Wednesday 21 January 2015

Puzzled......

I am officially a Puzzler...............Not in a "wondering what the hell is going on" kind of way but a master of placing little cardboard pieces in amongst a jumble of colours and sizes kind of way.

Confused ?????? ...................................Let me explain.

We received a jigsaw over the Xmas period to which I am ashamed to say I laughed at and thought "how old do you think I am?" and "You obviously think I have too much time on my hands". It was only when I was incredibly bored one afternoon that I thought I might give it a go......................How hard can it be for Gods sake....................................I'll have it done in an hour..............................Whilst doing the housework..............WRONG WRONG and WRONG again.

I remember watching my Nan separate the little pieces out into different boxes so that she had all the bits with white on in one and red pieces in another. The jigsaw would sit there unfinished for days and I was always allowed to put the last piece in which resulted in a huge cheer from my Grandparents as if I had done the whole thing myself.

Anyway, there I am with 1000 pieces of little bits of cardboard laid out in front of me..........DO THE EDGES FIRST I hear my Nans voice in my head....................................So, I did. I must just point out that it was at this point I realised I needed glasses.

After an hour I was ready to chuck it through the patio doors and forget I ever had it but then something happened...............Something I didn't expect............................The Teenagers appeared and did something very strange, something quite out of the ordinary for two humans that usually come in and launch their bags anywhere they see a space on the floor then disappear upstairs grunting about their "RUBBISH" day. 

They stopped, stared at the puzzle and began to pick pieces up looking for a home for them. I in turn wasn't sure whether to slope off without making a sound and leave them to it in the hope that they might finish it. I watched for ages as they laughed and shouted "YES" when a piece fitted in, I made everyone a cuppa and we all stood round working together.........................To be totally honest after 2 hours we had only managed 20 bits but it was the harmony and laughter that I was amazed at. The usual arguing of who said what was replaced with chatter about school and how they both fancied Pizza for tea.

It didn't stop there either, each day someone would pop in and have a go too, it became quite a race to see who could reach the end. The Female Teen was fabulous at it and I watched in amazement at her ability to find a piece I had been looking for all day, her friends came round and had a go too and I started to wish we would never finish it so that this moment could last forever.

Then, yesterday it all came to an end...........................I looked at the table and realised there were only 20 bits left, I was alone and this was not the way I wanted it to end.............................I wanted everyone to be together and cheer at our joint achievement.....................Yeah Right...................................As If........................................I  totally wanted to be the one that completed it.................And I did.

The last piece slotted in with ease and I lifted my hands up like I had won the World Cup.......................I hadn't of course, just the satisfaction that it was done. 

It"s still sitting on the dining room table today and I can't quite bring myself to take it apart, I know I must....................It can't sit there forever.......................We have been eating on our laps for a bloody week...........................Mr DG can't work from home as theres no room.....................But, and more importantly the other reason it has to go is actually quite simple.

I need the table for the next one I've just ordered.

Lots of Love

The 40 Year Old Domestic Goddess Experienced Puzzler Extraordinaire.
xxx

41 comments:

  1. Yes!!!! Puzzles really do have this effect - I love them! I only wish we had table space to leave one out for a week.... need a jigroll!

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    1. I have never heard of a Jigroll but am going to look for one now, thanks funny xx

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  2. Ha ha I love your puzzled face :) xx

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    1. Hee hee, thankyou so much......Its a face i pull quite a lot lately xxx

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  3. Ha ha - you're into them now! My mum's always been a puzzler, but to be honest, I lack the patience! My 5yo loves them and is probably already better than I am at them. But as my mum has loads of them, and the daughter loves them, I can well see these sneaking onto our dining room table for a week or so soon...!

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    1. I think i get to from my Nan to be honest, i never thought i would enjoy it so much xx

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  4. Brilliant. And funnily enough, my other half enjoyed the massive Simpsons puzzle our son got for a present as much as our son did. He seemed to spend far more time on it in fact (and they've just finished it too!)

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    1. Well done to them, i bet that was a hard one wasn't it.....Lots of yellow xx

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  5. Oh I love puzzles too - although my special Christmas puzzle had 2 pieces missing...arghhhh!!!

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    1. Oh no............Thats a nightmare. I thought this one had a bit missing but we found it stuck to Hubbys wallet xx

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  6. I love a jigsaw puzzle. It is amazing how you can leave on around and someone will have to attempt to do a piece. We always have one on the go on holiday.

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    1. Absolutley, i think thats what i loved about it. It became a good reason to stop and have a coffee and a natter xx

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  7. I love puzzles. You can get a board from Hobbycraft to put your jigsaw on, you can zip it up and store it behind your sofa. Happy puzzling x

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    1. Ooooooo...........I am loving this idea. Think we all got a bit fed up of eating on our laps xxx

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  8. Reading your Post is making me wish for a jigzaw puzzle. I had forgotten how much fun they can be.

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    1. Go and get one Mina...........Let me know how you get on xxx

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  9. LOL I have no patience for big puzzles at all! It is great how it has brought you altogether doing something you perhaps would never have thought of! Hope you enjoy the next one just as much!

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    1. I didn't think i did either but i was quite amazed how i stuck to it without launching it out of the window xxx

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  10. I really like puzzles too...they're great for forgetting about the million other things there are to do aren't they?! Your post makes me want to do a puzzle now too!!

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    1. They really are, my poor jaw problem was almost forgotten whilst doing it. Let me know how you get on if you do buy one xx

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  11. I haven't doen puzzles for ages but i used to LOVE them when i was a kid, actually I had chicken pox when i was 19 and it got me through two weeks of scratching! x

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    1. I bet it did, it some how takes your mind somewhere else doesn't it xxx

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  12. I find them strangely relaxing to do, but I like to have the time to sit and do them x

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  13. I've not done any puzzles (bar with the children) since I was a child myself! I have the same attitude that they are for the older generation. Give me a sudoku any day though hehe x

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    1. Oooooo I love Sudoku, haven't done one of those for ages xxx

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  14. Haha, love it. I'd love to do puzzles too but the space they take up would drive me crazy. Kind of relieved my girls are not really interested in them ;)

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    1. I must admit it got on my nerves after a while but a couple of people on here have suggested ways round the whole taking up space thingy xxx

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  15. Hehe, I remember my nan always having puzzles unfinished on the table.
    Therapeutic but so frustrating

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    1. Yes, same here. It wasn't right if my Nan didn't have one on the go, mind you she used to do 5000 piece ones.......Not quite at that stage yet xx

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  16. I find puzzles a struggle as I lose patience lol

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    1. I thought would feel the same too but I surprised myself how patient I could actually be xxx

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  17. You have struck gold! To have found an activity that you can all enjoy as a family, just brilliant.

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    1. It was such a surprise and to have all The Teens friends joining in too was so lovely xxx

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  18. It sounds like your family have shared some lovely moments over this puzzle. I wouldn't have thought it would have been addictive but it sounds like you had great fun Zx

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    1. We certainly have Zena, this morning they both asked when the next one was arriving xxx

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  19. I used to love jigsaw and can still remember my Aunt huge amount of jigsaw boxes around the house :) Some of the finished ones are now framed and put on the wall :)

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    1. What a lovely idea Sylvia, I bet my nan wished she had thought of that xxxx

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  20. Ooh I LOVE a good puzzle! But like you, I've only discovered this recently. So satisfying isn't it? Wouldn't admit it to many people though....;) We spent hours and hours (more like days!) doing one on holiday in Scotland last year. I've got a Minions one sitting in the cupboard and have promised my boy that we will start it tonight - exciting! x x

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  21. ha Wilf LOVES puzzles like nothing else, it will amuse him for aaaages. God bless puzzles! x

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  22. You know I read this post and I did mean to comment as it stuck in my head. I used to do puzzles with the boys and loved it and I even have one of those puzzle boards that can be zipped up and kept until next time which I had forgotten about. The thing I loved is that you ended up with everyone involved at some point- so much so I have ordered myself the 1000 pce old 80's retro sweets one which hopefully will come soon and I hope it has the same effect here :) what's your next one?

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Love to hear your comments, and I will always try to reply xxx