Happy New Year..........and Sharks!!??...

The new year rolled in here just like everywhere else with fun and lots of noise. Fireworks and firecrackers seemed to go on for hours. Long after we celebrated with the Keauhou Canoe Club. NYeve we partied with the paddling group and dropped the ball at midnight (New York time, that is). Our ball consisted of Katy standing on the shoulders of the biggest guy there and dropping a coconut as we all counted down. We're Hawaii, we have to improvise!! Earlier that day I took a jog in the ocean. As Debbie stopped to talk on her swim back to shore she told me about the shark sighting near Keauhou Bay and the closure of Kahaluu Beach the previous day. I felt a little freaky being the only water jogger that day and hurried back to shore. Thinking about it though, really there are always fish in the water, maybe sharks too. I love the ocean and Ron loves to bike. So I'll continue to go in the water hoping the sharks stay away from me and Ron will continue to ride his bike hoping the cars stay away from him. I also couldn't believe the morning radio news. Must have been a slow news day as the local station here reported about a shooting at the Hooters in Knoxville. The story they told was the shooter then would not put down his gun when cornered by police and was also shot dead. We seem to miss so much news was out here in the middle of the Pacific and was surprised to hear that snippet. Our new friends Al & Linda have become Hawaii football fans and wanted us to meet them at the Oceans Tavern to watch the game and share pupus. It was a good time but a sad ending to the one to the teams best football seasons. Ron was just happy that Michigan finally won a bowl game and so did TN. Therefore not a bad football day afterall. We heard MI got 15in of snow in places in Oakland & Lapeer Counties over the New Years night. Snow is beginning to seem surreal to me but have heard there has been a bit on and off on Mauna Kea. In fact, most disturbing, but a Michigan family is still searching for a lost relative who was hiking on the mountain during one off the snow storms. An last but not least Ron is out picking coffee again today. He spead some fertlizer during the last week and both times we got some rain afterwards which was a good thing of course. The trees are looking beautiful and we look forward to blossoms soon. Did I tell you that coffee trees are a relative of the gardenia family and when they bloom scents of gardenia prevail?