Tuesday, December 24, 2013

"Had just settled our brains for a long winters nap" is the solution to Christmas Mystery 2013

"Had just settled our brains for a long winters nap" is the correct answer to Christmas Mystery 2013.

We have a winner to Christmas Mystery 2013!

My cousin, Barbara Barrett, correctly solved Christmas Mystery 2013.

The correct answer is:  "Had just settled our brains for a long winters nap" 

Congratulations!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Christmas Mystery 2013: The Poetic Clue


Sacred and secular commingle for Christmas Mystery 2013

-- with my past year's photos in between.

Take a cue from Wheel of Fortune connoisseurs:

Pick the right letters, and a Christmas prize soon will be yours.
 

The puzzle mosaic can also be viewed at

www.christmas-mystery.blogspot.com

(please note the hyphen in the web address)

Answers can be submitted to:  gkissel@msn.com

Only two guesses per person allowed!

The correct answer must contain the exact words of the phrase.

Punctuation marks are ignored in the mosaic,

and can be ignored in the correct answer.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Photos "In Between"

An explanation of the "photos in between":

Row 1, 4th image: A view of the edge of the Earth taken on Saturday April 6, 2013 by the 11th High Altitude Balloon flight of the University of Southern Indiana.  The image was taken from approximately 107,000 feet.

Row 2, 8th image: A buffalo at Yellowstone National Park, Monday May 20, 2013.  I had attended the National Student Solar Spectrograph Competition, held at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, the previous week as an advisor to University of Southern Indiana students.

Row 3, 1st image: The  LOX (liquid oxygen) tank at Launch Complex 39a at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, taken on Wednesday November 20, 2013.  During my summer internship there 35 years earlier, I had done analysis on one of the motor/centrifugal pump combinations located in that photo.

Row 3, 5th image: A close up of mosaic tiles at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, in St. Louis, MO, taken on Sunday September 1, 2013.

Row 3, 6th image: A close up of one of the decorated crosses at the "Cross the River" event held near the riverfront in Evansville, IN on Sunday August 4, 2013.

Row 3, 7th image:  My Mom and her three sisters at the Bumb Family Reunion, held that day in Henderson County, KY, at the home of Steve and Becky Deutsch, Saturday October 26, 2013.

Row 3, 8th image:  My Aunt "Sissy," my Mom's oldest sister, photographed on Christmas Day 2012, at my parent's home.  She passed away this year.

Row 4, 1st image: A closeup of a cornhole game being played at the Bumb Family Reunion held that day at the home of Steve and Becky Deutsch, Henderson County, KY, Saturday October 26, 2013.

Row 4, 8th image:  The side of the Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center, Tuesday November 19, 2013.

Row 5, 1st image:  A portion of the mosaic inside the Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World, taken Sunday November 17, 2013.

Row 5, 5th image: Steaming pools of water at Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Tuesday May 21, 2013.

Row 5, 7th image: A close up of my Mom holding my Dad's prize winning "Largest Potato at the Vanderburgh County Fair," Tuesday July 23, 2013.

Row 5, 8th image:  My Dad starting a John Deere tractor, Friday July 5, 2013, at the home of his brother, David Kissel, at the start of the Kissel-Roth Reunion.

Row 6, 1st image:  Grand Tetons, Grand Teton National Park, from Jackson Lake Lodge, Wednesday May 22, 2013.

Row 6, 6th image:  Some Canadian Geese in my backyard, Thursday August 1, 2013.

Row 6, 7th image: A soldier at the entrance to Main Street, Walt Disney World, Sunday November 17, 2013.

Row 6, 8th image:  I am standing in front of Launch Complex 39a, Kennedy Space Center, holding a photo of me taken 35 years earlier, also at Launch Complex 39a, when I was a summer engineering intern there. Taken Wednesday November 20, 2013.

Row 7, 1st image:  My sister, Debbie, on her birthday, Sunday August 4, 2013.

Row 8, 1st image: Dragon's Mouth Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Tuesday May 21, 2013.

Row 8, 2nd image: A cardinal and a robin in a tree at my parent's house, Saturday December 29, 2012.

Row 8, 3rd image:  Medora Covered Bridge, Medora, IN.  Saturday July 6, 2013.

Row 8, 7th image:  A closeup of the remnant rubber band ball from the "squeeze the watermelon with rubber bands" stunt at the Kissel-Roth Reunion, Friday July 5, 2013, at the home of David and Barbara Kissel.

Row 8, 8th image: My new 2013 Ford Mustang, Saturday May 11, 2013, at my parent's house.

NONE OF THESE PHOTOS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SOLUTION TO THE PUZZLE.