"Puzzle Club", and everyday life

A friend of mine, another teacher, usually has a puzzle on the go. I asked her how she sets it up, and keeps it both out of the way and accessible. It got me thinking. It's better to have down time in the evening doing a puzzle, maybe listening to a tv show at the same time, than mindlessly snacking on something, so I bought myself a thousand piece puzzle.

I got it started in the conventional way, finding all the outside edges and trying to piece them together. This coincided with my daughter coming home from university for reading week, and her boyfriend bringing her back. So naturally, they sat down and helped put some of the puzzle together with me. Thus began a bit of an obsession. We deemed it "Puzzle Club".

This is a Thomas Kincaid painting puzzle (the Painter of Light or some such expression). Daughter and boyfriend were determined to put together as much as possible that first go round.

Throughout this past week, daughter and I would sit and try to add more. Then, son came home for his college reading week on Friday. It was his time to lose himself in adding more to the puzzle.

This was the scene on Saturday, as three twenty-somethings gathered round the coffee table, grouping pieces into shape categories ("turtles", "threes", "throwing stars"...), passing the picture back and forth, shifting positions.

It was a wild and crazy night.

Anyway, my eyes couldn't see the details properly and it was well past my bedtime, so I bid them adieu and they were still at it with just a fistful of pieces left.

Here is what greeted me on the coffee table this morning.

Do you notice the corner?

They left me the last piece - right beside my reading glasses, as the running joke was always the fact that I was saying, "Where are my glasses?"

They're good kids.

What else is happening? Made roast beef in the magical cooking pot last night with a bit of onion soup mix and water. Simple and good.
Made broccoli salad as part of supper last night, too. Man I love that stuff - you know what I'm talking about, cut up broccoli, bacon, red onion, sunflower seeds, shredded cheese, miracle whip, dried cranberries or raisins. So good!
Changed out the chicken water this morning and opened up their little door. It is sunny and "warm" and they were appreciative.
I've been on strike several times in the last few weeks with my teachers' union here in Ontario. Not going to get into a political discussion, but these are stressful times in ways that only people in my profession truly understand.
I will be stuck on my computer for most of the rest of the day doing I.E.P.s (individual education plans) for nine of my twenty-five grade four students. Yes, we work on the weekends. No, we don't have time to do this at work.
With the help of everybody, we moved the small chest freezer from our yucky hundred plus year old basement upstairs to the mudroom. The food was placed in laundry baskets on the back porch while the freezer was defrosting and being moved and being wiped out. Here's what I know for sure now. We are prepared for a zombie apocalypse in shredded zucchini and strawberries alone.
After seeing the ridiculous amount of shredded zucchini I was inspired to make chocolate chip zucchini muffins this morning, taking care of one of the one hundred and thirteen bags in the freezer (that's just an estimate).
Found a dead, flat mouse underneath the mat on the back porch when I was taking out a bucket of water for the chickens and wondered, "Why isn't the mat laying flat?"
It is almost leap day. A childhood friend of my twenty year old son has a birthday on leap day. Not sure how old that makes him. Five, I think.
It is nice to see the sun. There is a small patch of bare grass behind the house. A cottontail bunny was nibbling away, not caring that we were watching it from the back window.
I bought a large bag of bird seed on sale from the local co-op yesterday and have filled both bird feeders. I am wondering how long until the red squirrel wedges himself in there to have a feast.

And that... is all for now.