Tag: Miscellaneous

Oh Dear…

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous8 Comments

The past two (almost) weeks have been rough on this old broad, and there hasn’t been much in the way of puzzling at all. The puzzle on my table has been finished for a few days now, and although the pictures have been taken it’s still there waiting to be disassembled before I can start a new one.

Problem is, sitting at the table and puzzling has been damned difficult with my recent back injury and the added pain is not only tough to deal with, but it also does a number on the mind – at least for me. It makes me want to not do anything at all except find a comfortable position and stay there forever and not have to think or talk or do or deal with the world. NOT GOOD.

I finally gave in and went to urgent care yesterday; got a couple of shots in the behind (steroids and a painkiller) and will be taking steroids for the next week to reduce the inflammation. I’m hopeful it will start helping me feel better at last – to help me get back to my table to enjoy the gorgeous puzzles that are patiently waiting to be assembled and loved.

The next puzzle I do is going to be one that I’m excited about; it won’t be one I choose because “it’s best for the blog to do a _____ type puzzle next”. I need to get back to the puzzle love and enjoy the hell out of whatever puzzle is next, no matter what! 💚🧩💚

2024 Puzzling Goals?

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous11 Comments

Have you set goals for yourself this year? And by that I mean puzzling goals, of course. I used to; I’d set a goal for a certain number of puzzles or pieces, or to try a brand that was on my bucket list, etc. Not anymore.

With all the turmoil in the world and especially in the United States in the past several years, I’ve found it best for myself that I not set puzzling goals at the beginning of a new year. My mental health can oftentimes be quite a struggle, and setting goals that in the end aren’t achieved doesn’t help that at all.

Sometimes I need to “check out” from the blog or puzzles altogether; and sometimes I just want to stop and do nothing because depression is a beast that never gives up. So, no goals for me this year.

My hope, however, is that every day at least two puzzle pieces connect together. Even if it’s only putting two pieces together and my heart isn’t in it I hope that I can fake it until I make it.

How about you? Have you set yourself a puzzle goal for this year? A certain number of puzzles or pieces? To stop buying so many puzzles? To get yourself a wooden puzzle for the first time? To try a larger piece count for the first time? Do tell! I’d love to hear from you. 💟

On a totally different subject, I made the above image SEVEN YEARS AGO! I don’t even remember why, but I wanted question mark and of course whatever the subject I was going on about was related to jigsaw puzzling. So I took some pieces of a colorful puzzle (collage, of course), built a little question mark on my table and took this picture. It’s been unbelievably useful!

I use it on the side panel of the blog to show what I’m working on when the next puzzle on my board hasn’t been decided on yet, or if I can’t find or create a good enough image of the actual puzzle I’m working on. I use it when I ask a question of my readers, I use it when I’m philosophizing about puzzles or puzzling – I use it at least 10 times a year! That may not seem like much, but it definitely is for the blog. The pictures I take almost always are used only once, but this one has been my go-to image for years now.

Just thought I’d share the story of this picture with you, hope you found it interesting. 🧩💚

Happy New Year’s Eve!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Miscellaneous4 Comments

I know we puzzlers are a hard-partying bunch of dangerous, daring dissectologists, but be safe out there tonight everyone! As for myself, I’ll be babysitting my grandpuppies – it’s true, the fun never stops.

There was a time when I stayed up to welcome the New Year, but truth be told a warm bed and some restful sleep is SOOOO much more exciting to me. Yep, I get my thrills while happily unconscious; and I ain’t ashamed to tell you that either!

Best wishes for a safe, happy, and healthy New Year to all members of the puzzle posse! 🎉🥂🎉

No More Christmas, Yay!

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling, Miscellaneous2 Comments

Christmas and Christmas puzzles are behind me now, and I’m quite pleased about it to be honest. *insert happy dance here💃💃💃*

I’m so very glad that the advent calendar was a success and every puzzle was different and had all it’s pieces; but I’m also glad to go back to puzzles that I have chosen and whose images make me happy.

I received three puzzles as presents. But here’s the problem with being a prolific puzzle blogger – one of them I’ve already assembled (February 2022), and one of them I have here but haven’t put it together yet. I felt so bad telling my daughter that I already own the puzzle she bought me, but she always wants me to be honest and so I was. It doesn’t matter though, I LOVE that they picked out puzzles that they knew I would enjoy. If I already have it or have assembled it, then they know what I like – and that makes my heart happy. 💕

So now we’re back to puzzle images I like (for the most part), and there are 10 or more than have been sitting in the queue for more than a month waiting for their turn in the spotlight. It’s a good thing I’ve started writing up the entire post once the puzzle is finished, because I can barely remember the assembly of these puzzles, it seems so long ago!

I used to just put the pictures in a draft post, write a couple notes that I wanted to talk about regarding the assembly, and then type up everything later when I was more in the mood for “writing”. Now I’ve started writing up everything immediately so I won’t have to remember anything later because menopause and pain meds seem to have taken quite the toll on my poor, aging brain cells. It’s better to get everything down as soon as I’ve finished while it’s still fresh in my mind.

We’ll also be back to my usual format, which is two days of puzzles followed by an in progress post about whatever puzzle is on my board. My son has picked out a collage of movie posters for me to assemble next (thrift store purchase), and the box is sitting on my board but it hasn’t even been opened yet. Maybe today I’ll crack it open and start sorting, but it might be tomorrow too. At this very moment I’m not really in the mood for puzzles. Hopefully soon!

Did you get any puzzles as gifts this year? Tell me all about them!