A Tribute To Man's Best Friend

Hi Puzzlers

Today we pay tribute to man’s best friend the dog. Dogs have been our pets for over 14,000 years. Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, the smallest being the Chihuahua, weighing in at 4 pounds. The tallest is the Irish Wolfhound, which is about 39 inches tall at the shoulder, and the heaviest goes to the St. Bernard, which can weigh in at about 200 pounds! Yikes! That’s a lot of dog food.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognizes 157 dog breeds, but other dog groups worldwide recognize about 800 breeds. Regardless of a dog size or shape, dogs all have the same anatomy with 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth.

The Labrador Retriever is the number one breed in the USA, Canada and the UK, followed by the Golden Retriever. These two breeds definitely hold a special place for artist Fred Swan and Terry Redlin as most of their artwork depicts the Golden and Labrador Retrievers somewhere in the scene.

Dogs, just like our other favorite pet the cat, do manipulate their human owners. Rather than using the high-pitch meow, our canine companions use the bark or they paw us to pet them. They use their puppy dog eyes- you know the look- they nip, whine and nudge us with their noses, turning us to mush in a moment!

Today we salute man’s best friend, who is always waiting by the door and happy to see us when we get home.

Happy Puzzling!

Meet Artist Lynn Morgan

Hi Puzzlers

We have so many talented artist designing puzzles for us we think it's interesting to know about them. For this weeks artist we are pleased to feature Lynn Morgan.

Award-winning artist Lynn Morgan paints with great enthusiasm. His versatility allows him to paint a wide variety of subjects. His art has earned him much acclaim among art collectors and galleries around the world. His inspirational paintings and traditional subjects such as landscapes, waterscapes, and still life images have been consistently popular among art buyers.

Using oil on canvas, he captures the mood of the painting, and not just the fine detail. Through the use of research, photos, observation and imagination, Lynn forms the basis for his paintings. Lynn says, "Being a visual artist, as well as a musician, has taught me to open my eyes and ears to God's world around me to do my part to bring joy to others through the gifts he has given me."

Happy Puzzling!

Life And Jigsaw Puzzles A Poem

Hi Puzzlers,

We wanted to share with you a poem we received a few years ago from one of you.

Life And Jigsaw Puzzles

If there are fifty pieces

A thousand or more.

The first plan of action

Is the organizing chore.

The straight edge borders

Are easy to spot.

In LIFE we all need borders

And limits---a lot.

The picture on the box

Allows on to see.

The completed scene

The jigsaw symphony.

An over abundance of

Of a particular hue.

Means to much of a thing

Results in a boring view.

Forcing a piece

In a place not intended.

Is like allowing one's self

Be too greatly extended.

What if a piece

Of the puzzle is gone?

The beauty is still there

And LIFE moves on.

Poem By L.M. Erickson

Happy Puzzling!

What do you do with your finished puzzles?

Hi Puzzlers,

We were wondering what you do with your puzzles once they are complete.

In my family we apply contact paper to the back of the completed puzzle, flip it over, and decoupage the front with two coats of Mod Podge matte.

Next it's on to the hunt for wood for framing. Sometimes we get the wood at the local lumberyard, but most of the time we harvest the wood from the recycling centers as we are trying to be a green family.

With wood in hand we then make the frame to fit the puzzle, gluing and nailing the corners together. Now it's frame-painting time and we choose a color that goes with the puzzle-black is a favorite color! Pre-finished wood also works great and saves time.

We then glue the puzzle to the poster board. This can be tricky so I would recommend measuring the poster board and marking out the border of the puzzle. This will help ensure the puzzle is centered. We then staple the poster board to the back of the frame, using a heavy-duty staple gun.

Finally we have a framed puzzle! My daughter then sells them at local craft fairs to earn Holiday money. It's a fun way to extend the bonding that comes when a family puzzles together.

Happy Puzzling!