It's from a painting of Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare but I haven't been able to find out who the painter was.
There is a glare from the camera flash but you get the idea.
My daughter tried to work on it but soon got discouraged or maybe the interest soon waned away to make room for boy interest. Who knows. I tried to help sort the pieces by color and put them in low boxes but it was taking so long to find a piece that soon everyone gave up.
The puzzle just was getting nowhere and fearing that the dog would soon chew some pieces, I gathered the pieces and brought them into my bedroom and kept the door shut. Since I have a rather large bedroom I got my husband to put a sheet of plywood on top of four chairs and I started to assemble the border. To show my kids that with patience and perseverance, you can achieve what seems impossible, I worked on it every day and every time I put a piece in I would make a mark and when I had five in I made the diagonal line across just to encourage my progress. I worked on it for a whole winter and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I always thought that surely there were some pieces missing since the puzzle was where the dog could have easily destroyed pieces that might have fallen on the floor by accident. But luckily there were non-missing. I had more free time then.
Soon it became a Christmas boxing day tradition that the whole family even the grandkids enjoyed. Years later the tradition still exists and the girls still get around the table even into the wee hours until the puzzle is finished while having glasses of wine and chatting.
Now this beautiful puzzle is hanging in our home office and I still love to look at it and remember that perseverance and patience are some of my God-given gifts for which I'm very thankful. JB.
It is just lovely, my family loves to put puzzles together too. But not me. I will get up and go cook. :) We had one on the table at Christmas time but now with all of the babies around it will have to wait a bit because it will be babies chewing on the pieces. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful way to remember times more peaceful! What a good lesson for us to take to heart. Perseverance and patience.....should be hooked into a rug!
ReplyDeleteThanks Julia,
Cathy G
Julia, that is a wonderful lesson in patience and perseverance. Mom used to do a lot of puzzles but it was never my thing. I'm going to use that kind of commitment to keep practicing with the meditation and mindfulness. It's harder than I thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments,Kim (Farm Girl) Cathy and Kim (Nellie's Mat) for your comments. And Kim, good luck with your meditation. You can do anything you set your mind to. JB
ReplyDeleteJulia,
ReplyDeleteThat is a huge puzzle! I can't believe the work you must have put into it. My Mom is a lover of puzzles. I have P and P for many things, but not puzzles.
How nice that your family enjoyed doing this as a Christmas tradition!
P.S. Thanks for the kind comments on my blog! I truly appreciate all my blogging friends. You are a dear lady with a good word for everyone. Thank You, Julia!
One time we bought two identical puzzles for a family get-together. We put each puzzle on a card table. Then we picked 2 teams, one team at each table. The race was on to see which team could complete the puzzle first! It was the most fun family activity I have ever participated in.
ReplyDeleteAndrea from RHD
Andrea, A race to finish the puzzles sounds like a great idea for a family fun get together. Thanks for your comment. JB
ReplyDelete