Charles

Under the covers reading Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb with my dog curled up in my lap.

Fridays with Fitz. #booksky #robinhobb #dogsofbluesky #dachshund #kobo

Below zero wind chills here and I've been under the covers reading Golden Fool. I just finished the chapter Jek and OMG!!!! I'm glad you're here so I can say thank you for blowing my mind.

The people in Minneapolis are on the right side of history. They're the best of us. I hope their courage is contagious.

Also, can you stop calling these folks protesters? These are American citizens of Minneapolis, regular folks, actual patriots, documenting the terror being inflicted on them by their own government. It's horrific, shameful, and should be described as such.

The book cover collage from the Wrap-Up 2025 stats generated by The StoryGraph.

A graphic from the Wrap-Up 2025 stats generated by The StoryGraph.

Fifteen years of participating in the reading challenges on Goodreads and three years on The StoryGraph. My rereads were Tolkien and Emily St. John Mandel. New reads were N.K. Jemisin, Robin Hobb, Octavia E. Butler and Premee Mohamed. All were excellent. #booksky #readingwrapup #storygraph #books

A side by side view of my Kindle Paperwhite 3 and Kobo Clara Colour. The Kindle's last book was Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel and the Kobo's first book is Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler.

Finished my fifteenth and final book for the StoryGraph/Goodreads yearly reading challenge on the trusty Paperwhite 3. It has had a remarkably great run over the past decade. I'll be Reading in 2026 with my new Kobo Clara Colour. I'm already in love. #booksky #kindle #kobo #ereader #readingchallenge

Dang, you called it. DOJ is looking into the validity of the letter according to MS NOW. They're obviously putting false information into the files so they can say a lot of information is untrue when it pertains to Agent Orange.

My current reading streak in the Kindle app for Android as of December 21, 2025. It's currently 2,060 days long.

I'm excited for the Kobo Clara Colour waiting under the Christmas tree, but am going to miss seeing my streak in the Kindle app. Unless.. maybe I'll send the books to my Amazon account as well to manually sync with the Kobo. I'm kinda embarrassed contemplating it. #booksky #kobo #readingstreak

When he is gone and MAGA is a withered husk left in the dustbin of history, CBS and all the other media orgs, politicians, law firms, corporations, universities, etc. that bent the knee will be saddled with the stain of capitulation and weakness forever. It won't be forgotten. Will it be worth it?

Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard. A quintessential holiday film.

Don't at me. 😉

Pain. The first time App has had back to back losing seasons since the early 80s.

A picture of my dog Sandy Jo, a dachshund, for a post celebrating her fifth birthday.

My girl, Sandy Jo, turned 5 today. She's been hiking in state parks, has traveled the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC, and visited all of the lighthouses on the OBX. She's also absolutely wicked with the side eye. #dogsofbluesky #dogsky #birthdaydogs #dachshund #shotonpixel

The skyline of Miami rising in the distance. The photo was taken from Biscayne National Park.

Miami as seen from Biscayne National Park. #nationalpark #biscayne #miami #skyline #photography #shotonpixel

The covers of the Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb. The titles are Ship of Magic, The Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny.

I both love, and occasionally dread, the rush of feelings that overcome me when a book is over. I just finished Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders and I'm a whirlwind of emotion. Phew, can that lady write a captivating story full of characters that feel so alive. The setting, the ships. #booksky #fantasy

Move aside Kim Jong Un. There's a new man to exchange love letters with.

Trump is eating out of his hand like a little bird. It's hilarious and fantastic to watch.

Mamdani is a master. He's so good he has Trump defending him against the questions from this MAGA infested press pool.

A large taxidermy specimen of an American alligator located at the Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve. His name is Steve.

A map of Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida.

A statue of a Florida panther outside the Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve.

This is Steve. He's hanging out on the wall at the Nathaniel P. Reed Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve. The NPS folks really enjoy having people stop by. Go visit them and say Hey to Steve. #nationalparks #nps #taxidermy #alligator #bigcypress #florida #pixelography

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites flying to space with a full moon visible.

Caught a SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink launch the other night from Patrick Space Force Base. Pretty damn cool. #photography #pixelography #spacex #rocketlaunch #spacecoast

A copy of Loupe magazine published by Christopher Ward with my Sealander GMT laying on the cover.

The most recent copy of Christopher Ward's Loupe arrived. The new Sealander Extreme GMT looks awesome. My Sealander can hold her own though. #watches #horology #cwwatches #christopherward

Feed cleanse Friday. This pretty girl was trying to decide if the dahlia flowers were worth the effort. Munch munch. #cows #feedcleanse #munchies #photography

A photo from the Louvre I took in May 2024 with some of the pieces that were stolen including the crown, tiara, and bodice bow of Empress Eugénie.

A photo from the Louvre I took in May 2024 with some of the pieces that were stolen including the tiara of Queen Maria Amalia and Queen Hortense, and the emerald set of Mary Louise.

Looking back through the photos I took in the Louvre in May 2024 and realizing I took a picture of most of the jewelry pieces stolen in the heist. Everything in Apollo's Gallery was stunning. I hope they're found. #louvre #photography #pixelography #jewels #museum

Standing in front of the cave entrance to the old Peg Leg Mine at Roan Mountain State Park.

Looking up at the trees and colors of Fall at Roan Mountain State Park.

Doing her thing on the trail.

A beautiful day at Roan Mountain State Park.

Days spent hiking around with the doggy are cleansing. Spent an afternoon hanging out at beautiful Roan Mountain State Park in Tennessee. #hiking #roanmountain #stateparks #dachshunds #pixelography #photography

A short time lapse of storm clouds passing along the mountain side. #timelapse #clouds #pixelography #shotonpixel #wnc

Well deserved. May she stay in a Courage kit for years to come.

The Charlotte Hornets maybee, possibly, finally giving me an opportunity to beelieve. 😮‍💨

It would also be nice if they'd hurry up and join Bluesky.

Cloud formation passing in front of the sun with a distinct edge against the blue sky.

The sun is about to emerge from behind this cloud formation. Wispy clouds are scattered above.

Some righteous cloud formations moving over the mountains out ahead of an incoming cold front. #clouds #wnc #weather #pixelography

Sinners and Bring Her Back are so freakin' good.

I've been watching and logging some old school horror I haven't fully seen on AMC and BBC America the last few days: Thinner, Cujo, Creepshow, Leprechaun, and Pumpkinhead.

Low clouds slowly pass overhead as the sun's final rays glow on the mountain side.

One year after Helene, an afternoon of rain, followed by a hint of a sunset on the mountain side. It's certainly a better ending to the day than last year. #wnc #mountains #sunset #pixelography

My doggy taking a walk on the trunk of the tree that fell onto my sister's house.

Stay Strong High Country was the message on the marquee of the Appalachian Theatre in Boone, North Carolina.

Resilience.

These two photos were taken in October of 2024. We're still here. So is that giant ass tree in the yard. #hurricanehelene #wnc #mountainstrong