I found this national parks puzzle at Amato’s Toy Store in Middletown and it was more difficult than I thought it would be!
There were very similar colors in a lot of the squares and letters were very tiny. Each square had a white frame around it.
I don’t work on a puzzle every day so it takes a month or two to put one together. My husband is very patient with me and doesn’t complain about it being there. The yellow mat it sits on is part of a roll up system if I needed to move it.
This 1,000 puzzle is by MasterPieces and I enjoyed it but I like the puzzles by White Mountain because the pieces are larger, but the puzzle isn’t easier!
In January, I wrote about completing my first puzzle. I “got it for Christmas” in 2022 but it and the roll up pad sat for a year before our Aunt Mindy’s dedication to hers inspired me to start on mine!
After I took that puzzle apart, I looked for another by the same maker, Eeboo, but quickly realized my coffee table was not large enough! Evidently the “A Day In Paris” was the only one and that one just squeaked in.
We went to Amatos Toy and Hobby in Middletown to find a new puzzle (I was armed with the table measurement!), and I bought one by White Mountain called New York New York and is made up of New York State landmarks. There’s a bit of a theme there – puzzles based on places I’ve been. Anyway, the puzzle was a few inches too big but my husband told me he’d get a piece of plywood to cover for the few extra inches needed. Didn’t happen! 😂 I started looking for a coffee table that was wider. Can’t decide on one! 😂
I ended up perusing the puzzle aisle of Walmart with my measurements and found this Buffalo Games and Puzzles Charles Wysocki puzzle called “Sunday Morning Stroll”.
I’ve been at it for about a month now and boy, it’s a tough one! Usually I finish the perimeter first but for this one, I removed and switched pieces constantly because pieces that didn’t go together, seemed to fit! The pieces are smaller than the last and there are so many similar colors!
Colors for the leftColors for the right
Every night as we watch our scheduled show, I listen more than watch it as I pick away at the trees and sky.
While in California in November, Aunt Mindy was working on a jigsaw puzzle. She has a nice set up at her recliner with a light and puzzle table with drawers for sorting. I’d done a few puzzle in the past and always enjoyed the hunt and thrill when you find the right pieces early on.
I bought this puzzle and the roll up pad for myself LAST CHRISTMAS but honestly was afraid to start because I didn’t know how long it would take….would I get bored?……would someone in my house be annoyed it was taking me so long? They were tucked away on the bottom shelf of our bookcase along with my adult coloring book and pencils, my French lesson card deck, my knitting books…you get the picture right?
When I opened the 1000 piece puzzle box and thought “oh my God this is going to take me a lifetime to put together”, I thought it was all about patience to complete it. As I progressed, I realized it was more about focusing on one task at a time.
Started during Christmas week; Progress on January 5th
Of course I started with the edges, praying that the size would fit on the table! Thankfully I had a 1/2 inch on either side to work with! The pad is felt-like and held everything in place. I put a mark 8” in on the pad in case I needed to roll it up.
Nearly every night after dinner I would turn on the overhead lights and start examining pieces and comparing them to parts of the puzzle and the picture. Some parts stood out but of course, it’s a puzzle, it’s not meant to be easy! At first I was putting pieces in the area I thought they belonged to, but it just got to crowded so I put them all back in the box and would pick a house or section and sort for that. What a thrill it was the first time I connected a section to the sides!
So close to the edge!
Altogether it took me about three weeks to complete. I didn’t work every evening, but when I did it was about an hour at a time. No one complained about it taking up space (I think that issue is all in my head). I didn’t lose any pieces although when I couldn’t find the last edge piece, I thought one was! I think what I enjoyed most was there was an end in sight right from the beginning.
A Day in Paris – Done!
I looked at it lovingly for a day and then took it apart. Today I bought another 1000 piece puzzle and found a pack of 7 trays for sorting that stack together! I’m going to spend a little time on my other hobbies but now that I know I can focus on it and have the patience to see it through, I’m looking forward to it!
How do you feel about puzzles? Are you a master puzzler or prefer to pass them by?
Thoughts From The Passenger Seat 