My distinct feeling turned out to be dead on. I finished the white tiger puzzle Saturday night just before 11:00 pm. Happy day! (Or night, I suppose.)
While finishing the puzzle was relaxing, it was also frustrating. As I mentioned in both in Catching Up and White Tiger, the pieces of this puzzle were very light. I had to be so mindful not to bump the puzzle in the wrong way or put a piece in without care lest risk the already laid pieces coming apart. This continued to irritate me through the very end. Even with the finished puzzle, you can see that the pieces still didn’t lie flat on the roll up:
The light-weight pieces didn’t necessarily interlock very securely either. This posed a huge problem when it came time to flip the puzzle:
As it began to fall apart mid flip I found myself pleading, “no no no no no no no no!”
You have got to be kidding me right now. Not again!
My stomach dropped as I watched the pieces start to fall and tried valiantly to keep as much of the puzzle intact as possible.
So now I had the puzzle flipped and there were pieces everywhere and I found myself panicking just a little. Why?
Two words:
The.
Boys.
The instant the pieces landed they honed in. As I’ve mentioned many times before, puzzle pieces = toys (oh, the joys of puzzling with cats). This has never been a problem with Nina. The boys, on the other hand, are an entirely different story.
At this point, not only do I have to get Humpty Dumpty Tiger put back together again with the pieces face down, but I am charged with the task of warding off my overly-interested kitties.
And let me tell you, it is quite difficult to keep an eye on the little thieves and focus on reassembling a puzzle that is nothing but tan, tan, and more tan.
Despite all of this, the puzzle was a success:
All of the pieces were present and accounted for. Thank goodness!
I did not waste any time before grabbing the Mod Podge and going to work.
The result: I no longer have to worry about the puzzle crumbling at the slightest nudge.
I can even hold the entire thing up by just one corner:
I plan on adding another coat or two just to be safe, but it’s pretty much good to go, ready for framing!
What a relief.
So, with this puzzle mostly wrapped up, it’s time for the next one!
Not a problem…this time…
Over Memorial Day weekend I had no puzzle to work on, I lacked foresight. I hadn’t ordered a new one in time to arrive before the weekend.
Why, why, why?!
How could I be so foolish?
A long weekend with no puzzle?!
Agonizing.
(But seriously, I survived.)
Thankfully, I have yet to repeat this. (Doesn’t mean it won’t happen again though!) I was prepared this time:
I’ll admit, I’ve actually had this one for a while. Oh well. Still counts!
Hopefully I’ll be able to start in on this beauty soon!
I just need to convince myself to do my class reading first…
Three Cats and a Puzzle 
