A rather successful May

This month found me with time to luxuriate in lots of puzzling time. Although I started the month with 500s I soon moved back towards my happy place with some excellent 1000s. Lots of nice pictures and lots of nice complete puzzles ready to be sold! 

All about the 500s (and one cheeky 1000)

I’m a bit swamped with puzzles to check at the moment, with at least 40 in the garage waiting. To try and whizz through I spent the month going through 500s. These only take me about an hour so I can manage 2-3 at a time, the same amount of time to relax on a 1000. All were pleasing, although there were a couple more not photographed due to missing pieces. 

Marvellous March

Now, usually I always do 1000 piece puzzles, but this month has seen me enjoy a number of smaller ones. 500 tends to last me about an hour and means I can squeeze other things into the day as well as indulging in a puzzle….or 2. I also enjoyed the small wooden one of stamps - it only took 8 minutes. 

February

….just a couple of the puzzles I did not at the House Party of because I was challenged. 

One day I will say ‘no’!

I have a weakness – there, I’ve said it! If someone approaches me for help with a tricky puzzle, someone asks me to finish a puzzle they are struggling with, someone tells me I won’tbe able to finish a puzzle, or someone says the puzzle is impossible – my response is always the same – I’ll do it! 

 

I’m not sure why – it inevitably means I spend hours of time feeling irritated and frustrated, questioning my choices and wondering why I just didn’t say ‘no’. The House Party weekend was no different and once again I was given a puzzle which even came with a note saying how ‘horrible’ it was. I quickly realised it wasn’t one for the weekend, but instead of handing it back, I simply asked to take it home where I could give it the time needed. 

 

The puzzle itself was a devil. Each piece had the potential to fit into at least 2 spaces and I knew it would take time and logic to complete. I ended up gathering ‘like’ pieces into piles of 4 and then worked through a process of elimination until I finally had some small successes. Then of course, I was hooked, and had to finish. This is probably why I continue – these puzzles always ensure you get a small sniff of success, and then my stubbornness takes over. 

 

It took me 3 hours to complete and was a battle most of the way. Someone asked me whether I enjoyed putting it together. Enjoyment isn’t the right word, but I definitely felt satisfaction that it hadn’t bested me.

The final questions is – will I ever be able to say no?  Probably not…

BCD House Party

February is always a winning month for me as a puzzler as it’s when the BCD gets together for their annual house party weekend - a whole weekend in a hotel just puzzling. Even better this year was that I was not working so could drive up early on day one and leave later on the final day. 

The weekend was marvellous and I completed so many different puzzles. I was part of the Club 3000 group who complete a 3000 piece puzzle each year, but also got to help with wooden creations and tackle some devilish cuts. 

I even took part in a group speed competition - coming 3rd with my team. 

Heaven. 

New year, new me!

So, after 20 years I have left teaching and will be taking a short break before new adventures. This has equated to more time to puzzle and January has been filled with lots of bright puzzles - including a glorious Wentworth and a beautiful Liberty complete with Liberty print on the reverse.