The Bad Boys

I'm back from South Africa, and it seems that Barnhart Central went on hiatus while I was away. Or maybe everyone was just too busy adding their comments to my blog posts over at Bonavox. Can't blame you for that, I guess.

I've posted a lot of trip pictures on my blog, but I wanted to share one special picture with all of you. It seems as if David had a prescient vision of Cape Town in his younger days, as you can see below. Everywhere we went, we saw trucks filled with Bad Boys, though I was unable to confirm whether they were in fact drinking and if large rocks were strategically placed before their vehicles. Fortunately for all the Bad Boys I saw, none seemed to come to a tragic end during my time of witness.

A blog is born

Most of you know that I'm heading to South Africa for a couple weeks, visiting Matt and Leah and my friends Loren and Kelly (who are visiting at the same time). If you didn't know before, well, now you do.

All of this imminent travel has me thinking that I'd like to keep track of my travels and share that with as many of you as are interested (or as many of you who are having trouble sleeping at night). As frequently as possible, I'll be showing photos and stories at my new blog, Bonavox. I hope you enjoy following along.

Adios!

A New Home for Grandma's Deer!

Wouldn't Grandma be pleased to see her deer at Dad's! They look quite natural, don't they? Thank you, David and Amber, for giving Grandma's gentle critters a new home, since she went on to her Heavenly home.

Intrepid Explorations

There comes a time in a man's life when he needs to see for himself the brutal nature of the wilderness, smell the alpine scent of conifers climbing the sides of mountains, test the mettle of his survival skills against the bitter cold of an arctic landscape. And that time is today. By the time you read this, I will be trekking down the frozen runway of the Minnehaha Creek, a rugged, untested wilderness that runs through the heart of South Minneapolis (about 30 blocks from my house).

Along with about a dozen other explorers, I'll be hiking east on this frozen wasteland as we try to maintain our provisions and ignore the ridicule and taunts of joggers and bicyclists (running and biking along the paths that border the creek). With fortune on our side, we will journey the five miles to our overnight destination, where a base camp will be established so that we might endure the bitter, dark hours of the night (also, this location is where Di Noko's Arctic Outfitters has confirmed they can deliver victuals for our sustenance).

So as you nestle into your warm beds tonight, send warm thoughts my way. Chances are I'll be trying to warm myself by the sled dogs, though I'm not sure they'll take too kindly to me. Please pray that I'll make it safely to morning. Because we have brunch reservations at a breakfast cafe nearby, and they're really mean if you show up late.

Birthday Skates for the UPer!

In the land up above, lives a fella we love,
Where the cold, snow, and ice do abound.

When the ice is like slate, one can put on their skates,
And commence to go ‘round and around.

But this fella, you see, has a problem, oh me!
For he hath not the skates, yet, to don.

And the kiddos, oh dear, on the ice can’t go near,
For there’s no one to help them skate on!

So what say, this Monday, for his birthday, this Friday,
That we help put this fella in skates?

Then Daddy and all, (who doubtless may fall:)
On the ice can then frolic and play!

A cuter toothbrusher

While Twila and Nikki are pretty cute pretending to be people, I happen to think this little person's obsession with tooth brushing is even cuter. She really loves having her teeth brushed. And brushing your teeth. 

If she ever sees one of us brushing our teeth, she just stands and watches with a funny little half smile on her face, and then after a few moments demands to brush your teeth for you. Which doesn't actually clean your teeth, but it keeps her on your lap for a while. 

Doggie Dentals

Twila has been complaining to Nikki about her bad breath, apparently, because I walked downstairs this evening to find Nikki sitting next to her dog bed, brushing her teeth.

She was careful to get back behind some of the hard-to-reach spots.

I believe the dark evenings have thrown off their internal clocks and Nikki thought that it must be time to get ready to go down and get in their cage.

The Mystery Room

With all my free time these days, I'm doing a little excavating in the house and turning up some interesting wallpaper. As Mom might say, "You get three guesses which room this is, and the first two don't count."

Finally got a haircut...

Well guys, I decided to get a haircut. Here are the before and after pictures:

I'm pretty happy with it...in fact I actually really like it. It's a good haircut.

Winter Wonderland (finally!)

After all the snow we've had the past couple days, I thought it very fitting to post some pretty snow pictures. It's supposed to warm up to the 40's again by the end of the week, so I'm glad I was able to take some pictures before the snow disappears again! These were all taken just outside of our apartment. Does anyone else have some good snow pictures?

I AM RELINQUISHING CONTROL

The title makes this post pretty self-explanatory.

However, we have a bit of an issue with changing back the blog URL. It appears that my Administrator privileges have been revoked (no doubt by David) and therefore I don't have the ability to change back the blog URL.

But there is good news. Anyone who does have Admin privileges can simply go to their Blogger Dashboard and then after clicking on Settings on the Left Menu Bar, have the ability to change the URL back to BarnhartCentral.blogspot.com.

So there you go.

I AM TAKING OVER

Be prepared to be impressed

I'm giving you all notice in case you need to work on your superlatives before you walk into the newly painted kitchen at 1208 W. Giles Rd.
Wow! Awesome! Beautiful! or Stunning! might be OK for most paint jobs, but for this one you may need to turn it up a notch or two. Some may need to learn new words of awe and amazement in foreign languages in case the English ones are not strong enough. Or you may have to create your own English words by connecting appropriate words together such as "Wowcoloreriffic!" or "Amazawondertastic!" I'm sure college educated students and especially English majors will be up to the challenge.
I didn't post a picture so the full force of the new paint job will hit you all at once when you enter the door.

Peter Practicing Pillar Production

In case you've had trouble with your towers lately (maybe you're a little rusty on your refuge rearing), I'd like to offer this challenge in advance.

Peter and the girls have been delving deep into design with Duplos to see who can make the finest fortress and the highest high rise. So be prepared to build big over the holidays if you want to keep your status as the coolest ________ (uncle/aunt, grandpa/grandma, nephew/niece, guy/girl off the street, etc.).


Don't worry if you forget to travel with your tinker toys - they'll work with whatever is at hand. Smartphones stack to make spires; minty fudge makes great monoliths. So grab what's handy and start building.

Eight or nine paint samples later...

Those of you who've visited me at any point over the last 2 years know I've been putting some long, hard thinking into what color to paint my living room. I picked out some samples and painted a swipe or two on the wall. Then picked out some more samples, and some more, and so on. This is what I was living with for awhile.

One of my friends decided the paint sample splotch was actually a flag for the Nation of Barnhart, which I quite liked. But this past Thanksgiving I finally chose a color. A whole new color! Not even one of the samples! I'm pretty pleased with the way it all turned out, and here are some photos of the living room along the way.

You can't really see it here, but I've just finished painting the ceiling.

I painted a coat of primer on the walls—after washing them. Mom, you'll be ashamed to hear that was the first time I'd washed these walls since I moved in 3 years ago!

Once I had clean, white walls again, I couldn't resist the temptation to paint a few more samples. The bottom color (which is the color I decided to go with in the end) is a 65% tint of the color above it.

And here's the final coat.



And a nighttime picture of the Christmas tree. I knew Lisa would have thrown a fit if I hadn't included this one.

I'm Thankful (Turkey)

The daily barrage of bad news from around the world can be pretty depressing, economic instability, wars, murders, revolutions, earthquakes, hurricanes, and the endless chatter of politicians seeking office who criticize those who already hold offices in government. Then on top of that are the personal conflicts and disappointments that seem to follow us around where ever we go. All of that and more has to be put on hold for at least one day of the year when we stop and say in spite of all that is bad, I am thankful for what I have in my life both good and bad. We of course only want good, but have to acknowledge that the bad either makes us stronger or makes us rely more on God or helps us sympathize with others who are having the same problems, or perhaps is for no other reason than to show grace under distress to those watching us.

This Thanksgiving Day we need to look for the secret code words hidden in our feast that represent our thankfulness. It starts out easy- Turkey being the obvious one- I'm Thankful as I eat my turkey. Then please pass the Green Bean Cassarole because I have Generally Been Content with my life this year. I think I'll have some Mashed Potatoes as my Mind Ponders all that I have been blessed with. And of course a Piece of Pie only remind me of my Peace about my Place in this world.

So wither you are being Thankful for Turkey today or your Tuna Fish sandwich is making it Tough to Find your blessings, if you are a Barnhart reading this blog, I think you will be able to come up with something to be thankful for. Oh- and may I have another helping of Brussel Sprout Cassarole? because we Barnharts are Simply Content people today.

Fresh Faces

The kiddos have been growing like crazy up here...I'm guessing it's all the tasty produce from our abundant garden harvest this fall. They're learning, growing, helping, and working, besides the obligatory playing, every day.

Ella's in 1st grade this year, minus 2 front teeth (working on a third), and has recently gotten glasses (which she doesn't always wear in her pictures). She's reading copious amounts of books - whatever she can find and way above her grade level. It's nice to hand her a book and say: "Read this to your sister/brother, please!"

Elisabeth is doing pre-school stuff as Ella's been working, and she's easily at kindergarten level in her knowledge base...she still has all of her teeth, and is eagerly awaiting the day when she will be able to get glasses (like big sis).

Peter is stretching out...he's grown quite a bit taller, and thinned out a lot (but still weighs in at a hearty 35 pounds). His languages skills are dramatically improving (full and complete sentences, with some good verb conjugations) - and he's even begun actually speaking on the telephone.

And Andrew....hmmmm.....what do we say about a 3 month old who mostly eats and sleeps (and needs diaper changes). He does LOTS of the eating (he's nearing 20 pounds, by my best guess) and sleeping (last night he did 9.5 consecutive hours!). He smiles, coos, gurgles, holds onto things that get near his hands, and LOVES to be held (by mom/dad/Ella/Elisabeth/Peter). He's been a fabulous addition to our growing family.

So, here's the requested, much looked-for photo of the Hancock Barnhart crew. Enjoy!

Just Add Caption, Continued

Just add caption (There goes Peter Cottontail)

Toadies

For some time now, I've been aware that there are toads living outside my window. I think I became aware when I came home one day to find one sitting on my windowsill, staring blankly into my room. In contrast to that one-time outpouring of curiosity, the toads are usually very silent and very well-hidden. In fact, I rarely see them, despite looking out my window for them every day. Today when I opened my blinds, it appears that one was in the middle of a game of hide-and-go-seek:

I decided to look around a little more closely and I discovered that the toad population was in fact much higher than I had originally imagined. This one is the smallest toad. He had perched himself on a rock, undoubtably looking for the hiding toad.

His cousin is a little bigger and was hiding under a leaf: 

And of course, the grandaddy. This one's eyes quickly scared me out of the open window and back into my room. He looks like he's about two croaks away from warping into a small dragon and flying around my window-well belching fire and brimstone. I'm going to have a difficult time mustering much sleep at night knowing that he's about 10 inches away from my head. He didn't give the least effort in attempting to hide.