End of the year prep

One of the big signs of the impending New Year I get every year is my car registration renewal forms. I got that today along with a notice that I have to get a new tag. Woohoo! Apparently, it's been 5 years since I got my car. Doesn't seem that long. Anyway, I figured since I have to get a new one anyway, I might as well get a "specialty tag," one of those tags with a pretty picture on it, which signifies that I've donated money to a particular cause or organization. They have them for just about everything in this state, don't know about others, but we've got over 100 of them now. More than half are for universities and professional sports teams, I'm sorry to say.

I wanted to get one for an environmental program. I was thinking of the Florida Panther or the Manatee or Sea Turtle plates, but they raise several million dollars through the license plate program for them every year. I decided on the Tampa Bay Estuary license because they've only sold 15,000 of them in the last six years and they sell fewer every year. Can't see why. It's a good cause! It benefits the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, an education and conservation program which has been working to clean up and repair Tampa Bay for the past seven years. They remove invasive species of plants and animals, plant mangrove and sea grass flats, and educate the public and get them involved in the conservation efforts. I figured, why help just one species when an entire ecosystem could benefit? You can learn more about the work they do here: http://www.tbep.org/

Oh, and in other news, I'm getting that spinning wheel. ::sighs:: I love ebay... Here's a picture:
I still have to decide how I'm going to stain it. It's solid maple and handmade in Ohio.