Jigsaw puzzles have always been a part of our family life. It's funny how the process has changed over the years. When John and I first got married, we lived in an apartment in a Washington DC suburb. John was the one who liked doing jigsaw puzzles, and he loved the Detlefson paintings of the seasons. That was 1970 -- and our first jigsaw puzzles were four 500 piece Detlefson paintings. When we finished them, I tried to glue them together with Mod-Podge so they could hang on the wall. The art project was a big fail -- but jigsawing has remained a loyal winter friend.
When the boys were small, John would sit in the living room and work on a puzzle while the rest of us watched a movie. We have a small house -- there never was a separate family room or entertainment option. Ross was never interested in the puzzle. Elliott would occasionally sit at the table with John and find a few pieces.
For a time, Emily and Elliott lived here with us -- and they took puzzling to new heights. The two of them would start a 500 piece puzzle at 6:00 at night and be done before 10:00. It was almost like a race with the clock -- they were a wonderful puzzle team...
At some point, John completely lost interest in doing puzzles. We had the house to ourselves -- and in 2006, I was seriously trying to lose weight. In an effort to change my horrible nightime eating habits, I turned the upstairs guest bedroom into a PUZZLE ROOM. I would go up there after supper at night, and work on a puzzle for hours. John had turned the other upstairs bedroom into his office -- so we'd spend our evenings up there. Me puzzling in the front room and him watching ESPN across the hall. When I was getting to the end of the puzzle, I'd invite him over, and we'd tag-team the last 100 pieces or so. We had rules and everything. All the pieces were in the box, and we'd take turns...Hey -- stop laughing! I lost 100 pounds on that puzzle diet...
For the last couple of years, puzzling has become our AFTER-Christmas treat. I take the Christmas tree down and put up a sturdy card table in it's place. Lilly started demonstrating a love of puzzles when she was about two years old. She can whip through the child-size puzzles on her own -- but she especially enjoys sitting with us and helping with the BIG puzzles.
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| This was a beautiful farm scene from the White Mountain Puzzle Company -- one of my favorite companies! |
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| When she walks into our house -- she runs over to the puzzle table to see what we're working on... |
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| She has her own methods, and it is so interesting to watch. And this kid will stick with a thing...she never gives up... |
This winter, we have nearly turned puzzling into a contact sport. I jokingly said it's our Iowa Winter Olympic Event. The reality is that I set up every puzzle. I sort the pieces, and put the edge together. There is one really good chair at the puzzling table -- which benefits from the excellent overhead lamp. And when I am sitting there, John stays away from the puzzle table. Ditto -- when he is sitting in the chair -- I stay away from the puzzle. But Lilly will join whoever is working there. And, often, she gets to sit in the main puzzle chair ALL BY HERSELF...
There are a few secrets to EXCELLENT PUZZLING...and I even have a way to work on two separate puzzles at one time...
