I already mentioned last month that Todd was sick this month, so I can skip that bit of news. Our computer refused to turn on, so that ended up causing us some problems. Since we do our business via the internet, not having a computer is a real challenge. We did get it fixed (obviously) and are back in business.

     We had a couple, David and Carol from New York state, stay with us for all of January. It was great having them and they said they really enjoyed Hawaii. It is hard not to enjoy it. They are on an extended vacation. After they left us they were on to Mexico and then Peru. Lanny and Pauline from Washington state stayed with us for a week. Lanny is a bee keeper and he told us about the two world class bee places we have right here in Captain Cook. I think the one place is called the Kona Queen and they are the largest provider of queen bees in the world. After they left, Lynn and Al arrived. This was Al's first vacation in ten years and they both had a very good time. They even went to the top of Mauna Kea with David and Carol and brought us back a cooler of snow. It was the first snow Buddy has ever seen. He didn't appreciate the snow balls being thrown at him. He did lick the snow and seemed to have had enough.

     I went to Todd's wrestling team's only home match on January 21. Konawaena has a great bunch of kids. It was nice to see all of the kids from the various teams hang out, talk and have fun. Wrestling was so competitive in Pennsylvania. You wouldn't ever see kids on opposing teams hanging out together before their match. I also attended a surprise baby shower for my aerobic kickboxing instructor, Brenda. She was so surprised and happy. It was fun and lots of food. We had the shower instead of the class that night. I think it set me back an extra week. Todd was a very good husband because he went into town and bought the gift. Brenda was impressed my husband did the baby shower shopping.

     We got our nuts harvested this month. Over three days a group on workers picked up all of the mac nuts. It was the first time we saw the ground under the trees. So we now have a good start and Todd is trying to pick some each day. It will be nearly impossible to keep up, so we will probably have to have the group come again to pick.

     It is still really dry this month. Everything is struggling and we have to water our ornamentals and coffee trees with the hose. We should start to get some rain soon.

     Our neighbors, Wallace and Linda, invited us to their family party for New Year's. They are so thoughtful and kind to us. We are lucky to know them. There was a ton and a half of food and fireworks. If men aren't burning meat on the grill, then they need to light explosives. It must be a guy thing.

     Happy Birthday Jessica!