Blog: Handbag & Book - What's your life-long obsession? #reading #puzzles #parents #childrensactivities

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My mom loved word search puzzles. I would buy her the big thick books which contained a variety of searches, including numbers and missing vowels. She preferred to do the regular ol' word search and didn't work the others. 

I kept a book in my car and when my #2son was in grade school, we would do one while waiting for #1son who was at some kind of sports practice.
One time, Mom mentioned something about needing a new puzzle book. I picked up the one she’d finished, commenting on the ones not done. She said she didn’t care for them. I said maybe #2son and I would give them a try.
Little did I know that she gave me a lifelong obsession.
I began puzzling from the beginning of the book. The first one was....missing vowels. So, missing vowels puzzle is a word search, however, the vowels are omitted from the word you search for. This makes for an interesting challenge. I plowed onward and developed “tricks” to find words. When I completed all of those in her book, I was hooked and wondered if the publisher just made the missing vowels book. A quick search on their website told me yes! I ordered ten books.
When Handsome was diagnosed with cancer years ago, the creative writer in me stalled. I worried about maintaining my skills and looked for outlets to keep them up. For example, took writing classes, read craft books, read all kinds of books, critiqued books, and avidly worked missing vowels puzzles for I believe it worked my vocabulary.
Our family got through the cancer crisis. I had set a date to begin writing again. I gave myself a small goal-one paragraph. I did that and the next day did another, and another. Quickly, I was up to speed with where I had been.
Many people are Sudoko fans or crossword fans. Some play games on their phones or computers. I like the satisfaction of searching, filling in the vowels (in pencil because I have to admit, I’m not perfect. LOL), and crossing the word off the list. I love the accomplishment of finishing a book, tossing it away, and opening a new one, a new challenge.
And yes, I tried the number searches. They were a booger bear.
Are you a fan of word or number puzzles?

My other life long obsession-reading?  Yes, reading. I love reading. My kindle is loaded. I have five loaded bookshelves. How about loading yours with...
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Indulge in these romantic comedy tales at: Amazon & KU