Coffee Patina

Sometimes you just have to embrace a setback.

This is one of my favorite Angie snippets....and it's couldn't be more true for me.

A few days ago I was putting the border together for the beautiful quilt puzzle. I loved it when I bought it....and loved it even more after seeing it finished on Margie's table. 

Yes....I spill things. This time it was almost a whole cup of coffee....all over the puzzle table. Once I made the mad dash to control it from going all over the floor....my first thought was "the whole thing is ruined."  And yes...only a blogger would think to take a photograph in the middle of the mess.  

The pieces that were soaked with coffee quickly started swelling and falling apart....and I discovered there are at least 3 layers to each puzzle piece...maybe more.  I set all the wet ones aside to dry on paper towel and cleaned up the table.  Then I got a little perspective.  

Yes, some of the pieces were ruined....but really not all that many out of 1000....and there were all along the edges.  The whole middle of this fabulous puzzle would be just as beautiful....and just as fun.  So I'm moving forward.  

And....I'm thinking I have some "fodder" here"....a paper thin layer of a pretty puzzle piece.....and dozens more just the same.  I'm being an optimist and looking at the glass 1/2 full rather than 1/2 empty....in this case it's literally true. 1/2 of the glass has given these puzzle papers a nice coffee patina.