Can't See The Flowers For The Weeds. . .

I've never had a green thumb. In fact, I kill even the hardiest house plants merely by my presence. A few years ago Kristin staged an intervention and planted some hardy perennials in my front yard and, surprisingly enough, they actually keep coming back!

Unfortunately, the weeds keep coming back too.

It's hard to enjoy the beauty of the flowers when they are surrounded by weeds so I've decided it's time to take serious action. If I can saddle and bridle a horse then, surely, I can annihilate a few weeds, right?? Right??? On Monday I hope to post at least one picture of my progress.

In the meantime, any and all advice is welcome. . . Anyone???

What If. . .

It's no secret that our business isn't something I would have chosen for myself. In fact, when I'm feeling snippity about it, I refer to it as "Rob's dream, not mine". I would MUCH rather do this than work for someone else, however, so I find ways to make it better (that usually includes some kind of spreadsheet. . . ). I gave Rob a metaphor one time to help him understand why I don't get as excited as he does about certain aspects of the business (the parts of it that he loves usually make me want to throw up just a little. . . ).



IF we had taken MY path, and, say, I started directing a children's choir right after college and it became fairly successful and it took a huge amount of time and dedication but it required Rob's willingness to play the piano, would he be willing to do it??? He would be very capable of doing it. He would even be very good at it. But would he love it? I'm pretty sure we all know the answer to that one.



This metaphor has been very helpful over the years in communicating to Rob why I often feel the way I do about certain aspects of the business. It's not meant to make him feel bad or to pat myself on the back or to be a Martyr, it just helps him see my point of view a little clearer. Most of the time all I have to do is say, "Children's Choir" and he kind of gets it. Besides, it's not like I actually had that opportunity or would have taken it if it had presented itself. . .



The point is, last evening I had one of those "what-if" moments at The Civic Center. Rob and Kurt were running sound and lights for a presentation called RAD or Race Against Drugs. I sat next to Rob at the mixer and watched him follow the script, adjust the faders as necessary and cue the music without skipping a beat. He was good at it but he wasn't enjoying it. I sat there and watched about 70 kids sing and dance and act their little hearts out while their director very capably kept everything flowing. The thought crossed my mind more than once that this very well could have been a path I might have taken 20 years ago. (Just for the record, I'm very thankful that I didn't!)



After the show, I asked Rob if he would have been willing to run sound three or four times a week for me if this had been "my dream". The look on his face and his hesitation said what his words couldn't. We both laughed about it as we realized it was a good visual for the metaphor I've used over the years about children's choirs.



I honestly don't regret the way my life has turned out and the paths I've chosen. In fact, most of the time I'm very thankful for what I do and the opportunities I've been given. If I could go back 20 years, knowing then what I know now, would I do anything differently? Probably a few things (like take better care of my yard!!) but I wouldn't change the end result. . .

Final Project. . .

One of the only difficult things about homeschooling Zach has been keeping track of credits for his high school transcripts. He doesn't go off to PE class so I have to think about the days he gets exercise or works out in some way so I can gather enough "hours" for a PE credit. It's the same way with Art and Technology. While we do quite a bit of intentional work in these areas, one of the pros of homeschooling is that real life experience can count for at least part of the credit.

This year Zach has worked with Rob quite a bit out in the shop. First of all, they built the shop. Zach learned all about planning, constructing and even electrical work. He also helped build cases and had a hand in just about every project Rob has worked on in the last 12 months. He has measured, cut, nailed and constructed. I believe he's learned a great deal in the process. I have no problem giving him a credit in Wood Shop this year.

All of that said, I am considering this latest venture Zach's Final Project. I may even have Rob give him a final exam! I won't go into any detail until the project is finished but here are a few hints:

I'm thinking this will look good in his portfolio!!

Family Camp at Quaker Hill 2010 . . .

F.T.S. . .

Well, it looks like my truck has Flat Tire Syndrome. I've had at least 6 flat tires in the year that I've had my truck so today I decided to take matters into my own hands. When I realized that my tire was once again totally flat, instead of relying on someone else to rescue me, I read the manual and changed my tire. In all honesty, Zach did a lot of the work and the neighbor across the street supervised and gave advice but the point is, I no longer have to worry about getting a flat when I'm alone! Of course, I still have to rely on my good friends at Les Schwab to patch up my tire, but it's good to know that I can change it myself in a pinch!!

And with this post, I can officially say my blog is caught up!!! For now. . .

The First Outdoor Event of the Season. . .

Our busy season has officially arrived. Although it feels like our busy season never really ended since we've managed to stay pretty busy all winter! I'm hoping that our first event of the season sets the tone for the rest of the summer. The weather was perfect, the event was well organized, the equipment operated exactly as it was supposed to, everyone was nice and no one was crushed by our line array or canopy. Those are pretty much all of my requirements!!


It took us longer than usual to set everything up because we are using a new trussing system for our roof. It's not much different but it's a little bigger, a bit heavier and it has corner blocks instead of a steel plate holding the corners together like we've used in the past. Basically, it's stronger and prettier! It's still a lot of work to set up!


We started the set up on Thursday and finished it up on Friday morning. The event was also a fundraiser for the Humane Society so Gloria spent a lot of time visiting the animal trailer and giving me this pouty look:


The finished product still makes me smile and say, "wow". . .

The event was held at Hawk's Stadium and was the second annual "Blues, Brews and BBQ's". . .

We ran sound for the event last year but I didn't enjoy myself nearly as much. . . You'll have to search the archives if you really want to know why but I believe we had 6 events in 3 days. That might have had something to do with it. Oh yeah, and it was about 100 degrees outside and I was in a van stuck in road construction with no air conditioning and windows that wouldn't roll down. And a mean man made me cry. Yeah, this year was much better!!!

Todd and Gino. Todd is the GM of the team and Gino is hilarious!!

The bands were all very happy with the set up. . .

Day 2 started bright and early on Saturday morning. . .

We had more happy blue's bands. (Can blues singers be happy??)

There was a bbq wings eating contest. . .

(this guy REALLY reminded me of Gregg Koskela!!):

We eventually had to take everything down. Steph came out to help us and passed the apprentice test by pulling out a stake all by herself!! Good job, Steph, practice up. . .

It was hard work but Steph was a trooper. Even Gloria chipped in and made the tear down go a little faster. . . The more, the merrier!!

This stage trailer that Kurt and Rob built 2 years ago has served us well. This will be it's third season and, with the exception of replacing some of the plywood decks, it's holding up amazingly well!!

The festival season is here whether we're ready or not!! Pretty much every weekend between now and the middle of September is booked!! Guess I'll see you in the fall!! :)