iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Yesterday I indulged in reading TWO books, with #2 counting for the “Blood on the cover” space. For that one, I read ALL THAT REMAINS by Patricia Cornwell. It was my first from the Kay Scarpetta universe and I see the appeal but don’t think I’ll go out of my way to seek out more 📚

Orange autumn bingo card with the spaces for Free, someone goes missing, possession, and blood on the cover crossed out in purple. No definitive path to bingo yet

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

For “Someone Goes Missing” I read WILD DARK SHORE by Charlotte McConaghy 📚 This one was just okay for me! It had a lot of elements I should have loved but it was hard for me to feel connected to the story. Worth a read to see if it connects differently for you!

An orange Creepy Autumn Reading Bingo card with the spaces for Possession, Free, and Someone Goes Missing crossed out in purple. No path to Bingo yet!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I just saw the new Resident Evil movie last night 👀 Let me know your thoughts once you see it!!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

That’s such a unique concept for a cookbook!! Very curious on your thoughts once you try out a few recipes 👀

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Start small and go from there! I found success when I started with things I loved to make (pastas, tacos) and added some in versus starting big with a whole faux cheese sauce. I REALLY love it on roasted veggies too. Sprinkle some on with other seasonings before putting it in the oven!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Inspired by joy, I made molasses crinkle cookies. 🍪

The most incredible looking molasses cookies. They are an inviting brown color with deep cracks scarring the tops. Powdered sugar is dusted on top. These are right out of the oven so they are still looking a little puffy.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Finally got around to reading (and enjoying!) A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT and now I’m consuming very glossy and very delicious gochujang and tahini noodles for dinner. I love being alive!!

Very glossy vibrant orange noodles covered in spots of green (edamame and green onion) and dots of black (sesame seeds). These noodles look absolutely silky.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

5/5–v cute!! In particular, the waving skeleton is the energy I’m bringing into autumn 🍂

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Finished City of Bones and uhhhh what was that plot twist at the end??? On the plus side, I feel totally at peace unhauling my Mortal Instruments books now to make room for the table books 🦇

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I fear “Also Me” won and my plans for today are now to read 😌 Strategically, I’m starting with YA books that I never got around to when I was younger. I don’t enjoy YA much anymore so I think the likelihood that I’ll unhaul these books is high. First up: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

CITY OF BONES by Cassandra Clare is held in a hand. In frame are also a delicious square of brownie and a festive pumpkin chai latte in a VERY CUTE white mug with black cats sketched out in various poses.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Me: These books don’t fit b/c you’re trying not to double stack books everywhere to have a tidier bookshelf. Just double stack them to make them fit again. Also me: The only path forward is to read a bunch of physical TBR books and hope I don’t want to keep ~30 of them to make room for these books.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We’re back for Day 2! Last night I was able to sort my books into their genres and reshelf but somehow, in the process of redoing my shelves, this entire table of books no longer fits on them?? After seeing that, I decided to go to bed and let Today Sam figure it out 😅

Roughly 30 books that no longer fit on my shelves. My tuxedo cat Buffy, of vampire slayer fame, was captured investigating these books in a blurry action shot.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I am so sorry to hear about your great uncle! Totally—DM me and we can work out logistics 🙂

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I’ve hit another Big Challenge. When I was younger, I loved to collect old books simply because they were old. I’ve culled slowly over the years and think it may be time to remove a few more from my shelves. But my brain is telling me that it’s a Big Decision! Here’s what I’m thinking of cutting:

CHARLESTON BOY by Alston Deas. First edition, 1932. Very yellow with age.

Three kids mystery stories. THE RIDDLE OF THE LONELY HOUSE, THE GHOST ROCK MYSTERY, and THE GHOST OF DIBBLE HOLLOW. Each cover features kids investigating in creepy locations.

LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa M Alcott. The cover has minor damage but otherwise features a family living room scene. 1915 publication date.

RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM. Likely early 1900s edition. Green cover with gold foiling.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Quick win! As promised, JD Robb has made a return! My goal was to find a shelf that would fit all of the books. I’m in the middle of reading the series, to explain the book-sized gap on the left stack.

Stacks of JD Robb books perfectly filling out a shelf. For knickknacks, on the left is a hand painted wooden box featuring a scene from Chile, and on the right is a cross stitch no 💕 plus a tiny metal Eiffel Tower.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I am VERY into supporting local/regional authors so I’ve gathered up all books that fit that description and put them together on 2 shelves! They didn’t quite fit perfectly so I did add 3 non-local books. For fun, here are some of my favorite covers. Indie books have some of my favorite artwork!!

Two beautifully colorful shelves of books. The bottom shelf also features a little library scene inside of a wooden box along with a little trinket dish. The top shelf has an iridescent candle for its knickknack.

MINNOW by James E McTeer II. The cover is all shades of purple with pale yellow spots representing flowers and water. In the cover you see a boy and a dog.

WORLD WITHOUT END by Martha Park. Pale pink book featuring a rectangle image featuring painted pink birds against a black background.

LITTLE ONES by Grey Wolfe Lajoie. A black background offers contrast against a gruesome antlered creature cut in half. The bottom half is filled with water and acts as a bird bath.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Took a break to make and consume a spicy bean and mushroom quesadilla, and now I’m fueled to tackle more shelves! Up until this point I’ve tackled the nostalgic shelves I don’t reach for often. Now we get to move into more fun and chaotic shelves to sort through 👀

A perfectly golden quesadilla with beans and mushrooms peaking through. Next to it is some sour cream and bright pink pickled onions!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Two more quick wins! I redid my published work shelf to neatly stack my works to the left with one charity anthology I was part of hanging out in the middle. And then I tucked in a vampire series into the empty space on the right. Not authored by me 🙂 I also dusted my stack of Unfortunate Events!

My four published books resting on the left side of the shelf held up with a clay pitcher acting as a book end. A picture of me dressed up as a pumpkin as a baby also hangs out there. In the middle in an anthology I was part of. On the right is a vampire YA series held up with a pic of me as a toddler. A little heart shaped white ceramic trinket dish rests in front.

All of the Series of Unfortunate Events books stacked at the entrance of my cat’s walkway into the bookshelf!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Tidied up my children’s book shelf. As young family members become readers, I’d love to reread some of these, determine if they still hold up, and then share.

A lot of popular children’s books. Some highlights are Howl’s Moving Castle, Ella Enchanted, Cinderella, Little Women, The Magic Fish.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Took a break and then came back to knock out a Quick Win by dusting my Sue Grafton shelf! I loved this series in high school but it’s admittedly been a long time since I’ve revisited. I think next year I’d like to reread the series and see if it still something I want to keep on my shelves.

Sue Grafton’s alphabet series taking up one shelf perfectly. I’m missing O and X but I keep my eye out during book sales so see if I can snatch them up. There is also a glass apothecary jar with an old bridesmaid corsage dried inside.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Thank you!! I love how it turned out although I was eager to get through it after straining with a dozen dark colored threads for a few weeks hahaha

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I also found a few duplicates in there! Glad to remove them and free up shelf space. I have a coworker who really loves Nora so I’ll check in with her, then consider my neighborhood’s free little library for any that remain!

A stack of 7 Nora Roberts books. From top to bottom: Summer Desserts, By My Side, Three Fates, Dual Image, Best Laid Plans, Night Shield, and Nightshade/Night Smoke (duology).

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Okay…it took 2 hours but I was able to take down all of the Nora Roberts, organize them by series then publication date, and reshelf in order—grouping series on their own shelves and then all of the standalone on one. WHEW!! Note: I have plans for the JD Robb so you’ll see them later 👀

Very organized Nora Roberts! Featuring her first series grouped together. For knickknacks, there is a caged parrot trinket box on the left and a faberge like egg on the right.

Another organized Nora shelf! More series grouped together. The raggedy Ann ceramic knickknack makes an appearance on the left and a little silver trinket box shaped like a heart rests on the right.

This is the chaos shelf but it’s holding all of the standalone Nora books together. Double stacked and crammed in there!

The small shelf featuring the most recent Nora series along with a stack of four books in an anthology series.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

My first Big Challenge is that I have a LOT of Nora Roberts spread across several shelves. When I was in school, my grandma would read a Nora then pass it on to my mom and then, being the voracious reader I was, I would get my hands on them. I’d like to organize and then shelf series together 🫠

A lot of Nora Roberts and JD Robb books double stacked on a single shelf. Very colorful but very chaotic.

Another Nora shelf but this time there is a slightly creepy yet maybe cute ceramic raggedy Ann doll sitting in the single gap.

Yet another Nora shelf but this one has some wiggle room despite being double stacked! A framed drawing from my niece resides here.

Who could have guessed that there is another Nora shelf. This is the smallest shelf with only 8 books fitting.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Doing one more quick win before I tackle my first Big Challenge. This shelf holds a vase that my coworker made and I like how it visually looks to have it breaking up the books on the bookshelf. All this one needed was also a dust ✅

A beautiful ceramic vase with orange clay speckles on the top fading down into an off white base. Burnt horsehair was used to create the black lines.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Starting at the very top left of my shelves with a quick win! Nancy Drew made me a reader and these books are very special to me. I don’t access them often so I feel good about keeping them up high. All this shelf needed was a quick dust ✅

An entire bookshelf dedicated to the classic yellow and blue Nancy Drew books. A bronze colored ceramic tiny pitcher is being used as a book end. A Nancy Drew bookmark is also free standing on the right. The books are double layered to all fit into one shelf.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I’ve been wanting to reorganize my bookshelves but that feels intimidating and like it will only be fun for the first 45 min and then I will feel Overwhelmed and Full of Regret. So! Just like with my semi-annual(ish) sewing/mending threads, I’m going to do a bookshelf reorg thread to motivate me 🧵📚

Most of a wall of bookshelves featuring a cat walkway in the middle and an explosion of colors and Knick knacks

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Happy birthday!! I hope your day is filled with festivity and treats!! 🎉

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Running out of things to do with the last of the peaches for the season, then inspiration struck for a peachy chia pudding 🍽️🍑

A glass filled with a brown chia pudding layered with fresh peaches in the middle and top.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

September means the kickoff of Autumn Reading Bingo!! 🦇🎃👻🍂 As always, shoutout to @motthepaladin.bsky.social for making the annual bingo card! For the Possession Space, I went for WITCH KING by Martha Wells 📚 This was my first Wells non-Murderbot read and I enjoyed her fresh take on demons.

Orange bingo card titled Creepy Autumn Reading Bingo. The middle free space is crossed out in purple. The space titled Possession is crossed out in purple. Not enough for a bingo yet!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I read this one in the spring of this year, funnily enough! Such a fun premise 💐

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

It was!! I so rarely convince myself to do a bunch of chopping for just a lunch but when I do…what a treat haha

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R. S. Mot @motthepaladin.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Happy almost September! Here is this year's autumn reading bingo 🍂 I intend for it to run Sept - Oct but do whatever is fun for you. Anything you read can count. No prize other than my eternal love <3 📚💙

Creepy autumn reading bingo
True crime, vampires, clown, haunted house, knife on the cover
Blood on the cover, possession, body horror, graveyard or cemetery, rat
Spider, murder in the title, free space, black cat on the cover, creepy doll
Curse, skull on the cover, cryptid, ghost, dead/death in the title
Creepy child, snake, bug on the cover, someone goes missing, necromancy

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I look forward to these every year! Excited to get started 👀🦇

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

This week’s mystery farmer’s market bag led to a DELICIOUS veggie gimbap lunch! 🍽️🍅🌶️🍑🥒

A medley of color! From left to right we have cherry tomatoes in various shapes and red to orange colors, a dozen little peppers in yellow orange and red, three giant peaches in gradients of yellow to red, and three green cucumbers 🍽️

On a cutting board there are unrolled gimbap rectangles featuring nori, rice, a few of the colorful farmer’s market peppers, farmer’s market cucumber, avocado, and a chive cream cheese dollop! 🍽️

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Nitish Pahwa @nitishpahwa.com · 25/08/2026

I think the universal grieving comes in no small part from the fact she represented the best of what America could be, and that she never stopped chasing that ideal, artistically and socially

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Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

We are OPEN!!!!!

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The ganache finally set and I had half of loaf. These are SO GOOD 🍽️

3.5 mini loaves of chocolate summer squash with a chocolate coconut ganache and 2-3 edible flowers per loaf. The flowers are pinky yellow.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Thank you!! They make me so happy ☺️

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I’ve never used edible flowers in my baking before so when I saw some at my farmer’s market, I had to pick them up to try! 🍽️

Four chocolate summer squash mini loaves with a chocolate coconut ganache freshly drizzled on top. Each loaf is decorated with 2-3 edible flowers that fall into a pinky yellow category.

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Stairs can be so brutal but satisfying!!

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Uncanny Magazine @uncannymagazine.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Please share! Poets! Uncanny Magazine will be open to poetry submissions from August 17 to August 31! Poetry Editor Betsy Aoki can't wait to see your submissions! www.uncannymagazine.com/submissions/

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I continue to be delighted with my weekly mystery farmer’s market box! Mid-August features an explosion of colors 🍑🫑🍅🍆

A close of picture of delicious looking fruit and veg! Three peaches bigger than cat heads in gorgeous oranges and yellows, two glossy green bell peppers, two heirloom tomatoes in gradients of green to yellow to red, and a dozen fairytale eggplants in lush purple with white streaks.

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Yours in negritude, Ryan K. Smith @mewefree.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This is hard... (IG: josh.harmon and jonbatiste)

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Sam 🐈‍⬛ @sammakescoolstuff.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Made a tapestry crochet of the Royal Crest from Legend of Zelda! I love how it turned out!! 🧶🎮

This tapestry crochet is hanging from a light wooden dowel and yarn. The piece features a golden royal crest from Legend of Zelda which looks like a Triforce exploding out of a bird, majestically. The background color is an earthy green. 🧶

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