PUZZLES I FINISHED - AUGUST 2026

Flowers from the Valley - Artist: Mark Frost - Cra-Z-Art - 1,000 pieces

It's no surprise that I loved all the flowers and colors in this one. 

Patches of the National Parks of America - MasterPieces - 1,000 pieces (missing one, which is weird because it was a brand new puzzle and I've never lost a piece before, so I'm sure it will turn up) 

I enjoyed the variety of fonts, colors, and borders with this one.

Sarasota Bay - 1,000 pieces

This is the second of two meaningful puzzles I was given at my puzzle-themed surprise 50th birthday party. The wood pieces show a beautiful photo of the bayfront at the marina in Sarasota, FL, across from Marina Jack, the restaurant a dear friend took my sister and I to during a visit a few years ago. Tyler helped quite a bit with this one, as he was much better at assembling the sky than I was. 

No name, artist, or company - 1,000 pieces 

I love all the colors and flowers in this one, but I confess to using the box as a guide.

PUZZLES I FINISHED - JULY 2026

 

Common Quilt Blocks - Cobble Hill - 1,000 pieces

Precise patterns and rows arranged by color? Yes, please! I loved this one.

Fireworks - Artist: Steve Crisp - White Mountain - 1,000 pieces

This was a perfect one to start on the 4th of July. Did the edges and some of the clothingi at the bottom in the morning, was about half done by the time I went to bed, and had the whole thing done within about 24 hours of starting. All the patterns in this one were really fun.

The Ws - 252 pieces 

This is one of two meaningful puzzles I received at my puzzle-themed surprise 50th birthday party. I'd.never done a puzzle with faces of people I know, much less of my family members. It was cool!

PUZZLES I FINISHED - JUNE 2026

Gnomish Delight - Artist: Peggy Collins / JQ Licensing - MasterPieces - 1,000 pieces (missing 1)

With an assortment of butterflies, flowers, and bright colors, this thrift store puzzle was fun. 

St. Thomas - Artist: Eric Dowdle - Dowdle Studios - 1,000 pieces

Birthday puzzle #2. I've done so many Dowdle puzzles over the years and they never fail to delight me. He puts so many details in his art and the list of trivia he includes about the scene and real people in it, which was a lot for this one, is a personal touch that I really like. 

Wild & Whimsical: Birthday Party - Artist: Karen Burke - MasterPieces - 1,000 pieces

This one's from the "50 puzzles for her 50th birthday" surprise party some friends had for me. I'll choose the rest as randomly as I usually do, but wanted to do the one with a birthday theme first and during the week of my birthday.

PUZZLES I FINISHED - MAY 2026

Springtime in Paris - Artist: Shutterstock image - Page Publications - 1,000 pieces

Although the pieces themselves weren't awesome, I loved the scene. Especially all the windows.

PUZZLES I FINISHED - APRIL 2026

 

Made for the Mountains - Artist: Daria Solak - PuzzleFolk - 1,000 pieces (missing 2)

This was a fun puzzle! I loved all the different patterns of green. 

PUZZLES I FINISHED - MARCH 2026

 

Goal - Artist: Jan van Haasteren - Jumbo - 500 pieces 

This artist is a favorite of a friend who also loves puzzles and I was totally unfamiliar with him, so she loaned me this one. I love that there are so many things going on in the scene and that it's filled with silly nonsense.

Market Square - Artist: Chris Bigelow - Master Pieces - 500 Pieces

I always enjoy busy scenes and this one, which has parts that glow in the dark, was no exception. The puzzle includes ten items that aren't shown on the box or poster, but are on the back of the box for a seek and find aspect. 

Pendleton - Artist: Pendleton Woolen Mills - Chronicle Books - 1,000 pieces 

Tyler worked with me quite a bit on this one. All the patterns are so fun!

Puzzle Library - Artist: Eduardo - White Mountain - 1,000 pieces 

A puzzle about books and puzzles? Yes, please!

Riverside Family Reunion - Artist: Charles Wysocki - MB Puzzle - 1,000 pieces (missing 7)

The flowers in yards, over fences, and on roofs were my favorite part of this scene.

Spring Clean Up - Artist: Greg Giordano - Buffalo - 1,000 pieces

The flowers were the hardest part of this one and the birds were fun.

PUZZLES I FINISHED - FEBRUARY 2026

America's Firsts - Artist: Steve Cameron - White Mountain - 1,000 pieces

I always love collage puzzles and the American trivia on this one was fun. 

Crater Lake - Artist: Eric Dowdle - Dowdle Puzzles - 500 pieces 

I've lived in Oregon for over 40 years, but have never visited Crater Lake. Scandalous, I know. 

Garden Neighbors - Artist: Nancy Wernersbach - Wonder Forge - 1,000 pieces 

I love all the colorful flowers and butterflies in this one that a friend shared with me. 

Mabel the Stowaway - Artist: Charles Wysocki - MB Puzzle - 1,000 pieces (missing 1)

Yet another Wysocki puzzle! It was nice to do one from him that wasn't an outdoor scene. 

PUZZLES I FINISHED - JANUARY 2026

Beguiled by the Wild - Artist: Charley Harper - Pomegranate ArtPiece Puzzle - 1,000 pieces

A customer at the Friends of the Library shop that I volunteer in donated a bunch of puzzles and, knowing that I love them myself, told me to look through the stash and take any I wanted. I thought this was a fun scene and I've liked two other puzzles I've done from this Portland company, so I got home. It's my first puzzle of the year, done from start to finish in one day after not having touched a puzzle since 12/30.

Hawaiian Food Truck Festival - Artist: Unidentified, but I would bet it's Eric Dowdle - Buffalo: Pun Fuzzles - 1,000 pieces

A friend shared this puzzle with me when she finished it. There are picture puns to decipher, tacos to count, and lots of fun things going on in the scene. 

Love Stories - Re-Marks - 1,000 pieces

I love bookish puzzles, regardless of how many of the books featured I've personally read (which I think is three in this case). This puzzle was a thrift store find that had never been opened.

Peppercricket Farms -Artist: Charles Wysocki - Hasbro - 1,000 pieces

Sometimes I wonder just how many Wysocki puzzles exist in the world. Lots! I love the signs on the building in this one.

Seaport Village - Artist: Heronim (Harry Wysocki) - Sure-Lox - 1,000 pieces

I loved the water and tree colors in this one. I described the scene as "Wysocki-ish", referring to Charles Wysocki, before discovering the artist is his brother. 

PUZZLES I FINISHED - DECEMBER 2025

Christmas Puzzle - Artist: Charles Wysocki - Milton Bradley - 1,000 pieces

I love that there are people eating ice cream cones in this snowy scene. 

I Love Music - Artist: Charlie Girard - White Mountain - 1,000 pieces (missing 1)

My personal puzzle dealer snagged this one for me at the bins. I love that it's comprised of several small scenes.

Singapore - Artist: Andy Ellis - Boardwalk Puzzle Company - 1,000 pieces 

Someone at church bought this colorful one for me simply because she knows I love puzzles. She gave it to me as I was finishing my last puzzle of November and I've been focused on Christmas puzzles ever since. Ironically, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were when I worked on this one because I finished my last holiday-themed puzzle on Christmas Adam. Pieces were arranged in a spiral instead of straight rows, which was a fun variation.

Sparkling City - Artist: Joy LaForme - Galison - 1,000 pieces 

I love this quaint, pretty scene. This is the second Christmas puzzle by this artist I've done this month and I've enjoyed them both. 

Untitled - Artist: Susan Winget - Buffalo - 513 pieces

I received this when a friend and I swapped puzzles. While I don't enjoy more than a day's worth of snow in real life, I do think snowmen are a fun and whimsical part of winter. The various colors and patterns of the hats, scarves, and mittens in this scene were cheery.

Winter Lights - Artist: Joy Laforme - Galison - 500 pieces

I love this Christmas scene! Tyler and I worked on this one about equally, then Naomi joined us for a quick finish.

PUZZLES I FINISHED - OCTOBER 2025

 

Birds of a Feather - Artist: Charles Wysocki - MB Puzzle - 1,000 pieces (missing 1)

The view from the house on the bluff would be fantastic.

Butterfly Migration - Artist: Wendy Gold - Galison - 1,000 pieces

I think this picture is beautiful. It was also hard for me to assemble on my own and I depended a lot on the box for guidance.

Houseplant Jungle - Artist: Troy Litten - Galison - 1,000 pieces 

Green is one of my two favorite colors, I love plants, and puzzles with a lot of patterns in my favorite, so this was fun. 

Literary Classics Location Map - Artist: Lucie Rice - True South Puzzle Company - 500 pieces 

The friend who loaned me this one is also a reader. I love bookish puzzles! I'd never heard of this puzzle company before, so I looked it up. Puzzles are made in the US, there's a bio about each artist on the site and trivia about each scene on the box, and they use metal dies made by someone who creates jigsaw puzzle die masters by hand. Cool!

Train Station - Artist: Eric Dowdle - Dowdle Folk Art - 500 pieces (missing 1)

Dowdle puzzles are always fun, both for the fun scenes, often with whimsical details, and the information sheet that's included, which elaborates on various elements of the scene.

PUZZLES I FINISHED - SEPTEMBER 2025

Corner Coffee Shop - Artist: unknown - MomiBook - 1,000 pieces

Isn't this an inviting scene? I want to sit there myself. This puzzle company has one M-shaped piece in all their puzzles are at least 1,000 pieces, which is a fun touch of whimsy. 

Cosmic Dreams - Artist: Kate Sutton - Badge Bomb - 500 pieces (missing 1)

I enjoyed this night sky scene more than I expected to.

Quilting Bee's - Artist: Bob Pettes - Springbok - 500 pieces 

I love the sense of community in this scene as everyone works together on various tasks. 

Scandi Chicken Quilt - Artist: unknown - Cobble Hill - 1,000 pieces

I really enjoyed the variation in patterns within the color palette on this one. 

Southern Mansion - Artist: Heronim - Hometown Collection - 1,000 pieces

This one moved slowly until Tyler finished the streamers. Then we whipped out the rest of this summer scene in no time. 

Winter on the Farm - Artist: Greg Giordano / Greg and Company - Cobble Hill - 1,000 pieces

Such a pretty sky! I confess to using the box picture to help speed things along a few times with this one. 

PUZZLES I FINISHED - AUGUST 2025

 

After the Rain - Artist: David Stevenson - Buffalo: Country Life - 1,000 pieces

I love the front porch on that house!

Book Club - Artist: Carolyn Suzuki - Galison - 1,000 pieces

Tyler and I enjoyed the witty book titles in this puzzle. Some played on existing titles - Moby Richard, Olive or Twist, The DM of the Wild, and Doctor Chicago. Others were just book-ish - Long Story Short, No. 122 Best Seller, and A Serious Page Turner.

For the Love of Plants - Artist: Cynthia Frenette - Rose Art - 750 pieces 

Lots of plants and a few books, all in bright colors? Yes, please! 

Rooster Express - Artist: Charles Wysocki - Hasbro - 1,000 pieces

I've done several Wysocki puzzles by now, but none with a giant rooster pulling a cart. 

Yard Sale - Artist: Mattie Lou O'Kelley - Pomegranate Artpiece Puzzle - 500 pieces

I love this small community yard sale scene. The matte finish of the puzzle pieces was an extra bonus. 

PUZZLES I FINISHED - JULY 2025

 

Farm Calendar - Artist: Steve Cameron - White Mountain - 1,000 pieces 

This one was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the seasonal pictures for each month.

Kitchen Essentials - Artist: Muti - Galison - 500 pieces 

The colors are brighter than they appear in the picture and the scene feels cheery. Several of the pieces are shaped, which added a challenging element.

Peach of a Day - Artist: Charles Wysocki - Buffalo - 1,000 pieces

Isn't this a cheery scene? It definitely has brighter colors than most of the Wysocki puzzles  I've done.

Storin' Up // Artist: Charles Wysocki // Buffalo // 1,000 pieces (missing 4)

Another puzzle a friend got from the Goodwill bins, we all did some work on this one. My favorite wagon is the apple one.