Rediscovering Lego

After a 20-year hiatus from Lego, I rediscovered the joy of building. I used to love it as a kid, and remember having a massive bucket of bricks - I did not store or display any of the Lego sets once I finished building them. Instead, my Lego existed in a perpetual state of being destroyed and reassembled into whatever my imagination conjured.

Childhood memories

The “Sheriff’s Lock-Up” was my absolute favourite set. So much in fact that I managed to find it’s name based on just the description of what I remembered from it.
Unfortunately, at some stage, that bucket of bricks was misplaced, and, despite thoroughly searching my parents’ attic, I’ve never been able to recover it…

Last year we introduced our daughter to Lego Duplo, to get her started. It’s something we wanted to incentivise, as we think it’s really good for coordination and creativity. She now spends a few good hours each week playing with it, inadvertently reigniting my own interest for Lego.

A new hobby takes root

I must have said something about Lego more often than I realised, as my partner, noticing my renewed interest, ended up gifting me a set last Christmas, the Lego Bonsai Tree.

It took a few months before I found the time to open and build the set - it was only this past Monday that I finally had a free morning. The experience was nothing short of delightful!

The assembled Lego Bonsai tree, in spring blossom version, now sitting on my desktop

It had been a long time but, admittedly, it’s still just as fun as it used to be.

I could not resist, and that same afternoon I went out and purchased a new set - the Lego Orchid. My mum has always had real orchids around the house, and they seemed to last forever. Unlike my ill-fated attempts with real orchids (even with smart plant sensors), this Lego version promises to be a lasting, maintenance-free addition to my growing collection.

I am impressed by Lego’s ability to bridge the gap between childhood play and adult creativity. Although I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to build this new set, at least I have it at the ready, once the opportunity shows up.
And I can only look forward to the time when I will finally be able to build one of these sets with my daughter!

Orchid update

I finally had a bit of time, as I recovered from being ill, and managed to spend some time building the new set. My daughter helped put a few pieces together. She definitely doesn’t have the required dexterity yet, but she was happy to press in a few pieces once I had inserted them in the right slot.

The assembled Lego Orchid, sitting on a shelf above my desk

I have to say this set looks great! I am very happy with the assembled look, and might even end up grabbing the Lego Mini Orchid next. At least these plants won’t die, and so far the cats have stayed away from them too.

Another Orchid update

I found a good price on the sets and couldn’t resist! Grabbed the Lego Mini Orchid and the Lego Plum Blossom. My partner built the Mini Orchid, and I did the Plum Blossom. Both sets look great, and, in my opinion, they are great as decor, especially in rooms where you can’t get enough light for the real thing.

The two new boxed sets

Completed Mini Orchid and Plum Blossom sets