The plethora of the reaction I'm seeing here in regards to recent news is pretty much why I can't use this site. My heart gets crushed and filled with emotion that isn't healthy. I'll check in now and again, but you can find me on Threads and elsewhere if you wish to chat!

When your wife asks you to frame and hang an Elusive Otter print by @elbenherzart.bsky.social, by golly, you frame and hang it well.

I'm fairly certain that fairies dance outside my basement window.

I'm not sure how I feel about going through the first Father's Day without my dad. As I work toward my own adoption, there was the hope that he and I could soon celebrate this day together. But that's not happening anymore. Hug your dads today. Call them. Love them.

Today is Trinity Sunday, which means reciting the Athanasian Creed in its entirety at Divine Service this morning! Some see it as a drag as it's such a long creed, but I adore it. I look forward to it every year.

Sunday vibes

If you're curious, you can read the prologue here: archiveofourown.org/works/583523...

Okay, fine, I'm writing the Círdan fic again. Twist my arm, why doncha

I honestly did this with both The Silmarillion AND The Lord of the Rings. Failed the first time I attempted both. Set them aside for another time, tried again when I was ready, and now they're some of my favorite of read literature.

Similarly, if you WANT to read a book and are struggling for any reason to get through it, you can just. Put it down. At any point! And save it for later to try again. Don't struggle to the point of hating something you want to enjoy.

Heads up! You can stop reading a bad book. At any point. You're not beholden to the book or the author. Don't let the sunk cost fallacy defeat you.

The Matrix is a fairy-story, but I don't think y'all are ready to hear that.

Happy Mother's Day to the wonderful woman who brought me into being. She instilled within me a gentle, patient spirit and taught me the loving kindness that shaped my view of the world. God bless her and all like-minded mothers on this earth. Thank you for being you, mom.

Wishing all of my wonderful Tolkien friends attending #Westmoot this weekend a glorious, Hobbit-y time! I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but there's always next year!

Can you imagine that this is the first Pope that has very likely saved big money at Menards?

I wish there were a way for me to either read more quickly or have more time to read. I struggle to get through even two books a month, yet my TBR list is ever-growing. Any tips from voracious readers, especially those with full-time jobs, on how you get through what you do?

#Andor really did the meme this week

The Mask of Zorro

🛑STOP YOUR DOOMSCROLLING!🛑 This is a bookshelf checkpoint. Show me your MYTHOLOGY books!

"White smoke rises from the Mountain of Doom. A new Pope has been summoned."

My prayers are with my Catholic friends today. May the angels rejoice as one of God's children returns to His loving hands.

A lot of Life is happening right now, but I thought I'd drop in and wish you all a very Happy and very Blessed Easter! He is Risen!

I've successfully lost 10lbs over the last 30 days. Gotta count the wins this year, no matter how small.

Happy Snake Yeeting Day!

Wife, after trying to open a jar of jam for her toast: "Why won't this thing open?!" Me: "The lid is shut. It was made by those who are-" Wife: "Oh my God..." Me: "-dead. And the dead keep it. The lid is shut." Wife: "Go away." Me: "And now, you shall rye."

Oh look! I think the eclipse has started!

Welp. This just happened. #PokemonTCGpocket

Does anyone ever have an issue of completely and utterly forgetting about a book or series you may have read? Going through older Kindle books from 10+ years ago, some of which were a 4-5 book series and well...

I'm really starting to dig doing these photo restorations. There's a certain satisfaction in helping bring older photos to life and really seeing the people in them. I've been told I could start offering my services. What do y'all think?

I'm told this is the friendlier app yet I keep seeing posts like this in my discover feed. And since they aren't using alt-text to flag specific words, they just keep showing up. Very frustrating.

The "90 Day Sprint" to get our adoption application approved is done! The background checks, the forms, the home study, the referrals, the hours and hours of educational requirements... finished. Now we wait. It's in God's hands now.

I'm seeing a lot of my Tolkien friends announcing their attendance of the inaugural WestMoot this year! That's so very exciting to me and I'm very happy for y'all! Unfortunately I will be unlikely to attend as my wife and I are in full Adoption Mode this year so our attention is focused there. 🤞

Not me spending my afternoon relentlessly hunting down the original Batman shirts I wore as a kid in the early 90s.

I'm finding that I'm really enjoying doing digital restoration of my family photos. 1) Who knew that my mother ruled the fashion industry in the 70s? 2) My super sleuthing found the actual tapestry she was standing in front of.

Getting ready to make some traditional Beans on Toast for my Aussie brother-in-law's visit. Wanted to give him a piece of home while he's here. 🤤

It's Sunday, y'all. This dog here knows it.

As I fly home today, I'm reminded of how small our world actually is.

I held my father's ashes today in a simple, unadorned box. It was so incredibly light that it startled me. I chose not to see his body before the cremation, as I did not want to remember him that way. It hits differently when faced with the proof that he's well and truly gone.

I'm alive! I've been helping my mom this week in a much needed time of sharing in grief and joy. She's needing lots of love and will need courage to push through the loss of dad. Please keep her in your prayers. Anyway, here's her cat Moe refusing to leave my lap

My father has gone on to finally rest in the arms of his Lord tonight, where my brother has been eagerly awaiting him. Lord, be always with us who remain here on earth.

Happy Birthday to Professor Tolkien! Thank you for the wonderful worlds you've created. Art by @jennydolfen.bsky.social

For the purpose of fighting the doomscroll you're stuck in, I'm gonna need you to tell me of at least ONE good thing that happened to you in 2024. I don't care how small it is. Just one.

Okay, fine. Judge me harshly - I dig that kinda thing: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy 9/10 (Two Towers was peak) The Rings of Power 6/10 The War of the Rohirrim 7/10 Tolkien (Biopic) ???/10 (haven't seen it!) The Hobbit film trilogy 7/10 (First two carried it, ngl)

Still trying to make peace with the knowledge that this is likely the last Christmas my father has on this Earth. I don't really know what to do with this information, or how yet to process it, save that the faith I have in my God has been the foundation I need to keep going.

Santa, the day after Christmas, pondering his Naughty or Nice List for the remaining 363 days of the year:

Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est natus ex Maria virginae, gaudete!

Y'all feelin' festive yet? I sure am!

Hope 💜 Peace 💜 Joy 🩷 Love 💜

Your feed is now blessed with the presence of Edgar the Christmas Hedgehog. Say "Merry Christmas" to Edgar. He'd appreciate it.

Pictured: A random Cosmere nerd, surrounded by 6,000 other nerds, trying not to have a panic attack while standing 20 feet from Brandon Sanderson to ask an Elantris question (It was a good question, don't judge)