Why jigsaw puzzles are good for you!

 OH MY GOODNESS --- Someone mentioned in the comments that Southern California is already in fire season. Our thoughts are with you, and we hope there are no serious fires. We are so at the mercy of the weather in all we do and how we live our lives. 

I could go down that slippery slope of climate change, but I won't. All I have to do is think back on my short life to see that the weather is NOT the same as it was when I was a kid! 

Well, what a day it was yesterday. It was a bit better than the previous day, although this morning started out badly. I was trying to get those two presentations together, and when I went to load pictures in one, most of the changes I had made yesterday were not there! Seriously? We have AutoSave for a reason! Anyway --- the first presentation is complete, the second is almost done, and I have a few minutes later this morning to finish it. The bottom line -- it's done enough! 

You never know what wildlife you will see on the walks, and yesterday? It was a stinky one!

MOM - I see trouble!!!!

Of course, once she saw it and focused in, she went wild! Thankfully, it didn't want to be near us either and took off under the fence. It appears that anything moving is her downfall. If she sees the rabbits or the skunks and they are stationary, then Murphy is too. But the moment they take off, she wants to follow. I guess that is why you are told NOT to run if you encounter a wild animal. Most will not pursue if you don't run. But our instinct is to run like mad, which is pointless. 

When I passed by that same spot with Lexi, someone had upset the skunk, and you could smell it! 

Here's a more sobering thought about wildlife. TICKS!!! I had to get Murphy's medication, and these vials were sitting on the counter at the vet's office. They are ticks of various varieties that have been removed from pets. These are nasty little beasts, and those little ones in the front jar are so tiny, you can't even feel them when they are on your body. Sorry for that. I will be very sad the day that those ticks invade my forest in a big way. So far, we are good. 

Ticks!

But I'm not so sure I'm happy with this new vet. They are sure not like our previous vet clinic, which was owned and operated by the vet. Some corporation owns this vet clinic. Our records were moved in August, and at that time, Murphy needed a renewal of her medication, which cost an arm and a leg to have bloodwork and heart tests done. There was no need because she had been on the medication for years, and without it? She has a weak bladder! 

But I have asked about Lexi numerous times, and they keep saying, " It will come up. Well, it's getting on 9 months and still NOTHING!! I asked again yesterday. OH - the notes are handwritten, and she promised to write them up, so the appointments could be scheduled. Good grief!!!! You think they would be chomping at the bit to charge me another arm and a leg for Lexi!!!

But this is indicative of any company, not just the vet. When the small guys go out of business because of many reasons (our vet retired after 50 years!), the service (or lack thereof) from the big guys is terrible. 

WAIT -- I shouldn't say terrible, but it's not personalized at all. That's the same for service companies, stores, and anything else. That is why it's important to support those quilt shops and other small shops. They get to know your name, are more receptive to questions, and don't just treat you like a number! 

Poor Lexi - she needs her flea and tick medication as well, and hopefully, we'll get it soon. I could give the girls the same medication, but Murphy's is for a larger dog. WAIT -- while they look the same size, Lexi weighs about half what Murphy does. Maybe not half, but she is significantly lighter than Murphy. 

The other day, when Murphy and I were out walking, and she was fixated on something and walking with her head turned back, she banged into my leg and almost wiped me out! She's SOLID and HEAVY!

Murphy is just fascinated (AKA as HATES) anything on two wheels. When she hears motorcycles revving down the street, she stops to look for them, and then she is fixated on the darn thing. I'm sure if she were off-leash, she'd be off in no time to save the world from two-wheeled modes of transport. The worst are those e-scooters. We haven't had any pass us yet this year. Thank goodness. 

She's OK with the little while electric car that goes up the path almost every day! It has four wheels! 

I managed to get a lot of sewing done, and I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, including what happens when you procrastinate about something you don't want to do. It all turned out amazing. 

The other thing about Miss Murphy is that she is very inquisitive, aka nosey. She has to KNOW everything that is happening. So when I had to get down on my hands and knees and clean the pond filter and the pump, she was right in there. 

MOM -- what's going on? Can I help? I can help!

And it took a lot of name-calling (in a good way) to get her to look up! She has zero attention to me! 

MOM - I can hear you, but I was busy!!!

And then she went and lay down like this. How can that be comfortable? 

MOM - I'm just fine! 

I keep talking about the office, so I thought I'd let you see what I'm up against. This is a pile of boxes that are either waiting to be sorted, or to be picked up at some point, or whatever. I must get myself in gear and finish the sorting. 

One area of the office that's in disarray

There is still a stack of paper on the floor beside the desk. One day, there will be room for the paper to sit on the desk! I have the old computer that I no longer need. I have kept it because I couldn't get my new computer to recognize the old printer as a scanner. I could print on it, but no scanning. Seriously? So I kept the old computer to make that happen. Now that I have a new printer, hopefully I won't need the old computer. It still works, but can't be upgraded to Windows 11. Hmmm --- what to do? My love/hate relationship with technology continues!

A stack of paper to deal with

And the desk, once again, looks like a nightmare. I really have to figure that one out! 

And the desk is a nightmare again!

OK -- I have a very addictive behavior which I'm sure you all know by now. And when I go down a rabbit hole, I'm like Alice - let's go the whole way. I've been investigating the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association on their website and signed up on Facebook. It turns out that they have theme puzzles each month. They release the theme, and then you make a puzzle in that theme and post it on Facebook. HEY -- quilters do that kind of stuff all the time. There are guidelines, and while I could have posted something for May, I didn't have all the pictures they wanted. So I'll wait until June, with the theme of Rainbows, colors, and gradients. I might even use my butterfly puzzle—it's filled with color! 

Then I looked at some of the puzzles they did for previous online timed puzzles. And well, three puzzles followed me home. Actually, I bought them from Puzzles Canada (did you know they offer free shipping on orders of $69 or more?). And they were delivered within 24 hours of me ordering? 

Three new 500-piece puzzles

In a heartbeat, I would rather order from them than from any big-box online store. They support the local community and sponsor some of the area's competitions. They are super friendly when you go in, and they are local, Canadian, and small! Yet, the store contains over 10,000 different puzzles from 93 brands. Yep -- they have my dollar!!!! OH - and if you want a puzzle that is sold out, they'll email you when it comes back in stock!! Well worth supporting this store! Or whatever puzzle store in your neighborhood! There are loads—check them out! 

I told DH I have a new hobby, and I look forward to switching up what I do in the evening. I want to enjoy sewing, but I don't want to do it all day and into the evening. So it's nice to switch it up. 

Anyway, the plan with those three (500-piece) puzzles is to do a timed practice in the privacy of my house - just for curiosity's sake! I might suck with the pressure!

Even though I still had work to do on the presentations, I spent an hour last night working on the puzzle. I am still missing border pieces, although I managed to find a couple last night. But this puzzle is a tough one!!!! But I'm almost there. I should be able to finish by Sunday evening. 

The current status

Here are a couple of reasons why I love jigsaw puzzles. I actually love all kinds of puzzles - I have since I was a kid - logic, crossword, sudoku, but interestingly enough, I don't do those daily puzzles like Wordle. I'm not into having the pressure of having to do something daily. I hate that, and it takes all the fun out of it! I know -- I don't have to do it daily, but it's a daily thing, and you get addicted. I get addicted at the drop of a hat!

1. Low-tech. Heck—there is NO technology whatsoever involved. That's reason enough to love making puzzles.
2. Doesn't take a lot of room to enjoy puzzles
3. Relatively low cost
4. Hours of entertainment for the cost
5. Easy to swap/donate
6. No reason to keep them
7. No UFOs
8. Huge variety of subject matter
9. Variety in brands - how the pieces are cut, etc. 
10. Low tech. I mean NO technology. I know I already mentioned that, but it's so important, it's worth mentioning twice!!!!
11. No UNDOING!!!! 
12. Hard to make mistakes!
13. Easy to leave and come back when you have time
14. Great at color matching and pattern matching
15. Great mental activity (Google that! - we should all be doing puzzles)
16. No tools or supplies needed
17. Easy to get rid of if you have to move
18. Easy to store (unless you get obsessive)
19. Fun
20. Can be a shared activity!
21. Easy to sit down for an hour or just five minutes!

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. It is so different from sewing, and I'm glad I now have time to make that happen. And there is no reason to buy any more puzzles for a while. Until........

OK -- remember there is a virtual retreat tonight. Here are the links: 

Saturday, May 23 - starts at 6 PM. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

Sunday, May 24 - starts at 3 PM.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869001291?pwd=h57kT9axwTnd2xtJvuO0z2UOmUo45w.1

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

And on that note, I'd better get the dogs out for their walk, because I have 20 minutes of preparation left and I'll have just enough time to make that happen. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!