25 Random Things about Ollie

1. My full name is Olympia Barkolona (because I was adopted at a garage sale raising money for Amy's youth orchestra to play at the Barcelona Olympics).
2. My mother was an American Eskimo (like Tris and Izzy) and my father was a cocker spaniel.
3. I am a beggar of treats.
4. I used to sleep in Dave and Julie's bed until they bought one too high for me to jump up on.
5. I nearly died two years ago. That's when they brought home the Corgi. Gee, thanks, guys.
6. I used to love to chase balls in the backyard at Cedar Hill.
7. I hate riding in cars. I become panic stricken, shaking and crying.
8. I hated going to veterinarian Chris Rose, but I don't mind Purfect Paws Pet Resort here in Granbury.
9. When I had my first visit to the vet as a puppy, Dave wasn't sure if I was a boy or girl. Duh!
10. I am on a special diet that controls my protein intake to protect my kidneys.
11. I can't control my toilet habits as well as I used to, but I refuse to wear a diaper.
12. Although Mom and Amy brought me home from the garage sale, I am considered Dad's dog because I stayed on his approval.
13. Mom never cleans up after my messes. Congratulations, Daddy Dave!
14. I still enjoy a walk, but I can't keep up with the wiggle-bottom Corgi.
15. I am almost deaf, although I can still hear if people whistle loudly or clap their hands.
16. I weight 22 pounds, which is what I've weighed most of my adult life. I'm not a fatso like the Corgi.
17. I have cataracts and see only very hazily. I can distinguish light and darkness but that's about it. I can still smell a treat from across the house.
18. I have never been crate trained and I ain't startin' now.
19. I have always cleaned myself like a cat.
20. In human years I would be 119 years old.
21. I still have all my teeth.
22. Veterinarian Rose "prophesied" that I could live to be 20. Oh my!
23. Mom has used my name as a password for her work computer.
24. I still eat and drink out of the same bowls I had when I was first adopted. At my age you appreciate antiques.
25. My favorite treats are Greenies -- and do I ever need them. My bad breath can peel paint.

If You Had Only One Day to Live

When I told my Dad that we planted three trees in our front yard, he told me the story of an old friend of the family who was asked once, "What would you do if you only had a day to live?" His response, "I'd plant a tree."


We planted two live oak trees on the south side of the driveway and this one on the north side.


The landscaper had to rig up these bubblers to the sprinkler system -- one for each tree.


"Blessed is the one whose ... delight is in the law of the Lord ... He is like a tree planted by streams of water (do sprinklers count?) which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1) Not a bad day's work.

The Big Six-O

February 23 and Julie hit the big Six-O. She set a beautiful table for a birthday party for a number of our friends who have February and March birthdays. She was especially proud of the centerpiece.


"Do I look sixty?"

What I'm Reading

Just finished Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers. I highly recommend it. It's an entirely different look at what truly makes for success in people. Turns out high achievers aren't that inherently different from you or me except for the opportunities they received from others. Behind the story is the hand of Providence, although Gladwell doesn't go there in the book. But there's no other explanation for the miraculous timing of "circumstances" that truly enable the wonder kids to emerge and blossom.

25 Random Things about Julie Barnett

1. Charlotte (the spider in Charlotte's Web) called her egg sack her "Great Work." I consider our three kids our "Great Work," and they make me proud.

2. I'm constantly surprised that my husband of 34 years still loves me and finds me interesting.

3. I usually vote a split ticket. I assume that there must be at least one damn Democrat worth voting for.

4. Some nights I wake up worried that we won't be able to get Michael through high school.

5. I've always hated being tall.

6. I spend far too much time each year figuring out a way to avoid cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

7. I think my son sort of understands me.

8. My only sibling divorced me.

9. I feel emotionally naked if I don't have a list of things to do.

10. My left leg is longer than my right leg and makes me throw my right leg when I walk.

11. I've visited 48 states (North and South Dakota beckon) and 20 foreign countries.

12. I actually LOVE dried beef gravy even though I know what the military calls it.

13 I wish I hadn't worried so much about money when the kids were young; I now worry about the effect of that worry on the kids...

14. I think morning people are annoying. They are so over-rated and perky.

15. I go crazy when the Ohio State Marching Bank performs Script Ohio. Watching the tuba player dot the I is almost a religious experience for me.

16. I can't whistle.

17. I like to make up Life Rules. For example, at what point can a woman hire a maid and feel guilt free? (When she makes $50K or more a year.)

18. My absolute love and adoration of my beautiful daughters may be one of my best kept family secrets.

19. I have trouble thinking of random things about myself because I live according to my own PLAN and don't think randomly.

20. Woe to anyone who interferes with my PLAN.

21 Being Trevor, Ty, Caroline, and Erik's grandmother is daily serendipity. I didn't know I could love little people this much again.

22. I have no real regrets.

23. I had gastric bypass surgery and lost 80 pounds.

24. My favorite author is Jane Austen; my favorite historical character is Alexander Hamilton.

25. I marvel about how God has worked out even the details of my life. My life has been better than my dreams.

25 Random Things About Dave Barnett

I've just finished reading daughter Jill's blog where she has this wonderful post about 25 Random Things. I guess it's a facebook thing. So, I thought I would give it a try. Here they are in no particular order.

1. I am deeply impressed with each of my three children.

2. I am married to the sweetest woman I've ever known and love her more than my life.

3. In my first 30 years, I moved more than 35 different times.

4. I have 16 years of higher education.

5. I've been fired from every adult job I've ever held. (I was self-employed while in the professional ministry.)

6. In elementary school, I was always the class clown. In high school, I was voted "Most Talented."

7. I had six months of piano lessons as a boy from my Aunt Naomi, but I would play more than hour a day, making up music and chord progressions.

8. I was a top secret Russian language analyst during the Vietnam War (US Air Force).

9. I am a morning person.

10. My first dog was a cocker spaniel named Rusty who disappeared one day and I never saw again.

11. My middle name is Kenneth, named after an uncle who was a doctor.

12. Growing up I wanted to be a medical doctor, but gave it up because I fainted at the sight of blood.

13. The first girl I ever "made out" with I later learned had tuberculosis.

14. I've been to 46 states and 15 foreign countries.

15. Favorite food: steak.

16. The first time I flew in a private plane was with a guy named Dave Death (his last name was Morte, French for death).

17. I am a real Kentucky Colonel.

18. My greatest achievement is helping my Dad tell his story ("The Preacher from Whiskey Ditch").

19. Craziest thing I ever did: Julie and I riding a motor scooter around Nassau on our honeymoon; no helmets, driving on the left side of road, and having never driven a scooter.

20. Biggest regret: that I didn't fly home from Australia to attend my grandmother's funeral.

21. I've never taken any of the assessments I've created.

22. I was a radio talk show host in Dallas Fort Worth (not to be confused with a sports broadcaster by the same name).

23. My earliest ancestor on my mother's side was an 18th century Presbyterian minister who gave piano lessons to help support himself.

24. My favorite authors are John le Carre and Ken Follet.

25. My greatest desire is to show others the faithfulness of God in spite of my failures and frustrations.

Happy Birthday Ollie

Today is Ollie's 17th birthday.


Although she's got bad cataracts and can't hear, her appetite is good and on her good days she enjoys a walk.
When I took her as a puppy to visit the vet for the first time, I asked Dr. Rose how long she might live. He said, "She might live as long as 20 years." At the time I thought he was being optimistic. But today it's entirely possible. Our vet here however tells us that people should not wait until the dog is suffering pysically to consider euthanasia. Dogs are very social animals and when they become blind and deaf they retreat into themselves and suffer in ways humans don't really understand. I do see this on occassion. She will snap at you when you reach out to pet her because she can't recognize what's going on. Many days she will stay in her room and not come out except to look for food. It must be very lonely for her in many ways. But she's led a long and wonderful life and has given our family a lot of love and fun times.