In case you get to any point at the end of this year when you need SOMETHING TO DO and can't figure out what it should be, do I have something for you...if it's up your alley.
Where has this been all my life??? Seriously. Have you known about binary puzzles all this time and you never mentioned it???
OMG. I'm addicted.
You can check out the link to get all the particulars but basically the rules are easy and you're only dealing with 0's and 1's. How hard can that be, right? I'm playing it on my laptop and my iPad and find it to be quite challenging, no matter how small or large the grid or how difficult the level.
Speaking of challenging, you've heard it said that we need to exercise our brains with these teasers to reduce the risk of dementia...which is why I also play Spider Solitaire, Mahjong, etc. I believe it's true, even though my brainiac mom, who died of Alzheimer's, challenged herself daily with such things like solitaire Scrabble, making a goal of breaking 1,000 points each time. She'd have a heyday with what's available now on our internet devices...and maybe still get Alzheimer's!
Whatever the brain exercises you do or don't do, I can guarantee that with this one, you'll be challenged to the hilt, if it is in fact up your alley.
Let's just call this a post that's been languishing in the wings since August 10, when we finally took the time to visit our Gorcum's Museum to see the Dromen van Bomen (Dreaming of Trees), before the exhibit closed on September 15.
Ever since Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, people have lived in awe and
admiration for the tree. Whether it is a solitary spruce, a giant forest or an immeasurable jungle,
we dream away with their shapes, colors or immense size. Trees symbolize life itself.
They even remove CO₂from the air and are thus indispensable allies in this time of climate change.
As exhibitions go, it wasn't big but it had several note-worthy entries that made it worth seeing, most of which are shown below:
These swamp trees are a tapestry wall hanging...
...which you can see better in these two details.
Can you find them in the tapestry?
If you're a fan of triptych wall groups, I bet you'd love this polyptych.
Of course, you'd need a wall big enough!
You could even have a pretend tree in the middle of your house, right?
At least you'd never have to water it.
Far away you'd never know this is another tapestry...
...but once you're up close and personal, you see it.
I wish I knew how big this setting of Photographs is, but, trust me, it's big.
My guess is that each photo is at least 5x7 inches, maybe even 8x10.
You'd need another huge wall to display it.
If you're more a touchy-feely kind of person,
here are some twigs for you.
It was hard to show the depth but they stood about 2 inches from the wall, casting the shadow.
In that same room with the twigs were hanging pieces at eye level in the middle.
This is one of them from the front and back.
If you can enlarge it, you'll see a guy up in the tree (reading a newspaper?)!
See what I mean about eye level?
But this one took the cake, though a bit higher than eye level.
I wanted to look down on it to see it better, but you get the point.
Actually, on this tile, you DO look down on it, though a different scene.
At the end of the exhibit, I found this very large painting quite appealing because of the colors.
This was done by the same artist, I assume.
Now for two wall hangings that were, yes, you guessed it, videos in the frame (how did they do that?):
How about this as a way for trees to lose their leaves in Autumn!
And a time-lapsed video of an evergreen...
framed and hanging on the wall!
It really was a lovely exhibition and worth the run-through on our annual museum card.
Now it's time to see the new exhibit, The Secret of the Master, before it ends on February 19!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Before leaving this post, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Dame Judi Dench's "My Passion for Trees," since we're on the subject. If you want to be thoroughly inspired by and educated about trees, make sure you take the time to see this documentary one day, if you haven't already done so:
It also helps, of course, if you adore Judi Dench, which I do.
Because of her passion (and our Gorcums exhibition) I love trees now more than I ever did before!
