When all things culminate in one perfect object

Sometimes the fates smile on my tiny corner of the world.

Enter an angel in the form of one Jane Pierce, who did deliver unto me a treasure chest of puzzles she rescued from a garage sale. (How great is that?)

Among them, dear reader, was this beauty.

Country Fair puzzle by artist Lori Schory for White Mountain Puzzles

Would you just get a load of that? I mean COME ON. Anyone who follows me with any regularity knows that I loves me some county fairs. I even have a moo tee shirt.

This puzzle has bunnies and moos and oinks and everything. Plus, it was really really fun and easy to do. The best part? There were little surprises only a puzzler would understand, like a horse nosing around the sno-cone stand and a rooster peeking out from behind a sign heralding candy apples for sale.

Whimsical goat detail, Fair puzzle

Then came something that's never happened before: I discovered a kindred spirit when the pieces came together.

Kindred spirit of Erin O'Brien embodied in Fair Puzzle (no, not the horse)

Photographic proof of previous assertion

Part of me wants to believe that puzzle artist Lori Schory took some liberty with the good looking fella on the "tractor." Part of me wants to believe it is her hubby or dad or some other great guy in her life that loves roaming around a fair as much as I do with my ol' Goat.

Goat and exceptionally long friend at Portage County Fair

I noticed the following on the White Mountain Puzzle website:

Every White Mountain Puzzle includes our HAPPINESS GUARANTEE: If you are not completely delighted with your puzzle experience, we will replace your puzzle with a new one for free. Promise.

Photo of Goat and Lil' OB taken under duress

Well, White Mountain, I can tell you that this puzzle inflated me with pure puzzle-puzzling joy, but I appreciate your faith in your product just the same.

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Piece by piece

Silver Dollar, die cut DC502FP

There is an actual website that a person (a regular person's person) can visit any time they want that features a vast array of information regarding pre-1973 Springbok Puzzles.

We are talking wall-to-wall vintage Springbok, people.

We're talking which die cut was used to manufacture which puzzles, how many pieces the die cut produced, how many puzzles were made with the die cut, what year each Springbok was manufactured, what sorts of inserts came with the puzzles, notes on the puzzle boxes, information about puzzle backings, the history of the logo and even the inside story on Springbok's little known wood puzzles.

Puzzle repair

And--if you can believe it--there are tons more than that.

(!!!)

Just dig the sort of pure puzzle gold a person (a regular person's person) gets over there:

A given puzzle was often manufactured with a variety of different cuts.

The daring publication of a Jackson Pollack painting, Convergence, as a puzzle caused a sensation in 1964 Christmas gift markets.

A "Fused Cut" occurs when a small piece of a die breaks. This results in a "Fused Piece" (2 puzzle pieces "fused" into 1).

I swear life is beautiful.

Research pending

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Life of Erin

What my life looks like with more arms and at a much faster rate.



Except (of course) for the very end, when there may or may not be one piece missing because said puzzle is likely to come from Unique Thrift, where a puzzle may or may not be what a person thinks it is when a person pays 50 cents for said puzzle.

Puzzle currently under construction by humble hostess (Unique Thrift, 50¢)

The reader is not to assume the reader's humble hostess is spending all of her pre-holiday time doing puzzles. The reader is not to assume anything, ever.

Love,

Humble Hostess

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Extreme thrift shop love and a prediction

Dear faithful pilgrims,

As you probably have surmised, your humble hostess has been inundated with work and these pages have been neglected. While I would like very much to be penning a proper essay, I just don't have the time right now. So your getting an acquisition update and a political prediction. So it's a grab bag. So kill me already

Now dig this:

Maybe the fine people at Keim Lumber Company had this 1,000-piece puzzle made for employee appreciation gifts or to celebrate the completion of their sprawling campus. Dunno. Don't care. All I know is that I totally dig this baby, which I purchased or FIFTY CENTS at (of course) Unique Thrift.

Only problem is, it is still sealed in the box. So, do I open it or leave it in it's pristine condition. Talk about your conflict ...

Then we have this:

That beauty--the CorningWare nine-cup stove top percolator circa 1975--brewed the Coffee of America for years. She cost me nine clams at some resale shop I came across in Burton, Ohio where I had a speaking engagement last month. Yes, I know these were recalled at one point and yes, I will be careful, but COME ON. Is this kickin' it old school or what?

Lastly my prediction: the honorable Governor John Kasich of Ohio will be the GOP's 2016 nominee and it will herald him as such right here in Cleveburg in the summer of 2016.

Guess that's all for now, pilgrims. Love,  Erin

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A flat banana and other delights

Readers of this blog know I have a great affinity for jigsaw puzzles. Some of those readers keep a proverbial eye out for their humble hostess, and when they see a puzzle that has that certain je ne sais quoi, they snatch it up and forward it on to She Who Curates Puzzles. This phenomenon, of course, fills me with unprecedented joy.

And now for the puzzles.

This classic Springbok, Flat Banana, was sent to me by the Good Witch of Bay. What a great vintage puzzle hailing from 1979. I collect a puzzle like this for the box alone.

Next up, a sweet old Gennessee Puzzle, which was sent to me by an Improved Grinch:

I love this sort of puzzle, which no doubt was purchased at a five and dime for less than a buck back in the 50s or 60s. Maybe a kid bought it for his Gramp for Christmas. Maybe Johnny's mom sent him to Woolworth's with a dollar and the edict, buy Sam a present for his birthday party this Sunday. Kid buys the puzzle for 69 cents and has plenty left over for candy.

So it's missing a piece, who cares? I loved putting it together just the same--pure Americana.

~~

Oh dear reader, I am loathe to tell you what happened during the construction of this next one--a gorgeous and totally fun 2000-piece Jan Van Haasteren offering, which was gifted to me by He Who Rides the Mount of Vernon.

I was bent over the thing in my usual puzzling way when I reached for a piece and knocked over my adult beverage, which soaked a number of pieces. I (predictably) screeched and leapt into action, gathering up the damp pieces and carefully arranging them on cookie sheets.

I dispatched the pans post haste into my KitchenAid Superba combination convection oven, which I turned on to the bread-proofing setting (100 degrees with convection air circulation).

It dried the pieces perfectly, nary a one warped. I didn't even lose a piece in all the confusion.

~~

Imagine getting something like this from a purring minx of incalculable beauty:

I opened the glorious package only to find a 3D Qing Gardens Vase puzzle.

!

I was so excited, I started constructing it right away. The way the little plastic pieces snapped together was totally satisfying. And I loved the numbers and arrows on the pieces, as if the puzzle was worried I'd lose my way.

 Dearest reader, life is beautiful one piece at a time.

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Sweet defeat

Dearest friends,

My defeats and losses are so myriad that I rarely bring them to public attention because at this point, it's downright embarrassing. Since I did, however, publicize my entry in the 2014 Springbok puzzle contest, I thought it only fair that I announce my resounding loss therein.

Congratulations to Mr. Zehrfeld for his winning entry, "Americana."

Here is my image and the very last offering in the "top submissions" line up in the above link.

Note that while the candy looks attractive, it was cloying sweet and barely edible--and I had pounds of it, which I dispatched to Lil' OB, who in turn took it to school, where it languishes in a jar in the art room.

In the contest rules, Springbok reserves the right to make any of the submitted images into a puzzle without compensation to the entrant, so it's still possible my image will be elevated to puzzledom.

Yeah, yeah.

Now for the other images I submitted to the contest which did not garner honorable mentions. Regarding the last image, no one wants to know how much time I spent weaving pot holders like a frustrated nine-year old, swearing and tearing up my fingernails on the metal loom.

Thanks as always for your support.

Love, Erin

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I AM IN THE FINALS!

Dear fellow earthlings,

By some miracle of the lord, my photo is among the finalists for the 2014 Springbok Puzzle image contest. As astute followers of this blog will imagine, this moves me to tears of unprecedented joy. Furthermore, I urge the readership to take a quick survey and let Springbok know what you think of the images they are considering for elevation to puzzledom.

My image features some very sweet stars and stripes. The following photo is not part of the photo in the finals, but it should give you a pretty good idea of which one is mine.

Thank you for your continued support.

Love, Erin

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86 and counting

Where can you find Johnny Cash, an army of gingerbread men, Rosie the Riveter, a lemon crate, Peter Max, the Wheel of Fortune (ala Avon), a martini, Salvador Dali, a totem pole and a school of fish?

In my jigsaw puzzle collection!

The Goat put up this shelving so I could display them all. Dig this panoramic photo (click to enlarge):


This fills me with untold joy. EXTREME OBJECT LOVE.

Thank you, Goat!

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Who needs Oprah? Here are Erin's favorite things:

The Devil's in the cards: ornaments from Hixsons

Hixsons is an old-timey place on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood (if you live in northeast Ohio and you do not go there once in a while, you are dumb). I used to walk to Hixson's as a kid and sit at the (now defunct) soda fountain, marvel over the psychedelic black light posters (hey, this was the 70's) and buy a piece of maple candy on my way out.

Today, the backroom still comes alive for the holidays, complete with vintage animatronic characters from the old Halle's downtown department store windows and the best selection of European glass ornaments around, many of which were designed by Bill Hixson. If you're lucky, Mr. Hixson will be in the store and will gladly sign and date  yours.

Fondue pot of humble hostess

I really love my cast iron fondue pot. There are plenty on the market. This one will put you back about $80. But what the hell do I care about that? I bought mine at Unique Thrift for $6, which is WHY I SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING.

You can't beat this faux fur throw; you also can't wash it. But you can buy a trio of wonderful handmade lavendar sachets from zJayne and toss them in the dryer with the furry blankie on the air setting. The throw comes out fluffy and fresh. I love these sachets so much that I keep one in a glass jar on my desk and breathe in the scent of it whenever I need a little pick-me-up.

Liberty Puzzle under construction

The most beautiful wood puzzles you have ever seen come from Liberty Puzzles. Can't afford a Liberty? Springbok is a high-quality cardboard puzzle with great images and fun shaped pieces. And a tip o' the hat to RedisCover for their easy and funky two-sided odes to Rock 'n' Roll.

For a distinct crispy salty crunch that you have to experience to believe, Tell City Pretzel makes the best hard pretzels in all the land.

And to those gifters out there who are still on the fence over this high-dollar decision, I absolutely love love love my iPad.

You want the perfect stocking stuffer? This mini tripod goes anywhere (it fits in my purse) and has greatly improved my low light photographic endeavors.

Photo by humble hostess courtesy of point and shoot cam and mini tripod

Now dig this: Turns out his mother still keeps his foreskin in formaldehyde and he now is an expert at reading Tarot cards. It also turns out that you can get a whole book of sentences that fine: Gears by Alex Pruteanu.

Asbach confection serving suggestion

While we're on the subject, The Irish Hungarian Guide to the Domestic Arts is funny as hell and God knows we could all use a laugh. So if you want to give a little Erin O'Brien to someone on your list, do it by way of my book. It will not disappoint.

Let's end this on a sweet note. Asbach Pralinen Zarte Flaschchem is a very fine (and I daresay tiny) dark chocolate bottle that is lined with a sugar crust and filled with brandy (I am not shitting you). Available locally at Hansa Import Haus. Or go booze free with a Dagoba Chai chocolate bar, which is essentially a spiced chocolate orgasm enhanced with flecks of crystallized ginger.

As you can see, I know what I'm talking about. I just had one:

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The long hot summer vol. one: a sticky situation

No, we do not have air conditioning. Yes, it is hot. No, we're not getting it any time soon. Yes, we could if we were so inclined.

(Remember when almost no one had air conditioning? It wasn't that long ago. Remember when AC was an expensive option on a new car? Remember?)

The worst thing about not having AC is not the copious perspiration that soaks through tee shirts and turns otherwise supple tresses into a wet stringy mess.

The worst thing about not having AC is not the sweat that peppers one's upper lip with fine salty dots one collects with one's tongue along with a bit of foamy residue left over from a slug of ice-cold Pabst.

The worst thing about not having AC is not the steamy fitful nights or the condensation on a mason jar filled with iced coffee (and the subsequent coaster mandate), or the way chocolate bars turn limp and soft to the tooth.

The worst part of not having AC, dear readership, is forearm stickiness.

To be sure, the stickiness in general is annoying, with the corn silks sticking to one's sweat-sheathed legs during shucking (admittedly done outside, but you get the picture) and the formidable task of dressing after a shower. But the zenith of stickiness peril, dear readership, is when the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle (particularly one purchased for a dollar at a garage sale) stick to one's forearms (when one leans on the puzzle table to study a piece afar) and fall to the floor (sometimes even upon that of another room, depending on the degree of forearm stickiness) unbeknownst to the puzzler.

I shall leave the aftermath of said eventuality to your imagination.

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Sunday puzzler

Anyone want to take a guess at why this is clearly a pre-WWII puzzle?

Hint: click to enlarge, or right-click and open image in a new window for the largest view.

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 ~~Click here for the solution~~

~~Spoiler in comment section as well.~~

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Miscellaneous post that does not earn a AAA rating and runs on

-This way cool Springbok puzzle cost me $0.25 at Unique Thrift and it had all its pieces. SCORE!

-I didn't truly understand anything until I was 40. Will I say one day that I didn't truly understand anything until I was 60? Maybe you don't really know anything until you're dead.

-Saw the last Harry Potter and found it entertaining. Don't pay extra for 3D. There's only a few good (mediocre?) 3D moments and oodles of lost 3D opportunity. Methinks they only put this version out there for a money grab.



That said, the new real 3D is sort of freaky. The people look like they're right in front of you. I'm a little uncomfortable to think what this means for the adult film industry. eek!

-Okay, already, I admit it: I'm sort of a digital hoarder. I save every damn email and podcast and silly pic. I would be utterly lost without my spotlight and detest having to empty the trash.

-The Goat (with smug irony): "That's the word for me: established."

So that's what they're calling it these days, huh Goat? Established? Yeah, yeah.

-Time to end this silly post, so here' a pic of the established Goat running.

Notes from Unique Thrift

Unique Thrift is the most kick ass second hand store in the world. I go to the downtown location on Lorain Avenue near Fulton on Cleveland's near west side.

They do one hell of a business--particularly on half-price day, with people loading up carts with second-hand clothes and toys and books. Unique Thrift has unusual gift items as well.

I picked up these utterly cool boots for EIGHT BUCKS.

This old Tuco puzzle set me back TWENTY FIVE CENTS. Never mind that it's missing about 20 pieces, the resident bepuzzler is doing it anyway. Who can resist those chunky "triple-thick" pieces?

The Goat explored Unique Thrift's Sporting Goods department.

He also enjoys perusing the store's snazzy discount fashion items.

For those interested in slightly experienced underwear, Unique is the place to find it. If that ain't looming fruit, baby, I don't know what is.

Unique Thrift has a particular odor. It is not necessarily a bad odor. It is the odor one would expect in a cavernous room filled with used stuff. It smells like a giant closet.

That revelation should not be surprising, but here's the rub: your humble hostess is sensitive to airborne particulates. If I encounter a lot of dust or spend several hours in a closed space with a few smokers, I'll have something akin to a hay-fever attack, complete with sneezing, wheezing and nose-running. A barn full of animals can cause the same trouble.

If I spend more than five or ten minutes in Unique Thrift on a busy day when Unique Thrifters are rifling through the all the merchandise, there are enough airborne particulates to instigate such a fit, which will subside almost immediately upon my exit. As evidenced by this post, this minor health inconvenience does not deter my patronage in any way.

Now all you candy asses know who you're dealing with.

* * *

Puzzlegasm

For Christmas, the Goat gave me the 881-piece "Sugar Magnolia" puzzle by Phil Lewis for Liberty Puzzles.

It is not possible to describe the sublime transcendence owning this puzzle imparts upon me. I am completing the puzzle very slowly in order to draw out the pleasure. Think of the line: And I started praying, oh Lord please make this last from the song "Moonglow."

Yeah. It's sort of like that.

Every laser-cut 1/4" thick wooden piece inflates me with joy. So far, the four-footed alien is my favorite whimsy piece. In this lifetime, I shall be as happy as that alien, if only for a moment.

Stop thinking there is something wrong with me.

That this puzzle nods to puzzle history (yes, I just said "puzzle history") with it's ornate pieces while employing the modern technique of laser cutting (versus the handcut jigsaw pieces of old) to enable even more detail (no way could an old-time jigsaw sawer guy have been able to cut those little toesies into an alien whimsy piece) rocks my face off.

Dig the Grateful Dead top-hat skeleton in this part of the puzzle:

People, I like the way this puzzle smells.

Here's a size reference photo. (Please pay no attention to what may appear to be but IS CERTAINLY NOT a long gray hair visible in the lower right hand quadrant of the photo.)

Now stop playing with yourself and go buy a Liberty Puzzle for chrissake. DO NOT bellyache about the price. This is a beautiful, high quality made-in-the-USA product put forth by a small business and you damn well ought to support it.

Can I get an amen?

* * *

Honeymoon intermission

Oh sweet joy of life.

I am in the middle of Honeymoon Week, but had to take a break from the action in order to blog this.


Your humble hostess purchased this complete wooden Wentworth puzzle (with figurative pieces, some of which I didn't even pull from the puzzle for display) for the sum of 99¢ today at the esteemed Unique Thrift.

To use a phrase that normally evokes a great huff and the rolling of eyes from me:

That's what I'm talkin' about!

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Extreme puzzle love

This is a set of four hand-cut wood jigsaw puzzles from 1932.


I may not be very good at taking photographs, but I'm pretty good at putting together jigsaw puzzles.


It is not possible to express how much I love these puzzles. Dig the star-shaped piece. Can you find the numbers 7 and 1? There's a cat piece and (I think) a telephone piece in the puzzle above.

The shaped pieces make me think that jigsaw puzzler sawers probably had a pretty good sense of humor back then.


Each puzzle has its own little cardboard box that fits into a larger wood box.


This is the label on the outside of the wooden box. I guess Macy's used to have puzzle contests. I wonder if my original puzzle putter-togetherer won the contest.


There's a tag inside each cardboard box with the date, sawed by info, polished by, etc. All of my puzzles were cut on April 22, 1932. Hence, my puzzles will turn 78 tomorrow. They're in pretty good shape for 78, with all their pieces intact.

Happy birthday, puzzles!

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