Shopkeepers

Today’s Puzzle – “Shopkeepers (Henry’s General Store)” 750 pieces by MasterPieces

As you can see from the pictures of this puzzle, it had two missing pieces. I know some jigsaw puzzle fanatics want nothing to do with a puzzle that has one or more missing pieces, but I’m not super bothered by them. I have four-legged furry friends that often like to help puzzle pieces disappear, so when I get to the end of something like this I spent some time on my hands and knees with the flashlight looking and feeling around on the floor and under the furniture to see if the pieces were there and ended up being dropped or knocked off. If I’m on the couch or chair with side pockets, I flip over cushions and push my hands into the crevices to see if a piece shimmied down there. I’m sure you’ve experienced something of the same!

More than once I’ve discovered puzzle pieces way after the fact, and it’s always interesting when I do. Some pieces and puzzles are easily identifiable, so I can quickly get the piece put back in the correct box. However, some are less distinguishable and since I do several puzzles a week and it can be a while before I find the missing piece, I’ve had to start a little jar of random puzzle pieces. Before I give puzzles away, I pull out the missing pieces and try to make one last check to see if any match. It doesn’t always work though, and I’m certain I’ve got pieces from puzzles I no longer have. Someday I’ll have to figure out how to make a puzzle or art out of all of these.

I shouldn’t be surprised that this puzzle had missing pieces since I purchased it from a thrift store for 95 cents. It was a fun puzzle from MasterPieces to do as the colors on the puzzle were much more vibrant and engaging than the colors on the box. It definitely made me think about a simpler time when you took your car to the local general store to get candy, gumballs and sodas from the soda fountain while also listening to the jukebox. If you come across this one, I recommend checking it out!