A solution for my puzzling addiction

Jigsaw puzzles are burdens when you have even a mildly obsessive-compulsive personality, which I do. You can’t leave the unfinished puzzle.

I’ve found a perfect solution: retirement.

One of the best things about retirement is that on most days I can choose my plan for each day. So now I can stay up into the early morning hours to finish a puzzle and not have to worry about getting up early for work. It’s one of the many benefits of retirement.

Since my wife and I set up a puzzle table in mid-November, we have completed more than 40 puzzles, even though we don’t do them every day. We have gained speed through a mixed approach of searching for colors and shapes. We usually do a 500-piece puzzle in 4-5 hours.

Initially we were working puzzles on the dining room table. Then we moved to a card table in the living room so we could enjoy the fireplace while we worked. Next, we got serious and purchased a puzzle table that rotates on a Lazy Susan. We also researched puzzle lights. We found a floor lamp that shines down onto the middle of the table and added an LED lamp that reduces glare on parts of the board.

Puzzling is a good winter activity. In the summer, we spend most of our days on outdoor activities – yard work, walking and biking. Our summer nights are reserved for watching the Phillies.

Now it’s puzzle time.

Doing puzzles keeps your mind sharp. Like most others do, we start with the border. Sometimes we work together on sections; most times we each concentrate on an area. There is silent communication through passing pieces that match the section the other is doing.

Neither of us wants to quit until a puzzle is finished, and sometimes we work until midnight or later. For the first time in many years I was awake when the new year arrived. The puzzle we started at 9 p.m. was finish before 2 a.m., with a momentary break for a New Year’s kiss.

The sense of accomplishment that comes with a finished puzzle doesn’t last for long. We usually tear it down within a day to start another one.

When we are finished, we separate the border pieces from the rest to make it easier for the people we pass it to – often my parents. Sometimes others do that for us. 

Sharing puzzles is fun, too. It’s better than just packing them away for years. Just make sure you have all of the pieces. One puzzle that was given to us was missing two pieces. When we mentioned it, we were told a bird had flown in and stolen a piece while it was being done on a porch. We couldn’t make that up.

We have done a couple of 1,000 piece puzzles, but they are spread over two days. They don’t fit easily on our 34-inch-square puzzle table. We’ve thought about 2,000 piece ones, but that would mean moving to the dining room table.

The toughest one we did had a large blue sky with no clouds and subtle shading changes. Another tough one was a thousand-piecer of the Coliseum.

Most puzzles lock together with what we call “ins” and “outs,” and many of the pieces have similar shapes, so learning to distinguish patterns and colors becomes important.

Recently our neighbors, who have loaned numerous puzzles to us, introduced us to wooden puzzles with special shapes. Those were the most interesting and fun. They also were the most expensive. Many of them cost about $75. Most of the puzzles we buy run about $10.

These two were made by Liberty Puzzles, which is located in Boulder, Colo. They range in price from $39 to $200 and in size from 7 x 7 inches and 106 pieces to 24 x 16 and 864 pieces. 

As described on the website libertypuzzles.com: “Liberty Puzzles are a throwback to the golden age of jigsaw puzzles. Each one contains dozens of hand-drawn 'whimsy' pieces intricately cut into the shapes of characters, animals, and geometric designs.  They are works of art within art. The puzzles are made with ¼” plywood and use advance print technology for eye-popping color.”

The website also provides some history of puzzles:

“The golden age of jigsaw puzzles was approximately the 1930s.  This was before the advent of die-cut (stamped) cardboard puzzles. Most puzzles were made of wood, and hand-cut using a scroll saw. Usually, the wood was approximately ¼” thick.  With the end of the Roaring Twenties and the onset of the Great Depression, people were looking for cheap alternatives for entertainment. A jigsaw puzzle craze exploded worldwide. Numerous companies sprang up to meet the demand.  Calvin Coolidge, King George V, and Benito Mussolini were all avid puzzlers. By the early 40s and the advent of World War II, the craze had died down and die-cut puzzles were now hitting the market. The art and popularity of the hand-cut puzzle subsequently waned significantly. Liberty Puzzles are a throwback to the golden age of jigsaw puzzles!”

It doesn’t matter if the puzzles are expensive or not. What matters is keeping your mind sharp and spending time with someone special. Especially when you don’t have to worry about getting up early to go to work the next morning.

I’m finding retirement is a perfect solution to many things in life.

Liberty Puzzle of the Eiffel Tower 

Pieces in a Liberty Puzzle of a rural scene 

How pieces fit together in a Liberty Puzzle

Interesting shapes in a Liberty Puzzle