Packaging puzzles!

Oh my --- what a crazy day! And I learned something. The Puzzles Canada store, which looks like a warehouse, is NOT the warehouse. There's another location that is the warehouse, and that is where I was supposed to be yesterday morning, NOT where I went. So after a bit of a wait because I was early, I figured it out! I arrived a bit later than I had planned and, of course, was annoyed with myself. I SHOULD have looked at the information sheet in the morning, which included the address. 

Who knew that a warehouse store would have a warehouse?

The other volunteers who were there were amazing! The day was super well organized, and the moment I arrived, I was given a task, and it didn't stop until everything was wrapped and in a shipping box ready to be shipped!

I don't know how many puzzles we wrapped, but if there are 11 events and a maximum of 100 in each, more like 90, that makes a total of 990, so around 1,000 puzzles. I didn't see the puzzles that will be in the events I'm in, but even if i saw them, we saw each one so quickly, that I barely remember what the picture was. I only wrapped two of the eleven puzzles. 

There isn't a lot of room to work in the warehouse, so we spilled out into the parking lot. And there were boxes and boxes of puzzles everywhere!

Boxes of puzzles

Each puzzle was put inside a shipping bag, and a label was put on it with the date and number of the event. That is very important, and of course, all the puzzles come in different-sized boxes!! Of course, they do! 

After all the puzzles were in their shipping bags, which also prevented the recipient from seeing the puzzles, it was time to group them by order for delivery. Some people only had one puzzle, some two, three, up to 14 puzzles, which is more than the 11 events, but some are pairs and they ordered the puzzles together.

I got on box assembly duty. They have a special way they want the boxes taped, which works for me, and I was instructed on how to do that. Then it was making boxes for several hours! I had two packers to keep up with. Mission accomplished! 

We had a blast as we started on a new grouping of puzzles. The groups were by the number of puzzles in the order. Since the puzzles are NOT all the same size as I mentioned, it was a challenge to figure out how to fit them in the boxes. Well, that was, once we figured out which box size that number of puzzles would fit into. One lady was extremely Tetris-oriented, and she could figure out how to put the puzzles into a box no problem!

At the end of the process, this is what we had accomplished. 

Boxes and boxes of puzzles ready to be shipped

And even more boxes!

That is a LOT of puzzles packaged and going out to people! 

I said I would bring my box home, and I was told that was OK, only if I knew where it was. And wouldn't you know it, but as I was getting ready to leave, I spotted my box on the top of one of the pallets. It was easy to grab, and I saved them some postage! 

Here are my three puzzles. 

My three event puzzles

One of the events happens on Halloween, so I suspect that puzzle's theme will be Halloween. That event is also a friends and family event, so now I have to rope someone into coming here that day to work on it with me. Any volunteers? It is a speed event, but since I've never done a speed event before, I think we will just be working on the puzzle! 

As a thank-you, we got to pick a puzzle, and I spotted this wooden one in the box. Of course, I'll take that. 

My new wooden puzzle

Of course, it comes in a wooden box, and the pieces are in a small cloth bag. 

The puzzle pieces are in a cloth bag.

I opened it when I got home and spotted some "whimsies," which are pieces that are shaped into something specific. I think I shared that when I did the puzzle at the hotel in Tofino. 

I was exhausted, but happy! It was a great day, and we really worked like a well-oiled machine! And I made new friends in the puzzle world!

I was asked to come again the next time, so I guess I passed. I need to rearrange something in my schedule, but I'll be back. Whether I'll do a speed-puzzling event again remains to be seen! The first one is in October. 

I'm leaving the wrapped puzzles on my puzzle table, so they don't get lost. That would be my luck - I would have to miss because I couldn't find the darn puzzles. 

Amanda took a video of us working - I didn't even notice. I have tried to forward the link to people, but it just doesn't work. I will try to link it here, and if you look real close, you can spot me in the background as I'm madly taping boxes!!! Here is the link to the FACEBOOK page. Scroll down, and you'll see the video. 

Last night, I worked on the pattern testing and have completed the second block. The 3rd and 4th blocks are on my list of things to do today. It's an easy enough pattern to put together, but with the number of pieces, it can be tricky, and it's only when you start sewing that you realize this piece is too long or too short. For the most part, the sizes are right on. 

If you have never written a pattern before, it can be very tricky. Trust me -- I've written lots, and you have to check, double-check, and even triple-check. 

Yep -- Studio B looks like a tornado has gone through, but I'm back in work mode, and that pattern testing is my focus! Amazing what can happen - everything is wide open, and the schedule is clear, and then BAM -- I'm testing a pattern. But I love being able to say yes!!! I love pattern testing. 

Oh my -- when I went out yesterday to walk the girls, there was burned debris all over the neighborhood from the house fire. We even had some in our driveway. 

Fire debris from the house fire - four streets away

But the park was filled even though you can't really see it in this photo. The house was two streets over. 

A lot of fire debris in the park

The street was still blocked, even to pedestrians, so we had to turn around. Apparently, five houses were affected by the fire. Yikes!! That's a pretty serious fire, and it got out of control so quickly, with huge flames. 

As I was walking and with all the fires in this neighborhood, it got me thinking. I believe I said four, but I remembered another one. I have a thing about house fires. I've never been affected, but it was a nightmare for me when I was a child. I have no idea why. 

Several houses in our area are getting "metal" roofs installed. 

A house with a metal roof

These metal roofs are essentially pieces of tin that they cover the existing roof with. What would happen if a house with that kind of roof caught fire? That tin would bubble and make a huge mess from the heat. 

Well, it's going to be a super busy day as we have Monday sewing, and I realized that I don't have a presentation ready for them, and OH DEAR - what photos can I pull from a hat? No worries - I just found some photos, so I need to plug them in and we're good to go!!!

There's also a solution! I have no idea where my optimism came from; it exudes from my body in leaps and bounds!

And on that positive note, I'm out of here. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!