This was reasonably entertaining, although I have to say I’m not really a fan of this artist.
For the puzzle challenge, this will be #1, human anatomy, mostly because of the x-rays:
This was the last item still left on the list for the 2024 puzzle challenge that I’ve now completed. I will probably continue doing the monthly bonus challenges.
The first Stenvall puzzle with portrait orientation – I only realized, when I started on it. There is one more puzzle with this orientation in the series, and I think they might have been the last to be produced, because the pieces are thinner and the fit is not as good as with the other puzzles in the series. The less than stellar quality made it less enjoyable than usual, but still ok.
The title is an exact translation of the Finnish title, although the word open is also used figuratively in the meaning “undecided”, and without context that would be my first interpretation of the Finnish sentence, but here, of course, we can see a literally open window in the image.
I was expecting this to be difficult, but somehow it wasn’t. After I had started on some things, like the chair, the wigs and one of the gowns, it was somehow always easy to find pieces that fit in with what was already finished. Unfortunately, there were two pieces missing. I bought this new, and I doubt I managed to lose two pieces, especially as they are next to each other.
Anyway, there were lots of lovely details in the puzzle. I especially liked the colourful wigs:
The bonus challenge for April was a crown, and I could find at least six crowns or tiaras in the puzzle. Here are three of them:
A little snack while waiting for the bonus challenge for April to be published. It was nice enough, although the dark areas took a while. The box was square, and I didn’t really realize that the puzzle would be portrait format until I had started.
A rather typical Dominic Davison image, which made for a nice little puzzle. Enjoyable, but very fast to do.
I haven’t done a space puzzle in a while, and it turns out I still love them! For the puzzle challenge, I’m counting this as #12, my favourite brand. No surprise there, it’s still Ravensburger.
A very pleasant puzzle, although the fit was so tight that I damaged a few pieces while taking it apart. Since I really like lazy Sunday breakfasts, I’m counting this as #11, “the puzzle somehow illustrates my personality or me” for my puzzle challenge. Although honestly, I would probably not have the breakfast in bed, that would be too messy even for me.
Anyway, I have a lot of lazy mornings to look forward to, because I’m taking four months off work! This is made possible by a system that we have in Finland (although not for long, the government has decided to discontinue it, this was my last chance) whereby if you fulfill certain requirements (like having a 20 year work history), you can take up to six months off and be paid 70% of what you would get if you were unemployed. Your employer then has to hire an unemployed person for the time you are gone, although they don’t have to perform the same tasks that you do. Overall an excellent scheme to give people who have worked for a long time a bit of a break, and also to give someone who is unemployed a chance to work for a while. I actually started in the library as a sub in this scheme. That was in January 2002, and I’m still there, so the scheme also helped me find a permanent job. Too bad that it’s being discontinued, but at least I can do whatever I please, every day, until August 1!
This image is from a series called Come to Finland that features travel ads for Finland. Some of them are actual, vintage travel ads, but they also have modern designs. The year for this one is given as 2017, and the other one I’ve done was from 1898.
Close Your Eyes by Adrienne Széll, Tactic, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 23, 2024.
The woman in the image is clearly a modern rendering of the Maid of Finland, a sort of personification of Finland, a bit like Uncle Sam for the US, I suppose. She is wearing a Marimekko dress (design instantly recognizable to any Finn), and her long, blonde hair is full of things associated with Finland. Here is a more traditional rendition of the Maid of Finland from a postcard in 1906 (artist unknown):
Anyway, back to the puzzle image. Here’s some coffee, cookies, mushrooms and strawberries in the hair:
The reason I chose to do this now was, however, this creature:
This puzzle is #14, a fox, for the puzzle challenge. It’s a very small fox, but it was the best I could find in my to-do pile.
Unfortunately, this was not a good quality puzzle. I’ve mentioned previously that Tactic is hit and miss, and this was an annoying puzzle with many false fits. Too bad, because I like the image, and I still have three puzzles to do from the same series.
This is one of the most enjoyable of the duck puzzles so far. It looks much more difficult than it is, and I have really come to enjoy puzzles where there are large areas with a slight shift in colour tone. Loved it!
The Light and Warmth in November by Kaj Stenvall, Tactic, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 21, 2024.
Another Stenvall, another cranky duck. The word “cabin” in the title should really be wardrobe, I think, and it’s a reference to a Finnish saying, where “showing where the wardrobe should stand” means to assert yourself, to show that you are in charge.
The Place of the Cabin is at Home by Kaj Stenvall, Tactic, 1000 pieces. Completed on March 19, 2024.
The chair in the painting is a famous design by Ilmari and Anneli Tapiovaara, originally produced for a building with student apartments in 1947. The building was called Domus Academica, and the chair is known as a domus chair. Later, the Undergraduate Library was also moved to the area, and they were furnished with the same chairs. We still have some of those chairs in the library I work in (the Undergraduate Library merged with many faculty libraries to form the current library). The domus chairs have been very popular, and they are still in production, but at about 1000 EUR they’re not cheap.
The wood paneling in the background was surprisingly difficult, otherwise, this was an easy puzzle.
Puzzler1909 