Thursday 17 November 2011

Dad and Tessa came storming in from habituating with the goats.

Me rocking it out with Demetri
on the set of one of their video
clip making  days
.
Yesterday I spoke about my mother, so today I'm going to talk about my step-father, Demetri Vlassopoulosand my biological father, Tony Bell, who are both talented guitarists. But first, I've got to say, that I love them both equally as much as each other. Yes, I grew up with Demetri from the age of one, but my mother never had any problem with me spending quality time with Tony or his gorgeous wife, Margaret, and their kids. My family is HUGE.

And you know what? It was so awesome having such a big family, because when I was a kid, I celebrated Christmas, THREE times every single year. Once with Mum's family on Christmas Eve night, because that's how the Germans do it. Once on Christmas day with Demetri's Greek family, and again on Boxing Day when I would spend the day with Tony's family.

Favorite memories with Demetri are ...playing hand ball against the red brick garage wall in the back yard ... playing cards or Uno during my fits of boredom ... him giving me massages whenever I felt like one ... him somehow being able to soothe my debilitating migraines in the middle of the night with his gentle voice and healing hands ... his driving me to school in his dark blue Volkswagen Beetle and the kids watching and thinking he was the drummer from Faith No More and my boyfriend ... LOL!

Left to right: Demetri, Tony, my mother,  (yep, she's
a tad of an exhibitionist), and me, at my farewell
party before moving to Greece.
Favorite memories with Tony are ... him trying to tutor me in mathematics (he is a maths and science high school teacher), and me not understanding a thing (I hated it), but relishing the fact that it was a nice moment of affection ... the family trips to Geelong to visit my grandparents ... him trying to teach me how to draw 3D spheres and the thrill I felt when I finally mastered it (he is also an amazing artist) ... him humoring me when I wanted to show him my made-up dance routines in his lounge room.

So there you have it. My two Dad's. And I love them both with all my heart!!!

What's one of your favorite memories with one of your parents?

________________________

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"I love writing because my characters have to do everything I say...MWAHAHAHAHA! My debut novel, ELEMENTAL (a YA Space Opera), is going to be published by Spencer Hill Press May 1, 2012."

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"I'm a professional writer. I write weekly wine and movie reviews, recipes, and I'm freelance content specialist. I also write Chick Lit and Middle Grade fiction; while these genres are usually worlds apart, once you get to know me it will all make sense."

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________________________


String Bridge purchase links:

eBook
:
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK

Paperback:
Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Barnes & Noble

Soundtrack:
iTunes ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK

To see a list of other online stores where you can purchase
Melody Hill: On the Other Side, please go to: AWAL

20 comments:

  1. It's nice that your family worked it out so it felt bigger instead of fractured.

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  2. Hi Jess .. great read .. and so lovely everyone gets on and lives life to the full .. so talented too - maths and science now and art!!

    Cheers to family life .. full of the joys of spring .. Hilary

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  3. I've so enjoyed reading these past two posts about your mom and dads. The pictures alone have been priceless, but getting that little glimpse into your childhood has been great fun. Have your parents read these? Such a lovely tribute -- thanks for sharing them with us!

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  4. I have two dads, too :-) (More in common - shocking, I know!) I love your memories of each of your father figures. While my parents didn't even SPEAK until my wedding, I am lucky to have had plenty of love - and three Christmas celebrations :-)

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  5. I only had one Christmas, but my mom might have well have been Mrs. Claus. Every year, the day after Thanksgiving, she would put on Amy Grant's christmas album REALLY LOUD, and pull out dozens of boxes of decorations. While she warbled along terribly to the music, she would transform the house into looking like Christmas had thrown up all over it. It stayed that way until January 2. I miss that...

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  6. You are so blessed to have such a large extended family. And two caring dads! Far out.

    Favorite memories. So very many. Fishing with my dad, or going motorcycle riding with him, or him helping me math. With my mom, it would be her reading to us, teaching me how to make things, exploring in the bush, her cooking.

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  7. What a lovely post about your step dad and your biological dad, how you all got on well together.Wow having three Christmases must have been great.
    Aas my dad died when I was three my mother was a wonderful mother. What I like to thank her for is giving me the gift of music, she was a pianist and must have passed the gift on to me. To this day I love all types of music.

    Yvonne.

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  8. What a blessing and wonderful family memories. I am very tight with both my parents - my two best friends. Favorite memory with my Dad is road trips to see my grandparents. 2 hour drive and my Mom would tell me to talk to keep my Dad awake...and trust me, I did! :-)

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  9. The poor drummers never get the girl...

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  10. Fun post Jessica. I think having a father who is a math teacher is a definte perk.

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  11. Aww, I'm loving these posts about your family.

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  12. Bet your mom was fun at parties!
    Cool that your parents could all get along and share you - for your sake.
    Did Tony give up playing to become a teacher?

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  13. Great family photo! Your family sounds amazing, and you are all so artistic. :)

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  14. aww! Your two dads sound very sweet and good to you. And yay! Three Christmases! I bet you loved that. :o) <3

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  15. Wow, your mom really likes guitarists. I was just talking about my dad this morning to my daughter. My dad is very musical. As I told my daughter this morning, he was always drumming some rhythm out on the table or desk or his leg. I find myself now finding the rhythm in things out in the world. I am grateful for the music be brings.

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  16. This Ozark Farm Chick just jumped over from Alex C's and am so happy to meet ya.

    I so enjoy the read over here and have checked out your music.

    From the happy hills and hollers of the Missouri Ponderosa, ya'll have a blessed and beautiful day now...ya hear??? :o)

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  17. Shocking pics today, shocking pic, Bell :)

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  18. Your Dads sound awesome!! You are lucky to have such a great and big family!

    You asked about my albums, if there was one I liked most...and the answer is "eh", but here is a link to my latest blog post that goes into a bit of detail about my songs:

    http://thefarseas.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-i-were-to-release-best-of.html

    I mentioned on Last.fm (not sure if you know that was me) that I've been listening to your music and I love it!! I've always loved the idea of soundtracks to my own stories, so this is kind of a thing after my own heart! Now I really want to read your book though, so I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival!

    :)

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  19. It's great that you grew up with such cool attitudes amongst everyone. Sadly it's not always like that.

    I had one mom and one dad and they were both cool. Neither one could play any instruments but they both could juggle and that's kind of musical.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  20. I loved this post. I love seeing parents work it out and actually put the children first.

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