It’s Monday, and I’m feeling like it’s a Monday. And all that’s left on the puzzle I’m currently working on is the “Monday” tediousness of the background. Ugh, Monday.

I’m working on the second of two Cloudberries puzzles, and it is much more challenging than Pixels was. But the quality is wonderful and the image is so fun that the challenge is entertaining rather than frustrating.

The white background means that most of the edge pieces are all white, I didn’t even try to put the edge together first; this is one of those puzzles where the edges go on last. It seemed a little odd at first, but the image itself has to lead the assembly. Usually if I try to make a plan I end up having to change it once I look at the pieces and see what jumps out at me.

I’m having a great time with it!

I finally started writing drafts for the puzzles I’d assembled but hadn’t published before mom went into the hospital. I find that I want to write about them all in relation to her – either she bought it at the thrift store, or it’s one we did together, etc.

I know this is a blog about puzzles first and foremost, and I’m doing my best not to be too maudlin or sad, but that may just be how it is for a while. I usually try to at least sound cheerful even when I’m not feeling it, or I used to. I’m not sure I can manage that just yet, it seems overly fake when I see the words.

So bear with me, if you can, I’m sure after a while I’ll feel somewhat like my old self again and be back to the happy puzzle-y posts you’re used to. Although, be forewarned, she bought SO MANY puzzles at the thrift store it may be a year or more before I get through all the puzzles that she bought us! 😎

 

**my oldest has a blog about his movie collection, and he wrote a beautiful tribute to mom, if you’re interested click the link. He’s a pretty damned good writer, at least his mom thinks so. 😉

So I put together a 300 piece puzzle on Wednesday, and yesterday I put together four 27 piece 3D Christmas ornament puzzles. I have to say that it wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be.

At the beginning, before I start working, thoughts of mom and puzzling with her pop up – but as I get engrossed in the assembly I find that the focus is solely on the pieces and how they fit together. When I finished is when it was the most difficult for me, as that’s the time I would send mom a picture or a text and show her the finished puzzle; we would talk about it and what I was going to do next. I’m going to miss that so very much.

I’m thankful that the almost meditative state that jigsaw puzzling brings to me is still intact; and that even though I’m sad I can no longer sit with her at my puzzle table, jigsaw puzzles are still able to help me de-stress and turn off my brain for a while. I’ve never needed to stop thinking more than I do right now.