Puzzle 134 - Themeless #99 (Come On Over)

Quarterly check in on my New Years Resolutions before another 17x below:

1) Keep the garden alive. In progress, too cold to really tell still - I did plant lavender starts from a neighbor & buried tulip bulbs a few months ago. The violas I planted last year, which I thought were annuals, have actually come back surprisingly well so not bad so far!

2) Go to the gym consistently. Check! I feel great! Even had to get some new shorts as there's a little more junk in my trunk than there was last year.

3) Post a crossword every month. Still check (but barely)! This one was like 75% clued 3 weeks ago & then I never quite finished. Playing Stellaris & binging the West Wing again w/ Mrs. Puzzles That Need A Home took up most of my nights after kids went to sleep. No regrets :)

PUZ - PDF - Solution - Direct

Puzzle 133 - Themeless #98 (Fatherhood)

Been playing with 17x17 grids lately and I REALLY like them! There's so much flexibility & fun with grid shapes compared to a traditional 15x15. Plus, I get to bust out some 16 & 17 letter fill that normally wouldn't see the light of day. This is far from the last 17x grid you'll see here in the times to come! There would be another 17x right around the corner...but I didn't realize just how phallic a diagonal symmetry puzzle could be, so there's some regridding in my future.

PUZ - PDF - Solution - Fullscreen

Puzzle 132 - Themeless #97 (Up and at 'Em)

First off, thanks to Quiara for the incredibly kind shoutout, and b) alerting me about AI infesting AmuseLabs (nothing like a nuclear explosion thumbnail to pique your interest). Sad to say that I'm so used to AI slop being everywhere, I didn't even notice how much AmuseLabs had changed. Gonna use Crossword Nexus for now, it lets me pick out the pretty colors which makes the my lil dopamine receptors happy.

Actually started building this puzzle before the last one, but could never quite get the central stack to work nicely. After a gazillion grid shapes, finally it was removing a pair of blocks that enabled the grid to flow, avoid nonsense, etc. There was a block where 3-Down & 21-Across intersect. I was genuinely shocked that getting rid of it was the key to making the stacks work.

There's also a great clue for 34-Across out there. I just can't find it for the life of me. Drop a comment if you have one - I might even update the puzzle with it. No promises though, I'm lazy.

PUZ - PDF - Solution - Fullscreen

Puzzle 132 - Themeless #96 (Pardon the Interruption)

Hello! Been a short while...I meant to just take a month or two off from crosswords after Westwords 2024 & well, time flies when you're having fun! Been busy with the kiddos, gardening, reading, still e-biking all over, and just...life in general. A few highlights:

- We built raised beds in our front yard! I don't have much of a green thumb but am pretty happy with how they turned out!

- We went to approximately 800 youth soccer games, cross country races, basketball games, baseball games, and whatever else. The kids love it (and so do I) and so far (knock on wood) we've mostly avoided the insanely competitive parents!

- I brewed an IPA with my Dad at our neighborhood's brewery! I am pretty basic when it comes to beer tastes and this was a tasty, citrusy, piney, west coast IPA. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

- After 27 seasons of LearnedLeague and getting a total of 7 perfect days across that time...this past season I got three 9(6)s in a row!! That'll probably be the pinnacle of my trivia career, but what an exhilarating few days!

Anyways...found myself solving some crosswords over the holiday, and then the boys joined in to help me out...and the itch was back! I'm not a big resolution guy but I made 3 this year! Construct at least one puzzle a month, keep my garden alive, and hit the gym 2x a week. On pace for two of them now, and nothing can grow right now anyway, so here we go! 

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