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! ❤💖❤
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!
Today is the start of National Game and Puzzle Week here in the US, which is perfect for taking some of the stress out of spending time with family over Thanksgiving. Is Aunt Matilda always making you wait hours and hours for your holiday meal? Set up a jigsaw puzzle to help pass the time, what a lovely way to spend time with your family and loved ones!
You’ll get no board game recommendations from me – it’s too easy to end up arguing (just my opinion, of course). I love board and card games, but hubby is unbelievably competitive, as are many other family members. A fun game of euchre with my parents ends up with the men getting frustrated with mom and I because we “don’t take it seriously”. Mom and I then purposely try to lose, which mean we almost always end up winning; and we giggle hysterically while it’s happening. It’s safe to say the husbands are unimpressed with our behavior. 😁 I’m a jigsaw puzzle gal all the way; everyone can help, you don’t need to explain the “rules”, and everyone wins. Viva le puzzle!
So onto today’s puzzle, I chose this one for today’s post because it’s a puzzle of playing cards which can be used for many games. This puzzle had me so enraptured that I almost couldn’t walk away. I kept coming back to it even though I wasn’t feeling well; I just had to get a few more pieces put in, and I had to know if all the pieces were there!
Another good quality non-traditional Ceaco. This one is called a Conversation Pieces Trompe L’oeil jigsaw puzzle. (trompe l’oeil is a visual illusion in art, it means to trick or deceive the eye to see the painting as a three-dimensional object) Ceaco has a few of these conversation pieces puzzles, but this is the first one we’ve found in the thrift stores.
I wasn’t planning to document this assembly, but mom was here at the beginning and helped me assemble most of the first part. She went home to get some things done, and I kept sending her updated pictures. So I’ve got pics of the assembly as I went along! We started with the face cards, they were harder to assemble than we bargained for!
Next I assembled the rest of the cards that were face up, and I tried to place them all approximately where they belong in the puzzle. It sure doesn’t look like much, does it?
The next morning I put together the edges; it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as difficult as I’d thought either. I was so excited to get that done! All that’s left is to fill in. I can’t explain how engrossed I was in this puzzle and how happy it made me. So happy!
I was hoping to have a picture of it glued and mounted on foam board and hanging in my daughter’s game room. Unfortunately, it’s not on the wall yet. Bummer. Still, we had a great time with this puzzle, and it looks so cool!
Conversation Pieces – Ceaco – 500 pieces
If you’re not up close to see the piece shapes it looks like cards strewn across a table. I think it’s going to look amazing on the wall! Perhaps over the holiday I’ll get it hung up – my daughter and her husband are hosting Thanksgiving this year in their new home. I’m bringing the pies, and something to hang up this puzzle! You might just see a picture of it sometime soon. 😎
Sugar Magnolia is taking soooo long! It has nothing to do with the puzzle itself, I’ve just been unable to sit in front of it long enough to make any substantial progress; fifteen minutes yesterday was all I could handle. 😕
It’s so beautiful, the pieces are wonderfully fun and entertaining to work with, and I’m unbelievably happy to have it – but it’s been 16 days now since it’s arrived and I would really love to see it finished! Yesterday I was able to put together the largest butterflies in the section above (one on each side of the puzzle). It’s coming together, though my progress is much slower than I’d like.
Ok, enough whining about it. Time to put on my big girl panties and get to work!
Sometimes it’s so difficult to read tone and inflection online. Did they mean to sound so snarky? Do they not realize how that sounds, or am I putting my own attitude into these words? I read something online about the piece counts that puzzlers prefer and it may have been me, but some of the comments seemed to belittle people who did any puzzles less than 1000 pieces.
I’m sure a bit of it is me, I’ve been having such a difficult time with my anxiety that sometimes opening a box with 1000 pieces makes me extremely anxious and even upset. All those pieces, it just seems like too much. That said, it isn’t all just my emotions – some people spoke as though it was beneath them (and others) to work a puzzle under 1000 pieces; as though people who work smaller puzzles are less accomplished or intelligent. What is the purpose of that?
The world is an unfriendly and harsh place at times, why bring that outside world and it’s crankiness to fellow puzzlers who love reassembling chopped up pieces of cardboard and wood just like you? I don’t understand it, and it’s upsetting to me. Some people are unable to work larger puzzles because of a physical or psychological difference or limitation; and some people just prefer a smaller piece count. As far as I’m concerned, every small puzzle completed is just as beautiful and beneficial as a giant puzzle with 5000 pieces.
Who cares if my piece counts don’t measure up to yours, or yours to mine? So what if it takes you 2 days to complete your puzzle and it takes me a month? What matters is that we share the love of a hobby; that we find places online to meet, read about, or discuss that hobby. Not the petty competitiveness of making yourself feel better by bringing others down. Sigh.
I love puzzling. I love puzzles. Every size, every piece count – from 4 pieces to 40,000 – I find them all fun and entertaining in their own way. It isn’t up to me or anyone else to judge what puzzles you like, or like to assemble. If a quick and easy 100 or 300 piece puzzle makes you happy, fantastic! If you only work 1000 piece puzzles, you’re awesome! If your favorites are puzzles larger than 3000 pieces, that’s amazing! If you love jigsaw puzzles then you’re a fellow traveler and I’m so happy to meet you!
When you pick up a piece there’s a small pause; you consider the color, shape, and pattern – where should it go? How should I turn it? Where does it fit? Perhaps we should all pause for a bit before we speak (or type). Consider the shape of the comment, how it’s “color” will be received, does it fit in with the kindness we hope to receive when communicating with others? Just a small pause to consider, maybe that’s all that’s needed.💗
My Jigsaw Journal 