It's complicated!

My neighbor friend, Olive, thought Rich would like a fun puzzle to do this winter. She purchased this not Lego set from Amazon.

It has over 3,000 pieces. When we opened it we were surprised at how tiny the pieces were!
The big surprise is that these pieces are 'micro mini blocks'.

How many pie tins and little containers does it take for sorting? More than we had. But the continued sorting has kept someone very engaged. The miniature pieces are terrible to handle when you have shaky hands, but he keeps at it until it frustrates him and he has to quit for a bit.

Even a regular sized Lego person is surprised by how tiny the pieces are.

The instructions are interesting. Each layer that is already built gets greyed out which is terribly difficult when dealing with grey pieces or figuring out what goes where.

I've had to use a flashlight to see details. I finally got my light assisted magnifying glass out so I could count how many bumps are on pieces for construction. 

We keep at it until my eyes get worn out and then set it aside.

But we are making progress.

Below is a dime stuck in with the pieces and a view of the instructions.

This is where we left off last night. It is starting to look like something cool!
I sent this photo to Olive and she wanted to know how the instructions were. Hmmm, bad...but IF we can get this mini build actually finished, WE could build anything!

I went into our old stash of plastic containers handed down from my Mother in Law and we sorted more bricks. We have 14 containers of pieces.

The box says ages 6 and up. Hmmm. I think they should have noted 60 and up because you need a ton of patience to figure this one out.

After building in fits and starts for a week, Rich was still interested by was frustrated with the fact that he couldn't handle the tiny pieces to put them together.

The clear pieces are driving me absolutely nuts, but I like a challenge anyway.

The instructions are diabolical. They include two steps at once and require intense concentration.

So when I went out to pick up groceries for the week, I searched for a more suitable project for hubby.
I found a Lego Lotus in the 'cheaper' section.

After the box inspection and lunch from DQ....

Somebody started to work on it. The only help he asked for is putting on the stickers.

This may seem odd to some folks. Legos are not cheap, but this is better than taking him to therapy for activities to stimulate conversation, thinking, and small motor skills.

When he has something to figure out, he is not sitting still blankly staring out the window at nothing and being nowhere. These simple bricks and booklets, give him a sense of building and doing something.

Both his mental health providers and PCP think this is an amazing activity for him. The sorting of the bricks appeals to his sense of order of things. Building these projects is similar in a way to what he used to do as the owner of a Welding Shop. He can create and use his rusty thinking skills.

Me?
I find it a relaxing to be with him while we both work on the projects. 

What will I do with the vehicles he builds? Eventually I'll take them apart and put them in their boxes. Somewhere down the line I will gift them to some kids I know or sell them as used.

They are serving a great purpose.

Forgive the photos, they were taken with my crappy old cell phone.