I love jigsaw puzzles, but it’s been several years since I’ve done one. When I was a kid, I remember my Uncle Spud always had a puzzle. When I visited or spent the night with my cousins, he’d let me ‘help’ with his puzzle. Over the years, my parents bought me puzzles and my love for them grew. Once I got married, I went to work as a hairdresser and had less time. When I sporadically put a puzzle together, my husband hated having them on the kitchen table for days. He soon noticed I get kind of obsessed.
I’ve mentioned before I don’t do them often. Because when I start a jigsaw puzzle, I don’t want to do anything else. Like write, edit, clean house, do laundry, or feed my family. I just want everybody to leave me alone and let me do my puzzle. Kind of like how I am when I write a book. Or read a book.
Several years ago, my parents got me a puzzle board. It’s awesome with drawers that pull out to keep the pieces in as I work. And it solved the puzzle on the kitchen table problem. It’s mobile and can be moved back and forth from the kitchen to the coffee table. Still, my husband didn’t appreciate my puzzling and constantly having to move it around. I tried to instill puzzling in our son, but he got bored with the setup progress. Still, every once in a while, he’d sit down and find a piece with me.
This past spring, we closed in our screened porch next to my office and converted it into a sunroom. I filled it with wicker furniture and seashells. The coffee table cried out for a puzzle and it’s my domain, so it doesn’t bother anyone. But these days, I have even less time for puzzling. Since editing is part of my life now, I have to find a balance. To make time for editing, writing, crafting, and puzzling. While still taking care of my house and family.
I’ve managed to strike a balance. Since I’ve gotten faster at editing, I can usually edit a book in a week. Then I have a week to write. For the past month, I’ve kept a puzzle on the coffee table. When I need an editing or writing break, I work on my puzzle. Just for 5 to 15 minutes, then I make myself go back to work. And sometimes, our 18-year-old son will sit down and find a piece with me. As for reading, I’m still doing that at night before I go to sleep. And I still don’t like dragging a book out for weeks, but it does give me more time to savor the story. I haven’t done any crafting lately, but at least I’m fitting in most of my pursuits.
It recently hit me, books are a lot like puzzles. When writing, I create my heroine, fit in the pieces of her life, career, goals, past, fears, and problems. Then I put together the hero, who’s perfect for her even though she doesn’t see it at first. I piece in his issues, family, backstory, hangups, and heartaches. Then I make their lives fit together in the end, just like a puzzle.
But sometimes, my cat, Charcoal jumps up in the middle of my puzzle, like he did the one at the top after it was two-thirds finished. So I move it to the shelf by the window in my office while I’m not working on it. So, he jumps up there and everything comes tumbling down-the cat, the puzzle, and the puzzle board. So I salvage the sections I can and start over with the rest. The same way, I sometimes have to rethink my book, salvage what I can, and start over with the rest.
The concept works for reading too. As a reader, I learn about each character and fit in the pieces of their puzzle, what makes them tick, what’s holding
them back, what they must overcome to nab their happily-ever-after. Some of my reading involves unpublished submissions, with writers’ dreams in my hands as I must decide to crush them or give them flight.
Editing has expanded my genre reading. These days, I often make sure the pieces of the mystery fit together as a whole, that all the loose ends are tied up, everything in the story makes sense, and the characters’ reactions stay true themselves. Sometimes, our son will come sit with me on the daybed while I edit the puzzle into an interesting read. When he leaves, I go work on my jigsaw for a few minutes. It’s a good life.
I’m giving away a copy of my title, Hill Country Reunion. Comment or answer the question to get in the drawing. What puzzle has come together for you lately? Deadline: Dec 7th.
Award winning author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance and has over a dozen published titles. A romance reader since her teens, she hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as she demonstrates that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does. She gleans fodder for her fiction in rural Arkansas where she spent her teenage summers working the concession stand with her rodeo announcing dad and married a Texan who morphed into a pastor. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her husband and son, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.
I loved doing jigsaws. I would always do one at Christmas (normally a few from Christmas to the next few weeks) I often will do a few in that time. I haven’t done one the past couple years cos of cats. My older cats were never a problem but Libby likes things. she has a cardboard fetish. I am not sure a puzzle and her would go well. I do have a few to do in the cupboard.
I love puzzles! My latest puzzle is an puzzle about a couple castles. We don’t have cats, so I can puzzle with no rumor. My sister helps me sometimes, but most of the time I do it by my one.
You had me smiling since I too love jigsaw puzzles. I find it works the mind and quiets the spirit.
I like doing puzzles! Mom, Daddy and I used to do them together. Mom put together a 3D puzzle before. It was huge when she finished! Mom has age-related Macular Degeneration, so we don’t do puzzles any more, as she can’t see to do them. One of my sisters told us at Thanksgiving that her 2nd son made her a puzzle table so that she doesn’t have to keep moving her puzzles from the dining room table. I used to work in a radiation oncology office, and there was always a puzzle on one of the tables in the waiting room so the patient’s and/or their family members could work on the puzzle. When Mom got to where she couldn’t do them, we donated our old puzzles there.
I used to do one every winter during our son’s Christmas break from school. But I skipped the last few years. I really like having one set out for breaks.
I used to have two weinie dogs, Marilene. If I ever dropped a puzzle piece, it promptly got chewed. So frustrating.
We have a local coffe shop here, Yvonne. I haven’t been since the world went crazy, but they used to always have a puzzle in progress on a table. I love that and have put several pieces in place over the years.
I’ve never done a 3D, Trudy. I’m afraid it would frustrate me. I’m sorry your mom can’t do them anymore but love where the puzzles ended up. More dr offices should do that. My uncle Spud is 85 and still puzzling. I really love puzzle table too. That’s a good son.
It has been a long time since I put together a puzzle.
My parents always had a puzzle on the go. They had a card table set up beside the patio doors for good light… and no pets to disrupt the pieces! I never got into it — it might partly be because of my poor eyesight. Now it is even harder because I can’t see detail, though I do puzzles with the grandgirls. I can still handle kid puzzles!
I love do puzzles with my older sister, she starts it and I help finish it up.
My sister and mom enjoy puzzles. I like them, too, but we just don’t have any room for them. My youngest son (now 10) used to love to do a small one a week at least. But it just got too hard to find a flat surface big enough without any cracks. Maybe I’ll put a puzzle tray or table on his wishlist for next year (already done with our shopping this year).
I love puzzles—I’ve discovered jigsaw puzzle apps that are fun too!
I like puzzles too! We have the same problem as to where to put it, but we usually put a card table up and leave the puzzle on that until its done.
Funny you should mention it! My wife and brother-in-law and I put together a small 3D puzzle of a Charles Wysocki lighthouse scene yesterday. My wife and I can both get obsessive about puzzling. We’ve done a 3000+ piece 3D puzzle of Manhattan that took up a whole coffee table and stood about 2 feet tall!
We are those frustrating friends and neighbors who go all out on puzzles with near military precision on laying out colors and shapes. Five hundred piece minimum, 1000 is better. No looking at the picture on the box (some exceptions for 3D because of the way decorative pieces can be ambiguous). We know, we can be obnoxious. We are truly sorry. But not enough to change. ;)
We also like other kinds of puzzles like crosswords and sudoku. But we won’t talk about those. We would just aggravate the sane among us.
Several years ago, we got a puzzle mat that is a large, rectangular piece of felt with a large, strong cardboard tube and several elastic bands. It allows you to set out all your puzzle pieces and then roll the whole thing up, secured by the straps, for storage. It works nicely for even larger puzzles.
Okay, enough crazy obsession. The guys in the white uniforms are coming down the hall now.
I love working puzzles and need a table like yours. Thank you for sharing. Blessings
I RECENTLY PUT TGETHER WINTER FRIENDS PUZZLE. WE NO LONGER HAVE PETS SO IT WAS FUN TO SE THEANIMALS GETTING ALONG LIKE OURS USED TOO.
I like putting puzzles together, I just haven’t put one together for a while, now I have put virtual puzzles together , and I really enjoy them. I do like puzzles though, when my 3 grandchildren were little we always put puzzles together, I like that puzzles keep my brain going.
I have not been a fan of puzzles since I was a child. I have problems holding the pieces as well as seeing how they go together. A lot of the authors have been putting puzzles on their Facebook sites. A lot of them have been beautiful with fall and winter scenes. I am able to drag the pieces of these puzzles together as long as the pieces are not too small.
I have also been able to put puzzle pieces together in the books that I have read. I am currently reading Cold Case Pursuit by Dana Mentick. It is a fabulous book with a K-9 unit.
I started a puzzle, but I couldn’t concentrate on it, so I put it back in the box. I’ll tackle it another day.
I need to get some courage to start 18,000 pieces puzzle I got as a gift ;)
I love doing puzzles as long as there able to be done on a table or tablet cause my puppy won’t let me be alone to do it on the floor.
It relaxes me, Abigail. If they’re not too hard. Someone gave me one once of a white polar bear in snow. It stressed me out. I finished it and then I threw it away.
My son and husband don’t have the patience for the setup process, Valerie. Which is not my favorite part either. But a little patience to start with and then it’s fun, relaxing, and mind clearing for me.
That sounds fun, Angeline. I need to find a puzzle friend to work on it with me.
My puzzle board is one of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received, Lila. When not in use, it leans against the wall behind the cedar chest in the closet. It cost about 20 bucks and has given me hours of pleasure. My uncle keeps large pieces of cardboard to do them on.
I’ve done a few online, Kara. But it’s like books. I like the real thing, feeling the pieces. Like holding the book, smelling it, and turning the pages rather than digital. I’m old school.
I don’t know why I never thought of a card table, Megan. I guess in the past I didn’t have room. We have more room since we remodeled. But now I have my sun room, so it works perfect. As long as I keep the puzzle board on the coffee table, my cat doesn’t bother it. If I’m working on it and not paying him attention, he’ll jump up on it. But he doesn’t hurt anything. I learned not to put it on a narrow shelf anymore.
I haven’t done 3D, Lincoln. I”m afraid they might frustrate me. I like 1000 to 2000 piece. I’m doing a 2000 right now. It pretty much fills up my board. I separate my pieces into four colors since I have 4 drawers. Usually buildings, sky, flowers, and trees or something like that.
I have a friend who doesn’t look at the box, says it’s cheating. I love the box.
I once did one that had a ton of sky. And every piece in the entire puzzle was the same shape. You couldn’t tell if you had the sky right or not, had to go solely on color. I never did get it right. I just put it together with an unblended sky. Then I threw it away.
Maybe a card table, Lelia. If you have room. Four years ago, my husband fell in love with a table at a flea market. It’s 8 feet long and 2 feet wide. The top is a live edge slab or hickory. The legs have spokes, like old timey farm equipment. We needed something for overflow when he have extended family gatherings at our house and it fit our space perfectly. I’ve been threatening to do a puzzle on it since we bought it. Just to bug him for fun. But I haven’t done it.
I love puzzles with animals or scenery, Todd. The one I’m doing now has people, lots of pets, main street shops, and a flower market. I’ve barely got the edging done. It takes a while when I only work on it a few minutes at a time. But I’m enjoying it. A sweet little girl from our church had her mom buy it for me.
I’m hoping someday I’ll have grandchildren who’ll puzzle with me, Alicia. It’s excellent for the brain and reasoning. I tried some online that are timed, so you have to be done in a certain amount of minutes. It was fun. But not relaxing.
I don’t like puzzles with tiny pieces, Debra. They are hard. I love book puzzles. Figuring out who done it. Or how the hero and heroine will ever surmount all the odds against them. I’m slowly reading Denise Hunter’s Carolina Breeze. I should be finished with my current editing project tomorrow. I think I ‘ll sit down and finish reading the book after that. I don’t mind doing puzzles slowly, but I don’t like reading a great book slowly.
I like to do a puzzle and have a sappy romance movie on at the same time, Denise. I’ve been watching the Lifetime and UPtv Christmas movies while I puzzle this year.
Oh, my goodness, Natalya. I didn’t know they came that big. Where in the world do you do them that big? Wow. I’m speechless. You win in the puzzling category.
I understand completely, Amy. My weinie dogs I used to have love chewing puzzle pieces. Thankfully, my cat doesn’t chew them. And as long as my board is on a stable surface, it doesn’t tip over if he jumps up there.
I enjoy looking at the pictures on the top of puzzle boxes more than trying to put together a puzzle. I have a project I am working on and recently have described it as feeling like I am trying to put a mega piece puzzle together without the picture on the box top. Stepping back to breathe and refocus, I am pleased with the amount of progress I have made. Now I feel like I can do this and see it through to completion.
I’m so glad your project is going well Suzan. Stepping back to breathe or taking a little break keeps me from feeling overwhelmed when projects are complicated.
I Love doing puzzles I use to help My Mother put puzzles together and it was so fun and relaxing!
Shannon, I LOVE your puzzle board! I wished I would have had something like that when I was into doing jigsaw puzzles more. Now, I just don’t have the time it takes to sit down and do one. My favorites are the Charles Wysocki 1000 piece ones. Maybe someday I’ll be able to pick it back up :-)
I do like doing the crossword puzzles in our local newspaper. They don’t take long at all and I can do them while my husband and I are sitting down in the evening watching TV. I remember my grandma with crossword puzzle books all over the house! Such great memories :-)
Such a good way to clear the mind and destress, Sarah.
Hey Trixi. I think my folks got the puzzle board online. My mom has always done crossword puzzles. I like the ones that aren’t hard. I like my hobbies to be relaxing not frustrating. No complicated brain teasers for me.
Yes, I find the hardest thing about puzzles is the possibility of disturbance by kids, grandkids and/or pets. I love doing them though, but hate taking them apart again. Once a puzzle is done, it should be stored in a completed puzzle museum. LOL
Ravensburger At The Waterhole 18,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle – LOL