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...
Indulge in these romantic comedy tales at: Amazon & KU
8 comments:
Making lists. It's a lifelong habit of mine.
I have a stack of Dollar Store notebooks ready to be used.
Hi, Susan and thank you for sharing your life long obsession. Making lists helps me relieve brain stress. I have 4x4 ruled sticky notes. Book stuff on right. Other stuff on left. So I cross off and eventually, wad up and toss. LOL
I do a word thing on my phone where you have to find all the words in a certain group of 7 letters. It's great for when I'm waiting in line somewhere. Usually I get them all, but once in a while (after a week of frustration), I cheat and look it up on the Internet, because if I don't get all the answers, the game makes me start from scratch.
I have a number of obsessions. I play MahJong endlessly on my tablet at night backed up by Solitaire on occasion (I have both on my phone, too just in case I am stuck somewhere longer than anticipated and didn't bring a book - my first obsession). I also like word searches and crosswords; particularly with a grandchild. I also have a slight obsession with handbags, which is what caught my attention when I saw the name of your blog. Two of my favorite things!
I love word games on my phone.
Great post!
Good luck and God's blessings
PamT
Hi, Barbara! I think I've seen the word game and it looks fun.
Hi, Syl! I play Mahjong the game and Mahjong solitaire. The solitaire game is what hooked me on learning how to play the real game, although there is nothing similar between the two. For years, I bought a handbag if a paperback could fit in it (that dates me. lol). I love handbags. I have been searching for the perfect leather orange one to treat myself for my birthday. Thanks so much for stopping!
Hi, Pam! Word games on the phone are good. My mom and I got into the word search books before the games on the phone. So I just carry the paper ones with my favorite papermate pencil. LOL
word search, crosswords (not good at these at all), sudoku (easy ones) and I am very curious to try a missing vowel puzzle. Looks like challenging fun. I also play a few games on my Kindle, like pyramid solitaire, and digital jigsaw puzzles. I have a word search program on there that tells you the topic, how many words there are, and how many letters in each, but no word list. So you have to think of what might fit the topic. Some are really easy. Others, not so much! :)
Hi, Kayelle! I've played mahjong solitaire for a long time. The puzzles do get harder as I progress through the boards. I often wonder if they change the puzzle I'm playing while playing. Missing vowels combines word search and missing vowels; so double the fun. Hugs, dear one!
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