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Hollen

@hollenbarmer

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Enthusiastic about adventures big and small. 📍Swissvale, PA
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Buddy got his first church blessing at @eastlibertypresbyterian today, which also happened to be his fourth adoptiversary! taken in East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) by @hollenbarmer
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15 days ago
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Part two: Santander, San Sebastián, and Paris People have asked what my favorite part of this trip was. Although the most stunning part was the eclipse, I was most grateful for the warmth and patience of the people we encountered, who made every effort to understand my terrible Spanish and who allowed me to practice my French when their English would’ve been more efficient. It still feels like magic to speak and understand words I didn’t grow up with, and this trip was the most at ease I’ve ever been with both language and culture. Santander: the most perfect eclipse viewing spot for the main event, a monument I only later learned was to nationalist (f@scist) political prisoners who were tossed or threw themselves into the sea during the Spanish Civil War (Spain leaves these monuments up but removes them when they fall into disrepair or are vandalized), beers under our umbrellas on sunny eclipse day, laundry (a favorite stop on any European vacation) San Sebastián: a visit to the San Telmo museum for some Goyas, Semana grande parade for the assumption of Mary featuring the gigantes, the Virgin of Guadalupe/Black Madonna of Hondarribia, Saint Roch and his dog, a little walk on the Camino del Norte with horse friends, sampling Basque cider, Semana Grande folk music with a senior citizens’ choir, a rare moment of rest on a morning where I accidentally ordered three morning beverages for takeout (see note re: terrible Spanish), lovely afternoon in the shadow of Santa Maria Del Coro—one of the newer churches we saw this trip (1700s) Paris: wrapping up our trip with sidewalk brasseries and watching the canal swimmers by @hollenbarmer
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a month ago
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Part one of our 10-day, 5-cities trip: Bordeaux and Bilbao I looked at the calendar, and it’s been exactly a month since we left on this whirlwind journey. The main event was the eclipse on my birthday, but there was a whole lot before and after that: Bordeaux: staying out past 10pm on our first night (a jetlag record for us), beautiful old city gates, ice cream to stay cool, farmers market oysters and flea market finds, a trip to St. Emilion for a tour of some churches from the 1100s and 1200s, a wine tasting, and staggering monuments to soldiers killed in WWI and WWII. Bilbao: walking across the Bidasoa River from France into Spain, our only hostel experience this trip (I miiight be ready to leave hostel life behind), getting acclimated to the pintxo bar experience, a walk with a view, outside the Guggenheim, and a monument to women who pulled iron-laden barges down the estuary in the 1800s. by @hollenbarmer
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a month ago
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A stunning celestial gift on my 48th bday—my first total eclipse! I’d never had any great desire to experience this before, but my birthday+Spain+total eclipse was too good a trifecta to pass up. Miranda studied all the eclipse charts and mapped us out a perfect spot on a peninsula facing a lighthouse, and we enjoyed our little heat-resilient picnic under umbrellas before the main event. The whole experience blew my mind—from the eclipse itself to the collective effervescence as we all cheered for the coming of totality and returning of the light. Hoping to be around for my next bday eclipse in 2045! taken in Faro de Cabo Mayor by @hollenbarmer
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2 months ago
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One year ago today I got hit by a car while crossing at a crosswalk on Neville Street in Oakland. I am so grateful to still be here. This year has included 2 months of spontaneous couch naps, 2 months of concussion protocol, 3ish months of physical therapy, 2 MRIs, 1 magical cortisone shot, and some sessions with a therapist. It’s also been 12 months I’ve been here to spend with Miranda and Buddy, neighbor friends, church friends, dinner friends, work friends, old friends, new friends, and family. Every day—even every hard day, even every ordinary day—feels like a bonus. by @hollenbarmer
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3 months ago
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A much-needed restful weekend in a West Virginia cabin we first visited eight years ago with good old Silas, who was somehow better at chasing butterflies than Buddy. taken in Rowlesburg, West Virginia by @hollenbarmer
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5 months ago
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I posted last summer about my church’s work to learn about Sam, Savara, Jack, Nell, Poll, Sukey, Isaac, Frank, Het, and Maria—members of a family enslaved and sold by two of our founders during the late 1700s and early 1800s. For the month of February, we have put together a storywalk that presents milestones in the lives of the family paired with poems, prayers, and meditations. As Black History Month, Lent, and the events of the present day intersect, the timing is right to hold and consider all the reactions we have heard as people have heard this story for the first time: pride in the labor of enslaved ancestors who built Pittsburgh and the country, outrage that we continue to benefit from stolen lives and labor of enslaved people, lament for the UNfreedom the family experienced, sorrow for all the stories we will never know, motivation to dismantle systemic racism and white supremacy, and everything in between and beyond. The storywalk is a self-guided experience in our Trustees Room (down the hall on the right of our welcome desk). You can visit through February 28 Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 am-8 pm Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am-3 pm. Shout out to our Facing Systemic Racism Committee, Spiritual Life Committee, and Worship, Music, and the Arts Committee for making this happen ❤️ taken in East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) by @hollenbarmer
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9 months ago
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2025 was tough. Since July, I’ve been working through injuries I got from being hit by a car while walking. Then, in October, we found out Buddy’s persistent limp was due to a fracture in his toe. For the past three months, his recovery has required us to sedate him, restrict his movements, and lift him up and down the stairs. Buddy and I are two creatures who love life, adventures, and walks, so July-December felt sort of tragic. And true to life’s contradictions, 2025 was also a year filled with wonder, people and creatures I love, new beginnings, honoring and reckoning with the past, learning, and adventures in the midst of limitations. There’s nothing and everything magical about a new year, but this year I’m hoping it’s more everything. Here’s to plenty of good news in 2026. by @hollenbarmer
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10 months ago
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Lantern parade time! Another magical holiday walk with @pgh_callithumpian_society taken in Highland Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @hollenbarmer
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10 months ago
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Sunny Mon Valley walk down to Carrie Furnaces where we got married 🥹 taken in Rivers of Steel: Carrie Blast Furnaces by @hollenbarmer
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a year ago
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Celebrating spooky season with this awesome old house art of our own house and our own ghostie from @lkusterpgh 🥰 Also, what better time than spooky season to find your house ghosts? Join us for… 👻 October 21 - Restless Residence: A Haunted House History Workshop at the Edgewood Club (sign up to tell a story at bit.ly/SpookyEdgewood!). 👻 October 25 - Discover Your Old Home’s History: Find Your Old Home’s Ghosts edition at the Swissvale Library (Swissvale ghostie footage by @lkusterpgh too!) - contact the library to register by @hollenbarmer
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a year ago
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Whirlwind couple of days in NYC and it was all my favorite: - the African Burial Ground National Monument, a sacred site in lower Manhattan where as many as 20,000 enslaved people from the 1600s and 1700s are buried - the Tenement Museum, which made my house-history-loving heart sing: a look at the lives of a real family who lived in the building complete with censuses, newspaper clippings, and an allusion to the 7,000 residents whose banister is still in use! - Fraunces Tavern (est. 1762 and a headquarters for George Washington) for Miranda’s research on old taverns, plus oysters and dark beer Revolutionary War style - Coney Island! 🎢🌊 - the Museum of Modern Art - first Broadway show for both of us: Cabaret! - New York Public Library and its fabulous display of historical books and ephemera - Kisa Korean Restaurant, where every meal is a sampler platter - the Stonewall Inn for historic beers of a different revolutionary variety - staying at the super-cute and thoughtfully laid out Penny Hotel in Williamsburg, which has the best rooftop views Big thanks to @porterloves for hosting Buddy for our first people-only trip since Fall 2022(!!). taken in New York, New York by @hollenbarmer
4
a year ago
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