A Puzzling Journey - Part VIII

Part VIII - And so... it begins anew.

Originally part of the mid-Summer 2025 edition of the Mercurius Newsletter.

In my last newsletter (all the way back in early May!), I mentioned that I’d be taking a short break after delivery of the final Mercurius Temple from Production Batch #1. That break was supposed to give me and my family time to sort out a few minor life events.

Well, “taking a break” is maybe not quite the right term. Nor is “minor life events” for that matter.

My courageous and clearly overambitious spouse and I have spent the last couple-three months deep in the chaos of preparing our home for sale. After a whirlwind of renos, cleaning, repairs, staging, and hiding of kid-clutter (seriously, how many toys do they need??), we listed the house and received a solid offer the very first night. Efforts paid off! We gratefully accepted. Phase 1 Complete.

What followed was what the military affectionately calls the “House Hunting Trip”; a one-week, caffeine-fueled insanity sprint during which we’re expected to visit a half-dozen or so properties in our future province of residence, choose the least problematic one, make a competitive offer, book an inspection, and try to lock it all down within that limited time-frame. No pressure. All of this with two kids in tow, who were surprisingly cooperative, considering the circumstances (largely due to the support of incredible Oma and Opa!). And somehow, for the last time (because this will be the home I plan to retire in), we pulled it off (‘winning’ a bidding war, no less).

We unfortunately exceeded our intended budget. But the good news? We found a place with the seed of a workshop.

Sneak peek at the future location of the next Mercury Workshop,
nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Range.

(Pronounced Appalachian, not Appalachian.)

This one-car garage is smaller than my current workshop, excluding the carport. Still, it’s relatively larger than a certain workshop tucked away in the French Alps… iykyk. Fortunately, it has just enough room (once I close in the carport and perhaps build another addition...) to evolve into the full-fledged production hub I’m envisioning for the Mercury Workshop (stay tuned for a rebranding once the move is finalized). All it needs is insulation, power, lights, tools, and a generous sprinkling of hopes and dreams. All on a tight budget. Should make for a fun Autumn.

I was bracing myself to build an entire workshop from scratch, which would have meant delaying the next run of Mercurius Temples well into late 2026. But with this new setup, I might be back in production as early as December 2025! (Denis from January 2026 here... spoilers, I didn't start production run two in December... more like February 2026... I hope!)

So begins the next chapter in my Puzzling Journey. With my release and retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces scheduled for mid-October, I’ll soon be shifting into full-time (more-or-less) puzzle designing and crafting. Feels surreal. Feels amazing.