Beard Contest

Since I work in a very serious office in a very serious building with very serious people somewhere in our nation's capital, the guys and I decided to have a very mature beard growing contest. Although it was supposed to last until Monday, one of the guys insisted that we end a few days early, because he had something very important, for which, he explained, it would behoove him to be cleanly shorn. (This was obviously a date of some sort, but he sadly refused to divulge any details.)

The categories for scoring were fullness, amount of gray, Monet effect (i.e. looking good from far away, but not up close), length, nappiness, etc. (Unfortunately, there was no category for best potential mustache, since I feel that I am genetically predisposed to dominating.) After two weeks, the results are in:



In the end, I was rather pleased with the entire process, with the notable exception of the itching. Regardless, I came in second, according to a poll of the non-participating office members.

New Blog!

Hi Family - John and I are starting to settle in over here in Germany. We've set up a blog for our adventures ... posting will be very light until we have a good internet connection in our apartment (hopefully moving in next Friday, internet to be set up late the following week!)

http://johnandcynthia.blogspot.com/

Debris Out Front, view from the street

Debris Out Front, view from the street
Originally uploaded by Papa, aka Don

On returning from our travels, we encountered the results of a massive midwestern ice storm. Trees all over town were damaged or destroyed, and almost all lost limbs, in some cases many limbs. Our oak tree, which was very large, suffered the most on our property. This photo is one shot of the debris that was piled up out front by a man we hired to help with the cleanup. Almost every house on the street has a similar pile. FEMA is directing a large operation to pick up and haul away the debris, but it may take weeks or longer to collect it all.

happy 2008!

Let's all resolve to have more posting! Here are a few pictures from last week's feasting in Pennsylvania.

First, some Maletzes:





Some Brasuells:











And one individual wearing yellow suspenders: