The British are coming! The British are coming!

Back in April Nigel, Steve, and I started the solve of the Mega Mansion.  I promised I wouldn't touch it again until they came back.  At IPP we were all chatting one night and decided they would come over in October to finish it off.  This of course put a silly song in my head...My favorite line of which is "And the shot heard 'round the world was the start of the Revolution."  followed closely by "Even though we lost, it was quite a thrill,The rebel Colonel Prescott proved he was wise; Outnumbered and low on ammunition As the British stormed his position He said, "Hold your fire till you see the whites of their eyes!"  (I must have watched too much saturday morning tv as a kid.  No wonder we don't own one now.)  Well, this weekend was the start of a new type of revolution.  

George and I met Steve at the airport and we headed off to Assisi for the day.  We had a bit of sightseeing and a great pizza for lunch.  

Once we finished, we headed over to Leroy Merlin to pick up some odds and ends and a outdoor furniture set for the tower.  Sadly, it didn't fit in the car so, after we headed back to the airport so Steve could pick up his car we returned and stuck it in the back.  

He and George headed home while I went on and did some more shopping.  We had guests coming and I didn't want to run out of food.  

We spent a good few days opening puzzles and laughing.  Steve got a tour of the updated Puzzle Palace,

and on Friday night he went to the airport to pick up the guys from the UK.  He had 4 of them in the car for the drive back.  I'm sure it was a laugh a minute on the return home.  In the mean time Jan Zoon and his wife arrived for the weekend.  We had a nice lasagna, and I made another for the guys to have when they got back from the airport.  

I dutifully took them to the Palace to pick their rooms, and I think Allard was the only sane one.  He chose the half empty Lego room.  I'm sure he was the only one to get any sleep over the weekend.  Ali was in the Rubik's room and Peter chose  the IPP room. Louis was in the Apartment for the weekend and Steve was in the 2nd floor wood room.  The upper floor was filled with Jan and Hans.  

After feeding the lads, I left them to it and went to bed.  The next morning We had a bit of puzzling fun.  Mostly trying to reassemble a bit of The Notre Dame puzzle that had come undone.  Jan's wife and I headed off for Perugia to purchase a cd player so we could read the disk they had given us of the puzzle.  When we returned with it, George put it in the machine and was able to read some of it, but not all.  Steve couldn't read any of it and so he sent it off to his machine in the UK to read.  Sounds like Chinese whispers doesn't it?  Eventually they got it together and upstairs they went to assemble the puzzle.  

Around 2 Hans Van der Pol and his wife arrived and we all took a tour of the WPC.  Sadly, the tour takes around 3 to 4 hours and I didn't want to do it twice in one weekend.  Sorry for the wait guys.  While George finished the tour, I put lunch on the table.  As usual, it was just meats and cheeses.  A simple lunch.  

I decided to give poor George a break. Hence the paper plates.  Lucky man he is.

Once that was finished, the guys went upstairs and assembled the Notre Dame puzzle! It is perfect in that room.  

We opted for Gallo for dinner Saturday night and fun was had by all.  Sadly, Jan and his wife left early as they weren't feeling well.  

On Sunday, the mega mansion was finished and reassembled!  That is one heck of a puzzle.  Thank you Tracy!

The highlight of the weekend was watching Peter run up and down the stairs every 5 minutes to turn the light back on.  

He was enamored by the hall of tiny treasures and spent a great deal of time there.  The rest of the guys got to play with whatever they wished.  At times we sat around talking and at other times we just puzzled.  

Sunday lunch we ordered in torte de testa from Stephano's bar because I was just too lazy to cook them myself.  

There were plenty left over, and the guys took them for a dinner before their flight back home.  Steve took Allard, Ali, and Peter to the airport while the Zoon's and the Miller's headed to the opera.  It was wonderful as always.  When we returned, we had a light dinner of leftovers and spent more time chatting and puzzling.

Louis and Steve remained until Tuesday.  At some point, they finished unboxing the IPP room.  Lord knows what I was doing?  Not cooking.  I overheard them say I was feeding them too much.  Ok!  You didn't grow up with my grandmother.  Mangiare!  Mangiare! I felt as though I didn't feed you enough. But point taken. 

Jan and his lovely lady left Monday around noon.  I packed them a nice lunch for a picnic along the way.  It was lovely to have them down to help put the puzzle together.  It was a weekend we will never forget.  That evening I made a Berrocal dinner for the guys.  Simple food, great service.  

Tuesday morning we found a geocache in Panicale!  Who knew?  

Louis solved the puzzle door!

And after that, just more puzzling and more chat until Steve and Louis left for the airport on Tuesday afternoon.  It was a real treat to have them all here.  We look forward to the next visit.  

One last thing that really stuck in my mind.  Allard said something along the lines of "he was prepaired to be impressed, but his mind was blown".  And just think.  only 1/3 of the work is done.  We still have the great wall to build, 3 more rooms to shelve, and a lot of puzzles to unbox.  Just wait until next time sir!

Steve and Nigel come for a visit

Steve came to visit with us a while back and while here, we were discussing Nigel who felt left out.  There was a politeness on Steve's side when he didn't invite Nigel without our consent, and a sadness on Nigel's when he wasn't asked to come along. (Hint to all puzzle friends; just drop by.) 

This month we rectified this.  Steve booked a flight and I sent the invitation to Nigel.  Problem solved.  They were on their way.

I picked Steve up at the airport in the morning and took him for a bit of a shop before heading home.  We had lunch then I headed out to pick Nigel up from the train station.  The guys set to work puzzling or something while I got started on dinner.

We had a great week of puzzling, unpacking, and building.  There were a few nights of competition drinking as well, but we won't discuss those. 

The guys all spent some time working on the 3d printers.  George got a few tips and we ended up buying new plates for the Bambu's.  Sadly, the new heat beds didn't come in on time so those didn't get changed out.  

Somewhere along the way we had a Berrocal dinner because, why not? I'll cook and set it up, but someone else has to do the dishes.

We played a few games of Italian rails and while I was teaching Nigel how to play, George and Steve ganged up on me to crowd me out. I don't remember who won, but it wasn't me.  

It was a few days of hard labor for them too.  They spent a bit of time assembling my exchange puzzle, a bit of time unpacking some of the wooden puzzles we have.  And for this I can't thank them enough.  The castle is almost completely finished.  

There are a few glass shelves I need to redo in the mirror room as the first glue we bought was no good and it falls off the mirrors.  

We went to Masolino for dinner this time around as well as Gallo.  Spreading the love around as it were.  We had a breakfast or two in the square and the guys enjoyed a few walks around the town.  

I had Nigel try the trick door to no avail.  

He and Steve had a go at Richelieu.  (Or is it Richie Liu?) Stan Issacs had taken it apart quite a while ago and I couldn't get it back together.  The boys did it with strict instructions to never disassemble it again.  It's had a hard life and it looks like the prior owner took some sort of a saw to it. 

On the penultimate and last night they were here we had a go at the Mega Mansion.  This was just recently uncrated so it was the first time it has been played with.  I love it!  Sadly, we did not finish it, but it is waiting for their return in the fall to be finished up. 

All in all it was a great trip full of laughter and friendship and we look forward to their return.

Until next time...Happy puzzling!

Another trip to the UK

Some of our puzzle trips are spur of the moment decisions.  This last month Peter Hajek was the cause of one of those. A few months back, I had bid on yet another Berrocal and won.  I thought to ask Steve to pick it up for us, but he reminded me that Peter lived right next door.  I very quickly emailed Peter requesting that he pick up my new piece and paid for the auction.  In the mean time, I had purchased another box of puzzles from Happy Puzzle Company and had them delivered to Steve.  Now Steve then went to Peter's for a visit and delivered that box there.  In the mean time, Peter very generously donated a collection of parlor games and puzzles to the WPC so we woke up one morning and decided to go pick them up.  

Now that sounds like we just hopped in the car and left.  In reality, I emailed all parties involved, booked hotel rooms and the Chunnel and spent a day planning the trip because of meetings and work going on in the WPC.  So a week later we finally hit the road.  Our trip this time was dull with not many extra sites to see because I wanted to get there and back because of the work going on here.  We always stop in Como for the night, then again somewhere in France before taking the Chunnel the next morning.  I messed up this time and we ended up in France for 3 days!  UGH!!

I also discovered F1 hotels. The last time we stayed at one, we thought it was ok so I booked again without realizing what I was doing.  I'm posting it here for my future reference.  NOTE TO SELF: NEVER AGAIN!!!  Yes, the hotel was cheap and the rooms were adequate, but after spending 3 consecutive nights in one, I would only recommend it to a college student, and grudgingly at that.  George looked up the average size of a prison cell in the US and they are bigger than these rooms.

The first night in France we stopped in Nancy Sud.  Talk about a nasty area.  The only positive was a big shopping mall across the road.  We had a simple dinner in the room, then went out to the lobby to play a game of Eurorails that we always carry with us. We had a bratty kid decide he wanted to smoke right at the door, with his foot in it so he didn't need to open it with the code.  Talk about lazy.  Anyway, we asked him to please close the door.  I thought by his behavior we had asked him to give us all of his money and clothes too.  He was incredibly rude to us.  But, another gentleman traveling with him managed to get him to shut the door.  

We had planned to have a lie in, but the next morning we got up and headed out.  I didn't want to stay there anymore.  We reached Calais and this is where I realized I made a mistake.  We were checked in to another of these F1 hotels, this time it was about 1/2 mile from the Chunnel station.  Not bad.  The property was the same, but nicer people around.  When I went to check in for the morning ride, I discovered that it was a day later.  Oh joy!  I booked the F1 again and went for a drive over to the Cité Europa to look for puzzles.  Bust.  Oh well.  Back to George for another game. 

And another day in the same hotel....

Finally, we woke up, I checked in and discovered we could leave a bit earlier so off to the UK we went.  We met with Peter around noon, had a good long talk, lunch, more talking, more puzzling.  You get the idea.  Out of respect for Peter's wishes, I post no photos.  

We left him around 4 and drove to the hotel we chose for the night.  This time we stayed at the Rising Sun Inn in Longfield.  I highly recommend it.  We will stay there again. It was such a quiet little place with an amazingly comfortable bed!

We brought in the game thinking we would play, but both of us were so exhausted, we went to bed without eating.  The fish and chips lunch was more than enough to satisfy us.  And speaking of, what is it with fish and chips?  Our friends in the UK love them.  I enjoy it, but it really hates me. Every time I eat it, I'm sick.  this time was no exception.  Around an hour after I went to bed, I was up tossing lunch.  It just didn't agree with me.  But look at this beautiful room!  

Again we had no lie in.  I wanted to get home.  I had gotten a message bout a rogue electrician who decided to pull wires out of walls willie nillie and was eager to return to sort out the problem.  We woke around 8 and I checked in to the Chunnel only to learn that we could get on the train 3 hours earlier without having to pay more.  Needless to say, we got up and left right away.  The ride across was uneventful and we began our trip home.  But....Once again we had to stay at a pre-booked F1 hotel.  I can see you all slapping your forehead.  Yes, I was stupid!  NEVER AGAIN.

We drove as far as Reims spent yet another night with this hotel chain and got up the next morning as soon as possible for a visit to Constantin Puzzles.  Again, out of respect for Constantin I won't post photos.  We had a tour of his workshop, George got to look at the laser cutters he uses and thankfully has decided he doesn't want to get one.  Those are expensive machines!  We were so honored, they made a lunch for us and allowed me to rummage through the storage area. Of course, I had ordered a bunch of puzzles in advance and picked those up.  While rummaging, I managed to find quite a few more that we didn't have.  

After leaving, we decided to stop in Luzern and stayed at an Ibis hotel.  I had booked us an F1, but this time because I had decided to pay a bit more to be able to cancel in case we were unable to make this short detour.  I cancelled.  I was able to find an Ibis and that is where we spent the night.  Much more comfortable bed, much more comfortable room, and only a 7 hour drive home.  I let George have his lie in and we left around 9:30 or so.  

You know that feeling you get when you are a long holiday and finally return to your home region.  When I crossed the border into Italy, I breathed a sigh of relief and began to enjoy the beauty of the country we have chosen to call home.  We had a very leisurely drive through Italy and returned to the castle around 4.  

I immediately went over and dealt with the rogue electrician.  Turns out, there was confusion as to who actually owns the building.  (Note: it is George and I).  Once that was established, I got the smokers out-we have clothes stored there and the smell....And got everyone back to doing as I wanted it done.  Problem solved.  

As we had guests arriving in a week, George and I decided to do a little more unpacking.  This time, it was the Mega Mansion.  Finally!  It has found a home under the stairs in the tower hall.  I think it is in good company now.  

The End

....

Mega Mansion Puzzle Palace-Part 1-the sad part.

 In February of 2020 I got this brilliant idea to have an advent calendar puzzle made.  I bought a ready made box at Hobby Lobby and realized that the 1" cubes would not do at all. I eventually had George make me one and posted about it last December. 

Around the same time I contacted Tracy Wood Clemons an began discussing a possible puzzle commission. My request started out rather simple. Hi Tracy, it's been a long time. My friend (now my husband) still hasn't opened the monkey box but it sits front and center in our office. I'd like to know if you might be able to make a puzzle box that is a duplicate of our house. You would have creative license with all but the outer shape."Hello Roxanne, can't wait for you to return home to send me more pictures for the puzzle box! So excited about this build! About 20 years ago I built a 8 foot dollhouse everything was built to scale on the inside and outside! set to put my dollhouse skills now into a puzzle box I think is just going to be epic! so yes as soon as you can get me those pictures would be great because my schedule for this year is so full but I want to start working on it ASAP! So I can fit everything in for this year! well thank you for the opportunity to let me build your house and we'll puzzle box I'm so excited I hope you are too!"

She sent me the photos of the doll house and we set to work. We sent 5 videos and 171 photos between us to create this puzzle.  In June Tracy contacted me wanting to know the final completion date.  I had initially wanted this as a Christmas gift for George, but we were embarking on a cruise that wouldn't return until 21 December so that ended that date.  I then gave her George's birthday on 30 January, or our anniversary on 14 February as a completion date.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, this completion date was moved again.  I contacted her a few times over the next 10 months to see if the project was still going on.  She always replied with a yes and you're going to love it.  In one correspondence she told me she poured her heart and soul into the piece. On 1 April she told me it was the most complex puzzle she has ever done.  Was this a joke?  I had seen a few preview shots, but not the completion yet. 

 And then bam!  I got a text message during dinner on 11 April with the photos pouring in!  This piece looked amazing!  I couldn't wait to see it in person.  Tracy had made our house! It is not identical, there was quite a lot of poetic license taken with the fencing (we have none-but we do have tall hedges), the windows are all made as one giant window instead of the 6 or 8 pieces that make up each one, the outdoor shower is exposed to the street, but really, who cares when the end product looks this good.  

In one of our conversations, she asked me about the property lines.  She was spot on, and used the property line as a base to hold the house.  This was made to scale, Our house is 11,000 square feet and the puzzle is 1:45 scale.  Smaller than I initially wanted, but when I realized what the foot print would be, we agreed to change it. 

Tracy's attention to detail is beyond belief.  She installed the solar panels in the correct places, she placed the pool and spa exactly where they belong, she made the driveway octagon work.  It's a fantastic piece.  I keep saying that, but I can't help it, it's just blown my socks off. 

We had issues with shipping this piece to Florida.  I hired a shipper from Uship.com and he turned out to be a bit flakey.  He first had vehicle problems but didn't tell either of us of this. Next, he said he was going to pick up the piece on Monday then didn't show up.  Tracy called him and he said it would be another week before he could pick up the piece. We eventually went with UPS and the piece arrived before the other guy wanted to pick it up.  

No, we haven't even begun to solve it yet. Unboxing it was a puzzle in itself.  I've never seen such a box.  If you thought Strijbos's packaging was excessive you should see this one.  Then we removed the lid. Oh god!  Disaster.  First off, I knew something wasn't right when George was struggling with it.  Tracy very clearly circled all the screws in red ink with massive arrows and very clear instructions on how to open the box.  We had two of the Tesla workers in the house watching the unboxing because they had put the solar panels on Puzzle Palace and I knew they would recognize it. They spotted the extra screws and alarm bells started to go off.  When we got it open and I saw the bubble wrap just laying around, I couldn't believe what I saw.  It was such a poor job.  I didn't want to believe that this was happening and I think I was in a state of euphoric shock. The puzzle was finally here, but it wasn't right.  

Tracy took pains to explain to me how to open the crate:

hello Roxanne, the big box is in my livingroom waiting to go to its new home.

Tracy sent April 19 at 1:10 PM

i realized after i packed it i didnt get a picture of me with the box for history.

Tracy sent April 19 at 1:10 PM

maybe someday i make it to florida

Tracy sent April 19 at 1:10 PM

so the big box open the top first. i have it marked with red around the screws for you to take out. than remove the front side.

Tracy sent April 19 at 1:10 PM

than it will take two to lift it out and bring out thr front.

You sent April 19 at 1:10 PM

Got it. I hope they come get it soon.

Tracy sent April 19 at 1:12 PM

its packed with bubble rap alot. it will be safe.

And a bit later we had this conversation about the internal wrapping: 

You sent April 28 at 1:26 P

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:27 PM

i had to add so wood to the inside of the crate if the tipped it on its side so it wont move. Its rapped very evry well with bubble wrap.

You sent April 28 at 1:28 PM

It should be fun taking it out.

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:28 PM

so take the top off first

You sent April 28 at 1:28 PM

Got it! Then the sides.

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:29 PM

than remove the wood holding in down

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:29 PM

than the one front side

You sent April 28 at 1:29 PM

Ok. is that wood bolted down?

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:29 PM

yes

You sent April 28 at 1:29 PM

yeah! I get to play with man tools.

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:30 PM

yes you do . you will see what i mean when it get s there.

You sent April 28 at 1:30 PM

I'm looking forward to it!

Tracy sent April 28 at 1:32 PM

well at least we learned something with shipping

So when I didn't see the wood holding it down I got scared.  I pulled off what was there of the bubble wrap and the guys removed the puzzle from the top of the box.  NOT as Tracy had intended.  They put it on a table and I saw pieces of wood still in the box.  The table tilted and then I saw the leg on the bottom of the box!  I grabbed it and put it into place.  I then told George I thought one was missing.  There were 4 stabilizer bars on the bottom holding this monster up.  Remember, it weighs 130 pounds.  Three of them had been removed, and the one remaining in place was misaligned.  

When I looked at the octagon on the front drive, it was missing pieces, the screen over the pool area was missing pieces, the solar panels were not just taken off, but were forcibly removed and broken.  It was becoming glaringly obvious that this crate had been broken into and that the puzzle had been removed and purposefully damaged. 

The stabilizing wood that was not holding the puzzle in place was in the bottom of the crate.  Not on top where it belonged.  The bubble wrap was missing.  This was a disaster in the extreme.

Another conversation about the wrapping: 

The thing that drives us crazy as cuz we have had bad shipping experiences where they have broken things. So we really have stepped up our game and shipping and when you opened and took the lid off I was so shocked how little bubble wrap was left inside of there because that house was so wrapped in bubble wrap you had to stop it in the Box

Tracy sent Yesterday at 2:53 PM

From now on I will definitely take a picture of what it looks like bubble wrap in the box so he had those pictures also in life

Tracy sent Yesterday at 2:53 PM

Stuff it in the crate

You sent Yesterday at 3:37 PM

I have to say, I was shocked about the same thing. I’ve had Rubik’s cubes with more bubble wrap.

Tracy sent Yesterday at 3:40 PM

There was three colors we used. Orange grey and blue. First small bubbles than large bubbles. I seen none of this bubble wrap in the video

Tracy sent Yesterday at 3:40 PM

You sent Yesterday at 3:41 PM

No blue at all. A tiny amount of Orange. Mostly grey and clear.

Tracy sent Yesterday at 3:41 PM

Wow so crazy

You sent Yesterday at 3:42 PM

Hopefully it will come out ok.

Tracy sent Yesterday at 3:46 PM

It will. I know it. With all the picture i think it will. Even if they dont cover it i will rent a car and drive down and fix it.

Tracy sent Yesterday at 3:46 PM

If i have too.

Tracy sent Yesterday at 3:46 PM

I wont leave you like this

If I weren't already impressed with Tracy, this last bit of the conversation really got me.  I'm glad she is going to come down to Florida and fix the puzzle.  Yes, it was insured for the full value.  Yes, we put in a claim and made a police report.  We are now just waiting on the UPS investigators to come over and look at the damage to the crate and watch the unboxing video I took. Tracy has already sent them all of the before and after photos.  The good news is, it can be repaired.  I'm very grateful that she is willing to come down and do this.  Talk about going the extra mile!  I wish I had better news to report, but sadly this is it.  I'll be sure to make a blog post and a new "unboxing" when it has been repaired.  

For now, I give you some of the photos of the puzzle as we received it.  These are in NO WAY indicative of The Green Eyed Lady's work.  They show the malicious destruction of the puzzle by a UPS driver somewhere along the route.  I suspect it is on this end. I waited all day Saturday with the delivery map open and watched the puzzle go around and around and around the estate without ever coming in.  While we were at dinner, there was a note on the door for the UPS man to call me so I could come running back to the house to take delivery.  I did a very taboo thing and kept looking at my phone during dinner (no phones allowed in the clubhouse) waiting for the delivery.  It popped up as "Undeliverable"! What!  they never entered the estate.  The truck then went back to the depot in Deerfield Beach.  On Monday I got a message saying it would be delivered between 3 and 5 in the afternoon and so I waited some more.  At 10:30 or so I got a confirmation of delivery.  I chased down our UPS delivery driver and he got on the case.  He showed me his truck without the package and called into dispatch to get the case delivered.  We had a special delivery and you all know the rest via that unboxing video.  It's my conjecture that the person who did this was the driver who had it on the truck for Saturday delivery.  I believe (s)he saw the insurance value and the weight and thought it was something else.  They took it somewhere, ripped it open expecting anything but a puzzle, removed it from the crate, and was so angry that there was nothing really valuable to steal and maliciously damaged it.  Hopefully the investigation will catch the guilty party.  

Broken solar panels 

Pieces that were broken off

Back of house with screen removed.

Empty nails where feet should be

Broken and missing solar panels

Who steals a leg?

Obviously the thief can't read

Something is fishy!

This is what it should look like: 

Front of house

Back of house

I have faith that when Tracy gets down here she will be able to restore her to her former glory.  Perhaps this was meant to be.  After all, when George and I bought the house in 2017, she was damaged and unloved as well. We revived her with great care and attention. Perhaps the mega-mansion had to be damaged to live up to her namesake. 

On to the weekly museum update.  We spent the week here while Tesla installed the solar panels on the roof. No work will be done during the time that Tesla is in the house.  They do not allow others on the property.  They told us installation would be 3 days and this time I hope they are right.  We've a lot of work to complete before the puzzles arrive. They were wrong as expected, it took 5.  The work is now complete on the roof, now we just need to wait for a new inverter and the inspection of the power walls and we are good to go.

The garage floor was ground down and the base coat and white flooring laid.  The swimming pool pump and heater were installed and are now up and running. We hung a few more photos on walls, and this Monday we will be installing the floor decals and the rest of the cabinets will be mounted inside the house.  It's moving along now.

Speaking of; they are now on their way to Miami.  But as it turns out, the two containers have been shipped on two different cargo ships.  One will arrive around the 17th and the other around the 25th.  Both will be held in customs quarantine for at least 2 weeks before they get to the museum.  I've been watching both of them travel around Europe and will pick them up again when they hit the East Coast of the US.  I am enjoying watching the containers come over. It reminds me of our wonderful trip to the US in 2018.  To be able to do that again would be magnificent.  Sadly, George is now 'too old' for that because of no doctor onboard a cargo ship, passengers over 75 are not allowed. so it's just a dream.