“What a funny bag!” [Michael] said, pinching it with his fingers.
“Carpet,” said Mary Poppins, putting her key in the lock.
“To carry carpets in, you mean?”
“No. Made of.”
“Oh,” said Michael. “I see.” But he didn’t—quite.
By this time the bag was open, and Jane and Michael were more than surprised to find it was completely empty.
“Why,” said Jane, “there’s nothing in it!”
“What do you mean—nothing?” demanded Mary Poppins, drawing herself up and looking as though she had been insulted. “Nothing in it, did you say?”
And with that she took out from the empty bag a starched white apron and tied it round her waist. Next she unpacked a large cake of Sunlight Soap, a toothbrush, a packet of hairpins, a bottle of scent, a small folding armchair and a box of throat lozenges.
Jane and Michael stared.
...
From the carpet-bag she took out seven flannel nightgowns, four cotton ones, a pair of boots, a set of dominoes, two bathing-caps and a postcard album. Last of all came a folding camp-bedstead with blankets and eiderdown complete, and this she set down between John’s cot and Barbara’s.
-- Excerpt from Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers
Turns out Jerry and I make an excellent team. He soldiers on when I give up.
So far we've done 17 of them. Here's a few...
This was the hardest...
This we finished in 10 minutes...
We've only given up on two. So far. One didn't have a picture or description on the box AND a good portion of the pieces had at least one completely flat edge. No fair!
Here's the other one we gave up on. One thousand impossible pieces.
But other than that, jigsaw puzzling has been a smashing success. Just when I'm giving up, Jerry gets a second wind.
Don't tell him, but for his birthday I bought Jerry a 500-piece Springbok puzzle. Birds.
I can't decide whether to give it to him or to hide it in that trunk and wait for him to find.
Seventeen must be some sort of record!
ReplyDeleteI think jigsaw puzzles lose much of their intimidation factor when you have someone else to work with when you’re putting it together . . . .
As with so many things in life, having someone to do it with makes all the difference.
DeleteSo true . . . .
DeleteHallie, you and Jerry are indeed a formidable puzzle-finishing team!
ReplyDeleteOur family did a puzzle together during the Christmas holidays when I was a child but that enough for me.
I also learned there are two-sided puzzles, which is fiendish! Has anyone finished one of those?
We've done two. Naked Ursula Andress... her front on one side, her back on the other. And Bryce Canyon/Zion Canyon. It turns out there's a tricky way to tell which side is which... looking at the way the cut of the edges curl.
DeleteI love that you do that together! We now have a new kitten, so any chance of leaving a puzzle out is over. We are getting faster at completing the NYT Sunday puzzles (on a clipboard), passing it back and forth a couple of times until it's done. Hugh is on his second book of 500, so we're set for a while.
ReplyDeleteHope to see some SINCNE members at our chapter virtual brunch at noon!
My husband times himself doing the NYT crossword puzzles. I do not compete. I also refuse to play Scrabble with him.
Deletethe kitty is precious Edith. love the spots on his tummy:)
DeleteAh, nothing so adorable as a new kitten or a new puppy. We are two weeks from bring Sgt Pepper home, can't wait.
DeleteMe, either, Ann! And Edith, loving your photos. He's adorable. Did I miss seeing what you've named him?
DeleteHallie, of course Jerry picks up when you get winded--it's like going out to dinner and watching him eat in the old days. He's dogged! We've done zero...
ReplyDeleteI haven't done a puzzle since the last time I did a ten piece one with some grandchild, if, in fact, I ever did that. And with a resident cat, I don't see one in our future, either.
ReplyDeleteInstead we binge watch TV shows. Every single morning I plan to find that exercise thingie I bought years ago and get my body moving. But I put it off until another day. Recliners are too comfortable.
It's dawned a cool 67F here today, after that three inches of rain yesterday. A glorious summer day, just right for sitting in the garden with a cup of coffee and the NYT -- how long can I make that last I wonder?
Ann, should be start a Sgt. Pepper countdown? T minus 14 days and counting?
DeleteLet the countdown begin!
DeleteAnn, you'll need to walk that puppy!
DeleteYep. Every day. Along with Penny Lane. We will use a Y lead. That way Penny Lane will be the sea anchor for Sgt Pepper. It worked last time.
DeleteI like jigsaw puzzles, and I buy them when I see one I like, but I haven't done one since I moved into this house six years ago. This is because the table where I planned to do them is still at least half covered with stuff I haven't yet found a home for. Just as I was getting it cleared off the pandemic came along, and now the table is covered with my work computer and all the attendant crap. New job assignments may force me to move that computer, however, so there's hope for puzzling yet.
ReplyDeleteI have old towels and/or blankets to cover the puzzle in progress. This defense has been successful against my older, slower cats in the past. Not sure how it's going to stand up to the new kitten. The cats and dogs tend to work as a team, with cats knocking the pieces to the floor and dogs--waiting below for any crumb or scrap--eating the pieces that fall. It's a tradition in my house to have at least one piece missing from every puzzle.
We have that tradition too!!
DeleteYou don't have cats, do you, Hallie. LOL. We loved jigsaw puzzles until we discovered they make excellent cat toys. More enticing than catnip.
ReplyDeleteYou puzzles are beautiful. Are you mounting them?
Heavens no! We’re swapping them with puzzles from friends
DeleteFinally, we get to know that naked Ursula got her turn. Hahaha! I am so impressed that you and Jerry have put together 17 puzzles. I still have the 1000 piece Van Gogh puzzle on the dining room table from March. It’s the one my granddaughter and I started. She’s an amazing puzzle worker, and she and her mom, my daughter, have done quite a few puzzles together. But, alas, Izzy just hasn’t been here much, and I don’t like doing much on it without her, not that I make much progress without her. I did complete a small section last night, and I was unreasonably happy with my six or seven pieces. I do have a little table we brought over from my mother-in-law’s house I might try a 500 piece on by myself. Hallie, you’ve inspired me.
ReplyDeleteVan Gogh is probably a hard one
DeleteI love the idea that you found those puzzles! Meant to be. And yes, quite magical. I think you should see if you can let him find the bird puzzle in the bag!
ReplyDeleteI love that idea too ... but it means I’d have to wade into that corner of the basement and find the trunk .... more daunting than it sounds
DeletePut it inside a box that already came out of the trunk?
DeleteLove the puzzles, Hallie, and love the comparison to Mary Poppins' bag--I use to have a bag like that when I taught--my students never knew what might come out of it. The 5-year-old grand-nephew has an assortment of puzzles. He enjoys them so much that he will often get one to do by himself. No matter how many times he's done one previously, he still gets a thrill from finishing it again. And I say, let Jerry find the birthday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteA 5 year old who does puzzles! That’s a talent in the making
DeleteI love jigsaw puzzles! Unfortunately our two cats and my 9-month-old Standard Poodle want to help. No puzzles for me until the dog gets through his teenage phase. I protect my puzzle from the cats by using a puzzle saver. (It's a big flat work surface with a lid. The only downside is that it must be stored flat.)
ReplyDeleteYou must not have small children or cats around!
ReplyDeleteI haven't done a puzzle in a few months now; I've been too busy reading! But I do have several new puzzles I am looking forward to working on. I also save some puzzles and will do them again after a few years. When my mother was alive she and I swapped puzzles all the time but there doesn't seem to be anyone around here that is interested in that. It's too expensive to swap by mail but I did that a couple times. Finding a puzzle in good shape at a charity shop is very iffy but I always look.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have a place to work a puzzle if I wanted to! I've been on Frank's case now for MONTHS to clean his mess out of the dining room. Progress has been made but the oak table is still covered with his stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnn, I envy you your weather. It is going to hit 100 again today and no relief or rain is in sight.
Yes, Pat--ugh. Although our humidity has dropped today, so it's not as miserable as yesterday. Texas...
DeleteHallie,
ReplyDeleteYou are an excellent jigsaw puzzle team! I am laughing at the concept of giving him the puzzle or hiding it in the carpetbag. LOL
As a child, I loved jigsaw puzzles. I wonder if that is why I did well in math. I did well in every school subject as a child until I hit my teens. After we moved when I was 12, we lost the jigsaw puzzles so I no longer had them.
Wonder if there is a connection between jigsaw puzzles and math skills?
Diana
Put it in the trunk, Hallie! If he doesn't find it by his birthday, leave him a clue. In fact, leave him clues until it is his birthday!
ReplyDeletegreat idea!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHallie, you and Jerry are wonders. I wish Rick liked to do jigsaws, as they are not nearly as much fun to work by yourself. My puzzle from January is still unfinished on the dining room table! I was counting on help from Gigi, who is a terrific puzzler, and my daughter and granddaughter. (Although Wren loves puzzles, her patience runs out fast on a 500 piece one!) How long do I leave the puzzle before I give up? AND I have two 1000 piece puzzles waiting in the wings; one of London, and the other I discovered in my office, a never-opened 1000 piece depiction of Clarice Cliff's pottery. It's gorgeous, and that one I really want to do! But maybe your Yellow Submarine is more my speed...
ReplyDeleteMy best puzzle story was when my mom and I worked on one that was a photograph of dozens of porcelain dolls. First we did the obvious sorting: edges and middle pieces. We got the frame together and then started sorting through the rest. At one point my mom said to me, “Do you have any pieces of hands?” I said, “No, just lots of eyeballs and one mouth.” Mom said, “You know, I thought this would be such a wholesome summer project. Instead, I’ve turned us into Hannibal and Clarice.”
ReplyDeleteI love puzzles. I have done several since the pandemic hit. I have 4 kids, so I have to wait until they're in bed to really focus on anything. I get the kitchen cleaned up and sneak down to the basement for an hour or so. I listen to audiobooks while I work and sip a cold soda. It's the best part of my day.
ReplyDelete