Real Men Don't Read Instructions...But They Know The Instructions Exist

MyGirl came up to me earlier and said that something in the Snoopy blogpost struck her.  She looked back at the post and told me which part got her thinking.  The blogpost read:

It was only after I had completed the puzzle and disassembled it, that I discovered instructions inside the box that would have enabled me to finish the puzzle in less than than five minutes.  

(Personally, I enjoyed the challenge and would not use the cheat sheet if I had to do the puzzle over again.)

She said, "Mom, of course there would be instructions."

"But it is a puzzle!"  I argued and pulled out the box to show her CRYSTAL PUZZLE in big bold letters. 

"Mom," she calmly continued, "why would you think there wouldn't be instructions?"

I was still thinking jigsaw puzzles.  They don't come with instructions.  They come with a picture of the completed puzzle in the cover of the box.  And that is what the crystal puzzle had -- a picture of Snoopy and Woodstock standing on a green platform.  In my mind, here is what the completed puzzle is meant to look like.  Go forth and solve the puzzle.

In a matter-of-factly, yet loving tone, she drove the nail home by saying, "Would they sell Lego without instructions?"

I started to laugh. (Lightbulb moment!)  

Of course she was right!  It would be like selling IKEA furniture without assembly instructions.  

It made perfect sense now.  Clearly, instructions would come with this puzzle.

Can I just use the "Instructions were in Japanese" card?

Big Ben and Many Shades of Grey

It had been stressful at work so I decided it was time to start another puzzle.

Whenever we are working on puzzles, I try to log off early so that I can get some pieces connected.

We started the puzzle after dinner on the 25th.  That was a Saturday.

We managed to complete the edges and the phone booth before 11PM. 
That left us with a whole lot of grey pieces.

We worked on Big Ben, the other buildings and structures on Sunday and Monday. 
By Tuesday, all that was left were several shades of grey.

RD did most of the clouds. MyGirl came a close second in terms of connecting pieces.  

My contribution was mainly "ooh's" and "aah's" as the puzzle continued to take shape. Apparently the "work on a puzzle to log off early" trick did not work this time. 

Unlike our other puzzles that would get disassembled or packed away, I wanted to frame Big Ben. We took down the other puzzle and set up yet another clock on the wall.

The Dolomites

We started this puzzle on Monday.

I logged off from work "early" to be able to help with the puzzle.

We finished the puzzle on Wednesday.

I only found out what the picture was all about after we had completed it.

The Dolomites are a mountain range located in Italy.

Beautiful!

 

Puzzle Addiction

 Hi, my name is Angels4Kids and I have a puzzle addiction (among others).

This is my latest acquisition.  

MacGyver so kindly picked it up from Strathfield during the week. 

I am hoping to have it hanging in the wall by the end of April.

After I had bought it, I discovered that the puzzle was called "Bicycles in Amsterdam."

Oh! Sunshine lives in the Netherlands now.  

Maybe I can collect puzzles with themes from places where my sibling live.

    What a good excuse for getting more puzzles.

Finally Figured E Out

After years and years (and years) of having this puzzle, I finally figured out how to solve it.

If I remember correctly, Mother brought this home for me from one of her trips to the States.  I don't know if it was a convention give-away or if she actually went to a toy shop and picked this up. Needless to say, I was unable to solve it ... until last night.

MyGirl had come into the room to get the other links.  She had just read the previous blogpost and was challenged.  She wanted to see if she could solve the easier ones.  When I arrived in her room, she showed me that she had managed to separate the CAST STAR.  She was able to separate the star from the main key chain but she couldn't get it back.  Well, I admitted that I had forgotten its solution so I couldn't help her put it back together.  But I tried.

As I was working on the star, she worked on the other ones. One by one she would tell me that she figured this one or that one out.  When I finally managed to get the star back into the loop, I picked up this E puzzle.  

After looking at it and moving the pieces around, I thought to myself, I really think I can do this.  The secret MUST be in the legs of the letter E.  At this point, MyGirl picked up the CAST HORSE which has a similar U-shaped piece to this E puzzle.  She announced that she was able to solve it.  

I try the puzzle again.  I am almost sure I can crack this.  

True enough, after several twists of the pieces, the circle just slips out.

Mystery solved!

When Two Become One

What does it mean  when two  ...

... become one?

It means you know how to solve the puzzle.   :)

Thanks to MyGirl's godmother, we have added a new one to the collection.

It's the Hanayama CAST RING II.  Difficulty Level = 5.  And it's quite amazing.

MyGirl has discovered its secret.  I still have to sit down and figure out the solution.

There was a flier in the box, so we now know what to call the puzzles on the fourth row from the top (left to right).

1.  CAST HORSE (difficult level = 2) 

2.  CAST STAR (difficulty = 3) 

3.  CAST RING (difficulty = 4)

4.  CAST RING II (difficulty = 5)

P.S.  I think that the base pieces of this collection actually belong to Slash-M.  If you're looking for your toys, Slash-M, they're with me.  MyGirl is now at the age where she can appreciate playing with them.

Riddle Me This

MyGirl and I were doing the riddles for August.   You can tell I didn't know the answer and I was just playing around.

I had no idea what the answer was so I used up some credits to get the first clue --starts with a B.  

I put BENFOLD just for the heck of it and showed my phone to MyGirl.  As soon as she saw what I had put, she added the S to spell BEN FOLDS.  (Yes, she is my ghost editor.)   

At this point, she unveiled the next clue.  

When the clue appeared indicating that the last letter was S, MyGirl could not resist taking a screenshot (**).

Mind you, I still don't know the answer.  I do know one thing, Ben Folds is NOT the right answer. (He is a singer-songwriter-pianist-musician that the boys listen to.)

Complete set of letters are B E N F O L D S K E G D O G W.

Starts with a B, ends with an S.

(** Taking a screenshot -- press your Home button and the Wake/Sleep button at the same time.  This works for the iPod and the iPhone, and yes, on my Samsung Galaxy Mini 2.  MyGirl taught me that, too.)

Jaws

I don't remember how old I was when we watched the movie Jaws. I don't even know why we watched the movie and who was with me when I watched it. All I remember was that there many of the scenes meant to scare the living daylights out of you (yikes!), while others were there to gross you out with people's body parts getting bitten off left and right, complete with blood and gore (yuck!). And worst of all, I remember having a nightmare that night wherein a big shark attacked through my bedroom window and followed me as I ran through the hall towards our kitchen and dining room.

I can honestly say that I am not a huge shark fan.

In spite all that, the past week has reintroduced me to sharks.

It started with a birthday gift to RD. Mumoffive and family gave him a 3D shark puzzle for his birthday. It was sitting in his room all summer until Z came to visit. They decided it would be a good project to work on while she was here (and not at the library). They looked for a box with a big enough surface to work on and cleared one side of the living room floor. Then out came the puzzle pieces.

They managed to get the sides connected on the first night. After a while, the shark in the middle was formed. Over the next couple of days, the puzzle started to take shape. The pieces were organized by shape and orientation. There were 'verticals,' 'horizontals,' 'standing up people,' 'lying down people,' 'triples,' 'doubles,' and the elusive 'cheese piece.' Since it is a 3D puzzle, the surface had vertical ridges which helped identify which way the puzzle piece was to go.

As the more discernible pieces got fit into the puzzle, the more obscure ones were left. RD was surprised at how I would pick up one puzzle piece and return it with at least four other pieces connected to it. At a certain point, he forbade me from working on the puzzle because he wanted to be sure he was around when the last piece was put in.

What can I say? I have way more experience than he does. And I am a very patient, persistent and persevering person. A 500-piece puzzle, which practically tells you whether the piece is vertical or horizontal, is a piece of cake compared to the ones we've made in the past.

On Sunday, when the puzzle was completed, we had gone off by bus to the Sydney Observatory then walked to Circular Quay and ridden the ferry to Darling Harbour. When we got off, RD saw a huge poster advertising a free exhibit on Sharks: Predator or Prey. He said he wanted to check it out.

We missed passing by the National Maritime Museum that day so when we did the Hop On, Hop Off Sightseeing tour last Tuesday, we made sure to hop off the bus when we reached the Maritime Museum so we could see the exhibit.

I'd be perfectly happy even if I don't see another shark in my life. This shot is enough to last a lifetime.

More Puzzles

In the course of our sorting through old toys, I found this particular puzzle from ages ago. I recall having been able to solve both sides of the puzzle purely by luck. In other words, I have not yet discovered the logic to this puzzle.

When I found the puzzle, it was fixed. I moved the pieces around a bit and the whole thing got messed up. Fortunately, RD took an interest in the puzzle and was able to fix it up (also by chance).

With a little more flipping and turning, RD was able to fix the other side as well.

Eventually, MyGirl was likewise able to get the puzzle done.

And though all of us are clueless as to HOW to really solve this puzzle, it is still a fun toy to play with.