In Another Edition of Things That Seemingly Only Happen to Me

For Christmas I asked for, and received, a puzzle board.  One that was supposed to rotate - but the lazy susan bit was missing.  When I emailed the company about it they told me it wasn't supposed to rotate - despite the description on the box saying it did.  We went round and round (get it?) about it and it was never resolved.  No matter, the puzzle board works fine without rotating.

All of the previous superfluous nonsense to say that I ordered a puzzle after Christmas in order to "break in" my new board since no one thought that giving me a puzzle would be a great adjacent gift to the puzzle board.

Here is the puzzle I bought.

Or so I thought...

As I begin sifting through the pieces looking for all the edges, I began to think something wasn't quite right.  And as I began piecing together those edges, I KNEW something wasn't right.  To the point, that I called The Husband in and told him to look at the puzzle pieces and then to the box - did that look right to him?  He agreed that it did not.

And so I began the painstaking process of putting together the puzzle with NO idea of what the finished product should look like.

Let me tell you, when you are flying blind while putting together a puzzle it takes much longer than it usually does - which is why you are just now hearing about this tale of woe.  And everyday was a new discovery.  Oh look, it's a baby bear!  Oh, there's a mama bear!  Oh look, there are boats, cabins and, shocker, trees.

And, in what I'm now calling my "signature move" when it comes to puzzles I, of course, lost a piece. *sigh*

At any rate, this is the "completed" puzzle; which I'm sure you will agree does not look anything like the box that proclaimed to house the puzzle inside.

After this debacle, I'm almost afraid to order another puzzle.

Have you ever come across something this ridiculous?

Another Re-Read: Roots

 Apparently, my re-reading of Gone With The Wind put me in the perfect frame of mind to re-read another excellent sweeping saga...Roots.

I cannot remember the last time I read this book.  At all.  But it was sitting there next to Gone With The Wind; so I picked it up after I finished the other.

What I do remember VIVIDLY was watching the mini-series when I was probably far too young to be watching it and being HORRIFIED.  That I do remember.

Now, this book is not an easy read at all.  And I was once again HORRIFIED.  But the story is compelling and is a testament to family and honoring and remembering those that have come before us; those that have made us who we are today.

What I don't think I ever realized, until I got to the end of this book this time, is that this book is about Alex Haley's own ancestors.  The amount of research that went into this book to make it as accurate as possible is simply stunning and a testament to Mr. Haley's commitment to writing his family's story.

Kids, thank your lucky stars I am not a teacher because if I was I would fight tooth and nail to have this giant book (888 pages) as required reading.  Because I honestly believe that if more people understood exactly what slavery looked like we might have a little more empathy, compassion and understanding in the world today.

This book was a masterpiece.

Have you read Roots? If not, would you be willing to give it a shot (worth it, I promise).

Gone with the Wind

 Prompted by Engie's recent reviews of Gone with the Wind; I pulled out my copy, dusted it off and sat down to re-read this classic novel.

I can't remember how many years ago it was when I last read this book - but I'm guessing it's been more than 30 years (and probably about the same amount of time since I saw the movie).  And as I told The Husband when I finally closed the giant book this afternoon - I remembered the basic plot but apparently, I had forgotten 90% of the story.

It is a period piece, so we have to keep that in mind when reading about slavery, etc.  If those problematic pieces would have been left out; it wouldn't have been a very believable read of the times in which it was set.  Much like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.  You can't whitewash the past, unfortunately.

And yes, I have to agree with Engie's assessment of Scarlett.  Despite everything she endured and the successes that she achieved despite the hardships she faced; she is not a nice person at all.  Therefore, the ending was fitting for Scarlett.

I thoroughly enjoyed this re-read and would suggest, if you haven't read it in some time - or if you've never read - now might be a good time.  Yes, it's a tome (clocking in at 1,037 pages) but it is well written; a sweeping saga will hold your attention straight through to the end - a book you, most likely, won't regret reading or re-reading.