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Doing a bit of tidying up I found a bag from my birthday (12th July) with a couple of forgotten presents in it. Both were from Phoebe. One was a jar saying "Dad's nuts" which I think she mainly got me because she never tires of joking about my lost testicle (as well as the implication of madness). It's a good gift because I like nuts. And also I don't want people messing with my nuts. Also if I have both testicles removed it would be funny to store them in a jar.
Also there was a thousand piece jigsaw. Long time readers will know that I occasionally get obsessive about jigsaws. I
did one instead of enjoying a holiday in Barbados and again went crazy for jigsaws over
the Christmas period of 2024.Then I stopped jigsawing as I was in danger of doing nothing else.
But enough time has passed. I can have a go at another jigsaw without becoming addicted. A little thousand piecer. Should be easy.
Some people take drugs to escape, some people get drunk. The sad truth is that the only way I can truly escape my problems is with a jigsaw and I fucking love it. I can't wait to be in an old folks' home and be allowed to do nothing else. I will have to make sure to alienate all my family now so they won't interrupt my jigsawing.
This was a satisfying puzzle as it's in the Goldilocks zone of not being impossible, but being demanding enough that it's not a pushover.
I love how a piece can hide from you for ages, even when down to the last handful and you become convinced that you've somehow lost a piece, only to return to the table to discover it. I couldn't find one edge piece and got the kids scouring for it too. Then a few hours later, there is was. Down to about 20 pieces I couldn't see one with four prongs, which was what one space required. I'd definitely lost it. When I came back the piece was there.
My kids might be moving the pieces around.
Or jigsaws are magic.
Over the course of three days I have completed the thing. It's more satisfying than anything a human being can do. I feel sorry for all the people in history who never had this pleasure. Thank God I live in an age where we not only have jigsaws but they are readily available. Crazy to think that it wasn't until 1760 that someone though about cutting up a picture so that other people had to put it back together again.
I'm so cool. I can't imagine what made the NHS think I was old enough to have to send them my poo.
