In the times we currently find ourselves, where a horrendous and deadly virus has already claimed over 60,000 American lives, I take some comfort in assembling aspects of the Around the World puzzle which are not only famous American landmarks, but which also speak to me as a way to unite the world in common cause — freedom with the Statue of Liberty and now the UN Building – a true representation of global peace and hope. I absolutely loved…
This building is so cool looking I think. Due to its shape and the puzzle artist’s rendering of the color (mostly purple), the pieces really stood out as I was sub-sorting all the skyscrapers. I was excited to build this beautiful piece of architecture and learn a little more about this landmark along the way. I think my favorite part of the architecture is the upside down trapezoid shaped “cutout” way up near the top. This amazing and extremely complex…
As a child I was fascinated by New York City. I loved the skyscrapers, the chaos, the romantic idea of spending my honeymoon there someday, and the desire to see the iconic Statue of Liberty. I was fascinated by the history, the architectural design, and the emotional draw of Our Lady Liberty. So naturally she was one of the very first elements of the Around the World puzzle I wanted to piece together. Unfortunately, my brain was not thinking too…
You know, you would think with all the extra time I am spending at home these days due to COVID-19, I would have made a lot more progress on this puzzle than I have. ? But, alas that is not the case. Both Randy and I are still holding down our full-time jobs, which we are extremely grateful to have right now, while also trying to help our two boys navigate a whole new way of learning. It has been…
Tonight we continue our conversation with Gus, a retired IT guy from New South Wales, Australia about what determines puzzle difficulty. As many of you probably know, Gus is a pretty prolific writer, especially on the topic of puzzles. So, in the not so distant future I will be sharing more of his thoughts on all things puzzling. Hopefully you will find his commentary as insightful and entertaining as I have. PM: How do you define puzzle difficulty, Gus? GUS: …
I am starting 2020 off with something a little different – a series of posts garnered from “interviews” with fellow puzzle enthusiasts like myself. I want to get different perspectives from people around the world on various aspects of puzzling – what got them into puzzling, what types of images they love and / or dislike most, what their biggest challenges are (if any) to getting puzzles in their respective countries, etc. I think it will add a new dimension…
Over the last couple of weeks between cleaning and hosting Thankgiving, I have been sorting and sorting and….well, you get the idea. I have to say — 42k pieces is no joke! It has been fun, but with as much sorting as I have done, and knowing I am only halfway through the big mixed container it is a bit daunting. I know I will get there, but jeez louise it doesnt feel like it’s ever going to end. LOL
On my first night of sorting, I was seeing a bunch of pieces that stood out from all the others. For some reason, I decided to pull these pieces out onto a separate tray. At the end of that first night, I quickly took a closer look at these pieces, and found I was able to already make a few connections. I don’t know why, but for some reason these few pieces reminded me of a carrousel you might see…
On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, I officially started working on Around the World. The task of sorting 42,000 small pieces of cardboard is NO JOKE. I have pieces everywhere! Initially, on paper, I thought I would categorize the first rough sort into about 19 categories. As I have been going through the pieces this week, it has turned out to be a few less. Mostly because it’s just too difficult to tell for sure on a lot of pieces what…
Many people have asked me over the last 8.5 years things like, “what are you going to do with it when its done?”, “where are you going to put it?”, etc. All very good questions and the answers have changed multiple tines over the years since starting Life: The Great Challenge in July 2010. Click here to read my very first post about this puzzle and the start of this blog. Initially, I figured I would hang the puzzle in…