Puzzle #50 - White Mountain - Summer Breeze - 1000 pieces

Puzzle #50

Large, solid (mostly) pieces.  Several pieces had paper in the little pockets/slots - sloppily cut, I guess.  I think this happens with White Mountain.  Not a deal breaker but noticeable.  Also noticeable and I remember happening once before so will try to determine if it is a WM issue... there was a teensy tiny bug crawling in the puzzle dust.  Ugh.  Almost too small to see.  Made me think about how many more and in how many boxes and can it spread from box to box and what is it??  sigh.  The poster is nice but is actually a tad bit smaller than the image on the box.  MasterPieces and Buffalo Games still win on poster size, I think.  But the overall size of this puzzle is nice to work with.  It completely fills my jumbo size puzzle caddy.  Been looking forward to doing this puzzle for awhile.  Love this scene.

Taking photos to show progression and difficulty - what was the last to go together.

This puzzle was an absolute dream!!  I was a little gun shy on White Mountain after Beach Vacation was SO much fun until it became pure drudgery at the end... putting a damper on things.  This one never did that.  It was challenging, to be sure, but never frustrating.  It was such a lovely and relaxing image and had so many interesting aspects to it.  I had to sit and finish it not because I wanted to move on but because I was so enjoying myself.  Wonderful puzzle!  White Mountain pieces do tend to have small (almost insignificant) damage to pieces - bent places, top lifting off... but not bad at all.  Just not as strong as say, Ravensburger or even Cobble Hill I think.  Still, it is definitely a puzzle company I really enjoy.  And you just can't beat a good David MacLean image!

Finished on July 27, 2022

Puzzle #50 - White Mountain - Summer Breeze - 1000 pieces - David MacLean

Puzzle #40 - MasterPieces -Travel Diary Amsterdam - 550 pieces

Puzzle #40 

Fun puzzle - I really like the Travel Diary series.  They are all 550 pieces - so fairly quick and easy to put together.  They provide a nice, relaxing time and the image can help you daydream about traveling again.  They are sort of a puzzle equivalent to eating cotton candy... mindless, fun, but not overly taxing (or memorable).   However, they are a great way to spend a few hours puzzling. 

Finished on June 7, 2022

Puzzle #40 - MasterPieces -Travel Diary Amsterdam - 550 pieces - David MacLean

Puzzle #36 - White Mountain - Beach Vacation - 1000 pieces

Puzzle #36

Delightful!

Really enjoying this one.  Colorful and fun to put together.  Challenging but not frustrating.  That is the gold standard.  :)  A few pieces sort of fit more than one place, but not enough to cause real trouble.  I like having the poster, even if it isn't large.  Better than holding the box.  Am loving White Mountain and Springbok puzzles... love the larger size overall.

So this one went from Delightful to UGH... It was absolutely wonderful, colorful, fun right up until the end.  And then the end took SO LONG and all I wanted was to be DONE!  The sky was awful but the grasses were HORRIBLE!  Ugh.  I finally had to just sort the pieces by shape and them hammer through them.  No joy - just a determination to finish this darn thing and then do a 300 piece palate cleanser afterward.  :D  Still really LOVED the first 85% of the puzzle.  But the last 15% was pretty awful.  

It took me over 2 (not enjoyable) hours to complete it from this point...

Finished on June 2, 2022

Puzzle #36 - White Mountain - Beach Vacation - 1000 pieces

Puzzle #31 - MasterPieces - Travel Diary Italy - 550 pieces

 Puzzle #31

THIS will be my #31 that I actually complete!!  (after TWO 'did not complete' puzzles... wow)  Comforting to be working on a puzzle that is not horribly difficult.  However, it is a bit on the easy side.  Isn't there something in between????  sigh...

This may be the last one for a bit... I seem to have lost my puzzle mo-jo.  :). I enjoyed this one though.  A good one to take a break on.  Nice pieces that fit together well, image is clear, pieces are large, and the picture is pleasant to look at.  Good puzzle.  I have genuinely enjoyed every one of the MasterPieces Travel Diary puzzles that I have put together.  

Finished May 1, 2022

Puzzle #31 - MasterPieces - Travel Diary Italian Afternoon - 550 pieces - David MacLean

My 3rd (and most painful) 'Did Not Complete'

 My 3rd (and most painful) 'Did Not Complete'... but I'll come back to this one eventually.  

So, puzzles are like books.  There are some you love, some you enjoy, and some you just cannot bring yourself to finish.  I wanted to love this puzzle.  I love the image but it is just too difficult.  So many pieces are the same color or have no distinguishing marks.  I have literally been putting this puzzle together 1 piece at a time.  There is no flow.  And I just could not see enjoyment coming from taking each remaning piece and trying to pair it one by one with another remaining piece.  So sad.  When I looked at it didn't seem like it would be like this.  But it is.  I put it away with many pieces intact (as much as possible) and would like to think I'll revisit it one day.  But not today.  I need some successes in puzzles.  I need some nice 500-750 piece puzzles that bring enjoyment, not frustration.  Have had a run of not great puzzles.  Ironically, it coincides with a couple of months of not my favorite book club books.  Time for more enjoyable and lighthearted fare all around!  :)

I will return and finish this one someday.  

Did not complete - April 17-19, 2022

MasterPieces BelleVue Paris Rooftop View - 1000 pieces - David MacLean

Puzzle #29 - Vermont Christmas Company - London Promenade - 1000 pieces

 Puzzle #29

This one looks like it is going to be really hard.  We so desperately need a larger image like a poster to see the puzzle.  I cannot make out what is on the box or match to what is on the pieces.  They simply don't look the same.  Harder is one thing, but nearly impossible is not fun.  There is not enough detail in the pieces and you can't distinguish things in the image.  Disappointing so far... :(  This picture shows a couple of hours of work - just from yesterday's border!  :(

This has been such a difficult puzzle.  Walked away for most of the week.  Started back on Saturday and Sunday.  Haven't been able to work on things that connect - just little tiny bits (sometimes even just 2-3 pieces) and then trying to gauge where they might go in the overall picture.  No flow and I can't get a sense of it.  But it is possible... just really disjointed and difficult.  Noting the different color of the box for this 1000 piece puzzle and wondering if that indicates a higher level of difficulty?  Who knows.  Not my least favorite puzzle so far, but certainly not my favorite!

Finished on April 5, 2022

Puzzle #29 - Vermont Christmas Company - London Promenade - 1000 pieces - David MacLean

Mav loves looking at the puzzles  and I love looking at Mav.  :)

Puzzle #27 - White Mountain - Sunset on the Canal - 1000 pieces

Puzzle #27

I love the size of White Mountain puzzles - huge!  Fills my puzzle caddy - almost overfills it!  But the pieces are such a nice size to work with and look at.  They fit together pretty well, too.  More of a regular cut of pieces - not irregular shapes.

This puzzle is very challenging, but overall fun to work on.  Just tough!  However I am plugging along.  Pieces are large and sturdy and mostly move well together when I have to move groupings.  I am now into the parts of the puzzle where the images will be more vague... and there is a lot of one general shade.  But not frustrated yet.  Just very, very challenged.  I do wish the poster were larger (than the box top) but at least there is a poster.  That is helpful.  (Love Buffalo and MasterPieces posters the best!)

Finished on March 26, 2022

Puzzle #27 - White Mountain - Sunset on the Canal - 1000 pieces - another David MacLean :)