I only did two of the puzzles from my Completing the Puzzle subscription this month. I decided to put my subscription on hold and they asked that I send the puzzles I had back within 7 days, so I only had time to do two of them. I wasn’t too upset about it, though, because the other two weren’t from my wish list and I didn’t mind skipping them.
The first one was Paris in a Day from eeBoo, and it was 1000 pieces. It was the first rectangular eeBoo puzzle I have seen. This was right up my alley with all the different buildings and windows; it helped that there were so many different colors and textures in the image.
The second puzzle I did was Paris from Galison; it was a 1000-piece puzzle and the artist was Michael Storrings. It was a bear to complete, especially compared to the Paris in a Day puzzle I just did. The building colors were all very similar, as were the windows.
I am always drawn to Michael Storrings artwork, but I hesitate to get his puzzles because they seem hard. I do have a 500 piece that is pretty doable, but I wouldn’t want to do this one again.
Once my puzzles are confirmed back at the warehouse, I am planning to cancel my subscription. I have enjoyed getting to do some puzzles that would have been harder or more expensive to obtain, but I am ready to go back to puzzling whatever I want on a given day instead of having to prioritize the subscription puzzles.
I recently saw a review of the subscription company Completing the Puzzle on one of the YouTube channels I follow, The Casual Puzzler. For a monthly fee, you can borrow puzzles to do and then return. Their standard subscription is for one puzzle at a time, and the next puzzle is sent once you return the first one (like the original Netflix model). The review I saw also mentioned an option to get four puzzles at a time once a month, and I decided to go with that to minimize trips to the post office.
When you create your account, you set your preferences for puzzle size and puzzle type. You can also add puzzles from their catalog to your wish list, and then they will prioritize sending you puzzles from your wish list if they are available.
I got my first shipment earlier this month and have since completed all of the puzzles. Each puzzle is in a zippered pouch and there are laminated pictures of the puzzle images. They are packaged in a zippered container that can be shipped as is. They included a return label that could be slipped in the clear pouch on the outside of the box.
The first puzzle I did was Wonder & Bloom from Galison. It is a 500-piece puzzle, and the artist is Victoria Ball. It was still in really good shape, although it was missing one piece. I emailed the company and they had me send them a photo of the puzzle and said they would remove it from rotation once I sent it back.
The second puzzle I did was Amish Country from Dowdle. For some reason, I thought it was going to be a larger piece count, but it was actually 300. That was okay since I have been doing more 300 piece puzzles recently. This one was less enjoyable because the puzzle had definitely been done many times. Some of the pieces had a very narrow area on them, and several were close to breaking and one was actually broken into two smaller pieces. It was still a nice image though.
The third puzzle I did was Tale of Two from Art & Fable. It was 500 pieces, and the artist was Maria Brzozowska. I have seen this puzzle online before and been intrigued by the image – it is quite whimsical and unique. I don’t really know what the title refers to; I wonder if it might be the two people in the lower right corner. The puzzle was well-loved – the pieces felt kind of soft from much use, but the fit was good and it was enjoyable to do.
The fourth, and last, puzzle I completed was Summer at the Amusement Park from Galison. It was a 500-piece puzzle, and the artist was Michael Storrings. I have done several of his puzzles and enjoy his style. I liked the fun details in this image.
I feel that this subscription was a good value based on my experience this first month. I am looking forward to what puzzles I get next month. There were several in their catalog that had been on my Amazon wish list, as well as some that I hadn’t seen before and liked. They have even added a few larger count puzzles recently (1500 and 2000 pieces).
This year, I took off the week between Christmas and New Year’s. I like having off at this time of year because work is usually slow, and it’s nice to have a few days to just putter around.
Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday this year. I went to the family-friendly morning service and the evening candlelight service. I really enjoyed the evening service, although the wax from the candle did drip onto my hands a couple of times! After church, I redid the puzzle Michael Storrings New York City Subway.
Christmas day was pretty quiet. I watched a few episodes of Silo and did some reading. My mom had sent money for Christmas, and I had bought a few books that had been on my wish list for a while because it didn’t seem like the library was ever going to get them. I have read the first two already and loved them!
Michael came home around 6:30. He had forgotten my presents at his dad’s house, so I gave him mine and opened the couple I had gotten myself, lol. We had dinner together, and then later on, his dad brought over the presents Michael had gotten me. Of course, he got me two puzzles – one for Christmas and one for my birthday!
Wednesday and Thursday Michael had work from 10-2. On Wednesday, Kim came over, and we ate lunch and watched a movie. After I picked Michael up, we went to Target to get a drive up order. I have decided to use Target instead of Amazon when I can due to a package being stolen last week.
On Thursday, I had therapy, which went well. I also went to Barnes and Noble to check out their puzzle selection. They had a good number, but I didn’t see anything I had to have. After I picked Michael up, we went to the Colonial Park Mall to pick up a package from the Amazon locker. That’s what I have decided to do for things I have to get from Amazon.
On Friday, I went to get an oil change. In the afternoon, we attempted to build two dining room chairs. We had built the first two when Bill & Jenn were coming over, but we had more people coming over that evening, so we needed them. One of them was fine, but the other one had an issue with one of the screws not going in properly. I also made artichoke dip and monster cookies. Along with that, I served veggies and dip plus meat, cheese, and crackers.
Friday evening was a lot of fun. Renee and her boys, Evan and Hans, came over along with our friend Chris. They enjoyed the food, and we played part of a game of Star Munchkin. Chris cleaned up my kitchen for me and superglued the chair piece that was causing a problem. It was a wonderful evening!
On Saturday, Kim came over for our weekly lunch and movie. I took a nap that afternoon because I had stayed up way too late the night before. I also went to bed early and woke up Sunday just in time for the online pre-recorded service my church did for what they call Sabbath Sunday. They are closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s to give the staff a rest.
Sunday afternoon, I started a 1000 piece puzzle that I had won in a contest a little over a year ago. I will share that in a separate post. I did stay up until 2 am on New Year’s Day to finish it.
Monday was New Year’s Day and the last day of my break. I slept in, and then Michael and I drove to Target to pick up a vacuum I had ordered. I got him Chick-fil-A since we were near there (I had already eaten lunch). When we got home, I did a 100-piece puzzle as part of the Winter Bingo for The Casual Puzzler’s Facebook group. I also did a 500-piece puzzle, also for the Winter Bingo. I’ll post both of those later this week.
All in all, this was a fun and relaxing break for me. I really like having some time off around the holidays.
Edited to add: I forgot to mention that my friend Kim gave me a 500-piece puzzle when she came over on Wednesday, and I put it together that night.
I did another Christmas puzzle this week. This one was the Michael Storrings New York City Subway from Galison. It was 500 pieces. I actually received this puzzle for free from Galison, after I contacted them regarding the defects I found in a previous puzzle of theirs.
This was a super fun puzzle to do! I really enjoyed the image with all of the different buildings and vehicles. The pieces were good quality, with no false fits or bent/broken pieces. The feel of the puzzle was much better too. I would rate the difficulty level as easy, especially because there were no solid color areas or difficult textures.
Here is a picture of the completed puzzle:
I’m not sure if I’ll get another puzzle done before Christmas. I have a busy schedule this weekend, and then Christmas is next Sunday. I am off work between Christmas and New Years’, though, so I’m hoping to do some puzzling then.
In So Many Words 