Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
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.
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.
Sunset Bay is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Charles Wysocki. I got this one at Community Aid one day when they had gotten a whole bin of puzzles. I think I got 4 or 5 Wysockis that day.
This is such a lovely image. I found the blue and gray color palette of the main buildings so soothing, and I especially like how the sky meets the water. The greens and browns got a bit tricky at times, but a bit of shape sorting and I was good to go.
Surf’s Up! is a 1500-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Ingrid Slyder. This is my second puzzle of this size (I have also done one 2000-piece puzzle), and I bought it to do while I was watching the USAJPA Nationals. It was a lot of fun! The image was so well designed that it didn’t feel like a bigger puzzle, and I loved all of the bright colors and interesting textures. The only part that was a little tricky was the palm tree.
I was really happy that the puzzle fit on my rotating puzzle board, since that way I could easily work on it while watching the YouTube stream on my TV. I got so engrossed in the puzzle that I ended up staying up super late and finishing in the first day! I highly recommend this one to anyone interested in trying a larger piece count.
Seasons in Kyoto is a 1000-piece puzzle from eeBoo, and the artist is Jennifer Potter. I really enjoy eeBoo puzzles and this was no exception! The pastel color palette is a bit different than what I normally gravitate to but I found it soothing and beautiful. I love the interesting buildings and the variety of flowers.
Puzzling is not only fun for me but also quiets my brain and gives me some respite from my anxious thoughts. I’m so glad to have found this hobby and to be part of the puzzling community.
The Chocolate is a 1000-piece puzzle from Magnolia, and the artist is Alice Celia. This was a delightful puzzle. It is beautifully illustrated with lots of different colors and textures to work on. The quality is really good as well, although I am always surprised how much puzzle dust there is when I take the puzzle apart!
The Mother to Mother Autism Luncheon that I am helping to planning is coming up in just three weeks, so now it’s time for me to get working on the program and the items that will be included in the folders and bags we hand out. Thankfully, a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the team at the main site, and I just have to tweak things for our location.
I had some unfortunate dental news this week. On Tuesday, I noticed that one of my teeth was pretty loose. The orthodontist had said my teeth might be a bit wobbly as they moved, but this one was really moving. It turned out to be one of my implants (I have two implants right next to each other). My dentist looked at it and said she believed the implant had failed and that an oral surgeon should evaluate both of them. The oral surgeon said that it has definitely failed, and that the other one would fail as well, due to too much bone loss, which is most likely because the implants were placed too close together.
So now I have to organize getting the implant crowns off and then getting the implants removed and a bone graft done. I need a driver for the appointment, and I need to make sure Michael can get to and from work, and it’s going to cost $3600. I’m also stuck eating soft food for the foreseeable future so I don’t fracture it before it can get taken care of. Ugh!
On a positive note, I took Friday off work to watch the first day of the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association Nationals. Friday was the individual prelims, Saturday was the pairs and teams prelims, and Sunday is the finals for all three categories. I had purchased a 1500 piece puzzle to do while I was watching, and I ended up staying up until 3 AM on Saturday morning finishing it! I haven’t taken pictures of the puzzle yet, but here’s a picture of the box:
I did get all caught up on laundry on Friday as well, which was good, but I was definitely avoiding a bunch of admin stuff I really need to do. There are a few things on my list which I am anxious about, so it’s really hard to make myself tackle them.
When my friend Renee came over recently, we played two rounds of Puzzle Chess. Both puzzles were 100 pieces from Ceaco, and they were so adorable! The first one we did was Jungle Menagerie. This one was very easy, and I won by quite a bit. The second one was Space Friends, which was a more difficult puzzle. Renee beat me by a few seconds on that one!
For anyone who isn’t familiar with puzzle chess, here’s how it works. You pick a small puzzle (we used 100 pieces) and you build the border together and lay out all the other pieces. Then you start a chess clock, which you can get on your phone, and take turns putting one piece into the puzzle. Once you have placed your piece, you tap your clock to end your turn and start the other person’s time. Whoever has the most time left when the puzzle is done is the winner.
Chickenology is a 1000-piece puzzle from Princeton Architectural Press, and the artist is Camilla Pintonato. I have been interested in this puzzle for a while and was really excited to pick it up at a puzzle swap last November.
After doing it, I have mixed feelings about this puzzle. I love the image and really enjoyed all the different colors and textures of the chickens. There was some element on almost all of the pieces, so there weren’t too many that were all green. Also, the border and the background behind the word “Chickenology” reminds me of graph paper, which was a nice touch.
What I didn’t love was how loose the fit was. I couldn’t pick up any joined pieces at all. I’m glad I got the chance to do this one, but I don’t think I will be keeping it to do again!
Cozy Living is a 1000-piece puzzle from Elena Essex, and the artist is Uta Krogmann. I absolutely loved this puzzle experience – I can’t say enough good things about it!
First of all, the image is beautiful. I love all the amazing colors and patterns that make up this scene. It has a lot going on, but it didn’t feel busy because there was always another pattern to work on.
Second, the puzzle quality is fantastic. The pieces have a nice feel and finish to them and the colors are so vibrant. They also fit together so well that I could easily pick up sections and move them around within the puzzle.
This is one of my favorite brands, and this puzzle proved just why that is. Highly recommend!
In So Many Words 