Frog and Goat

We set off 9 bottle rockets for 2009 and then called the better-half’s mother–who was up and thrilled we’d called and set off fire works–and then called my FL sister to wish her Happy New Year. They are the only 2 people we’re sure who would be awake.

Our fire department ran the siren as usual and several others fired off fireworks in the distance. Ours were set off in a Maker’s Mark bottle. Just saying.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good night.

Here’s Frog and Goat’s Top 8 of the Aughts! It should be no surprise what’s #1.

8. We got on a jet plane or into the car and traveled to the U.K., the Bahamas, the Pacific Northwest and parts of Canada, Chicago, Florida (West Palm Beach and New Smyrna Beach), Boston, the Outer Banks and New York City.

7. We learned how to cure bacon (thanks Belmont and Ruhlman).

6. We found financial security in the aughts. It was hiding in the couch cushions.

5. The MIL is in a safe place now. It was a bumpy ride getting there.

4. We built two screened porches in this decade and both were/are awesome. We spend a lot of time outside.

3. We moved into our second house and have made it comfortable. We didn’t have to structurally change the house which is what we would have had to do had we stayed in the little house in the woods.

2. I started and finished a Master’s.

1. We now have nieces. Yay Nieces!

We have leftover bathroom tile from when our house was built. The tile was hiding in a bathroom cabinet when we moved in and I moved the stacks to the floor of the guest bath closet. Where they now collect litter dust as that’s where we store Simon’s cat litter.

It’s bugged me that those tiles have been laying around since forever. Today I got out the hot glue gun and some corks our friends gave us. Since they are coming over on Saturday, I decided to make them some coasters. The first one is from wine corks that I split with an exact-o blade and glued to a tile. I thought it turned out fairly well. If nothing else they can use it on their patio table.

Then, I dug through the bag of corks and came across my friend’s father’s vodka corks. He died last year just after Thanksgiving. I know these are his corks because it’s vodka made from potatoes. It was the only vodka he drank because of his intolerance to gluten. I cut the corks off, leaving just a little for the glue to adhere to, and glued the tops to another piece of tile. I hope my friend likes it.