Friday - 11/19/2021 — One of the best gifts I’ve ever received came from Marvin, my brother-in-law. When I arrived there in late October, one of the first things I saw was an uncompleted jigsaw puzzle spread out across their dining room table—not on the table itself, but on a heavy piece of cardboard that had a slender balsa wood edging around it. When it came time for us to eat, we simply picked up the board, puzzle pieces and all, and set it aside. No need to worry that the pieces might fall off as we moved it, since the edging kept the loose pieces firmly in place.
Naturally, I oohed and aahed about it. A couple of days later, Marvin told me he had two more pieces of that carboard—each was 2 feet wide and four feet long—out in his garage. Did I want one to take home with me? And did I think Veronica (my daughter who is also a puzzle fanatic) would want one as well?
Yes. And yes.
The next day we went to Ace Hardware, bought 24 feet of balsa stripping (12 feet per board), glued the edges on, and, when I was ready to drive home, we loaded them in the back seat of Pegasa (my wonderful car). She carried me home safely, and now Veronica and I are using our boards daily. SO convenient.
If you’re a puzzler like Veronica and me, feel free to borrow the idea. It sure beats paying more than a hundred dollars for a fancy store-bought contraption.
While I was in Colorado, Diana and I finished this puzzle of Neuschwanstein Castle, one of the loveliest places I ever visited as a child. Do you like to do jigsaws? Do you have a favorite one?
