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| Lisianthus flowers brought to me by my mum this week :) |
Hello chic friends :)
Last month, inspired by the lovely Katie on Instagram, I bought myself a jigsaw puzzle. The first one I've had since I was a little girl!
At first I was overwhelmed and thought I'd made a terrible mistake 😂 I didn't see how it was possible to put all the pieces together within my lifetime. It was just so difficult! I googled puzzle strategies, asked people I knew who did jigsaw puzzles for their tips, and didn't really get far beyond putting the outside pieces together.
At first I was overwhelmed and thought I'd made a terrible mistake 😂 I didn't see how it was possible to put all the pieces together within my lifetime. It was just so difficult! I googled puzzle strategies, asked people I knew who did jigsaw puzzles for their tips, and didn't really get far beyond putting the outside pieces together.
Now that we are into a fresh, calm new year with Christmas behind us, I gave it another go. And I'm hooked! Once I got over it being 'a waste of time' and 'a job I needed to complete', I now enjoy treating my jigsaw like reading a novel.
Taking my time, enjoying the doing of it, admiring my progress, and feeling very happy when a pieces slots in. Plus I am building a wonderfully atmospheric picture as I go. And can I just say, I also love running my hands over the smooth, shiny surface of the completed parts as I work on it.
Taking my time, enjoying the doing of it, admiring my progress, and feeling very happy when a pieces slots in. Plus I am building a wonderfully atmospheric picture as I go. And can I just say, I also love running my hands over the smooth, shiny surface of the completed parts as I work on it.
It's almost like doing meditation too, because you can't really think of much while you are finding the puzzle pieces. The mind can slow down and be still. And for mental health as I get older I'm sure it must be doing something good!
One morning this week I got up really early and felt like a bit of puzzle time, so I lit candles on the table and spent a little while there.
So thanks Katie, for showing me this wonderfully restorative act of relaxation and self-care :)
One morning this week I got up really early and felt like a bit of puzzle time, so I lit candles on the table and spent a little while there.
So thanks Katie, for showing me this wonderfully restorative act of relaxation and self-care :)
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This bouquet of doggies is always near me, and most often together too which is lovely.
From left to right, Chloe (9), Micky (11), and Daphne (7).
Underneath this bench seat there are pet beds. I live in a house with a million pet beds, haha. They all go in them at night though! And don't get up until the alarm goes off. I don't know how I got them so well trained but they are very good doggies.
Although sometimes Daphne will have 'a night' where she tries to get up on the bed every fifteen minutes. When I feel her paws on the side of the bed and see a face peering at me I say 'in the crate' and she goes back to bed.
It hasn't happened in a while but when she does and tries to get up many, many times I have to repeat 'in the crate'. In the morning my husband Paul exclaims 'I almost got in the crate myself last night!' 😂😂
I hope that gave you a giggle today!
From left to right, Chloe (9), Micky (11), and Daphne (7).
Underneath this bench seat there are pet beds. I live in a house with a million pet beds, haha. They all go in them at night though! And don't get up until the alarm goes off. I don't know how I got them so well trained but they are very good doggies.
Although sometimes Daphne will have 'a night' where she tries to get up on the bed every fifteen minutes. When I feel her paws on the side of the bed and see a face peering at me I say 'in the crate' and she goes back to bed.
It hasn't happened in a while but when she does and tries to get up many, many times I have to repeat 'in the crate'. In the morning my husband Paul exclaims 'I almost got in the crate myself last night!' 😂😂
I hope that gave you a giggle today!
And please tell me, do you do puzzles? If so, what are your favourite brands/types?
xx Fiona
(My Amazon puzzle and book links are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you if you choose to use my links!)
What a pretty puzzle!! I used to do a lot of them years ago, it is a very meditative past-time. One of them was an outdoor wildlife scene I loved so much that I applied a covering of glue (Modge Podge I believe it was) over the top of it to keep all the pieces together and then I had it professionally framed to hang on my wall!! I got to look at it every day and that was very satisfying indeed!
ReplyDeleteAs a child I was never interested in jigsaws, although my sister was. This Christmas, my husband got one of British birds as a gift. He wasn't that interested either, but thought he should at least make an effort and do it. So he did, starting on the outside, putting a few easy bits together. Then he really got in to it and obviously I helped him out a bit. Yes I can see the attraction, but like you say it feels like wasting time, so many other things that need doing. His ended up with a few pieces missing. What I would like is a mystery one, where there is no picture to guide you.
ReplyDeleteLove completing jigsaws Fiona, they are so much fun to do. We really got into them during the lockdown period and have continued to do them on a regular basis since and have completed 100+ to date. Always like to choose a jigsaw to match the season that we are in so at the moment its winter scenes all the way. Its good to complete some humorous ones too and would recommend WASJIG puzzles - the picture you see is not the one you end up with and it is great to see what scene emerges at the end and it is always very funny. Good to do jigsaws whilst you are listening to your podcasts too. Your completed picture looks very nice. The other good thing is they can be passed onto the charity shop after completion.
ReplyDeleteHi Fiona, I have recently started doing jigsaws, too. I particularly enjoy ones made up of multiple images, not one big picture. I just completed one of various wine labels and now I'm doing one based on gothic novels. We share them around the family so we always seem to have a good selection. I bought my parents a scene from Lake Garda, where we had holidayed. The scene was from right outside the hotel we stayed at. They also had a scene from Santorini where they had been (but that one did my head in!)
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law has just sent over one of birds dressed up as various rock stars 🤣