An early christmas present

This year my man gave me my christmas present early and I have been playing with it almost every day since I got it. Want to know what it is? Here is a picture:

source

Why yes, it is indeed an (or is it a? sounds wrong with an, but it does begin with a vowel...) ukulele and I am so thrilled to be learning chords on it every day. I have been lusting after an ukulele for a while and so has my man, but we just haven't gotten around to buying one, because it was difficult to justify the purchase, so when I didn't know what to ask for from him and he heckled me, I said an ukulele and he loved the idea.
I started out wanting to play songs from the beginning, but then I found Uncle Rod's Bootcamp and read there, that:
 "When you are new to the ‘ukulele, trying to play 

songs right from the start may NOT be the best way to 

learn to play the ‘ukulele because you do not yet know 

what the chords are, how to form them, or how to 

change from chord to chord smoothly."

I decided he was propably right so I started working on the 5 practise sheets, and have mastered about half of the first. I can't play for too long per day because my fingers are not used to playing yet. I'm taking it as slow as I need to. Actually, I'm finding it almost meditative to just strum down and shift back and forth between two chords. At the beginning it is so difficult and my fingers have no idea where to go or how to place themselves, but after a while the change happens more smoothly and I can even do a few of them now without looking.

I've wanted to learn how to play the guitar for a decade and have own one since 2005, but it just hasn't happened and one reason is that I have to digg it out and put it away again every time I use it. This little instrument however, is small enough to stay out and I'm making an effort to play on it for just 10 minutes every day. Once I sit down with it, I'll play for more than 10 minutes, because it is so much fun.

I enjoy doing the practise sheets, which is odd because it fells like doing scala work and I have always hated scala work. Maybe I have matured enough to value the knowledge you gain from it, allowing me to find more pleasure in the repition, than ever before. Who knows one day I may even be playing songs and singing along with friends and family.