We (as in Hubby and I) got two interesting Christmas presents this year. As opposed to all the uninteresting gifts we got. Actually, I love all the presents I received (kitchen knives, a gift card to Chicos, very soft jammies, lots of sweets), but two of the gifts we received have been keeping us quite occupied this past week and they are as different from each other as can be.The first gift is one that we bought ourselves (or each other, if you prefer). I hate shopping for Hubby. He's hard to shop for and you can only buy him so many pull-over sweaters. He doesn't really like shopping for me either, so this year we decided to buy ourselves (or each other) an iPad. It is a really cool gadget and I have had more fun goofing around on it. Though the novice that I am (and as technologically apathetic as I am), I'm sure I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg of what this bad boy can do.
But then, strangely enough, the other gift that has captured our attention is this little guy. It's a game called Peg Solitaire, though we use marbles instead of pegs. My uncle, the painter, made it for us. It's a very simple game, dating back to the 17th century and it's actually a puzzle. You have to, by jumping over adjacent marbles and then removing them from the board, clear the board down to only one marble and that one has to be in the center of the board. My personal best has been two marbles left. This is an addictive little game.
But what has really amused me is the contrast between these two gifts. You have the iPad and while it's not the pinnacle of technology, it's up there. It's a costly gift, too. It's a product of the 21st century. Then, you have Peg Solitaire. Technologically speaking it's.... it's.... it's a board with holes bored into it and a bunch of marbles. It probably cost my uncle some time and a buck for the marbles. I'm sure he had the wood on hand. And yet... it is right up there in competition with our iPad, maybe even more demanding of our attention, because it requires some thought and some brain power. It's not simply an object of amusement and entertainment. I love this little game, and I love the contrast it makes - so humble, so simple and modest, yet in my life it's been powerful. I'll stop what I'm doing when I spot it and play a game.... which turns into a few games and then... well, you get the picture. Just goes to show you, it's not always the biggest and the flashiest that are the best!
We (as in Hubby and I) got two interesting Christmas presents this year. As opposed to all the uninteresting gifts we got. Actually, I love all the presents I received (kitchen knives, a gift card to Chicos, very soft jammies, lots of sweets), but two of the gifts we received have been keeping us quite occupied this past week and they are as different from each other as can be.The first gift is one that we bought ourselves (or each other, if you prefer). I hate shopping for Hubby. He's hard to shop for and you can only buy him so many pull-over sweaters. He doesn't really like shopping for me either, so this year we decided to buy ourselves (or each other) an iPad. It is a really cool gadget and I have had more fun goofing around on it. Though the novice that I am (and as technologically apathetic as I am), I'm sure I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg of what this bad boy can do.
But then, strangely enough, the other gift that has captured our attention is this little guy. It's a game called Peg Solitaire, though we use marbles instead of pegs. My uncle, the painter, made it for us. It's a very simple game, dating back to the 17th century and it's actually a puzzle. You have to, by jumping over adjacent marbles and then removing them from the board, clear the board down to only one marble and that one has to be in the center of the board. My personal best has been two marbles left. This is an addictive little game.
But what has really amused me is the contrast between these two gifts. You have the iPad and while it's not the pinnacle of technology, it's up there. It's a costly gift, too. It's a product of the 21st century. Then, you have Peg Solitaire. Technologically speaking it's.... it's.... it's a board with holes bored into it and a bunch of marbles. It probably cost my uncle some time and a buck for the marbles. I'm sure he had the wood on hand. And yet... it is right up there in competition with our iPad, maybe even more demanding of our attention, because it requires some thought and some brain power. It's not simply an object of amusement and entertainment. I love this little game, and I love the contrast it makes - so humble, so simple and modest, yet in my life it's been powerful. I'll stop what I'm doing when I spot it and play a game.... which turns into a few games and then... well, you get the picture. Just goes to show you, it's not always the biggest and the flashiest that are the best!
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