You can read it in the breathless style of writing and focus that Mary Lou Peterson uses when she describes being the first person to put together the 504-piece Let’s Make Lefse! Jigsaw Puzzle. “I saw the lefse puzzle and knew immediately that I needed to have it,” wrote Mary Lou from Minnetonka, Minnesota.
I can only imagine what she was thinking during this dramatic moment in history. Observing her sketchy writing style, I thought that perhaps she sensed she was on the precipice of making lefse history and was rushing to be the first finisher of the lefse puzzle and therefore the first puzzler to enter the Lefse Hall of Fame. And yet she kept her wits about her and jotted notes, knowing that all in Lefse Land would be begging for details once the word spread.
History will mark Mary Lou as a gamer. She had the right stuff, that obsessive drive that causes all jigsaw joy seekers to stay up late and get up early so that they can find the proper home for every last piece of the puzzle. As a nurse who has years of experience dealing with life-and-death situations, she knew she had to be steady and levelheaded under immense pressure to finish this puzzle before anyone else in Lefse Land. She knew she had to keep her eye on the prize and not be distracted by the ballyhoo and big bucks that would come with entering the Lefse Hall of Fame. Steady, Mary Lou, steady …
For the record, Mary Lou and family finished the Let’s Make Lefse Jigsaw Puzzle on August 20, 2018, and posted a photo of her prize puzzle on Facebook with a note that modestly said, “Done….”
Well done, Mary Lou! Here’s to you and your spot in history!
And here are Mary Lou’s notes that will be recorded in the Lefse Hall of Fame:
I saw the lefse puzzle and knew immediately that I needed to have it. The puzzle boxes, two extra for Christmas, arrived….
I cleared the dining table, emptied the bag that held the pieces … stood back … which part to do first??
I had a slow start. I had not done a puzzle for years. It took a plan….
I separated the colors, the stripes, and the edge pieces. Then I started … a bit slow at first….
I recruited my daughter, Kara Peterson. My husband, Craig Peterson, came by and was help….
It took several days … a few minutes at a time as I passed the table where the puzzle was being assembled. The big lefse done … it got easier and edges were completed … the arms and hands … the lefse turner’s….
Kara commented how it was tricky that the hands were in three places and that there was all this blue in the puzzle. Craig worked on the stove in the puzzle’s background. He has a good eye and had that section completed pretty quickly.
Finally, it all came together — and finished!
Then I grabbed the phone for a picture and posted on FB.
The puzzle was great fun.