Leaving the Puzzle Behind

I am packed except for the few things that go in the car in the morning. I am also beat.

Here's a sneak preview of the 2000-piece puzzle. I never for a minute planned to have it done before leaving, but I also didn't think I'd be as far along as I am. This is one corner.

This is two days ago. I still couldn't get all the pieces spread out on the two tables.

Here it is tonight. Pretty close to being able to have one layer of pieces. There's just one little pile in the middle of the same pattern. They are sorted, but not yet spread out.

This is not as hard as it looks, but it's a huge sorting project. I'm enjoying it.

I did all the stuff, the errands, got gas, blah, blah. I have to get up at 6 am. Not my favorite time of day as you know. But then I'll be on the road and life will be full of fun things to share!

See Wysocki Puzzle

Miscellaneous

I kept myself motivated and working on all the small and generally annoying tasks that needed to be done by allowing myself 10 pieces in the jigsaw puzzle after each item I got to cross off my list.

Then I took a walk. It was 50° out! The first picture is from today. Paper birch branches against the clear sky. Lovely, lovely, lovely!

And I have something to share from my walk on Sunday. Look who was so busy on a tree he let several of us take pictures. Usually the pileated woodpeckers are skittish. Not this one! This picture has a good silhouette, but the branches are in the way.

This is a clearer picture, but it's the back. Maybe not as interesting, although it's also not a view you see all the time.

These are possibly the best pictures I've taken of a pileated. I did get some good ones in Ohio once, but if I put them on the blog the search is not finding them. Those were unusual because the woodpecker was finding something to eat on the ground and was totally focused on getting it so it didn't notice Marie and me sneaking close. Maybe I'll find and share them some time.

The sky on Sunday was also gorgeous. I have to say that it's much easier to be cheerful when the sky is blue.

I am in good shape to finish the last things on my list tomorrow and pack the car. May put a few more pieces in the puzzle and take my book to bed.

Miles walked in 2026: 45.5

Road walk 4 miles.

See Snow Mushrooms and Other Events

Prayer Shawl(s)

Today went well. I got most of the big projects on my list under control. What I'm going to show you is the completed prayer shawl. I left it with three edging rows. Finished off all the loose ends. Put it in the dryer with a damp towel to pull off all the hairs (even with no dogs or cats here, things seem to be rather hairy.)

And I wanted to get the next one started before I leave. The first couple of rows are always the hardest- you have to really pay attention to get them right. So I got into the third row and the second color. This verifies the size will be about what I want.

Last year, I went on the train and took the one I just completed. It was sport weight yarn and took up very little space. It did use up some of my yarn stash, but it wasn't a genuine scrap-craft afghan.

Since I'm taking the car this time, there is room for a bigger handicraft box (I don't have a tub the right size, but a box is fine.) And this is worsted weight yarn, so the whole thing will go much faster. I actually bought a pattern. I was going to figure it out by looking at the picture, but the pattern was only $4, so really... why give myself the headache?

Here is the stash that is going with me. The directions say that each row takes about 30 yards of yarn. So I checked one leftover wad of yarn and it was just over 30 yards. I rolled that up and used that as my standard. Any little balls smaller than that one I don't need to take with me. Any yarns that have enough just alike (same color and dye lot) to potentially make a single project I don't need to take. What I have is 42 different colors, and most of them are enough to do more than one row.

It's packed and in my travel pile.

The other biggie I got done today was to write this month's column for the Ludington Daily News. I do have to find a couple of pictures to go with it, but that won't be too hard. I'll do that in the morning. And I worked out the logistics for one of my visits that was starting to get gnarly. I think the itinerary is all set now.

Then I have a lot of smaller jobs that I hope to get through tomorrow. And it's supposed to be nice, so hopefully I can take a walk. Friday will be for finishing any remaining tasks and packing the car. Whew!

Saturday, I'm on my way with the first stop to be selling books at the Gun Lake Winterfest in Wayland, MI. Lots of fun activities too. Stop in if you are nearby.

See Prayer Shawl Sunday

Moose In Boots - Page Twelve

Today has been stressful, but I did finish one more page. I'm not sure if I'll get any more done before I leave on Saturday.

This page was so simple, there's really not much to add to it.

My car had a little issue in the middle of the day that chewed up a fair amount of time. I was planning to take a decent walk, but that got shortened to a fast 2 miles. At least I got that much. The car is fine. Bell practice. Short grocery list.

I got the entries in for the MOWA Contests. But my list to accomplish before Saturday is long.

Miles walked in 2026: 41.5

Ludington streets, 2.0 miles.

See Moose in Boots- page 11

Moose In Boots - Page 11

Another fairly easy page, except that getting the moose ok at this particular scale is harder than I think it should be. I need to work on touching up his eyes a little more.

I said I'd show you more about why the watercolor pencils are so nice. First, this is some sample patches where I was trying out different colors and mixes for the skin and hair. Labels are just enough so I won't forget which colors I used. This is taken with the camera, not a scan, so the color isn't as good, but you get the idea.

Then, I decided I really needed to see how the skin tone I picked was going to look on a face, so I just sketched an outline and colored it in. You can build in some texture with how heavy of a line you make with the pencils and how much water you brush it with.

I decided I liked this tone. I didn't want it to be very pink.

And for her hair, I wanted her to be blond, but not really pale blond. I chose honey and cinnamon pencils. You can see that by making some loopy strokes with the cinnamon and pressing a little harder the impression of layers of curls is pretty good. I also did her plaid shirt with the pencils.

Most of what I did today was try to get my entries ready for the 2025 Michigan Outdoor Writers Awards. It's a total pain to get them formatted the way they want, but I often win something, so I do it. I'm close to submitting. Maybe I'll finish this evening. Maybe not.

And I have done three edge rows around the prayer shawl. Have to decide if that's enough or if I want four.

See Moose In Boots- page 10