With my daughter turning five today, I decided to get her a game recommended for kids that are eight and up. Okay, that might sound worse than it is, but Othello is a very simple game to learn how to play, but to master it, can take years. This is a very old game and my family had it when I was a kid too, so there is some nostalgia associated with it. Because I will likely be the only one playing with Smallsteps, I will be able to adjust my game to let her build the skills and logic needed to improve and still keep it fun for her.
It is a "two birds with one stone" present, as it helps me build my own thought processes too. While easy to learn, I was surprised at how fast my daughter got into the game and started planning her moves, trying to make sure that she could maximize her turn, but not give me an opening to flip her pieces back to mine. The other thing I loved, was that she would think it through from a couple of positions and if she couldn't decide, she would ask for advice and I was able to give her a couple more options to select from. We played one game that took about 45 minutes as we were going through the moves and she didn't lose focus at all. I suspect by the time she is eight, she will be beating my regularly.
I let her win today - as it is her birthday and all...
We were meant to go out for a birthday dinner tonight, which she always loves, but we couldn't go because they decided to deliver half of the items that were meant to be delivered on Monday and gave us an approximate time between 5 and 9 in the evening. Luckily wit was going to be a surprise dinner and Smallsteps didn't know about it, but it was pretty annoying, because this was the reason that we chose and then rang to confirm the Monday delivery in the first place.
But, it wasn't a complete loss, because I was able to get started putting it together, which is useful because this is the first physical "work" I have done like this in a couple months and I don't think I could do many hours of it. I made it for an easy four hours tonight and will likely do more of the same tomorrow. We also discovered that pieces are missing that should have arrived and we will look into that tomorrow.
It is our wedding anniversary tomorrow (technically today since it is wee hours here now) and since I was unable to find anything to do that was only entertaining, I suggested we go secondhand furniture shopping. We are looking for various items to complement the mass-produced IKEA furniture, so that there is a little flavor and story to our rooms. A wooden chair or stool for the entrance, an old armchair for the lounge, ceiling lamps for the dining room perhaps and I want a standing lamp for the corner of the lounge too, but my wife doesn't like the one I do.
We are in no rush for any of this, so we can take take it easy and look for what we actually want and will suit. Things come up all the time here and there is a fair amount of 50s and 60s furniture available, though the condition obviously varies massively. Some sellers think that because it is old it is valuable, even if it is falling apart. No thanks. Unfortunately, the cost of upholstering in Finland is out of our price range.
There isn't much in our price range though really, but we are managing to get things organized now so that hopefully in a couple weeks, we will be prepared for guests. While her birthday is today, we are going to have people over to celebrate at the end of the month to give us time to prepare. My wife's family is quite large with the older kids having their fiancés as well now, so we need a bit of space to sit inside as the weather is very unreliable, making outside a challenge. Smallsteps doesn't mind at all.
Tonight, she got to open some presents that arrived from 
Tomorrow is a day and night away from our daughter, who has a very full birthday weekend planned with her grandparents, who have gone out of their way this year with home-made activities and culminating in a theater trip on Sunday. Her first trip to the theater ever. She has no idea what is planned, but her Mummi is super excited and keen.
Now, the weekend can start proper and I can get myself into bed, so I have the energy to build some more of the sofa tomorrow. Night all!
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
