Monday, February 15, 2010

puzzling

i got a puzzle for valentine's day. not just ANY puzzle. it is a 2000 (yes, that's 3 os) piece puzzle of neuschwanstein castle in germany. i love it for three reasons. one, the hubs was (and still is) sick all weekend (flu i think) and so the kids did his valentine shopping for him and they picked this out for me. we got my mom this same puzzle for christmas and i kept saying how much i wanted it, and in fact almost kept it for myself. my kids must have paid attention. two, when the hubs and i were dating in high school we visited this castle together. i'll have to see if i can dig up some pictures and post. wikipedia says you aren't allowed to take photos inside, but i'm sure we did. i've heard this is the castle disney modeled cinderella's castle after--at least it looks like it. third, i love it because it has not only made me think of the hubs and i being there together but also because it made me think of my grandma.

my grandma was the puzzle queen. she almost always had a card table set up in her living room in the winter and was working puzzles. she always let me help. it was always so much fun to do stuff w/ her, even if i couldn't work puzzles w/ the same quick eye she could. she had a great eye for puzzles. she often glued them together afterwards and even framed and hung a few. i know, i know, glued together puzzles are not really "art" but i wish i would have gotten one of her glued masterpieces when she died. i think when we complete this 2000 piece mammoth i might just glue it together and hang it in our bedroom.

7 comments:

cheatymoon said...

I love doing puzzles. I wish I had enough room in my house to have a card table going with one all the time... we did this growing up.

Not Your Aunt B said...

Very cool. It's nice when kids listen, isn't it? And how cool that y'all have been there and it reminds you of your grandma. Very cool.

Unknown said...

Wow! Doing puzzles with my grandmother is one of my favorite memories, too. She lived in an apartment in our house. I would pick out a puzzle and she would pick out the side pieces for me. She was wonderful. I really miss her.

Gal Friday said...

I have "framed" quite few puzzles for customers in my 17 years working in the frame shop biz. But..the last time I put a puzzle together(only a 500 pc. of dozens of black Labs)was six years ago when we were at a cabin in Maine, fogged in with no TV for diversion for a week. Loved that your kids were thoughtful enough to be the your "cupids" and got you that puzzle you wanted.
I KNOW that castle--I can see it in my mind--a perfect storybook castle if there ever was one(and how lucky you were to have been to it)

Penny said...

I'll tell you a sad fact about myself. That is I'm too anal to enjoy puzzles. I get all twitchy at all the pieces out and it just makes me crazy. I also don't really like to cook for the same reason...too much mess. I typically only like a puzzle if you could complete it in 30 - 60 minutes and be done with it.

drollgirl said...

your kids are so thoughtful and so fantastic! what a SUPER GIFT!!!! i hope you do glue it and frame it when it is done! i have a friend that does that, and i think it looks super (yes, i am an art snob, but it doesn't have to be expensive or art from a gallery to be cool)!

Brialee said...

My daughter and I love to do puzzles when its a rainy weekend :) Especially any with castles or mystical creatures, our fave!!

Brialee
ravenfaescreations.blogspot.com