The Determined Puzzler

Update 11-27-11

2011-11-27T12:15:00.001-06:00

Yes. It has been a year and a half since I got this thing and I'm still at it. I just have to say that I'm so appreciative to have a husband that doesn't mind me taking up an entire bedroom of our home and that he has shown patience with me while trying to get it done. Life is busy so sometimes a month goes by without me even looking at it. Then when I actually get to sit down to it for awhile I have to reacquaint myself with the pieces and textures. I just wish that I'd be able to make continual steps forward instead of three steps forward, one step back. Let me explain......

THE PROBLEM:
Woke up to a huge mess on the floor and here are pieces picked up off the floor and piled back on the right board - These were all put together last night. There was another whole board full of pieces of birds and butterflies that was completely emptied, but most of those just landed in a big pile/mess on the table.

THE CULPRIT:
Three month old Princess Leia in all her glory. She just woke up and is giving me the evil eye. Guess beauty doesn't come from sleep after all. At least for princesses. Couldn't find her twin accomplice, Luke. I hope he was cowering somewhere with shame.

THE UPDATE:
Got some more done in the past few months. I have the room set up so I can get larger portions together. At least the broken pieces will be easy to put back together since it's all balloons.

THE SOLUTION:
LOCK THE BEDROOM DOOR, DUH!
Locks are amazingly effective at keeping out animals AND children.

THE MORAL:
It's funny that this puzzle called, "LIFE" can so represent our lives sometimes. A huge puzzle that we hope we can get through with ease. But sometimes steps forward include steps backwards. I just pray I have the patience to redo what's been undone.

ENJOY!

Way Overdue!

2011-05-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know I haven't posted in a really long time. Partially because I havent' worked on the puzzle in a really long time. I think it around March 5th the last time I worked on it. That is primarily because of a lack of space to spread out and it hasn't been a huge priority. BUT I have made it a priority by moving my bed out of the bedroom. I am going to set up more tables in the bedroom and then I can spread the puzzle out. It'll be easier to work on then.

So that is the plan. Hopefully I can get my wonderful husband to help me tonight and get some tables set up. It'll probably be more like pegboard on crates, but at least it'll be sturdy and roomy!

Alright wish me luck! :)

Puzzle Joke

2010-10-25T20:47:00.002-05:00

Two blondes walked into a pub, the barman said ''Why are you so happy?'' and they said ''Because we completed a jigsaw in 6 weeks that said 2-3 years on the box!''

PRICELESS!

UPDATE: 10-17-10

2010-10-17T20:41:00.000-05:00

Here is what it looks like so far after 39 hours and 44 minutes:

Balloons

More Balloons

Starting on the boats

Table has few boat sails and island done

Well, only 20,000?? more to go!

Puzzle Update

2010-10-05T15:58:00.000-05:00

Definately not as far as I had hoped I would be. But when I only get 3-4 hours a week, IF THAT, then I don't get very far. Here are some pics of what I have together:

It's not much, but it has been fun so far. The balloons and boats were hard to sort because of all the different colors. It was easier just to throw them together and sort later. So I'm doing them at the same time. I would love a bunch more white cardboard pieces like I have. Saves alot of extra work!

I Started Puzzling!

2010-09-03T15:58:00.000-05:00

I still have lots more to sort:

I filled up some buckets:

So I HAD to start putting together one bucket so I had an empty one to use:

This is the island, lighthouse, sheep, etc right in the center of the puzzle. It was frustrating, because as I was putting it together, I realized that there must be lots more in my sorting box yet because I'm still missing so many.

YAY! My first pieces together! LOL

That's what it is all about: taking baby steps! I will get there, I will get there. I KNOW I can. I KNOW I can. Now back to sorting!

Puzzling Family

2010-08-31T15:42:00.000-05:00

Even the boys like to do puzzles:

Charles, Dalamation shirt, needs a little help with his yet, but Douglas, loader shirt, can do these 100 piece floor puzzles alone. The whole family likes to do puzzles.

UPDATE: I am still sorting! What else is new? I have in over 13 hours now. Hopefully it won't be too much longer.

Puzzles That Require the Cover Art

2010-08-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

I have never been a fan of the puzzles that are "so hard" that you have to look at the picture/cover art for every single piece. The puzzle manufacturer lists it as very difficult, but to me, it's just boring. I want to be able to use my own analytical and deducing brain to put the puzzle pieces together, NOT look at the cover to decide where it goes.

I did one last year that was a cartoonish picture of Philadelphia I think. It was all buildings and WINDOWS. But because every piece had windows on it, you had to look at the cover to decided where it should go, or at least approximately. I do not like that. It's kind of like having a puzzle that is the same picture throughout - like jellybeans, or nails or the same cat repeating over and over again. To me, this is not real puzzling. This is insanity.

Even "Life", as large as it is, I don't foresee to be a very difficult puzzle because of the variety of pictures, colors, details and textures. The "extreme difficulty" lies in its size and where to put it when you're done! LOL

To me, a difficult puzzle has pieces that the picture changes are so subtle from piece to piece that only seasoned puzzlers can actually "see" the differences. Often scenery puzzles are like this because of the greenery! Who likes to put together puzzles with lots and lots and lots of green leaves? I do!

The pointless puzzles are the ones that are a solid color. That is it. One solid color throughout. I remember a few years ago I saw a solid black one. All the same shade. The only option you have is pretty much to try each piece in each piece. Again, pure sanity.

Bigger, Uglier Puzzle

2010-08-24T15:02:00.002-05:00

I already told you that there is a newer, bigger, uglier puzzle supposedly coming out in September. I thought I would share the photo of it. What do you think??
I personally think it's awful. It's supposed to "depict the spirit of community, having a universality to them". Yuck! This is definately not my style! How boring would it be to put it together anyways with only eight total colors?? Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and white. Way too art deco. I think it would hurt my eyes to put it together, let alone have it take up 20 feet of a wall! LOL

"LIFE" isn't exactly my style either. Though it is pretty and colorful. I prefer works of art like this:

and:

These will probably be my next undertaking.

Which puzzles are you favorites?

Is That All? and a Minor Setback

2010-08-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is all that I have done so far. I have all those pieces to sort yet! There are about 13 loose categories that I am sorting into. I haven't had many chances to go and work on it. But when I do, time flies!

Here is why I'm not as far along as I should be:

Diana, 19 months, got up at the table and started MIXING MY ALREADY SORTED BUCKETS! Of course some made it on the floor, under the bed, under the dresser and hope chest. I PRAY that I have found them all. I barely caught her digging her hand into one bucket and putting it in another. Thus I had to resort many of the buckets. That was very discouraging. It took a lot of time.

But I'm back at it and things are going well. I am trying a new strategy. Before, I was filling one of those buckets full of pieces and sorting it one by one. But there were so many pieces that I just did not know how to sort. I couldn't tell if it was a balloon, a boat or a fish! Maybe a planet or sky. Who knows? So I just started looking through the unsorted box and pulling out the very recognizable pieces. Balloons, stars, clown fish and the top of the water are the easiest. I will still have to sort all the others later, but I got a lot of pieces sorted this way in a short amount of time! I was throwing in handfulls of like pieces instead of one at a time.

Here is my time tracker: I'm lucky if I get to work on it for 45 minutes or more a day.

As you can see, as of last night, I have just over 7 hours in. OF SORTING! This is ridiculous! LOL If I spent 7 hours on a 1,000 piece puzzle, I'd have it pretty near done if not completely. There are some big gaps in days that I get to work on it. It's sad. I am determined to work more often. Our outside commitments have lessened, so hopefully that will help me get in more.

Possible Invitation?

2010-08-12T19:38:00.000-05:00

I have already had a possible invitation to display the puzzle at the local Elk's Club. A guy at the post office that I frequent daily knows what I'm doing and he suggested that he talk to the club's president. So we will see what comes of that. I told him that it would be most likely a couple months or more before I'm done, but would need more time to tell.

He said they would have the paper there! Cool!

Mixing of the Pieces and Starting to Sort

2010-08-12T19:35:00.000-05:00

I officially mixed the pieces. For some reason the video that I had taken won't load on here, and it was going to take forever to upload to Facebook. But I do have the video for anything official. I will work on loading to to FB tomorrow.

Here is how I sort the pieces. I bought a bunch of tupperware containers and wrote on them. I didn't think of it before, but it was great to have chosen very clear ones because I can see the containers that are "hidden".

This was two days ago, but rest assured, I'm STILL SORTING! The only difference is that the buckets are a little bit fuller.

IT HAS ARRIVED!

2010-08-11T17:08:00.000-05:00

We got the puzzle yesterday! The kids were as excited as I was. They couldn't wait to see it.

Here is the box! It was heavy.

The package opened! We're getting closer!

The puzzle box in all it's huge glory.

Me and my....... fill in the blank. Everyone I have talked to has had a different opinion of this adventure. Many have called me crazy. What do you think?

My friend, Dawn, gave me the idea for this picture: taking a tiny, minute 1,000 piece and putting it next to the mammoth, 24,000 piece.

My Work Space and Shipping Has Commenced

2010-08-05T17:26:00.000-05:00

I have decided to work the puzzle in my bedroom. It is the only available space that is away from curious fingers. I could set up in the basement, but I don't want to be away from the kids if I happen to be working on it at the time of day that they are up (i.e. weekends.) I plan only to work on it in the evenings after they go to bed and weekends. So this could take me a long time. Here is my work space:

Dan and I were going to go shopping for a large table or piece of ..... something that was 4'x8': plywood, foam, etc. But as I was out getting groceries, Dan surprised me by finding this piece of peg board in the garage. He set it up with the table and everything while I was gone. It was a great show of support on his part. The board is only 4' x 5' 3" but it will still work just fine! Now I just need a light and a chair and I'll be good to go. Oh yeah, the PUZZLE would be nice too!

I did get an email today that the behemoth has been shipped and I do have a tracking number. But alas! The number doesn't pull up any information yet. Saturday does NOT look promising.

A friend suggested to me today about donating the final product to the new hospital being built in town. I hadn't thought of that and it is definitely an option I will keep in mind. It's a hospital within my own insurance and I'm thrilled. It just might be the way to show that appreciation.

The local library was the other option of donation locales. It is a place that my kids and I weekly patronize. I volunteer there on Friday nights as well. Somehow puzzles and books just seem to go together. Some kind of intellectual link I think.

That's the update for today. Enjoy!

Starting a New Venture

2010-08-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

I have been putting together jigsaw puzzles for as long as I can remember. It is really the only thing I have 100% patience for....even really hard ones. I can work on them for hours. The purpose of this blog is to share photos of doing the puzzles and the finished product. I suppose it sounds extremely boring, but I won't do just any old puzzles. They will be unique in one way or another. Also, I plan to share thoughts and ideas centered around puzzles of all kinds.

I just purchased a new puzzle that I will be working on. What makes this one so unique is that it is the "mother" of all puzzles! It has 24,000 pieces. It is a beautiful puzzle called "Life: The Great Challenge" by Royce B. McClure. It is officially the world's largest puzzle and holds the records for such.

Here is a picture of it:

The colors are gorgeous. From what I have read of others that have done this puzzle is that it is not an extremely difficult puzzle. Actually as far as jigsaws go, this is fairly easy. The difficulty comes in its shear size. Framing and hanging seem to be quite major processes.

This exceptional mammoth of entertainment is 14 feet long and 5.2 inches wide. I do not have a wall in my home that is this will fit, but I'm unsure if I want to donate it. Look, it's not even in my possession yet and I'm thinking of what to do with it when it's done. But I believe you must think ahead in situations like this when it's such a large project.

Educa is the manufacturer and they offer the puzzle at http://www.worldslargestpuzzle.com/purchase.html for $300. I did find a New Jersey based retailer online, used a coupon code and got it for $252. That was a nice surprise.

One of the decisions you must make before attempting this huge work of art is whether you want to actually do a 24,000 piece puzzle or four 6,000 piece puzzles. The box comes with four bags; each having one-fourth of the puzzle in it. The diehards like myself will MIX all the bags before commencing. I feel that then I can truly claim I put together a 24,000 piece puzzle instead of four smaller ones.

My goals are: to do it in 200 hours or less and to be the first in Wisconsin to finish it. There is a hall of fame for the puzzle and Wisconsin is yet to be entered. I hope to be that person. Wish me luck!

I just ordered it today, so it should be here by Monday, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Saturday so I can get started.

Feel free to leave comments or encouragements.

Thanks for reading,
Cortney