New Year, New Beginnings

Well, this is rather late, isn't it?  I had planned to write this post in January, as my response to the Sylvanian Families Forum's Creative Challenge theme, but with one thing and another, I never got around to it then.  So, whilst I realise the year isn't exactly brand spanking new anymore, I figure better late than never, right?

It's quite an appropriate theme for us, really.  There have been a lot of changes over the last few months in our corner of Sylvania.  Caitlyn Hazelnut (my daughter and fellow collector) has taken a bit of a step back from her Sylvanians.  She still likes them, and has kept most of her figures (in fact there are a few new families she has her eye on as well), but she has decided to sell most of her buildings, furniture etc.  So some buildings (and a couple of families) have moved away to new owners, and I must admit that I decided to buy the larger part of her buildings etc from her myself.  

Obviously this has had an impact on Macadamia Grove, Starlight Cape, and Town.  The figures Caitlyn owns are now displayed on shelves in her bedroom.  She says some of them still "live in" Macadamia Grove, while others have "moved away to other villages".  Therefore, they may still appear in photos from time to time, but obviously we can't have them running physical buildings in our permanent setup if they aren't really there.  The Courtyard Restaurant for example is no longer owned by the Trunk family (Caitlyn tells me that they still live in Macadamia Grove, but have opened a second-hand clothing and haberdashery shop, almost certainly so that Savannah can reroute any hats that come along into her own collection!)  :)

Anyway, this very long introduction (well done if you're still with me), explains why Caitlyn's Walnut Squirrel family no longer owns the Supermarket.  The Walnuts have moved away from Macadamia Grove (although Caitlyn still has them).  This little story introduces the new owners. Thanks for reading!  

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The Supermarket in Macadamia Grove was a popular place to shop.  Indeed it was the only place to shop for some items.  So it was quite an inconvenience when it closed.  The Walnut family, who ran the Supermarket, had decided to move away from Macadamia Grove to be closer to Katerica's parents.  The children were sad to leave their friends behind, but they were excited by the prospect of spending more time with their grandparents.   The Walnuts were a popular family, and would be missed by all of the villagers.  But there it was - and what to do about the Supermarket?

Luckily, one of the newer families to the village was able to step in to the breach!  

The Cottontail family had moved to Macadamia Grove a few weeks prior to the Walnuts announcing their departure, and when the Supermarket was put up for sale, Mr Rupert Cottontail immediately suggested to his wife  that they buy it.  She agreed, and so it was all settled.  The Town council was thrilled, as it meant only one short week of inconvenience to the village, whilst the new owners familiarised themselves.

Some items needed restocking, so Rupert spent much of that week placing orders, and restocking the shelves.  

Meanwhile, his wife Sorrel made sure everything was priced correctly, and generally familiarised herself with the day-to-day process of running the shop.  She had never worked in a shop before, and was a little nervous!

Even the children tried to be... er, helpful...

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Finally, it was opening day.  The Cottontails opened up bright and early, wondering nervously how the villagers would react to the new ownership.  Would people miss the Walnuts too much to even visit straight away?  They needn't have worried - the villagers were a curious lot, and many were quite eager to visit the shop, especially as not everyone had met the Cottontails yet.

The very first customer was Mrs Kristy Honeycrackle, who had brought her little boy, Toby, along.  She picked a few things from the shelves, then hurried to the counter.

"Good morning, I don't believe we've met.  I'm Kristy Honeycrackle, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you!  Lovely to meet you, I am Sorrel Cottontail.  Thank you for shopping with us - you are our very first customer!"

"Oh, you won't have any shortage of those," Kristy laughed.  "Everyone is dying to come in and see what you've done with the place!  I only needed a few little things today, but I simply had to pick up this delicious looking cheese!"

Sorrel smiled.  "That is my husband's favourite cheese, so we decided we really must stock it.  I'm glad someone else likes it too!"

"Mama!" cried Toby Honeycrackle suddenly.  "Mama!  Cookies!"

"Oh dear," sighed Kristy.  "He really does have such a dreadful sweet tooth.  I mean honestly, the child lives in a donut shop.  Not today, Toby honey, we don't need any cookies.  You can have a nice apple when we get home, how about that?"

Toby did not seem convinced that this was a good substitute.

"I'd better go," Kristy grinned at Sorrel.  "But you must stop by Donut when you have some time off, and have a cup of tea and a chat!"

Outside, Rupert Cottontail was greeting customers, when he heard someone calling, "Hello there, neighbour!"  He turned around to see Christopher Appleblossom approaching from the bakery next door.

He had met Christopher briefly before, when organising to sell a few of his more basic baked goods in the Supermarket (this was a good arrangement all around, as it allowed Christopher to take a day off each week).  They hadn't had a chance to spend much time chatting though, as Rupert had had rather a busy week!

"How's it going?" Christopher asked.  "Looks like you have a few customers already.  I must stop by later, I need some tea, and some jam."

"Yes, it seems to be going well so far.  I guess you'll be missing the previous owners, won't you?  I hear you and Mr Walnut were friends," said Rupert.

"Still are," said Christopher with an easy smile.  "I'll definitely miss having him next door, but we'll keep in touch.  And now I have a chance to meet you and your family as well.  Listen, a few of us are going for a drink this evening at the Courtyard Restaurant - around six - why don't you and the wife join us, and get to know a few people?  You can bring your kids along - there's a grassy area they can play."  

"Right then, that sounds good.  I'll have to check with Sorrel of course, but I think she'll be keen."

"Great - see you there then.  Better get back - I've got customers, and I guess you have too!"

The two men shook hands, and turned back to their own shops.

As he walked, and saw another group of customers entering the Supermarket, Rupert felt a glow of happiness.  This was going to work.  It was a new beginning indeed for his family, and it looked like the beginning of some new friendships as well.