Beyond Puzzled

 I was talking to a friend the other day and he asked when I was going to post next.  Everything I post on here he knows about, but I think he likes reading long form instead of just FB messenger.  As I've said lately, I have to be in the mood.  That said, I've wanted to do a few posts as of late but just haven't done it.  I have a couple I have planned, one with exclusive photos from a few Facebook albums I made last month. I might even spread that out to a few posts, but not promising that.  I came onto blogger a few days ago and I felt terrible.  Usually I will reply to all comments made on my posts.  I saw that I had six comments and then realized I didn't reply to any of them.  It made me feel even worse because these are my regular commenters, and I wouldn't have as many views without them.  So I want to personally thank Gavin (Baseball Card Breakdown), The Angels In Order (The Angels In Order), Fuji (The Chronicles of Fuji), Jon (A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts), Angus (Dawg Day Cards), and Brett Alan (who I don't believe has a blog, but is a fervent reader of mine). The comments themselves were motivational and solidified my reason that I never want to fully stop posting because some people actually enjoy what I write.  I would also be remiss if I didn't thank the many other readers who don't comment.  One comment I did want to explore more is Brett Alan's talking a bit about the Baywatch CD and how he confused Joshua Jackson with a few other actors who have sang.  This will give me a rabbit hole to explore on Discogs one day as I try to find new music to check out.

Last post I mentioned Jon and Fuji's posts, and today I'll mention a bit about a couple others.  The Angels In Order and Baseball Card Breakdown were some of the first blogs I read and commented on when joining this crazy ride. What I like about The Angels in Order is that when showing off cards, they are a nice mix of new and old.  1984 Donruss is placed on the same pedestal as 2021 Bowman.  While I rarely comment these days, its always a good read.  The same can be said for Baseball Card Breakdown.  Gavin just recently celebrated 10 years of blogging and his content is just as strong as it was when I started reading it about a year or so after he started. While looking at what I missed, I noticed a post on his card art, and it looked familiar.  I realized that he posted about it on Twitter recently and they are something to see.

I should also mention Angus' blog- Dawg Day Cards.  I will admit I haven't always read his blog, but have seen it a few times.  In fact I just realized I didn't follow his blog, and I have now fixed that.  He has a lot of nice Cleveland Browns cards, and I really liked his tribute post he did for Jim Brown, that had some nice cards.

My reason for posting today wasn't to thank all my readers which I do to close every blog, but to show off a few items I've bought on a recent shopping trip.  I've pretty much retired my Savvy Loot posts because the store has changed so much, but I still go about once a month.  Last Friday I made my way there and bought a few items.  As it turned out, those aren't what I'll discuss today.  The next day they made a Facebook post announcing all donated items (excluding clothes, shoes, and accessories) priced $4 or less would only be 50 cents each.  I was a bit upset since I could have saved about $7 on purchases the day before.  They didn't say how long the sale would last, but I wasn't in the mood to go on Saturday.  They are closed Sunday and Monday, so I thought Tuesday I might go.  I like to go early in the day because the weather is getting hotter and I like to be home before noon when I go places in the morning.  They open at 9 AM but they never announced the sale was still going on until around 10 or so.  By then I didn't want to go.  However they announced the sale would last all week, so I decided Wednesday morning would be a perfect time to go.  Since I went last week, there were a few items I was eying but the main thing was puzzles.  Used puzzles range for $2-$10, and most are $3.  I feel that's a bit much for used ones, but for 50 cents, I'll buy up a bunch.  In my mind I was hoping to finding 20 puzzles.  There wasn't much else I wanted, but still worth a look.  The only downside is I missed 2 full days of the sale, so who knows what is left.  Well, I wasn't disappointed.

After taxes, the total was a shade over 12 bucks.  Not a bad haul.  A couple items I realized weren't what I thought, but oh well, I was more than happy.  Let's look at the other stuff then the puzzles.

The CD spindle was not full, but a few days earlier it was priced at 3 bucks.  PASS!  Today it was marked to 75 cents, which was better, but since it was under 4 bucks, it was now 50 cents.  There was another spindle of DVDs the other day, but I didn't find it this time.  I don't use many blank CDs anymore, but I'll find a use for them.

The Fire cover said it would fit all 7 and 8's, but it doesn't fit the one we have.  No big loss, but I was hoping it would.  Still looks good so maybe I can resale it or something.  Same with the retractable cable kit.  When I grabbed it I was thinking it was something else (or similar), but looking at it now, I'm not sure I have much use for it.  At least I saved a buck on it.

I'm not a handyman, but I do projects sometimes.  The first bag I am hoping might work on a table that has a leg that needs to be held on.  It's not really what I've been looking for, but if it works, I'm happy I spent less then buying a pack of new brackets for it which I've been having trouble finding.

The bottom bag is a door handle.  My mom mentioned the pantry door handle could be replaced.  It's not a major deal, but she's been wanting a replacement because the current one is starting to have a smell to it (you know how stuff lingers on your hands).  I'm not sure if this is a passage knob or a dummy knob (very recently I realized there is a difference), but again, 50 cents is a risk worth taking.  I'd imagine its a passage knob since I don't see why a dummy one would need to have all the extras.

Okay with that out of the way, let's look at puzzles.  In total I fell short of the goal of 20.  There were about 5 we left behind because we didn't care for the look, and another which was $10.  If we went on Saturday there was at least 2-3 more we would have possibly got because we've been eying them for a while.  Oh well, 17 our of 20 isn't bad.

The reason we don't like paying 3 bucks for a puzzle is because recently we started to work on a 2000 piece puzzle and notice it was missing pieces.  None of the border was included, and about a third of the puzzle was gone.  So we will rarely spend more than a buck for a used puzzle (though last week we bought 2).  At 50 cents, you don't get as mad missing pieces.

You ever see that jerk in a store sitting on the floor going through product?  Well, I was that jerk.  However I wasn't scanning items to find resale value (I never do that, in fact I rarely have my phone on me while shopping). No, this time I was on the floor to reach all the puzzles on the bottom shelf.  I believe the first puzzle was on the bottom shelf.  Another 2000 piece, and I'm happy to start working on larger ones.  A goal is one day do a 5000 piece one.  This one will be a nice one to do in the winter.  The second one is a nice one to work on in the fall and a 1500 piece.  I'm a sucker for the older puzzles, especially the Milton Bradley ones, even though the older the puzzle, the higher the risk a piece or two is missing. The bottom I'm not sure when it will be worked on, but it will be fun to do, and looks like an older White Mountain puzzle.  Yes I'm at the point where I know the brands of puzzles.  I got this one because it made me think of my sister Andrea, who if was alive today would undoubtedly look at it and say "BILL! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

When she was very little a rooster pecked her in the behind.  My grandpa got a kick out of it.  Anyways, more puzzles, the first three 1000 pieces each.  They look similar to ones we've done in the past, but are in fact new to us.  The top one reminds me of a live cam on Youtube I look up of North Carolina.

The Life one is 750 pieces, and while it says is complete, I worry because the box was smashed a bit at the top, so I hope its all there. I don't think I've done one from that brand before.  The bottom one is another 1000 piece from Kodak, which I like a lot.  Its very rare we'll pass up cat puzzles, and this was no exception.  Although I have to admit, it looks a bit plain, but totally worth the price, but easy to pass over when it was 3 bucks.

Encore puzzles are usually simple and quick to do, this one looks prettier than most, but odd that its 504 pieces.  Next is a 1000 piece Big Ben that might slide into next in line.  Seems like a summer one, and its similar to a recent one we've done.  Next might be my favorite of the batch.  Its a Guild and 1000 pieces, but the picture is so nice.  After getting home, my mom always cleans everything with disinfecting wipes, and if I had waited to take these pictures, all of them would look so much nicer, especially this one.  I can't wait to do this one.

I was also happy to find a Christmas puzzle.  We have a few, but its always nice to find more to slide into the rotation.  We will redo puzzles, because until recently we didn't have a lot.  Now we have a lot, so redoing them isn't something we have to plan.  That said, we still like having options.

The bottom one I didn't look at too much beyond the picture until we got home.  It appears it not only a borderless puzzle, but has shapes throughout and even pieces shaped like a train that runs through it somewhere.  I'm not big on gimmicky puzzles, but this could be a fun one to work on this fall.

A few more left, and some of these might be more appealing to others I've shown so far.

Usually 100 piece ones are passed over, but sometimes you need a break after finishing 1000-2000 piece puzzles.  I knew my mom would like this one, and it can also be kept on hand when my nieces and nephews visit.  The other one is one we spotted last week, but at only 700 pieces didn't want to pay 3 bucks for.  In fact besides a dolphin one which we've scouted for a few months and was gone by the time we went, this was the only other one we really wanted.  If we wasn't in the middle of a 2000 piece puzzle it would be worked on today.  Our town is having their annual rodeo this weekend and the timing is perfect.  Speaking of my town, that will be a subject of a future post (the one that will incorporate Facebook albums in it).  My town celebrated 150 years last month and I took a lot of pictures.  I saved a few for a blog I call them exclusives.  However that's for another post.

Well a couple more puzzles to go, I saved the best for last.

I spotted the flag one last time but didn't pay much attention to it.  After spotting it again, I grabbed it.  I didn't look too much at it, so when I got home I finally looked at what was on it- stamps.  I'm not a stamp collector, but when she was growing up, my sister Anitra had a couple albums of stamps.  I seems like a cool hobby, but just one I never got into.

Lastly, is one that was a fun find.  My mom asked "why did you get that", and to be honest, it looked fun. Another quick one to finish, and another for my nieces and nephews to work on when they visit.

So overall, I think 12 bucks was well spent, and even picked up a could things I've thought about getting anyways.  Time will tell if all the pieces are there, and I doubt I will post pictures of the finished product, but maybe I will.  I just had a crazy idea about starting an instagram account just to post finished puzzles.  I don't think I will, but if I ever decide to I'll let you know.

Anyways, thanks to all who have read, and thanks in advance if you leave a comment.  I will try my best to respond this time.  If you are a reader and haven't check out any of the blogs mentioned above, it is well worth the time to.  I need to read them more often, but I have them on my blogroll for a reason.  If you have a blog that you think I should follow, leave a comment and I'll check it out.  Thanks everyone for reading and have a great night.