Harvest and Thanksgiving time
Puzzle: Riverside, California, U.S.A.
Get ready for work the day before
We all know how fast the tension rises and the moods sour when we are racing against the clock in the morning, in order to make it to work on time. Children add an entire level of complexity to getting out of the house. Dealing with the same frustrations week after week, I have come up with a few strategies to make the mornings less stressful.
Puzzle: Lanterman’s Mill by Joseph Burgess
Puzzle: Carnival Moon by Aimee Stewart
Puzzle: The Dreaming Tree
With its wonderful fantasy imagery and subtle colour variation, this is one of my favourite puzzles, so much so that it decorates the wall above my work desk. Reminiscent of Elven trees from Middle Earth’s Lothlórien, Vallenwood trees from Dragonlance, and Ygdrassil tree ships from the Hyperion Cantos, its winding steps, dwellings, and terraces are a calming, inspiring sight.
Take it easy
When a day is frustrating and you’ve had little rest, every tiny thing can throw you into despair. Someone breaks a dish, or cuts you off in traffic, or destroys a project you’ve been working on. And you are on the brink of losing it, screaming your head off, or just giving up and walking away. Take a deep breath. Take a step back.
Puzzle: Blue wall
Feeling stressed and tired? Go to the park!
How often have you come home after a long day feeling stressed and tired, with the only thought of plopping down on a couch and not moving for the rest of the evening? Traffic jams, errands, being bombarded with information, work demands and children that need your attention. My answer? Grab a snack or have a quick dinner, and head to a nearby park.
Puzzle: Dancing Girl by Derjen
The imagery for this puzzle does look beautiful, and I had fun assembling all four sides of the lantern, together with my son. However, putting them together into a 3D shape has proven somewhat awkward. The small plastic pieces easily snap out of place and the completed shape does not have proper right angles.
Puzzle: Song of the Southwest, Artifacts from the Hartman Collection
Choose what to remember
How often do we share an event with someone else, only to discover in a conversation later that our perceptions of it are significantly different? Where some see a traumatic experience or an insult, others find a lesson or a conversation that’s not worth remembering. You can take what you value from an experience or an interaction, leaving behind the negativity and emotional baggage of others.
Puzzle: Brown and Hopkins General Store, Chepachet, RI
First puzzle assembled in our new place — after all the moving and organizing it was nice to get lost in the antique feel of this cozy store. The pieces fit together well, the puzzle is small enough to be simple to do, while a bit of challenge is being added by small repetitive detail of the merchandise shelves.
Tackle that project
When we have a large project on our mind, we often make it out to be more intimidating than it is. We think it is harder, more complicated, and will take a lot of time. We wait for that “right” day when we have 8 hours without interruption to even tackle the planning of it. As a result, the project gets postponed indefinitely. We end up procrastinating, instead of studying for an exam, executing a work project, completing a home improvement. It’s not as hard as you imagine!