Puzzle: Summer Fruits by W. Hammer


Size
: 1000 pieces
Producer: Jumbo
Artist: W. Hammer (1821-1889)
Painting: photo
Notes: In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.

The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state, such as apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, juniper berries and bananas. Seed-associated structures that do not fit these informal criteria are usually called by other names, such as vegetables, pods, nut, ears and cones.

Fruits are the means by which many plants disseminate seeds. Most plants bearing edible fruits, in particular, coevolved with animals in a symbiotic relationship as a means for seed dispersal and nutrition, respectively; in fact, many animals (including humans to some extent) have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Fruits account for a substantial fraction of world’s agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Sip into something more comfortable


Size
: 500+ pieces, 2 missing
Dimensions: 45.72cm x 59.69cm
Producer: Springbok, by Hallmark, PZL3607
Notes: Throw a summer party anytime of year! Drink recipes on back of box… Plus your very own set of festive drink umbrellas inside! [Puzzle box]

Recipe for a Wonderful Summer

When the summer is a scorcher and the sidewalks start to sizzle,
Then it’s time to hit the hammocks and get out those sticks that swizzle.
Find some curvy, swervy glasses, so far-out they’re outer-spacial,
Then just pop them in the freezer till they’re looking really glacial.
Now you’re getting to the good part, and that’s mixing up those flavors,
Those tangy, fruity liquids that each taste bud’s bound to savor.
Start with ordinary orange juice, then pour in a touch of mango,
And before the day is over, you may learn to do the tango.
If you’re feeling really reckless, you can put in some papaya
And add a shot of rum – or two – or three – oh me, oh my-ya!
Now mix your drinks in reds and pinks, in pearly shades and bluish.
As swallow follows swallow, they will make you feel brand-newish!
Don’t forget to add some garnish – cherries, berries, lemon sections.
Build the grandest of concoctions to the point of pure perfection.
You can even add a posy or a very small umbrella
To make each grateful guest feel like a festive gal or fella.
Remember now to not forget when temperatures are soaring,
The way to beat the heat is just by mixing up and pouring
Some spirits so exotic they’ll both cool you down and warm you,
And two or even three of them could never ever harm you.
No need to let the climate turn your days into a bummer
When you know the perfect recipe for one terrific summer!

[Dean Walley, puzzle box]

Recipes for summer sipping – anytime!

Drinks on puzzle from left to right.

Tequila Sunrise
2 oz. Tequila
4 oz. Orange Juice
3/4 Grenadine
Stir tequila and orange juice with ice and strain into highball glass. Add more ice cubes. Pour in grenadine slowly and allow to settle. Stir before drinking to complete your sunrise.

Blue Hawaii
1 oz. White Rum
1/2 oz. Blue Curaçao
1/2 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 oz. Cream
Shake ingredients well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. A delightful after-dinner cocktail for a warm summer’s night.

Margarita
1 1/2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Cointreau, Triple Sec, or Curaçao
1/2 oz. Lemon or Lime Juice
Shake well with ice. Strain into prechilled salt-rimmed cocktail glass. To prepare glass, rub rim with lemon; then dip into salt and shake off excess. Although traditionally the glass for a margarita is salt-rimmed, it may also be sugar-rimmed. A slice of lime or lemon peel may be added if desired.

Piña Colada
3 oz. Rum
3 tablespoons Coconut Milk
3 tablespoons Crushed Pineapple
Place in blender with two cups of crushed ice and blend at high speed for a short time. Strain into Collins glass and serve with straw.

Yellow Bird
3 oz. Orange Juice
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 1/2 oz. Rum
1 1/2 oz. Banana Liqueur
1 tablespoon Kahlua
Put all the ingredients in a blender with a little ice and blend until smooth.  Pour into a large goblet. Decorate with slices of orange, lime, lemon and pineapple and a Maraschino cherry.

Singapore Sling
1 0z. Gin
1 oz. Cherry Brandy
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Sugar
Soda to top
Shake ingredients well with ice. Pour contents into a highball glass and top with soda. Decorate with a slice of lemon and a Maraschino cherry.

[All recipes are printed on the puzzle box]

Puzzle: Summer’s Delight


Size
: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 50.8cm x 50.8cm
Producer: Springbok, by Hallmark, PZL2443
Photographer:
Phil Smith
Notes: Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to climate, culture and tradition.

From an astronomical view, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but a variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological  start of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks later than the start of the astronomical season. According to meteorologists, summer extends for the whole months of June, July and August in the northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January and February in the southern hemisphere. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Nostalgic Still Life


Size
: 1000 pieces
Producer:  Warren, RoseArt, Prestige Puzzle series
Notes: A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate  subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Still life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Spring Concerto


Size
: 500 pieces, 2 missing
Dimensions: 45.72cm x 35.56cm
Photographer:
Dietrich Leis
Producer:  E&L Corporation
Notes: Dianne Dietrich Leis, photographing professionally since 1977, began her career running the family commercial studio in Phoenix. In that capacity she did weddings, portraits, and commercial assignments. She continues the family tradition of landscape and travel photography. Her photo shoots in Europe, Mexico, and Costa Rica have broadened the scope of the collection. In addition, Dianne enjoys still life photography and contributes to several craft and interior design books. [Bio at Dietrich Leis Photo site]

Puzzle: Decorative plates, Cancún, Mexico


Size
: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben
Location: Cancún is a coastal city in Mexico’s easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula. As a rapidly growing city with a quickly changing skyline, the estimated population for Cancún is 705,000 in 2010 an increase 20% from the census in 2005. Cancún is located on the Yucatan Channel that separates Mexico from the island of Cuba in the Greater Antilles. The Cancún region is sometimes known as the Mexican Caribbean or the Mayan Riviera. [Wiki]