New hair

Actually I just have less of my old hair if we're going to get technical. Anyway, I got my hair cut today and got bangs, which mom wanted to see, so here they are. (along with the rest of me)

By the way, I didn't mean to bump Ben's post so soon, which is actually more worth reading than this one. So please scroll down if you haven't read it yet.

Suteki rises from the Raleigh's (stolen) ashes

As most of you know (except Edmund and Anonymous, who I haven't talked to in a while), my Raleigh was stolen about a month ago from the bike rack behind my apartment. Though I was sad to lose it, I had learned recently that the Raleigh bikes made in Taiwan (of which mine was one) were cheap frames with the Raleigh logo on them (rather than the higher-end Raleighs produced at the original Nottingham, England factory. Knowing this, I was eager to go out and find a bike that might prove to be a little more solid in the frame department.

What I found was a bike that few people know anything about. It's a Suteki, and from the little I've found online, they were manufactured in Japan in the early 80's, and are made with high-quality Japanese steel.

What I do know is that I've had to put a fair amount of work into this bike. So far, I've:

1. replaced the rear wheel
2. replaced the rear derailleur
3. replaced the shift and brake cables
4. replaced the original seat post and seat
5. replaced the pedals so I could attach toe clips

And now I'm hearing some annoying rubbing noises from my chain rings, which may mean I need to replace the crankset.

At any rate, here are some pictures of the new bike:

"The Side Angle (Bike at Repose)"


"The Suteki logo"


"The View from the Front (Bike Attack)"


"Poor Saps' View (The Angle from which Most Trail Riders See My New Bike)"

Moved posts

I moved my last two posts to Mikes blog, they were meant for the discriminating reader, so I had to move them.

Just call me Midge

For all of you who remember the family get togethers at the old house on Central, you will not have a hard time recalling Grandma Barnhart's special snack mixes - always stale, deceptively tempting, and rarely edible. When pressed, Grandma would admit that some of the components may be a little on the older side, but usually in very vague terms that trailed off into telling you about something else in the fridge you could eat if you wanted.
One year at Thanksgiving, I stood over a bowl filled with tortilla chips, peanuts, triscuits, cheese crackers, pretzel sticks, and several other various items which had weathered enough time in a box or bag on the front porch to be considered worthy of the snack bowl. Having had prior experience with the snack bowl, I knew not all components were created equal. For instance, the tortilla chips could have been a fairly new addition, and therefore to be highly prized as the least stale and retaining much of its original flavor. The triscuits, on the the hand, may have been the original base of the snack mix, and could hypothetically be fossilized at this point, and were to be treated like a ham bone in soup. (A necessity to the recipe, but certainly no one would be foolish enough to attempt EATING it!!) I do not remember which item I eventually chose to try, but I do remember that I chose terribly. I'm actually suspicious that I happened to pick out a mothball which had fallen through the vent in the kitchen ceiling directly into the bowl, slyly joining the festive mixture. After disposing of the moth ball (secretly of course) I asked Grandma when she made the snack mix. This seemed like a good, tactful way of finding out if perhaps none of the components were in fact edible and I should abandon my pursuit immediately. She hemmed and hawed for awhile, and then said something to the effect of "Well, I don't know. I guess I found it on the front porch, and I think its from last Christmas. Why, isn't it good?" I think I lied and said it was, then quickly did the math in my head and realized that was almost a YEAR ago! I wish I could say I never attempted eating anything from a snack mix in subsequent visits, but all you in the Barnhart family know that unlike most children who pick daintily at their food, we were apparently half starved 100% of the time and devoured anything remotely edible within a 100 foot radius of our beings. So of course I made several more attempts, and not all were as unrewarding as the day I just described.
Anyway, the last time I went grocery shopping, I decided to make my own trail mix for Andy and I to put in our lunches. I don't typically like trail mix because it has too many raisins, and I don't really like pretzels that much, but Andy really likes it and I figured it was probably healthier than chips, so I would make a custom blend for us. This is all perfectly acceptable so far. I picked up several different things, including peanuts, cashews, good raisins (not too dried out), cheddar goldfish crackers, honey nut cheerios, and some dark chocolate m&m's. A little unorthodox perhaps, but it seemed like a good mixture of salty and sweet. After putting all the groceries away, I put all the trail mix ingredients in a tupperware container and mixed it up, and overall I was impressed with the results. I saved some out for our lunches, but when I opened the cupboard to put it away, I couldn't find a single place to put it. I had almost decided to just leave it on the counter when I realized that there was a box of Cheez-its that had been in there forever, and if I just threw those away like I should have weeks ago, I would have room for my trail mix. I had almost thrown the box in the garbage when a little thought popped into my head: instead of wasting them, I could just add the to the trail mix! I had thought it needed to be a little more on the salty side anyway, so this was a perfect solution. I quickly emptied the box and mixed the crackers in, then took a handful to see how it tasted with my newest addition. While it didn't begin to compare to the mothball I'd almost ingested years before, I was immediately reminded of why I was going to throw the Cheez-its away: because they were very old. And mixing them with a bunch of new fresh food didn't make them any less old. At this exact moment, I realized what I had done. It was so easy, and seemed like a very sensible thing to do at the time.
I've now placed Andy on alert. If he sees me placing any food in water, especially fruit or hot dogs, a direct intervention is called for. Also, if I ever save old coffee, especially if I save it in 2-liter soda bottles, this is not to be taken lightly and you will all be notified.
Well, all this writing has tired me out, and I'm actually getting kind of hungry with all this talk about food. I think I'll go eat on the pork chops we had for dinner last night...

New Photos!

That's right, everyone! There are new photos to peruse at your leisure on our photosite. More specifically, there are new Ella and Elisabeth photos on our photosite (along with Steve's addition of the 4th of July and Bike Ride photos). We'll see how well we can keep our photosite updated now that we have 2 kids instead of just one (I hadn't even downloaded my pictures from the camera in over a month!). But for now, enjoy the new photos. And you'll soon get to enjoy Ella and Elisabeth in person - since we'll be down in Muskegon at the end of July.

July 4, A Superior Ride, and The Best Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Ever

The Crumble

Rhubarb: Mmmmm.

Rhubarb and Strawberries: Even MMMmmmier.

Rhubarb and Strawberries in The Best Crumble Ever: Well, I'll just show you the picture.

Mom made this crumble from an acclaimed recipe using fresh strawberries from our garden and fresh rhubarb from our neighbor's garden. It was fantastic. We enjoyed having her up for a few days to help with this kids.


The Ride

Ben also visited for a bit and we were able to fit in a short bike ride to Lake Superior. It was a great day for a ride and we had a great time. I only wish I were still biking the paper route so that I would have been in shape.

We biked along the Portage to Lake Superior at McLain's State Park. As is typical, we spent more time tuning up our bikes than riding. In our youth, this meant getting as much oil in the chain as possible, flipping the bike up on its seat and handle bars, and spinning up the pedals to see how long the wheel would spin while we did laps around the house. Now we don't do laps.


The 4th

Today, we took Ella and Elisabeth to the parade in Dollar Bay. Ella liked the parade and all the floats. Her favorite was the root beer float. Tonight we'll try to take in some fireworks. Ella hasn't seen them up here before and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that it will be a first time for Elisabeth as well.

You can find more pictures of the parade and the bike ride at our Photo Site: http://sandr.photosite.com/. I'm pretty sure Rachel is planning to update the site with those anticipated Elisabeth photos soon.

Have a good 4th all!

The Grand End of a Dynasty....

By Daniel Barnhart


So at last the long era of paper route children has ended. We all have memories of getting up early to do newspapers on weekends(yes I did that for the last few weeks of the route), riding our bikes through the ice and snow, collecting from grumpy customers, and delivering those nasty North Edition papers(how I hated those). Anyway on the last day I thought this should be commemorated with pictures, so here you go.

The Last Day Ever


The Beginning of the end
Dad reminiscing on his memories...
All those tubes...
Easy as cake!
The last paper delivery!
Thinking
Were going home
A hard days work is over!

Study Says Eldest Children Have Higher I.Q.s

I just thought you all might be happy to know the results of this long-anticipated study. It's good news for me, Rachel, and Ella.

Published: June 21, 2007
The difference in I.Q. between siblings was a result of family dynamics, not biological factors.

Elisabeth (and Ella) pictures

Greetings, fellow Barnharts! Sorry for the delay in getting some Elisabeth photos posted, but things have been just a little bit crazy around here the past few days. I will (eventually) get some more posted on our photosite, but that involves downloading the photos to the upstairs computer and spending some time on that (and it's REALLY hot upstairs right now....last time I checked it was 85, and I have no desire to suffer through the sweltering heat if it's not absolutely necessary).

Anyways, here are a few pictures of the newest Barnhart and her sister, too. (actually, only one of Ella, but we'll get more of those, too) Hope you enjoy them, and we'll try to keep adding more as we take them. :)


Here's Elisabeth and Ella with Grandpa Gerard - he came up to visit with the grand-daughters on Wednesday (Elisabeth was only a couple of hours old!). Ella was pretty excited to get to see Grandpa - and the new baby!

And here's Elisabeth at home with Grandma Sandy. We really should get some photos of Ella with Grandma Sandy, because that's who spends the most time together. But they're usually outside doing fun stuff - going for wagon rides, playing in the park on the swings, or playing in the sprinkler (okay, maybe that was Dad and Ella, not Grandma Sandy and Ella, but it's outside!).

WHY AREN'T THE ELISABETH PICTURES IN MY DOMINION?????

Case Dismissed

My lawyers have advised me to drop the case of Barnhart and Barnhart vs. Barnhart. This was the case of the defective car sold by one Mr Ben Barnhart of Minnesota to Mr David Barnhart of Michigan, who was joined in the lawsuit by Mr Mike Barnhart (me), also of Michigan, who had an interest in the case because he was involved in repairing the defective car.

According to my lawyers, an out of court settlement was reached that I have been assured will provide well for David and I for many years to come. The only concern my lawyers have is whether or not the payer of the check, Milkweed Editions has sufficient funds in their account to cover the large amount.

I was looking forward to the spectacle of seeing my lawyers crush Ben's lawyer's in the courtroom, however in the spirit of family unity, I will fore go that pleasure to remain on speaking terms with Ben. So Ben, you're off the hook now. I hope Milkweed doesn't mind if you sign their checks.

Birthday Alert

It is almost Lisa's Birthday, Janell says she may come home this coming Sunday and bring an early birthday gift. I know Steve and Rachel will not be coming for obvious reasons. Ben, you are probably just going to be coming back from your conference. If your plane is flying over Michigan coming back to Minneapolis, maybe you could ask the flight attendant for a parachute so you could drop in on us. I already have my present, just have to wrap it. It's easy to shop when Lisa just sends me the link to Amazon for the item.

Buyers Beware!

David and I just spent Friday evening and most of Saturday removing his Honda's transmission and replacing a worn out clutch. What a job, but now I want to warn everyone to be careful not to buy any used cars from the same person. We got this car from a shyster in Minneapolis named Ben Barnhart. He obviously has no problem selling cars with problems to unsuspecting, innocent buyers. We are thinking of contacting the great trial lawyer, John Edwards, to see if he will come to the aid of us poor common folks. It would look great seeing him crush the shyster from Minneapolis in court to help us regain some of our hard earned dollars. Think of the boost that would give his campaign. However, being fair minded people, we will allow Mr Barnhart to attempt to defend his indefensible position in this great public forum known as BarnhartCentral. The ball is in your court, Mr Barnhart.

MoleBusters!

Moles wreaking havoc on your lawn? Then you need MoleBusters!, Nikki and Twyla are the dynamic duo of mole extermination. For a nominal fee, they will root out any moles you may have in your lawn. As an added bonus, you can play war games in the trenches they leave behind. Just think, get an old WWI helmet, some fake mustard gas, and you could recreate your own Western Front. Forget paintball games, get rid of your moles and play real war games in your own yard. Call today for your quote 1-800-GET-DIRT

Mom and Dad never told us about Rebecca

So, siblings, apparently we have a rival blogger in Europe. And she's aped our blog name for herself. I'm posting this screen capture as proof, in case Mom or Dad contact the CIA, NSA, and FBI and convince them to take down the site and its cached history.

I'm all for pretty pictures of morays, but right now we've got bigger fish to fry. Just who is this Rebecca Barnhart?

Social Morays

Andy, Lexi, Lisa and I decided to go Shedd Aquarium on Saturday, to see what we could see. Here's a little sampling of our aquatic adventure. (I was too busy taking pictures to catch any names, so I have no idea what most of these are called. Sorry.)

Even though its a little blurry, you still catch the ferocious look of this shark. One of them swam straight at me opening and closing his mouth. I know that glass is thick, but I decided it was time to move to the next exhibit.



Here's a funny little turtle with what looked for all the world like a pig nose.



Ah, the moray. He had some sharp little teeth in there. And a very lumpy looking face. Actually I feel like one of the staff just stuck his arm in a tan sock and drew some eyes and a mouth on it, just to see if anyone would fall for it. I'd like to believe these don't really live anywhere...waiting for their next victim.



"Hey lady, you got any snacks in that purse?"



He kind of looked stuck, but not altogether unhappy about it. In fact, he made it look pretty comfortable to be wedged between two rocks.



Moral of the story: I'm glad I grew up swimming in fresh water.

Ella and the "Big Boat"

Ella got to see the Coast Guard boat the Alder this morning. Steve called us from work (the boat was docked right across the street from his office) this morning and said that the boat was there, and he thought it would be getting under way soon. So, 15 minutes later (minus breakfast, but with enough time for a clean diaper and clothes!), we were out the door and headed to the dock. Steve met us and walked down to the boat with us, and Ella got to see the "big boat"!

Here's a photo of Ella and Steve checking out the Portage right behind the Alder at about 8:45am. It was beautifully sunny, but incredibly windy! Steve had the foresight to tell us to bring jackets. :)

Here's the Alder getting underway, with the Portage Lift Bridge in the background. Steve's office is just to the right of the bridge, so he is able to keep an eye on the boats coming and going and keep us posted. Steve and I actually saw this boat launched from the shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, a couple of years ago (before Ella). It's always fun to get to see it again, and be reminded of it's sheer size!

And here's a photo of Ella and me, with the Alder heading west on the Portage, probably on its way to Duluth, MN. (Hey, Ben, you should make a trip up there to see it!) What a beautiful morning it was for us to get out and see a big boat....it made Ella's day! And then we got to go out for a special breakfast, too. (breakfast pasties and pastries)

A picture of the new dog wire- sort of

I asked Daniel to take a picture of the dogs on the new high wire we recently installed in the backyard. Well, the dogs are in the picture, and some of the post is in the picture, but you don't get the total effect from the camera angle Daniel used. But since I am doing a month's worth of posts now and it is too dark to get another picture, this one will have to do. Once again, the old adage "if you want a job done right, do it yourself" is true again.

One of Daniel's Birthday gifts

This is one of Daniel's birthday gifts from me. Saturday we installed the twist grip throttle on the handlebar, the scrub brake (a hand made oak block that is forced against the rear tire) and a cover for the clutch/sproket on the engine. The mini bike is now relatively safe- it also has a kill switch on the handlebar. So all it needs now is a coat of fresh paint and riders to test their motoring skills.

David's New Telescope Tripod

As seen on this post, David has his new telescope tripod, he seems very happy with it, and says he is soon to prove that Pluto is a planet after all. (I would be happy too if someones who owe me money for this gift would pay up)