Rows Garden 113 Harder — Solution
Rows Garden 113 Easier — Solution
A development in the Big News department, and one that is a difficult announcement to make. But I’m excited to start a new position at the company I’ve been part-timing at for the last few years, and this position will require a much larger time commitment, and will result in a great decline in my time spent on puzzles. Unfortunately, I’ll be unable to keep up with a weekly schedule here. On the bright side, I will be still presenting Rows Gardens and other puzzles on a monthly basis. Tuesdays have become the norm, so circle your calendar for a March 5th date for Rows Garden #114. Also, there may be some extra puzzles in between on a more irregular basis; the best way to keep abreast of all that I’m offering is to follow Aries Puzzles on Facebook.
It’s a bittersweet announcement for me, as I truly enjoy creating puzzles and I appreciate all the feedback I’ve gotten over the last 27 months. I’m not going anywhere, but I’ll just be stopping by less often. I feel that the quality of the puzzles have been affected by my already tightening schedule, and a time crunch can lead to some unsavory compromises made in puzzles that, if I had more time, would have been better. So I’m confident that the puzzles in the future will be quality puzzles that won’t have a rushed feel to them. I feel I owe you that much!
Thanks for everyone who has solved the puzzles thus far, and I hope that you keep coming back.
PS to Meta Contest players: less than one month to go to send in your Final Answer!
Bittersweet, indeed. The only word I can think of is Congratu@#$%lations!
Andrew, I don’t like Facebook. Can I just keep coming here to check for anything new?
Absolutely! There will be a Rows Garden for sure on the first Tuesday of every month. That much I guarantee.
Andrew – Good luck in what sounds like is now a full-time position. You have spoiled us here for the past two years — still boggles my mind that you have cranked one of these out every week. I am not a Facebook guy, but will come back here from time to time. Thanks.
Ooh nooooo! But Great news for you, I’m happy for you. It’s just that I am so addicted to Rows Gardens. Thanks for all the great puzzles and looking forward to those yet to come.
Ditto from me. Thanks for all the ones you’ve already given us. I look forward to March 5. In the meantime, I’ll go back and redo some earlier ones – with my memory, they still feel pretty fresh!
Thanks for all the fun! Good luck!
Congrats, Andrew. Thanks for all the puzzles.
Ever consider that you’ve probably published more of these than everyone else in the world combined?
Have you thought of recruiting guest puzzlemakers? One a month would double your output. But then, how many others have even made these at all? Patrick Berry, you, Nathan Curtis and Trip Payne, and some nut at MIT who posted an interconnected trilogy of really nasty ones. You should write or videotape a construction tutorial. At least tell us, which comes first: the rows or the blooms?
Andrew:
I haven’t done ALL your puzzles, but I’ve done a lot of them, and they really are works of art. Congratulations! I hope it’s a job you enjoy as much as we have enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) your puzzles.
I don’t do Facebook either. And I’m really really really gonna miss your weekly puzzles. Good thing I’m nowhere near through the archived ones yet! I’ve introduced someone at work to your puzzles – He and I want to know if anyone else makes them? Thanks!
By the way, my friend and I spent the rest of the night trying to make Rows Gardens of our own. We haven’t found the secret to it yet.
Congratulations! Happy for you, sad for me – I looked forward to these every Tuesday. But I’m grateful for what you gave us! And looking forward to the future ones.
Well, best of luck with your full-time position. I always wondered how you managed to have a Rows Garden puzzle ready every week as well as various crosswords published elsewhere AND still have time to make a living!
This may be a good thing for me…I recently signed up for Fireball Crosswords and am already too far behind with all my reading!
Keep up the good work in both your job and your puzzles!
Carla
["I appreciate the office note, puzzle genius Andrew!"] (6, 3, 3, 4, 4)
You are most generous with your mind and time!! Thank you very much for hours of pleasure. May God bless all your endeavors!