For the last month I have been adding a couple of puzzles to my collection to work on after Life is finished.  My first purchase was for a 5,000 piece puzzle that my puzzling friends, Tom and Mercedes in the USVI, recommended.  I found it on Craigslist for $20 plus shipping.  When I was first looking at the puzzle online, I didn’t really care for the picture, but then as I saw their blog entries and pictures while putting it together, it grew on me.  I think it will look really cute in Derek and Cole’s play area as it looks a bit cartoonish.  Looking forward to starting this one as it doesn’t look like it’s going to be too difficult.

When I opened the box and started looking at the pieces and the feel / texture of the Ravensburger pieces (which I’m totally in love with now), I discovered some hidden gems.  The person I purchased the puzzle from had completed the puzzle himself, and appears he didn’t completely separate the pieces before returning it to the box.  So there are several of these just in the top layer of pieces – I’m assuming I will find even more as I sort through the puzzle pieces when I am ready to tackle this one.  As I posted in a previous entry, I was tempted for a few minutes to just leave them that way and consider them a gift in easier assembly, but I know that my conscious will get the better of me and make me take them all apart before starting.  Well, maybe I will leave just one small one together as a starting point….hee hee