
It’s mom’s birthday this week, and I thought I’d re-post some of the puzzles that we did together, and some of the ones I’ve done that remind me of her. She’s pretty damned awesome for a little old lady and I love her to bitsβ£
She’s a black belt thrift store shopper who keeps us both extremely well stocked in puzzles, and there’s no one else I’d rather sit and puzzle with. She’s also quite an enabler; when I’m looking at puzzles to buy she’s right there telling me all the reasons why I SHOULD buy whatever it is I’m looking at. “What’s the sense in having money if you can’t spend it on things that you enjoy?” “Can you afford it? Yes? Then what’s the problem? Your husband doesn’t care, he wants you to be happy.” She’s excellent at enabling me!
Mom is truly my best friend and my puzzle posse all rolled into one, so today’s post is dedicated to her and just a few of the puzzles that make me think of her. (Click on any of the links to see my original posts for each puzzle) Enjoy the trip down puzzle memory lane – Happy Birthday Momma! π΅ππ

Mom and I both assembled Birthday Party separately, and neither of us liked it much. This is before we became huge puzzle snobs and she became a little more choosy about the brands she bought at the thrift store. I thought it was a perfect puzzle for today’s post though. π

Mom is the only member of my family who helped me with every single panel of Disney Memorable Moments. She always listened to me whenever I wanted to talk about it and never seemed bored or disinterested for the entire 6 months it took me to finish. My mom rocks!

This Country Kitchen reminds me of my mom, she used to have an almost identical stove that she got from her grandmother. She was always cooking and canning and this would have been close to her ideal kitchen.

Black CatΒ (Chat Noir)- ugh! Mom and I DESPISED this puzzle! It makes me laugh now to think of it, but it was so difficult and frustrating that we both would have gladly set it on fire if we weren’t so stubborn about finishing it. It’s the only puzzle I ever was glad that it had a piece missing – because it was extremely satisfying to put this bleeping thing in the garbage can. π

We had the best time with this puzzle, What TV Show Is That?, it was so much fun! We also assembled What Word is That? which was more difficult, but still completely entertaining. She’s on the lookout for more puzzles in the same vein because they’re so great to work on together.

In Dreams was my birthday present from mom last year – a gorgeous wooden puzzle with such wonderfully interesting pieces. I think I’ve already assembled it 3 or 4 times, maybe more. π

I picked Canned Veggies to review because it reminds me of my youth and the time spent with mom in the kitchen helping her with the canning (mostly unwillingly). I look back on it fondly now, but at the time I was completely a bratty little kid about it. LOL

Mother and Daughter (1) was the first of two puzzles in one box that I bought specifically because the woman in the image reminds me of mom. The pictures of her from when I was young look amazingly similar to the lovely lady shown here. Beautiful puzzle!

Flower Still Life was my Christmas present for mom last year, she picked it out herself. It’s a bit dark for my taste, but it’s a lovely image and the artistic cut of the pieces made for a challenging but extremely wonderful assembly.

Since today is National Tax Day, I thought Loose Change would be an appropriate puzzle to share. Mom and I completed this on one of our puzzle/visit days and it was quite difficult! I was pretty proud of us for sticking with it and not letting all those pennies beat us.

Mother and Daughter (2) is my gift to mom for her birthday this year, along with a triple chocolate mess cake. It’s been glued and is waiting for us to find the perfect frame for display. She’s been knitting and crocheting my whole life, taught me how to as well, and this puzzle is perfect for her (looks just like her too!)
Enjoy your birthday this week mom, and I’m looking forward to another year of amazing thrift store finds, enabling, and many, many puzzle/visit days spending time together. Love you to puzzle pieces! β€
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Great blog, Stacey. The wonderful relationship you two have is part of the fun of following along on your jigsaw exploits!
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Thanks Ellen. π
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Thank you for the birthday wishes, Ellen.
And thanks for the kind words about Stacey’s blog. I look forward to our Fridays together puzzling and the blog everyday. It’s one of the very first things I read online every morning.
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What a beautiful tri ute to your mom! I love it. Such great memories you will always have together.
I wish I had someone in my family who loved puzzles like me. My 4.5 year old loves doing the kid puzzles. He is not yet ready for the big ones that I would love to have help with though…lol
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I hope he keeps on loving puzzles, and doing them with his mom too!
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Just be patient. If he loves the kid puzzles, he will almost certainly learn to love working the more adult ones, especially working them with you. Having your attention while you both work on something you love will create memories that will always be treasured.
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I have the black cat picture in my house…because I have a black cat.
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I like the image, but it doesn’t make the best puzzle. LOL
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Yes, I would agree.
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This is a beautiful tribute to your mom and her birthday…love it. The only one of those puzzles I’ve ever even seen before is the “Canned Veggies” one that I worked a while back. That was a fun one because of the deep, bright colors and all the oddball pieces.
Happy Birthday to your mother.
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Thanks Sam!
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Thank you very much for the birthday wishes, Sam.
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Some beautiful puzzles! One of my favorite past-times too! Now I do smaller puzzles because I have trouble taking the time to do larger ones due to disc degeneration and slipped discs in the neck, but it is still fun!
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Thanks! I’ve been doing smaller piece counts lately as well due to neck problems in addition to my other injury that makes it difficult to sit. Still I love puzzling no matter the size of the puzzle.
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Guilty as charged! I am an enabler! No point in not spending on the things that make life more enjoyable. And it keeps us off the streets and out of the bars!
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My favorite post of the year!
I am so very glad that we both inherited a love of puzzles from Gram. What a blessing it has been all my life, and in particular, in the past few years as I share it with you. Thank you for the birthday gift, the chocolate mess cake, (DELISH!) and the tribute. I love you to the moon and back!
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Just found your blog and am now following it. π My roommate is very skilled and can handle difficult puzzles, but I am only able to handle simpler puzzles. But, find the difficult puzzles that you and your Mom tackle fascinating. Will certainly be enjoying your blog!
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Thanks very much! There’s nothing wrong with simpler puzzles, I love those too. π
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