Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
Reading Nook is a 750-piece puzzle from RoseArt, and the artist is Cynthia Frenette. I have done a few RoseArt puzzles now and am liking the brand a lot; I’m not sure why I haven’t tried them before now. I love how cozy and inviting this scene looks, and I can definitely imagine curling up with my cat and a good book in this space.
I love this pic of Peanut Butter. I had folded a blanket and left it on the floor, and he partly wormed his way underneath the top layer. So cute!
This week was a pretty good one. I am starting to feel a little bit more like myself again. although some days I have been really tired from staying up too late the night before. Work is going well, and Michael seems to be doing okay at his job, which I am thankful for. I got a much-needed haircut on Friday evening, and I saw my friend Kim on Saturday after a few weeks of us being busy with other things.
I have been doing a lot of puzzling and TV watching lately and not as much reading. I did sit down and write a few book reviews, though, so I will be posting those soon.
My biggest struggle lately has been with impulse control. This affects me in a number of areas and I am looking forward to talking with my psychiatrist in a couple of weeks. I think I may need to adjust some of my meds to help me stay more centered.
I recently redid these two puzzles because I needed puzzles with specific items for a Facebook challenge. Both are from Ceaco and were illustrated by Stephanie Peterson Jones. Taco Truck is 500 pieces, and Canyon Camper is 300 pieces.
Ceaco’s quality has never been the best, and the Taco Truck did not hold up well for a second solve. The top border especially was hard to do because of false fits and the pieces not staying in a straight line. Canyon Camper held up much better, thankfully.
I am still going to hold onto them because I love both series and like having easy puzzles around for challenges and times I don’t want a hard puzzle.
Bookshelf with Cats is a 500-piece puzzle from RoseArt, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. This is another one from their Vertical Visions set, and I quite enjoyed it. The colors are so bright and cherrful. I love both books and cats, and my cat has been known to jump on my bookshelf occasionally! 😺
Eastern Bloc Telephones is a 500-piece puzzle from Galison, and the artist is Troy Litten. This is one of the puzzles I had taken to the library meetup and we had done together. I really like this image, and I think the grid pattern lends itself well to puzzling with a group.
Unfortunately, several pieces were bent or had the backing peeling off, so that was frustrating. I have had a variety of quality issues with Galison lately and am not sure I want to continue getting their puzzles even though I really like some of their images. I do already have one Christmas puzzle from them on my shelf, so hopefully that one will be good.
Midnight in New York is a 1000-piece puzzle from KI Puzzles, and the artist is Madalina Tantareanu. This is the fourth puzzle I have done in this series, and I still have two more to do. I really like her artwork, and I enjoyed this puzzle a lot.
Buildings are one of my favorite things to puzzle, so this design was perfect for me. My favorite part of the image was the billboards, though; they were so fun!
The quality of the puzzle was decent. I did have to press pretty hard on some of the pieces to get them into place. I prefer when they click into place a bit more.
Cobble Hill recently released a series of 100-piece puzzles intended to be used for Puzzle Chess, and I picked up two of them. I do have two friends who like to play with me, but I just couldn’t resist doing these puzzles solo first because of how cute they are.
The titles are Nerdy Junk Drawer and Doodlecat Days. Aren’t they adorable?
I recently had a friend over for the evening, and we ordered Chinese takeout and did a puzzle together called Green Mountain Camper. After she left, I was still in the mood to puzzle, so I also did Downeast Camper and Cactus Camp-Out. All three puzzles are 300 pieces from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones.
I think I have all the Happy Campers now and they have all been completed. I do still have some puzzles from her Food Trucks to do.
Marketplace in France is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. I have a few of her puzzles now and really enjoy her bold, colorful images. This brand is also a favorite of mine.
Book Nook is a 1000-piece puzzle from White Mountain, and the artist is Rose Khan. Rose Khan is also an author of fantasy books and her artwork is inspired by her writing. This image was a treat to put together. I love the rich colors and the beautiful details like the scrollwork on the window and the cozy pillows.
The image was darker on the puzzle that it shows in this image, so there were sections that were pretty hard, like the fireplace. That didn’t really detract from my enjoyment, though.
Khan has done a number of other puzzle illustrations. One that I am very interested in is called The Six Portals, which is currently available as a 7000 piece puzzle from Ravensburger. I don’t really have the room for a puzzle that big, even with it being split into two bags of 3500 pieces, but I have heard a rumor that they might be releasing the image in a 1000-piece puzzle. I would definitely get that one!
In So Many Words 