It is the time of year again when we reflect on the past year and think about our incredible friends. It is a blessing to hear from so many of you and learn the news about you and your families. Neil and I are doing wonderfully on Maui and still loving living in our little cottage on the beach.

We had a tree trimming party at Jean and Morley’s Saturday night before Christmas. What a fun way to put us in the Christmas spirit. I hadn’t started thinking about the holidays before that this year. My mom Audrey and her husband Bill came to stay with me while I house/pet sat in Makena the first part of December. We had a relaxing and enjoyable time together. Now home, I finally got out some Christmas CDs and a few decorations to add to the festive mood. We will have Jean and Morley and a few friends for Christmas Eve dinner. We plan to go to our friends Roger and Wanda’s for Christmas day meal and treasure the time with friends.

It is whale season again and in the last week we have seen several mothers and babies already from our beach. Last night at sunset we saw a great show of a mother and then the baby doing a series of breaches! For the first time since living in Hawaii, I went canoe paddling! It was a great experience to be on the water and have a whale surface near with its loud swish of breath! I tried paddle boarding last month as well. I did well for my first time out but think I would rather be in the water looking at the fish than top looking down. It was a beautiful clear water day and I could see the coral and fish through the smooth surface of the water.

Many months of this past year were spent on developing an app for the Android phones called Hawaii Snorkel Fish. (You can view an overview video of it at the website by following the link.) We worked with John Hoover who provided the photos and the detailed information. Neil did all the program design and implementation, photo compression, and data base design. I helped fill in the data bases and provide fish characteristics for the search feature. I developed the website and wrote marketing information. We did extensive testing and launched the app in August.

We enjoy beach bon fires and feasting on potlucks as well as a weekly meditation group. We continue to love having Neil’s mom Jean and Morley next door and we also had fun with house guests for part of Nov and Dec as they transitioned into their new housing situation. And how wonderful when we get to see friends who visit us on beautiful Maui.

Neil’s daughters are both doing great and continuing their schooling. Mailea has just been accepted into a PhD program in New Zealand and Ari is working on her nursing degree in Tucson, Arizona. My family is all doing well in their various locations across the country. All are in good health and surviving in the economic downturn. I have a new great-niece: Jewel Amelia born Dec 13 to Jason and Crystal Beamer. Quentin, my 10 year old great-nephew is doing well in 5th grade on Maui and I love spending time with him.

Envisioning love and peace in our world and wishing you a joyous new year.