The Beauty of a Deadline

My barbershop quintet just pulled of a nice performance last night. It was not perfect; there were moments of "what was that?" along with "Ooh, that was nice." Perfectly acceptable for our debut.

We had been discussing and planning and putting off this performance for about a year. I had a terrible work and travel schedule in 2010, and it just didn't work. In March this year, we settled on a date range and venue. In early May, we booked the date. Magically, committing to a date crystallized a lot of things.

"Axel F" would not be ready. "Ward, the Pirate" would not be ready. "Old Man Noah" needed some notes fixed. And so did every other song we were targeting, except for "Wings". Our concentration improved, rehearsals became much more focused.

We're a very democratic group, and rely mostly on self-correction. If I'm missing notes, it's my job to say so, stop rehearsal, and get them fixed. I can also work on them at home if I have a piano. From time to time, some notes will be consistently missed, and then someone else will point them out, and get them fixed. We don't spent much rehearsal time working on blend or diction. I don't think we purposely ignore them; we all just assume that everyone else is ok and doing his best.

A concert deadline changed that entire dynamic. We're comfortable enough with each other that we don't get offended when corrected. And we started doing that more. We started spending more effort on diction, taming the volume to help blend and pitch. We made some decisive changes on dynamics to give the music more shape. And we were able to hit 10-15 pieces of music in a rehearsal, instead of the usual 5 or so.

Our musicianship improved. Our focus improved. And the final product that we put out is worthy of a listen.

In the end, the deadline pushed us to bring our product from 85% polish to 100% polish. We could no longer ignore the unfinished bits and pieces. For an amateur group like ours, that made all the difference.

What's next? Preparing for another concert, of course. We already have the venue and parts of the program chosen. This one will be better. You'll find information on us and upcoming events at www.themorningstars.org.

Part of the Adult American Experience

I spent my childhood from 4-12 years old on 2.5 acres in rural Oregon (Barlow, to be exact). For a few years there, my parents had a large garden. The whole family was supposed to weed it. My dad was going to school at the time, and mom was supporting a family of 5 on a bus driver's income. Money was tight, and I suppose that was a pretty good reason to have a garden. I don't think that idea crossed any of us kids' minds, though.

The point is, I hated the garden. The sunflowers were pretty darn cool, but nothing else was worth caring about. The weeds grew, the veggies did ok, but it's because Roundup doesn't even kill things in this state. Everything grows in the Willamette Valley.

And now, I am proud to day that we have had 4 blueberry bushes for 6 years now. They hardly produce anything, but they are all alive. We have had 2 columnar apple trees for 5 years now. They were just about 2 ft tall when we planted them. Now they are 10 ft tall and are loaded with fruit. So we don't kill everything we try to grow. But our gardens have been a couple attempts that did not end well.

This year, I got the best spot in the back yard. The spot where the weeds grow fastest. And I tilled it and planted. Now I have sprouts and seedlings, which I now water with a soaker hose that I bought so they wouldn't die from the heat like our last garden did. And I am thrilled that they are mostly all growing.

The sweet cuc isn't too healthy. I'm hoping it recovers. The zucchini below seems to be a favorite of the slug population. This hill has lost its seedling leaves completely. The other 2 hills are fine, though. I'm hoping this one recovers.

The pumpkins are doing really well. I don't know what we're going to do with 4 pumpkin plants worth of stuff, but I expect we'll do something with them. The muncher cucs are don't too well, either. I don't know what their issue is. It may be that they are planted in a spot with too good of drainage. They seem to whither quickly. But they are looking better now than they were 5 days ago.

The yellow squash at the bottom appears to be happy, just not as robust as the zucchini or pumpkin. None of the cantaloupe have sprouted yet. Hope I get some - it's the only sweet thing I planted this year.

Disneyland et al: a trip report

Itinerary:

On Friday, we loaded up our SUV with snacks, clothes, kids, and DVDs and drove to Bakersfield. The next day we slept late and wandered down to Dolphin's Cove in Anaheim. We stayed there for a week - 2 days at Disneyland, 1 at California adventure, 1 at the La Brea Tar Pits, 1 in a limo in Hollywood, 1 at Universal, and the last we just left and drive down to Sea World. The next day we spent at Legoland, and after the park closed at 6, we drove to Sacramento. We got home Monday night at 10.

Playful impressions:

Our kids, as a group, were not overly impressed with anything except Legoland. Disney stuff was cool, but the coasters were too scary for the boys, and the boat rides were too tame for the girls. But - with boys aged 5 and 9 and girls aged 11 and 6, we never had to chase a wandering child, had no crying breakdowns in the parks, and lots of laughter all the time.

Our kids determined our schedule. We (Katrina and I) set a target for the time to leave the resort. When the kids were done for the day at the park, we left. That usually meant we spent 5 hours in the park and a total of 1 hour commute time. We would come home, the kids would play on the Wii, we'd have dinner and then once the sun was low in the sky we'd go swim until 9. This worked for us - no strollers, no lockers, and only 1 meal out a day. The kids were happy, and as long as Katrina and I remembered that the trip was for the kids to be happy, and they didn't care about riding every ride, we were happy. I left my laptop at home, Katrina brought her netbook, but we were plugged into the kids almost all the time.

Tips for travelers:

1) Stay local, preferably by somewhere served by an ART (Anaheim Resort Transit) bus. They are reliable, operate whenever the parks are open, and are cheaper for a family of 6 than parking at the Disney parking lot.

2) Get a place with a kitchen. Goodness, how nice. Breakfast? No hour long ordeals at Denny's. We bought some milk and cereal, and the kids were happy. Christian and I made french toast a few times. Dinners were pretty simple, too - a casserole one night, baked potatoes and baked bbq chicken another, takeout Chinese that lasted for leftovers for 2 days. Saved us a bunch of time and frustration (hungry? Get a hot dog from the fridge, kids!) and money, too.

3) The So Cal pass is great. We got 3 days at Disney, plus 1 each at Universal and Sea World for what ended up being about $30/kid/day. No trouble at all.

4) The kids each having their own DVD player in the car was fabulous. We had a 15 hour day in the car on the way down, and everyone was happy. Jake watched Empire Strikes Back 3 times in a row. We got the Phillips, for about $60 each. They're really nice units.

5) Fanny packs rock. I was used to going to grown up theme parks with Katrina, where everyone takes their backpack and leaves it on the far side of the roller coaster. At most of these places, you just keep it with you. With a fanny pack, the kids pack their own snacks, and when they're gone, they're gone. Easy. They aren't heavy, they aren't large, and they aren't expensive.

6) Old kids are awesome and fun. If you are going to Disneyland for the kids, don't take them young enough that you need a stroller. If you are going for you, whatever you want is cool. Our youngest was 5, 43" tall. He could ride almost every ride, walked by himself almost all day, and was able make good souvenir decisions with a little guidance. And he was happy. We did theme parks with babies (4 and 2 years old) and it just wasn't very good. This trip was great.

Impressions of parks:

Disney California is a great park. It reminds me of Disney Sea in Tokyo more than any other park I've been in. The fit and finish of the areas are pretty holistic, with the very notable exception of the disgusting lagoon at Paradise Pier. It's really gross. They've got to find a way to make it not look diseased. California Screamin' is also one of the best coasters I've ever ridden. Fast, lots of vertical, very smooth. When the park is completely built out (there are at least 3 major construction projects underway right now) it will be awesome. Food vending is well thought out, there's lots of open space, and there are some really good rides for everyone.

Disneyland is what it is. I'm not a huge fan - Thunder Mountain is a great ride, Space Mountain is a great ride, but I'm not impressed with the layout, the attention to detail in the different areas of the park, or the food. The food situation is especially bad here. Little shade, few places to sit inside, and little open space. In early May, it's not crowded at all. The summer would be horrific.

Universal Studios was my personal favorite. The Studio Tour is a must-do. It's fantastic. Amazing. 45 minutes of information and entertainment that's exciting for adults and not too scary for the kids. The shows are incredible, the rides are great, and the staff is amazing; really friendly, helpful, kind, all that stuff. They seem really happy to be at work, more so than anywhere else we went. They made the difference for me.

Sea World was really great, too. The mix of shows, zoo exhibits, and rides was a good mix for our kids. It's unfortunate that the best stuff (the Beluga, Dolphin, and Shark encounters) are so much extra. We knew about it, but did not plan to do it. We still had a full day, but if we go back with teens, we'll definitely do one of the extra things. The shows were great, too - the Sea Lion show was the best. Great theatre.

Legoland was the kids' hands-down favorite. We walked in, and spent 45 minutes building cars right away. Then 45 minutes looking at mini USA and the Star Wars models. Then we rode 1 coaster, ate a decent lunch, and split. Aria and I did the Knights Encounter which was really interesting and cool. Katrina took the other kids and did some other rides that were great. We finished the day with the kids shopping at the Lego Store there; each had saved enough for the end of the trip to buy something there. Everyone left happy.

The Limo ride was partially a gift from the grandparents. We were thinking of themed dinners and things, and as we flipped through the brochure, we saw a full-page ad for personal tours. I looked at Katrina, and told her I had never been in a limo. She said she hadn't either. So we brought the decision to the kids, and they thought it would be cool, too. So that's what we did. It was great - in 5.5 hours, we were picked up from the resort, taken to a good spot to see the Hollywood sign, spent almost 2 hours at the Kodak Theatre and walk of fame, drove around to see some celebrity homes and movie locations, and went home. Overall, less than the price of theme park admission, we did all the sight seeing stuff, and got to relax, too.

Great vacation - as good as our big road trip in 2008 to ID and UT or our almost-family vacation to New York and DC last year. No more from me on the topic - Katrina's got a lot more going up on her blog, I think.

Ruminations on a weekend without Katrina

I love to be with my kids. They are some of the kindest, funniest, smartest, awesomest people I know. And when Katrina is gone, I get them all to myself. She left after lunch yesterday to do some dry pack canning and work on a project with my mom.

I love my wife. She is a marvelous woman - great at being a woman, helping me be a man, and she's possibly the best mom I've ever met. And I never can seem to get much done when she's home. I think I realized why this weekend. It's because when I am home, she is more free to work on her digital life - the scrapbook, her budding interest in photography, blogging, etc. Which means that she is in the office most of the day. But I like her. And I gravitate to be near her. And there is nothing that I must do that is in that office, just someone I need to be with.

So the best way for me to get things done is to send her away. She asked if she could spend Friday night away, and I immediately was excited. After some more thought, I asked if she could spend Saturday night away as well. She said she could.

"Aha!" I thought to myself, "I can do some things that take longer than an hour without her knowing!"

So I made a plan - I'd set a reward in front of the kids with some clear requirements to get the reward, I'd help as much as was reasonable, and if they earned it, fine. If not, fine. Not my issue.

Requirement #1: clean the kitchen. Our kitchen is almost always usable. But things tend to collect here and there: school papers that haven't been returned, printed recipes that aren't in the book yet, crayons, napkins that haven't gotten back in the locked cabinet. That's not just us, right? So clean the kitchen meant that every single item that did not belong on the counter went where it belonged. Mopping the floor was not part of it. The counters would be cleared off and wiped clean.

Requirement #2: clean the garage. Enough that Katrina can park in it again. Which means, once again, sorting through a lot of things that have accumulated in her parking spot.

Requirement #3: complete phase 1 of a project she would enjoy when it was complete. This shall remain nameless for a little while. But I was confident she would love the result and that the kids and I would have a blast doing it.

As soon as Katrina left and the kids were all home from school, we had a pow-wow. I laid out the requirements. The reward would be a trip to the Portland Garage Sale at the Expo Center. I asked if they wanted me to push them. Nobody said yes. One kid said she wanted me to push some other kids. So that was it. We had a LOT of fun on the project. I'm confident the finished project will be fabulous. I just need another 10 hours here and there to complete it. We all had a lot of fun, and even the little guy stayed with it until the end.

Then it was time for cleaning. I was busy until 9:30 at night cleaning, making dinner (cheeseburgers and home made fries), and the kids worked until about 6. I thought somebody would konk out around 9, but at 10:45, all of them were still up and busy. So I send them to bed, played some football, did some laundry, and slept around 1.

By that point, the kitchen was done, and the garage had seen some major improvement. I figured the kids had an hour left in there, and it would be done. We all woke up around 8. I had breakfast, showered, and the kids, without a single word from me, got busy on the garage. 20 minutes after my shower was done, the garage was done. They got dressed, put something solid in their tummies (breakfast had been brownies I baked at midnight), and we took off about 11. The garage sale was pretty awesome. We're going back next year with a larger budget. The kids were patient, spent their $5 wisely, and even the little guy stayed right with me the whole time. No wiggling engaged in, no discipline needed. Awesome.

After lunch at our favorite locale hole-in-the-wall buffet, we've been hanging out. The kids made a stop-action Lego movie, and I'm about 10 minutes away from putting our attic stairs in. The hole in the ceiling is prepped, the measurements for how it will fold down are done. I just have to lift it up there and screw it in now. Then clean up, of course. The kids have 1 room to clean, and I have a couple loads of laundry to do to finish off the night.

And then, hopefully, I can finish another milestone or 2 before I collapse. Depends on that ladder, which is a must-do.

Triplett History: Finding my grandfather

Family history on my father's side has been easy - I saw a book that went back 200 years when I was in high school. Never thought much about it. Recently, I have done a lot of research into my mom's side. My maternal grandmother's ancestors were easy. My maternal grandfather's were not. Today the pieces come together.

First, the information I had 2 weeks ago: Born in 1903 in Poulsbo, WA, real name unknown, orphaned at 9 years old. That's it. I've been back and forth with my uncle a lot the last few days, and many things came up:

my G-grandfather's name was John Franklin Triplett. He died in 1916-17 in Spokane in a car crash. My G-grandfather and G-grandmother's marriage was a second marriage for both of them and he's the only child of that marriage.

Today, I spent the afternoon with my mother teaching her about the research I've done and how to do some of it herself. New things: my grandfather gave my grandmother a Bible in 1954 with his parents' birth and death dates. My grandfather has a couple half-brothers who died by drowning in the 1920s. My G-grandmother's full name (including her married name from her first marriage).

So - this morning I was able to search through Washington State's vital records and find John Franklin Triplett. He died in Spokane in 1917. I ordered his death certificate. This afternoon, after learning my G-grandma's name, I looked through the census of 1910. There they were: John F and Martha Triplett. 2 sons in their 20s, 1 son who was 11 years old. All born in Missouri. It matches a 1900 census I had seen before.

To sum up the information I have now about my grandfather: my grandfather's name was not Francis or Jack. It was John, like his dad. He was born in Nov, 1898, not 1903. He was born in Missouri, not Poulsbo, WA. He was orphaned at 19, not 9. He did not spent his childhood on the streets.

Next steps: marriage certificate for the G-grandparents and birth certificate for my grandfather. I call him little Johnny for now, until I see his birth certificate and know what his full name was. The trail is no longer cold. This 1/4 of my family tree will soon be filled in.

Glenn Family History, First Edition

So I've been working on the Sults, my great-grandmother's parents and immediate family. I thought, "What about Joel P Glenn, my grandma's dad?" So I Googled his name and Idaho. And immediately there was a page about him. Turns out the guy who lives in the house Joel built in 1910 is a big history guy in Council, Idaho. And he's published stuff.

So Joel went byJoe. He was a good singer. A bass, it seems. He and Cora Belle built a house in 1910 and lived there until 1924, when they sold it and moved to Toledo, Oregon. It's a few miles inland from Newport. I don't know why. Maybe feeding their 14 kids and keeping them sane all winter in a 24' x 24' house proved too much for them. "Let's go somewhere where we can let them play outside all winter, Cora." "Sure thing, Joe. I'll stop sharpening the butcher knife now. I won't be needing it after all." "That's good, dear."

Back to digitizing documents now - double-checking dates and names from hand-written records so I can roll it all up into something easy to digest.

Also - Sult update - I found where JT and Ann's homestead was. It's on the corner of Nasi Ln and Farm to Market Road between Roseberry and Donnelly. That creek right there is Boulder Creek.

Sult Family History - JT and Ann, part 1

I got bit by the family history bug, and now I'm infected. My grandmother is Amelia Kathryn Glenn. Her mother is Cora Belle Sult. Her mother is Grace Hall, her father is Charles Sult. Charles' parents are John Theodore Sult and Ann McCormac. The only history I have of my family that is written down is of JT Sult, Ann, their kids and grandkids. I have the family tree for the Sults, but I want to fill in their story. Since I have a start, I'm going to share what I've got, how I found it, and I'll add as I find more information.

This is from my mom's cousin, who gave a hard copy to us years ago. I took digital photos at my uncle's house last summer, and now I'm typing them up so they can be shared by the whole family. Here's the first part of it.

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John Theodore Sult and Virginia Ann McCormac were married at her home in Linn County, (Mound City) Kansas, April 25, 1878. They moved to his farm in Wilson County, near Fredonia, where the three oldest children were born. They sold the farm in the spring of 1885. Levi McCromac and J.T. Sult bought 150 head of cattle and prepared to go West.

In April they were ready to start from the home of A.J. McCormac, with Ann driving the team of mules. While they were loading, the team became frightened and ran, injuring Ann so that it was imp[ossible for her to make the trip. J.T. and Levi started on, leaving the family with her parents. They went as far as Kingman County, where his sister, Mrs James Reese, lived.

In July, twins were born. J.T. came back in the late summer and moved the family to Kingman County, where Laura May died, Nov 25, age 4 months. The next spring the family, with Theodore Sult, a nephew of J.T. started West again, with Ann driving the mules, J.T. the ox team, and Levi and Theodore the cattle. That summer they traded “old Bob” for Topay, a young filly, so that Charley, age 7, could help with the cattle. (Topay became a family institution; all the children and several grandchildren learned to ride on her. She finally died of old age about 1911.) They spent that winter in Wyoming, near Bushnell Creek, about 65 miles from Cheyenne. There was good open range here, and they bought hay for the cattle during the worst of the winter.

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Here's some more stuff I figured out by looking at birth dates, maps, and place names. Mound City was founded just 20 years before J.T. and Ann were married there. We don't know why they moved West. When Ann was injured hooking up the horses, she was 6 months pregnant with twins. They moved West in spurts - leaving Mound City for Fredonia (90 miles away) then selling the Fredonia farm and moving back near Mound City. Then JT headed 241 miles away with the cattle while waiting for Ann to heal and deliver their twins. When they left Kansas for good, they had 4 kids, the youngest was just 9 months old. It took them 2 years to move - 1 summer to get to Wyoming, another to get to Western Idaho.

I have more bits and pieces, but I'm going to add them as I go. For any family members, I'll be adding things in Google Docs, and I'll share them all with you if you're interested.