Thanks for responding! I have the CE version that comes with a full WT. I read through it carefully and seemed to have done everything I was supposed to do. That's why I was baffled.
As it turns out, I was "using" the hand gesture wrong (I'm not sure how that is even possible, since all you can do is click on the proper spot, but there you are: Game idiosyncrasies.) I left the game alone for a couple of days, to get over my frustration, and then went back and tried the hand gesture again. This time, it worked, weird as that sounds.
It was a very short ride from there to finishing the game. I now have the Bonus Play to look forward to tomorrow, when there will be time in my schedule.
Marian, you definitely should replay the game. It is so much more complex and interesting than 90% of the HOGs offered these days. No candy-colored stuff, great detail, intriguing puzzles.