In many ways, 2025 was a reset year for us. After the chaos of last year, with cancer and a fairly stressful move (among other things), taking a year to refocus felt necessary. That doesn’t mean we rested. In true Alexander fashion, we took on a bunch of projects and spent time learning about our new island community. Thankfully, this year wasn’t as disruptive as 2024. A lot happened, but overall, it felt quieter, and honestly, that’s okay.

For those new around here, this is my annual post where I look back on the year through ten photos that marked significant experiences or moments. These are the moments that mattered—both good and bad—to me. The rules are simple. Pick ten photos from my past year that are the most significant: positive or negative—significance can be found in either. It can’t be more; it can’t be less. Some moments will have to fall by the wayside—that’s intentional—culling is a part of this process. It helps create a more realistic and personal picture of the year. Some years will be more complicated than others; sometimes, one will discover significance in smaller, quieter moments. This is the way.

Okay, the rules have been revisited. The stage has been set. Let’s dive into my 2025.

I started the year by launching my first creative project from my new home. Forgotten Frequencies, Vol. 1: Lovat is an album featuring eight ten-minute looping soundscapes inspired by settings from The Bell Forging Cycle. In this case, the multi-level megapolises of Lovat. I’ve been doing audio production for my weird little videos for a while, so it was a natural pivot. It felt good to release something creative and get back into making things again, and I thought it was a good way to begin my first full year in my new home.

We began making the new property our own. That started with an entire restructuring of the garden. The previous beds were haphazard and tiered; it was impossible to move a wheelbarrow across the space. Kari-Lise had been tearing out and leveling much of the garden for months, and in February, we laid down a flagstone path and replaced the beds. The result is something much more usable. Our friend Sky came out and helped a few times, and it felt good to make such a significant change. There’s still a lot to do. But this was a major endevor and we’re proud of what we accomplished.

By spring, we had a rose garden in, with arches spanning the central pathway and flowers blooming everywhere. My friend Sky helped with this as well, as we removed several huge bushes where the roses now grow. With this complete, much of the vegetable garden’s structure and the rose garden were finished. We ran into issues with the soil we purchased, so it’ll require some finessing. But we have a plan and look forward to more gardening in the future.

At the beginning of summer, Uly got fixed and underwent a gastropexy to prevent GDV (something fairly common in large breeds). The resulting recovery (nearly six weeks) slowed our usual routine. During this time, Uly was supposed to be as un-Ulysses-like as possible and mainly lie around and chill. One warm June day, probably because he was so restless, he decided to leap out of our open guest bedroom window and explore the roof. More to that story can be found in the 2025 Summer Pupdate.

My littlest sister moved in—for a while, at least. Kate was transitioning to a new job in the Seattle area and needed a place to stay. We had an extra bedroom, so she moved in for a few months until she found a new place in the city. It was great to have her around for the summer. She pitched in when she could and taught Uly a few new tricks. This photo is actually from last year’s housewarming party at our house, but it’s the most recent one I have of the two of us.

My Aunt Lafaye Gornick, we called her Yaya, passed away. This photo is of me and her when I turned seven, and she took me out to Silverwood before it was a big theme park. We always lived pretty close by when we were growing up, and she was an important figure in my life, present at birthdays and holidays and around on occasional weekends. She was a wonderful aunt, and her death hit hard. Much of my interest in science fiction, horror, and fantasy stems from her influence. I will miss her greatly.

The work of transformation continued! Behind the house was a wide, flat yard we weren’t going to use. We ended up putting in a patio space surrounded by a chef’s garden. This is located right off the kitchen, making access to fresh herbs easy. Everything planted here is edible. After the garden path, and then this patio, we’re getting pretty good at the whole flagstone-laying thing, though I will admit it’s easier to do in the cooler February weather than in the hot summer sun. It’ll be exciting to see how it transforms in the upcoming spring and summer.

The pit of my dreams arrived—a Horizon 20″ Special Marshal offset smoker made of structural steel and quarter-inch pipe. This was a big reason for the flagstone patio and chef’s garden. Its location right off the kitchen makes doing a long cook quite easy. I’d been saving for this for a while. I’m a believer in offset smoking; it imparts the best flavor in a smoke, and there’s a fun aspect in the ritual of a hardwood cook. I cut my teeth on a cheap offset for years in Seattle. It was pretty well ruined, so when we moved, I got rid of it, which opened up room for this beast. It arrived in early September, and over the next few months, I smoked nearly every weekend.

I am now rich in bookshelves. In October, I completed my home office. This included the built-in shelves you see here, moving some electrical outlets, installing new fixtures, and a paint job. My day-to-day work is fully remote. For most of the year, my office was still packed up in boxes from the move. It was something that ground on me; I felt unmoored. Getting this space done and unpacked went a long way toward making me feel settled here on Vashon.

I started the year by releasing a creative project and ended it by releasing another! A nice set of bookends for the year. My short story, REM State: fieldwork. came out in November, you can listen to it or read it for free here, or buy it on Amazon or Audible. I haven’t stopped writing, but the progress on Book V has been slow. It felt good not only to write something new, but also to release it. Credit to Kari-Lise for pushing me to do just that.

As always, there was so much more that could have been mentioned here. Uly’s first snow. There were art openings and many dog walks. I began to dabble in releasing free historical fonts. We continued to explore more of Vashon. Kari-Lise took a forestry class, and our property is now a Stewardship Forest. (We even have a sign!) We attended the Vashon garden tour with friends and felt inspired. We attended Vashon’s Open Studio Tours and found ourselves eager to get back to making our own stuff. I got a new niece named Olivia. (My twelfth nibling!) There was a great visit from my folks and my nephews. We supplied the neighborhood with eggs from our chickens. We made smoked and spiced fig jam! My Uncle Gary passed away in the fall, and his funeral ended up being a small family reunion of a sort. We had a great visit with my brother and his family. I got to see Mariners baseball in October for the first time since 2001. We hosted Smoketoberfest, which was a blast, and my ribs were on point. Kari-Lise hired my buddy Steve to build a beautiful outdoor kitchen counter for my smoker, complete with a sink! We Thanksgiving’d with our families back in Idaho. I went bowling for the first time in probably twenty-five years. (I was terrible.) It was a good year.

Now it’s your turn. How about you? What did you experience in 2025? What are your ten photos? Assemble them on your site or social media account and leave a comment with a link! Let us all know about the significant events in your year.

I’ve been doing this since 2014, and I’ve found it beneficial even in challenging years. Interested in revisiting my photos from past years? Click on any link below and check out my selection from that specific year.

• 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 •
• 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 •

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to ensure it’s not spammy and contains interesting and relevant information. Sign Up Today →