Briar's Busy Day

Briar Prickles woke up early, and crept out of bed so as not to wake the rest of the family.  She dressed quickly and quietly, and went downstairs to start her day - for her, one of the busiest of the year!

Briar put some water on to boil - the first thing she wanted was a cup of tea!

Then she set about getting breakfast ready for the family.  Nothing fancy today - breakfast was always a simple affair at this time of year.

Briar set some fruit and a loaf of bread out on the table, and helped herself to a juicy apple.

She was just finishing her last sip of tea when Silk appeared.
"Morning sweetheart," Briar said, smiling.  "You're up early today!"

"I smelled something," said Silk, yawning.  She sniffed.  "Mmm, can I have some bread now?"
"You can have a piece of fruit now if you like," her mother answered.  "You can wait and eat the bread with everyone else."
Silk laughed.  "I think I can have some now then!" she said, as her brother and sister came tumbling downstairs, with their father close behind.

"I thought if we all had breakfast early, we could get out of your way, dear," he said.
The children gathered around the table as Hawthorn started cutting the bread, and Briar made another cup of tea, this time for her husband.

After breakfast, Hawthorn took Raspberry back upstairs to get her cleaned up, while Briar sent Gale and Silk outside to play.
"Scoot!" she said, kissing each of them as they went.  "I've got lots to do today!"

With the downstairs room to herself again, Briar quickly tidied up, and then began bringing beautiful fabrics out onto the table:  jewel-like colours and pretty floral prints, delicate lace and spools of ribbon shone in the early morning light.

"Oooooo!" squealed Raspberry, as she bounced downstairs.  "Pretty!"
"No!" cried Briar, alarmed, as Raspberry reached for one of the shiny satin fabrics, but luckily Hawthorn scooped her up just in time.

"Come on, little berry," he said, "off to the stream we go - will we see any little fish?"
"Fish!" shouted Raspberry.  "Yes, Daddy - I will see the most prettiest fish of all!"
"Thanks for that," sighed Briar, relieved.  "That satin and little hedgehog quills are not a good combination!"  Actually Briar didn't usually work with satin at all if she could help it - even her own quills had a tendency to snag in the delicate fabric.  But she knew that many of the ladies and girls in the village loved to wear pretty satin dresses for the Easter festival, so for just this one month of the year, she made an exception!
No sooner had the family left the house, than there was a knock on the door - her first customer of the day!  It was Teri Chocolat, with her son Duke.

"Good morning Briar - goodness, what beautiful material!" Teri exclaimed.  "I was thinking I might like a new dress for the Easter festival - and I was also wondering if you had finished Duke's overalls as yet?"
"I certainly have, Teri - here Duke, try these on," Briar answered, handing him a fine new pair of purple overalls.
"Thank you Mrs Prickles," he said politely.  The new overalls fit perfectly!  Teri was very pleased.

"You can go off and play now if you like," she said, "as I want to talk dresses with Mrs Prickles."  Duke beat a hasty retreat.
After some deliberation, Teri chose a lovely floral satin, and some pink fabric that complimented it nicely.  "I wonder if you could run me up an apron as well?"  she asked.  "I wouldn't want to get chocolate on my lovely new dress!"

"Ah yes, how are the chocolate eggs coming along?"  Briar asked with interest.  "My three can't wait for Easter.  This is the first year Raspberry really knows what is going on, so it's all very exciting!"
"The eggs are coming along nicely," Teri smiled.  "It's such a busy time of year - for you, too, I'm guessing!"
She was certainly right about that!  After the Chocolat family had left, Dr Kylie Outback arrived to order a new dress for little Adelaide, and they had no sooner left than the Thistlethorns showed up.
"Are you wanting a new dress for the Easter festival too, Mrs Thistlethorn?" Briar inquired.
"Not for me this time thank you," Willow answered, smiling.  "It's -"
"It's for me!" Priscilla beamed.  Briar chuckled.

"I should have known," she said.  The Thistlethorns had only lived in Macadamia Grove a few months, but already Priscilla was known for being quite the young lady.
"You know Priscilla just loves pretty clothes," Willow began, rolling her eyes fondly at her daughter, "and when she heard from some of her school friends that Mrs Prickles makes special dresses for the Easter festival, well, nothing would do but that we come down on the first day to order one!"
"It is our first Easter festival here, mum," Priscilla pointed out earnestly.  Then she turned to Briar.  "What happens at the festival, Mrs Prickles?"
"Oh, it's lots of fun," Briar answered, as she took Priscilla's measurements.  "There is a big party - everyone is invited - and there are activities and singing, and of course the big Easter Egg Hunt!"

"It sounds wonderful!" Priscilla exclaimed, her eyes shining.  She then turned her attention to the table.  "Ooooh, Mum, look at this ribbon!"
And so the morning went on.  Briar was just beginning to wonder how she was going to find time to prepare lunch for her family, when once again, there was another knock on the door.  This time when she opened it, though, she was in for a lovely surprise!

"We thought we would bring lunch to you!"  Hawthorn announced.  "And we needn't even move your things - look, we will have a little picnic in the front yard!"
"Mmmm, you've been to the Watermill Bakery!" Briar exclaimed, sniffing.  "It smells delightful!"

A few minutes later, Teri Chocolat peeked in at the gate again.  She had decided to have her daughter Honey measured for a new dress too, but seeing Mrs Prickles enjoying a well-deserved break with her family, Teri smiled and kept walking.  Of all people, she understood how busy a seasonal business could be, and knew how valuable that family lunch break would be to Briar.  She and Honey could come back another day.

After lunch, Briar set up her sewing machine and got straight to work, measuring and cutting.  She had lots of new orders to start on already, and knew that the rest of the week would bring more.  Hawthorn smiled and left her to it, ushering the children back outside.  He knew that this week would be hectic, but he also knew that his wife was in her element, and he loved seeing her so busy and happy.

Mother of Dragons...

Over on the Sylvanian Families forum, every few weeks there is a new Creative Challenge.  I joined in last time with the Spring Festival theme, but haven't posted my entry here yet (as it is part of a story that I haven't finished yet - it is coming soon, I promise!)

Anyway, last week the new challenge theme was announced:  Television and Radio.

Now I have to say, at first I was a bit disappointed about this theme, as Macadamia Grove doesn't have these technologies.  It was mentioned that we could feature a play or dance recital instead, and I thought, yeah maybe....  And then I saw the other suggestion - to paraphrase:  "have your critters recreate your favourite TV show."  And then I had an idea...

Oh, dear.  Suddenly, this was the most exciting theme yet!  I got to work right away.  This was going to be EPIC.  And then I realised - sooo many characters... sooo many storylines... SOOO much sewing...  So I've downsized, and chosen to concentrate on one character for the moment.  I'm hoping to have time to explore some others at a later date, as this was just SO much fun!  (By the way, there will be light spoilers here, but nothing past Season Three or thereabouts).  Without further ado, I hereby present the first instalment of my....

SYLVANIAN  GAME  OF  THRONES !

Having been sold off in marriage to the Dothraki leader Khal Drogo, and having initially been really quite frightened of the whole situation (not to mention being way too young for all this!), Daenerys Targaryen was starting to think that maybe her new husband wasn't so bad after all...

"I must ride to battle, Moon of My Life."
"Return to me, my Sun and Stars."

Plus there were the fossilised dragon eggs that she had been given as a wedding present.  They were nice, too.  Weird that everyone else said they were cold as stone - they always felt warm to her...

When Drogo died, Daenerys was grief stricken.  She placed the dragon eggs on his funeral pyre, then as the flames rose high in the night, and ignoring the alarmed cries of her new people, the Khaleesi herself walked into the flames.

Imagine the shock and awe the next morning, when the Dothraki people discovered their Khaleesi had not burned to death, but emerged from the ashes with three newly hatched dragons!

Years passed...  Daenerys travelled much, and encountered many dangers and challenges, but she learned a great deal, and yet kept her pure heart.  This was a young lady who was changing the world.  Above all, she always remained focused on her dreams of returning to her homeland of Westeros, and reclaiming the Iron Throne that was rightfully hers...

With her dragons growing larger every day, and her loyal armies amassing behind her, Daenerys felt there was nothing that could possibly stand in her way...

"All hail Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons!"


Will this be how the story ends?  Who else can't wait for Season Eight?

For this challenge, I made all of the costumes, the dragon eggs and their box, and the Iron Throne.  I also made all the stone-look floors and walls, but they were made previously for roads etc in our Town display.  Thank you to my daughter Caitlyn for lending me her Silk Cat and Walnut Squirrel figures, as well as her Viserion Pop Vinyl!  (and no, my twelve year old does NOT watch or read Game of Thrones - but she does like dragons!)

A Tree Change

The Outback Koalas moved into Macadamia Grove in January (you may have seen them on my Meet The Families page).  This is the story of their arrival...

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After their very successful village Christmas party, the Trunk family (who own the Courtyard Restaurant) had decided to sell the large tree they had been using as a function centre.
"We really don't have many functions large enough to warrant it, and with the village growing so much, I just feel someone else would get more use out of it," Savannah remarked, and Hugo agreed.

So the decision was made, and the next morning a new sign could be seen outside the tree...

A week or two later, Steve and Kylie Outback arrived in Macadamia Grove by town car.  They were a little tired, having visited three other small villages that day, and looked around appraisingly.

"Well this one is rather pretty," Steve remarked.  "Nice feel to the air, too - lovely and fresh."
"Mmm," his wife answered noncommittally.  "Well, let's have a look around..."  The last place they had been was pretty too, she thought, but much too small and sleepy for them to make a living there.  Would this place be the same?  Were they asking too much to find a village that was just right?  Would they be better off staying in Town, with its larger population and well-equipped hospitals?

You see, the Outbacks led very full and successful lives in Town, but they had always felt there was something missing.  After the birth of their second child, they had finally made the decision:  what they needed was a "tree change", to live a less hectic life with green things growing all around.  So on this sunny day, they had left their children with friends who were glad to babysit, and had made a tour of several likely-sounding country villages.  So far, they hadn't had much luck.  This village was to be the last they looked at today, before heading home.

As they walked through the heart of Macadamia Grove, Kylie had to admit she did like the look of this little village.  The stream flowed bright and pure, the grass was green, and Steve was right - the air really was delightful.  The villagers, too, looked happy and contented as they went about their late afternoon activities.  Several faces turned curiously toward the newcomers, and one or two people gave them a friendly wave.

Finally they saw a welcome sight - in the distance, over a bridge, a lovely looking restaurant beckoned. 
"Shall we have a drink before heading home?" Steve suggested.
"Oh yes," Kylie answered gratefully.  "I could do with a rest.  Maybe we could even get something to eat?  Kevin and Stacey said they didn't mind if we left the girls with them for dinner."

Five minutes later, they were being ushered into their seats by a very attentive Maitre d'. 
"Welcome to the Courtyard Restaurant!" said Mr Trunk, handing them their menus.  "What would you like to drink?"

After they had ordered their food, Steve said tentatively, "Did you happen to see the 'for sale' sign next door?"  Their eyes met.  Kylie had noticed it, too.
"It would be a lot of work..." Steve added uncertainly.  "Heaven knows where we'd find a builder..."

Over at a nearby table, Mr Rivertail couldn't help but overhear.

"Ahem..." he said, coming over to their table.  "Sorry to intrude - Murray Rivertail's the name.  I couldn't help overhearing - were you thinking of buying the Treehouse?"

The Outbacks were a bit startled by this, as was Mrs Rivertail, who stared disbelievingly at her husband!

"We're... er... not sure.  We haven't even looked at it yet really," Kylie managed.

Mr Rivertail went on to explain that he was the local builder, and would be pleased to arrange a meeting with them and Mr Trunk if they were interested.  The koalas thanked him, and arranged to return the following day.  Just then, their food arrived, and Mr Rivertail left them to enjoy their meals.

The next morning, the Outbacks returned to Macadamia Grove, and went straight to the Treehouse, where they met Mr Trunk and Mr Rivertail.  Kylie and Steve explained exactly what they would need built, and Mr Rivertail seemed to think it was no problem at all.
Then Steve raised an important question - would they be able to find work in this village?
"What do you do for a living?" asked Hugo, curiously. 
"We're both doctors," said Steve.  "Kylie's a top-class surgeon and obstetrician in fact, while I deal more in the GP line." 
Hugo looked thrilled.  "Why, that's perfect!" he exclaimed.  "We could do with some medical professionals in Macadamia Grove - there currently aren't any.  In fact we were just discussing it at our last Town Committee meeting."

Kylie and Steve looked happily at one another, as Murray and Hugo started to talk sums, measurements and equipment. 

"Well honey, I think we might have just bought a house!" Steve said with a smile.
"And it's going to be perfect!" Kylie breathed.  "How marvellous to actually be living IN a tree!"
"A real 'tree change' indeed!" Steve laughed.