An in-process photo, hampered by the lack of light this morning, as we have another rainy day. I’m very close to finishing and I will most likely do so today. I’m having a lot of fun doing it.
Some of you asked for sources online for puzzles. There are the obvious ones; Barnes and Noble (though they don’t have much of a selection at the moment) and Amazon (there’s a treasure trove of great paintings turned into puzzles – some of them are real beauties.) I find I’m drawn to something either fascinating enough or beautiful enough, hopefully both, to keep my interest going. I also like 1000 piece puzzles with tinier pieces. The more complex the better. It’s why I prefer harder crossword puzzles. I want the challenge. In the course of searching for puzzles, I found a few websites that sell only puzzles.
Both sites have lots of inventory and they’re still shipping. I’m sure there are even more out there. Also, I found it helps to search for ‘adult jigsaw puzzles’ so you’re not wading through a lot of puzzles meant for children.
If you find more sites, share them with us here. Thanks to Sharon who informed me there is another Nancy Drew puzzle out there with the original vintage covers (the same ones I have in my collection.) I got it at Galaxy Puzzles. The other puzzle I purchased was a beautiful Japanese print of peonies and I got that from Serious Puzzles.
We may go to the nursery after I finish this. It’s raining, but it’s going to rain off and on for the next week. We’ll see. Don needs to stock up on fresh vegetables and this is the place that has the farm stand and the nursery so we could do it all at once. Or, if it’s raining too much, we’ll go tomorrow.
I’m sure you heard he-who-shall-not-be-named suggest that, since disinfectants are used to kill the virus, perhaps it could be treated or cured by injecting disinfectant into patients. Or exposing their internal organs to ultraviolet light. Perhaps he will volunteer as a test case?
We’re hanging in there. We get restless, of course, but mostly we’re surprisingly peaceful. We’re finding that lockdown is a chance to discover new things, new passions; in Don’s case, new music to learn, in mine, the jigsaw puzzles. We just want to keep our creative juices going, our brains stimulated, and our bellies full.
Remembering my mom today. She died six years ago on this date. It doesn’t seem possible that it’s been that long. I love you, Mom. I miss you terribly.
Stay safe. Stay home. It you go out, wear a mask and gloves. And wash your hands.
Happy Friday.
That puzzle is amazing! Are you going to use the special adhesive for puzzles to keep it together and then frame it?
One of our local nurseries is now open for business, too. Of course, there are restrictions and guidelines in place. I’d love to go today and pick out plants but guess what? It’s still cold and gray with periods of rain. On the other hand, maybe a good day to go because it possibly won’t be crowded? Hmm, will have to see what Brian thinks this afternoon. Unless it’s raining, of course.
The wearing gloves thing is controversial. I’ve read lots of reports about how you’re merely spreading germs from one surface to another when you touch things. And that people tend to feel safer with them on, so they touch their face while wearing them. I noticed yesterday when I was grocery shopping that hardly anyone was wearing gloves (although most people were wearing masks – which will now be a must here starting May 1st). The employees themselves were not wearing gloves, though all were wearing masks. While shopping, I used hand sanitizer three times, again when I got in my car, and then of course, thoroughly washed my hands the minute I walked in my door.
No, I won’t frame it. I only have so much room here.
I went to the nursery yesterday and it was raining and cold and there was only one other person there. They didn’t have everything I need, but it was a good time to go.
The gloves thing – aren’t you just doing the same thing without gloves? I confess that I am confused. We hear one thing, then another.
Stay safe.
Yes, we’re doing the same thing with our hands that we are with gloves. That’s why they’re saying the gloves don’t do any good as far as germ protection. And from what I’ve read, since people feel safer with gloves on, they’re doing things like touching their face more often. And yes, I wish “they’d” make up their minds!
I don’t know. We wear the gloves when we’re out and we take them off before we get in the car to return home. Back on when we unload the car, etc. Sigh.
My husband wears gloves when we go out, like to the post office (the only place we really go although he did fill up one car with gas, since it’s so cheap right now; definitely used gloves at the pump). The last time he was physically in a grocery store, which was March 18, he wore gloves. I feel we’re lucky that he had a lot of training with the fire dept/paramedics a few years back (he’s a trained volunteer certified emergency response team member for our town).
As the designated disinfecting person in our house, he also uses gloves when we receive a package on the porch which he sprays down (outer carton), then wipes down each item inside. Yes, you go thru lots of pairs of gloves; you have to wear them and use them (and take them off) the right way. Keep aware of what you’re doing. Initially, yes, we used a lot of hand sanitizer when out; but then he switched to gloves. Like at the post office, we’re parked at the curb; I’m sitting in the passenger seat; we’ve already got the trunk lid popped and ready for when he’s back to the car after retrieving our mail so that all he does is dump the mail bag in the trunk and he peels off the gloves (throws them in the trunk) before he gets back in the driver’s seat. Just have to be mindful of the task so as not to spread more germs via the gloves.
Oh, it’s all so confusing and a pain in the tush.
I wear gloves most of the time when I’m wiping down, but we have a finite number of disposable gloves, so sometimes I use heavy duty gloves for the snowblower – but they’re so awkward. Don uses Playtex gloves.
Thank you for the puzzle link…Galaxy has an original series Star Trek one that my husband will love!
Sheltering in place coincided with his retirement, so it’s a double transition for him. He also loves crosswords and reading, but he misses the “purposeful life” that he had. And he loves being in the City and never minded the commute. He thrives on the energy, whereas I was happy to retire over five years ago and enjoy the solitude.
Thank you for keeping a record of your journey through this with Don. It helps to read how people are coping.
You’re most welcome, Sylvia. Please take care and stay safe!
I finished my New Yorker 1000 piece last night. Your Nancy Drew puzzle looks like the kind I like to do. I don’t know whether to do next, one which is 1960s British memorabilia such as food products, toys, magazines or the puzzle of vintage luggage labels which look like they’re from the 1920s to the 1950s (more colourful and interesting than it sounds!)
Before Christmas I did a ‘Wasgij’ puzzle lent by a friend, the puzzles are popular but I wasn’t sure. You’re provided with a comical looking cartoon illustration and have to figure what has happened.
Mine was a family on a camping holiday and the Dad was running away from the shower tent. You have to imagine that you’re in the puzzle looking from a different perspective. This meant everything was in reverse and different angles from the illustration. It turned out that a bear complete with shower cap was using the facility and a whole troop of bears were coming down the forest to queue! Funny but never again !
Hope you find peace remembering your Mother.
Thank you, Dee Dee. I just finished the Nancy Drew and am eagerly awaiting a new puzzle. Stay safe!
We are working on puzzle number 3. I got one from amazon and one from ebay. I just ordered 2 more.
I found your puzzle technique interesting….I always sort all the edges out first and frame it in.
No greenhouses open yet in MI. Hopefully the Gov will let them open May 1. It’s been so cold here so its too early to plant anything yet anyway. My forsythia hasn’t even opened yet. I am so ready for spring.
Stay safe.
This puzzle was tricky to sort out edge-wise, so I did the top edge and then the bottom. The books were the real challenge and I concentrated on those, knowing I could eventually fill in the edges.
Stay safe.
Wow..,you’ve really made progress on your puzzle. My question for you…what do you do with your completed puzzle? Do you photograph and put back in the box, or do you frame it? Enquiring minds wish to know!
I could not believe what that man said. How reckless can he get? And YES…let him be the first test subject! Ugh!
It is rainy here too, off and on. So I guess it’s indoor projects today…or maybe just a lazy day. Course, isn’t every day a lazy day now? We can’t work outside if it’s rainy now, can we? If you go to the nursery…take a gander and a pic for us…I can’t be the only one drooling for nursery stock. Stay safe! ;)
I’ll photograph it and put it back in the box. But for now (I just finished it) I’ll keep it on display for a few days. No framing. I simply don’t have the room for another framed item!
I did go to the nursery but it was cold and rainy, so no photos! Stay safe, Donnamae.
Holy cow Claudia!!! what a beauty that puzzle is! I just wanted to thank you for posting every day, it’s generous of you to extend your daily stories and friendship the way you do. And it’s FUN! should have written this long ago, you are light in this sometimes dark world. Here’s to light!
Oh, thank you so much, Cindy! That made my day! Stay safe.
Today is my mother’s birthday. The older I get, the more I miss her. Would love to hug her hard one more time. She would have a philosophical comment for our situation today.
My mother’s too, she would be 91. She only died in January so it is the first without her. It is so hard. My thoughts are with you.
I know how you feel, Ginny. We never stop missing our moms. Thinking of you. Stay safe.
I’m sorry about your mom, Claudia. I keep thinking of how I can get flowers to Mom’s grave on Mother’s Day; I’ll hope to still have some roses for her.
My brother’s birthday is next week and it always makes me feel sad. I’m without him now for close to 30 years but it seems like yesterday. I’ve hated being an ‘only child’ since his death; he was such a rock for me. In some ways, it doesn’t get easier (with years, and advancing age) having lost our loved ones; we miss them so much.
My brother’s birthday is May 6th. Same here. He’s been gone for 29 years. xo
Hi Claudia,
That puzzle! I had forgotten most of those titles, and the stories and what a big part of my young reading. My sister collected the books and I was only allowed to read them after her and she wouldn’t tell me a single thing. I think I am glad she didn’t, but I sure remember wanting her to. I was probably a little young and didn’t understand them as well as she did.
Take care,
Kelly
Good for her! She knew that spoiling a mystery is the worst thing to do! Stay safe, Kelly.
Oh, you silly, silly people. He explained it today. The stupid “media” (in better years, weren’t they referred to as the press? But, that explains by calling it the media, it really IS a Reality Show we are living through) is so dumb, they didn’t realize he was being SARCASTIC!!!! OMG. How long can this idiot go on? I will sign any petition urging him to be the test candidate to ingest or inject bleach/ Lysol, and then insert a UV light into any one of his horrid orifices.
Your puzzle is amazing. I have never been able to do / enjoy making a puzzle. It makes me so anxious. I am so glad people are enjoying them! I hope you get a trip to the Nursery either today or tomorrow. Can’t wait to hear about it. I will live vicariously through your journey for now!!
What an ass. As if we believe that he was being sarcastic, especially when he was talking directly to the doctor.
I did get to the nursery but it was cold and rainy and I could only get a few of the plants I wanted. Stay safe, Chris!
I never read a Nancy Drew book, although I was an avid reader and always had my nose in a book. I had heard of Nancy Drew, but never found her books where I looked for books to read. I loved Enid Blyton’s ‘Secret Seven’ and her ‘Famous Five’. I can’t remember any other authors I read, although I was always reading, so must have read some other authors.
Miss my mum too. Would love just 5 minutes with her to update all that has happened since she passed away, although I could talk to her for ages. I was very cross with the world when she was taken. She had been in my life for almost 70 years and we often talked. I would tell her almost everything that happened to me. So sad when that bond was broken.
I recently bought and planted some pansies for a bit of potted colour on the front patio. Am really enjoying my garden at the moment. Cut some magnificent chives and had them on top of butter on a potato. They were so delicious last night.
It is Autumn now and we are having glorious weather and the garden is enjoying the change in the weather. It is so lovely after the ferocious Summer we had in Oz with all the drought and bush fires. The rain we had in January and February was torrential, but our ground needed it as it was parched and dry and brown. Not so now – lush and green and you enjoy gardening when everything is so lush and not just surviving. Have not been through a worse Summer in all my life.
Probably because Nancy Drew is written by an American author. We didn’t have Enid Blyton here because it was a British thing.
I just got some pansies yesterday, the only flowers on my list that were in stock. I can’t wait to see some color on the porch!
Stay safe, Robyn.
Here is another site that sell jigsaw puzzles.
https://www.herrschners.com/category/puzzle+shoppe.do
Thank you so much, Trina! Stay safe!
I used to see a lot of puzzles in a paper mail-order catalog called Bits And Pieces. Just thought of them. Yes, looked ’em up online; they have TONS and TONS of puzzles of every kind of piece size, like if you want to go smaller with a 200-pc or 500-pc rather than a 1000-pc, etc. I’m glad to rediscover them actually; had forgotten this company (looks like they’re in Indiana). I always had good luck with things I ordered from them; this seems like over 20 years ago; I imagine they’ve been around a long time. Just another suggestion for puzzles!
I should have finished reading comments. Someone else here weighed in on Bits and Pieces, too!
xo
xoxo
Hi Claudia,
Thanks for posting the puzzle sights. l’ve already looked & see lots I want!
Yep..he pulled a good one didn’t he? Can you imagine some poor innocent soul listening to that madman might actually think his words are accurate? OMG!
Anyway..again, thanks for your daily blog..it’s always good to read other people’s thoughts!!
Be safe, & enjoy the nursery.
And Lysol had to issue a statement telling people not to ingest their products. What a moron he is.
Stay safe, Priscilla!
Oh! Wanted to tell you we enjoyed a Lysol Martini followed by a Chlorox chaser last night for Happy Hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not!!
LOL! xoxo
I got lots of my puzzles from Bits and Pieces, Spillsbury or Springbok. There are lots of other sites too. Nowadays I generally get them at the thrift store for twenty-five cents or occasionally at Walmart. The thrift store ones sometimes have a piece or two missing but I don’t really care as I am not going to glue them. Liked the Nancy Drew puzzle. How I wish I had had access to books like those. I have read a few of them as an adult.
No thrift store searches at the moment, unfortunately, but thank you for mentioning the other sites, Joyce! Stay safe.
Are you going to keep the puzzle and frame it? I miss my mm too. She will be gone 9 years on May 4th. My dad was gone 30 years April 11th. It rained here but not too much and thankfully no wind. Hope you get to go to the nursery soon.
Marilyn
No, I’m not going to frame it. It’s too big and we only have so much wall space. I’ll take it apart when I’m ready to start a new puzzle and save it in the box. Stay safe, Marilyn!
commiserating in that same hard boat here (while also looking forward to that happy reunion in the future). hope today has been peaceful and more-sweet-than-bitter for you and everyone else missing their mothers and other loved ones.
you have really been working on that puzzle, claudia, and it looks great! glad you have another puzzle to work on soon. also, i didn’t realize there are so many “nancy drew” books.
after three-plus years, i didn’t think anything that person could say or do would shock me … but i was shocked by what he said yesterday about injecting disinfectants. then come to find out tonight he said he was being “sarcastic” and “testing” the reporters yesterday?!? no shock now … just anger that none of our elected officials have taken steps to remove him from office. #25for#45
if you haven’t seen it yet, look online for video of doctor birx’s reaction as he said those insane things yesterday … she looks stunned, then as if she could vomit or cry or both. the video of course shows him to be lying when he said he was looking at reporters; he was looking at doctor birx when he spoke of someone looking into his ideas. kudos to the reporter (sorry, i don’t know her name) who asked and confronted him on his recklessness and lies.
hope you get to the plant nursery and good gardening weather soon.
and thanks for links to those puzzle sites.
my new thing here is finally reading “a gentleman in moscow”. haven’t read much of it yet, but it’s a start and a good one!
getting my car oil changed tomorrow morning. :l i have gloves, a mask, lysol and bleach wipes along with packing tape to secure two very big lawn-and-leaf bags over my car seat. yes, i am scared at the thought of someone being in my car.
hope you have a good weekend. stay safe!
kathy in iowa
I did see the doctor’s reaction. I can’t imagine how she can stomach listening to him day after day. Glad you started the book! Stay safe, Kathy!
I just wanted to drop by as the owner and say thank you for mentioning Galaxy Puzzles and also for your purchase. It is a very small woman owned business dedicated to, you guessed it, mostly jigsaw puzzles. You are one of many either discovering or rediscovering the love of puzzles during the pandemic. They are great distraction and anxiety reducer. Galaxy Puzzles is still shipping quickly although there are increasing courier delays. More inventory has just arrived and even more is expected next week. Please feel free to drop by, add to a wish list, explore or join the email list. Now I’m off to spend a few minutes exploring your site!
Thank you so much for your comment, Janice! I’m going to share it with my readers today. I just got a notice yesterday from Galaxy saying my order had been shipped. Thank you so much for your excellent site – I know I will be ordering more puzzles soon!
Best,
Claudia
That’s great to hear. Thank you. I hope it comes reasonably fast for you. To make it easy for your readers to find ones in stock, the following either just came back in or were added in the last few days and most have plenty of stock right now — Trefl brand, Cobble Hill 2000 piece puzzles, and Clementoni brand.
Thank you, Janice!
From a piece online by 24/7 Wall Street: “As hundreds of millions of Americans are being urged or ordered to shelter in place, jigsaw puzzle sales have skyrocketed. One company, Ravensburger, the world’s largest maker of puzzles, reported a 370% increase in year-over-year sales in the last two weeks of March. Last year, the company reportedly sold puzzles at a rate of seven games per minute in North America. So far this year, the average rate is just shy of 20 puzzles per minute. A recent survey revealed that about half of all American adults complete at least one jigsaw puzzle per year. If concentrated among puzzle lovers, this sales increase could suggest that about 122 million American adults are now doing almost five puzzles per year rather than one.”
I can’t write anything more at the moment. I’m too hot. We were 100 degrees (f) just after lunch and it has stayed that way all day. Gotta get out from under this desk light at the computer before I melt! (SoCalif heatwave.)
I just did one in 7 days. I’m so looking forward to starting the next one when it arrives in the mail. Thanks for the info, Vicki.
It’s rather unseasonably warm there, isn’t it? Stay safe.
Yeah, and except for Orange County I think all beaches are closed but, you know, the people find their ways to the shore in SoCalif; we’re beach people, it’s just how it is. This was online about two hours ago: ‘Lifeguards in Huntington and Newport Beach, California, say more than 50,000 people flocked to their beaches on Friday, and more are expected on Saturday when temperatures surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit, CBS Los Angeles reports. “It’s hot out, and we’re seeing the crowds increase, doubling every day,” said Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Brian O’Rourke. “Yesterday we had about 20,000 people. Today I would expect almost double that.”‘ (Yeah, it’s 3pm-ish PST here on Saturday now, and I’m inland a bit, but we’re 93 degrees, somewhat cooler than this time yesterday, but there’s no way police and lifeguards can control THAT many people on the beaches. Like my husband says, this emboldens people; they’ll keep going out; we’re to be in the 80s (like high 80s) all next week, too; it’s gorgeous beach weather as the Pacific is always a cold sea and the breeze off of it is cool in nice-perfect contrast to hot sun and hot sand.
Just makes you want to throw your hands up in utter frustration because you KNOW all those bodies aren’t physically distancing. I mean I get it, even with central air conditioning (and not everybody has it), the house still gets hot and the beach sounds wonderful…NO ONE wants to see the ocean and be at the beach more than I DO right now…but where are people’s SELF-control? They’re off work, off school, all they have is time…and to the sea they’ll go.
They will bring on a second wave of this virus, mark my words. And the rest of us will suffer because of it.
Claudia, I hope thinking of your mom gives you more pleasure than pain. The years fly by! The 23 was the anniversary of my mom’s death—in 1982!! I’m 11 years older than she was when she died. I miss her greatly, but, and I hope this doesn’t sound awful, I’m very grateful that she is not now in a care home where I couldn’t be with her during the pandemic. My heart hurts for families who are separated from their elderly relatives. I’ve been in the house for 40 days now, a biblical number. Only today did I wake up feeling a little bit penned in. It made me think of when I finished grad school–I was an English major, and I gleefully buried myself in every light fiction murder mystery I could find. Took me about 20 years to get bored enough with that and wonder again about all that good stuff I had to hurry thru while in school. Testing one’s capacities is interesting. I love your Nancy Drew puzzle! BTW, besides salad, steaming, roasting, mashing, do you have a favorite vegetarian recipe you’d be willing to share? Take care!!
Don is the cook, so I’d have to ask him for a recipe, though most of his meals are created in the moment!
I said the same thing on the blog last week; I’m so grateful my mom, who was in a nursing home for the last three years of her life, isn’t alive now. I understand. Stay safe, Nora.
Oh, your mom. It seems April is a month with a lot of mom deaths and this year seems to be even more thoughts about them. Well, at least with me. Six years isn’t very long, that can be pretty raw still at time. Big safe hugs.
I love the puzzle and thanks for the links. I’ve seen a couple there I might have to have but I’m not sure where I would put it! Might have to wait till the cottage. You have rocked Nancy Drew! That’s such a fun one.
I hope you find all that you want at the nursery center. They opened ours but I think there will be far too many people. We’ll see…
It’s best to go on a rainy day. No one was there, really, because it was early in the morning and cold and rainy. Stay safe!
Hugs to you. I lost my dad six years ago tomorrow. Miss him terribly. Thank you for blogging, it feels like you are just next door. Take care
Thank you for your kind words, Donna. Stay safe.