Wow Gary! That’s a busy 3 days! Very exciting! (I’ve used exclamation points on three consecutive short sentences, so it must be really exciting, right?)
Keep up the enthusiasm, but try to take your time. Celebrate small victories like being able to fret a single note and have it ring out clearly; being able to play a simple chord; being able to play another simple chord; etc. 
Hello Gary. It feels odd to say “welcome” when I also just joined. I am delighted that there are some other mature students of guitar that are out here. And it is thrilling to be in my sixties and to not be the old guy 
.
I look forward to our journey together as we learn the guitar and sharpen our minds.
Welcome to the Community, Gary. Well done on sorting out your guitar. Take it slow and easy and you’ll begin playing the blues in Grade 2, building on the foundation you will lay in Grade 1. Take it step by step and you’ll achieve your goal.
Nope no prior musical experience at all as a player, only as a listener!! It will be a very long time before I let anyone listen to me I’m afraid!
cheers
Gary
Its strange now to be the “old guy” whenever I go somewhere - in my head I’m still 25. Mind you I wish I’d known what I know now at 25…
Gary
Thank you all for the welcome, it’s nice to know this is a friendly place. Progress is happening even over the course of a couple of days. Have been doing the 1 minute D to A chord change count.
Yesterday had 6/10/13/11/12/12
Today had 15/15/20/20
and todays were a little (only a little) better and more precise…hanging out to get to 30 so I can do the next lesson…
Gary
I started playing 10 years ago and that lesson is one that made a big difference. The first month or so is hard till the fingers toughen up.
Welcome Gary, from a fellow Aussie!
Good to see you dive right in with the guitar setup. Most would be too afraid to attempt such things at an early stage. Sounds like you did pretty well.
Those fingers will toughen up soon enough!
Great community here too mate. Ask away for any help or guidance anytime. Folks here of all levels are always keen to help each other out.
Lookin forward to see you progress.
Cheer, Shane
Thanks Shane! I really really want the fingers to toughen up!
Gary
Welcome to the community Gary
Well that’s a great way to start off, jumping straight into a set up but sounds like you have done a good job. And its never too late to learn. Your observations took me back to each time I tried starting this journey but you have a great teacher in Justin, so you’ll be playing the Blues in no time.
Cheers
Toby
Hello Gary and welcome.
Sound likes a real baptism of fire to start your guitar journey but hey, why not jump straight in there.
We’ve all done the finger pain. It does ease after a couple of weeks and it is totally worth it.
Hello and welcome Gary. You’ve got a really good combo of guitar and amp for some blues there. I look forward to reading/hearing more about your progress here 
Let me add another Welcome, Gary! Your fingers will stop hurting as you develop the calluses and your mind will continue to sharpen with every lesson.
I am curious to know how you get along with the LT50. I am considering adding one to my amp group.
Welcome Gary, from another Aussie.
You’ve found the right place, once the fingers toughen up, Justin’s course will get you well on your way.
Enjoy the journey.
Rod.
I completely understand. I told my son a couple of days ago that my mind still acts like I’m 25 but the bones say I’m 60.
Hi I really like the LT50. The range of tones is wide, the controls easy to use and it plays way louder than I’m ever likely to need. I wanted to buy something a little better than a basic practice amp, something that would keep me happy for a few years, and I think it will easily do that. Having the ability to mimic a range of amps, each with their distinctive sound is great. I imagine it would not be as good as having a particular amp, but since I don’t know how well it mimics each amp , that does not matter. It gives me an idea of how a particular amp or effect sounds. One thing that is not clear from on line specs, is that you can use the MGT-4 footswitch with it. I don’t yet have one, but will get one in future.
Hope this helps - if you have any particular query about the amp, let me know.
Gary
Thank-you for the quick reply, Gary. That is good information to have as I go to the music store, perhaps even this afternoon, to compare the LT50 and the GTX50.
Do not take @batwoman with you there, Robert. You otherwise end up accidentally buying another guitar. Sorry for hijacking your thread, @garymck, but I had to do this.
Welcome to the community and great to hear your story about the optimization of your Squire. The great thing about starting later in life with guitar is, you already have so much more skillsets you can use to overcome certain struggles.
Cheers,
Martin
… and at least one capo 
Hi Gary and welcome to the community.
You’ve already made progress and you’ve already learned to make adjustments to your own guitar. Impressive stuff.
A couple of places you may wish to check out:
There’s a few old 'uns in these parts: Older guitar students / Can 'old dogs' learn new tricks? - #55 by Jamolay
If you’re likely to want to keep a diary type learning log of progress etc: Learning Logs - JustinGuitar Community
If you wish to take inspiration from other JG students posting recordings of their own learning progress and playing: Progress & Performance: Audio-Video of You Playing - JustinGuitar Community