Weapon Enchantments ..and other Love Languages

My weekend was strangely wholesome. I spent three evenings painting until the sun chased me to bed, and one afternoon making pretzels. Life demands balance, balance is sometimes bread.

Insert Homer drool sound.

Pretzels turned out great. Found a recipe on Reddit that had a proper Ye Olde Baking Soda ratio that actually left my pretzels tasting correct and not as bitter as I can occasionally be on the inside lately. I'll take this victory. With stone ground mustard, please.

Clean pull. Good omen?

As for painting: my first time really committing to using gouache. It went faster than I expected, three nights start to finish and somewhere in the middle I realized I was genuinely having fun, hand cramps and all. Seeing my own skill progress in real time is rewarding.

It wasn't easy, though. I didn't choose a clear light source, so every highlight was a debate between instinct and me being too stubborn to plot it back out on my iPad. But that drippy red webbing is my favorite part. It reminds me of weapon enchantments in video games, the kind that hum with latent energy ready to ruin someone's day.

In short, I am a domestic goddess of bread and imaginary weapons. Witness the duality of woman.

Of blood and butter,

Melissa