I am a keen puzzler. And for those of you unfamiliar with my terminology, that means that I like doing jigsaw puzzles… a lot. One of my standard winter activites is puzzling. Even though I also usually spend a chunk of this time travelling, I usually have time to do a couple of puzzles. Because what’s better than sitting inside on a cold day, with the winter sun (or heating) streaming in to keep you warm, and an Aperol at hand to imagine you’re somewhere else entirely. I think it’s a kind of meditation for me… I listen to music… and my mind wanders.
When Covid hit last year, while the majority of people seemed to be running out of things to do and ordering up puzzles online, I was hectic with work. And then came the warmer weather, and my obsessive daily swims and all the garden work that comes from having a big backyard and a veggie patch. But come October, when the weather cooled, the Covid cases increased and lockdown hit again, I thought to myself… finally it is puzzle time. And I knew it would serve me well, especially through a long winter and Christmas with no prospects of seeing my family and friends in Oz. So my hubby went mad and bought me as many puzzles as he could find. I got a puzzle mat for Christmas too so that when it’s warm enough I can take my puzzles outside. I may not have travelled over the winter, but through my puzzles I went to London, the Greek Islands, Amsterdam, Rome, Thailand and plenty more. I deliberated over blue skies that had no definition and cursed over missing puzzle pieces, which I rather suspect, got drunk and fell in a glass of Aperol when I wasn’t looking. I’m a fan of the 1000 piece – 2000 is too big to manage unless you’ve got a separate table just for puzzling. 1000 pieces is big enough for a challenge, but small enough that it can be finished relatively quickly, and give you that sense of satisfaction you’re looking for when putting in the last piece.
Hubby doesn’t interfere (smart guy, if he tried to touch my puzzle there might be all out war) – he leaves me to my weekend afternoon quiet time, or joins me reading or chatting nearby. I don’t mind if my pastime is weird, or boring or a waste of time. I like it. I’ve always liked puzzling. It’s not for everyone, but it is for me. And I puzzled the entire winter through and I will probably keep going until it’s warm outside and I have to drag myself to the pool or to the awaiting weeds in the garden.
an aussie in austria 
Puzzling also occurred in our family during the lockdown. It was a great bonding experience when I went to visit. But since life has gone closer to normal, the puzzles are nowhere to be seen!
Yeah… even though it is a relaxing pastime… it is time consuming… I’d gladly trade some puzzle time to meet up with people… I wonder if this lockdown will go on long enough for me to actually get sick of it 😉
Really relateble I just started my own travel blog and then covid hit and I could not travel anymore from my country. No travel planning for me at all 😦
That’s really hard. Travel has taken such a big hit and it’s not really one of those things that you can just adapt to be virtual! I hope Covid goes away soon and you can get back to it!