Spring Evening Puzzles

Spring weather is here in Edmonton and yesterday it was so pleasant to be outdoors! (It was warm enough to be outside without a coat and bini, that's saying something :)

So last night I found myself wandering around the house with a bit of time. I was looking over a bookcase wondering if there was anything of interest, and wishing I had my Pic-a-Pix puzzles with me. I wandered out to the deck and found one of my sisters there, doing what? Pic-a-Pix puzzles!  I excitedly sat down and began one along with her, enjoying the beautiful evening out doors and the fun puzzling-turned-coloring game of Pic-a-Pix. It was a great evening!

WHO?

I picked up the puzzles again the other day and this one was fun because there was so much background filled in first, but I still had no idea what the picture was!

 The finished project: an owl. :D I like how the eyes and mouth are kind of snow-boarder-punk-ish.

This puzzle came out of a book of them: Pic-a-Pix, the Latest Puzzling Fix!

Puzzle Question: Global N.A.

We've got a fan who's stuck on a puzzle. :


"Global N.A. I've tried twice but can't get past this point. Is it solvable? Part of me says it must be, but the puzzle-doer in me is stumped here. If it is solvable, I'd love to know which row/column/square I need to look at next to move on."


Can anyone help them out?? Try to solve the puzzle and let me know how it goes!

Meet the Puzzle Creator

Diane Baher, puzzle creator and author of Pic-a-Pix the Latest Puzzling Fix tells her story. 

"How did I get to this point in my life where I am creating these Japanese logic puzzles and now marketing my recently published book?  I guess you could say that I have always enjoyed activities that require logic of some form or other.  That’s probably why as a kid in school, math and science were notably my favourite subjects.  I think I am a visual person, preferring to eye witness the steps taken to solve something and appreciating them as I achieve a particular result.  When you think about it, this is basically what a jigsaw puzzle does.  You start with a pile of pieces; begin by doing the easy part – the border, then working with certain colored groups or visually unique pieces, and finishing the sky last.  It all comes together to form that beautiful picture because of your patience and efforts along the way.  This same process is utilized when you do one of my pic-a-pix puzzles.  From coming up with picture ideas, through the compilation of accurate number clues, to testing out my own puzzles, this is something I just thoroughly love to do.  You could even label it an addiction of sorts, but at best it is a healthy one."

Click here to check out Diane's website. On her website you can find instructions, free practice puzzles, and a link to buy the book of puzzles!

If you havn't yet, try out Pic-a-Pix puzzles today!

Puzzling it out...

If you're like me you might wonder what a Pic-a-Pix puzzle is supposed to look like while you're figuring it out. As often as not they don't resemble anything at all until the very end! Because of the strategy of using the clues to color in one box at a time in all different places, the puzzle often takes until the very end to come together. Here is an example of a puzzle I did, at two points during my puzzling it out. Can anyone guess what it is?!?

Transcending boundaries

Living in France and Canada has made me realize that there is a ton of multiculturalism and mixing of cultures and languages going on. One the one hand, that is pretty cool, that people are starting to figure out how to get past those traditional barriers: language and culture.  On the other hand, there is often still a significant language barrier involved. So when you're thinking of an activity the kids can do to befriend others, or there's someone at work you could befriend except for that language problem...I have the perfect solution:

So, you're looking for a puzzle that isn't language dependent, (not to solve it or for instructions on HOW to solve it)?  

How about an activity that has almost no age-limit? 

What about an activity that boys and girls would equally enjoy? 

How about Pic-a-Pix!

Teaching someone how to do a Pic-a-Pix puzzle is as easy as letting them watch you do one, or watching a tutorial online:

Then, wa-bam! You've got something in common with others, and that is what helps friendships grow! 

Recently I took my "Pic-a-Pix, The Latest Puzzling Fix," to work with me to do on down time in the break room. My co-workers all asked what the heck I was doing, and it was fun to show them how to do the puzzles, and the cool pictures they create. I am planning on taking them a few printouts of free copies from Diane's website, I'll keep you posted on how it goes!


If you don't get how to do the puzzles, check out my blogpost: Intro to Pic-a-Pix. Then go to Diane's website and get some free puzzles to try it out!

Brain Health

Did anyone know that January is Alzheimers Awareness Month?

I just recently became aware of this fact, and so here is a post dedicated to brain health! 

My first two years of University I was a dancer. Music and Dance came first in my life, and I loved it. I started realizing that playing music and dancing are things that involve muscle memory, and that our brains work sort of subconsciously once we have learned a step or a pattern.  In my second two years of University I focused more on writing and research, and in one of my classes I ran into a student doing a thesis on dancing and Alzheimer's. Before she even began to explain her theory to me I knew it was a good one. The people getting Alzheimer's right now are the people who grew up going to social dances, their brains know how to dance, without thinking about it. So part of this student's research involved getting Alzheimer's patients up and music playing, and they just knew what to do! Amazing! Her study also noted several cases where while dancing, some of these people would 'come back,' meaning they could remember things and people. What a beautiful thing. 

Along with dancing and music, brain health in general is stimulated by anything that gets you thinking logically or problem-solving. That's exactly what puzzles do for you! According to retired psychologist, Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D., who writes a blog for "Keeping Your Brain Healthy," studies indicate that challenging brain exercises are key to boosting the amount of new brain cells your body creates. So by puzzling out these Pic-a-Pix puzzles, you are boosting your brain health! Can this delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease? I'm not sure if that has been clinically proven yet, but Pic-a-Pix sounds like a pretty fun prescription for boosting brain health!

Because Pic-a-Pix helps brain health, Diane Baher (Pic-a-Pix puzzle book creator) has set up a donation system with the Alzheimer Society of Calgary. She donates $1 from every book sold to the Alzheimer Society. Pretty great to be able to give back to society, and that's a fundamental part of bettering the world.  During this, the Alzheimer's Awareness Month, Diane was at the Okotoks Library for their Family Literacy Day event, pictured above. She had a Pic-a-Pix station set up with information and books for sale. Guest speaker at the event was Jayson Krause, who recently published "52 People," which isn't so much about brain health as relationship health. But in a way, if we have healthy relationships we'll have a healthier brain- it all ties together in the end. His idea for the book started when his best friend died and he realized he hadn't really known him. Thus began a crusade to really get to know people- finding the right questions to ask, and to persuade others to really get to know their loved ones, beyond just the day-to-day blather. I could write a whole 'nother post about just that. :) But here's where I sign off for today...

Sources cited: http://learnpicapix.com/2011/06/06/keeping-your-brain-healthy/; http://www.westernwheel.com/article/20111214/WHE0302/312149998/-1/whe/authors-success-not-so-puzzling; http://www.drivenbypassion.com/52/?page_id=1718 : Jayson Krause's blog.