Emerald Bookstore is a 1000-piece puzzle from Villager, and the artist is Tara Younggren. This was a splurge from their spring collection, and I am so happy I got it!
I love this image so much. I am a lifelong bookworm, so combining puzzles and books is always a big hit for me. Villager is also such a great brand. I love the quality of their puzzles.
This one was definitely a challenge but in a very satisfying way. I had to sort by shape to get through the last third of the puzzle, but I never felt truly stuck or frustrated.
I also just hear they are coming out with some 250-piece puzzles soon, and I am excited to see them.
Seashells is a 1000-piece puzzle from Elena Essex, and the artist is Katherine Herrell. I just love rainbow/gradient puzzles. It is so enjoyable to pick out the colors one by one and work on each section. I also love the quality of this brand. The pieces are a nice shape and weight, and they fit together well.
I love how each of the seashells has a slightly different pattern; they are so beautiful. There were also very few pieces that had just the background color on them, which was very nice.
Purrfect Life is a 1000-piece puzzle from Elewhite, and the artists are Juan & Yuan. Earlier this year, I splurged on a few puzzles from higher-end brands, and this was one of them. This was my first Elewhite puzzle, and I was blown away by how much I loved it! The colors are so vibrant, and the image is super adorable.
This puzzle is panoramic, and the box mimics that in the design. The pieces are packaged in a reusable silky storage bag, and there is a poster that is about the size of the image on the box. I loved the feel of the pieces, both the weight and the finish. They fit together perfectly with no false fits.
I usually do puzzles sitting on my couch using my rotating puzzle board, but this puzzle was too wide to fit it, so I had to use the dining room table. I had forgotten how uncomfortable hard wooden chairs can be after a few hours. Thankfully I was able to finish it in two sessions!
There are so many cute details in this puzzle. Here are a few closeups of some of them:
I have read many adaptations and retellings of books by Jane Austen, but it’s not that often that I come across books based on 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 by Louisa May Alcott. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 is a two-book series that was published in 2019 and 2020. The first book focuses on Meg & Jo, while the second book focuses on Beth & Amy. We also get a glimpse into their parents’ relationship.
I thoroughly enjoyed this modern take on a beloved classic. Each sister faces different challenges in her life and in her relationships, and I appreciated the way Kantra shows how their childhood experiences mix with their personalities to contribute to their current issues.
This picture is from the 2026 Autism Mother to Mother Luncheon held in Harrisburg, PA last weekend. The luncheon was started several years ago, and the main location is currently in Chambersburg, PA. The idea is to provide a special day for mothers and female caregivers of children with autism. It includes a catered lunch and a program with music and an inspirational speaker. This is the second year it has been livestreamed to other locations, and I have been part of the planning committee for the Harrisburg location both times.
My contribution to the event was to oversee registration. This involved keeping track of the online registrations as they come in as well as preparing the items we hand out at registration such as the name tags and programs. It was nice to be able to use my strengths to help out in this way.
The event went really well. We had 73 women in attendance and also provided childcare for 15 kids. There were a couple of hiccups that we can address for next time, but no major issues that I am aware of. I did have to personally step out of the after-lunch program because I was overstimulated after two days of in person preparations and then all the noise and bustle of the event. I hung out in the office for a while and did a few cleanup tasks before heading home. I didn’t have that level of difficulty last year, I was just exhausted, but I have been experiencing what many call autistic burnout for a few months, so that likely explains it.
I am hopeful that I will be able to do it again next year, but I will have to see how I feel when the time to start planning comes around. Perhaps there are changes I can make to how I participate so that I can still contribute.
Here are a couple of pics from the registration area:
Cosmic Colors is a 300-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Josie Lewis. I started puzzling pretty late one evening, so I decided to do a smaller piece count so I wouldn’t be tempted to stay up way too late.
I love the fun, swirly patterns in this image, and I really enjoyed doing this puzzle.
Art Studio is a 500-piece puzzle from RoseArt, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. Uta is another favorite artist of mine, and I like this image a lot. I love the colors and all of the interesting things around the room.
This was a bit trickier than I expected due to a few false fits. The pieces were also larger than I expected, which isn’t bad, just different. This puzzle is part of a series called Vertical Visions, and they come in a tall two-piece box. The other three puzzles are all book-related, so I am strongly considering getting them.
Fondue Truck is a 500-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. If you have been following me for any length of time, you may recognize her distinctive style. I have done a lot of her food trucks as well as her happy campers.
This was such fun to put together. It has so many things I love – bright colors, fun patterns, words, buildings, and the adorable truck itself! I especially like the cow standing so politely next to the truck.
This was a pretty busy week for me, but at least I did get to do some puzzling and a bit of reading.
The autism mother to mother luncheon that I am helping to plan is this coming Saturday, so this week is crunch time. I still need to finalize the program and get the files ready to print for the name tags and other things. I’m planning to spend some time on that today and am hoping to get it all ready to go. I took off this Thursday and Friday to go to the church to put things together so we are all ready for registration.
Healthcare rant incoming: My son had his first cleaning with his new dentist. Before we scheduled the appointment, we had a consultation to discuss what they could do in terms of sedation for doing fillings or other work like that and they said they could prescribe Valium for him to take before the appointment. At his cleaning, they did find some cavities, but the hygienist told me the dentist said he wanted to see how he would do without medication for this first time doing fillings. I pushed back and explained that he needed the medication and that was the whole reason we did a consultation before scheduling the cleaning, to make sure it would be available. After that, she went back to the dentist and he did prescribe the medication. It’s so frustrating that we had to have the conversation again!
Spring Tea Party is a 500-piece puzzle from Galison, and the artist is Victoria Ball. I first did this one in April 2025 and decided to pull it out again this year on Easter weekend. It is such a fun little puzzle. I love the adorable bunnies having their tea party with all of the yummy food and festive decorations. I don’t think it’s really visible in the photo, but there are gold foil accents on the puzzle as well.
