John Deere - Then and Now

Ravensburger 1000 pc 

"John Deere Then and Now" 

This puzzle attracted me to a story about what could have been.  I imagine the two young men as my nephews. The man in the plaid shirt is Ben and the one with safety glasses working on the combine is Sean.  The older man by the tractor is my brother-in-law, Gord.  They even look like the real men in my family.  They were and are John Deere fans and even the presence of a pig goes back to the days when my sister and her family first started farming... thirty five years ago.  

Then I got to imagine the children in the story.  They are are what make the story "that which could have been".  My older nephew died in 2017 when he was 26 in a tragic vehicle accident.  I would like to imagine, when I am looking at this puzzle picture, that it was his children (had he still been around to have them).  

When I finished the puzzle, I discovered that I was missing two pieces.  It seemed appropriate.  This inspiring family of mine is missing two pieces, two combine drivers are no longer in the picture.  My older nephew Ben and my sister Jennifer (who died in a collision on her motorcycle last summer).  

Sometimes when I am missing puzzle pieces, I do my artistic best to make them blend in so upon first glance, the holes aren't noticeable.  But in my family, these two big holes are far from unnoticeable.  So instead of covering them up, I just put some green sticky note paper behind the holes and taped up the puzzle.  I can't replace those missing pieces in my family... why try to replace them in the puzzle that is the picture of that family?   

This is my sister... my most recent missing piece

(August 6... Did some office cleaning... and I found the two missing pieces.  Boy I wish life was like that.  I would love to clean up and find my missing people.  )

Summer 2024 Puzzle Olympics: I will try again!

SUMMER 2024 PUZZLE OLYMPICS 

When it comes to the Puzzle Olympics, my track record isn't that great.  I tried out in 2022/23 for the Winter Olympics and soon got discouraged and didn't finish.  When Summer 2023 came around, I thought I would give it another go.  I was more hopeful that I had improved my attitude and wanted to see if I could find a little more joy during the summer.  

I tracked my progress on the blog.  Here are the rounds I did and the puzzles I was able to complete for each round: 

Opening Ceremonies Post 1

Opening Ceremonies Post 2

Preliminary Round

Bronze Round

Silver Round

July was the beginning of the Gold Round, I completed 5 puzzles and had was on my sixth on July 18 when tragedy struck.  Check out that story in the Gold Round post.  

I saw a post on one of my Facebook puzzle groups this morning and wondered if I had the nerve to step up to the bat for the third attempt.  Maybe I can do this one for my sister.  Maybe she can be a part of the journey this time.  

I have no memories of puzzling with my sister, even through we both enjoyed puzzling and had our own collections of puzzles.  There was one puzzling memory I was able to share with her.  It was Mother's Day 2023... my sister's last Mother's Day.  I brought a Ravensburger three pack of 49 PC John Deere Puzzles to the field with a table.  We had pizza and then I hauled out the puzzle pack.  While my Mom, my sister, my nephew and my brother-in-law worked on the sprayer puzzle, I recorded the event with my iPhone.  I didn't put one piece of the puzzle in, but enjoyed watching them assemble it.  It's the only memory I have of being in a puzzling space with my sister.  

"PUZZLING IN THE FIELD" YOUTUBE VIDEO

I will try again... this time for you, Jennifer.  You were better at rule keeping than I was.  Maybe now I will be able to tap into your energy and the rules won't bother me so much this time.  Maybe even the rules will bring me joy this time and remind me of you.                                                                  

"DISCOVER FANTASY, EXPERIENCE REALITY"

Buffalo Games "Discover Fantasy" 500 pc. 

 "Who is she that walks down a guided path to what may seem like an out of reach castle.  Separating her from her destination is a river.  Will she find a way to  cross the river  or will she let it take her along with its flow to a place she couldn't dream of when she was still walking on that guided path."  

November 11 was my sister's birthday, and the first birthday without her.  She died in July.  My Mom still wanted to gather family together.  As I was packing to leave, Mom gave me a gift bag with four puzzles.  She found them at a closing out sale.  This puzzle was one of the ones in the bag.  I felt touched that Mom did this.  I am the only daughter she has left, and it was like she still needed to give her daughter something on the day that marked her as a mother.  I was honoured to receive a gift of puzzles, something both my sister and I like to do.  

This puzzle was the first one out of the four that I wanted to do.  The image drew me to a memory of my sister that I have yet to find corroboration from someone else who knew her during her single years.  

I vaguely remember my sister talking about going to Europe... maybe even to be a bank manager.  I am not sure when she told me that... I haven't yet found anyone that remembers her sharing those details with them, but her best friend for many years confirmed that they had talked about going to Europe.  

This picture reminded me of a journey, a dreamed destination and a change of course.  The lady walking down the walkway in the yellow coloured coat, is heading on a path designed for her to walk. In the distance she sees what looks to be a European Castle, but a river lies between her path and the castle.  I envision that being my sister before she was married.  She had a dream and then the river came and instead of crossing it, she let it carry her in a different direction.  It usually happens when one invites another human being on their journey of life.  

Jennifer never made it to Europe, but she made it to the Caribbean, Central America and across Canada and the US.   I might wonder what might have been had she crossed that river... but I will never know... and that's okay.  

One more thought:  The colour of the woman's jacket is the same colour as the November birthstone, Citrine, but in researching the details of the stone, I discovered something interesting.  Topaz (blue) is also a birthstone for November.  The year Dad died, Jennifer had a necklace made for Mom (at Dad's request) with birthstones from the whole family.  The birthstone she chose for November was the yellow one.  I figure it may have been a logical choice as it offered a different colour.  Dad's birthstone is a Sapphire and blue.  The Citrine is a slightly less expensive jewel, maybe more practical and less dreamy.  It's interesting how that is the one she chose.  I guess I will never know.  

STARTED IT ON A DAY OF DEATH, FINISHED IT ON A DAY OF BIRTH

Sure-Lox "Double Rainbow" 1000 pcs

Today is my Dad's birthday.  He would have been ninety-one.  I have been cleaning up unfinished puzzles this week and wondered if finishing this one today might be a healing project.  I shared the story of this puzzle on my post THE PUZZLE OLYMPICS: GOLD ROUND post back in August.  I shelved it because it was the last thing I did before that knock on the door from my Mom.  

I have been binge watching the live stream of the World Puzzle Championships 2023 in Spain.  The commentators have been fun to listen to as I puzzle along side all the ambitious competitors.  They have gathered from around the world into Spain for the annual gathering of puzzlers to compete in single, pairs and team events of speed puzzling.  Somehow watching them gave me inspiration and energy to finish this puzzle.  

I got to the end and like my sister's puzzle "EAGLE OF PROMISE", it was missing one piece.  Yet another reminder that the picture of my life isn't complete.  

I have found puzzles a strange grief partner on this journey.  I just wish I had memories to go with them.  I can't remember my sister and I puzzling together.  I wanted to, and maybe I did when we were younger.. I just don't remember those moments.  Watching the pairs competition at the World's adds a little envy for me.  I don't want to puzzle fast, but puzzling with someone else looks fun.  I just wish I could do more of it.  

THE AEROPLANE: A PUZZLE AND A SONG

"BEECHCRAFT STAGGER WING"

September 21 marks the day I plan to release my fourth puzzle portfolio video.  In preparing for it, I wanted Tim Minchin's music to back it up with a couple of amazing songs.  This puzzle video is being dedicated to my sister, and the songs seem to fit.  But I faced a little issue.  The second song I chose was "The Aeroplane", and I had no puzzles in my portfolio video with an airplane.  The timing of the end of the song"Carry you" and the beginning of the song "The Aeroplane" had me looking for a 500 pc puzzle with a plane in it.  What I found exceeded my hopes for a great picture.  

Cobble Hill is my favourite puzzle manufacturer and to find this puzzle in their collection was amazing.  What I love about the picture is that it is a biplane cruising over bush country in the mountains.  I can imagine it as the place where my sister wanted her final resting place to be.  She asked that her ashes be spread in the Rocky Mountains.  What a suitable puzzle to finish off my collection #4.  

But I have a few days before I am scheduled to post my video and I still didn't have the puzzle.  I phoned Hobby Wholesale in Edmonton and found out that they had one left in stock.  I asked them to put it on hold for me and drove into the city to get it.  It was definitely worth it. It was the last picture I needed. 

The song "The Aeroplane" was composed by Tim Minchin, but my favourite version is when he invites a young girl by the name of Asmara Feik to sing it with him.  That is the version I chose to add to my portfolio video.  Her voice is melodic and such a compliment to Tim's vocals.  

Tim Minchin and Asmara Feik perform live "The Aeroplane"

Ruby's Puzzle Portfolio Video #4 

MY SISTER'S PUZZLE

 

"Eagle of Promise" by James A. Meger (SunsOut Inc) 

It was the Saturday after the Tuesday that my sister died.  My husband and I made our first trek out to the farm to connect with the family.  I found myself venturing into my sister's prayer room.  It was originally my older nephew's bedroom.  My sister converted it to her sanctuary a few years after his death.  

There is a desk by a window that overlooks her back yard.  There was a serenity found just to sit and look out the window.  I wondered how many times my sister stared out that window.  I wondered if she found the peace I was finding in that moment.  

I looked around her prayer room and saw a small library that she had built.  Those must have been her special books.  I saw one book that I had given to my brother-in-law a few years back and wondered if she had read it.  I had never heard back from anyone if that book was read or if it meant anything.  I just saw it in her prayer room and had to rest with the mystery.  

Something else grabbed my eye as I perused her library.  There was one lone puzzle sitting on the top of her books.  It looked strange to be there, as the puzzle collection was downstairs in the living room.  Something seemed special about that puzzle, but I couldn't ask her why.  All that was present with me in that room was my memory of her, and maybe some residual energy and breath from her times up here.  She came to this room to find her peace.  Maybe this puzzle was a picture of that search.  

There was no sun to be seen in the picture.  Just a possibility of sun to come.  A beautiful rainbow arched across the picture against a mountain back drop.  She loved the mountains.  It was still dark, so the storm may have passed, but left behind a dreariness only broken into by a lone rainbow.  And there was the eagle.  It wasn't stationed on the dead tree in the foreground, like a depressed soul not able to leave the darkness.  No, that eagle had lifted off.  With its wings spread, it wasn't waiting for the sun to appear, it needed to fly, it wanted to fly.  Maybe the beauty and colours of the rainbow invited it to soar, even in the darkness.  

I took the puzzle home with the intent to finish it and have it displayed at the funeral.  But that didn't happen.  That puzzle took me a month to finish.  I think there is poetry in that.  Grief takes time.  Now I have finished the puzzle and am wondering what to do with it.  I wonder if bringing it back to my sister in her prayer room will be the most fitting place for it.  

I wish I had memories of us puzzling together.  I don't.  I only have a future that won't include those times together that I longed for.  Now I will keep puzzling and find my own peace among the pieces that I assemble.  

October 2, 2023

I remembered there was a picture of my sister puzzling with her son and her mother-in-law, but I didn't know what puzzle they were working on.  A closer look made me aware that it was indeed "The Eagle of Promise" puzzle.  I was overwhelmed with emotion at the idea that these three would be in the picture with that puzzle.  These three all died within six and a half years of each other.  This is the picture of the darkness of our family.  But somehow, someone caught them all on camera working on this puzzle.  How precious is that.  I miss them all so much.  

THE PUZZLE OLYMPICS: GOLD ROUND... CUT SHORT BY TRAGEDY

July was Gold Month for the Puzzle Olympics.  That meant 1000 pc puzzles for a whole month.  I like the 1000 pc puzzles.  For the most part they are my favourite.  I was able to finish two Cobble Hill, one Eeboo, a Ceaco Thomas Kinkade (that I might have started in June) and a Jack Pine Hot Air Balloon puzzle.  In these five puzzles I have a display of five of my favourites in puzzling.  

1. My favourite brand:  Cobble Hill

2. My favourite artist: Thomas Kinkade

3. My favourite puzzle theme: Hot Air Balloons

4. My favourite Dollar store puzzle brand: Eeboo

5: My favourite Cobble Hill theme:  Golden Retrievers

I was in the middle of my sixth puzzle when tragedy struck.  My last process picture for the 2023 Puzzle Olympics was from a Sure-Lox puzzle I picked up at Giant Tiger.  I started this puzzle on July 18, 2023.  

The First process picture was taken at 4:06 pm 

I took my second process picture at 7:18 pm. 

I went to bed around 9:00 pm and before I was unconscious,  I heard a knock at the door.  It was my mother.  She came to tell me that my sister was dead.  

As I look back at the photos and the puzzle, I see the same response that I had over six years ago when my mother came to tell me that my nephew was dead.  I had been sewing at that moment when the knock on the door came.  My sewing machine got packed up for almost two years before I wanted to take it out again.  I did the same thing with this puzzle.  I packed it up.  I didn't disassemble the progress on it, I just sandwiched it between two pieces of foam board and put it into storage. 

I then removed myself from the Puzzle Olympics Facebook competition and stopped puzzling for a few days.  I had other things more pressing to do, like funeral preparations, but eventually I got back to puzzling.  But the Sure-lox puzzle remains in storage.  Maybe like the sewing machine, that one might take time before I pull it out again.  

I wasn't too upset about ending my participation in the Puzzle Olympics.  I think I made myself quite clear that the rules focus of the games was not at all in the spirit of puzzling for me.  But I am glad I stuck it out as long as I did and didn't quit because of my frustration with the "Puzzle Police".  

(There will be more about my sister's death and our puzzle stories in the next blog post. Stay tuned! ) 

THE PUZZLE OLYMPICS: SILVER ROUND

Hello:  Back for another update on the Jigsaw Puzzle Olympics.  This time:  the Silver Round.  

The Silver Round (500-999pc) lasted for three weeks from June 9 to June 30.  I managed to get twelve puzzles finished for this round.  That would average four puzzles a week which isn't too bad considering that some of these puzzles took three days to finish.  Having done 1000 and 2000 pc puzzles, one might think that 500 pc puzzles might be a breeze, but that isn't always the case.  I've admitted before that I'm not a speedy puzzler, but I don't think it's a requirement to enjoy the craft.  

This round had me stretching myself into unchartered territory.  My puzzle themes usually involve nature, farm scenes, animals, and distinct architecture or a mix of the them.  But this time I went beyond my comfortable puzzle choice and took on the Ravensburger Krypt Gradient.  

Gradient puzzles are a common option in the puzzling communities, but I haven't been attracted to them as much because I like my puzzles to tell stories.  What story comes from this?  I had to ponder that for a while.  

What gives this puzzle a story is the gradient.  The colours are not distinct from each other, they blend together and one colour merges into another one gradually.  Maybe there is a life picture in this.  Maybe if we give ourselves a hard look we might find ourselves less contrasting to other people, and more blending.  We have our own colours, but if we look deeper into ourselves, we just might find a path that blends our differing colours together.  This puzzle reminds me of that.  

The other puzzles for the most part are Puzzle Bugs from the Dollar Tree.  I like the 500 pc puzzles they have.  There is lots of colour and vibrancy.  I am less concerned with piece quality  and more inspired by colour and beauty.  

Not all were Dollar Tree puzzles.  I found a few on my journey that I especially liked.  

This puzzle I picked up at one of our local grocery stores.  The artist is Laivi Pōder.  I am not a big fan of art puzzles, but I like this artist.  The colours are dynamic and the image takes me away into it's story.  This puzzle, manufactured by Spin Master Puzzles, is called "Tucked Away".  It was one of the more challenging puzzles, but I really enjoyed the journey and stuck with it.  I even bought a companion puzzle from the same store and same artist.  I look forward to taking that on when this whole Olympics journey is over.  

I was able to submit one 750 pc puzzle for this round.  The puzzle is part of an eight pack Ceaco Thomas Kinkade Collection called "Amsterdam Cafe".  I like Thomas Kinkade.  The other puzzles I had done long before the games began, so only this one and the last 1000 pc puzzle (in the Gold Round) are part of the games entries.  

I am still frustrated at the whole strict adherence to the rules orientation of the Games.  Puzzles are about enjoyment, community and beauty.  The nitpicking of the rules really puts a damper on the whole event.  I won't be back next year, but I'm not quitting this year.  If they ask us to give them a review at the end, I will be upfront about the nitpicking.  It really takes the joy of out of the whole adventure and I don't think I'm the only one has noticed that.  

I think I will end this post with the cutest puzzle of this round.  I ended up giving it to a friend in Saskatchewan.  She really enjoyed it.  It's one of the Dollar Tree purchases... Puzzle Bug.  "American Staffordshire Terrier Puppies"  (I think they stuck a Rottweiler in there... The black and brown puppy looks like a Rotty) 

THE PUZZLE OLYMPICS: BRONZE ROUND

 

The Bronze Round features puzzles from 201 - 499 pieces and  one week to build.  When the round started a week ago, I had three puzzles in stock to build.  The first was this Stocking Stuffer.  According to the box, it is "The World's Smallest Puzzle.  At 234 pieces, it is four inches by six inches.  I got this puzzle at Calmar Pharmacy after Christmas sometime. They had these little micro puzzles on the shelf.  I got two... one with cats and one with dogs.  If I knew how much fun they would be, I would have cleared out their stock.  They were having a post season sale.  These puzzles come with their own set of tweezers.  Sometimes they are handy to have. The pieces are tiny.  

This "Happy Pawlidays" puzzle and the next one "Call of the Wild"  are both Cobble Hill 350 pc puzzles from their "Family Pieces" collection.  These collections come with three different pieces sizes.  I think the idea is that a whole family can enjoy them regardless of size.  I already posted the story about these puzzles in a previous post...  "Family Pieces: Puzzles for a Party".  

This puzzle is the harder of the two.  There is so much activity, but it seems to take a little more effort.  Still I like the picture.  It is unique in my collection as it has quite more of a human element that I am usually comfortable in my puzzles.  But because it is meant to be a human activity, I can let that slide.  I just hope I can share it with others.  I already did it once with my Mom.  

The next four puzzles are 350 pieces from my recent Dollar Tree visit in Camrose this past week.  I know I am on a puzzle buying freeze, and maybe I can still restrict myself for a while, but at a dollar fifty, it didn't seem like a bank breaker to add a few more to my Olympic Bronze Collection.  

The Zodiac was fun.  I like round puzzles and this one was educational.  I didn't realize that I couldn't match up the signs with their images.  I knew the ram was Aries and the bull was Taurus.  But beyond that, it was a learning experience.  

The Fruits and Vegetables puzzle is a micro puzzle along with the Windmill puzzle.  These are challenging, but because they are multi shape puzzles, they aren't impossible.  I got a micro puzzle that I quickly tanked because it has all the same piece shapes.  Those are the ones I give up on.  

This puzzle I already did once.  I gave it away to as a get well gift to a fellow puzzler.  So when I saw it in the store I decided it was too pretty to pass up.  

The last puzzle wasn't all that easy, even through it had large pieces and multi shapes. I am not a big tropical puzzle fanatic.  But this one seemed colourful and fun and a good way to end off the Bronze Round.  

Hi Ho... On to Silver!  

THE PUZZLE THAT GAVE MY HUSBAND HIS ONLY MOMENT WITH MY DAD

This is the only puzzle that I've done with my husband.  And he wasn't even my husband or boyfriend when it was done.  He was my coworker and a man I had a fond affection for.  

It was twenty years ago before Christmas.  I built this 500 pc Guild puzzle and took one piece out of the barn and sent it to the man who is now my husband.  We were co-workers at the time, and he had recently been moved three hours north of me to Edmonton.  I was still in Calgary.  I don't remember the instructions I gave him with the puzzle piece.  It was just a teaser of sorts.  

The plan was to spend Christmas at my parents farm and since I had no vehicle, I took the Greyhound bus to Edmonton and Mom and Dad and my Oma picked me up at the bus station.  I remember phoning Manfred from the bus station to see if he was home.  I told him I had a Christmas present for him.   He confirmed his availability and gave me his address.  When my parents arrived to pick me up at the bus station, I told them that we had to detour to an apartment close to the Commonwealth Stadium where Manfred lived.  

When we got to Manfred's apartment, I left my family in the car and went to find my co-worker.  He met me by the main door in his sock feet.  I asked him if he had his puzzle piece that I sent him earlier.  He did and he want to get it.  When he returned, I gave him the puzzle I had completed except for the last piece.  He placed the red piece in the barn and it was complete.  We chatted a bit and then had a moment of silence.  It was the classic tension that happens between a man and a woman who have been dodging their feelings for so long.  We looked at each other in our matching white denim shirts from work.  We were part of something that brought us together, but not all the way together.  The rest was up to us.  In a quick moment without thinking too much about it.  I put my arms around him.  We held on to each other with what seemed an eternal moment, but was probably only thirty seconds to a minute. We didn't kiss.  We let go of each other and the first words out of my mouth.  "You have to come meet my parents." 

Manfred and I had worked in the same building for three years, but every time my parents came for a visit, he was absent.  He was the lead salesman and was often out of the office.  It had never worked out to introduce my parents to my friend.  But that night, it seemed like the time.  Manfred went up to his apartment to retrieve a pair of shoes.  We walked back to the car to what was an irreplaceable moment in our history.  Manfred met my parents and my Oma.  I still remember watching my Dad and Manfred kibitz on the front lawn of the apartment building.  I took it in, not understanding how monumental that moment was.  It was the only time my now husband of fourteen years had with my Dad.  My dad passed away from cancer ten months before Manfred and I connected as a couple and fourteen months before we got married.  Manfred also had a moment with my Oma.  He spoke with her in German and thanked her for all the baking goodies I had passed along to him.  I didn't hear the conversation in German.  I didn't realize then that the man I would one day marry was fluent in German.  He only spoke German to Oma out of my earshot.  

That night was pivotal in our relationship.  That hug broke a barrier where we were able to admit our feelings for each other.  A lot of water would still go under the bridge before we would give those feelings a home to stay.  That night gave Manfred a chance to meet my Dad and Oma, both who would be gone by the time he became family.  I have only one thing to thank for making that night happen.  It was this puzzle.  

When Manfred and I reconnected and started our relationship, he pulled out the puzzle.  He had kept it safe for the four years that had passed since he got it.  Yesterday, I was cleaning out my closet and I found the puzzle again.  It is missing a few edge pieces, but it has a whole new significance now that I am an avid puzzler. This puzzle was the first and so far, the only puzzle that my husband and I ever did together.  He only put in one piece, but one piece is enough to claim it as something we did together.  

THE PUZZLING OLYMPICS : PREMIMINARY ROUND

The preliminary round of the Olympic Puzzle Games had us assembling small puzzles up to 200 pc.  I didn't have many in stock, so I just did the puzzles I had on hand.  I had my John Deere pack from Ravensburger... aka my  "Lenten Puzzles"  and one one PuzzleBug 100 pc puzzle of a Koala.  

So far, except for the order of the Galison "Flora Heart" for the "Battle of the Youtube Puzzlers", I have stuck to my puzzle purchase freeze.  It's a bummer. This would have been a fun round to load up the puzzles.  It will get more challenging as the piece size increases to contribute more to the process.  

I figure this Koala is the last of the 100 pc PuzzleBugs I will be investing in.   The puzzles have been fun to collect, but sometimes the ones that come warped can be more frustrating than fun.  So I figure I will put my next $1.50  I spend at the Dollar Tree towards a 350 or 500 pc puzzle.  

I did a tribute video of all my 100 pc Puzzle Bug puzzles. 

For this round of puzzling, there were only two process photos needed for posting.  So after doing a border picture of each puzzle, I tried some creativity for my second picture.  These are those pictures.  

 

ARE THESE CATS WORTH COMPLETION?

May 22, 2023

Here's the story.   

I entered a bunch of photographs into the Round Hill Bench Show about four to five years ago.  I won something... maybe most points for my pictures. Anyway... one of my prizes was this 2000 pc Sure-Lok puzzle entitled "Leopards at Rest"  Photographer Michael Jackson.  (and no, I don't think it was Latoya and Jermaine's brother).  

This puzzle got set up at my Mom's place and for the last few years has been a work in progress.  Mom did most of the work.  After a while most of what was left was dark pieces.  The puzzle grew dust with one or two pieces finding a home every other month or so.    I told Mom that I would take it home and either finish it or do something creative with it.  

Today, I sorted out the remaining pieces as close to I could by shape.  They are all two pronged pieces, but the piece shapes vary, so I did what I could to to separate them.  I don't know if finishing it will give me a lot of joy in the process.  Maybe more boredom than joy.  But if I do see it to completion... I will find a moment of happiness and satisfaction. 

Aside from the cats, it is a boring puzzle that I would never have spent money on.  Maybe that is why it ended up at the Bench show as a prize.  Someone else didn't want to do it.  I don't blame them.  I admire my mother for what she was able to get done on it.  Will I get it done?  Time will only tell.  I want to preserve my Mom's efforts.  That is what is the most valuable for me in this puzzle.  So I either finish assembling the pieces or I will pick up some black poster board for a backing and finish it that way.   

Wish me luck! 

September 7, 2023... 

I went with the poster board option.  I did some creative gluing and it doesn't look that bad.  My Mom did so much work on those cats, I didn't want to just toss the puzzle.  So I did with this one what I did with the Atlas puzzle.  

I don't know what I will do with this puzzle.  I wonder if I frame it if my mother wants to look at it again.  All I know is that it has taught me what never to look for in a 2000 pc puzzle again!   

THE PUZZLING OLYMPICS: OPENING CEREMONIES: STATUE OF LIBERTY, NYC

 

Statue of Liberty at Sunset and New York City Skyline

Okay... I tried one more photo for the Opening Ceremonies, hoping to redeem myself with the Puzzle Police, but I still got an message that it wasn't quite perfect.  I posted one too many process photos and I put the whole title of the puzzle in the description and it was too long.  I still didn't do it right and I was still asked to read the rules, which I did.  They seem to be adding more rules. Or maybe more emphasis on existing rules.  Sounds like the story of the Pharisees of Jesus' day.  They had rules, and they had to add more details around the rules.  Was I using up to much data storage to have one extra process photo?  The name of the puzzle was long... I already shortened New York City to NYC and it wasn't short enough.  I am getting frustrated with this and wondering if it is worth it.  

Here are my process pictures.  And if I'm not done venting, I might add some more verbal exhaust between the photos.  

This puzzle is a dollar fifty purchase from Dollar Tree.  Puzzlebug is the Brand manufactured by Cra-Z-Art.  I already stressed out trying to figure out what brand I use in the description.  I went with Puzzlebug, even through the manufacturer is Cra-Z-Art.  It was a bigger name on the box.  500 pieces.  I got that right! 

Since this was an American themed puzzle (made in China)... I wanted to use American coins for the process photos.  I could only find one, so I used a coin from India as it's companion.  I almost followed suit with the other pictures, but one of them has a Canadian nickel, but at least the rules don't indicate that I need specific coins.  So there was some flexibility allowed there.

Russell of "Puzzling in 2 Worlds" is doing a 32,000 piece puzzle of the New York Skyline.  Ouch!  I told him he was brave.  This 500 piecer is my favourite of my NYC puzzles.  I only did one other one, and it lacked colour.  Russell's puzzle lacks colour too.  I don't dream of big puzzles that have lots of colour, never mind those that aren't that colourful. He is extremely brave for taking this project on.  

This was the shot that I had to delete off of Facebook as I had too many process photos for the piece count of the puzzle.  I am not quitting.  Now my goal is to make it through a post without the Puzzle Police reminding me that I need to read the rules.  The next one will be a challenge. I am doing a puzzle pack.  I wonder how I can screw that up.  I will do my best!  

One more observance... I remembered to include the box picture this time.  I hope the Puzzle Police are proud of me for that much.  

THE PUZZLING OLYMPICS: OPENING CEREMONIES: CANADA FLAG

 

I signed up for an online puzzling event called the 2023 Summer Olympic Puzzling Games. It is supposed to be about community connection more than competition, but there are rules to abide by.  

There are varied events over the next two and a half months all with different puzzle categories mostly regarding piece count.  

The first event is called Opening Ceremonies.  There are ten days to complete any piece count of a puzzle with an Olympic theme.  So a sporting event, a country specific puzzle or a flag.  The only puzzle I had in stock was this Buffalo Games 1000 pc mosaic puzzle of the Canada flag.  

I got this puzzle from my mother. She had assembled it once (although she can't remember when). When she gave the puzzle to me it still had some chunks together. I didn't want to disassemble her handiwork, because that is more important to me than an online puzzle event. Since this was the only puzzle I had in stock that fit the criteria for the Opening Games... I decided to assemble it. Since the piece count isn't limited... I figured I could say that this originally was a 1000 pc puzzle, but I can submit it as a 484 pc puzzle, because after counting the pieces... that is how many I had to work with.

 I value authenticity... so that is why I am sharing this story. If the powers at be allow me to continue... all the puzzles going forward will be all unassembled. If this doesn't work, I will still follow along with the games and post my puzzles here on my puzzle blog. For me puzzling is not about rules and awards, it is about community and fun. I'm not sacrificing the latter for the former. 

Here are the process pictures.  The competition requires a few process pictures with a code word and secret item so they can see that the contestants are doing the puzzle during the competition.  

This was an insane puzzle and I am glad I had help from Mom or whoever put the puzzle together the first time.  Mom doesn't remember putting it together.  Even if I am in error by crediting her with the first assembly, I will chose to believe that it was her.  That is more valuable to me than any other story.  (Oh yeah... this sounds familiar).