Romeo & Juliet, 2024-08-21

This was my first puzzle from a new Ravensburger series called Art & Soul. There was more information about the artist than usual, and even some words on how to interpret the image – this is the desk of a set designer. The puzzle was fun and fairly easy. The pieces were of normal size (many 750 piece puzzles that I’ve done had XL pieces).

Romeo & Juliet by Sebastian Rubiano, Ravensburger, 750 pieces. Completed on August 21, 2024.

A few words about the packaging: this was my first Ravensburger with a paper bag for the pieces instead of the usual plastic bag. The front of the box didn’t show the whole image, but there was a smaller picture on the back that did. I worked from this smaller image, although there was also an enormous poster. I didn’t even take it out of the box, but it must be the same size as the finished puzzle.

Pizza, 2024-08-27

Another puzzle from the Circle of Colors series. I worked the puzzle from the center towards the edges and did the edges last. The green ring was the most challenging part, but overall very easy and enjoyable. There was a poster, but I didn’t use it.

Pizza by Enya Todd, Ravensburger, 500 pieces. Completed on August 27, 2024.

Pandas, 2024-08-14

Since the beginning of August, I’m back at work from my four month break, and I found a half finished puzzle in the staff area of the library. Not my type of image, and also not my favourite brand (Educa), but it was still nice to put in a pieces here and there during the work day. I did put in the last piece, but many colleagues also worked on this.

Pandas, Educa, 1000 pieces. Completed on August 14, 2024.

Rapunzel, 2024-08-08

Another puzzle in the Disney Castle Collection. I have heard about Rapunzel, but I didn’t know Disney had done this story. They really went overboard with the enormous eyes this time, Rapunzel looks scary.

Rapunzel, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces. Completed on August 8, 2024.

Olympic Games, 2024-08-05

This is a puzzle from the Tactic Come to Finland series. It’s a poster for the Olympics that were to take place in Helsinki in 1940, but of course, there were no games in 1940 because of World War II.

The running man in the foreground is a statue of Paavo Nurmi, a middle- and long-distance runner in the 1920s, and the statue stands in front of the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. Paavo Nurmi won eight Olympic gold medals in three Olympics, five of those in the Paris Olympics of 1924. When Finland finally got to host the games in 1952, Paavo Nurmi lit the fire in the stadium.

Olympic Games by Ilmari Sysimetsä, Tactic, 1000 pieces. Completed on August 5, 2024.

The games in 1952 used the same poster, with just small adjustments for dates and the post-war borders of Finland.

Monkey Habitat, 2024-08-03

Another installment in the Funky Zoo series, I only have two left that I’ve not done yet. Unsurprisingly, I loved it!

Monkey Habitat by Marino Degano, Heye, 1000 pieces. Completed on August 3, 2024.

The movie of the evening is, of course, Planet of the Apes:

There is some conflict, with some people wanting to put up luxury apartments, and the monkeys defending their current habitat:

In the Banana Bar, some monkeys start on a new puzzle, and I can tell that it’s Dog’s Life (by Marino Degano, of course), and beside the table, there are some Funky Zoo puzzles – I think I can make out Nile Habitat (I’ve not done that one yet), and Black Forest Habitat (which I have done, but I have no photo of it).

Here are some old acquaintances, the cleaning lady and the woman who has dropped her baby:

I did this puzzle for the monthly puzzle challenge for August, which is:

(The monthly challenges are communicated only as images.)

Surrealist Cat, 2024-07-31

Magnolia Puzzles was a new brand to me, but I had heard good things about it, and was not disappointed. It’s a Turkish brand with some interesting images and an excellent cut. There were absolutely no false fits, and the finish feels really nice. There was also no puzzle dust. The puzzles cost a bit more than Ravensburger, but if I look out for promotions, I can still get them for under 20 EUR.

Surrealist Cat, Magnolia Puzzles, 1000 pieces. Completed on July 31, 2024.

The box is a bit smaller than standard (a good thing), and there was a small bag with white powder in the box. This is almost certainly puzzle glue, unless I’ve unwittingly been caught up in drug smuggling 😀 Strangely, there is no mention of the glue on the box (maybe it’s not glue, it just occurred to me it might be there to soak up moisture), but there is a mention that they have a replacement service for missing pieces, which is nice.