Corona hair, don't care.

Most of the time, I'm pretty thankful for having a healthy head of hair, even if it did turn gray more than a decade ago and my hairline seems to be making space for my forehead. Large foreheads are signs of great intelligence, by the way.

But in these days of closed barbershops and warming temperatures, having long, flowing locks is not quite as desirable as it might have been in days of yore. To wit, this shaggy, overgrown mess.

So we bought a pair of clippers and Olivia watched some Youtube how-to videos and then I described how the barbers usually cut my hair and we talked about what kind of hair style I wanted. And then I thought, why don't I make this more democratic and let people vote for the haircut I should get. So here, then, are the three options.

The Caesar

This is a pretty classic cut. Short on the sides and back, and relatively short on top. You can add some pomade and give it a little shape, or step out of the shower and do nothing more than run a comb through it. Transitions well from day to night.

The fauxhawk

An excellent option when you want to look mean. Or you want to look like you're trying to look mean.

The tonsure

Let us not think of ourselves, brothers and sisters, but let us take on the vows of prayer and poverty and quarantine to our monasteries and nunneries where we can bake bread and make jam and wait until the world is safe for habitation once again. Amen.

Chrome dome

We have too much, and sometimes you just have to let it all go. Purge yourself of unwanted items. Marie Kondo asks us to look at every object in our homes and ask, "Does this spark joy?" And sometimes you have to look at your hair and say, "Does my hair spark joy?" And the answer is sometimes no. So in those times, it's necessary to take it all away and start over afresh.

Conclusion

Of the haircut options, let me know which one you think I should choose and I'll ask my personal stylist to give me that cut. Although now that I think about it, I really hope you all choose the last one, because I'm not sure I can put the hair back on at this point. I probably should have thought of that before...

And, of course, many thanks to my lovely hair stylist!

Snurfing Season is Here

It’s that time of year when Barnharts all around the world get out sleds and wax their sno-tubes. And yes - Surfboards!  All four of the boys got a chance to see what it was like for Grandpa back in his days of youthful bliss.  Maybe this is the year that we’ll make up some new boards after the original pattern to carry the sport on to the next generation.

Boundary Waters camping trip

We started the trip Friday evening with a light rain, the wind in our face, and just 1 hour of daylight to paddle across 3 lakes and portage our gear across 2 short trails to read our campsite. Not an auspicious beginning, but we didn't let that slow us down.

No Barnhart camping trip would be complete without large fires to relax around. This is a campsite on Gaskin Lake, which is where we spent most of the camping trip.

And the sun did manage to poke through the clouds at some point.

We made a day trip over to Winchell Lake (the next lake over from Gaskin) and found a small creek on a hillside. Climbing up the creek was a little tricky, but we forged a path through the undergrowth...

...and found great rewards in the form of beautiful wigs.

Here Daniel models the latest fashion in men's hair products.

Some rainy days at camp, but fortunately we had a rain tarp to cover our spacious living room.

After the rain comes the beautiful sunsets...

...and the silly faces.

Our last morning in camp was a perfectly sunny day, with mist rising off the water.

David and I spent a lot of time capturing ripples on the still water.

The final picture as we complete our trip. Looking forward to showers, sleeping in comfortable beds, and getting back to our loved ones.

Ghoulish Lisa!

'Twas Tuesday night, before Halloween,

And Lisa was nowhere to be seen!

'Tis concert night at R.P. High;

Who’s to play the piano, asked I?

Why, all I see is a skeleton ghoul,

With painted face and a cute tutu!

What’s that? The ghoul at the piano, I see!

What has he done with my Lisa Marie?

But lo, it’s Lisa, dressed up as a ghoul;

Accompanying the choir, all dressed up too!

Of course, this was the way to be seen,
On this Tuesday night, before Halloween!

Poncho

In looking for photos that would help in my trip east, to find my Mom's roots, I came across a few pictures of the "Bag of Worms," as Dad used to describe Poncho.  I really can't remember much about this horse (how Grandpa Schotts happened to come by it, why he thought I'd want a horse, how long I had it, and what happened to it) but I think the expression in Poncho's eyes says it all!  Date?  I'm thinking the summer of 1972 or 1973.  The field was an empty one, just to the north of the house at the car lot, on Whitehall Rd.

Mr. Boogie Woogie

Mr. Dan Goes to Washington

Some of you may recall last fall that I traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to help out with some research that was being done after the extensive flooding. As a result of those experiences, my classmate Emilie and I ended up coauthoring a poster that was accepted for presentation at the American Psychological Association annual conference in Washington, D.C. So, a couple weekends ago I traveled to Washington, D.C. to present the poster. It was basically summarizing graduate student's experiences from the post-disaster research we had done last fall. The school gives a travel grant to you each year, which I used for this trip. So I basically got a free trip to D.C. Not having been there before, I used to opportunity to travel around the city and enjoy time with friends.






This was taken at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. They are hundreds, if not thousands, of the shoes discarded by Jews as they were unknowingly led to their death in the gas chambers. It was by far the most moving part of the entire museum for me. A sea of shoes.



This is my friend Trevor Olson and I. Trevor is a licensed psychologist who received his Psy.D. from Regent University (a similar program to Wheaton's) and was a classmate of my dissertation chair (Dr. Ward Davis). Trevor and I met out at His Mansion Ministries, which he worked at for four years as a counselor. Trevor and I became fast friends out there and spent much time in conversation and cycling the hills together for exercise. It was great to reconnect with Trevor and soak up D.C. with a good friend.



The White House at night.



This was a subway I traveled in that I just thought looked really cool.





Lincoln Memorial at night and again during the day. He's huge.



A favorite painting I found while visiting the National Gallery. I also visited the National Archives and saw the US Constitutions, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. Pictures weren't allowed in there.




The National Mall, which contains the Capitol at one end and the Lincoln Memorial at the other. Situated between them is the Washington Memorial. The size of this place can't really be emphasized. It takes a long time to traverse it from one end to another. Easily a couple miles long.



Got to get up close to the Capitol. It's pretty impressive in person. It also felt a little bit fake, because when you see it in pictures your whole life its a little surreal to be there right in front of it. Sort of like - "is that really where everything happens?"






Washington Memorial


So anyway, there you go mom (and anyone else that cares to see what I've been up to lately). Congratulations to the newest member of the Barnhart/Ziemelis clan, Noah Martin! This little guy is the true man of the hour!