100 Things I’m Thankful For (2025)

The past couple years I’ve written this post at the end of December as kind of a year-end recap. This year I thought I’d change it up and do it on Thanksgiving instead.

Here’s 100 things I’m thankful for this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Foraging ramps. I found a great spot this year near a river I like to fish. Win/win.

Seeing many red efts.

Participating in Trout in the Classroom.

Finding some great Shopsmith parts at an estate sale so I can finally use the table saw component.

Building an addition on Charlie’s swingset and playing on it for countless hours since.

Catching my first brook trout in Fir Brook.

Catching 62 brook trout and 63 brown trout.

Picking currants with Amanda and Charlie at Fishkill Farms.

Camping in Bald Eagle State Park with Mom, Dad, and Charlie.

Cruising on Sayers Lake.

Baking cinnamon rolls in the dutch oven with coals.

Shipping the Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer plugin.

Hosting the Tenkara Angler Kebari Swap.

Improving my sleep and almost entirely getting rid of my heartburn and off of medication with the Medcline pillow.

Starting a workout routine (Crossfit) again after ~8 years of not working out.

Bike riding with Charlie.

Charlie-led walks in the woods.

Charlie’s new school. He is having a good experience with really great teachers who are kind, gentle, and teaching him how to name and handle his emotions, Spanish, and how to collaborate with others. It has been a challenging transition, but we think we are in a great, supportive school.

Vacation on Cape Cod.

Seeing a Great White shark in the wild for the first time.

Seeing a Fisher and otter in the wild while fly fishing.

Collecting shells, acorns, leaves, pinecones, and more with Charlie.

Workshop time with Charlie, letting him tinker and try out various tools.

Turning bowls, platters, and mallets for friends and family.

Making a feather cup, vise base, and oak dish for fly tying.

Making a net holder.

Lunch dates with Amanda. We don’t often get dinner dates right now at this phase of life, but our lunch dates are great.

My relationship with Amanda. Every year we grow closer and support each other more. My partner in all things.

Exploring tying different pheasant tail patterns.

Seeing the Little Free Library get regular use a year later.

Involving Charlie more in cooking. He loves to help.

Team meetup in Southport, NC.

Birthday dinner at Bridgeview Tavern. Sipped a nice Hill Farmstead.

Remembering to order a King Cake for Fat Tuesday.

Mom’s help with Charlie the first week of school while Amanda was running a conference out of town for work.

Finding a copy of James Leisenring’s Flymph book.

The habaneros, tomatoes, radishes, borage, potatoes, and tomatillos from our garden this year.

Pawpaw’s 90th birthday and fishing in my uncle and cousin in north GA.

Being credited in Emma Christensen’s Hard Seltzer, Iced Tea, Kombucha, and Cider book.

The Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum. It has provided us with hours of fun and some much needed adventures.

My health. I had a big scare in March, a blood clot in my kidney, but it is resolved now and I was able to get off of blood thinners.

Improving my cholesterol through diet and exercise, no medication.

S’mores on the deck with Amanda and Charlie.

Movies with the projector in the basement.

Going to the “movie snack store” (the gas station) to get snacks for the movies.

Slinging pizzas in the Oonis with Jon at Kristen’s birthday.

Seeing a rosy maple moth in the wild!

Birds finally nesting and having babies in our birdhouse.

Replacing the siding on our house and painting the foundation.

Still being employed. Lots of layoffs this year, but thankfully Amanda and I still have our jobs.

Walking on the abandoned train tracks in Beacon in the rain with Charlie.

Our Peekskill-area friend group. The parents support each other, the kids play well together, and we each host and invite people places. Good to have a community.

Zoo trips with friends.

Catching fallfish in Havelind Hollow.

The sandwiches from Benny’s Brown Bag.

My 3-month sabbatical. What a great break from work!

Fishing for a week in the Catskills.

Becoming more active in the Croton Watershed Trout Unlimited chapter.

Seeing so many different kinds of native trilliums in the woods.

Camping in the backyard with Charlie.

Hearing Charlie calling back and forth with an owl.

Seeing a snapping turtle lay its eggs.

Ice cream at the Blue Pig.

Dinner and ice cream at King Kone.

Kayaking Constitution Marsh with Jay.

Kayaking up the Croton River with Jay.

Rowing on Lake Peekskill on July 4 with our friends.

Visiting the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome for an air show.

AAA. Saved our bacon when our engine died over the holiday weekend.

Picnics and live music at the John C. Hart Memorial Library.

Regularly getting library books out at the Field Library with Charlie.

Picking wineberries with Charlie and him eating them all within the next 24 hours.

Sausage and peppers at the Verplanck italian festival.

Meeting friends at the playground.

Running into friends on the Metro North train and sitting with them for the journey and having spontaneous conversations.

My tiki-themed birthday party.

Charlie’s 4th birthday party with great weather for the first time in four years.

Ossining live music Fridays.

NYC day trips with Charlie. Most recently, going to the Intrepid was fun!

Snuggle naps with Charlie. I know we won’t get many more (we’ve gotten 2 in the last 6 months when he is completely worn out), but they are great.

Charlie’s swim classes. He is doing so great! He now goes in the water with a teacher and the other students instead of all the parents.

Amanda and Charlie’s art time.

Our spider plant, ponytail palm, and string of pearls halloween costumes, and trick-or-treating in Lake Peekskill.

Waterfront walks and bike rides with Charlie.

Automattic’s NoHo space. I’m glad I don’t have to go in daily, but the occasional work day there is nice.

Meeting Chris Johnson for dinner in Manhattan whenever I do go in for work.

Charlie decorating the house for each holiday. “We need more decorations!!!”

Seeing Charlie glued to the window during train rides.

Bedtime book reading with Amanda and Charlie.

Seeing freshly emerged dobson flies for the first time.

Charlie tending to his strawberry plant and the pure joy on his face every time one was ready to pick and eat.

Charlie’s excellent magnatile and duplo vehicle creations.

Charlie buying a Hotwheels car with his own money for the first time.

Stomping around in the creek with Charlie looking for crayfish and frogs.

Kite flying down at the waterfront. Thankfully getting it unstuck from a tree.

Using a sizzle plate for vegetables on the grill. Quick and easy.

Setting a successful screentime boundary with Charlie with minimal fuss.

Whale watching on Cape Cod.

This blog and the connections I’ve made through blogging.

Having a loving, kind, supportive extended family.

Previous years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2017