Month: March 2023

Road Trippin’, In Progress

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I’m now in Dortmund for the week, but before I left, I started on a 2000-piece Zozoville puzzle. Notice how I’ve placed the puzzle so that I can work on it from three sides. It’s a fun puzzle, and I’m looking forward to getting back to it on Sunday.

About Dortmund, my trip turned out a bit more exciting than usual. I was supposed to fly to Düsseldorf on Friday morning, but there was a strike at the airport in Germany, so my flight got cancelled on Thursday. I was offered a flight on Monday, but I wanted to be at the game on Saturday, so I cancelled that reservation and found a flight to Berlin on Friday afternoon instead (Frankfurt would have been closer, but those flights were all sold out), and then took a train to Dortmund. It actually worked out rather well, although it wasn’t cheap, last minute flights are always expensive, and I had to get a first class ticket for the train since all the second class seats were sold out. It was actually very comfortable, and I was home in Dortmund shortly after midnight.

I did consider just not going, but I’m glad I did come, because the game was a fantastic 6-1 trouncing of Köln (Cologne) that saw us go top of the league. On Sunday, Bayern made it even better by losing their own game so that we are still on No. 1. The next game will be on April 1, against Bayern, in Munich, and if we can get a draw out of that, we have an excellent shot at the title. It will be difficult, though, it must be 10 years since we have gotten any points in Munich.

The Consecration of Emperor Napoleon, 2023-03-11

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It says consecration on the box, but I think the ritual depicted is usually known as a coronation. In the image, Napoleon is just about to place a crown on the head of his wife, Josephine. Behind him is the pope Pius VII. The coronation took place in 1804, but the painting by Napoleon’s favourite artist, Jacques-Louis David, is from a few years later. More on the painting.

As a puzzle, this was nice, and easier than many other historical paintings that I’ve done. I did this for the monthly puzzle challenge in a FB group I’m in, which for March was “A Historical Event”.

The Consecration of Emperor Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David, Clementoni, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 11, 2023.

Taste of Gin, 2023-03-08

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This was great fun, and gin happens to be one of my favourite drinks. I always have Beefeater, but I’m happy to try other brands as well. Of the brands in this image, there are only four brands that I’ve definitely tried (Tanqueray, Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, and Gin Mare).

For my puzzle challenge, this was the final puzzle, #6, something to drink. I started the first puzzle on January 2, and finished the last on March 8. That was 30 puzzles in 66 days (actually, a bit more than 30, because I did a few that were not part of the challenge). I’ll still continue doing the monthly challenges.

Taste of Gin, Piatnik, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 8, 2023.

Bibliodame, 2023-03-06

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I would like to see more puzzles by Polish artist Jacek Yerka. Unfortunately, I have missed a couple of Yerka puzzles that were available, but are now out of print.

This surrealist image made for a great puzzle, and the cozy reading corner below looks so inviting.

For my puzzle challenge, this is #2, a book (well, quite a few books, actually).

Bibliodame by Jacek Yerka, Clementoni, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 6, 2023.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes, 2023-03-05

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Another Star Trek puzzle by Cobble Hill, this time with posters for episodes from The Next Generation-series. I preferred the designs for The Orignal Series, but this was great fun, as well. Again, I have definitely seen every episode of TNG more than once, but I still can’t recall most of the episodes here from the poster and title alone. The most familiar ones are I, Borg, where Captain Picard was turned into a Borg, and Deja Q, featuring a really childish and annoying creature with enormous powers.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes, Cobble Hill, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 5, 2023.

Here are some close-ups of designs that I liked:

For my puzzle challenge, this is #20, a person or character you would like to meet. The character is Captain Picard, but not when he was a Borg!

Puzzle, 2023-03-04

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This was a great puzzle, obviously. A puzzle and cats! While Schmidt has always produced great quality puzzles, I often felt that their images were a bit boring, but things have definitely improved in the past few years. Schmidt puzzles are also often a bit cheaper than Ravensburger and Heye, so good news all around.

As for the image, a wine glass near a puzzle is bad enough, but when you add kittens, it’s bound to lead to disaster. I’m surprised the puzzler has gotten this far. Curiously, the bottle looks unopened, even though there’s wine in the glass.

For my puzzle challenge, this is #17, my hobby.

Puzzle by Steve Read, Schmidt, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 4, 2023.

Coney Island, 2023-03-03

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This is probably the best puzzle image by Thomas Kinkade that I’ve ever seen – most of his stuff has far too much vegetation for my taste. This was really nice, though, and I liked that I was able to do it top to bottom.

For my puzzle challenge, this is #9, a puzzle that slipped into your cart (I was supposed to buy something else, no puzzles, but somehow, I ended up with this).

Coney Island by Thomas Kinkade, Schmidt, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 3, 2023.