Above is a one-thousand-piece puzzle that my husband bought years ago and which I ignored until I cleaned out a closet and found it. I bought myself a puzzle table for a Christmas gift from me (hubby is not into buying gifts over the holidays) and I set it up in my bedroom where there is good light. It is mostly in soothing shades of blue, as you can see, and I am working on it daily. Usually an hour or so in the morning.
Above you can see that a few days later and I have really been 'ripping' along. It took me most of one morning just to sort out the straight edges and sort certain colors/patterns into plastic bags! The perfect activity for the anal-retentive.
Perhaps my readers have watched the British mystery series called Wallendar, which was adapted from books written by Sweden's Henning Mankell. Oddly this activity reminds me of Detective Wallender's father who in great senility ended up painting almost identical tree scenes again and again. We self-soothe in many ways. Accomplishment is very important in old age.
I also just finished reading the first in a series of spy books written by Dorothy Gilman about a 50 something woman with no spy skills called Mrs. Pollifax. I will probably not read more after this first book because, while a fun read, it just did not flow for me and was a bit old-fashioned. Anyway, our middle-aged spy spends parts of her capture playing game after game of solitaire which helps soothe her.
What do you do regularly to pass the time? Do you ever do anything that others would consider a waste of time but which you find helpful getting you through your week, your day?
Thoughtful post. Bravo on 1000 piece puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI spend too much time doing nothing but thinking. It bothers me. Soothe city is writing down ideas that bring joy.
I'm interested in learning how to just sit and not always be jumping up to do things. Just be. It may be the task of my old age.
ReplyDeleteReading. A good book can transport me to another world and the longer the better. I have never enjoyed puzzles but admire those who persevere with huge ones.
ReplyDeleteI do play Solitaire on my laptop, but usually only when I am watching Racheal Maddow, which we record and watch when we have settled in for the evening. Playing Solitaire keeps me from fidgeting when I am listening to the disturbing news of the day.
ReplyDeleteI also try to exercise, and of course, bird watching, blogging, and photography also can "take me away".
I do love your statement, "Accomplishment is very important in old age>" I agree.
I accomplish a good home cooked dinner almost every night. I set my sewing machine up again and I will eventually get back to playing with fabric. I read when I don't end up falling asleep over my Kindle. It takes me a while to finish a book, since I prefer to be active during the day. I have not yet resorted to puzzles, except those word puzzles in the daily newspaper. :-)
I really enjoy playing some games. So far, it's Solitaire and Mahjong, but there are a few games I play on Facebook with my nieces as well. I also tend to do a lot of blog writing offline by hand then I transcribe it onto the computer.
ReplyDeletePrayer and reading. Other than that, i'm at work!
ReplyDeleteOh, I have read Pollifax. I think it came as a three-part series to me. I agree that it is not an A-level read.
ReplyDeleteWallander is kind of a morose guy and series but worth watching. IIRC there is also a young Wallander series, but I expect it won't be renewed.
As for puzzles, it must be winter, for I have read three blogs about them, one just this morning.
Reading is helping get me through this latest Covid outbreak. I like puzzles but haven’t gotten into them in recent years. I suffer from SAD but the light is noticeably increasing in the evening. This too shall pass.
ReplyDeleteI never consider reading a waste of time and I have so much to read all the time. Books are my self care and companions I guess. Jigsaw puzzles are not for me at all but I heard they got very popular with COVID shut downs. They just make me anxious, so the opposite of self care for me.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting question. I do similar stuff to you. I do jigsaw puzzles on my iPad because i used to get severe back pain leaning over a table doing real jigsaws. I blog. I write my life story and scan photos from my albums, I read and I used to like socialising with friends and going to lunch with them but since our border opened we have been swamped with omicrom so we stay home now. I like reading too.
ReplyDeleteI love doing jigsaw puzzles. I could happily while away whole days working on puzzles. And I read though lately my designated time to read in the evenings has been taken over by streaming shows on TV, which is sort of like reading and easier to enjoy without commercials. And I play solitaire though usually just during meals or when I'm sleepless in the middle of the night. I'm basically antisocial so I have no problem staying at home and puttering around.
ReplyDeleteI MUST get back to work on the family photobook project I started many months ago. The holidays threw me off schedule. My husband is the puzzle person and finished that 3,000 piece puzzle our son sent him last February. It was agony. Don't do it. The 1,000 piece is perfect. I didn't know there was such a thing as a puzzle table. That looks very convenient.
ReplyDeleteFinally!!! I have been all round the houses trying to find your blog. It had disappeared, I thought, into the bowels of blogger that was.
ReplyDeleteYour comments no longer lead to your blog automatically.
By coincidence I am also planning to get back to puzzling after having given away all my old puzzles years ago. I actually ripped a page with ads for them out of a magazine.
Now, let's see if this actually posts.
Yes, this one posted! Sorry that you could not find me. Blogger seems to like playing hide and seek.
DeleteBy coincidence, I finished a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle yesterday! LOL It's one of my favorite winter-time activities (beyond sewing). I need to photograph it and post the completed photo to my blog (the beginning photos are already posted). I need to take it back to the thrift store and get a couple more! Thanks for being here...
ReplyDeleteYour puzzle looks really challenging. Sometimes if I want to mindlessly do something but not have to work at thinking, I play Spider Solitaire.
ReplyDelete