pixelated bricks - my first real building experience

this is the lego minecraft forest. it was my first lego swag and sabin built it, without me. i was in the room, don't get me wrong, but she did the building. i had a pony when i grew up, you see, so i didn't really ever play with lego, tho' i'd heard of it and knew what it was. i just wasn't really into it. if i'm honest, i was more of a barbie girl. all those clothes and shoes...and that hair. but i digress. i haven't played minecraft myself, but sabin has played it for hours and tho' it makes me carsick to watch her, she has frequently shown me her creations - roller coasters, flocks of cows and sheep and our old house on poppelvej. the pixely world of minecraft lends itself naturally to lego and the fact that it contains the word "craft" appeals to me as well.

i've heard a great deal in recent weeks about the building experience, so this evening, i decided to sit down with the lego minecraft nether micro world and build it. it took me just under two hours. the box doesn't actually say how many parts there are, so i'm not sure, but they were tiny - it is a micro world, after all - and it seemed like a lot. it was a challenge, especially when frieda was trying to help me. i can report that cats are not that much help when you are building lego, especially teeny tiny lego.

i think i got a taste of some of the stories i've heard in the past few weeks. people who described coming home from work and building  lego sets to relax, instead of watching t.v. tho' i'll admit i had fringe going on netflix beside me (i'm saving season 2 of house of cards), tho' i was also pretty concentrated on the build. sorting the pieces into piles of like colors and shapes and then following the wordless instructions was really quite relaxing. these minecraft sets are built in four separate small blocks and stuck together, so you get the satisfaction of finishing a small build four times. that's a good thing for a newbie like me.

i like that these sets have smooth tiles, which create a nice surface on top and on the edges. there are a few open bricks here and there, where you can place steve and the zombie pigman. they are also surprisingly detailed on the inside, where you end up not even really being able to see it. i like that sense of hidden secrets, it feels to me like there are stories there that are not yet revealed and that appeals to me on an intellectual level, as well as a tactile one. maybe the stories are just in my own head, but maybe they're there in the bricks. with this build experience, i think i begin to understand the attraction of lego. it's more than just minifigures.

i have a tale to tell of minifigures, but i'll save that for another day.

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speaking of lego, this jerk (who is inappropriately named brick) 

says adults (especially men) shouldn't play with it in an esquire piece.

and these lego guys take offense.

buttercup and me, part 2 (#tbt)

that's buttercup, (you may remember her from last week) giving me a kiss after we apparently got second place in our class. i'm not sure if it was showmanship or halter, nor do i recall how many people were in the class. all i really know is that second place is the first loser and it was probably here that i first heard, "win or don't come home." such are the tribulations of being the eldest, all the expectations fall on your shoulders, even if you're only 7.

buttercup and me (throwback thursday)

throwback thursday #tbt is all the rage on instagram and facebook, so i had to get into the act. this photo is from a horse show somewhere in south dakota (i don't really recognize the place - it could be wagner or it might be platte) in june 1974. i didn't remember this pony's name, but my sister reminded me she was called buttercup. another facebook friend reminded me that she had an unexpected foal named peanut who became that friend's pony. weird how i have no recollection of that, tho' i do remember this halter class (and being very confused about where to stand).

there are a number of things i love about this photo - my little black and red pants. my boots that appear to be way too big. our light green station wagon and flying L horse trailer in the far background. that dark green horse trailer was the very height of horse trailer luxury in 1974. and i love the way the photo was printed with a bonus little version of the photo for your wallet.

in next week's #tbt, i will show you the result of the halter class i was waiting to go into.