Howdy from The Hills.

I've been struggling to get enough sleep lately with a new born in the
house. A constant feeling of being tired, and ongoing interruptions
through being called upon for various husbandly / fatherly duties day
& night. When the tiny tot sleeps well, it's ok, but when she's not,
it's hard to get a good solid practice in...hence the late nights when
almost everyone is asleep. There are no phones, less interruptions and
one can concentrate. Number one son is almost three now and he loves
to spend time with dad so I make the time and do my thing at scheduled
times and at night.

I have come to adapt better recently when the Missus complained that I
spend more time in my room playing mandolin than spending 'quality'
time in the evening with her. Fair enough, she was right. I suggested
that whilst she was awake watching tv in the lounge room and we had a
cuppa and a chat etc, I could perhaps practice "lightly" in the same
room. This is a tricky task as it means practicing softly enough so
she can hear the tv, but not so soft that my playing is meaningless.
This has worked well so far and we're all happy. At 8:30pm she's off
to bed and I can move rooms and crank up the Duff to whatever measure
is required.

Something I discovered during my Lounge Room picking, is that I
started playing along with the tv commercials. The ad comes on & I
quickly find the key and pick along so that it blends in. Sometimes
it's harder than others but it's a good challenge and I test myself by
seeing how quick I can sort it out and make it sound decent. You
wouldn't believe how fast the time flies. This is a bit like doing sit-
ups during every commercial as a way of getting exercise done, but
I've replaced it with my music. So far so good. My problem lately is
that Son No.1 gets up mighty early in the mornings & wants breakfast,
wants to wrestle, play cars and so on. It can be a long day when you
get up short on zzz's.

Has anyone else encountered these issues or come across any beaut
practice tips? I best get some rest, tomorrow is almost here!
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