It is hard to believe that we have been here for 2 months already. We have been keeping busy with the farm and vacation rentals. I have painted all the rooms of the guest apartment with the exception of the master bedroom. I hope to get to that in mid January. The living room, kitchen and bathroom are painted a soft sand color. The front bedroom is painted a tropical green and the ceilings have been given a fresh coat of white. We have purchased bamboo blinds, lamps, a shower curtain, towel rack, DVD player, blender and vacuum cleaner for the apartment. We replaced the chairs for the dining table on the lanai. All of the smoke alarms have been replaced. We built rock walls to surround the gardens in front of the aparment. We also pruned the gardens and lined them with mulch. Decorative outdoor lighting has been added to the garden beds lining the path to the guest apartment, to make walking at night safer.

     In the main house, we have refinished the teak folding doors in the living room. We replaced the shower head, refinished the sink counter and installed a new sink and fixture in the hall bathroom. We purchased lamps, a microwave, a shower curtain for the hall bath, bath towels and outdoor mats. We have cleaned out and pruned about 75% of the garden in front of the lanai and lined it with mulch. It is a large on going project. Todd replaced the smoke detectors and installed GFI outlets where they were needed. I plan to start painting the rooms in the main house in February.

     Our coffee harvest is pretty much done. We have a little coffee still drying, but the picking is complete. Todd is pruning the trees now and will be fertilizing soon. We both have been working on pruning and cleaning up underneath the macadamia nut trees which is a challenge. The papayas have been exceptionally good lately. I continue to eat the delicious avocados from the enormous tree on the side of the main house.

     One of the biggest accomplishments to date is Todd's successful installation of electricity to the swimming pool. We want to send a big mahalo to Todd's brother, Scott, for all of his help and patience guiding Todd in the electrical installation. He has also started on attacking the Christmasberry trees that are a nuisance on the Big Island. Of course, Todd continues to maintain the grass which is a full time job. He did find time to replace the burner and the igniter in the gas grill. Good, so he can cook!

     After nearly two weeks without significant rainfall, we received rain Christmas night. The rain was a great present.