Behold--The CANDY CANNON! Conclusion...Success!

 This fall, everything's new--new for us, anyway. We have a general idea about some things, like what the weather's going to be like. I mean, from our new house we can see (when it's not so smokey...) the valley where we used to live. But, it's the little things we don't know about because we've never lived here...little things like, "What's Halloween like in Tremonton?"

Tonight we found out.

We also found out that if you stick some PVC pipe into a leaf blower, it'll launch candy to costumed children (and non-children...). We also found out, it's a blast for both the trick-or-treaters and trick-or-treatees. 

We made a candy cannon and it was an overwhelming success. Of course, we tested it out first.

We had to get a feel for the contraption. Certain candies are more aerodynamic, apparently. Plus, you get more "umph" when you cover the candy distribution port. Eventually, we got the hang of it and we had a blast pelting the kids with calories in a wrapper. We had to instruct the kids to stay on the sidewalk and we'd launch the treats their way.

Turns out, there's a lot of kids who trekked up the hill and wanted candy. We were able to deliver it to them from a distance. Did we have fun? Yes. Did the little visitors enjoy the candy cannon? We think so. Are we going to do this again next year?

Definitely!

Ever Wish You Could Turn ANY Photo Into A Pumpkin-Carving Templet? With Pumpkin Masters...You Can

 I've wondered for years if something like this existed--a way to turn any photo into something you can slap on a pumpkin and carve away.

Turns out there is, and it only took a quick internet search to find it.

Today, I downloaded and used the Pumpkin Masters app. I found one of the most simple patterns you can imagine. In fact, I probably didn't even need the app.

I'll let you in on a little secret...

Most of the fun of this app is seeing what a finished pumpkin will look like with whatever photo you choose.

Now that you have literally unlimited carving possibilities, it becomes a question of what would you like to see on your Halloween jack-o-lantern. I was snapping pictures of everything from a skeleton mask to Halloween decorations, to our dog, to DVD covers. The app lets you either snap a picture or download one from your photo library. Then, you can see what it will look like on a pumpkin. Then, you just print the templet, tape it to a pumpkin, transfer the image, then carve away!

Some work really well--others, not so much. Of course, the technology is not perfect. Getting a good likeness of a person can be tricky. The skeleton mask looked good. The one of the dog (not included...) did not turn out.

My favorite? The Galaxy Quest DVD cover. How beautiful is that? It would be a pain to carve, though. Maybe next year.

I chose a simple pattern, a copy of the illuminated ghosts we have in front of the house, and considering the pumpkin I chose to carve this year was two inches thick, I think I chose wisely.

If you're interested in downloading the app, it's in the Apple and Google Play stores. Who knows? I might just pull up the app the rest of the year, just to see how things look...

Carved into a pumpkin.

This Halloween...We're Launching!

 Lots of unknowns for this weekend. After living on the same street since 1997, this year will be the first Halloween someplace new. 

And we have no idea what to expect.

There are some things that we know. We know that even though there's a world-wide pandemic out there, some kids will most likely be trick-or-treating this year. We live in a new neighborhood so we haven't even met all our neighbors yet. We've seen kids playing in their yards and on the street, but will the venture over to our door?

We'll find out Saturday.

Spend a little time on social media and you'll see some incredible things people are doing to keep a safe distance between the candy givers and the candy receivers. We've seen catapults, chutes, but the coolest are the launchers. My wife found a YouTube video of an inventive couple and their invention so we thought we'd give it a try--you can watch the YouTube video: HERE.

Ours will be different. We did a test launch after we returned from the hardware store. It will need "tweaking" because we don't want to hit a little goblin or ghost dead-center in the chest with a Fun Size Snickers. but we are excited for what may be.

We might get no one to show up...we might get many. Even if we're stuck with tons of miniature chunks of sugar, this Halloween's already been a lot of fun.

A Touch Of Normalcy...At The Home Depot

 You've seen them, and even though you may think they're gauche, obnoxious, or tacky, you've seen them. They appear before holidays like Christmas and Halloween.

They're those inflatables people have in their front yards.

I can't think of other holidays, other than Halloween and Christmas that have inflatables, but I'm sure you can find them to celebrate Valentine's Day, Independence Day, maybe even Arbor Day (if that's a thing anymore...). Point is, if someone will buy it, someone will make it.

It's the American way.

The problem is, there's not a lot of things that make you feel like celebrating anymore. It seems like we're constantly being beat up by others and by ourselves. It feels like--to me--there are forces out there trying to make us feel this way, to feel defeated, to feel exhausted, to feel down.

So, when my wife and I entered The Home Depot last week to see if they had any generators because our power had been out for several day and we were trying to save two fridges of food (they didn't have any, by the way--we were hours late...), we looked up and saw something that made us feel like celebrating, made us--temporarily--forget all the crap we're getting shoveled upon our heads day after day.

We saw those big inflatables.

And they were fricking cool!

Like everyone else, we have no idea what Halloween will be like this year. I don't think many thought we'd even have to worry about Halloween when all this hit the fan back in March. But, here we are--six weeks out. Sure, the inflatables are expensive, but for us on that day without power, they represented a touch of normalcy in an incredibly abnormal world.

We didn't buy one (or several...). After all, we'd just have to put it on a moving truck and cart it north with everything else, and even if we did want to rush home and blow it up, we'd have had to string an extension cord from our neighbor's house to do it. Still...it might have been worth it, even at that, to feel good about something once again.