Thoughts of an introverted bookworm and avid jigsaw puzzler
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!
I did two more puzzles from Josie Lewis this week. I just love her artwork! Both of these are 300 pieces and come from Buffalo Games.
The circular puzzle is called Seed of Life. It was very relaxing to put together – I found the whole thing just flowed from one piece to the next. The square puzzle is called Square Petals. It was a bit harder to do but still enjoyable.
Rainbow/gradient puzzles are some of my favorite puzzles to do. It is so fun to be able to start a puzzle in one section and just work your way around the puzzle, and seeing the colors all lined up is so pleasant!
Coastal Harbour is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Georgia Breeze. I did another of her puzzles last year called Garden Allotment and enjoyed it very much. There is something very charming about her artwork style.
This was a pleasure to put together. Ravensburger puzzles are such nice quality, with a matte finish to the pieces and a good thickness and fit. The image is broken up into sections, so after I did the buildings and boats that stood out the most, I worked on the sand and then the water and so on. A few of the buildings were very similar, so those took a bit more time, but overall I would say this not very difficult.
When I finished the puzzle in the wee hours of the morning, I was missing a piece. I tried to check around my puzzle board and under the couch but ended up having to go to bed without finding it. When I woke up and went out to the kitchen, I saw the missing puzzle piece upside down on the floor by the dining room table. I’m guessing it must have fallen off the puzzle board and gotten batted over there by the cat. I don’t really know what happened, but I am so glad I found it!
Mushrooms is a 1000-piece puzzle from Cavallini & Co. It was the oldest puzzle on my to do shelf, so I decided I should finally tackle it. This company has unique packaging with each puzzle in a decorative puzzle tube with a mini poster and a drawstring muslin bag for the pieces. It’s quite distinctive but a bit awkward on the shelf.
The quality of the puzzle itself was good with a couple of issues. I loved the smooth feel of the pieces, but one was bent and wouldn’t lay flat. Also, the image was coming loose from the knobs when I would try a piece and then have to pull them apart if they didn’t fit.
The first half of the puzzle was pretty easy as there are several distinctive sections of different colors. It did get challenging after that and when I got down to the pieces that were all or mostly cream, I had to sort by shape and then try each piece one by one to find the right spot.
I did enjoy the challenge, though, and the finished puzzle is very pleasant to look at.
Wicked is a 300-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games. A friend gave this to me for my birthday because she knows how much I enjoyed the movie.
It was super quick to put together. Even though there is a lot of green and pink, the shades varied between sections so pulling out the pieces I wanted was easy. It was also a lot of fun to do; I love puzzles that are in a sort of grid like this one.
The puzzle she gave me for Christmas looks very difficult with lots of dark areas, so I’m glad I was at least able to do this one easily.
Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a 1000-piece puzzle from New York Puzzle Company, and the artist is Ana Juan. I got this one several months ago and was holding onto it until wintertime. It is a random-cut puzzle, which have traditionally been my least favorite to do, but I found this one to be more enjoyable than I expected. I think I must be getting used to the random-cut style because I am considering getting more of them.
I just love this image with all of the adorable dogs dressed up for the cold. I love their outfits and their expressions/personalities. Which one is your favorite?
