Puzzle #6 - Ravensburger Cozy Wine Terrace - 500 pieces

Puzzle #6 - Ravensburger Cozy Wine Terrace - 500 pieces - #167968

I was so excited when this puzzle was delivered!  The minute I saw it online I knew I wanted to put it together.  It did not disappoint in any way.  This was also my first move 'up' from the 300 piece puzzles.  That felt a bit daunting!  :)  This was such an enjoyable puzzle - and of course I loved the image - it combined two of my favorite hobbies in one!  

Finished on January 22, 2022

Puzzle #6 - Ravensburger Cozy Wine Terrace - 500 pieces - #167968 - Challenging and fun.  Good pieces in size, color and fit.

Puzzle #5 - Buffalo Games puzzle - Charles Wysocki - The Three Sisters - 300 pieces

Puzzle #5 - Buffalo Games puzzle - Charles Wysocki - The Three Sisters - 300 pieces.

This was a balm to cover the frustration of that last one!  ha!  Simple, easy, sweet picture.  The pieces actually looked like the puzzle was supposed to.  And I did love the larger poster included, too - especially since the box was small.  I now know this is offered in 1000 pieces, as well.  I think I would enjoy putting that one together, too.  This really was a lovely and relaxing puzzle.  Pretty sure I would enjoy hanging out with these 'three sisters'.  :) 

Finished on January 20, 2022  (yes, we were still in covid quarantine...)

Puzzle #5 - Buffalo Games puzzle - Charles Wysocki - The Three Sisters - 300 pieces.

Puzzle #4 - Bits & Pieces A Visit to the General Store by Ruane Manning - 300 pieces

Puzzle #4 - Bits & Pieces A Visit to the General Store by Ruane Manning - 300 pieces.

By this time I had placed some online orders to feed my growing enthusiasm... :) They had arrived and I felt like a kid in a candy shop - or at the very least a kid with a brand new package of 64 crayons!  What to do first???  I chose this puzzle from Bits & Pieces and was soon feeling totally undermined.  I did NOT like the wonky shaped pieces.  This is when I realized my brain does not work 'sideways'.  (This puzzling experience truly has shown me many things about how I think... so very interesting.)  

Soooo, the Bits & Pieces 'random cut' is not for me... made zero sense to my logical brain.  I also felt the picture was so vaguely printed that nothing really looked clear or like it was supposed to.  However, I wasn't going to let it beat me!  I managed to finish it.  Looking back, this is so interesting that I struggled so much with a 300 piece puzzle.  I wonder if it would still be a struggle for me now or if I have strengthened my puzzling muscles enough that it would be easier today... hmmm....

Finished on January 20, 2022

Puzzle #4 - Bits & Pieces A Visit to the General Store by Ruane Manning - 300 pieces.  Love the picture - didn't care for the puzzle. 

Puzzle #3 - FX Schmid - A Day for a Brougham Ride - 300 pieces

Puzzle #3 - FX Schmid - A Day for a Brougham Ride - 300 pieces

More attic shopping... came up with this one next.  (Thankful for those slight hoarding tendencies I have??)  ha!  Still in covid quarantine...

This puzzle wasn't as enjoyable as the first two primarily because the colors weren't very distinct and so it was harder to put together.  Even after placing some of the pieces I couldn't tell by looking at that piece that it truly 'belonged' there.  But by this point I was 'old hat' at puzzling and decided to just take it in stride.   ;)   ha! 

Finished on January 18, 2022

Puzzle #3 - FX Schmid - A Day for a Brougham Ride - 300 pieces.  I did like the larger pieces. 

Puzzle #2 - MB Puzzles - Charles Wysocki Americana - Traveling Cowboy EZ Grasp - 300 pieces

Puzzle #2 -  MB Puzzles - Charles Wysocki Americana - Traveling Cowboy EZ Grasp - 300 pieces

Again, I went 'shopping' in my attic and found another old puzzle up there.  Good thing as we were still in covid quarantine.  :) 

This time I found Charles Wysocki's Traveling Cowboy.  I really liked this one.  Easy but with a bit of challenge - nice pieces to work with.  Getting the hang of this puzzling thing!  

Finished on January 17, 2022

Puzzle #2 -  MB Puzzles - Charles Wysocki Americana - Traveling Cowboy EZ Grasp - 300 pieces

My very first puzzle!

Puzzle #1 - Charles Wysocki Americana - Catchin' Bugs.   300 piece EZ grasp - MB Puzzles 

This is the puzzle that got me started.  My husband was sick with covid and we were cooped up in the cold, early days of January, 2022.  I decided to finally get on the bandwagon (albeit a couple of years later than the rest of the world!) and put together a jigsaw puzzle.  But being quarantined meant I had to go 'shopping' for a puzzle in my own house.  Lo and behold, I found a couple stashed up in the attic.  I lugged them down and decided to put them together.  I realized that I was going to love putting together jigsaw puzzles!  What a wonderful discovery!  I jokingly said that jigsaw puzzles are what I WANTED coloring to be last year.  (I decided to color as a stress reliever a year ago but found the whole process of coloring to be far too stressful!  ha!)  Putting together jigsaw puzzles provided me with mindful mindlessness... what a gift!  Truly, these puzzles have been a great stress reliever and I am fully hooked.  

Finished on January 16, 2022

Puzzle #1 - Charles Wysocki Americana - Catchin' Bugs.   300 piece EZ grasp - MB Puzzles 

A Bigger Table

A Bigger Table by John Pavlovitz

Read December 2021 - Books With Friends

One of the main things I got from this book is an understanding of a primary difference that I have been aware of but never understood the 'why'.  There are two types of Christians - those who see sin, and that sin is the lens they view everything through.  So their main goal is to rescue people from sin - it is next life focused... "Come to Jesus."   Other Christians primarily see pain.  That is their lens and they seek to bring restoration in the here and now.  They use the eyes of Christ to try to expand the table.  Jesus is shown over and over in the Bible as being most concerned with meeting the needs of people that prevent them from knowing Him and their belovedness.  That distinction between 'sin' and 'suffering' is huge.  Jesus's default toward humanity was compassion - not contempt. 

Lost Books and Old Bones

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

Read December 2021

This is the 3rd book in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery series.  I enjoy this series mainly because it is set in Edinburgh, Scotland.  But the stories are not the greatest.  This one was a bit dark with the murders and knew who the killer was very early on.  I finished it to finish.  Truly, I enjoyed books one and two far more than this one.  I will still read the next in the series because the author does a wonderful job of immersing the reader in Scotland, and I really like that.  But hopefully the mystery will be a bit better on the next go-around.