Another Non-Problem

On November 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling2 Comments

Can't pick a puzzle — I want to do all of them, and none of them!

I’m having another one of those not-really-a-problem problems. I cannot seem to make a decision about what puzzle to do next.

I feel as though I should do a Christmas puzzle, since the season is officially underway, but, ugh. And most of the holiday puzzles I have are wooden. I’ve almost exclusively been doing wooden puzzles this month because most of the ones I have are small and I was able to assemble them in bed. I have four 250 pieces and a bunch of micro Christmas puzzles from Wentworth, but I really want to do something cardboard. On the other hand, I could probably assemble all the micro puzzles in one day, and that would definitely help to rebuild my queue of finished puzzles ready to post.

I’ve got a 1000 piece puzzle from JaCaRou (new brand I’ve never tried) of The Nutcracker, and while I’m excited to try a new brand I’m just feeling blah about Christmas puzzles in general at the moment. Still, I love trying new brands, and the image isn’t your typical Santa and the Christmas tree, which is a big plus in my book.

I also have a REALLY cool older 500 piece puzzle mom found at a thrift store. It’s an American Greetings brand called Fitting Reminder, and it looks to be from around the 1970’s. The image is a gorgeous picture of a mosaic made from petrified wood. And while it’s an awesome image, the pieces are very muted and fuzzy. It’s one of those images that looks amazing completed, but the pieces separately are quite indistinct. It’ll be a challenge, and I think it would be more fun if mom and I assembled it together. The more difficult ones don’t seem as bad when there’s someone helping with the assembly.

I keep going back and forth in my head. I’ll decide on one for a minute or two, take off the box cover and hold some of the pieces in my hand, and then I put the lid back on. I realize it truly isn’t a REAL problem to have enough puzzles that I can’t decide which to do next, but I can’t decide what to do next! 😐

Desserts

On November 23, 2018November 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles5 Comments

Some of the colors on these yummy desserts were the brightest and most colorful of all the mini shaped puzzles I’ve done so far, and they were so much fun! This was the last set that we finished during our mini puzzle marathon that had us completing 1500 pieces (3 sets) in one day!

There are only two sets left – mini cottages, and a second set of birds. I’m a little sad that there aren’t any more to look forward to, but I’m so happy I found them and that they brought me so much puzzle happiness. (Lafayette Puzzle Factory – if you’re listening, PLEASE make some more of these fun mini puzzles. Please.)

I put together the chocolate mousse cake, mom did the rainbow cake, and my son assembled the shakes. He couldn’t understand why in the world anyone would put pretzels or cracker jacks on a shake! (Seems weird to me too, but then again salty and sweet is a fantastic combination)

The fact that these were all so many different shapes made them lots of fun, a little challenging, and did I mention they were lots of fun? I loved them!!

Obviously I adore these little puzzle sets, if my count is correct this is the 11th set that I’ve done! Perhaps I’m a teeny bit obsessed. 😎 Of course part of it may be that my son loves working on them too and comes out of his room/cave to sit on my bed, watch tv with me, and work on these puzzles with his old mom. Quality time together with the people that I love makes puzzling even better! 💗

Happy Thursday/Thanksgiving!

On November 22, 2018November 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling6 Comments

Hearts of Gold

It’s Thanksgiving here in the United States, and just plain old Thursday in most other places; so Happy Thanksgiving or Happy Thursday to all my puzzle friends! Whether it’s just another day for you, or you’re spending the day eating lots of food with family and friends, I wanted to send out my love and thanks to everyone who reads and/or comments on this blog. I appreciate your suggestions, comments, well wishes, and everything you do; you all help me more than you know and even if you’re not celebrating this American holiday I’m still extremely thankful for all of you! ❤💖❤

Best of British

On November 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles2 Comments

This was a fantastic thrift store find, with bright colors and fun subject matter. Even better – mom came over to help finish it, and all the pieces were present and accounted for!

I put this puzzle away for quite a while, I was a bit hesitant to get going on the assembly. It was all that red! I love a collage, but all that red everywhere had me thinking it was going to be difficult to assemble. It wasn’t though, I enjoyed it very much. 🙂

The quality was excellent! The pieces had a different finish on them than the previous Falcon puzzles I’ve assembled. The finish was clean feeling and smooth; the previous ones I’d worked had an almost waxy feel to them. Interesting. Differences in finish aside, they were thick pieces with a good fit, fair variety in piece shapes, and excellent image reproduction. I enjoyed working with these pieces, and they made a beautiful puzzle.

I’m sure you remember this guy from yesterday’s post. I love his face! Every time I look at this puzzle I’m drawn to this adorable dog. I don’t know why I think of it as a male though, other than the face seems masculine to me; which means it’s probably a she. LOL

This is basically what many people think of when they think about Britain – double-decker buses, the queen’s guards, and fish & chips. I was intrigued about why there were daffodils though, because the national flower of Britain is the rose. A little research tells me that they’re associated with Lent because they bloom in the early spring and the blooms usually drop before Easter – which is why in Britain they’re known as the Lent Lily. I love it when I learn something from a puzzle!

I had a great time putting this puzzle together, it is a lovely, interesting collage that had wonderful quality. I’m looking forward to finding more fantastic puzzles in the thrift stores this holiday season!

If Only…

On November 20, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling12 Comments

This blog has always been only about puzzles. I don’t talk about religion or politics or anything other than puzzles and my puzzling. Today though, I’m feeling as sad as this handsome puppy looks, and feeling the need to share a bit. It’s partly about puzzling, I suppose, as it affects my ability to work on my puzzles.

My recent surgery was supposed to help with my pain. If only… 😦

The surgery only provided a small amount of relief, and not nearly as much as the doctors and I had hoped. It was the trial of a device, and it’s since been removed; so even the small reduction in pain is gone.

You tell the doctors and the people around that you’re not getting your hopes up and you have realistic expectations – but deep down you’re hoping to be one of those lucky people who gets an enormous amount of benefit and feel almost like their old selves again. It’s depressing and frustrating and a gigantic letdown when it doesn’t work for you. It’s been years now, and this was sort of the “last hope” – something doctors do as a last resort when all other traditional remedies haven’t worked. For many it’s extremely beneficial, for me it was more painful than I expected, with less than hoped for results. I don’t know where we go from here, I’m hesitant to try any other therapies and contraptions; they get more and more invasive and scary (at least for me).

So from here I’ll try to be as thankful as I can be that I still have some mobility, and that I’m still able to puzzle. I can sit for a while or lay in bed and become engrossed in a puzzle, enjoy the feeling of holding a piece in my hand while I contemplate it’s placement, and enjoy the benefits of my meditative state of mind while I work on reassembling a beautiful image that’s been cut into little pieces. I have this blog where I’m able to talk about my puzzles, hear from puzzle friends in the comments, and have a somewhat creative outlet – even if it’s only about jigsaw puzzles.

I always try to be upbeat in my posts, even when my feelings that day aren’t upbeat at all; but I needed to vent a little today, as I’m dealing with my disappointment. Tomorrow’s post, however, will be much less depressing (and more about puzzles) – I promise! 🙂

*Tomorrow’s puzzle will also include that sweet doggie shown above – I love his sad little face!