We have many things for which to be thankful. There is a saying here to be happy you live Hawaii. When we heard it was snowing already in Pennsylvania around Thanksgiving, we certainly were happy we live Hawaii. Although I find it doesn’t quite feel like the holidays since it is warm, I will take it over cold weather any day.

     This month we were on a mission to get the Garden Apartment remodeled. This mission included many tasks. Todd finished enclosing the lower level of the lanai that sits between the coffee shack/workshop and the Garden Apartment. He framed it in Todd-Fashion, which means it is sturdy. He put in large screened windows and 2 doors. It looks really nice even without being painted yet. Todd also relocated the storage of our ‘stuff’ that was on the lanai to the newly enclosed workshop. He hung blinds on the windows of the enclosure to shield the guests’ view of tools, farm supplies, etc. On the final weekend before guests arrived, Todd went on a rampage of beautifying the entranceway to the Garden Apartment. He created and planted a new flowerbed as well as widening and relaying the lava rock path to the lanai. He created a new lava rock wall near the Tree Top apartment entrance. Early in the month Todd installed more low voltage lighting along the lava rock steps that flank the left side of the carport.

     So far it may seem like I did nothing to prepare the Garden Apartment. Well, that would be ok, since I bring home the bacon, but I worked or rather painted my fingers to the bone. Prior to any remodeling all of our stuff had to be migrated over to the house. I think I forgot to mention the fact that we are living in the house. Yeah!! (Living in the house is great.) It is absolutely amazing how much we had in that two-bedroom apartment. I took Jeep loads of things from the apartment to the house. I also walked things over. Thanks to our friend Mike for helping Todd with the large furniture pieces!

     We started to live in the house as soon as possible. I took over the essentials like soap, alarm clock, pillows and our little computer network. It seemed like everyday Todd would ask me where his clothes were and everyday I would tell him that they were still in the apartment. He would sigh (He sighs a lot and so does the dog.) and trudge over to the apartment to get his clothes for the day. I finally got tired of his daily question so I moved his clothes to the house. He still asks me where things are like his phone, wallet, sunglasses, etc. Buddy had some moving anxiety. He was confused on where he was supposed to be and which place he was supposed to guard. He still goes over to the apartment lanai to lie down.

     Anyway, after I got the stuff out of the apartment, I set to painting. I started with the bathroom. Todd had some final drywall and lighting work to complete, but once he was done, I painted the wood trim, the ceiling and the walls. Because the tile floor and shower are brown earth tones, I selected a light tan color for the walls. It looks very nice and I also hung white curtains, which Todd claims are only going to get pooped on by the lizards. He is most likely right, but they look nice. Painting usually ends up giving me a splitting headache from the paint fumes, but not this time. I bought a carbon filter paint mask at Lowe’s. (Lowe’s has most of our money). Although I would get overheated (I know poor me living in Hawaii.) painting wearing the mask, it was the best to not breathe in those noxious fumes. Next I painted the master bedroom that was supposed to be a pale green. It is called Apple Slice and at first it seemed like neon green. After moving the furniture in and hanging curtains (yes more curtains), it looks great. It is cheerful yet peaceful. I then moved on to painting the adjoining kitchen, dining room and living room. At first I bought a color called Leaf Bud to try and match the Hawaiian print living room furniture, but I decided against it. I went back to Lowe’s again and bought another light tan color. It looks good and you don’t even really notice the color, but it is pleasant. The last room to paint was the smaller bedroom. I painted that room a light blue, which is also peaceful and reminiscent of the ocean. We made a closet out of the small alcove in the blue bedroom. Todd hung up a clothes bar and a decorative header board. We then hung up yet another curtain to make a closet.

     Needless to say, we didn’t do much this month, but work. We camped for Thanksgiving at the same beach we went to for the Fourth of July. It was great. We got away from the house, ate way too much delicious food, went swimming and relaxed with friends. The first night, the waves were pounding the rocks. It was a great show and was soothing to fall asleep. Buddy had a blast playing with the other dogs. One of his best doggie friends is Allen who is one quarter the size of Buddy. Allen thinks he is the boss and Buddy doesn’t argue. Buddy did free Allen. Allen was having a time out on the leash for misbehaving and Buddy chewed through the leash to set his friend free. What a pal!

     At the beginning of the month we had a family from Switzerland stay in the Tree Top Apartment. They were good sports to put up with our construction that was going on to enclose the lanai. We had blocked off the time for the Tree Top apartment for the rest of the month to complete our remodeling. Todd also hung up new towel bars in the Tree Top apartment and painted the refrigerator. He has been busy, busy, busy.

     We didn’t have much rain in November, which helped Todd. He didn’t have to cut the grass, but the coffee trees would have liked a drink after being fertilized. Since our coffee roasting friend Bob is out of commission with his knee replacement surgery, Todd has been hulling and roasting our coffee. I don’t drink coffee except to taste each newly roasted batch and Todd has been doing a wonderful job with roasting the coffee.

     Everyday weekday Todd heads “to work” as he says. He calls going to wrestling practice his work. He loves it, so I don’t think it is a chore. He does put his all into to it and I know the kids and the head coach appreciate it.

     So much for non-contact sparing Tae Kwon Do, the non-contact part means you don’t hit hard or with effort. Still I am wimpy female and knocking my shins against someone else’s shins hurts. Actually it isn’t that bad and I really like the class. The class is a mix of kids and adults. I also started going to capoeira class. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that incorporates dance like moves, kicks, punches and gymnastics. This one is really is non-contact unless you or your partner screw up.

     Happy Birthday to our friend Grace! We celebrated her birthday with a cook out at the beach. We bought her a pair of loppers as a gift. This isn’t too strange since Grace is a gardener. Congratulations to my sister, Lee Ann and her boyfriend Al on the purchase of their new house. I am sure you two, the dogs and the kids will love living there.

     Good news, our truck is on its way here. It will be wonderful to finally have a truck to do farm work and buy stuff from Lowe’s. My poor Jeep has been turned into a Todd mobile. Anyone that knows Todd knows what that means so I am sure you feel bad for my car.

     Bad news, someone hit our water pipes at the top of the driveway this month. This horrible individual did not take responsibility for it and told no one. Our water was spewing from the pipes all night until our neighbors saw it in the morning. Thank God for our neighbor Wallace. He is the Mr. FixIt of Hawaii. The pipes had to be fixed and Wallace had the tools, the know how and was home and willing to help Todd. Todd bought the steel pipe and couldn't believe how expensive it was. I can't recall the price but it wasn't cheap. It was great Wallace had the huge wrenches that are needed to connect the pipes. Todd said those wrenches are $1100. Todd spent the whole morning digging the pipes up from the driveway and working with Wallace to do repair. Well, I can't end on a sour note. Todd and I are thankful for lots of things in our life. We are thankful for each other, our family, friends, good health, jobs, living Hawaii and of course Buddy (who is now 70 pounds!).