Meet the Coldfoots

Today I would like to introduce you to a new family.  This family came to me in an unusual way.  Some time ago, there was a competition on the Sylvanian Families Collectors Forum.  I didn't win, but a few days later I received a message from one of the people who did.  Tenchibaka (who is a fantastic miniature-food maker by the way, in addition to being one of the most active forum members) said that instead of ordering something with the prize (a Sylvanian Storekeepers voucher), they had decided to give it to me.  What a lovely thing to do!  I was very surprised, and grateful.

Once I had established that Tenchibaka was really, really sure about this, I ordered myself a lovely little family of huskies - and here they are!

I decided to rename everyone in this family, starting with the surname - the offical surname for this family is just "Husky", which I thought a bit odd.  Kind of like a person's last name being "Human".  Then I happened to discover that there is a tiny town in Alaska named Coldfoot.  Well that sounded perfect for these little fuzzies!

The Coldfoot family live in a comfortable log cabin in the foothills of the mountains, a little way out of Macadamia Grove.  Whilst their home is not technically in the village, the Coldfoots are considered by everyone to be very much part of the community.  

Together, Wolfgang and Juneau Coldfoot run a business supplying ice to the local villagers - both in edible form for drinks etc, and in large blocks for food storage (most homes in Macadamia Grove do not have electricity, so iceboxes are much in use, rather than the more modern refrigerators commonly seen in Town).  

Wolfgang is the one who cuts and collects the ice from higher up the mountain, and he enjoys his job immensely.  The ice is stored in a special coldroom until it is needed, at which point it is transported down to the village by sled.  Juneau's job is to take the orders, and make sure the correct products are delivered to the customers.

The most important things in their lives though, are not cold at all - they are very warm and furry and wriggly!  The baby triplets - Katya, Luka, and Echo - were very excited today to be taken for a ride in their very own brand new sled!

"Over the hill we go!" shouted Wolfgang happily, and Juneau laughed as the babies yipped excitedly.

The babies had not seen such thick snow before, as they had never travelled this far up the mountain.  It was only early Autumn in Macadamia Grove, and also at their home, so there was no snow there.  Further around the mountain, outside the strange seasonal anomaly that existed in this part of Sylvania, Spring was beginning.  Soon it would be time for one final delivery from the Summer coldstore there, and to begin storing ice at the main coldstore closer to home.  Juneau was glad, as it meant Wolfgang would be able to spend more time with the baby puppies.

After she took a turn pulling the puppies around in their sled, Juneau heard a sneaking sort of noise behind her...

"Snowball fight!" cried Wolfgang.  Juneau let out a little shriek, and immediately returned fire with a snowball of her own.  The babies watched, wide-eyed and giggling.

"Won't it be fun when they're old enough to join in?" Juneau laughed.  

"Yes - but it's pretty fun now, too," said Wolfgang with a smile, and gathered them all in a big family hug.

Thank you again Tenchibaka for enabling the Coldfoots to move to Macadamia Grove!  They can also be found on our Meet The Families page now.  :)

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny and all his helpers have been very busy getting ready for Sunday, as we can see from this quick peep into his workshop!

Happy Easter everyone!  Whatever your beliefs, we hope you all get to spend some time with family or friends this long weekend (and eat a bit of chocolate, too!)

Village News

On the Sylvanian Families Collectors Forum, the Creative Challenge prompt for March was "Village News".  For my contribution to this, we are going to take a peek into the basement of the Pennypress family home.  

Mr William Pennypress is the editor and chief reporter of The Macadamia Times newspaper, his wife Sacharissa is also a reporter, and the basement under his family's cottage serves as the press room.

Of course there are several critters who work for the newspaper in various capacities, such as investigating stories, writing reports, taking photographs, setting the type, and of course making the late-night coffee!  But everything must be finally approved by William, and he also shares in the actual printing.

Once the articles have all been written, approved, illustrated, and type-set, the printing can begin.  First, William collects a piece of paper from the paper box.  (The door behind him opens on a staircase up to the house),

The paper is then placed carefully on the tympan... 

... and the frisket is folded over it to hold it in place.  

Next, William carefully inks the type on the forme.  Behind William, in the corner, we can just see a black cabinet which contains trays and trays full of movable type.  The largest letters (for front page headlines) are in the tray on top of the cabinet.

The inking takes experience to get just right, as the type must all be inked evenly.  It is done with a special padded tool.

Then both tympan and frisket are folded over the inked forme...

... and pushed along the press' frame, so that it sits under the heavy platten.

William then pulls on the long bar.  This works the screw mechanism, lowering the platten to press down and produce the impression on the paper.

When the bar is released, the screw and platten raise up again, and the frame can be slid out.  The freshly printed page is then removed, and moved to a long bench to dry.  While they are there, William inspects them quickly, to make sure the print is good, with no smudges.

Of course, all this is a lot of work, and Mr Pennypress could not do it all alone - he has already been working all day getting the paper finalised for printing!  Luckily, Mr Prickles has arrived for the night shift - it is his job to continue the printing of the Sunday issue into the wee hours each Saturday night.  With his excellent mechanical skills, Mr Prickles is the only other person William trusts to ink the presses perfectly every time, and deal with any mechanical issues that may arise.  It is a good arrangement for everyone:  Hawthorn is quite a night owl anyway, and appreciates the regular work, while William and Sacharissa both take Saturday nights off to spend with their family.

"Any problems with the press this evening, William?"  Hawthorn asks.

"No, it's all running well, Hawthorn," William replies.  "I'll leave you to it, shall I?  Give me a yell if you need us - we're staying in tonight.  Verity wanted to help Sacharissa cook dinner."

"Well, you have a good night with your family.  I should be right," says Hawthorn, waving William upstairs.

And that is how it's done!  Once all the pages have been printed and dried, the paper is put together and placed in two piles:  the biggest pile is for delivery to the Supermarket, where it will be sold the next morning, while the other is for papers to be rolled up and tied with a piece of twine.

Finally, it is Verity Pennypress' turn to contribute to the family business.  Very early on Wednesday and Sunday mornings, Verity hops out of bed, dresses quickly, and loads the tied newspapers into the basket of her bicycle.  She then heads out to deliver the paper directly to any customers who have paid the weekly fee for this service.  

"Thanks Verity!" calls Mr Appleblossom, the baker.  He also starts work early, and is one of the few people Verity often sees on her round.  Sometimes she will stop and buy a currant bun from him to eat on the way, but today she is in a rush - her mother is making pancakes, and Verity can't wait!