5000 Piece Puzzle

Call me crazy. I've loved picture puzzles ever since I was a little boy. Mom used to buy me puzzles manufactured by a company called Tuco. They were mostly a few hundred pieces, but I did them as early as age four. Over the years, I did lots more and thought 1,000 piece puzzles and then 1,500 piece puzzles were a big deal. Eventually, I did a 3,500 piece puzzle with my Aunt Bonnie at her house in California over one long weekend back in about 1981. That was the record, until recently.

A few years ago, I bought the one pictured below at a hobby store in Iowa City. It was made by a Spanish company and even came with instructions on how to identify and send in for missing pieces! I thought it would be a real challenge and fun for us to do up at the lake. Then it just sat on the shelf for a few years, because I knew it would take some time, and I could never quite work up the courage to actually begin.

Then last July, I finally broke down. Like Kathie said one day, "I think it's time." Below is a sequence of pictures showing the progression of work. Just turning all the pieces upright took considerable time.

I worried constantly about pieces falling off the table and getting lost to a vacuum cleaner or to Josey deciding to lick them up (something she was not too likely to do).

Eventually, and alas, I discovered that I should have measured the size of the table instead of making the assumption that it would fit. At 157 cm (~62 in) by 107 cm (~42 in), it was just about four pieces too wide, and so I was faced with trying to move it to another location (the ping pong table was the only real alternative and not a good one). I eventually came up with the idea of slipping some thin aluminum sheets under one edge. That worked reasonably well and saved the day.

I worked on it during our visits here from July through October. Then we went home for the holidays. So, the puzzle waited patiently during November, December, and early January. This is what it looked like when I resumed working on it about 10 days ago.

I finished it two days ago, with some contributions from Kathie and miscellaneous guests. Henry even found one piece, as I recall. In the end, no pieces were lost, though there was a close call with one piece. I almost hated to put it back in the box, but that is where you can find it now. I think I won't do another one so big anytime soon, if ever. Most everyone who saw it thought I was nuts anyway.

Fish Fry

Making the acquaintance of our neighbors here in WI is one of the nicest things that has happened for us since we bought our lake home. The Eppers are good people who have given generously of their time to help us with chores like moving our dock to/from the lake, checking the cabin when we are away, and plowing our driveway. We are improved fishermen for the time they have taken to show us better locations and methods than we might have learned on our own. Gerry, Kathy, Nate, and Brian are also lots of fun, and we have enjoyed dinner exchanges with them on several occasions.

Last Saturday, in fact, we were their guests for a fish fry. The fish were crappie that I suspect the entire family contributed to their freezer through the prior fishing season. Brian is the official fish fryer. He set up a deep fat fryer in the garage and had it heating by the time we arrived.

For someone who appreciates organization and order as much as I do, one has to like the way he stages his utensils, batter, and the array of seasoned fish (he wouldn't share his special fish seasoning recipe with me). Having a beer nearby is also important.

Just look at this technique! The guy really knows how to fry fish.

Yum!

Here is the whole gang after consuming mass quantities of that wonderful fish and looking content. Kathy (Gerry and I both have wives named Kathy/Kathie--we have great taste in women, I must say) had prepared a wonderful salad, roasted potatoes, and baked bread to go with the fish. Then she topped it all off with a red velvet cake. Excellent! That guy at the end of the table is looking might proud of himself for the quality of the fish. I think he is entitled.

Getting together again sometime soon will definitely be a priority.

Looking Back At Christmas

I didn't get around to posting these pictures earlier, but I thought my readers might still enjoy seeing a few shots from our various Christmas celebrations. Kathie, her mother and I spent the day together. We had a great dinner the evening before, so we had lots of good leftovers to enjoy and very nice gifts to open.

Josey must have eaten at least twice her usual amount on Christmas day, because all of her gifts involved treats. So she had lots of snacks in addition to her usual allowances.

A few days later, other family members gathered. Henry had to show me his remote controlled skunk (really!). Not everyone has one of these!

Eleanor played for awhile with some of our toys.

Then, Kathie and I decided to engage everyone in a game of "Fox and Geese." We tromped out paths in the snow and then taught the grandchildren how to play. We all had a really fun time--some games you just don't forget.

While Kathie prepared cocoa for an after-game treat, there was some clowning around.

Then there was cocoa, which requires lots of stirring in order to blend the Cool Whip (we were out of marshmallows).

The next day, Will and Sandy arrived, and we gathered again for dinner and gifts. Kathie had spent most of 2009 making these bags for the three "girls." (I can call them girls if I want. I know they are all successful young women, but I like to think of them as my girls.)

Henry got a new shirt from his Uncle Van, but I think we have indoctrinated him in Hawkeyeness enough so that there will be no worries.

Eleanor and Clara have new slings for their dollies. Clara liked hers. She was just tired of having to pose for so many pictures.

I had been ready for quite some time for Eleanor and Clara to open their Christmas gifts. Earlier in the year, I had purchased two very nice music box movements. You may recall my posting last September about the ancient wood called kauri. I used some of the kauri board I bought then to make each of these little sweeties a music box with the movements installed in them.

Will, Sandy and Anders stayed with us an extra day. So, Kathie took this "three generations" picture.

I think the holidays were extra nice this year.

Bowling in Arizona

Our quick trip to Arizona was fabulous. Good friends Dick and Rina had rented a house in the Phoenix area for the month of January and invited us to come join them for a few days and attend the then-expected Boise State versus Iowa game in the Fiesta Bowl. So, we made plans to do just that. However, the BCS bowl selection process ended up pitting TCU against Boise State and put Iowa up against Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl instead. Nevertheless, traveling to Phoenix still seemed like a nice winter break, so we followed through on our plans. We figured we could find a TV someplace on which to watch the Orange Bowl.

On our first full day in the area (beautiful blue skies; sunny; 70º), we all went to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West residence (or camp, as he originally thought of it). The site is the home of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which, among other things, offers fully accredited degrees in architecture. The residence sits well above the metropolitan valley occupied by Phoenix, Scottsdale, and many other cities, and with mountains all around in the distance, the view of the general area is magnificent. Nestled against a set of foothills and surrounded by desert, the home is both beautiful and architecturally/artistically fascinating. We learned quite a bit about Wright, the man, as well--what an interesting person he was. If interested, you can read lots more about Taliesin West here. Here are three pictures I took to give you some idea of what we saw.

The second day, we went to visit best friends of Kathie's mother who have lived in Sun City West for over 30 years. All of that Arizona sunshine must be great for one's health--they are in their mid-90s and are still going strong. They were delightful hosts, fun to meet, and had great stories to tell. They were excited to see Kathie, who had not seen them since 1967. About each other, they all said, "You look just the same!"

The third morning (beautiful blue skies; sunny; 70º), Rina, Kathie and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden, about which you can read more here. The garden has a vast array of plants, including, naturally, lots of cactus varieties. We also saw a nice variety of birds. At the right time of year, you can see lots of butterflies and hummingbirds, but this was not the right time for that. The garden frequently features music and other events, including art exhibits. Last year, glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly were featured. Some of these remain at the entrance to the garden as you can see below.

I loved seeing all the saguaro cacti throughout the general area. There were magnificent specimens in the garden.

There were lots of prickly pear too. This is the one cactus species that grows virtually everywhere, even outside of deserts. However, those we saw here were especially lush.

Did I say that I liked the saguaro?

The current art exhibit is by Allan Hauser. Here are a couple of his sculptures.

This one is an organ pipe cactus with a Hauser sculpture nearby.

Although we saw and heard lots of interesting birds, I most liked the quail with their obvious topknots.

Now, do you remember my earlier story about the bowl games? It turns out that there are lots of Iowans in the Phoenix area. Plus, we encountered a number of other travelers who seemed to have done what we did, namely plan on a Phoenix trip with some expectation that Iowa would be in the Fiesta Bowl. So, there were lots and lots of Iowans in the vicinity. We located at least four bars that regularly show all Iowa football games down there for alums and former Iowans. So, we made plans to watch the Orange Bowl at one of these locations.

When we drove up, there were yellow and black balloons tied up outside the door. In spite of our two hour early arrival, every table in the place was reserved by Iowa football fans, something we had not anticipated. However, Dick's powers of persuasion and a tip for the hostess got us four good seats at a bar near the back of the establishment. We were amazed at how the place filled up with black and yellow Iowa clothing. There were hundreds of people there.

We started out with drinks and a great round of appetizers and then moved on to some excellent Mexican food. By game time, we were making the acquaintance of numbers of other attendees with whom we had some indirect relationship. These included common friends, former UI employees, students, and others. For example, Kathie ran into this young woman, the daughter of someone who once worked for her. It was amazing to strike up a conversation and find out that we had something in common back in Iowa or at the UI.

Dick made a little movie of the fun and friendly chaos in the bar. (Dick is an outstanding photographer and owns and operates Wilderness Studio back here at home.) Click on the play button to see the action, and watch closely for familiar faces!

The bar at which we were stationed had a TV over its backbar, and the bartender was a hard-working, attentive, and (oh-by-the-way) attractive former University of Nebraska student. She is now an Arizona State graduate student in psychology. Kathie could relate to that. She seemed to support Iowa against Georgia Tech, so that was good too.

Of course, the final outcome of the game was perfect, and the place was alive with noise, excitement, and fun. All four of us believed we probably had more fun than if we had actually been at the Orange Bowl itself. Besides, it was only 49º in Miami, while we enjoyed 72º weather that afternoon! GO HAWKS!