Guest Bath Floor

During the last week of my parents' visit we replaced the floor in our guest bath.  Although we had been planning on replacing the linoleum, our foster kittens accelerated the process by starting to pull up the old flooring.  Laying new tile was a little harder than I thought but I think we got the hang of it and Matthew and I could do our bathroom on our own.

 

The Before shot.

 

The linoleum itself came up fairly easily.  The longest/most annoying part of the process was scraping off all of the glued-down backing. (The spots in this photo are from the dust that has been kicked up)

 

Next up, laying the tile.  Dad put the tile down and measured while I took measurements out to Matthew and the saw.  Then I ferried the cut-to-length pieces back in and hoped they fit!

 

We set up the saw out in the carport.

 

After allowing the tile to dry for a couple of days, dad added the grout.

 

Now the guest bath has the nicest floor in the house!  We went with the wooden boardwalk look in order to match the beach theme of the room.  I still need to touch up around the trim but it already looks so much nicer!

New Year's Eve

This year Matthew and I spent New Year's Eve at a ballroom dance celebration with our friends Jamie and Edward.  We had dinner, danced for hours, and then toasted at midnight.

 

It was fun to get all dressed up for the event!

 

There were about 60 people for the party.

 

Matthew being silly.

 

Midnight toast! Happy New Year!

Christmas in Florida

On Christmas Eve, after celebrating with my parents, Matthew and I drove to St. George Island, FL to continue our holiday with Matthew's father and family.  We opened gifts Christmas morning and then went for a walk on the beach.

It was even warm enough for Max, Miran, and Matthew to get in the ocean.  Here Matthew is catching a wave for body surfing.

 

I went for a beach walk while everyone was warming up in the pool.

 

We enjoyed our time swimming in the heated pool, playing games, visiting with everyone, and eating delicious food.  On Friday Matthew and I visited a little nature center just off of the island.  It was very well done; we loved the museum exhibits and the boardwalks through the marsh.

 

We also spent time using some of our Christmas gifts.  Here they are playing horseshoes with the boys' new set.

 

And Matthew learning how to fly his new drone.

 

 

Here's a photo from the drone - as you can see, it requires quite a bit of concentration to fly!

Christmas in Georgia

This year we had Christmas twice and started the celebrations at our house with my parents on Christmas Eve.  We decorated the tree just a few days before but it was nice to enjoy all of the gifts under it.

My parents brought their cat, Casper, (a previous foster of ours) with them so we had to include him in our photos.

 

Family portrait, minus my brother.

 

Casper enjoyed the aftermath of Christmas presents by exploring and later napping on the wrappings.

 

During my parents' visit we also completed a much-awaited project: a new sink!  Here is the old sink and faucet with all of its scratches and leaks.

 

Old sink removed and preparing for the new one.

 

Dad working on the replacement. 

 

Viola!  A beautiful new sink makes the kitchen seem so fresh and clean.  The photo doesn't really do it justice, but this sink is much deeper and larger than the old one.  The only problem was that we can no longer use the trays in the false front drawer so I've had to think of another place for those items.  Next step, new floors...

Holiday Spirit

We're starting to get in the holiday spirit this weekend with activities and decorations.  Matthew and I did a ballroom dancing demo at Macy's yesterday with a dance club.  I might have to buy a holiday dress if we do this again next year, our matching hats and shirts weren't quite as fancy as some of the other dancers, but we had fun anyways!

True to form, last year I (finally) made stockings for us but didn't finish them until Christmas Eve and did not have time to get them embroidered.  I didn't wait as long this year and our stockings are finally finished!  All of our decorations are up now, including our tree, and it is looking quite festive.

And another silly animal photo.  The weather has been a little chilly in the morning so Mow has been very playful.  Here he is with his favorite rag.

Camping on Skidaway Island

Last weekend we went camping with some friends on Skidaway Island near Savannah.  We took our horse trailer and our friends set up tents.  We've been to this park once several years ago but camped in a different area (and had to leave early due to a tornado!).  The sites were great, the bath houses were clean, and the weather was beautiful!  We enjoyed hobo dinners on the fire and roasted marshmallows.

 

We also went for a hike around the salt marsh.  It was so warm (for December) that we should have brought our shorts and sunscreen!

 

Thanksgiving and More

This year we spent Thanksgiving in South Carolina at one of Matthew's coworker's apartment.  Tim and Katie are also from Michigan and decided to stay in the south for the holiday.  We ate lots of delicious food, of course!

 

And played LOTS of games.  These are the only two photos that I took, but we had a great time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew and I have also been keeping busy with our foster kittens and adoption events.  Here I am at one of the events at PetSmart.  The holidays are pretty busy for adoptions so we hope that we can find homes for all of our kitties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is our current foster kitten, Moon Pie.  He's an absolute love!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a random photo I took of our resident red-shouldered hawk when he was hunting in our garden.