Blackbirds Roost at Mill Creek

Blackbirds Roost at Mill Creek by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

This beautiful fall-themed Americana image by Charles Wysocki was absolutely perfect for puzzling with just enough challenge to keep me on my toes. I can’t recommend it enough, it was truly entertaining.

It was a typical Buffalo quality puzzle with a very good fit. In each of my quality categories this puzzle was above average, and actually has me wishing I’d chosen another of their puzzles to assemble next. There are many, many, many Buffalo puzzles here to choose from, so most likely they’ll be up in the rotation again soon.

Long time readers know how I feel about quilts in a puzzle, and you won’t be surprised to find that after the border that was the very first thing I assembled. Usually it’s the words, but as I told ya’ll in an “in progress” post my youngest son put almost all the words together while I was resting. It’s a good thing I’m such an understanding momma, otherwise….🤬

Every time I look at the pumpkins in this image the stems remind me of the Whos in Whoville – those curlicues on top of their heads. Is it just me or do any of you see it too?

There’s so much to say about this little section. Whale Oil. Wow. I just love the look of this carriage; the fact that he’s sitting on the barrels instead of the seat, the bright blue sign, the silly name, the dog – all of it together makes for an image that just makes me smile.

When I think of a Wysocki image, for some reason it brings to mind a small town way out in the countryside, surrounded by miles and miles of forest. That doesn’t seem like the best place for a fish market or a lobster restaurant! It’s ridiculously silly of course, a small “country” town can be anywhere, even close enough to the ocean to sell whale oil, fresh fish, and lobsters.

I thought this would be an entertaining assembly, and I was right – but it was even more fun than I thought it would be! Even all those bare trees at the top weren’t that difficult, and I was pretty proud of myself for finishing them as quickly as I did.

There are plenty of Wysocki images here to do, I’m sure I’ve barely made a dent in his catalog of artwork. Thank goodness I won’t be running out any time soon. 😍

Olde Buck’s County

Olde Buck’s County by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Does this gorgeous Wysocki image put you in the Halloweeny holiday mood? It wasn’t very evocative of the holiday itself, but the artwork definitely puts me in the mood for more fun fall-themed puzzles. I hope they’re all as fun as this one was.

I chose this fall image for my first puzzle post of October because of all the pumpkins everywhere, pumpkins always makes me think of the autumn season. Where I grew up in the north October means apple cider, hay rides, pumpkin patches, and wonderful cooler weather. (As I’m writing this – in August, in Florida – what I wouldn’t give for some of that cool weather!)

This little tableau made me smile. The root beer man is delivering and he’s pumping it into the cellar – I wonder how many kegs of “beer” they have down there!

Millie’s Never-Weary Bake Shop, wouldn’t you love to pop in there and stock up on some wonderful homemade cakes and pies and breads? I would!

It was a little iffy whether or not this puzzle was going to stand up, but the fit was good enough for the Stacey Stance.😎 Such an entertaining puzzle, I’m sure the local senior center would love this one. It feels like the perfect image for that, doesn’t it?

Blackbirds…In Progress…

Blackbirds Roost at Mill Creek by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 1000 pieces

Another gorgeous Wysocki is on the board, this one’s giving me a bit of a run for my money – it’s not an easy one that’s for sure! Still the challenge is fun and I love putting together his artwork (most of the time) and it makes for lovely meditation.

After laying out all the pieces and assembling the border I went and took a break, rested in bed for a while. When I came back to the board my son had already put together most of the words! That he’s enjoying puzzles and working on mine with me makes me very happy – but the words are my favorite part! *stomp*🤬

That’s alright, he should have fun with them just like I do. We’re still working on it together today, and maybe while I’m off at the doctor this afternoon he’ll get some more of the harder parts done. Here’s hoping!

Olde Buck’s County In Progress…

Olde Buck’s County by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Unfortunately I didn’t puzzle at all yesterday. Fortunately, my daughter came over to visit and hang out with me all day! Totally worth it!

Therefore, all I had time to do this morning before 8 am was put together a few of the pieces with words and take a picture so that I could get this post out into the world on schedule. And I’ll do my best to make up for it with lots of puzzle time today to be sure. It won’t be difficult, a Wysocki puzzle is almost always fun to assemble. There are usually plenty of little signs all around, lots of beautiful scenery, great old buildings, etc.

I’m pretty sure it’ll be hard to walk away from and it might even be done before you know it!

Lilac Point Glen

Lilac Point Glen by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 300 pieces

After working on a 1000 piece puzzle that was quite a challenge, this 300 piece Wysocki was just what the doctor ordered to cleanse my puzzle palate. I always enjoy working an Americana puzzle, and Charles Wysocki’s images are some of the best around in my opinion.

This is one of the puzzles I bought during my trip to the thrift store a while back, and I was happy to find that not only was it complete but it was still in excellent condition. There aren’t many smaller piece count puzzles here for me (not counting my mini puzzles, of course) and it was so nice to find a few smaller ones to keep me occupied in between larger puzzles.

The oddest thing happened when I was assembling this puzzle, my youngest son got really involved with it. Most people wouldn’t think that’s out of the ordinary – but it most definitely is! My youngest has autism, and he has never been that interested in my puzzles unless it has an image of something he enjoys like comic books or particular movies. He doesn’t really engage much unless there’s something that interests him, but to my surprise he came in when I was working on this puzzle and helped me with it. But that’s not all, he actually stayed in the puzzle room working on the puzzle when I took a break and went to lie in bed to rest!

When my husband told me he was still working on the puzzle I snuck down the hall and took this picture of him (yes, he does wear a hoodie like that in the house). I was so shocked that he was working on this puzzle without me that I had to document it with a picture!

I have no idea why this puzzle in particular interested him so much, but I absolutely love that he engaged with it and with me while we were working on it together. I definitely got more than my money’s worth from this thrift store puzzle. 💕