When was the last time you finished a jigsaw puzzle? Since I was born before the dawn of television, jigsaw puzzles were a popular entertainment for kids. During the winter, we always had one going on a card table in the living room. I don’t know when or why that all ended, but by the time I was in high school, the puzzles were gone. In the decades that followed, I didn’t know anyone who worked them. But Covid-19 lockdown changed all that. Stuck at home, with nothing much to do but read and watch TV. Suddenly, jigsaw puzzles took on a new luster. Around Christmas, we decided to invest in a jigsaw folding table. But it turned out to be difficult. Warning! There’s a run on puzzle tables.
Why would anyone spend the money on a single purpose table? Because puzzles –the good ones, anyway—take time to complete. Maybe even weeks. Our living room space was cluttered by two card tables—one for the stray pieces, and another for the work in progress that had been started. We got on Amazon and looked for tables. We didn’t want a puzzle board, we wanted a stand alone folding table. There weren’t many to pick from. Googled puzzle tables and found a metal folding table we liked. It was more expensive than we anticipated, but what the heck. Ordered it and waited for it’s arrival.
The table never came. The manufacturer kept sending us notices that the delivery would be late. And then, about a month later, they said they had run out of stock, and we wouldn’t receive one at all. Bummer!
Back to Amazon. Ordered a Hammacher Schlemmer deluxe model. Same thing happened. First they gave a delivery date, then they said they’d run out. So, we went straight to Ham/ Schlem. They, too, procrastinated on delivery. Kept postponing the date. Until finally, yesterday, Fed Ex brought the table to our door.
Did you know that jigsaw puzzles are good for the brain? They prevent cognitive decline, improve memory and problem solving ability, also, increase your IQ.
Warning! There’s a run on puzzle tables during this pandemic.