It doesn't get any better than this!

Scribs Pizza and New Years Eve, what a combination! Happy New Year!

Oops, someone made a mistake

Sorry if this caused any confusion, someone posted the wrong tree last week. I caught the error and am fixing it. The person responisible for making the mistake has been removed from the payroll. We don't tolerate mistakes around hear.

A Real (Nice) Christmas Tree and the Christmas Walk

The Barnharts of the North celebrated Christmas this morning in high fashion with the last advent reading and a gathering around the Christmas tree. Seen here, Mom tries to convince Ella of the fun to come while Fletcher practices his pointing skills by singling out his presents. Notice the snow outside, which arrived just in time for Christmas.

Below, Northern Barnharts prepare for the Christmas Walk

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas celebrating Christ's birth, friendship and family, and that grilled Christmas turkey (and subsequent walk).

HO HO HO! Breaking News!

This is just in from the Santa Daily Chronicle, Santa's sleigh got stuck last night in a wild snowstorm in Muskegon Mi, USA. Last word from Santa was he had to drop all the rest of his gifts there and try to fly out with his sleigh lightened by several thousand tons of less toys. According to Santa, the good folks at 1208 W. Giles Rd, where his sleigh is now lodged will keep the toys safe, if he can't make it back by midnight tonight, then they will have to either keep the toys or find some worthy charity to donate them too. It was reported that David was seen rummaging in the bag already and tossing out new Apple laptops for himself and all his siblings, and Daniel was connecting a PS3 to a new wide screen HDTV. Lisa had already found many soft blankets and had them piled to the ceiling in her room. Ben was carrying boxes of books to the basement. Andy was pulling out tools like he was robbing a Lowes store, and Janell was looking for a mini commuter system that would take her back and forth from work each day without having to drive. Mike was poking around in the bag, looking for a Triumph TR6, but the closest thing he found was a '58 Bugeye Sprite, it may have to suffice. Too bad Steve and Rachel aren't here, if the rest of the family wasn't so busy "shopping" in Santa's bag, they might have been able to pick them up something too. Someone pulled out a couple of Chia Pets, those may be for them.

See our tree?

Steve and I agreed to post our Christmas trees, since we won't get to see each other's tree. We really went big this year, and I must say, Lisa did a yoman's job decorating it. I also need to thank many other people for help with the tree this year.
First, I want to thank the State of Washington for donating their premier tree from this season's best.
Thank you to all the birds who willingly gave up thier nests, inculding 11 spotted owls.
Thank you ConRail for donating 3 flat cars and delivering the tree on time and free.
Thank you Bonners for donating all the decorations, we cleaned out the entire 2nd floor of their warehouse of stock.
Thank you Consumers Energy for adding a temporary substation for handling the extra pewer load from the lights, and also for firing up the mothballed Michigan City IN power plant to keep the grid up when we throw the switch for the lights. We hope the coal dust isn't a problem for Northern IN, but, we all make sacrifices right?
Thank you Muskegon County Road Commission for adding two new lanes to Giles Rd to handle the extra traffic.
Thank you Muskegon County Sheriff's Office for the traffic and crowd control.
Thank you Acme Lift for donating the man lift needed to string the lights and hang the ornaments. We just don't have any 50 foot step ladders here!
Thank you to all the thousands upon thousands of spectators that came to oooh and aaahh the tree every night.
And last but not least, thank you Santa, for designating our tree, as "Official Christmas Tree of the North Pole"

So Steve, when are you going to post your tree?

This means I don't have to buy anyone presents, right?

Andy's Gift List - Part Deux

Click here for Andy's new and improved gift list.

Christmas at the McCann's House

As you can see, Christmas time at the McCann house is very festive. We had the 1st annual "finding out that the attic gets too hot in the summer to store candles" party. The guests of honor were not all that excited to be there though, unfortunately. Especially since this would be their going away party, as they make their way to the trash can in the garage. Perhaps they will find a more welcoming home somewhere else...

Ella Asks for Something Special This Christmas

Ella has been very good this year and has asked for something special for Christmas. Yet, her parents may not be able to deliver until next June at the earliest.

Ella enjoys playing with Fletcher, and she decided that it would be even more fun to have another playmate around the house. Mom and Dad suggested a kitten and that seemed just right to her. But Fletcher vetoed any felines, saying "I'm cat enough for this house".

Mom and Dad decided that a new sibling should do the trick. Since the real deal won't be here until June 25 or so, Ella has been given a photo preview to tide her over.

Upon hearing the news, Fletcher became overjoyed. In his excitement, he donned a party hat and started singing Happy Birthday. Though he's a few months early, his sentiment is well appreciated.

The REAL Present Post

So this is the real post about presents. We're going to get it figured out, once and for all here. And quickly, since the ho-ho-ho-day is trampling toward us with the speed and vigor of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Before we draw names, I want to see what everyone thinks of this new idea: instead of us just drawing one name, what if we drew two? I mean, I understand why everyone doesn't buy a present for everyone (8x8=64 presents). At the same time, it seems a mite miserly to have over-reacted by cutting down the total number of present transactions to 8. What if we did 16? That would be two presents per person. That would still be less than you'd have to buy if you lived in a smaller family of only three siblings. Any surely, families of three siblings would be ashamed to institute the sort of One Child, One Present policy that has yoked our generous tendencies these four or five Christmases past.

Please leave comments debating the merit of this new suggestion. Everyone would get two presents. 2 x presents = twice the fun and twice the Christmas spirit. Anyone concerned about this idea from a financial standpoint, please see me privately. Daniel, we might be able to discuss termporary absolving you of your Mario Kart debts during the holiday season, particularly if you draw my name.

Group Thank you card

In the spirit of saving the planet, I will now post a group thank you note to all for my birthday gifts. Look at all the greenhouse gases I am saving by not buying paper, by not having the post office drive around and deliver the thank you notes (if I could only stop Daniel from emitting gases, it would really be a success).

So to the honor roll!

To Daniel, thank you for the gift of ah, a chain and string to keep me from losing my knife. And the cheese cake that you promised to pay me back for.

To Lisa, thank you for the gift of Monsters Inc.

To David, thank you for the nuts and the porcelian grate for the grille.

To Steve and Rachel and Ella, thank you for the movie Cars.

To Ben, thank you for hand made MG Midget repair book and the promised real MG Midget repair book

To Sandy, thank you for the sesame sticks and wasabi peas.

To Mom, thank you for the shirts

To Annette, thank you for the cheese cake and wallet.

To Judy, thank you for the basket of towels, sheets, underwear, and toiletries.

To Pearl, thank you for the naughty card and dollar bill in the card. Although you claim the card isn't naughty, it is my mind that is bad.

To Debbie, thank you for the cookies and the nuts that Judy thought were her's but were really mine (I ate some of them anyway).

To Janell and Andy, thank you for the....... wait a minute, thanks for nothing! oh yes, you said half of it is rolling around in your trunk, Janell. Thank you for the knowledge that half of my birthday present is rolling around in your trunk.

And to the rest of the world who sent me cards or may have given me a gift that I forgot to mention, thank you, thank you, thank you.

The air is cleaner, just sort of takes your breath away doesn't it?

The REAL presenting

alright David,

your idea for gift distribution is very...we'll say cute. However, I think some of us are wondering what really going on with gifting this year. We need to know who our person is so we have plenty of time to spend the allotted million dollars

Santa is in Muskegon now

HO!HO!HO! Santa is in Muskegon this weekend putting his Christmas list together and consulting with one of his best behaved helpers, me. I have volunteered to take a little load off the jolly old man by getting some Christmas gift ideas rounded up for him. So email me your Christmas gift ideas, please remember, Santa is trying to stay within budget this year, so around the 50 dollar range would work out well for him. Also keep in mind I have the authority to let him know who is naughty or nice, so some of you better change your ways.

Big Parties Celebrate 51st Birthday

For those of you out of the "in crowd" I'm posting pictures from my big birthday bash in Muskegon. I am just starting to recover from the excitement, hopefully I will be back in prime shape for Turkey feasting on Thursday. Put your reservations in early next year, and maybe you will be seeing yourself on the blog for the 52nd extravaganza.

Something to think about when gifting...

Some who write here may be inclined to wish there were some magical link between the # of posts started and the level of giftedness one has. I would like to point you to Matt 20:1-16. "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. To them he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’ "They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ "He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’ When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’ "When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’ "But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you. Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen."

In God's eyes, we all deserve the same no matter how long we've spent posting. I know we are all striving to lead more Godly lives, so I thought I should remind us of this parable.

Merry Christmas

Let the present-ing begin

I have already discussed this year's round of sibling Christmas gifts with most of you, individually, and the recurring concern that I heard from all of you could be summed up as, "may the most gifts go to the most gifted!" Although I have my own private reservations about this greed-oriented twist on Christmas, I will concede if this is what everyone wants.

The question that is on everyone's mind, I am sure, cuts straight to the heart of the matter: "Tell me, David, who is the most gifted? I need to know in order to allocate, from at least several paychecks, the necessary funds." As time is running short (only 37 more days to go until Christmas, by my reckoning; only 37 more days and a week to go, by mom's reckoning), I feel that the time is ripe for me to resolve this matter. Determining the giftedness of myself and my siblings is a difficult task - difficult in terms of impartiality and difficult in terms of Daniel - so I have chosen what seems to me to be an objective and fitting measure. The results, in magnitude of giftedness:

David (20)
Janel (19)
Rachel (10)
Daniel (8)
Steve (6)
Ben (5)
Lisa (3)
Andy (1)

I trust that most everyone can accept my judgment. For those of you who are harder to satisfy (I'm thinking of the bottom three, here), always raising objections and challenging every inconvenience, I realize that I will likely need to substantiate those figures. Very simply, they are tallies of how many posts each sibling has made to Barnhart Central, to date. I realize that the margins were razor-thin in places. Between Ben and Steve, for instance, I confess that calling Steve more gifted than Ben is not only highly dubious, but that the difference may ultimately be based upon polling discrepancies. In another close race, Janell and I would have been tied had I not had the judiciousness to compute this very post in my tally, mercifully sparing the family from a protracted runoff.

The above numbers do not necessarily need to translate into number of gifts, although I would not object to such a system. In fact, I highly doubt anyone would object to that idea, as even a low-scorer such as Ben would be receiving 5 times the amount of sibling presents than he did last year. The only real loser is Andy, but last time I witnessed his garage, it appears that he has already taken the liberty of gifting himself all year long. Perhaps the yule-tide season will stir charitable feelings in Daniel's heart, and Andy will receive some miscellaneous Star Wars bric-brac.

Photographic Evidence of Janell's Birthday Party

Exhibit A:

Announcing New Oil Change Joint

See our ad on the web at barnhartcentral.blogspot.com. We are new, and ready to take on any oil changes, especially Buick Century's. We are overstocked on Buick Century oil and filters, and are ready to deal. See us for your Buick Century oil needs, or we'll both lose money! If you own a Buick Century then----BE THERE!!!!

Genuine gift list updated for Mike

Below is my original gift list and is still in brand new condition, except for the fact that I obtained items 1 and 10 myself, it has never been used. So I convieniently removed items 1 and 10 and resubmit it for your buying pleasure.






I think Andy's idea of a gift list is a good one. You just never know when people are wanting to shower you with gifts, and it is rude to not have gift ideas readily available. I must admit that I haven't bothered to look at Andy's list yet- just too busy, but I hope everyone studies mine closely and takes notes if necessary. Last year I put out some really wild and expensive ideas, this year I will try to be more practical. Perhaps this will prove to be a more effective list.

2 Repair Manual for my MG Midget, I think it is a 1972
3 Repair Manual for my Ski-doo, it is a 1986 Safari 377
4 Leather or cotton work gloves, not expensive ones
5 New wallet
6 Garden hose
7 Speedometer for my bike
8 Mole trap to get rid of mole in yard
9 Adapter to play CD's in my car cassette player


I will keep adding to this as I think of more things. And just to absolve my guilt I will look at Andy's list right now.

The Annual Michael L. Barnhart Gift List

Says Mike:

I don't know why I'm even putting this list up, since I still haven't receieved the items on my last two lists; I guess I'm giving my children one last chance to get back in my will.

-Socks (the festive kind, with little Santas and reindeer on them)
-Some gift certificates to Hallmark. I really like shopping there.
-A couple old cars to work on
-CD's, preferably opera
-Lots of diet soda

Well, we'll see how much you guys love me. Don't say I didn't warn you when you don't get any of my riches after I die.

A few clarifications...

Due to recent speculation and rumors, it has become necessary for me to address a few issues which threaten to tarnish my good name. I do not wish to point the finger at anyone, however, Dad should feel especially ashamed of himself. Here, ranked by degree of grievousness, are my clarifications:

• An evening at the ballet does not signify snobbery, but rather humility and selflessness. (If you must ask me to prove this, you are beyond help.)
• If by demanding a birthday party you mean serving your family as a slave indebted to her masters, then yes, I am quite guilty.
  
• However, if you call "Celebrating Janell's Birthday" enjoying good food and throwing grand parties in her abscence, then it is in fact you who are guilty. I am of the mind to forgive and forget if I receive an additional Christmas present from all those involved in the aforementioned proceedings.

*As an aside, there was no confiscation of a memory card at the ballet...I may have been exaggerating just a bit, but only because after I looked over my post I was a bit embarrased by the lack of actual ballet pictures. He he...

Ella Turning into Quite the Little Lady (bug)

It works!

Ella dressed up as a Ladybug this week for a reason not related to any commercially-endorsed holiday. Here is a photo and a couple videos for you to enjoy. I think you'll especially like the second video.

The Ladybug Spin

The Ladybug Walk

A belated Halloween picture

Janell Storms Into Town, Demands Party

The posts of all the parties for Janell proved to be just too much. On Thursday night, Janell left Andy, rented a car and took off for Muskegon to damand a party. She pretty much got what she demanded, Ryke's cake and all. Then she got in my car and went back to Aurora with the rest of the cake and her presents. I don't know if I will ever see that car again. If anyone doubts it, there are digital pictures of the whole affair and they can be posted if necessary.

Daniel "leads busy life". Unable to carry laundry up to his room.

Having sat beside the stairway door for well nigh a week, Daniel's laundry-basket, filled with all his carefully washed, dried and folded clothes (compliments of various family members, for his convenience), provides indisputable evidence that Daniel leads a burdensomely busy life. Explains Daniel, when asked why he was unable to find time during the entire prior week to carry his prepared basket of laundry up to his room: "I lead a busy life, Dad!"



Older brother, David, later remarked to the effect that if Daniel spent less time in front of the television losing at Mario Kart and more time carrying his laundry upstairs, he'd have much more laundry carried upstairs.

When confronted with further questions, Daniel was unavailable for comment and resisted photographers.

A sophisticated evening at the ballet

In the luxurious lobby of the Amway Grand Hotel



After having eaten chocolate brownie pandowdy (with layer of cream cheese, cinnamon pastry dough, and raspberry compote) chocolate crumb cake, and chocolate creme brulee















Lisa and Janell taking a "serious" picture


I also took several really nice pictures of the ballet (Swan Lake), but the next thing I knew one of the ushers came rushing down the aisle, snatched my camera, and stole the memory card! I guess when they say you aren't supposed to take any pictures they actually mean it...fortunately I had an extra memory card with me to take the rest of these pictures!

A Profusion of Celebrations

David's graduation was celebrated in style Saturday afternoon by a visit to The Daily Grind, where a plate of fudgy, caramel brownies were quickly consumed by Ella (who appears deceptively calm in this "before brownies massacre" shot). The presence of David was requested at the party thrown in his honor, but he declined, saying that he would rather polish the brass on the Titanic than spend a moment reliving his past four years at Wheaties College.



And later in the evening (after the suger buzz from the brownies had worn off) Rachel's birthday was celebrated with the baking of the traditional cherry chip cake, frosted by a very untraditional cherry buttercream meringue frosting (which contains not one, but FOUR sticks of butter).

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

Fletcher gets the date wrong

Fletcher has been barking the news of Rachel's birthday to all the dogs in Hancock, well, as we all know, dogs relay messages from dog to dog and it has quickly made it's way to Muskegon. However, he muat have a bark impediement, becasue instead of clearly barking out Friday as the day, he must have barked out some earlier date. As evidenced by the picture, we have dogs roaming all over Muskegon with party hats on looking for the party. Cats are really having a hayday with this little snafu. Oh well, we know he meant well. Thanks Fletcher.

Dad unable to conceal his enthusiasm during another round of Candyland

"So Dad, a tree and a grass had a race..."

Janell throws back a few of the ol' thumb

Janell's had a hard day and it shows. She needs something to take the edge off:

Ahh! That's much better!

Photographic evidence shows that the Hancock Barnharts have completed a very long journey

Hello all.

We've (or should I say - I've) completed our postings for our trip to our photosite...so you may all peruse them at your leisure, if you so desire. I couldn't come up with catchy captions for each and every photo of the mountains, but I did try to label some of the more distinct and interesting pictures (and what I could remember without actually looking at any information while working on the project at midnight...much later than I would usually allow).

Hope you guys enjoy "vacationing" along with us!

Little Fatty

All in a Flurry - Updated

A day later...
Though we didn't get quite the snow they predicted, it did get very wintery with much blowing and blustering. I took this picture outside my office Wednesday morning, while it actually looked nice. We have more snow now (probably a 1 foot bank of slush on our road), but it's too nasty to post.

There's much anticipation in the North tonight as the whole countryside awaits in the suspenseful calm before the storm. Children are dreaming of the first snowday, adults are realizing that they never fixed the snowblower or got a new yooper scoop, and freshman Tech students are preparing to bunker down for the really long part of the schoolyear that they didn't know existed. I'll try to post a picture after the alleged precipitation... if I can get out of my driveway.

The Western Journey Completed

That's right, all. We've gone west and come back. And visited many interesting sites along the way. We're a bit overwhelmed by the extremely large quantity of photos we've taken, and so getting them all posted is going to be a bit of a long and slow ordeal. However, I have begun this process, and am pleased to announce that approximately half of our trip is posted in photos on our website (not half of our photos...just half of the journey). Here's a photo to try to pull you in....

Minneapolis Pulls Out the Stops for Janell's Birthday Celebration

Janell's birthday was celebrated in style Friday night when Steve, Rachel, and Ella decided to travel to Minneapolis in order to raise a glass (of coffee) for Janell's twenty-fifth. And no birthday is complete without a slice (or four) of Muddy Paws cheesecake. After all, the birthday girl needs at least one piece.

For those who would like to point out that Janell isn't present in the posted photograph of the celebration, we need to mention that she was invited and declined the invitation. At least that's the message we got from her personal assistant, Wendy, who was still a little bitter about having been chewed out for putting Splenda in her boss's coffee. Which is a legitimate mistake, Janell. Cut her some slack.

Happy Birthday, Janell!

Reprinted from the National Inquirer

It was reported that a green haired alien emerged from the Barnhart bathroom at 1208 W. Giles Rd. Muskegon, MI this morning. Our reporter contacted the homeowner who confirmed the sighting and denied any knowledge of or association with the alien. This statement was made by the homeowner- "I am not responsible for creatures that crawl out of the ground, or fall from the sky and enter my house" "I dropped it off at Reeths-Puffer Middle School, and that is the last I have seen of it".

Final Fling in Muskegon for Janell

Called the "Jumpin Janell Jamboree", the final fling of a weekend of celebration ended today in Muskegon. Event organizers said it was a sell out crowd, according to Michael
Partio, chairperson, "we had half of West Michigan at this event". However, still no presents have been located. Cleanup is expected to take days, so who knows what might be found under tables or accidently thrown away in the trash. "We will be looking for anything that remotely looks like a present" said Partio, "I'm sure at least one person remembered why they were here". "Oh well, if not, we will just throw a bigger party next year".

Many Parties Thrown in Muskegon for Janell's Birthday

Many parties were held in Muskegon for Janell's birthday as seen by just a sampling of pictures taken. Unfortunately Janell couldn't be there because she wasn't invited. No one brought any gifts, but if some arrive, we will open them and immediately send anything we don't want on to the Birthday girl.

The Real Gift List

That was just a joke before. Please do not fool yourself into thinking that I would be content with a mere grammatical correction! I want money, precious jewels, fine fruits and cheeses!

But since I don't think I'll get any of those things, here is my toned down birthday gift list. Some of these are actually pretty boring, but if you don't have much time/energy/creativity, those are the ones for you.

• Any Johnny Cash CD, but preferably older rather than newer. (I don't have any, so feel free to pick your favorite)
• white ankle socks
  
• Alice Peacock CD "Who I Am"
  
• A new blow dryer (this one could be difficult, as I'm not really sure which one I want...)
• A gift card to Kohl's (in any denomination) : )

Ok, that is about all I can come up with. However, I will still accept, and even welcome, original gifts, so please do not supress your inner gift-genie. (I don't even know what that is)

Alright, ALRIGHT!!

You've all pushed me far enough. I've finally come up with my gift list, and I expect to receive everything on it. It's actually quite simple, and each of you can give me the same gift if you truly care about what I want.

I would like for all of my friends and family to stop saying the words "like" and "ummm." Instead of "I was like...", I want to hear "I felt..." or "I said...". And if try to look up "ummm" in the dictionary, you won't find it, because it's not even a real word! It makes you sound less intelligent, even though I know you are all very intelligent people.

Thankyou.


And no further references to hair dye would be appreciated as well. If you must know the full story, visit our blog later this afternoon. I plan to have worked up the courage to post the whole painful thing by then.

Check out Andy's Gift list for Janell's Birthday

Hi everybody, I have tried my hardest to get a birthday idea from Janell, but she refuses to cooperate, so the only alternative I have is to pick a gift for her from Andy's gift list, at least that way, someone will get something they want. Otherwise I could just close my eyes and walk through the mall and purchase the first item I run into, then gift wrap it for Janell, but what if I veer into a store full of say, paper clips or toilet paper, you know "Clips Are Us" or "Flush Us", you get the picture. I am sure Andy would rather have a neat gift off his gift list instead of Janell getting a case of paper clips or monogrammed toilet paper. I suggest the rest of you do the same unless Janell immediately and without dalay does an about face and supplies birthday ideas before it is too late.

The Kayaking Adventures Begin

The Hancock Barnharts are now the proud owners of a tandem kayak (thanks to Dad/Paul who has also taken up kayaking). We took our first excursion a couple of weeks ago, and Ella and Fletcher got to come along for the ride. Ella wasn't all that thrilled, and Fletcher jumped out while we were in the middle of the lake, so we had a fussy kid and a stinky wet-dog smelling dog to ride home with. Anyways, here we are, ready to head out on our first adventure. If any of you guys come up to visit us during the summer months, we'll take you out for an afternoon (or morning, or evening) on the lake.

Ella turns 1!

Yes, it has happened. Ella has had her first birthday - and the accompanying cake and ice cream and party hats and candles and noisemakers and punch-balloons and everything.

Ella got to share her birthday party with her Grandpa Gerard (his 60th was on Monday - so we did a bit of a surprise for him) and thoroughly enjoyed eating part of Grandpa's birthday cake, too. Two birthday cakes are definitely better than one! And when one of those cakes has 60 flaming candles on it, watch out! (The Gerard tradition does NOT include licking the frosting off of the candles, so Grandpa didn't have to lick 60 candles worth of frosting before eating his cake)

So...there was MUCH cake (very tasty - and leftovers for us to enjoy!) and frivolity. And presents. Which Ella enjoyed - looking at the packages, mostly (one very large Elmo bag, in particular). Fletcher had to help her open them up when we returned home (the party was at church, because we couldn't fit 25 people in our house at the same time and maintain any level of sanity or comfort), and she was more fascinated watching Fletcher shred the paper than she was interested in opening them up herself. That will change, however, probably by her next birthday.

Here is the "standard" Barnhart birthday photo - licking the frosting off of the candle. However, Ella decided to bite the candle rather than lick it, so now the candle has teeth marks in it, and she didn't get all that much frosting. She'll learn.

Lets Go Camping!

Can anyone explain this? I just took the trash bin out to the road in the rain, and had an instant urge to go camping.

Right at last!

I would like to refer all you Doubting Thomas's to my blog entry of May 27 2006 at http://mikesblog-mike.blogspot.com/ predicting the dramatic and unexpected drop in gasoline prices. Should we play a little tune called "Gasolina" to celebrate my clairvoyant writings?

Ella Gets a Little Jazzy

Confirmed: not only does Ella refuse to turn down jazzy music, but she actually starts dancing to it immediately. So the only question in my mind: which parent does she get this from?

Barnhart Household Sees Gross Computing Power Rise by 4 mhz, Memory Increase of over 500 kilobytes

Harnessing the sheer, brute manlihood of a souped-out 8086 is not for the faint-of-heart. Nor, do I now realize, is it for those without a copy of DOS sitting around on a 320kb floppy. I confess that I did not anticipate so soon the day when I cursed my big 1.2mb floppy disks for being so advanced and so incompatible.


Yes, that's right. Another computer has been placed under my charitable auspices. I found it abandoned at a local Salvation Army earlier this week. Ironically enough, I had intended to visit my local branch to present them with a $30 cash donation. Once I was there and my heart was burdened by the neglected IBM PC, I offered both my cash donation and my sponsorship of the machinery's adoption.

In case anyone happens to need a little more processing power these days, I will be graciously connecting my newly-purchased IBM 5150 to the outside world via a bulletin-board system. It will be accessible in minute or half-minute units. I will consider waiving the $4.00/minute connection rate for close family members. "Close" applies only to those still living at home. And "connection" is defined by physically walking downstairs to the basement. And "connection rate" is defined as any of the following: turning the computer on, placing a disk in the drive (double rates for using both floppy drives), appreciating the sleek design of the computer as one is walking past, or walking past it, even if only to get to the bathroom.

C.P.B. takes Wisconsin by Storm

No doubt the tents are still wet and the sleeping bags are mildewing quietly in their garbage bags. But before all that Wisconsin rain dries out, I wanted to post a few photos from last week's camping trip (from the dry days). Hopefully Daniel will post a little video clip of David doing his part to make sure Daniel's hair got washed at least once during the week.