Puzzling

Many would find it puzzling -- the fact that I enjoy assembling jigsaw puzzles. For me, they're a go-to activity for when I'm taking a holiday from normal life. 

This one, more pieces than I am generally willing to try, was an early Christmas gift. And good thing it came as early as it did, as this might be the first time (ever??) I've finished a puzzle with this many pieces -- a thousand! 

For me, that's an accomplishment, albeit a somewhat meaningless one, as the puzzle will soon be going back into pieces and into the lovely box it came in. But really, with an image of Peggy's Cove, it stirred quite a few good memories along the way. 

Despite any readers who might be puzzled by enjoying such a pastime as this, you might like to know that I'm not alone. BC author M.A.C. Farrant wrote a book called Jigsaw, a collection of personal essays on the pleasures of, as she calls it, the verb: puzzling. 

And yes, there's a small disappointment owing to the fact that a single piece appears to be missing.

No amount of searching under the table managed to turn it up. 

Oh well, who ever claimed that anything fun has to be perfect.

Longer, lighter days on the way

It's now officially winter in the Northern Hemisphere, thanks to the arrival of solstice -- 'sun stop' the actual meaning of the word. 

While the sun certainly doesn't stop, the hours of darkness now ease, and by January we'll likely be noticing a slightly later sunset (and if you're among those who get up earlier than I do, an earlier dawn). 

With all the dark times we've recently been experiencing, this Solstice seems like a day for celebration, as I for one, am looking forward to brighter times. 

Respectful

It seems to me that respectfulness is the attitude everyone needs to have when it comes to events of the last few days. Oddly, the other night we were watching (okay, re-watching) a Harry Potter film in which Voldemort had returned. 

I can't help but feel that's currently the case in our world. Maybe not precisely He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, but it sure feels as though Evil is afoot. 

Yes, the not-very-presidential leader of the US offered a few official words of sympathy over the shooting murders in Australia and Rhode Island, but when it came to any kind of respect for one of our greatest modern filmmakers, Rob Reiner, there were only insults. To my mind, unforgivable. 

To refresh anyone who isn't sure of how important Rob Reiner's work was, I invite you to view the following overview of three of his most wonderful films. 

A word he and his wife earned and deserve: Respect. 

Some kind of merry?

Not exactly my style of decorating. So far, about all I've done is hang a homemade swag of cedar boughs on each of the outside doors and put up a little decoration with a few lights. 

There's something about all that plastic that leaves me feeling about as deflated as the decorations in the photo appear to be. 

It's a question I've asked before, and one I'll ask again: how is it that plastic shopping bags at the supermarket (which most of us reuse at least once for collecting wet garbage) are banned, but gigantic plastic characters are all the rage?

How long must it take for a five-foot-tall plastic snowman to degrade when it goes to the landfill?

And no, I'm not the one who poked holes in all those characters, though I'll admit, I've certainly been tempted.