Last Piece of the Puzzle

One time, a long time ago, I was at someone's house and they had done a jigsaw puzzle and then they glued it together and hung it on the wall. As I was growing up, our family did a lot of puzzles, I never knew of anyone keeping them together in such a way. I really thought it was weird. (I hate when life decides to teach me, yet again, not to judge!)
For Christmas this past year, Santa brought me a 1,000 piece puzzle of a covered bridge. He was hoping the grandkids would be over to help a lot. I started out feeling confident. Larry 4 and Julia were here twice, I think, to give me a hand. Larry 3rd helped some too. And of course, resident Larry was a great source of encouragement,
and found quite a number of pieces.
And then I began to fear that the table would not be clear for our upcoming St. Patrick's Day dinner!
Friends Terry and Ray dropped off a piece of cardboard to get the puzzle onto - but it was quite terrifying sliding it with great care onto taped pieces of waxed paper. It was only about 1/2 done, the pieces weren't very sturdy, and with each move it took itself apart!
Note to self, and anyone reading....never put them together right on a table!
Finally it was safely on the cardboard with waxed paper between, and the pressure was off.
However, a couple of sick days got me to the last piece at last.
It's depth was beautiful! Being a covered bridge lover, I found I hadn't the heart to take it apart.
So off we went to buy that old 70's friend Mod Podge and some sponge brushes.

First, a healthy couple of layers of Mod Podge over the front...making sure to get all the seams and the edges well.

Once the front had dried clear, I turned it over and gave it one coat on back...again, checking for any seams that looked less than glued and getting the edges well.

After that, it was just a matter of letting it dry well and then popping it into a frame.

Maybe it is weird, but we love the look and think it looks great over the piano.

Planning my next puzzle after St. Patrick's Day....stop on by and help if you like!