SMRT

I discovered some newspapers stashed in the back of my car last night. When my brother and I went on our road trip a few weeks back, we attempted the Friday New York Times crossword puzzle. This is how far we got:


To his credit, he was concentrating on driving. As for me, I have no plausible excuse.

In order to make ourselves feel better, we picked up the Ashland Times-Gazette.



Phew.

Watch your back, Eric Smith

Just this June, Eric Smith (UK) completed the largest jigsaw puzzle ever at 24,000 pieces. It took him six months of several hours of work per day. Our measley 3,000-piece puzzle is something to scoff at from where he's sitting, but from where I'm sitting it's just a gateway to bigger and better. Mr. Smith is 73, so this 28-year-old gal has plenty of time to work up to that level of puzzle greatness.

Our current masterpiece:

But there's more...

Puzzle annex #1


Puzzle annex #2


Sky pieces:


This is why I don't go to bed at a reasonable hour.

How to spice up your love life

Jigsaw puzzles are a fun, low-cost way to spend quality time with a loved one. And best of all, they're great for brain health and cognitive skills. The spouse and I are doing our best to stave off Alzheimer's one puzzle at a time.

We popped our puzzle cherry with this classic Western scene:

Next, we tackled a close-up of a brazen kitty in a suitcase:

We finished the second one in less than a week, so next up is something a little more challenging. I dunno if we even have the table space for it, but a 3,000 piece monster is on deck.

I think the reason that jigsaw puzzles aren't more popular among my demographic (and the reason that everyone I've mentioned this to has laughed immediately) is because the themes are so cheesy and cliche-- horses, cats, fairies, teddy bears. Come ON. You can do better than that, puzzle creators. Let's rejuvenate the entire industry with some kickass puzzles that will inspire and delight.