Hello February: Of Prosecco & Puzzles & Perceptiveness

/ Ally Bean

PUZZLE PIECES CASUALLY STREWN ON DINING ROOM TABLE

After a bitterly cold, yet rejuvenating, weekend of staying inside at home PLUS a well-deserved indulgence of Chocolate Chip cookies with Prosecco [see previous post for context about indulgence], I’m feeling better now.

My silly self has returned, my smart self has kicked in, my stylish self is back to planning, and my sane self… well, she’s still trying to make sense of things around here, in the world, wherever.

Because it’s winter in the midwest, as a way of passing the time, we’ve started putting together on our dining room table another jigsaw puzzle [see previous post about our freaky puzzle project].  And by *we* I mean Zen-Den is doing 96% of the putting together while I do 4%.

Same as it ever was.

The puzzle has 1,500 pieces and is of a cheerful tropical beach scene.  It’s colorful, but with lots of sandy beach and a building with a thatched roof.

PUZZLE PIECES THAT FORM SIGNS

Because Zen-Den believes in the economic concept of Division of Labor I was tasked first with putting together the wordy signs as seen in the photo immediately above.

I did that all by myself.

Then he asked me to find all the tan, beige, khaki pieces that form the aforementioned beach and roof on a building.  I’m capable of putting bright colors together, but when it comes to connecting pieces that are almost monochromatic, my eyes fail me [see previous post about me walking away from puzzle dust].

To wit, I found all the pieces for those portions of the puzzle, but I couldn’t get the pieces to fit together.

Zen-Den looked across the table at me to see how I was doing, then uttered what might be the most apt description of me he has ever said.  He said in all seriousness:

“You don’t know your sandcastles from your tiki huts.”

No truer words, kids.  No. Truer. Words.

PUZZLE PIECES THAT FORM SANDCASTLES TO THE LEFT OF THE RED SHOVEL, TIKI HUT TO THE RIGHT

• • •

Please note:

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This is your last chance.

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171 thoughts on “Hello February: Of Prosecco & Puzzles & Perceptiveness”

  1. For the briefest of moments, I thought about getting a puzzle to work on this winter. Then I remembered that A) I hate putting together puzzles; B) I tend to get compulsive about finishing things; and C) we have two cats.

    What was I thinking?

    Liked by 2 people

    • Pam, I’ve no doubt you two could put the puzzle together much faster than he and I can. I want to love puzzles, but somehow my mind drifts and I start to daydream when I see all those pieces!

      Liked by 1 person

      • So, I feel the same way when I color and the design is really intricate. I get overwhelmed with what I have to fill in. Then I just somehow change my mindset and just roll with it. Then it becomes very meditative. 🥰

        Liked by 1 person

        • Z-D says the same thing about how he zones into the puzzle and everything else falls away. I get that, but rarely reach that puzzle zen state of mind. I seem to start musing on everything except the puzzle pieces.

          Liked by 1 person

  7. I have a friend who once tackled a big puzzle that was a black and white spiral. That was it. I told her she was crazy, but she finished the danged thing. It only took her two years. All her husband said was, “Thank goodness she didn’t start it on the dining room table.”

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  8. A more stinging indictment was never uttered by a puzzle-master. You took it well, though. I’d have responded with, “Well, at least I know my song titles! Which one of us sang ‘Take me home, country ROSE,’ for twenty years while John Denver rolled in his grave?!”

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  9. Oooooh I love puzzles. I love outsourcing the really hard parts to my husband. He loves the scenery type puzzles, I like the kinds where you can see little sections and put those sections together. A match made in heaven! Puzzle heaven.

    I have to tell you that I have thought about fig newtons and scotch SO much since last week. The only person I need to be better than is me. Love that so much, so thank you. It’s a little early for booze but I just had peanut butter toast with coffee. I feel like that qualifies.

    You already know about my blog 🙂 Sometimes I feel like I’m Seinfeld, with my blog about nothing. NOTHING.

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    • Nicole, you two married to love, honor, and puzzle cooperatively until death you part– or whatever you said!

      I feel like Seinfeld lead the way for personal blogging. That show introduced the idea of paying attention to the details in your life, then talking about them. And, of course, that’s what personal blogging is all about.

      Colonel Potter’s advice is spot on, kind of Zen. You gotta be who you are, your only competition. Peanut butter toast and coffee sounds good to me right about now, too.

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  10. I love Zen-Den’s comment. So funny. I am not a puzzle loving person. I do toddler versions, of course, in my line of work. When my little charges dump out all the puzzles at once, I want to scream.

    Technically you could say that I do puzzles ALL THE TIME in the form of WHERE DOES THIS GO? WHOSE IS THIS? WHO LEFT THEIR SOCKS HERE? I puzzle all day long.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Ernie, oh so well said! You’re right that you, all of us actually, puzzle our way through our days. So many questions, so many pieces to put together. Toddler puzzles, as I recall, make a heck of a noise when they’re dumped out. Not to mention the mess, of course.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I wish I had the patience to do a big puzzle like that, but I don’t anymore. And I also don’t know sandcastles from tiki huts. I’m easily fooled and I my attention span is bordering on zero these days.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Robin, I know what you mean about a dwindling attention span. I feel frazzled some days, too. For some people, that would be Z-D, putting together puzzle pieces is soothing. For me it’s more of a time filler before I wander off to fuss around with something else. But I’ll admit that the finished puzzles are pretty.

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  12. I love, love, love doing jigsaw puzzles. We usually do 3-4 per winter, starting in January. I try to find puzzles that have special meaning to our family, mostly places we’ve visited. With those, I use puzzle glue to hang them in the basement game room on our white painted cement walls. We have a nice collection. Middle Child (who lives with us, she’s 29) and I just finished up the Golden Gate Bridge.

    I’ve never heard of connecting puzzles like that – pretty cool!

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    • Bijoux, I like your idea of doing puzzles that have special meaning to you. The ones we do are ones that look pretty but mean nothing to us. 3 or 4 puzzles per winter is a good pace. I bet your basement walls look lovely, and add some smiles to your day.

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    • Lynette, puzzles are one of those activities that can be as easy or difficult as you want. I prefer reading to puzzling, but in the winter I join in with Z-D to *help* him with the puzzles. Your retirement beckons, doesn’t it?

      Liked by 1 person

  15. We have a table in our dining room that is used exclusively for puzzles. We have eaten on the table twice. Ever. Like you, I have no clue how to differentiate tiki huts from sandcastles. We all have our challenges to overcome (or not). My favorite method of puzzle participation is to identify one small thing I want to find, find it, and then exit the puzzle room.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Suzanne, your approach to puzzling seems sane to me. Make yourself useful, briefly, then go find something else to do. There’s no problem having an ongoing puzzle on the dining room table, we don’t use that room for eating either. Does anyone?

      Liked by 1 person

  17. So many of my friends are into jigsaw puzzles, I want to be, too…but it’ll never happen. Tara and I worked on a puzzle once during a weekend getaway to the Oregon coast. It was three hours of pure hell. I’m more of a word puzzle kind of guy than anything involving dozens of misshaped squares of blue.

    Liked by 3 people

  18. I was gifted a gorgeous puzzle for Christmas, which then set off a need to keep at it. I’m on my own and the collection is growing, however I am really choosy about the scenes I put together. Lots of areas with large bright colors, or small vignettes within the entire space make it easier to accomplish in small sections. Then it’s just the background that may take me weeks!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Deb, your approach to your puzzle makes sense to me. Like you I can put together little bits of colorfulness, but once the colors are nuanced I’m out. I wish you all the luck when it comes time to tackle your background.

      Liked by 2 people

  20. What a teaser of a puzzle to work on during an Arctic Blast!

    Putting together that signage would be the favorite part of the puzzle for me ~ bright, colorful, with words to help bring the pieces together into some semblance of order.

    Glad your mood/perspective has rebounded!

    Liked by 3 people

    • Nancy, you’re right this puzzle is a teaser considering how cold it’s been. Kept us warm just looking at it.

      The sign part was right up my alley. Words + colors = fun. Yes, I’m happier now that it’s not January and I’ve had some cookies and bubbly. They’re an amazingly therapeutic combo.

      Liked by 1 person

  21. I was gifted a puzzle by my day job boss. We gave it to Himself’s boss who is addicted to the things. This means our dining table remains clear for Himself to spread his camera gear all over it (sigh). It’s been a long time since I did a jigsaw puzzle. I do recall they were like some form of arcane currency in my local village during the lockdown periods, and I felt completely left out (and also safe from needing to decide just how much disinfection they might require). I got over it once I started to read again.

    But nice work Z-D, I’m not sure I’d know my sandcastles from my tiki huts either. Is one more textured than the other?

    Liked by 2 people

    • Deb, I never would be a puzzler if it weren’t for Z-D. He loves them so I help in my own way. You’re right about how they became currency early on during the pandemic. Z-D was exchanging them with friends all over the place.

      The tiki hut pieces have more lines on the pieces, the sandcastle pieces have more blurry shades on them. Or so I’m told.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Hi, Ally – I am so happy to read that the Chocolate Chip Cookies with Prosecco did the trick.
    And about that puzzle – I totally hear you! When our youngest son comes home for Christmas, the three of us always attempt a big, mind-boggling jigsaw puzzle. This year we took on “Famous Writers”….and yay, I contributed about 4%! 😀

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  23. That is very, very funny. I, on the other hand, am quite sure I’d know my sandcastle from my tiki hut. If it was “real” and live, not in a puzzle. When I’m trying to work on a puzzle (and I don’t, because I get too frustrated and stressed) I don’t even know my corners from my centers!!!

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  24. I don’t do puzzles because then what do you do with them when you’re finished? Although your idea of mixing them together is interesting. My mother-in-law does them all the time. Even has one of those tables that spins. Makes for easy gift giving except that she’s fussy about what kind of puzzle it is.

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    • Janet, you raise a good question. In our household we stare at the finished puzzle for a few days, then break it apart, carefully put the pieces back in the box, then either give it to Goodwill or exchange it with other puzzle nuts who Z-D knows. We don’t have a table that spins, we are that which spins when we puzzle. She’s fussy about her puzzles? As in brand or number of pieces?

      Liked by 1 person

    • Jan, a blogroll is an old-time blogging concept wherein a blogger makes a public list of blogs they follow. It just sits around somewhere on your blog, where other people can see it, so that they can checkout your recommendations. They’ve fallen out of favor over the years, but I was feeling nostalgic I guess.

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    • Lynn, Z-D likes to find the edges and put them together while I’m assigned little vignettes or to search for colors. It’s a system that works for us. Yep, I’m feeling better now that it’s February.

      Liked by 1 person

  29. I love puzzles–and your puzzle mixing thing sorta blew my mind. How do you know if two puzzles have the same cut? I’m currently doing a puzzle that I’ve become bogged down on. Too many pieces can fit in multiple places, and there aren’t enough color variations to know which place they go. 😦

    Glad to hear you’re back to your usual self. A good weekend off is often the best medicine for what ails us.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Rita, after a little trial and error we discovered that puzzles with the same number of pieces that are made by the same company will often, but not always, have the same shape pieces. It was the beginning of lockdown and we were looking for something to do with that freaky puzzle project. We haven’t repeated it.

      Yes I’m feeling more balanced, slightly optimistic, slightly jaded. Just as I should be!

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  30. Ally Bean….you sure have me giggling over your Silly, Stylish, Smart and Sane thought. Thanks, needed that. P.S. I have been blogging since we moved here nearly 10 years. Thanks for that smile too.

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  31. You haven’t lived until you’ve mastered the differences between sandcastles and tiki huts variations. I love puzzles, the harder the better.

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  32. Oh, my, I have the same “gift” as you at puzzles. I can organize like colors and outside pieces very well, but putting it together–nah. I don’t know if it’s my lack of spatial intelligence but it reminds me of my high school geometry class. I had an excellent teacher and was a diligent student who memorized all the theorems backwards and forwards. Then I would get a problem where I would need to apply them and…derp, my brain would break. 🙂

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    • Margaret, I was the same way as you with geometry. I could understand in theory, but I could never figure it out in practice. I lack spatial intelligence, too. Just ask Z-D about my attempts to pack a suitcase. Or worse, the trunk of the car. 😵‍💫

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    • Ellen D., I hadn’t thought of us as being puzzle soul mates, but we are. You’re most clever to say that. If nothing else, we do understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. One of us know what the sandcastle looks like… the other one does not. 🙄

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  34. And I say, you know what was missing in the world? What stopped us from behaving like fully formed adults? The lack of SOMEONE who didn’t know sandcastles from their tiki huts 🙂 Now all should (fingers crossed…) be well in the world 🙂

    And on a more serious note, I love games 🙂 And one of my favorite quotes is George Bernard Shaw’s “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Here’s to never growing old and mixing up sandcastles and tiki huts 😀

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  35. Our household’s must be on the same wave-length – as I am currently doing a puzzle. I do enjoy a good puzzle – unless it’s one of those with repeating themes of the same EXACT things – which I did over Christmas – that puzzle I cursed to hell and back. But, me being me, pushed on until it was done. The Husband is not a puzzle person – so he won’t even help a little.

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    • Gigi, it’s the time of year when our thoughts turn to puzzles. I cannot imagine doing one all by myself, you’re good. I don’t like those repeating ones either. We usually look for big scenes, beautiful vistas– you know, something that is nothing like what we see out our windows in winter.

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  37. I never did jigsaw puzzles until the pandemic started. I’m not good at regular puzzles, but I do well on those online. I can recognize the shapes online but not on the dining room table. I’m sure someone could tell me why, but I don’t really care because I enjoy those online. 🙂 I hope you get to put some more pieces together so you can improve your percentages. But, then again, who cares if you’re both having fun. 🙂

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    • Judy, we used to do one puzzle each winter, but once the pandemic started we upped the number to 4 or 5. I’m sure you understand why.

      I used to do those jigsaw puzzles online, but I’d forgotten about them. I agree that they’re easier to see than the real pieces on the table. As for getting better at puzzling, I wouldn’t want to show up Zen-Den so I’ll let him continue to think he’s the best. 😉

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  38. While visiting my sister in Florida last week, I was drawn to a 2,000 piece puzzle she was working on. The picture was a bunch of pumpkins. Pumpkins!!! I tried for about 5 minutes to sort and group various shades of tan, orange, and green, then lost interest and did a Wordle instead! 🙂

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    • Laurie, I get your frustration. The color variations can be so subtle that it’s difficult to make sense of what you’re sorting. Obviously I’m not good with shades of beige, tan, and khaki. Wordle is more my speed, too.

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  39. Allly, that was a great line, just the sort to cause pause before laughing. We love puzzles and as soon as I can get the Christmas decorations off the dining room table, we’ll be working on another one. (Because we’ve been helping with my mom and dad and Mom just went into a care facility, into the hospital, and now back at the facility but in hospice care, I haven’t had time to do much, especially with the decorations.) I have ways of organizing puzzles pieces and since my husband likes to do puzzles without looking at the picture, it’s sometimes challenging. We’ve had a couple recent ones that are great pictures but devilishly difficult and at 1,000 pieces usually, it’s interesting. But it’s fun, takes times, and is great for working on all sorts of skills. 🙂

    janet

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    • Janet, your comments went to moderation but I don’t know why. I didn’t put you there, but sorry.

      I can understand why you haven’t put your Christmas decorations away yet. Is your mother doing as well as can be expected? And your father, he’s coping?

      Your husband does a puzzle WITHOUT looking at the picture?!! How that can happen? We/I could never do that. But if it’s fun, then go for it. You two are first class puzzlers, obviously.

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    • Marian, I do try to entertain myself. It’s an only child thing, I suppose. Plus it’s winter here so I better think of things to do or else I’d go bonkers. [More bonkers?] Z-D loves his puzzles so I help, sort of. Of course, you’re a cool kid. ALWAYS.

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  42. Several years ago, my then husband and I put together a puzzle that was all black with two gold cat eyes a nose and whiskers. We finished it, but I would have preferred the sand and tiki bar tans and beiges after the headache of that one. Actually, Ally, a glass of wine and a movie would be even better!

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  43. I love my puzzles. As an elementary teacher for 31 years, I almost always had a community puzzle going on in my classroom. It was an excellent activity for a few kids who finished their assignments early and on rainy day recesses.

    I don’t know if you’ve ever tried online jigsaw puzzles, but they are a lot of fun, and you never have to worry about losing any of the pieces. Turn up the sound, and you can hear a satisfying clink when two pieces go together. If you’re into competition, many sites record the fastest times to complete each puzzle.

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    • Pete, puzzles are a wonderful idea for an elementary classroom. I’d have liked that, being one of those kids who usually finished my assignments early. We either had to sit still quietly or read a book. No wonder I always had my nose in a book as a kid.

      I like the idea of online jigsaw puzzles, no lost pieces, no puzzle dust. I’ll look into that, although I doubt that I’d ever have a winning time. Remember, I can’t tell my sandcastles from my tiki huts.

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  44. Chocolate chip cookies and Prosecco could work, yes, I suppose. I’m more of a red wine gal, though. While I really liked the sandcastles and tiki hut observation, I must say the ROSE and ZONA comments had me laughing out loud!

    I can’t even imagine having the time to do a jigsaw, nor the space. But if someone were to invite me over for a booze-and-cookies-tasting happy hour, I’d gladly pitch in on your monochromatic challenge pieces.

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    • Eilene, I could go with red wine instead of Prosecco. Both would go well with Chocolate Chip cookies, I just know it. I got laughing too about Rose, then remembered Zona. Misheard lyrics are the best.

      In January and February time is what we have a lot of. Our dining room table, with an insert in it, makes for a good puzzle station. And if you add libations and snacks, puzzling can be fun. Of course I’m not the best at it, but I try in my own [half-assed] way.

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  45. I’m glad the chocolate chip cookies and Prosecco got you back to your silly, smart, stylish, sane self. But you still don’t know your sandcastles from your tiki huts, huh.

    A new custom on Washington State ferries is to start a puzzle on one of the tables and then leave it to the next group of people who want to give it a try. This is a ferry ride that only lasts about 20 min., so I suppose it takes several crossings to finish a big puzzle. It’s kind of fun, but I prefer to walk around on the deck.

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    • Nicki, I may feel more normal again, but I still have my weaknesses. Z-D certainly honed in on that with his comment.

      I didn’t know about the puzzles on the ferries. That’d be fun and I’d hope relaxing. I’d probably want to look at the scenes as the ferry moved along, but if I took the same ferry every day maybe a puzzle would be more interesting.

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  46. We stopped in at my sister’s home yesterday on our return from up north and she had two puzzles on the go – also large, 1500 pieces. Did you add Patience to all the ‘P’s? And Perseverance? Ooosh, it’s a particular kind of human that puts everything on hold for the puzzle. I love doing them when I do, my ego gets a well deserved break. A sense of accomplishment follows … Thanks Ally Bean, enjoyed this …

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    • Susan, two puzzles at once! That is so many pieces. The only time we’ve ever done 2 puzzles at once is when we did our freaky puzzle project. You’re right, there are a few other ‘P’ words I could add to the title. When the puzzles are completed I like them best. 😉

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  47. Thank you Zen Den for making me laugh this morning; he’s a funny one!

    I have a puzzle going all.the.time now too. I find them mostly therapeutic but there was one recently that brought out a lot of colorful four-letter words from me. You know the ones where most of the pieces fit everywhere even though they don’t belong there. #&^%!

    Yay for prosecco and cookies!

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    • Suz, Z-D can be a hoot, usually on purpose, but this time by accident.

      I do know what you’re talking about when you mention pieces that almost fit together, but really don’t. They’re insidious and deserve anything you choose to say about them. Perhaps a 🍪 + 🥂 would make you feel better about them!

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  48. Glad you are finding ways out of your winter doldrums. Cookies and booze is a winner! You can now say goodbye to Jan and I hope Feb finds you jolly. (This post really brought out your puzzle loving friends. I had no idea they were so popular!)

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    • Anna, I’m much more content with my life after our weekend of puzzling– with cookies and booze, of course. Like you I didn’t realize that so many gentle readers here did puzzles. For us, it’s a winter thing to avoid cabin fever, but I’m getting the impression that for many people it’s a year round activity. Who knew?

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  50. I enjoy doing puzzles, but the only two times I allow myself to do them are vacations and when I’m snowed in. And since it’s snowing outside and another ten inches are predicted in the next 24 hours….I’m thinking I need to follow your example! (Although I get little to no help from my spouse, but that’s fine!)

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    • Ann, I understand your limits about puzzling. One must have rules! It sounds like you’re headed for a doozy of a snow storm, so this could be the time to break out the puzzles. Stay safe, stay warm.

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  51. I am glad to see you feeling perkier! I wish I could say the same but it’s nice to see someone around me feeling good. I posted my recipe for Sunshine Granola the other day. This is exactly the time of year to make it. You may have to order dried tangerines or macadamia nuts depending on what your market carries but I recommend it for a dose of cheerfulness. Plus you can pretend that it is healthy.

    I do a puzzle or so every morning. Oh it’s online and they used to rotate the cuts but now they are all cut the same and I don’t allow piece rotation so my 70 piece puzzle is a morning relaxer that takes between 5 and 10 minutes. That may be more your style?

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    • Okay, Zazzy, that granola sounds wonderful. I didn’t know there was such a thing as dried tangerines. I love all those flavors together. Thanks for sharing it here.

      I could get into the type of puzzle that you do daily. I don’t hate doing a real puzzle, but I’m really more of a helper elf than the puzzle leader [that make sense?]. I’ll keep the idea in mind. I’m currently doing a Wordle a day and one duolingo Spanish lesson a day. My brain thanks me.

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  52. Wow! I went back and read your freaky puzzle project post — what an interesting idea. I’ll have to see if I can figure out if I have two puzzles with the same number of pieces cut using the same machine. I like puzzles with 500 or less pieces and lots of words (signs) on them, Charles Wysockis are good for that. I’m in awe of folks who can handle 1,500 pieces. Happy to hear your old selves are back. 🙂

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    • Linda, when we had cats we never did puzzles. They would not allow it. But now, as former cat parents, we are free to puzzle all we want. One of us more than the other, of course.

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  54. I was given a puzzle for Christmas (after expressing enjoyment of a previous puzzle that had doors from around the world and was very colorful). This new puzzles is cram-packed with bunnies, but it’s pretty monochromatic. I’ve gotten as far as getting all the pieces out and turned right-side-up, but then it’s just been sitting there like that for weeks. I can’t get started because all the colors look the same. We’re having dinner guests this weekend and the table is covered in brown/tan/black/white pieces. Please come here tomorrow and help me get started!

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    • The Travel Architect, colorful puzzles I/we like, but a monochromatic one like you describe would be difficult for anyone to do. My eyes don’t register the variations in color and my patience disappears. I understand why someone gave you that particular puzzle, but oh my goodness…

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  55. I love puzzles but so does my kitty Nugget, that would be why I don’t do them anymore. I’m quite sure in real life you would know your sandcastles from your tiki huts in a flash – only one serves alcohol! Cheers 🙂

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    • Martha, if we had a Nugget, we wouldn’t be doing puzzles either. Makes perfect sense why you don’t puzzle. Good point about tiki huts. Made me laugh out loud.

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  56. I love ZD’s description of you. You can make it a thing, and only you two (and all of us) will know what you’re talking about. I like puzzles OK, but more in an abstract way, if someone is working on one, I’m happy to sit down and try to help them. But not enough to actually want one in my house. If I had mid western winters, I might feel differently, but we live in the region of perpetual drought and stupid sunshine, so might as well go outside.

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    • J., you’re right that Z-D’s descriptive line about me will always be part of our personal inside jokes, the ones all couples have. I take your point about going outside in the sunshine rather than sitting inside putting a puzzle together. Right now rain, sleet, snow and who knows what is banging on the windows, BUT if I could go outside comfortably I would. 😊

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  57. 1,500 pieces is ambitious in my world. Anything more than 1,000 intimidates me because, as you said, a good chunk of those are sure to be monochromatic. Also, in a thoroughly spontaneous move, I had a glass of Prosecco when my wife and I were out to dinner this past New Year’s Eve. Truth was, I didn’t think we’d make it to midnight so best to have the “bubbly” while I was still awake!

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    • Dave, we usually do 1,000 piece puzzles but for some reason this tropical scene called to my husband so he bought it. I want to be helpful, but in truth I’m not sure I contribute much to the effort. Prosecco is delightful at any time of day! 🥂

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  58. Ha ha! A good title would have been “I don’t know my sand castles from my tiki huts!” Oh Zen Den! Btw, I thought of you guys while in the big city. There was a sign, honest to goodness, that said Zen Den. Have you seen these? Apparently you hang them in your dens to remind you to be very zen and calm. 🙂

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  59. What a fun post. Gotta love that Zen Den’s comment
    Dividing puzzle tasks into sections is such smart idea (You can tell we haven’t done them a lot – between the dogs and cats and life seeming like it’s in disjointed pieces…and no safe flat spot!)
    Puzzles are better than piece working quilts I think….you can box them up when down and not worry about what to do with the finished item!

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    • philmouse, when the description fits, you gotta go with it. Z-D was right about me– and we got a good laugh out of it.

      Puzzles take space and you have to be in the mood to sit still for prolonged periods of time. In the winter we tackle them, but once we can get outside again back in the box they go. Good point about the difference between puzzles and quilts– not to mention no straight pins [that always come loose] involved with puzzles.

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  60. Ha ha – my favorite line was “You don’t know your sandcastles from your tiki huts.” Sounds like a conversation my mom and I would have about jigsaw puzzles. She, like Zen-Den, was a master at putting puzzles together, sometimes holding one piece between her fingers trying to find that elusive spot to put it. She liked the 1,000-piece puzzles, as 1,500 did not fit on the Styrofoam board I brought home from work when we got a new phone system. It’s a small house so we could not leave it out on a dining room table. I’d see many “sorting cups” and a methodology for doing puzzles, from start to finish. I’d look on and she’d say “so make yourself useful Linda – where does this piece go?” No luck, not even beginner’s luck. We did a few puzzles together that were smaller and holiday themes and then I was able to contribute more. 🙂

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    • Linda, I relate to looking on and NOT making yourself useful. I’m not a good puzzler, but I have my moments of success. I am good at sorting colors and such into piles. Fortunately we have a dining room table large enough for huge puzzles and all that dang pieces. 🙄

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  62. That was fun! I think I need some Prosecco with my puzzles too…I’ve never tried it as I’m not much of a drinker and I’m waiting until I go to Italy some day so I can stroll around a piazza glass in hand….

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      • HA! A co-worker went to Italy and she said that’s what people do – go for an evening stroll with their glass of Prosecco in hand. That might make walking fun!
        I just finished reading Joy -Lessons from a Tuscan Villa – by Debbie Travis. I don’t usually read lifestyle books, but the Tuscan villa part caught my eye. I may blog on it eventually – the book was no Under the Tuscan Sun though, too light and fluffy. But she mentioned the evening stroll with drink in hand too….so now that is my image of Italy.

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        • I didn’t know that about strolling around with a drink in hand, but I could DEFINITELY get into that idea. Never heard of Debbie Travis’s book so if you choose to write about I’ll be interested.

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          • It’s a fairly new release. Not next week but sometime in January….probably with a food blog – I think it would be much easier to follow the Mediterranean diet if you actually lived there! But then I paid $3 for one unripe tomato last week.

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  64. Pingback: Hello February: Of Prosecco & Puzzles & Perceptiveness – Dive Into My Popular Realm of Adventure

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