Puzzled Cats is a charming 1000-piece puzzle from a company called Two Bird Press. I had it on my Amazon wish list for several months but kept putting it off because it was a little pricier than I normally do.
Then another puzzle on my wish list that I really liked disappeared from the list. After that, I decided to go ahead and get this one while it was still available.
It was a very enjoyable build. The pieces were a tight fit, maybe even too tight. Sometimes, I had to force them together, even when I knew they were in the right place. The image was super cute, though, and it was just the right level of difficulty.
Hidden Cows is a Sandra Boynton puzzle from Workman Puzzles that was absolutely delightful. It is 1000 pieces.
I had previously done her 500 piece Puzzle Complaints, which I loved. So I was eager to get into this one. It was harder than the other one, but still fun.
I started out differently than normal by turning all the pieces over and pulling out the edge pieces but not sorting the rest of them at all. Then I just picked out the pieces that matched each section I wanted to work on.
About halfway through the puzzle, I sorted the rest of the pieces because I was tired of this method. Once I had finished the more distinct areas, I worked my way through the light green and dark green pieces. Towards the end of that, I had to sort by shape, which is the only way I got through all the white pieces.
The Art of Patchwork Puzzle is a 1000-piece puzzle from Chronicle Books that features wool patterns from the Pendleton company.
The quality is very similar to the puzzles from Laurence King Publishing. The pieces are all two in, two out, the fit is very crumbly, and there were several false fits.
All that aside, I did enjoy this puzzle. Each pattern was like a mini puzzle, which provided just the right amount of challenge.
I actually got this puzzle on a trip to Fallingwater, in their gift shop. I know it seems strange that I didn’t get a Frank Lloyd Wright puzzle, but the ones they had seemed more complicated, and I was nervous to get one of those. I might get one of them now that I have a bit more experience puzzling.
First DaySecond Day – turned it around so I could reach the sections I needed to doFinished Puzzle
After getting my last puzzle framed and off the dining room table, I decided to do an easier puzzle. I had a few 500-piece puzzles on my to-do shelf, so I picked one of those.
The puzzle I chose was Ocean from the Ravensburger Circle of Colors line. As you might guess from the title, it is a round puzzle. The artist is Asia Orlando.
This was a very fun, relaxing puzzle. It features an array of ocean creatures arranged in rainbow order. I sorted the pieces by color, then started with the edge. After that, I just went color by color around the puzzle. It went quickly; I never got stuck or frustrated.
I finally finished my first puzzle since moving into the new apartment! I had done The World of Jane Austen last year and liked it so much I framed it. I want to put it up on the wall above my TV, but it’s a bit small for the space, so a friend of mine suggested I do another puzzle to put beside it. I decided to do this one because it’s from the same line and is a similar style and the same size as the Jane Austen one.
This puzzle is from Laurence King Publishing, and the artist is Eleanor Taylor. It is 1000 pieces.
I spent a couple of hours sorting pieces because I knew it would be helpful to have the different buildings separated as much as possible. The first day I worked on it I finished the sorting and did the border.
It took me a while to get back to the puzzle, but when I did, I made some decent progress on the buildings. The fit was pretty crumbly, but I was prepared for that because the Jane Austen one was the same way.
Finally, I sat down and finished the puzzle. It was challenging in spots, but not so bad that I ever considered giving up. I am really happy with the finished puzzle.
I will post a picture once I have both puzzles on the wall. Next puzzle is going to be a fun, easy one!
Wow, it’s hard to believe it has been over seven months since my last post! A lot has happened in that time.
Told my husband I wanted a divorce
Found a new home for our dog
Sold our house
Paid off our debts with the proceeds
Found an apartment for me and my son
Finalized the divorce
Went back to my maiden name
Found a new church
I am really happy in the new apartment, and I love the church I found. I have only been going for about six weeks, and I just attended a mixer for new people yesterday. It was a lot of fun. I am also part of a table group that meets every other Wednesday night, and later this month I am going to a three-week class called Intro to the Journey to learn more about the church.
I was recently diagnosed with diabetes, which has precipitated some huge changes in my life. I have had to change a lot about how I eat, including quitting Mountain Dew cold turkey. The combination of the new diet and the medication I am on seems to be helping, as I have a lot more energy now. I have been able to get a lot more done at work and even work some overtime again. I had been feeling discouraged about my energy levels for a while and assumed it was autistic burnout, but it seems like the way I had been feeling was actually a physical issue.
I have even started puzzling again. I am working on The World of the Bronte’s. It is the same style and size as The World of Jane Austen, which I did a while ago and framed. Once this one is done and framed, I’m going to hang them both on the wall above my TV. So far I have sorted the pieces, done the border, and worked on a few of the buildings.
Michael seems to like the new place as well. We finally have a good Employment Specialist, and he has two phone interviews this week. I’m really hoping they go well!
The first puzzle I completed in 2023 was Ice Cream Dream by LEGO. It’s a 1000 piece puzzle depicting different color LEGOs as tubs of ice cream. I got this as a birthday gift from my friend Renee.
I actually started it in December 2022. I thought it would be super fast and easy, but each of the sections was like a mini single color puzzle and they took a little longer than I thought they would. It was very satisfying to get each color put together.
Here’s my progress as of December 31, 2022:
And here’s the finished puzzle:
This was a fun, colorful way to start the New Year!
Camping for Christmas from Vermont Christmas Company was the first puzzle I did from my December puzzle haul and the last puzzle I completed in 2022. It was a gift from my husband, and I was so happy to get it! It was 1000 pieces, and the artist was Randy Wollenmann.
I would classify this as a medium difficulty puzzle. The edges and the main part of the campers were pretty easy to complete, but from there it got harder. I did the Christmas trees and as much of the people and animals as I could, then I hunkered down and worked on each quadrant of the puzzle to fill in the missing pieces. These were mostly snow and trees with some lights thrown in.
Here is a picture of the completed puzzle:
And here are some closeups of the campers:
I’m glad I got to do three Christmas puzzles this year. I enjoyed all of them, and they definitely enhanced the holiday experience for me.
As you can imagine, my wish list for Christmas this year was mostly comprised of puzzles. My birthday is also on Christmas Day, which can be seen as a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. Because of this, I did get a bunch of cool puzzles, so I wanted to share them here.
The first puzzle I got was actually not from either Christmas or my birthday. I had entered and won a giveaway from the YouTuber The Casual Puzzler for Whisper of Cactus, a 1000 piece puzzle from Antelope. It looks fun, although there is a lot of green, which could be tricky.
Next up are two puzzles that I got from my Secret Santa at my husband’s family Christmas. We get together on Christmas Eve and open presents at midnight. The puzzles I got are Ocean from Ravensburger’s Circle of Colors series and Songbirds from Mudpuppy. These both look like they will be fairly easy, especially since they are only 500 pieces.
After getting home at 2 AM and sleeping for a few hours, my husband, son, and I gathered in our sunroom to open the presents we got for each other. My husband got me 3 puzzles: Camping for Christmas from Vermont Christmas Company, Hungry Plants from Mudpuppy, and Favorite Things from Elena Essex. I have already done the Camping for Christmas puzzle and will post that next. Hungry Plants is another cute 500 piece puzzle, and Favorite Things is from the same brand as my favorite puzzle of 2022, Woodland Magic.
My son got me one puzzle for Christmas and one for my birthday. They were Cats in Quarantine from Exploding Kittens and Hawaiian Food Truck Festival from Buffalo Games. Both of these have a lot going on in them, so they may be a bit challenging but still look like fun.
A couple of days later, another puzzle arrived as a birthday gift from my friend Renee. It was the Ice Cream Dream puzzle from Lego. I have actually started this one and am about halfway through. It’s like doing a bunch of mini solid color puzzles. It’s harder than I thought it would be but quite satisfying to finish each section.
I am so happy with all the puzzles I got this year. I am looking forward to many hours of fun putting them together. I have already started a new wish list, however. There are just so many cool puzzles out there!
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 