Pickles by Brian Crane for May 21, 2021

Your gracious generosity knows no bounds does it Earl.

Frame it?

Would one dislikable person to whom you’d give the puzzle, Earl, be your sister-in-law?

But leave one piece out.

I have always kind of enjoyed jigsaw puzzles. And sudoku. And crosswords — though part of the enjoyment with the latter ins having cross words for the people who write the clues. I think it’s something that resonates with my (our) “hunter gatherer” genetics. I have a friend who does them jigsaw puzzles upside down on a piece of class, then covers the finished one with a panel and turns the whole thing over to enjoy the picture. I’ve seen an ad for individually made jigsaw puzzles — they’ll even use your image — that on request can be made so there are no corner or edge pieces. And for an extra price they will NOT throw in two or three pieces that don’t fit anywhere. Uses thin plywood for the back. Several $100s.

Worst one I ever did was a Jackson Pollack painting that was to be made into approximately a 2 foot circle. Finished it during my two week Xmas break when I was in college.

I’ve got a better idea, Earl!! Make sure that you put that puzzle in the wrong box!! Jocularity is assured!!

/SHMIRK/

Hence the origin of the term “white elephant.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant

When I were a lad, my family would occasionally do jigsaw puzzles, some pretty big. The most diabolical one took a long time to complete. What threw us was the fact that the finished picture was completely different than what was shown on the box. I don’t know if it was deliberate, or if the previous owners mixed up the boxes.

ROFL We always had a puzzle going. Important house rule: anyone who steals a piece so they can be the one to claim they finished the puzzle was grounded for 2 weeks :D

If I am going to spend the time on a puzzle, Most likely I am going to frame it and hang it. Guess I am going to have to build more walls just to hold puzzles.

There are very difficult jigsaw puzzles with tough images like a picture of a large collection of marbles. And the image is printed on both sides of the puzzle pieces. If you give one as a “gift,” remember to remove one or two pieces before you wrap it.

Before you give it away to someone you don’t like, Earl, throw away two pieces.

A few days later, Pearl gets a box in her mailbox…

If he takes out a piece or two, he’ll need to give it to the person anonymously.

Opal should know there’s puzzle glue so you can hang it…

My mother love jigsaw puzzles. One of her favorite was round and solid red.

LOL, Story time, a person who at one time was my friend, gave me a puzzle. They would ask me, almost every day if I had started on the puzzle. I would always say, No not yet. At the time I didn’t have the space for a table. I was in a small apartment and each time they would ask they would become more and more irritated almost offended. I was hanging out with a mutual friend one day. I ask her why said person kept getting more and more irritated that I had not started the puzzle. They kind of chuckled and said, OH, the puzzle thing. yeah, they where mad at you and removed several pieces they wanted you to get all frustrated trying to find the remaining pieces. I laughed and said, well I am not a puzzle person so they really blew that revenge plot. I still don’t understand why or how this would make a good revenge tactic. I never did find out why they were mad at me. Shortly after this our lives got busy and we didn’t see much of each other anymore. Anyway, That’s my puzzle story.

I like jigsaw puzzles… but with five cats in the house…

And trow away one piece…

Why Opal is the one who gave it to him.

We often swap puzzles with various friends; right now we are doing a seashore – all sand and sky. We’ll get ‘er done, only because neither of us can bear the thought of giving up, but that’s that. I enjoy a challenge, but I have enough frustration in my life that I don’t need any more.

When I read some of these comments, I wish there was a “Dislike”… removing puzzle pieces is like a mortal sin…

Once again, Pickles is the first giggle of the day!

Earl, the original “re-gifter!”

I like jigsaw puzzles, then I got a cat.

We picked up a used puzzle at a book store. There was a note in it: “This puzzle was a b**** to do. Never finished it. I couldn’t match up the dark snow area.” It was hard but there were wavy lines on the back so you could flip parts over to see if you were right. It was a pain, but we finished it. And left the note in the box when we passed it on.

I did 2 3000 pc puzzles last year. Took me months. When I took them apart I did it one piece at a time and wrote a number on the back in order. 1, 2, 3, 4……2997.

Leave out a piece.

Life is a big jigsaw puzzle with a lot of extra pieces, not everyone is here because they have a place to fill. We all know them, they are pieces that don’t fit, but are continuously trying to fit.

Rare puzzles form very nice designs or scenes so we glue them to a backing, get an inexpensive frame, and hang them in bare spaces. Not great art but definitely make the place look lived in.

I too love puzzles. Over the past year, I got to where I just fished pieces straight out of the box – after I found the border. It added an extra challenge that I enjoyed. Mind you, I used this method only with puzzles less than 1000 pieces.

Earl might take a lesson from Tibetan Buddhist monks who make large sand mandalas over several days, painstakingly dropping different colored grains to form intricate patterns. When the mandala is completed, they have a ceremony and then promptly destroy their work by sweeping it up, exemplifying non-attachment and impermanence . Namaste.

At our local senior center before covid close it down, they had a jigsaw puzzle that any one could work on. When it was done, they frame it and sell it.

Been there, done that.