Sylvanian Surprises

Last week was a great Sylvanian week! I got two surprises through the post. One was totally unexpected, and with the second one, though I was expecting some of the items, some of it was a huge surprise.

The first one came on Thursday, 19 January. It was a Christmas card from darling Christine all the way from Australia. At first I was amazed by the stamp, sorry but I can go quite geeky about stamps and things related to foreign countries. I was upset though... as the lovely customs people opened it, heaven knows why.

Inside was a wonderful card, some stickers, Christmas tree cuts outs and a fantastic knitted dress and hat for one lucky Sylvanian lady. Thank you so much Christine I really appreciate this gesture.

Then on Monday, 23 January the expected trade parcel van Kyraja finally arrived. And I was amazed that this time it was not opened by customs, and the custom fee was so low, it was laughable.

So what was inside? Well take a look, many many cool expected things, and even cooler unexpected surprises.

The patio set was part of the trade, but Kyraja surprised me with some planters/pots for Christmas, ideal for flowers. These three ladies are very excited, as they need some decorating items for their houses.

Another surprise was this lovely teaset! I'm over the moon, I've been eyeing it for so long on ebay and SSK, but it was just always to expensive, if you calculate the postage with it.

Max Bramble also finally arrived in Sugarbush. 

Livvy was ecstatic to finally have her son with her again (isn't he just the cutest thing!)

Then after the sadness of 4 families departing from Sugarbush, it is with much anticipation that I can announce that a new family will be moving to the Village soon. (the twins was part of the trade and the father was my Christmas gift)

I'm still undecided about the names (be sure that it WILL NOT BE 'Cakebread'), but in the mean time dad and the twins will find suitable housing, and hopefully the mother and 3 other siblings will join the family shortly.

Finally I also received this awesome playmobil set! It is my first one and I can't wait for my son and I to set it up (he will enjoy doing it, so I'm waiting for the right time so we can do it together). I'm thinking of giving the fresh produce stand to Bob Blackberry, he will be so happy to finally have a real shop for his fruit and vegetables.

Thank you Kyraja for this wonderful parcel and the opportunity to trade with you. It is always fun, and I'm already compiling my list for the next one.

Renard's house

So after the Puddlefords left Sugarbush Valley, the Renards were lucky enough to get a house of their own. 

Eric was the only person Nelson ever considered selling their beloved cottage to and the decision was easy for Eric. Luckily he and Roxy had savings 'for a rainy day'. They bought the house furnished, which was a good thing as they had no money left for new furniture or redecorating. 

Let's take a look (I have to apologise for the poor quality of some of the pictures)

The happy family in front of their new house

Full view of the cottage

Bottom floor: Living area and kitchen

Eric's favorite chair had to find a place

The kitchen: Roxy is over the moon to finally have her own kitchen

Top floor: Bedroom

Baden loves his cosy alcove

Parents bed

The Renards are extremely happy to be finally living in their own cottage

Then on a different note

I'm extremely happy to announce that I finally bought the Houseboat! It was my gift to myself for my birthday. I haven't really had time to furnish it or play with it, but wanted to take a quick picture. Ben is ecstatic that his dream of finally owning a boat came true.

With the Houseboat I received another Freya (on the right with the shell detail on her dress). I now have three 'Freyas' in my village, although original Freya will be the only Chocolate. Music room Freya and Houseboat Freya, will be exchange students living in the village. They are twins, with the surname Hopscotch (I know very original) and first names Piper and Clarine. 

Keep posted for more updates and new items soon. Enjoy the weekend!

Cassandra's (sad) day

Herewith my first story for 2017. I cheated a bit as the photos were already taken in Dec 2016, but does that really matter. Happy reading!

It was another lovely day in Sugarbush Valley, and what made it even more lovely, was the fact that it was Cassandra's day 'off'. Once a week the children walk to and from school on their own, which gives Cassandra a few precious hours to do her own thing.

"Have a nice day children, and remember to drop off Skimble first!" she yelled after them. She could imagine the eye rolls from her two older children Mistoffeless and Grizabella, as if they will ever forget about Skimble.

"What will I do today?" Cassandra wondered out loudly. There were always a few things she had to do, but she always tried to make time to go into the village and meet up with some of the villagers. Having good relationships with everyone were very important to Cassandra.

Today she decided to treat herself to tea and cake at her friend, Pippa's cake shop. And just maybe she will meet someone to chat to there.

"Good morning, Cassandra!" Pippa greeted friendly. "I haven't seen you in a long time, the children keeping you busy?" Cassandra smiled, "Yes they do, between home work, after school activities and the house building, things have been hectic. But I'm happy to say that the house is finally finished and now we can start decorating and everyone can settle into their own spot. It was quite hard to live, eat and sleep in one room." Pippa listened with interest, "That is a relief! We do have some big changes coming with regards to our living arrangements as well, but I don't want to get ahead of myself." 

After some more chatting, Cassandra found a table and ordered a pot of tea. She was glad to see Cecilia Teak entering the shop. Though they have met, they haven't had a chance to chat and she would love to learn more about Cecilia. "Good morning Cecilia, do come and join me." Cassandra waved Cecilia over.

Cecilia was happy to join Cassandra, she was still new in Sugarbush Valley, and though the villagers were very friendly, it was still hard to make friends.

"Good morning, Cecilia." Pippa greeted friendly. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought you a cup for tea as well, or should I rather get you something else? Cecilia smiled, "I would love some tea, thank you."

"So how are things with you and your family, still happy about your decision to move to Sugarbush?" Cassandra inquired. "Oh yes, everyone is so friendly and helpful, we love it here." Cecilia replied. "And how are you finding Commune living?" Cassandra continued. Cecilia blushed a scarlet red, "I must admit, that is a bit hard, we like to keep to ourselves, and sharing a bathroom and kitchen is a bit of a challenge, but everyone's helpfulness make up for that."

"Oh I can understand that, but I love the idea of the Commune providing alternative housing for the villagers waiting for houses." Cassandra explained. "I agree." Cecilia smiled. "Good morning Mrs Macavity, good morning Mrs Teak." It was the Blackberry twins, Yvette and Ingrid. "Good morning Ingrid, Yvette? Isn't it too early for cake?" Cassandra inquired. The twins blushed scarlet red but explained that it is Mr Huckleberry's birthday and they wanted to surprise him with a treat.

The twins hurried off, realising that they were already very late for school. While Cassandra and Cecilia finished their tea.

"Thank you for the company, Cecilia. Have a good day and good luck with the house hunting." Cassandra greeted. "No, thank you, for inviting me. It was lovely to have a quick chat with you." Cecilia said thankfully.

On her way out, Cassandra met Willow Thistlethorn. "Good morning, Willow! How are you?" Willow greeted Cassandra with a huge smile, "I'm good, thank you Cassandra." The two ladies talked a while about the latest happenings in the little village. It was then that Willow told Cassandra ...

"Have you heard that Nelson and Beth have moved to away?" Cassandra couldn't believe it. She knew that Nelson wasn't very happy with all the changes in Sugarbush, but to move away was a bit drastic. "What? No! That is awful, he was such a huge institution in our little village." Cassandra quickly greeted Willow and immediately went to the little Bramble cottage on the outskirts of the village, she had to see for herself.

But Willow didn't lie and the rumour was true, because as Cassandra came up to the cottage she could see the Renards outside, and it looked like they were moving in.

"Cassandra! What brings you by?" Roxy Renard noticed Cassandra approaching, and greeted her friendly. "Hey Roxy, I hope I'm not intruding, but I've just heard the news that Beth and Nelson moved and I just didn't want to believe it." Cassandra explained.

Eric climbed down form the ladder and greeted Cassandra too, "Yes, they've been planning it for a while now, but kept it a secret. Kenneth approached us first to buy the house, apparently Nelson wanted it that way. I think this was also the last house that Kenneth sold as realtor of Sugarbush." Eric clarified. All this information was just too much for Cassandra, and then she realised what Eric just said, "Wait..." she was very confused, "does that mean the Furbanks has left the village too." Cassandra didn't wait for a reply, she just greeted the Renards, and walked off, feeling miserable.

Cassandra wondered to the park, and found a bench. "What is going on in our village, why is so many villagers moving away, I thought we were such a happy village."

Her thoughts were interrupted, by Kelly Basset. "Hey Cassandra, why so depressed, are you ok?" he asked. "Oh Kelly, I've just heard that the Puddlefords and the Furbanks left our little village, and I'm just depressed, because something must be wrong!" Kelly realised she was upset and tried to explain, "On no Cassandra, don't think that! You know Nelson, lately he hasn't been happy, but only because he doesn't like change, but I've heard that they are very happy in Sweet Berry Valley. The Furbanks story is not such a happy one, but again it has nothing to do with the village or the villagers behavior." 

"But then I need to tell you that the Hazelwoods also left this morning on the bus. Their idea of an Orphanage just never worked in Sugarbush, and the residents of the old age home, is so self sufficient that they don't want any carers. They are moving to Marygold Creek, and believe you me they will be very happy there!" Cassandra felt a little bit better after talking to Kelly, but she still decided to walk over to Tourist & Realtor office.

Outside the office she met Rosemary Bouquet. "Cassandra? Are you ok, you are as white as a sheet?" Rosemary was quite surprised by Cassandra's expression. "Oh Rosemary, I'm just so upset, why have Kenneth and Emma moved away, without saying goodbye even, and all the others." Rosemary immediately understood, "Cassandra, their has been complications, with the adoption of Alfie and the fostering of Alyssa, some procedures weren't followed, and they went to try and sort that out." 

Herbage heard the two ladies talking and decided to try and calm Cassandra down, with the correct information. Rosemary was relieved, and quickly scrambled off, she too was somewhat upset. "You shouldn't worry too much Cassandra; Kenneth, Emma and the children are fine and happy. They just need to sort out a few things. Please don't worry about them. And before you heard further upsetting news, Durwood and Pansy also left the village yesterday, but to me they were never permanent villagers. Cassandra nodded, that was true, but she still felt depressed and slowly made her way home.

When she arrived home she found Alonzo putting some finishing touches on the house, and she was surprised to find the children already back from school.

"Cassandra, you are back, how was your morning." Alonzo seemed truly happy to see her. "Sweety are you okay?" he asked

"I guess, I'm just a bit upset about everyone that is leaving Sugarbush. It feels so personal, as if I did something wrong. Maybe I should've tried harder to be friends with them." she explained.

"Nonsense my dear, you are great, caring and a very good friend to everyone, you couldn't have done more. Things happen in life, and other's decisions are based on that, they do what are best for them, but I'm sure they appreciate your concern. Why don't you make contact with them, inquire if they are ok, and then keep contact with them, that way they will know how much you care." Alonzo suggested while hugging his wife"

"Alonzo, that is the best idea I've heard all day, thank you honey, for caring so much. Let's go inside, I need some tea." Cassandra replied happily.

An SV update and a GIVEAWAY

Dear Sylvanian fans, I can't believe it has been more than a month since I last blogged. Time has flown by, just like it usually does this time of the year. 

Sylvanian wise not much has happened in Sugarbush Valley. The villagers go about their daily tasks and I'm trying to get my motivation back to play with them and tell new stories. Unfortunately, nothing! Very frustrating, I know!

So as I'm not one for just giving up and ending a hobby out of the blue, I started to let my head go about just exactly how I'm gonna get my (Sylvanian) groove back. As I got thinking, one thing was VERY clear - "I'm not going to end collecting!" Then I took a hard unbiased (if that is possible) look at my families and collection, and I came to the realisation, some things need to go! And then I remembered that a year ago I was exactly at this point, and strangely, the same items I wanted to get rid of them came to mind again. It was the exact same three families and an extra one. They were

• The Hazelwood Mouse Family
• The Chestnut Raccoon Family
• The Furbanks Squirrel Family
• The Puddleford Duck family

Some would think me mad to choose families as the first step in getting my motivation back, but I'm standing by my original collecting objective of giving a home to each family living in SV, and that is just too difficult with 50+ families. Even the approach that I tried a few months ago of giving fictional houses to families, still didn't satisfy me, so with this four families moving away I have three less 'house-less' families and an extra house.

After deciding on the families, the tough process of getting new homes in other villages for them started. Three of the families were easy, but the last one remains a challenge (more about that in a minute).

The first family that were picked up were the Hazelwoods, Basil and his family, is already off to the wonderful magical village of Marigold Creek. They are still in 'transit', but I hope to hear from them soon.

Finding a new village for the Chestnuts was a no brainer, I knew that Rooibosch Hill would be perfect for them, so they were off. As Rooibosch Hill is very close to Sugarbush Valley, I'm happy to tell you that they already arrived safely, and are settling in nicely.

 The final 2 families that will be leaving Sugarbush Valley is the Puddleford family and the Furbanks family. The only problem is I don't know where to send them. So I have came up with a brilliant idea... "A GIVEAWAY"

I think it is perfect timing with Christmas just around the corner. So this is how it will work: in the comment section of this post (or reply to the post in the forum) write a short paragraph of why the Puddlefords or Furbanks should come and live in your village. Entries will close Sunday 11 December 2016 and I will announce the winner on Monday.

Though the Puddlefords and Furbanks (FYI - little Alfie will remain in my collection and I have a plan for him and big sister Alyssa already) were never two of my favorite families, I still like them very much and they are very close to my heart, so I will be biased as to were they will go. So the better your motivation, the bigger chance you have of convincing me. 

That is all for today, and I'm still hoping for a story before the end of 2016.