wintermom Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I don't get much opportunity to speak Norwegian. I lived and worked in Norway for 4 years back in the 90's, and I'd go back to visit if I could scrape together the funds. I can listen to and read Norwegian anytime I like on the computer, which does help with retention. I used to swim competitively and coach swimming. My shoulders can't handle a lot of swimming anymore, though I LOVE hot tubs! On the flip side, my dh and I just got back to playing tennis after over 15 years of a break. It's been wonderful! Now that the dc can be left home, we have tennis "dates." It's a really great sport, and there are loads of older adults very actively involved. We are pretty much the babies of our little club. I can see myself improving and staying involved for the next 20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Piano. I have my grade 6 Royal Conservatory, and I was quite good. I sit down to the piano from time to time, but I am embarrassingly bad. Apparently it is NOT like riding a bike..... Horseback riding. I used to ride hunter/jumpers and was also quite good. We moved to the city, my horse got old and died, and needless to say it's been a decade since I've been on a horse. My saddle is sitting in the garage looking sad, and I can't bring myself to sell it. My Christmas present this year was that dh retrieved my piano from my grandparent's home, where it has lived for 16 years. I agree with you, it's SO not like riding a bike. However, I've been having fun with youtube tutorials on how to play popular songs (I've been fiddling with a lot of Coldplay). Somehow, just watching and doing is so much more enjoyable at this stage than slugging through all of my old lesson books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 My Christmas present this year was that dh retrieved my piano from my grandparent's home, where it has lived for 16 years. I agree with you, it's SO not like riding a bike. However, I've been having fun with youtube tutorials on how to play popular songs (I've been fiddling with a lot of Coldplay). Somehow, just watching and doing is so much more enjoyable at this stage than slugging through all of my old lesson books.I found a fun book called "How to play the piano despite years of lessons" that I might go through one day when I am done homeschooling or when my husband retires and teaches a few subjects for me! I tried it for a while at the end of a move when I had more time...it takes a while to get settled each move, I am still in the settling process now and we have been moving at a fast clip recently. http://www.amazon.com/Play-Piano-Despite-Years-Lessons/dp/0385142633/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387592374&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+play+the+piano+despite+years+of+lessons The book seems promising, I worked through a bit of it before we moved again. I only played piano 3 years, though, compared to 10 years of trumpet, so my trumpet skills are much better than my piano playong skills after the initial building back of the lip muscles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmama Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Writing. I miss it. I keep telling myself I'm going to work on something, but it's just... hard. There's not enough time as it is and I'm a slow writer. Maybe when the kids are older. Playing the violin. But now that Savannah is taking lessons, dh and I (he plays, too) have been getting out our instruments and are even working on a duet. :wub: Math. Like the crazy abstract proofs stuff. Does that count as a talent? Anyway it's hard and fun, but more than the other two, I'm not sure I could do it anymore if I tried. Mommy brain or something. I really don't feel like I'm as sharp mentally as I used to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I have done many things poorly, and a few things well. A few things I miss : Swimming. Competitive and open water. I haven't been in a pool in years, the ocean, longer. Biking. It was my main means of transportation. Doll- and jewelry- making. I don't see any of that making its way back. I have moved on to other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 The Seattle Imperials performed and I think placed 11th, in DCI in 1980, but ran short of funds a few years later when I joined. I actually think we were better the year we won regionals than their performance in 1980, the 1980 DCI performance is on YouTube. I recognized a few people that were still there when I joined, including the drum major and the soloist, he had some amazing chops. The drum major was even better by the time I joined, and she was nice, too. I joined with a friend who played trumpet with me in middle school, we were like everyone's little sister, most of the members were in high school or college. They made sure we were protected from any crazy goings on when we travelled in the region, we did have enough funds to travel within the region, just not enough to travel to DCI, sadly. What corps was your wife in? We traveled around the Pacific Northwest and to close competitions in Canada, and some of the California corps came up at times. She marched PAL, the inventive name for the corps sponsored by the Philadelphia Police Athletic League, but her first year was '81, when finals were in Montreal. I joined in '84, and we tooled around the Garden State Circuit, then went to finals in Atlanta, placing somewhere mid-pack in the smallest division. PAL folded half way through the '85 season, so I marched Garfield in '86-87, and took out a loan to send DW to Phantom Regiment in '87 - the year they did Nutcracker and Swan Lake. DW saya she remembers Seattle Imperials. Didn't they also have a winter guard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Like u, drawing. I was an art major but the closest thing I do now to drawing is coloring with dd7 in a coloring book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berta Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Pfft. I decided early on that "talent" is really just tiny bit of an inclination towards something and then thousands of his of practice, whether you have formal instruction or not. I'm betting there something you've got a bit of an affinity for that could be worked on. I'm sure with practice, instruction and lessons I could muster up some talent. I am talking about raw, natural talent. The kind of talent that is honed with practice and instruction. I don't have that. I was exposed to many different things in my childhood but nothing ... and I mean nothing, clicked with me. Two of my four kids have raw, natural talent. My one son is an natural artist. From the time he could pick up a crayon he could draw amazingly well. He is 21 now and in college for animation. My youngest daughter has raw, natural talent for martial arts. Her Shihan believes she is a prodigy. Edited to add: My DH just said that I do have a talent.. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue LOL... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 She marched PAL, the inventive name for the corps sponsored by the Philadelphia Police Athletic League, but her first year was '81, when finals were in Montreal. I joined in '84, and we tooled around the Garden State Circuit, then went to finals in Atlanta, placing somewhere mid-pack in the smallest division. PAL folded half way through the '85 season, so I marched Garfield in '86-87, and took out a loan to send DW to Phantom Regiment in '87 - the year they did Nutcracker and Swan Lake. DW saya she remembers Seattle Imperials. Didn't they also have a winter guard? Yes, we had a winter guard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I found a fun book called "How to play the piano despite years of lessons" that I might go through one day when I am done homeschooling or when my husband retires and teaches a few subjects for me! I tried it for a while at the end of a move when I had more time...it takes a while to get settled each move, I am still in the settling process now and we have been moving at a fast clip recently. http://www.amazon.com/Play-Piano-Despite-Years-Lessons/dp/0385142633/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387592374&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+play+the+piano+despite+years+of+lessons The book seems promising, I worked through a bit of it before we moved again. I only played piano 3 years, though, compared to 10 years of trumpet, so my trumpet skills are much better than my piano playong skills after the initial building back of the lip muscles. My dh loves that book. I can't tell you how many copies of it he's bought, as he is always loaning it out, forgetting who he loaned it to, and then buying another one. Rinse, repeat. I used to play the piano and recorder, and sing in choir. Haven't done those since I had kids. Maybe some day I will again. I've kind of moved on to other things though, so I don't feel too bad about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Yes, we had a winter guard. As did PAL -- don't know if they might have bumped into each other on the circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 She marched PAL, the inventive name for the corps sponsored by the Philadelphia Police Athletic League, but her first year was '81, when finals were in Montreal. I joined in '84, and we tooled around the Garden State Circuit, then went to finals in Atlanta, placing somewhere mid-pack in the smallest division. PAL folded half way through the '85 season, so I marched Garfield in '86-87, and took out a loan to send DW to Phantom Regiment in '87 - the year they did Nutcracker and Swan Lake. DW saya she remembers Seattle Imperials. Didn't they also have a winter guard? LOL about the loan. DH and I actually looked into Phantom Regiment one year, but I was broke and needed to make $2400+ that summer, not spend it. I had several friends who marched Boston Crusaders, and they had to either pay out the nose or find business sponsors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 LOL about the loan. DH and I actually looked into Phantom Regiment one year, but I was broke and needed to make $2400+ that summer, not spend it. I had several friends who marched Boston Crusaders, and they had to either pay out the nose or find business sponsors. Yeah, not a cheap activity, especially whith kids flying in for camps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Weaving. I have a beautiful floor loom collecting dust in my craft room. I used to love the rythm of it. Unfortunately, it was too noisy to use when the kids were falling asleep as toddlers, and now I have fallen out of the habit. Sigh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 LOL about the loan. DH and I actually looked into Phantom Regiment one year, but I was broke and needed to make $2400+ that summer, not spend it. I had several friends who marched Boston Crusaders, and they had to either pay out the nose or find business sponsors. You mean all those amazing musicians pay to be there and perform, while the football players are essentially paid to be there and play? It's a messed up world. I'd MUCH rather watch the band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 You mean all those amazing musicians pay to be there and perform, while the football players are essentially paid to be there and play? It's a messed up world. I'd MUCH rather watch the band! LOL. Yup. Although to be fair, drum corps are independent non-profits, and at the world level, their annual budgets can reach a mllion a year, which includes busses and trucks for the summer tours. It ain't a cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 I like to think I do, but I'm not sure. I used to type over 100 WPM... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 I like to think I do, but I'm not sure. I used to type over 100 WPM... Wow. It would sure make my job easier if I could do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 I don't get much opportunity to speak Norwegian. I lived and worked in Norway for 4 years back in the 90's, and I'd go back to visit if I could scrape together the funds. I can listen to and read Norwegian anytime I like on the computer, which does help with retention. I really want to study a little Norwegian before we take the kids over there in a couple years to meet dh's relatives. Even if I put just a smattering of phrases in my head I'd be happy. I hate learning language from paper though and all of dh's uncles that speak it, lack the patience to teach me anything. As a result I only know words like bathroom and chocolate (both very important, lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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