Double-sided Impossipuzzle - Golf Balls and Tees - Solving tips

Having enjoyed The World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle - Kittens edition so much, I enlisted my Mum to help me search for similar puzzles on our charity shop trawls. 

I was delighted when she recently found this one for me - Impossipuzzle - Golf Balls and Tees!

This jigsaw puzzle has 550 pieces. The pieces are large, so when assembled it is almost the same size as a standard 1000 piece puzzle. It's double-sided with a different image on each side - one side has repeating rows of layered golf balls, the other a scattering of different coloured tees. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the golf balls would be the easiest side, so this is where I started.

It was very easy to sort the pieces and assemble the edges, but this is when I got stuck. I just didn't know where to start! I spent several sessions just sitting and staring at the pieces trying to work out a strategy. I was initially thinking that I was going to have to do the whole puzzle just by piece shape.

But then I realised that you can use the shadows on the balls to work out which way many of the pieces should go. There are also white diamonds in the spaces between balls, and these always the same way up. I also noticed that many of the individual pieces had the same design on them, and I think this is the key thing to notice when it comes to solving jigsaws with a repeating pattern.

I began to group together pieces which looked the same, in particular those that formed the bottoms of the golf balls, using the dark shadow at the bottom to help. I was able to match up centre, left and right side pieces to make blocks of three which formed the base of a ball. These could then be linked to form an entire row across the puzzle.

I used the same strategy to add in a few more rows, sorting the pieces by the height of the black shadow on the piece. Each ball fits neatly across three pieces.

Once I had worked out this strategy I was flying! As you can see from the picture above, every remaining piece will attach to a piece of the puzzle that is already in position. It was pretty quick to solve the puzzle from here, using a mixture of shape sorting the pieces and the knowledge of the puzzle that I'd acquired so far.

There were very few false fits, and these were easily checked by flipping the pieces over and checking that they line up on the other side. Because of course the puzzle has another side, which to my eyes looks much more tricky! 

I flipped the puzzle over to take this picture, but I'm not sure I'll be attempting it from scratch any time soon!

There is a repeating pattern, with clumps of tees that are the same colour. But although the pattern is obvious when you see the completed image, it's much more difficult to see when you are looking at the individual pieces. I'll be hanging on to this jigsaw with the intention of giving it a go at some point in the future!

The most dramatic thing that happened on Mount Everest this 2026 Season

I've mentioned a few times about my somewhat niche and unusual (for someone in my demographic at least!) interest in Mount Everest. I've been reading about it on and off over the years, but this year I've really grown my interest. I've built a collection of new and second-hand books, I've watched documentaries, I've listed to podcasts, and this year I followed along with the 2026 Everest climbing season.

There is a very short window for an Everest summit attempt. The main route (on the South/Nepal side) only opens once a team of local climbers have cleared a path and fixed ropes to the camps and summit. This year it was delayed, with the first Nepali climbers on the rope fixing team only reaching the summit on 13th May. Then the ropes and ladders were removed on the 29th May, meaning that everyone had to be down from the mountain by this date. With frequent periods of bad weather on the mountain, there are only a few days during this already short period when a safe summit can be attempted.

The reason that the mountain closes around this date every year is because this is when the monsoon arrives, and conditions because extremely dangerous. There have been a few risky summits later in the year in September or October time after the monsoon when it is less crowded, but it's not something that is undertaken by many climbers.

I spent a month following along with the season, in particular watching a daily dispatch video from Everest Live, reading articles, and making some notes in my Everest notebook. I enjoyed learning more about the different people attempting the summit this year, and marvelling at the sheer numbers of people that were on the mountain. I love finding out about the logistics of an expedition.

Photo credit Tom Cleary via Unsplash

The 2026 season came to a particularly dramatic end this year with the story of Hillary Dawa Sherpa. A local guide, he was part of a small team attempting a very late summit just before the mountain closed on the 29th May accompanying British climber Chris Thrall and a Polish climber. The information is sketchy, but it looks as though they were descending when they all got into difficulties. Chris Thrall went ahead to help the struggling Polish climber, leaving Dawa Sherpa lying high up on the mountain.

Thrall believed that the sherpa was dead, or very close, and knew that if he attempted to rescue him there was a very high chance that all three would die. They would all have been aware that the chances of a descent would be next to impossible once the mountain closed and the ropes and ladders through the icefall were removed. He had to make an impossible decision, affected of course also by his own deteriorating condition.

Dawa Sherpa was presumed dead and his family had begun funeral rites when he was spotted crawling down the base of the icefall. Miraculously he survived six days on the mountain, much of it in the 'death zone' without sufficient oxygen. He spent two days trapped in a crevasse and was only able to escape after an avalanche brought enough snow down to enable him to climb out. He had very little food, and only ice for water. 

This is a story that I'm definitely going to be following over the next weeks and months as more information is released. As well as the story of his survival there are many questions to be answered, not least why a helicopter rescue wasn't implemented and whether the rescue efforts would have been more efficient for a foreign climber. He was involved with two expedition companies, neither of which seemed prepared to take any responsibility for him when it came to paying for a rescue. 

Disclaimer - I'm in no way an expert on this subject. If you are looking for more detailed information I'd definitely recommend doing some further reading from people that are far more knowledgeable!

Find out more:

BBC News - Watch: Guide stranded on Everest for six days rescued

BBC News - Everest guide survived six-day ordeal by eating chocolate and 'chewing ice'

Everest Live - Hillary Dawa Update (video)

The Tourism Times - Everest survivor Dawa Sherpa stable as HAMS Hospital confirms frostbite, fracture and severe dehydration

Everest Chronicle - Miracle and Shame: The two faces of Everest

From me:

Five excellent long-form Everest documentaries on YouTube

My "Odd Shelf', inspired by Anne Fadiman - my growing collection of Everest themed books

The things that I've been doing instead of blogging

It's been ages since I wrote a proper blog post, so here's a quick look at what has been keeping me busy:

Gardening

I love this time of year, when the garden starts to take off. We had our garden landscaped last year and it was still looking bare at the start of the year. We've added a few new plants, and I'm really enjoying seeing the things that we planted last year come back to life. One area of the garden that we had neglected was at the front where we had removed a large, overgrown hedge. We intended to replant it last year, and then decided that actually we preferred the more open plan look. But the long border that we had left for the hedge was filled with knee high weeds, and it looked terrible.

So I spent a long day giving it a thorough weed, and I cut the grass on the council owned patch at the front. Then I took a trip to the garden centre and stocked up on trays of bedding plants which I've planted all the way along, as well as uncovering some gorgeous poppies which had self-seeded. It looks so much better now, and I'm sure that our neighbours will appreciate having something prettier to look at as it all fills out!

Enjoying being outside

I always try to make the most of good weather, and it was so lovely that this year we were treated to hot sunshine over the Bank Holiday weekend. I stocked up on ice creams for the freezer, then every morning I got the garden ready with our garden furniture. I moved chairs around during the day, starting off in the sun and then moving to the shade mid-morning and afternoon. We had a barbecue every day, and spent the evening around the fire pit with marshmallows.

Following the Everest climbing season

I've written several times about my niche interest in Everest, and this was the first year that I followed along in real time. I found Everest Live on YouTube which produced daily video dispatches throughout the climbing season from around the beginning of May. I sat down every evening to watch the latest dispatch and make notes in my Everest journal. I also enjoyed reading the less frequent but detailed articles from the Alan Arnette Blog like this Everest 2026 Season Summary. 

It was really exciting, the season started later than usual with a few problems but it was a record year for summits, with 274 on a single day! I even found a live Everest webcam, and on one clear evening at the height of the season I was watching rivers of torches make their way up the mountain in the early hours in Nepal. Now the climbing is over for another year, but I have a playlist of long Everest documentaries to work through which always give me something new to research.

Photo credit Rajan Dahal via Unsplash

Hosting tradesmen

For the last couple of months we have been having our ancient bathrooms replaced, and the work is nearly finished. They look amazing! But it's been quite disruptive, and I don't cope well when there are people in the house. Having to park the car down the road, worrying about the neighbours being annoyed, wondering whether I'm offering enough drinks and being constantly available in the house in case I'm needed to check something. I find it difficult to focus on anything too complicated.

Reading

However I have been doing very well lately at working through my to be read list, even the hidden one on my Kindle! I've been going through some of the 'filler' books, which are the ones that I download for free on to my Kindle. They are usually quick reads and not that memorable, although I've found a few that stood out - I recently really enjoyed Follow Her by Anna Stothard. 

I have a long Everest book which I'm finding a bit of a slog - Into the Silence by Wade Davis. It's always named as being one of the best on the subject, but I'm finding it hard going. I bought it as a cheap second hand copy so I think I'm going to do some annotating and sticky labelling to make it more like a reference book that I can dip in and out of.

How to Find Urgent Care Wait Times Before Leaving the House?

This is a collaborative post

Nobody wants to drive across town, drag a sick child through the parking lot, and then sit in a waiting room for two hours. The good news? It's not some secret. Most people just don't know where to look. Wait times at urgent care centers are more accessible now than they've ever been.

This article covers exactly how to find urgent care wait times before you leave home, which tools actually work, and what to do if the numbers aren't posted anywhere.

Where to Check Urgent Care Wait Times Online

Urgent Care hours and locations are a natural starting point when you're planning a visit, since many clinic pages now list current or estimated wait times alongside their address and hours. Here's the thing: you need to know which sources give you real-time data versus rough estimates from a week ago.

The Clinic's Own Website

Most regional and national urgent care groups publish live wait times on their own websites. Look for a "Current Wait" or "Hold My Spot" button near the location finder. If you see a number that updates as you refresh the page, that's a live feed tied to the clinic's check-in system. A flat "typically 15 minutes" message, though? That's static; useful, but not accurate right now.

Symptom Checker Tools That Surface Nearby Clinics

Platforms like Ubie Health let you check your symptoms first, then connect you to nearby care options with availability information. This two-step approach actually saves time. You confirm the right level of care before you commit to a location, so you're not showing up to urgent care for something the ER should handle, or paying urgent care prices for a problem your doctor could handle tomorrow.

Search Engines and Map Apps

A Google search for "urgent care near me" pulls up a local pack that sometimes shows estimated wait times pulled directly from clinic systems. Apple Maps does the same. These figures aren't always current, treat them as a ballpark, but they're fast to check and require no app download.

How to Reserve Your Spot Before You Arrive

Checking wait times is half the battle. The smarter move? Reserve your spot in line while you're still at home.

Online Check-In Systems

Many urgent care groups now run online check-in through their own websites or through third-party scheduling platforms. You pick a time window, enter your information, and the clinic holds a spot in the queue. Your actual wait drops to almost nothing. Look for this feature on the clinic's homepage, usually labeled "Save My Spot" or "Online Check-In."

Phone-Based Queue Options

And don't overlook the phone. Calling the clinic directly takes about 90 seconds and gets you a real wait estimate from staff who can see the current room status. Some clinics will take your name over the phone and add you to the queue before you even get in the car. Low-tech, yes, but it works better than staring at a static webpage.

Timing Your Visit Around Peak Hours

Urgent care centers see the most traffic on Monday mornings, weekend afternoons, and the two hours after most offices close on weekdays (roughly 5 PM to 7 PM). The 2023 industry report from the Urgent Care Association found that midday Tuesday through Thursday consistently shows the shortest wait times nationally. If your situation isn't time-sensitive? A midweek morning visit reduces your wait without any app or reservation.

What to Do When Wait Times Aren't Listed

Not every clinic posts wait data online. Frustrating, yes. But you've still got options.

Call and Ask a Specific Question

Don't ask "how busy are you?" Ask "how many patients are currently ahead of a walk-in?" That specific question gets a more honest, useful answer from whoever picks up the phone. Front desk staff know the room count. They just don't always volunteer it unprompted.

Use a Symptom Checker to Weigh Your Options

If you can't get a read on wait times, use that gap to run a quick symptom check. Ubie Health's free symptom checker takes about three minutes and tells you whether your symptoms point toward urgent care, the ER, or a telehealth visit. That context changes the decision entirely. You might not need urgent care at all.

Consider Telehealth for Lower-Acuity Issues

Telehealth visits have no waiting room. For non-emergency issues like rashes, minor infections, sinus symptoms, or prescription refills, a same-day telehealth appointment is often faster than any in-person option. Most major insurers cover telehealth at the same rate as an in-office visit, so cost usually isn't the barrier people expect.

Conclusion

The fastest way to find urgent care wait times before leaving the house is to check the clinic's website for a live queue; use a symptom checker platform to match your care level to the right location; and call the front desk if nothing is posted online. You'll save yourself from wasted trips and long waits. Reserve your spot online where possible, aim for midweek mornings, and don't rule out telehealth for minor issues; it's often the fastest option of all.