I don’t think I can explain why I love jigzaw puzzles the way I do. Why I will willingly spend hours on end, alone, listening to sermons, audiobooks or music to complete a puzzle. IDK. But I’m always really excited when I get a new puzzle.

I bought this puzzle a few months ago and it felt like ‘home’ or reminded me of my apartment in Tempe, Arizona. I completed many puzzles in that space. And now, in this new space, in this new country where everything is different, I have something that is the same. Puzzles.

I think that organizing caos and bringing order to disorderly things is fun. When did that happen?! I don’t know. But this is coming from the kid who, instead of cleaning her room would stuff clothes and everything else under the bed. Lol. What can I say, except that I like to see the progression of a pile of pieces that mean nothing come together to create something awesome.

I chose this puzzle because its a picture of the castle here in Himeji. I can see the top of the castle from my balcony but this picture will serve as a reminder that its amazingly beautifical.

Also, due to the placement  of puzzle construction, I found very unique ways to eat meals at home. Eventually, I bought a kotatsu for my living room, where I eat meals now. My diningroom table/kitchen table has been repurposed for puzzles. One night last week, we had our monthly cooking class at my place. We were making Nabe and needed the table. I tried to move it but was not successful so do you know what I did? I laid a yoga mat over the puzzle like a table runner. The puzzle was safe but no amount of wiping will remove the Nabe juice from my mat.

 

Now that I have completed this puzzle, I will glue it to a white poster board and hang it in my apartment. I used to complete the puzzles and then give them away. But I’ve decided that this will be a very simple way to decorate my space. I also considered buying a frame for it and doing it the easy way but conveniece is pricey. I’m not trying to spend $50 on a frame.

Maybe the next puzzle will be more peices. I’ve gradually increased the piece count with each puzzle I’ve done. But I just realized that I’ve been hanging out at 1000 pieces for the last two puzzles. We’ll see what happens.