Kids are Cute in Glasses

With brand new baby Hazel celebrating her first Christmas in less than a week, the Hancock Barnharts are starting to get excited. We just can't wait to see her and her proud parents. The girls are excited most of all (what with Peter being ambivalent to all things not directly related to food and stacking blocks).

But knowing how things work, Rachel and I have been trying to prepare Ella and Elisabeth for what will inevitably be a disproportionate amount of attention given to Hazel. And lest they injure themselves trying to get back into the limelight, we've been working on ways to cutify them. I have it on good authority that eyeglasses automatically boost the cute factor for kids, so here you go -

I don't have a photo of Peter in glasses - he's still ok, since he's been working up some routines lately. Besides, he would have destroyed my glasses.

A Penguin Christmas!

Once upon a Christmas tree, in Caro, somewhere east,
There landed little penguins; quite a few, at least.

Looking for a special friend, who'd love them very much,
And let them play upon her tree, frolicking and such.

They found their special friend, indeed, very kind and sweet;
Living in an old house, at 145 W. Grant Street!

And so upon her tree they lit, hiding here and there,
Frolicking and dancing, without a single care!

Reminding us to lighten up, and frolick now and then,
During this blessed season, with family and our friends.

Now for a little color...

The kitchen countertops, now with 100% more tile backsplash!

I hope you can feel the drywall dust under your fingernails

For those of you who haven't sanded drywall in a while (or ever), I just want to post a few pictures to remind you of how pleasant an experience it can be.




Steve/Rachel, Andy/Janell: feel free to use this picture to scare your children. Or embellish your bedtime stories about the dangers of breathing drywall dust.






Pictures of painted walls to come soon!! (once I've painted them, I mean.)

Desks, Anyone?

Dad wanted me to take some pictures of all the household desks and post them on here so the family could look through, identify, request, plan for, and hopefully obtain by Christmas time. In case you didn't get the memo, we are currently renovating the downstairs and furnishing it into a living room/family room/media room/multi-purpose room/really sweet room. There are currently three desks downstairs and none of them are necessarily needed at the moment. The following photos are the pictures of the desks(some wanted, some not). I will provide a running commentary hopefully identify and quoting the household value of each desk.

Culprit Number One:

I believe this desk belongs to Ben. Its daily uses over the past 12 years have included doing nothing and being a placeholder for David's tasty ginger candies that he has allowed me to consume freely. It is quite a nice find for someone looking for a fine oak desk. Ben, feel free to take this at will.

Culprit Number Two:

This desk belongs to....Steve? I can't really remember. It looks like a Steve desk to me. At any rate, this has also largely done nothing sitting in the basement for the past few millennia. It is actually quite a nice desk with nice shelving space on the side; good for the collector of strange and curious items(or books, which can sometimes be quite strange and even more curious). Steve, feel free to take this desk(and not the one I use up in my room that belongs to you).

Culprit Number Three:

I'm pretty sure this one belongs to David. And in that case it really doesn't need to be up here for everyone else to see, however Dad specifically told me to put every desk in the house on the blog(except for the ancient 2-ton "deskroom" desk). This one is a little crummier version of Culprit Number Four(see below). Like I said, I think it's David's desk, so David, there is your desk.

Culprit Number Four:

This is currently the computer desk. It is currently unavailable for being taken. Feel free to take Nikki though, since she snuck into the picture on the right. You can have Twilah too. Free. Also, this is Lisa's old desk.

Culprit Number Four:

This desk belongs to Janell. It is quite likely to be the nicest and most expensive of the household desks. Janell, feel free to take it at will. Maybe it can be in Ozzie's day office.

Culprit Number Five:

This one is MY desk. And by mine I mean Steve's. I took it when I raided the basement for a bigger bed to add to my upstairs Kingdom. I guess if Steve really wants it he can have it, but it would be sorely missed. If you want I'll make you a desk out of plywood for Christmas(with a set of Sheet Metal dinnerware).

Culprit Number Five:

This is the ghost desk. It belongs to nobody and wants no one. It require no care nor requests it. It is simply there. Take at will. This desk is open to all people.

Anyway, there's all the desks that are in the house available for the taking. If someone wants someone else's desk they must settle the dispute with a 10 pace duel. I look forward to seeing you all at Christmas. Goodnight.

Announcement

Snow Flourish Scarlet Birth Announcement

Customize your own baby announcement at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Thought we'd give you a sneak peek, plus we get $25 off for posting this. :)

Christmas Time is Here!

Whilst sitting at Brooklyn Bagels today, David and I realized that a sibling gift exchange list has not been published yet. Thus, David devised a brilliant formula for determining who gets whose name this year. He suggested that we take the scrabble points for each letter and add up the total score for each name and then arrange the names in order of lowest scores to highest scores. He then promptly put me to work adding up the name points while he elfed himself. Here is the list, and each person will buy for the third person below them:

Lisa
Ben
Daniel
Andy
Steve
David
Rachel
Janell

Congratulations to Janell for having the highest scoring name!

Happy Belated Birthday Grandpa!

Hazel's birthday gift to you is that you don't have to share your birthday with someone so cute (and obviously attention-stealing) as her.

Now taking food donations

Any extra food you may have lying around the house will be eagerly accepted by Hazel. Please place morsels of food on tongue.

Going to the highest bidder!

Don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to roll back the clock and re-live those childhood memories! This original bar and stool set is going to the highest bidder. This is no cheapie retro copy, this is original solid Americana. Built like a tank! Just nail this baby down to your kitchen, dining room, or living room floor and you will be ready to hop on the stool for a sandwich and reminisce to your hearts content. For extra memories, scatter a few papers around so you can read while you eat! Sandwich and papers not included.

Waiting for Baby McCann...

‘Twõn’t be long ere November 18th,
Notable date for McCann Clan,

When deep inner workings, mysterious and great,
Will bring forth, alas, a new girl “grand.”

However, should Tiny be running a bit late,
As is wanting in the Barnhart Tribe,

She’ll arrive no later than November 26th,
For that’s what the doctor’s prescribed.

Indeed, the new little one shall soon be born,
According to the Master’s plan,

So we pray for good health for both,
And safe arrival for baby McCann.

Post Script

We praise thee, oh Lord, for safe arrival,
Of dear baby Hazel McCann,

Long and laborious the hours,
Waiting for the miracle at hand.

When, alas, she appeared, but not breathing,
Limp and lifeless, she seemed,

You moved dear ones to fast action,
To resuscitate and help her to breathe.

How we thank you for answered prayer,
For your tender mercies, and mild,

And loving watch care and strength,
For precious mother and child.

BE WISE LIKE LISA

Barnharts - The McCann Clan would like to know when people are going to be visiting Muskegon around Christmas time. We'd like for everyone to meet Giant McCann (I'm sure she's not Tiny) then. We're going to try to visit my family in Omaha around that time as well, so we'd like to get our plans ironed out. Our options are going to be before Christmas or after Christmas based on your answers.

Lets make some new posts(no offense Ben)

I suggest we kick off our thanksgiving talks. I'm bored of not reading new posts. Let the Turkey Talks commence!

Light in a Dark Room

Last weekend David and I punched through the outer wall of my dining room and installed an awning window. Here are some photos of the project, though you really have to see it in person. Having a window in the dining room adds so much more light to the dining room and kitchen.

Modern Progress in Autumnology

Michael Barnhart the father of modern day Autumnology presents "Progress in Autumnology".

In the early days of Autumnology, leaves were harvested with metal rakes attached to wooden poles and hauled away by dragging them on a flexible material such as a canvas. Modern advances brought forth plastic rakes which though less durable were more light weight and reduced arm and shoulder strain while spending long days harvesting.

When slave labor was no longer available, the wheel was introduced. Two wheels attached to a light weight metal fabricated cart allowed for larger loads of leaves to be moved by only one person.

Next came the advent of the internal combustion engine. Powered by fossil fuels the engine was coupled to a blower wheel and produced enough wind turbulence to move the leaves into piles to be loaded onto the two wheeled transporting cart.

Even with these great strides in technology. Autumnologists are continually hampered by short daylight hours during the harvesting season. To overcome this obstacle the modern day incandescent lamp has been taken from it's normal use indoors and brought outside. Housed in weather proof fixtures the incandescent lamp can now light up the darkness and extend harvesting well into the night time hours.

The latest advance in Autumnology has been the recent discovery that the age old theory that only dry leaves can be harvested is a myth perpetrated by teenage slackers wishing for more video game time inside. Wet leaves can and have been successfully harvested by the author of this treatise. With ample consideration given for the added weight of the wet leaves, one simply loads fewer leaves onto the two wheel transporting cart.

And so you now see that from the brute force of slave labor to the modern harvesting of leaves, Autumologists have brought us from the stone age to the modern age with technology and innovation. What will be next? Only time will tell, but already some are predicting self composting leaves or leaves that self combust on the tree when stuck by Autumn sun rays.

Be wise, ORGANIZE!

I've been thinking fondly of turkey and the Annual Christmas Day Sledding Classic lately. Please leave a comment below stating whether you will be coming to Muskegon for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, all three, none of these holidays, or a combination. The possibilities are endless! Happy Halloween!

Some cabinets, and a hole in the wall

First of all: Happy Birthday, Rachel!!

Now I know a lot of you have been wondering about my kitchen renovation (Dad!), so here are a few pictures of the cabinets, which now have stained doors. The drawers are close to being done, but I rushed a little on the staining and need to strip them back down (because the color didn't turn out right).

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I also decided to put a window in my dining room, and over the last few evenings I framed out the space for it from the inside. As it turned out, most of this wall was rotten anyway (from old water damage), so I'm glad I was able to remove the damaged wood, which literally crumbled in my hands. I'll feel better about this wall when I replace the siding (hopefully in the spring), and can remove old sheathing and replace with something a little more solid.

But, for now, I'll have a window in this wall, which will really let some nice light in the dining room.


The unblemished wall (at least on the surface).


What lies beneath.


Supporting the ceiling joists so I can cut out the studs I want to remove.


And here, the studs I want to remove.


The wall, mid disassembly.


The header beam that will replace the studs I removed.


The header beam in place and sealed in vapor barrier (plastic).


Putting the drywall back up.


And, lastly, the wall is ready from the inside. Now I just need to cut out the sheathing and siding and install the window. Stay tuned: I might try it this weekend. I should figure out how to liveblog the event. (I think I need an intern.)

I'd like to take this opportunity to open the floor for discussion of rebuilding rotten walls. Has anyone in the audience recently opened and rebuilt a wall that was in needed of major repair? Anyone?