Jigsaws & tension

O n Monday I woke up with an almost sore throat. It was not as painful as I remembered it to get when I was young and vital but it was sore, a little raspy, difficult to ignore. Then I was coughing, I thought only a little until one of the designers said she thought I was coughing badly. I went to the mall and stocked up on everything I needed – lemon grass, mangosteen, herbalberry, lagundi capsules, ginger, all sorts of vitamin c, honey, lozenges and a bar of dark chocolate to motivate me. Not all of the above are pills for

Puzzles became therapy for me. Sometimes when I had a problem so big I couldn’t solve it, I would bury myself in jigsaw puzzles. One day I discovered the Net. I discovered the jigsaw puzzles you can play with your keyboard and mouse. No more storage problems.

my cough but they represent the garden of herbs I take to keep myself healthy.

On Tuesday feeling totally out of it I managed to put on my clothes and makeup and dragged myself to jewelry class. When I walked in, the first thing I learned about was how two of my classmates had called to say they were coming to class then both of them got sick. I am almost sick, too. I could not decide what I wanted to make. Instead I volunteered to rewind the tangled-up spool of plastic thread that we like to use every once in a while and just listen to the talk.

On Wednesday I glued myself to my computer and bombarded myself with all the varieties of vitamin C I had at home and by four was feeling well enough to try and write this weekly column. What did I do the rest of the day? I was sick, you see. That gave me an excuse to play my latest computer game for old people.

When I was young I loved jigsaw puzzles. I used to play them according to the number of pieces that were on the box, drawing the line at 1,000. Puzzles became therapy for me. Sometimes when I had a problem so big I couldn’t solve it, I would bury myself in jigsaw puzzles. They pushed the problem to the back of my mind and took over my powers of concentration. But they clutter up your home. You need a table to make them and these days I’m all out of space.

One day I discovered the Net. I discovered the games on the Net. I discovered the jigsaw puzzles you can play with your keyboard and mouse. No more storage problems. No more dilemmas about who to give them to when you don’t want to store them anymore. All you need to do is exit the software and it is neatly and invisibly stored. It is wonderful to play while sipping salabat and honey while behind you your TV set murmurs some form of company.

You know, you can really live days in your house with only your computer for company. Through it you can contact your friends and chat endlessly if you feel like. I know how to chat but don’t feel much like chatting uselessly. It can get boring. But I love adventuring on the Net, acquiring games I like and playing them, especially when I am sick and haven’t got much to do. If you want to search the Net, just go to Google or Yahoo, type in jigsaw puzzles. You will be overwhelmed by the response.

Of course I am doing all this because I am sick and also I am killing time. Finally I have made it to the Net. My costume jewelry is on sale on the Net now. Here’s how you can visit. Type in etsy.com. Then in the area on the left look for Shops. Select that. Then type in TweeJewels. I think that will take you to the 10 dramatic pieces we put in there for starters. If you like one, please order

it and give me my first sale.

That’s the other reason why I am glued to my computer playing jigsaw puzzles. I am so tense over my website.

First, it is my very first real website so I am not sure I know how to handle it properly. I am old, you know. The computer has always been a sophisticated machine for writing for me. Then it expanded into a way of emailing and getting in touch with people. Now it has evolved into an area where I can sell. That whole thing is just so amazing. It leaves me breathless . . . with tension.

Be kind to me. Visit my site and look and tell me what you think. If you want to be outstandingly kind, buy something. But let me assure you that we will be adding two products a week. Our items are almost all original and single though sometimes I will have four but using different colored stones.

Until then I will hide behind my jigsaw puzzles. They mask my tension.

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