Hello frens, how are you? I hope you’re doing wonderful, or at the very least that you’re healthy, safe, and sound.

On my end, I’m drinking some homemade chai tea and eating banana bread I baked today. At the same time, I’m trying to prevent a robbery, since my little grey-cat rascal is always on the hunt for easy prey.

I can’t fault him for trying to eat some bread, it’s delicious. He usually gets away with a lot, but not today, Satan. Quite literally, I may add.

My doggie doesn’t believe anything he says, though.

And today is Friday the thirteenth again. It seems quite a few things went wrong, but since they’re out of my reach and control, I don’t sweat it too much. Still, they’re a pain in the tushy. Some days can be challenging, and you just have to roll with it.

But enough with the blues! I’m here to yap about other stuff: updates and so on. Just a medley of here and there, with no order whatsoever, because 🥳

First, have you watched the new Resident Evil movie? It was so much fun and spooky! I’m a scaredy-cat, despite everything I read, write, and illustrate about—yes, that’s the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So when I say there were some good jump scares, maybe take it with a pinch of salt. Still, I haven’t had this much fun watching a Resident Evil movie in such a long time. I loved it! Highly recommend it. The guy was actually pretty funny and relatable, I would scream just like that if I ever encountered some of those things, hahaha.

I also baked a cookie cake last week. I got the recipe from Baking by Feel by Becca Rea-Tucker, from the “selfish” part of the book. Oh boy, it is indeed a selfish cookie cake, because my husband barely wanted to share it with me 😡 Hahaha. It was that good, and so easy to put together.

I didn’t make the frosting because, after my last attempt at frosting, I wasn’t very excited to try again. To be honest, I just wanted the damn cookie cake. There you go, I’m glad I was selfish, because it was a 1000/10. That cookie cake now lives in our memory, because it barely survived for two days. I used black and white chocolate chips.

I also made some eggnog. Since we’ve already decorated our home for Christmas, I wanted to reward myself—and my husband, of course—with some delicious homemade eggnog. My goodness, it was glorious! So delicious, frothy, creamy, and with just the perfect amount of sweetness. Shout-out to the thermometer I use for everything, because it’s a game changer, especially for recipes like this.

And last but not least, I tried (and failed) to make burger buns. Oh boy, they were still pretty delicious, though. I haven’t quite got the texture down yet, but they’re still spongy and delicious as a sandwich loaf.

I’ve also had some misfortune making lasagna. The pasta wasn’t good at all, and it was a real bummer. Sometimes things just don’t come out the way you want, and I’m glad I learned a little something but still, not at the expense of wasting food.

And well, of course, my frens, don’t you fret: I’m writing my new blog entry. Not only did I underestimate how long it would take me to write and illustrate it (as I almost always do, mea culpa, mea culpa) but it’s also been quite the challenge. I’m up for it, though, because it means I’m going out of my comfort zone, and sometimes I’m okay with that, I’ll admit. So I hope I have it together soon.

In the meantime, you can read:

💌 James, the Wisdom That Comes From Heaven

💌 A Humble Servant of Knowledge: Hildegard von Bingen

💌 The Problem of Evil

💌 I Love Lovecraft 🐙

💌 Archons and the Garden of Eden

💌 A Brief (And Chilling) History of Catholic Exorcism 

💌 Crows 🐦‍⬛ 

As usual, you can browse my blog and check out something up your alley: samhainsam.art/blog.

Thank you so much for reading my ramblings. I know I’m sometimes all over the place, but if I wrote in a more orderly way, it wouldn’t feel like me anymore, hahaha.

Tell me: what have you been cooking for yourself or others this time of year? Is there a favourite recipe you’d like to make again, or are you trying a new one?

Let me know, my frens. And as usual, let me know what you think of my blog entries, I’m always happy to hear your thoughts.

See you later, alligator. Take care, and all the best!