Turn Off My Brain

On May 3, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling5 Comments

Things are crazy at times, stress seems to be coming at me from every side these days and what I need to be able to do sometimes is turn off my brain. I need to stop the wheels from turning and NOT think about the bills needing to be paid, or another doctor’s visit, or hubby’s work problems, or family issues, or any of the myriad of things that can cause me anxiety or sleepless nights.

One way for me to do that is by working on a puzzle. It doesn’t have to be a difficult one, it can be a simple puzzle that takes barely any time at all. But the act of sitting down and using my brain to figure out where the colors and shapes fit together shuts out most stresses and anxiousness if only for a few minutes at a time. It’s an escape, even if only a short one, from the everyday stress-inducing annoyances of life.

Having 5 or 10 minutes to sit down and work on a puzzle is essential for me. When I’m working on a puzzle I get so engrossed in what I’m doing that there’s no extra space in my head for the outside pressures. All of these pieces will end up fitting together somehow and making a beautiful picture and what is required of me is just some time, fine motor skills, and a little brain power.

Even if I’m not feeling well and lying in bed most of the day I can still grab a tray full of pieces and put a small bit of the big puzzle together. It clears my head, it helps me relax, and it makes me happy. Even rearranging the pieces on the trays or condensing from 2 trays to 1 is calming for me in a slightly OCD way, and helps me to get out of my head and turn off my brain.

In short, puzzles are slightly like xanax for me, keeping me calm when the world is upsetting, and giving me a small respite from the pressures of life. As long as I have a little me time – preferably with a puzzle – things should be ok. And if they’re not ok, at least I assembled a pretty picture to look at. 🙂

Golf

On May 2, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles1 Comment

According to the box the name of this puzzle is The Mandolin Puzzle of Golf, but that’s just strange to me and doesn’t seem right. It’s like saying The Ravensburger Puzzle of Memorable Disney Moments, weird! For the purposes of this blog I’m just calling it Golf.

I don’t believe Mandolin puzzles are still being manufactured as I was unable to find a website or place to purchase from the manufacturer. There are still puzzles being sold on Amazon and eBay, which is where hubby ordered this puzzle – still sealed. The copyright on this puzzle is from 1993.

The quality of this puzzle was hit or miss. The thickness of the pieces was quite good and they fit together very well. The pieces, however, were not all cut all the way through and there were a lot of pieces that were still connected with paper hanging off of them. Also, the image reproduction was crisp and clear in some places and very fuzzy in others. As with a lot of puzzles, even if the quality is lacking some, the puzzle image itself can make the assembly enjoyable.

Despite the quality issues though, I enjoyed assembling this puzzle very much; I love me a collage! You can’t tell from the picture, but there are a lot of words to assemble which I adore – the names of each person shown, golf courses, dates, and products are all there. The inset circles were fun as well, and it was easy while I was sorting the puzzle to pull out pieces with words and parts of the circles. The grass was a bit of a challenge, but in the end there weren’t that many pieces out of 1500 that were only grass.

The whole assembly was fun and I think hubby did a surprisingly awesome job picking out the 2 golf puzzles he did. They are both going to look excellent framed and hanging in the golf room! 🙂

What next?

On May 1, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlingLeave a comment

Is it just me? Sometimes when I finish a puzzle, I have no idea what to start next and no puzzle is the right fit at the right time. When I get into these “puzzle funks” I can start assembling 3 or 4 different puzzles only to put each one away in turn and try to find the one I REALLY want to do. I have no clue why certain puzzles aren’t right at certain times; I have to blame my menopausal brain awash with hormones or lack thereof.

That’s how I’m feeling today. I finished the 1500 piece golf puzzle for hubby and have glued it so it will be suitable for framing. Now I have no idea what comes next; I have already started and stopped sorting 3 different puzzles today! A 2000 piece Ravensburger, a 1000 piece Wasgij, and a 500 piece Dowdle. Why is none of them what I’m looking for at the moment? I even looked at the 3000 piece Ravensburger I have waiting for assembly, but somehow I know that’s not the right puzzle for right now.

I got a bee in my bonnet yesterday and ordered more puzzles, I told myself if the one I’ve been wanting is finally in stock that I’d definitely order it. It was, and then of course I have to spend enough money to get free shipping. 😎 So I ordered a couple of things from my wishlist (2 Heye puzzles), the Colin Thompson shaped lighthouse, and a one puzzle each from two companies I’ve never tried before and am curious to see what the quality is like.

Perhaps I’m not wanting to start another puzzle because the puzzles I’m really looking forward to at the moment are the ones that are getting ready to be shipped? I don’t know, but whatever the reason I currently have no puzzle in progress on any of my boards and no idea which one will be next. 😐

The Wasgij Express!

On April 30, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw PuzzlesLeave a comment

So I finished my first Wasgij Mystery – huge surprise coming up ………………. loved it!!! As is normal for me I refuse to spoil the fun for anyone so I’m only showing a small bit of the puzzle so you’ll have to figure it out for yourself.

Recently I received an email from the site where I purchase most of my European made puzzles telling me that for the 20th anniversary of Wasgij Jumbo was re-releasing the first Wasgij Original, Mystery and Destiny titles. This is what actually spurred me on to make my first puzzle purchase since the World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle. (Yup, I did that. 😎 40,320 pieces!) Since I’m relatively new to Jumbo puzzles, I’m almost 20 years behind and definitely didn’t have the first of anything. That meant time to get an order together! This is the first of the Retro puzzles I’ve assembled. I know, you’re all super surprised that I like it, right?

The answer to the question “What will happen to our secret agents next?” isn’t an easy answer – and the solution to their problem is complicated! I’m proud to say I figured it out pretty quickly, and was eager to puzzle and actually see the result. So much fun. I keep saying that over and over with every puzzle, don’t I? It was fun! Perhaps I need a thesaurus?

Graham Thompson’s artwork – amazing as usual. Lots of detail, lots of humor, wonderfully colorful and bright. Jumbo’s quality – amazing as usual. Excellent fit, thickness, image reproduction, piece shape, etc. So to sum up – this puzzle was awesome!

It’s a good thing I have a LOT of Wasgij puzzles to assemble because I absolutely adore them. Not just the quality (but that is a huge plus in my book), but the concept and artwork as well. I love not having the picture to work from and having to figure out how the picture on the box is relevant to the finished puzzle. I wish I had more of them to be honest, but I’ll have to make due with the stack in my closet that is taller than me. I think it’s about 6 feet high. 😮 I’m a little addicted.

Who does this?

On April 29, 2017May 18, 2023 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

Double Trouble – Unknown manufacturer – 100 pieces (actually there’s only 93!)

Why go to the trouble of donating a puzzle to a thrift store when there are so many missing pieces? While I honestly appreciate everyone who donates to thrift stores (it’s our main source of cool puzzles!) I don’t understand why they would donate a puzzle missing 7% of it’s pieces. When mom and I are done with a puzzle that we don’t want to keep we take it back to the thrift store – unless it’s missing pieces. We know how frustrating it is to work on a puzzle only to find out at the end that all the pieces aren’t there and we don’t want to knowingly do that to anyone else. I know that’s the risk we take buying a jigsaw puzzle used, a piece or two could have escaped while it was being re-boxed, things happen. Those don’t bother me as much as the ones that are obviously missing a LOT of pieces. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just put it in the recycling? This is why I’ve started assembling the smaller puzzles that we get for my “grandson”, I don’t want to give him a puzzle that can’t be completed. Alright, I’m climbing down off my high horse. 😉

Pretty good day of puzzling today, I’m working on the 1500 piece golf puzzle for hubby. It’s coming along quite well and I’m enjoying it immensely. From what I’ve been able to find online I don’t think this brand of puzzle is still being manufactured; the one I’m assembling is from 1993. There are Mandolin puzzles on Amazon and eBay, but I’m not finding a website or a place to purchase them from the manufacturer. Interesting.

Also, mom and I finished a 500 piece Springbok puzzle today that we started yesterday, and it was very cute! I haven’t written the post about that one yet, but it’ll be up on the blog eventually. It’s so nice to have time with mom where we can just sit and talk and do puzzles together, we always have such a good time. Even when the puzzle isn’t the best the fact that we’re working on it together is what matters. Puzzle buddies rock! 🙂