Tag Archive for: Daddy

Guitar for beginners

My “New Years Resolution” or more accurately a personal goal for the New Year was to learn to play the guitar, I had started watching a couple YouTube videos but I was embarrassed to pick up Lincoln’s guitar because I literally did not know how to hold it how to strum it or what to do with my left hand especially how hard I needed to press on the strings, so when Lincoln got home from school this afternoon I asked him to show me how to play the guitar.

He was really good because he was able to show me what he had been taught, how to hold the guitar and exactly what he had been shown to do with both hands, and it felt exciting to be sat next to him being shown this and about to play the guitar for the first time. I have never really played any instrument seriously and this is my time and opportunity to change that at aged 51

Lincoln showed me how he could play Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes on string 5 “Seven – Seven – Ten – Seven – Five – Three – (Three) – Two” and he handed the guitar to me and I tried copying him and although it was difficult Lincoln had given me the basic tools and confidence I needed to begin playing, and I would have played those 8 notes all night but the fingers on my left hand were screaming at me to stop.

I am going to try practicing for at least 15 minutes per day and get used to where everything is on the guitar and expand my knowledge now I can at least create a recognisable set of notes on a single string that actually sound like the song I am copying. I would like to get a full size guitar of my own so that I get started on the right road from the beginning and might go at the weekend to get one?

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We are not poor any more!

We still are, it was just a statement Jamie came out with when she was suggesting a road trip across America that would involve seeing her brothers on the way to her Moms house to see her, I have to say a road trip is something I would jump at in the right weather and the right vehicle obviously! It was a great way to see a bit more of America when Pam & Cliff came to pick us from Chicago a few years ago and would be a great way to see a bit more of America and meet more of her family so I said yeh I would be up for it.

I think we will be going ‘home’ this year because of Jamie’s new job and I think she needs to because it’s been a while since she has seen her Mom, they do speak most days on video chat but there is no substitute to in the flesh. I also think it helps Jamie if she is planning it too because that is the start of looking forward to it also, sort of the first part of the trip.

We are not rich but we can both tell that it is a little bit easier in the pocket already since Jamie has been associated with LWC and that a regular stream of work has been made available but from yesterday she will get the money as a regular wage so hopefully a few months of that should get us closer to not be poor anymore!

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GROUNDHOG COVID DAY

Didn’t feel like a Monday when I got up but it did feel like yesterday a bit of a slow start but soon got going with a walk up Lyme Beds with Billy and Jamie who had reached “freedom day” I was fine going up there but COVID soon took all the energy out of me and the walk back was a struggle….more of a struggle today because Jamie dragged me around the Poperty John’s, Cledford Bridge, Canal walk after Lyme Beds which took it out of me but only when I sat did I realise it!

Once I sat down it was like I was done, it’s such a strange virus I don’t feel ill but once the energy’s gone it’s gone and I have suffered headaches, I have not noticed any other symptoms that I can think of? I go back to work tomorrow and at least I am working from home and should be ok to “take things easy” on the end of the phone but if I was required to go to the office I would probably call in sick.

Lincoln tested negative for the second successive day so he will return to school tomorrow and I think it will do him good because he is bored isolating and Jamie pointed out today that he does like XBOX but I think it’s a lot to do with boredom and not being allowed outside to play and given the option he jumped at returning to school.

Reagan did not test today but her 10th day is tomorrow so she should be able to return to school Wednesday and I think she is pleased she gets another day off especially because Lincoln is going back tomorrow.

Jamie although free to go out is still suffering the effects of having COVID and not booking gym sessions until definitely ready, but tomorrow she starts her new job with London Womens Clinic and becomes “employed” again and I think if she used up all her energy in an early morning gym session would mean an awfully long work day if she feels like I do just going for a walk so I reckon its a good decision for this week at least.

Tomorrow is another day hopefully a better day health wise for me and all the family fingers crossed!

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She gave it to me!

Our PCR tests came back positive a full house all four of us and it’s all Mommy’s fault, I jest of course it was inevitable no matter who caught it first all of us would get it quite soon after because you can’t isolate in the house it’s impractical. So tonight we got a text message with the results, we knew Mommy and Reagan would be positive and it was no surprise Lincoln and me came back positive too.

My symptoms are possibly a headache but nothing else but I may be a few days behind Mommy who can now no longer taste or smell anything and is tired all the time, the kids are fine Lincoln when told just said ok and went back to playing on XBOX, Reagan has been fine today accepting she has COVID and the headaches have gone. So we’ll see what the next few days bring on the COVID front, and hopefully it won’t impact the living room prep for new flooring?

A picture paints a 1000 words

My Christmas bestest present was a DeWalt cordless multitool which I had asked Santa for specifically to remove the skirting boards and boy did it deliver today, making it so much easier than it would have been without it although it still took a few hours to remove them from the kitchen door to the hall door behind the sofa, once it was done I put all the furniture back and because it was so neat you could not tell I’d removed them unless you looked. Tomorrow I will hopefully be able to remove a lot more but will need to pack the Christmas decs away first before I can start.

Staying healthy is the most important but it really would be great if I can get stuff done and waste the rest of my break feeling ill!

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…and just like that Christmas was gone!

Got woken by Jamie this morning creeping around the bedroom, I thought you were going to the gym, I was but my lateral flow is positive, and just like that the Christmas we planned was gone!

“If I isolate from you 3 you can still go to your Moms on Boxing Day, I just don’t want to stop you seeing your family at Christmas!”

My immediate thought was I have kept you from seeing your family for the last 13 years (bar one) so I have no room to moan about not seeing my family?

So we have all tried to do the right thing for months we wear masks we sanitise our hands we got jabbed jabbed again and boosted but there are so many people not bothering to do some or all of the above and avoiding those is impossible, the other thing is we have to live our lives too, we can’t stop doing the things we love to do. We were looking forward to seeing Nannie tomorrow and then the rest of the family on Boxing Day but so long as we all stay healthy that’s what’s important and that Reagan & Lincoln have a great Christmas is almost as important. We can guarantee the latter but only hope the former happens?

Reagan and Lincoln were so disappointed when we had to tell them that we need to isolate and the realisation that they wouldn’t see Nannie and Boxing day, which they both love and look forward to, wasn’t going to be possible. Reagan went cold on Mommy not wanting to be in the same room as her but warmed back to her throughout the day (well as much as normal anyway) and by the evening they were both excited and wanting to do our traditions Santa snack ? reindeer food ? snowman and snowdog ? santa key ?prayers ? and we might of added another earlier A Boy Called Christmas a great film to get you in the mood.

We will have a great Christmas, it won’t be what we planned but it will be a great Forsters Christmas the ‘rona won’t spoil that we won’t let it!

So we are sat here, the kids have just “gone to bed” so he comes quicker, exactly the reasoning me and are kids used 40 odd years ago but we used to actually fall sleep apparently because we were up just after midnight on Christmas morning, lets just say now that I am split here yes go to bed because we need to do Santa but don’t go to sleep too early because I do not want to get up at 3am any day even if I di say earlier in this blog that your enjoyment is second on my priority list because that list will alter pretty fucking quick if I haven’t even gone for my 5am piss before you want me to get out of bed!!!

May do a Santas been blog later depending on the above timeline otherwise Merry Christmas!

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Walking coz I can

So I have finished for Christmas and that means I can take Billy for a better walk than he normally gets, everyday. We went for our morning walk as usual but then after dropping Reagan off at horse riding we stopped at the bottom of Byley Hill and walked along the river doing lots of training along the way including retrieve, directional retrieve, stop retrieve etc Billy loves it even though fetching a ball is his favourite it’s all about pleasing me.

He is very good at retrieving and is pretty steady when told to wait, I am teaching him to leave a dropped dummy as we walk away from it then go back for it when told I love training him and on cold dry mornings like today there is nothing better than an hour along the fields just me and Billy.

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It’s going to feel a bit like Christmas…tomorrow!

One day of work to do before my Christmas break and I am really looking forward to be honest because I can relax and forget about it for a couple of weeks, well I say forget about it what will actually happen is my phone will still ring and I will answer it but unless its an emergency I will explain that I have finished for Christmas and then listen to them apologise for bothering me for another 5 minutes. I have set my stall out to remove all the skirting boards from the living room in readiness for laminate flooring in the new year, living the dream! Actually I will be because I intend to buy a “new power tool” Awgggh Awgggh
I am looking forward to it though it will be good to spend time with Jamie and the kids and hopefully, if we avoid the Omicron variant of COVID that is spreading the country, have a Christmas day with Nannie and a Boxing Day at hers?
It is also a big day tomorrow for my blog as this post is No:1999 and I have invited Jamie to write the 2000th post as I did 27 November 2012 for the 1000th post. I wish I had kept posting regularly when I think it took 4 years to write the first 1000 and 8 years the next 1000 because I love blogging so much, I get so much from writing posts. I also see it as a journal that Reagan and Lincoln might read one day, when they’re older obviously, they might get an insight into who I was and how I saw our lives?
Not sure thats a good thing or bad but I hope they do read it one day!
Anyway tomorrows blog will be No:2000

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14 year MySpace’iversary

14th December 2007 Jamie messaged me on MySpace saying she was “intrigued”, and wanted to say Hello. Well, 14 years have passed, and since then you emigrated, we got married, Reagan was born, Lincoln was born, you graduated, you built a business but these are all big things. We have done so many more things, little things that are insignificant in isolation, like laughing everyday, saying I love you everyday or just enjoying being together and missing it when we are apart.

It’s only when you realise, these little things in life are really the big things and they should be cherished, that you will find happiness.

I think we realised this a long time ago and I hope we enjoy millions more little things for many more years to come

Happy MySpace’aversary Dude.

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