Christmas 2002 Part 2

Pete and Steph's Christmas card from 2002 when they were living in Hawaii. I love the Hawaiian shirts on everyone including Shelby and Odin!

Christmas 2003 Part 2 - Pete & Steph

Pete and Steph always put together a cute Christmas photo. The one above is from 2003 which was their first Christmas back on the mainland after having lived in Hawaii.

Stocking Stuffers - Macadamia Nuts

Macadamia nuts are another stocking stuffer I remember from childhood. Mom probably started putting these in our Christmas Stockings in the late 1970's or early 1980's. I remember the brand we got was Mauna Loa which has been produced, according to their website, for just over 30 years.

I usually didn't get around to eating the macadamia nuts until very early January as I'd start working on the Christmas candy first.

I remember eating them in my south west facing bedroom in the house on Stevens on a bright sunny January afternoon and just loving them.

The following information is from Wikipedia:

"Macadamia nuts are native to Australia and Indonesia. The genus is named after John Macadam, a colleague of botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who first described the genus. Besides the development of a small boutique industry in Australia during the late 19th and early 20 centuries, macadamia was extensively planted as a commercial crop in Hawaii from the 1920's. Macadamia seeds were first imported into Hawaii in 1882 by William H. Purvis. The Hawaiian-produced macadamia established the nut internationally. Outside of Hawaii and Australia, macadamia is also commercially produced in South Africa, Brazil, California, Costa Rica, Israel, Kenya, Bolivia, New Zealand, Colombia and Malawi. In 2003, research from Australia shows that macadamia nuts lower total and LDL cholesterol levels."