a wonderful Eggs Benedict in less than twenty minutes from start to finish.
What you’ll need for the Hollandaise Sauce is a double boiler or some version of one. I prefer my make shift double boiler which consists of a medium sauce pan and a glass mixing bowl (my glass bowl is microwave safe and heat safe).
I fill the pot with about two to three inches of water making sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl. Of course, we’ll need a whisk.
Next we need two frying pans. Since I don’t have room on my stove top for two large frying pans, I use a small one for the Canadian bacon and a large one for the eggs. When I’m pressed for time or space, I’ve been known to put the Canadian bacon in the microwave, freeing up stove space, but shhh, don’t tell Al. He’s not a fan of microwaved bacon. The large frying pan is for frying the eggs over easy. I know, I know …. real Eggs Benedict is made with poached eggs, but without my poacher, I prefer to fry the eggs. My kitchen, my rules 😁
Since we’ll be toasting English muffins, the more toaster slots the better and this is when I enlist the help of my guests. I put them in charge of toasting the muffins. Just make sure the toasters and guests are out of your way because things will happen fast.
With all our equipment ready to go, let’s make sure all our ingredients are within easy reach.
8 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup softened butter
lemon juice
Canadian Bacon (at least 8 slices)
4 English muffins, split
Salt and Pepper
Surrounded by all our ingredients and equipment, we’ll start making the Hollandaise Sauce first. Once we’re done whisking together the sauce, turn the heat on the burner off but keep the sauce warm by letting it sit over the hot water. Stir the sauce from time to time making sure it doesn’t curdle as you start frying the Canadian bacon and cooking the eggs. While you’re tending to the stove, have your friends pop the muffins down in the toaster.
Once the eggs are fried over easy, it’s time to assemble. Place one toasted English muffin open-faced on a plate and put one or two slices of Canadian bacon on each half. Place an egg on the bacon then top with Hollandaise Sauce. Finish off with a pinch of salt and pepper and enjoy.
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup softened butter
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Once the water in the bottom of a double boiler is boiling, whisk together the eggs and half the butter in the top of the double boiler. Be sure the water in the bottom pot doesn’t touch the bottom of the top pot. Continue whisking the butter and eggs making sure the eggs don’t curdle. Once the butter is melted, add the remaining butter, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Stir constantly until all butter is melted.
If the sauce is too thin, let it sit without stirring. It should start to thicken. If it gets too thick or curdles, add a teaspoon of lemon juice or water.
Serve over Eggs Benedict or your favorite vegetable.
After breakfast, it was time for a boat ride. Yeah, I could get used to this!
me – boating on Lake Havasu – happy camper!
A few items you might need … When we lived in a large house, I had one of these for easy egg poaching. (affiliate links)