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I can’t express how MUCH I love trying to put together jigsaw puzzles. I’ve always loved to do it, but my hobby irritated my husband no end. It aggravated him when I started one because it took away time I might have spent with him – supposedly. He was annoyed to see the pieces all over a table – not sure why because he was certainly not a neatness freak. It bothered him that it took me a long time to finish one – mainly because I spent more time with HIM to try to make up for the puzzle being out…
End result – I gave up puzzles for years. Now I have a puzzle table right in my living area. The pieces, boxes, and sandwich bags are in one area ready for my attention whenever I want to spend time there. No one is affected that I leave it out or how long it takes. I’m having a blast choosing puzzles, finally finishing some, getting glass prints made of each one, starting another!
This is my special shelf in the living area where I keep things I truly love. I plan to keep adding to these – even spilling over into another area if this one fills up. It’s my ‘Statement Shelf.’ No one else has anything like it. ❤️
This was my first finished puzzle. I honestly didn’t know if I would be able to do it. It was easily the hardest one I’ve ever done. It was difficult to tell what I was working on. I moved whole sections of ‘finished areas’ toward the end because where I THOUGHT the section fit wasn’t correct. Difficult, character-building. I LOVE owls and the wonderful colors in this.
Brian ordered a glass print of the finished puzzle for me! I can always have the image and I felt good about giving the actual puzzle to someone else to enjoy.
This is the reason for the Statement Shelf. Brian took a picture of this while we were still in Arkansas, each packing one suitcase and one backpack to move to Thailand, leaving everything else we had collected over the past 40 years there to be given away or auctioned. My dad painted this. He said it was a ‘personality portrait’ of me. It was true. I recognize that expression. 😛 The fact that Brian took the picture and then ordered a glass print of it to give to me as a condo-warming present meant everything to me. My dad is now here with me in Thailand. This will always be the centerpiece of my Statement Shelf.
This is the newest addition to the shelf – the 2nd finished puzzle. This was really difficult because of all the black in it. It was really a challenge to try to separate the shades of grey, grey-green, blue-gray, and then black, and THEN figure out which area of that color I was working on.
This sweet rabbit was sent to me in a letter from a dear friend (actually a relative of my husband’s) in Texas. He has always sent a print of an original painting with his Christmas greeting. I have always loved and saved each one. Again, something I had to leave behind. When I received this in the mail here in Thailand, I teared up. I thought I would never see another one. We immediately went to find a frame for it so it could get a place on my special shelf.
This is the puzzle I’m working on now. My puzzle table is square, 74 cms. on each side. The puzzle is 50 cms x 75 cms. Just wide enough that the border of the puzzle is too wide for my table. I said several bad words when the border pieces once again fell onto the floor and had to be put together again. I finally used the edges of the box I cut off in order to put the puzzle picture on the wall above the table, taping them together, folding them lengthwise, and then taping them to the two sides of the table. This SEEMS to be working so far. This is one of my second choices when I ordered a new puzzle. I love dolphins, and this one DOES have one larger and a couple of smaller turtles, so I’m having a good time with it.
This is the puzzle I tried to order. Lazada (like Amazon) canceled the order, so we ordered the dolphins. Brian tried to order the turtle puzzle again, but just found out the order has been canceled again. In the meantime. he found out it is offered on Amazon, so will order it for me today. Hooray!
I am enjoying being able to indulge my hobby of working jigsaw puzzles again, choosing images that speak to me in some way, fighting my errant thoughts that I might not be able to put one of these together, embrace the joy of seeing one come together and then the moment when it’s FINISHED! The further joy of FEELING the finished puzzle with my hands on the table. It’s a texture delight unlike anything else. 🧩
I hope that you have hobbies that bring you joy. If you do, dive into them, spending as much time as you possibly can. Life is too short to NOT make a happy space of time for yourself each day.
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