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.