Hard Things

Paul found this puzzle piece on the bike path along the water.  How does a single puzzle piece end up in an unusual place like that?

I chuckle every time I write about my puzzles. Is anyone really interested?  Maybe another puzzle lover.....but seriously. But I find joy in my puzzles....and sometimes they teach me something. So here I go.....more life lessons from a puzzle.

I've thought of the line "you can do hard things" over and over as I worked on my latest puzzle.  I haven't written about this one...mostly because I kept thinking I was just going to give up.....put it away.....and pass it on to someone with more patience than me. 

But I sat down every day....even just for a few minutes and plugged away.

This gorgeous puzzle came from my nephew Langston (North) and was actually earmarked as a gift for his grandma...Margie.  But it's too long for her board at 39 inches by 14.  So I thought I would do it first...split it in half...and she could have two 500 piece puzzles. 

I felt like I'd been working on it for months.  I lost track of time...but I looked back at my photos....and found that I started it on May 1st. That's not so bad.  Some days I would find only a piece or two.  Other days I would resort the pieces and come up with new strategies...looking for subtle textures and color variations.  The red end was hard. Then the orange, yellow, and lime green were a breeze. I've got this....I thought.

The middle greens were harder than the reds so I moved over to the purple end.  That was hard too.  But I kept picking away at it.  Langston was on my mind the whole time. He chose this beautiful rainbow puzzle.  He knew his grandmother and I loved puzzles...and the rainbow has such wonderful symbolism. And the rich colors and textures of the flowers and foliage were irresistible.

Some of you may be thinking it's just a puzzle....get a grip. But this puzzle had become a mission. Langston has tackled a lot of hard things in his life....and I wanted to honor his gift. I needed to finish it. 

Just a few days ago I had just these two chunks of green left.  They both were ferns...and all the pieces looked exactly the same. But I knew I couldn't give up....the end was finally within reach.

I took this photo...and had to stand on a stool to get the whole thing.

Then for some reason I took this photo with the box on top. It occurred to me that although it didn't really matter...I had been working on it upside down from how the puzzle maker...or the photographer intended. (all based on the positioning of that sticker on the box.)  It does make sense that the reds would be on the left.  We read from left to right....and the rainbow spectrum starts with red.

So I took everything else off the table....it needed a good dusting anyway.  I carefully disconnected the puzzle in middle so I could slide the chunks around on the table and turn it around.  At first I was disoriented....I had been looking at it the other way for SOOO long.  But this new orientation gave me a new perspective...and I had it finished by the end of the day.  

I can do hard things.  Sometimes I need to plug away at something a little every day....and sometimes I have to to shake things up and literally turn something upside down to make it to the finish line. 

It's all yours Margie....if you want to tackle it. I actually put it away in thirds...so now there are three 333 piece puzzles. 

The Right Time

Subtitle: Sentimental Journey

The Winged Map of the World is done....and is most certainly in my top 10 favorite puzzles! I wish you could see it in person....the colors are a bit muted....but oh such a beautiful butterfly effect!

I start feeling a little sentimental this time of year....so bear with me as I reminisce the pieces and parts of a sentimental journey.

Almost exactly two years ago....Margie (my mother-in-law) put together this beautiful puzzle. It was a challenge....but she stuck with it....and it was the last puzzle she would ever do.  

Just few days later she had a fall and broke her hip. 

And just three weeks after that she passed away. It was all such a whirlwind of emotions and events....and it's all still pretty raw. Especially this time of year.

A week or so after Margie died I started this very puzzle. It was the right puzzle at the right time. I had a few issues along the way including dumping all the pieces...but just like Margie...I stuck with it. But in the end I was missing a piece and I was faced with the dilemma of whether to gift it knowing there was a missing piece. I loved all the responses I got in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/11/would-you.html

A month later....the piece turned up in the most unusual place...and it's one of my favorite parts of the story. Spoiler in case you don't link to the post...I found the piece in one of Margie's shoes.  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-good-laugh.html

I gifted the puzzle to my friend Becky with the newly found piece in the box. She had met Margie....and I knew she would appreciate the story.....and I always gift her a puzzle for the winter.

Low and behold several months later.....I was gifted the VERY same puzzle from Brenda...a mutual friend of both Becky's and mine. I was so appreciative...but I tucked it away knowing that I needed time and space before I tackled it again. 

For the second time...it's the right puzzle at the right time. Maybe on some level Brenda knew that I would want to do it again...and I'm grateful. I've already started sorting the pieces into my album boxes...but I won't actually start putting it together for another week. Paul and I have company coming tomorrow evening through Wednesday...then we leave on Thursday for a little trip. 

The time and space away will be good during this particular timeframe...and it will absolutely be the right time to start assembling this colorful puzzle when I get back. And I'll be thinking of Margie and our sentimental journey with her here in Maine the whole time I'm working on it! 

National Puzzle Day!

It was a cold and snowy day here in Maine....and I didn't leave the condo. But Paul forged out for an afternoon walk even though wind chills were below zero.

I knew January was National Puzzle month....but I just learned that today is actually National Puzzle Day! 

It seems there's a day for almost everything....even "nothing."  When I was researching National Puzzle Day....I found "National Nothing Day".....and I laughed out loud!  

A day we "can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything."

But because it's National Puzzle Day it today seemed like a good day to catch up on my puzzle news. Every day is puzzle day in my house.

You all know I'm a big 5ftinf fan.  Phillipa has been a huge influence in my life and I love supporting her art.  So I subscribed to her puzzle club!  Yes...that's a thing too.  

I'll get 6 puzzles over this next year....some of them will also be in her shop....and others will be exclusive to the club.  The first one came a few days ago....and I couldn't be more excited. I LOVE stamps....and Philippa's British stamp collection is fun!

I have six box tops of pieces ready to go....and the colors are fabulous!

I'm going to work from the top down...putting the border together as I go.  A blizzardy day was perfect timing to get started during my breakfast.

Can I pause and say how much I love these plates!  They were Connie's....and even though they have a holiday feel...I use them year round. They are a smallish plate...so perfect for breakfast or a little lunch.

And this explosion of color was finished on Margie's board when I visited a few days ago....and it's in the wings for me! It looks like fun! Happy National Puzzle Day!

Mystery Piece

Subtitle: Always Look Again

Second Subtitle: Underserved Hoopla 

Sometimes I start a draft of a post ahead of time....uploading a few photos...or just getting an idea down. Then I settle in for the evening and finish it up.  

Just caught the sun before is set yesterday.

I started this draft yesterday....and was going to finish it tonight....but the story actually changed. I decided to go ahead and tell the WHOLE story anyway starting with my first draft.  Sorry about that...but I just have to.

First draft I started yesterday:

About a year ago I wrote post called "Let The Mystery Be"....and I was tempted to use the same title for this post.  I have another mystery....this time it was a mystery piece.  

I picked up this piece several times while doing the button puzzle trying to figure out where it belonged.

If you do puzzles you've done it too....hold the piece up to the picture on the cover trying to find the exact spot where it goes. I did it over and over with this piece....and I just didn't see it.  

It actually looked familiar and was in keeping with the colors and feel of the puzzle.....so I knew it would eventually find a home.  Or would it?

I finished the puzzle....and there wasn't a spot for it.  Was it an extra piece? A piece from a previous puzzle that didn't get picked up? It was a mystery piece.

I guess I just have to let the mystery be.

Isn't it gorgeous!!! It's up there as one of my favorites!

I even celebrated the puzzle playing with my own buttons. Here's "Vivienne's Buttons" and a few of MaryAnn's buttons. They were a little hard to see.....

so I did another arrangement. I can lose myself in this kind of thing.

Second draft....about 7:00 this evening.....Look Again.

Before I posted this I thought I better do one last look.....I wouldn't want to make all this hoopla about something that didn't really deserve it.  So I checked the puzzle again...this time running my hands across the whole puzzle. Sure enough....I found the spot and I know exactly what happened.

Because I like to work right in front of me I often do the top of the puzzle and move it up before I attach the whole border. The top often ends up tucked  under the lamp or the puzzle box....or my decorative sit abouts. I actually thought I had finished that top row of jeweled buttons so never even considered that it would go there. AND....the piece was the same color as the table so the empty space blended in.

If you look closely at the finished photo above....I bet you would not have known there was a piece missing.  

Each one of those jeweled buttons at the top has a little star like this....so that's why it looked familiar.  So the lesson is....always look again....and sometimes look with your hands.

Sorry to put you through all that...but I needed to tell the WHOLE story about the mystery piece. And I decided it was OK to write about Underserved Hoopla. 

AGAIN!

 "Imagine a world where we listen to each other's stories and learn we are all not as different as we are the same." Story People

OK....I admit it.  I love telling stories.  

Sometimes my joy comes from something tangible....a beautiful sunset....a funky found object...or a project I'm proud of.  Those things stand on their own...they're easy to write about....and the visuals can sometimes speak for themselves.  

But then there are the silly stories that bring me joy....the ones that make me laugh out loud....or laugh at myself.  And sometimes I have to write about them too.

Remember the blog post a few weeks ago about the mystery puzzle piece?  Well....it happened AGAIN! This post will make more sense if you read the last one: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2022/01/mystery-piece.html

So here I go AGAIN. And you can blame me telling the whole story on Paul and Patty.....they added more layers making it a much better story.  

  

I knew I would finish up Phillipa's stamp puzzle today.  Last night I organized few remaining neutral pieces in the box by shape....and I looked forward to plopping them in during breakfast.  Notice the piece in the bottom left corner....it's the only one with color.

I took this photo several days ago because I kept picking up that pesky piece...I just couldn't find the spot.....AGAIN!  But I knew it would present itself eventually.  Sound familiar?

But I finished the puzzle and there was no spot for that piece...AGAIN.  I looked and looked and I even ran my hands over the puzzle this time. I do (sometimes) learn from my mistakes....and I couldn't see it...or feel it.

You tell me.  Can you see where it goes in the photo below?  (Don't tell me if you spotted it right away.)

I was laughing out loud at this point and Paul wondered what the ruckus was all about....so I told him my story.  I even held this piece over the cover photo on the button puzzle I just finished to see if it was left over from that one. Nope. 

Then....one last time I ran my hands over the puzzle AGAIN...and sure enough...there was a spot for it. Do you see it? How did I miss it AGAIN? I was sure the red part of that stamp was done...and the dark color blended in with the table...AGAIN! OY!

I told Paul no one would believe me that this happened AGAIN!  And in is wisecracker way he said it wouldn't be a problem if I didn't tell the story. 

Then THAT became my new story....Paul's wisecracker response.  I do have control of what I write here....but how can I NOT share my silly little stories.  And Paul teasing me about just became part of the story.

But it doesn't stop there.

I got together with Patty down the street for coffee and conversation this morning. She's been reading the blog and told me that her favorite post was the story about the mystery puzzle piece.  I laughed out loud.....the fact that she liked that story....now became yet another layer of this story. How could I not tell it.

But now I can say It's done....and it's fabulous! The first of 6 puzzles from the 5ftinf 2022 Puzzle Club!  Can't wait to see what comes next!

Life Lessons....

....from my puzzle.  Yep....that's what I meant to say.

Ever since I came home with this fabulous pencil puzzle from the knitting ladies I've been dying to start.  But I have a puzzle going.....a beautiful iris puzzle...and it's hard!  I keep telling myself that at any point I feel like I'm not making progress and/or not enjoying it I'm going to abandon it. And secretly I've been hoping that's what would happen.

Sometimes I can sit for 10 or 15 minutes and find nothing....then the next time I find 6 or 8 right in a row. This one is all about the subtle details and shades....and it's going to be slow going.

So I hope to see it through and appreciate the challenge and enjoy the colors.

 

Life Lessons from my puzzle: (and you thought I wasn't serious 😊)

Be present with what's right in front of me rather than anticipating the future. The pencil puzzle will be there.
Embrace the challenge.....it's fun to find new strategies and challenges are good for me.
Practice patience.  This one is just going to take time.....enjoy the process.
Keep it in perspective.....it's just a puzzle.

And....remember to enjoy the view from my puzzle table.

Joy In The Waiting

Today is the perfect day to catch you up on my puzzle news.....as you know they are a big source of joy for me.  There's a lot to report....it's been puzzle mania around here recently!

I have been working on this funky bird puzzle from my sister LaVonn for quite a while....and finally finished yesterday.  I'm a year round puzzle person....but it does slow down a bit in the summer. I love that there's always one on the table...whenever I need or want it.  

This one was fun!

This little hand carved "joy" heart....has a "home for now" spot on my puzzle table....and I move it around wherever I'm working.

I've mentioned before that I belong to Philippa's puzzle club....and will be getting 6 puzzles in 2022.  For various reasons including her moving to a new city....shipment on a few was a little delayed. But I just received TWO puzzles plus several bonus treats!  How fun is this pile....a coaster....some beautiful greeting cards....and a special little something in the tiny package.  More on that another time.  

 I couldn't love these puzzles more.  They both are so up my alley and I can't wait to get work on them.  There is joy in the waiting.

And if that wasn't enough puzzle news....Melodee and David, some friends from Hancock Church were in Maine and stopped by to drop off five 500 piece puzzles for Margie (and me).  I told you it was puzzle mania!  

The top one is all telephones and phone booths....such fun! Paul will deliver this one to Margie tomorrow.

One might think that I would start on one from Philippa...but I'm going to wait.  I'm just selfish enough that I want to do them both all by myself.  Like I said...there's joy in the waiting.

Paul's sister Liz comes on the 13th....and she loves puzzles too.  So I'm going to start one that she can help me with.....this fabulous quilt one that Margie recently put together.  

This was the last one Margie finished....we share all our puzzles!