It may have taken him six-and-a-half years, but for Willie Tribiger, completing his 12,000-piece puzzle was totally worth it.
The 84-year-old 91大黄鸭 dairy farmer said he started the puzzle on Dec. 3, 2013, finally completing it on May 22, 2020. Before then, the puzzle was just at home, untouched.
鈥淲e were on a trip in 1985 down east and our friends there took us to Michigan, to a little town called Frankenmuth and that鈥檚 where I found this 12,000-piece puzzle,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hat interested me. I thought it would be quite a challenge so I bought it 鈥� but it was just upstairs in one of the rooms for years, probably 30 years before I took it out.鈥�
Tribiger said the puzzle took so long because he took breaks from it.
鈥淭here were many times where I wasn鈥檛 working on it for a long time, especially in the summers when I had a lot of farm work,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut when I did work on it, I鈥檇 sometimes work on it for a whole day.鈥�
Tribiger offered some tips for those who are also interested in completing a big puzzle: separate the pieces and put similarly-shaped ones together in separate bowls. That way, when you look at the pieces that you need, it鈥檒l be easier to know where you can find them.
Another tip is to work on the puzzle in sections. For his piece, Tribiger divided the picture into four, working on each quadrant separately so he didn鈥檛 get too overwhelmed.
His last advice is to have patience with yourself and the process, especially on days where it gets difficult. He also said that keeping your sights on the goal will help you keep going.
鈥淚 never lost interest because I always had in mind the end. I really wanted to see the finished product,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f I start a challenge, I don鈥檛 like to give up. I like to see the end.鈥�
Since he still works as a dairy farmer and he still has many woodworking projects, Tribiger said he鈥檚 relieved to finally finish the puzzle and focus on those things.
鈥淚鈥檝e got so many things to do, I won鈥檛 live long enough to do them all. There鈥檚 always something to do.鈥�
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