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My Puzzle Table

March 20, 2024 By D'Ann Mateer

Do you enjoy jigsaw puzzles? I do! But I confess that I rarely indulge in them for three reasons. 

  1. I don’t have space to leave a puzzle out. 
  2. I have Dolly, who enjoys a snack of puzzle pieces. 
  3. If I start a puzzle, I get nothing else done until it’s finished. (See #1 and #2!) 

Two Christmases ago, both my mom and my husband gave me puzzles for Christmas. I put together the one my mother gave me, which confirmed numbers one through three above! That spring, I was on deadline, so I told myself I would do the lovely Jane Austen’s World puzzle my husband got me as a reward when I turned my book in. 

But alas, turning my book in coincided with the beginnings of the Great House Disaster of 2023. Puzzles didn’t even enter my mind. At least not until this past Christmas when we were back in our house and my daughter gave me a great puzzle of old-fashioned Santas. I pulled the dining room table to where I could see the Christmas movie they were watching and I finished the whole thing. (Again, see #1-#3 above!) 

And so the dream started. A dream to have a place to do a puzzle. Where it was out of the way, safe from doggie teeth, and I didn’t have to be obsessive about completing it. 

I found this on Amazon: 

Not only does it have a cover that clips down (to keep the dog from being curious, but its legs fold down, so I can slide it under my bed it I need it completley out of hte way without messing up what’s on the felt table top. 

But that’s not all! The best part, to me, is that it has wheels! Most times I don’t even need to fold it up, I just need to roll it to a different room to get it out of the way. Which means I don’t have to be obsessed with it. I can pull it out and work at night while we watch a show or on a lazy weekend afternoon. 

To complete the perfection, there are four felt-bottomed drawers underneath the table top for the extra pieces. These also clip shut. 

Here’s a little video to give you a more thorough tour if you want: 

I love having a puzzle going now. And I love that next time I see a great puzzle I don’t have to remind myself that it isn’t practical to think I could get it done. 

Do you enjoy jigsaw puzzles? Do you have a dedicated space for puzzling? 

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D'Ann Mateer

Inspired by novelist Eugenia Price, D’Ann’s dream of writing historical fiction with an element of faith began in middle school, though her serious drive toward publication took a bit longer. D’Ann is the author of four historical novels and one novella, as well as a contemporary short stories in a compilation volume. D’Ann and her husband of 30 years can be found in Austin, TX when they aren’t touring historic sites or visiting their grown children.

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Filed Under: House and home Tagged With: jigsaw puzzles

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Comments

  1. Traci says

    March 20, 2024 at 5:39 am

    That table is great!
    I enjoy puzzles, too, but my CAT would play with it and mess it up. My smart husband came up with the idea of getting a piece of plexiglass to put over it. I put the puzzle on a card table and the plexiglass allows me to still see it, it removes easily, and my cat can’t move it. Now, how do I get my cat from trying to keep me from getting HIS pieces out of the box? Lol

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:46 am

      Great idea! I love that your husband made it happen for you! Oh, that cat! 🙂

  2. Deborah Raney says

    March 20, 2024 at 5:44 am

    That is really cool! What a brilliant idea! I love doing puzzles but only when I have a bunch of family members helping. We usually do a puzzle or two every Christmas when everyone is home.

    • Carol and Billy says

      March 20, 2024 at 6:42 am

      My husband and I share your passion for working puzzles We’re 81 years old. He will be 82 next month. He had never worked on a jigsaw puzzle until two years ago. Always busy working, hunting or riding his bicycle. He got a puzzle as a Christmas party gift swap and that was the beginning. He also likes to message and frame them. I have about seven on a bed, waiting to be framed. He got behind during the wintertime when the weather was bad. Now, it’s gardening time. We set up tables in the living room. One with the puzzle and one to hold paper plates with similarly colored pieces. They’re put up now until next winter because we would “lose a crop” if we left them out. Too much temptation and get nothing else done. Enjoyed your post!!

      • Carol and Billy says

        March 20, 2024 at 6:46 am

        Auto correct changed Modpage to message!🥺

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:47 am

      That’s usually when I can justify a puzzle staying out as well. And it’s fun to have help!

  3. Robin Lee Hatcher says

    March 20, 2024 at 7:11 am

    I love doing puzzles, but with a cat, I rarely ever did one. Then I got a puzzle board in December, and I just love it. Mine is on my dining room table. It swivels and has four drawers. I got the smaller size so I am limited to puzzles that finish at about 28″ x 20″ (500 large piece Ravensburger puzzlers are perfect).

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:48 am

      That’s awesome, Robin! My mother got a puzzle board like that last year, too, which led to my search for something similar that was freestanding.

  4. Patty Rude says

    March 20, 2024 at 7:23 am

    That is so cool! Very clever. I enjoy doing puzzles, but don’t actually do them very often.

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:49 am

      It’s not easy to commit to a puzzle unless you can put it away when needed. But they are fun.

  5. Harriet says

    March 20, 2024 at 7:32 am

    Some in my family love putting together puzzles, and you’ve given me a great idea for Christmas gifts! Thanks🙂

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:49 am

      Yay! I’m sure your puzzle-loving family would be happy. And there are similar things which are just the top and drawers that you can then set on a coffee table or dining room table, too.

  6. Joy says

    March 20, 2024 at 8:03 am

    That table is awesome! I live by myself and so am able to either put a puzzle together at the kitchen table or on my sewing table. My problem is that I am usually addicted to it and can’t drag myself away until it’s done. LOL

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:50 am

      I hear you! That’s another reason I like the cover–it keeps it out of sight, out of mind when I need to be doing other things. 😂

  7. Karen Witemeyer says

    March 20, 2024 at 8:06 am

    I love this, D’Ann!!! I love puzzles, but I hate how they take over the table so I usually only do them at Christmas time when I have people around to help them come together faster. I’m going to go hunt up that puzzle table right now. It looks awesome!

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 8:51 am

      I thought you were a puzzle girl when I was doing this post! Hope you can find a way to indulge more often! 🙂

  8. Becky Wade says

    March 20, 2024 at 10:18 am

    What a fantastic solution! My friend Katie Ganshert LOVES puzzles and so does my sister (whenever she’s on vacation). I’ll have to keep this in mind for a future gift for them!

    • D'Ann Mateer says

      March 20, 2024 at 2:13 pm

      It’s a game-changer, for sure!

  9. Brenda Murphree says

    March 21, 2024 at 1:10 am

    I love your Jane Austin puzzle. I love puzzles too! I have 3 Gone With The Wind puzzles I did and glued them. I usually just do mine on a big piece of cardboard that I leave on the table except one night on the weekend when my kids and grandkids come. I can easily pick up cardboard and all and move it to my library or even on my bed till everyone leaves. My husband passed away in August of 2021 but he liked puzzles too. I listen to an audiobook or my Bible app when I’m putting a puzzle together. Do you take your puzzle apart after you finish? I can’t take them apart if it’s a picture of something I love so I have bought frames for several of mine.

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