Happy 25th Anniversary

 MGC, 521 pieces. This was probably the hardest puzzle I've ever done, including the previous all-one-color MGC. Basically every other connector was split, leading to an extensive search process, though it did get a bit easier near the end where connecting several pieces did more to suggest the shape of the next piece. Unsurprisingly, this was an anniversary gift from my spouse, and an incredibly well-suited one! I would absolutely consider lending this out to someone who wants to experience this level of difficulty, but I am also pretty certain that's a small subset of wooden puzzlers. 13/10 would marry again

initial appearance, before I realized this would take forever!

moved to my puzzle board; for a time, did about 5 connections a day

home for the holidays and giving more focused attention

now we're getting somewhere

note the tricky bits where one figure meets another--the little dip between the bottom of the Z and the round ball of the 5 was quite deceptive!