Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

While we’re on the subject, let me recall other jigsaw puzzles Earl and I have done.  Once we did all the fish in Lake Michigan. This was relatively easy because each fish had its name under its profile.  Another time we did the shipwrecks of Lake Michigan.  That was a little more intense, since all sunken ships seem to look the same, while all fish do not.

Then there was the time we did the globe puzzle.  Yes, the pieces were rounded, and the finished product ressembled a globe with Africa, South America, etc. where we assume they are.  On the back of each puzzle piece was a number. So you could do the puzzle on the front side, struggling to attach Antarctica to various hostile seas.  Or you could do the puzzle by the numbers, where the South Pole was #1 and the numbers emanated from there. Guess what we did.

Once when Earl’s family celebrated Christmas in Jamaica we did a three-dimensional puzzle.  I can’t begin to explain it these many years later, but suffice to say we finished it because we had many people working on it.  Wait, maybe we finished it because Earl’s daughter is a whiz at puzzles and she was the major impetus for this challenge.

We’ve also ordered custom puzzles for family and friends that show the exact location of their homes on a map.  We gave one to Earl’s daughter a few years back; if I remember correctly, she finished it overnight.

There’s something seductive about jigsaw puzzles regardless of the number of pieces. Maybe it’s you vs. little bits of cardboard. Maybe it’s you vs. the desire for mindless entertainment. Or maybe it’s you vs. the need for structure and organization.  No matter, next time you’re in the neighborhood, come help with the current occupant of our dining table.  We always welcome it.