Earlier this week, a friend asked me on Facebook how many puzzles I own. The answer: more than when this pandemic started. For those of you that don’t follow me on Facebook (or decided early on to block me and my incessant puzzle posting) my son and I have been puzzling and I’ve been posting regular updates about it since the beginning of April.
I’ve been surprised by the interest in our puzzling habits. In addition to the question about how many we’ve accumulated (which I think is best left unanswered here as MOH regularly reads my blog), people want to know how many we’ve put together so far, where we get them, whether we work on them independently or together and how can we possibly have so much patience. We’ve completed 32 and are getting ready to start number 33. Max and I work on them sometimes individually and sometimes at the same time, depending upon our schedules. And when we puzzle together, we enjoy discussing the news of the day or listening to music or audio books.
As far as where we get them, we have a number of sources. Early on, I blogged about our latest pastime ‘It’s Puzzling’ and made mention that my supply was relatively small. (I think we had about eight puzzles at that time.) I lamented that I might run out. Several friends and family members came to our rescue and puzzles began to arrive in the mail. I also found that one of my FB friends is a fellow puzzler and we’ve coordinated a couple puzzle swaps via porch drop offs. I’m not gonna lie – I have discovered the joy of online puzzle shopping and although some of the puzzle companies are having trouble keeping up with demand, they’re making a valiant effort. Wow! Next pandemic, I’ll be buying some stock in puzzle companies for sure.
Two 500 piece puzzles are comingled in one box without a picture to follow. Complete the puzzles, read the story, solve the mystery. I recently purchased B is for Birthday.
Max and I have decided to see how many puzzles we can complete in a year. As our first puzzle was completed on April 5, 2020, I figure our cut-off will be March 31, 2021. We could probably do more puzzles if we stuck to those with 500 pieces, but it’s about more than just the number. We’ve had fun trying different sizes, different styles, and different brands. In fact, as a result of our journey, I’ve become a bit of a brand connoisseur. Always believing that Springbok was the best jigsaw brand (probably because my mom told me it was) I’ve found there are many other quality puzzles out there. I love you Springbok, but I daresay I’ve seen some things that have clearly slipped past your quality control department. Friends that have loaned me puzzles have opened my eyes to other great brands. When I commented on the attributes of a recent loan, Max adopted a posh British accent and said, “The Ravensburger is clearly a superior specimen to the lowlier Springbok. It is not the puzzle of peasants.” Smart ass.
Portage Street, Sault Ste Marie, MI 
Santa!
My all time favorite quote of 2020 came from our friend Jeff in the midst of Michigan’s Stay Home Stay Safe shut down. When MOH asked him how he was doing, Jeff said, “I’ve been so damned bored that I got on Facebook to see how Sue is coming with her puzzle.” I loved that! In any case, we will continue our puzzling. I encourage it as a past-time if you’re looking for something to do this winter. Or you can just drop by my Facebook page and check on our progress. 😉
Once Upon a Willow 