Christmas In May

We received this 1000 piece puzzle last Christmas.

At the start of the lockdown, I asked the kids if they wanted to work on a puzzle but they did not seem too enthusiastic.  After more than a month of staying at home, working on a puzzle suddenly did not seem like such a bad idea. 

 

I pulled the puzzle out of storage on Sunday and we brought back the other foldable table. 

(MacGyver had set up two foldable tables at the start of the lockdown -- one for me and another for GI to use as we worked from home.  When GI went back to his place, we packed up the 2nd table and put it back in the garage.)

 

 We started the puzzle after 9:30 PM right after I logged off from work.

(We had to do some testing and I had to log in.)

 

We completed the sides by 11:35PM.

 

 

We had most of the names of the games on the sides of the puzzle before midnight.

 

 

PogiPoints came over after lunch on Monday to help with the puzzle.

He and MyGirl worked on the puzzle together.

 

He proudly completed the corner with the backgammon board before 2:30PM.

 

  

By 3:30PM the puzzle looked like this.

 



 

 The kids and I resumed working on the puzzle after dinner.
 The two corners were completed by 8PM.

 

By 9PM we had three corners.

 

RD and MyGirl had a working arrangement of calling out descriptions and deciphering locations.

They called this piece Jose Rizal.

 

All four corners were done after 10PM.

 

Bits and pieces of the middle of the puzzle were taking shape.

This is where we were at 10:24PM

 

10:40 PM -- we are getting excited as the puzzle approaches completion.

 

 

 11:15 PM -- NO!!!!!  One piece is missing!

 

After 10 minutes of searching, we found the last piece inside the box.

We got MacGyver to put in the last piece of the puzzle.

 

 That was fun!

 

DIY Muesli

I discovered this awesome DIY muesli recipe in the cookbook that I had borrowed from the library right before the lockdown.  I like it a bit sweeter but that's just me.  I figure homemade muesli still has less sugar than the commercial versions.

 

 

DIY MUESLI

 

GRAINS (5 cups total, any combination)

Rye flakes, Rolled oats, Barley flakes

 

CHOICE OF CHOPPED NUTS (1 cup total)

Brazil nuts, Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, Peanuts

 

EXTRA CRUNCH FACTOR (1 cup total)

Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Buckwheat groats,

Coconut flakes, Cacao nibs, Freeze dried bananas

 

DRIED FRUITS (1/2 cup, optional)

Raisins, Goji berries, Blueberries, Mulberries, Raspberries

 

FLAVOUR BOMBS (1/2 teaspoon)

Ground cardamon, Ground cinnamon, Sea salt, Ground vanilla

 

--oOo--

 

TOAST

Add 3 tablespoons honey or favourite sweetener and 2 tablespoons coconut oil to the mix before adding any dried fruit.  Stir to coat and spread onto a lined baking tray.  Toast in preheated oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool and stir in fruit.

 

SOAK

Add 1 cup milk and let soak for a few hours.

 

HEAT

Put 1/4 cup muesli and 125 ml (1/2 cup) milk in a small saucepan and cook 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly.

 

TOP

Sprinkle muesli over plain Greek yoghurt and add fresh berries.