Hallowe'en/Samhain 2019

Last Thursday (31st October) it was Samhain/Hallowe'en. I celebrated with a pumpkin and by having some food and drink, including my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice and dyed green!), a recipe I got from Kate West; and potato salad based on a recipe in The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya.

This year I actually had two pumpkins, a little one and a bigger one. Here's a pic:

Sorry it didn't come out so well, my camera's not working at the moment so could only use my phone. :)

I also baked gingerbread. As I said in my Samhain/Hallowe'en Inspiration post, I tried out a new recipe for gingerbread skeleton men this year. I normally make skeletons or chocolate ginger bats. It's from Crumbs & Corkscrews: https://crumbscorkscrews.com/halloween-gingerbread-men/

I couldn't find the gingerbread cutter and looked in a couple of shops quickly but they didn't have one, so I ended up cutting round a bought gingerbread man! They didn't come out so well though, so I only did two "men" shapes and a few round ones and crescent shapes. I made a few like screaming faces too, lol. Also they puffed up while baking but they still tasted quite nice, so never mind! Here's a pic:

It's a bit messy but never mind! lol. The recipe uses an embossed cutter but I don't have one. I used ready made squeezy icing this time instead of making my own.

I lit orange and green candles and also a white one for my boy cat who died this year. :) (Something you can do at Samhain is light a candle for any relatives, friends, pets etc. who have passed away in the past year). Here's a photo:

Green and orange candles and some decorations. :)

I'd also planned to go up to my favourite nature reserve and take some sunset pics on Friday. (I couldn't get up there on Madron because the road was closed, so the last time I went was Lammas). The weather was bad though and yesterday as well. But it was a nicer day today and I went up this afternoon at sunset. Here are a couple of pictures:

Sunset on Mill Hill, Shoreham-by-sea.

Hope you had a good Samhain/Hallowe'en! (Or Beltane if you celebrated that). :) We're moving into late autumn now and there is one more sabbat of the calendar year, then winter will start. We're getting into the "dark half" of the year. I'm not a big fan of winter but we have Yule/the Winter Solstice and Christmas in December to look forward to. :)


P.S. It's Bonfire Night on Tuesday, so Happy Bonfire/Guy Fawkes Night to those who celebrate! I went to a firework display last Wednesday. Will share pics in the October Update post. Here are a a few previous posts for some Bonfire Night inspiration:


Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night) info: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2014/11/bonfire-night.html

My Bonfire Night parkin (cake) and 2017's fireworks: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/11/bonfire-night-parkin-fireworks.html

Bonfire Night Fireworks Photos (from last year): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/11/bonfire-night-fireworks-photos.html