Chocolat Fine Chocolates

This is Mr Frasier Chocolat.

Mr Chocolat owns a chocolate shop in Macadamia Grove.  He makes the chocolates himself, and his loyal customers think it is the best chocolate in all Sylvania.

"Welcome to Chocolat Fine Chocolates," he says.  "What can I help you with today?"

Every weekday afternoon, at three o'clock sharp, the hometime bell rang at Macadamia Grove Primary School, and inevitably several students would walk to Chocolat on their way home - even if they had to walk quite a bit out of their way!

One day, Wash Wildwood and Angel Woolly were the first to arrive, and knew exactly what they wanted to spend their pocket money on.  

"I would like two of those big truffles, please!" said Wash.

"And I'd like a bag of chocolate coated lemon peel," added Angel.  Wash looked quite impressed at this - the lemon peel bags were quite large, and cost more than the boys usually spent.

"I'm sharing with my sister," Angel explained.  "We pooled our money before school - it's her turn to help Mum with the twins this afternoon."

Meanwhile, Faraday Periwinkle and Merida Fletcher were having more trouble making up their minds.

"We could get some fudge..." said Merida thoughtfully.  "Or...."

"Or shall we go halves in a block of Caramel?" suggested Faraday.  

Eventually, all the schoolchildren had emptied their pockets of coins, and were busy filling their mouths with delicious treats!  Mr Chocolat had just a few minutes to recover from the onslaught before Mrs Corrie Dale and her daughter Peren arrived.

Corrie was shopping for a gift for her husband's birthday.  Mr Dale had quite the sweet tooth, and chocolate from Chocolat's Fine Chocolates was his favourite treat.

"I think I would like to select several individual chocolates from the cabinet," she said.  "May I have them in a nice box, please?"

"Of course" Mr Chocolat answered.  "I know Ewan likes fudge, too - shall I include a piece of that, as well?"

While they were talking, Corrie's daughter Peren wandered about the shop, looking at all the different items for sale.  There were large blocks of chocolate in several different flavours.  There were boxes filled with truffles, and others filled with a selection of chocolates.  She gazed at them, trying to guess what tasty centres were hiding in each one.  There was even a large chocolate sculpture of a mouse.

Everything looked so delicious, and the whole shop smelled so good!

She wondered if her mum might buy her a truffle to eat on the way home...

Finally, Corrie was happy with her selections, and went to the counter to pay.

As it turned out, Peren had made a selection of her own.

"Mum, can I have a chocolate ladybug?  Please?"

"Oh alright then," Corrie smiled.  "But I don't want your dad to know we were here - it might spoil the surprise - so be sure to eat it all before we get home."

Peren felt that this would not be a problem at all.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The gifts are wrapped, the sleigh is packed, and the Northern Mouse is on his way!  

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

from GreyRabbit, Caitlyn Hazelnut, and all the critters in Macadamia Grove & surrounds!

Summer Holidays

Wow, I can't believe it's been three months since I last posted!  I have been a bit slack with my Sylvanians in the interim, just due to real life stuff taking precedence - it's been a busy time for us.  I haven't forgotten about my Sylvanians - some of them even came with us on a recent holiday (but more on that another day!), and I have a few other photos and stories I hope to get onto soon.

Today though, I have an entry for last month's Creative Challenge on the forum (better late than never, right?)  The prompt was "Summer Holidays", but just like here in Australia, the residents of Macadamia Grove are currently experiencing some chilly Winter weather.  It seems that some of them at least are getting rather sick of it...

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Zac Patches looked gloomily out the window as the rain beat down outside.  He sighed loudly.

"What's up with you?" asked his sister Sarah, glancing up from her book.

"It's raining again," said Zac.  

It wasn't fair.  The school holidays had begun a whole three days ago, and it had rained on all three of those days.  Zac didn't much care about being cold, but he hated being cooped up inside all the time.

"I mean what's the point of having holidays if you can't go out and play?" he demanded.

Sarah shrugged.  "It won't rain forever," she said.  "Why don't you read a book or something?"

Zac looked highly affronted by this suggestion.  He did not share his sister's enthusiasm for books.

"Look at one of the photo albums then," suggested Sarah.  "You like doing that - what about the one from Australia?  Or - ooh, I know!  This one."  She handed him a big photo album.

"This one's got the Sylvania photos in it," said Zac.  "It's not as interesting."

Sarah reached over and opened the album to a particular page.  "Not even these ones?"

Zac gave her a look.  "Oh, very funny," he said, but a little smile did tug at the corner of his mouth.  Sarah had given him the photos of their last Summer holiday to look at.  They had spent a week at Starlight Cape, enjoying the beach and the endless sunshine.

"Looks like we'd been to the Fish & Chip shop that day," said Sarah, peering over.

"Those chips were so good," said Zac.  "But the ice creams were even better.  Remember that chocolate one I got?  There should be a photo... Yeah, here it is!"

"They were awesome," he sighed, reminiscing.

"Oh look at this one.  You were such a rat," said Sarah.  "You kept on trying to splash me.  I didn't know Mum had taken this photo until afterward."

"I wasn't trying to splash you," Zac protested.

"Oh really?"

"No," he said with a grin.  "I was trying to throw you in the water."  Sarah poked him.

"It was a fun holiday.  We met nice people there too.  That rabbit girl was nice - Cherrie.  I liked her," said Sarah.  "I don't see a proper picture of her - just in the background of this one of you."

"Meh - she was just a girl," Zac said dismissively.

"Excuse me?  Honey Chocolat is just a girl, too," Sarah pointed out.  Honey was one of Zac's school friends.

"Yeah, but Honey is fun," said Zac.  "Anyway, Cherrie was too old to play with."

Sarah rolled her eyes.  "Well I think she was very nice.  And anyway, that is her float you were on, if I am not mistaken.  It was very kind of her to lend it to you."

"That's true," Zac admitted.  "I guess she was alright."

"It was a fun holiday," Sarah mused.  "I wonder if we'll go back next Summer?"  

"Hope so," her brother replied.  He wandered over to the bookshelf and pulled out another photo album.  "Hey, look. Italy."

Suddenly, Sarah noticed something.

"Zac, the rain's stopped.  Mum would probably let you go out now," she said, picking her book back up and settling into a comfy chair.

"Hmmm?  Oh, yeah... okay..." Zac mumbled absently, turning the pages of another album.  Sarah smiled to herself.  There was nothing her brother liked more than looking at their family photos - well, apart from running around making mischief with his friends, of course.  She guessed it was just the nature of little brothers to be a pain sometimes, but Zac was pretty fun, mostly.  She would never have admitted it, but she often missed him when she was away at school.  She was looking forward to next Summer, too.

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.  :)

The Grunt Family's Fruit Stand

The Grunt family owns and operates a large farm on the edge of Macadamia Grove.  Their main crops are apples, corn and macadamia nuts, however Mrs Grunt and her daughter Olivia are interested in growing other fruits as well.  The farm's produce can be found for sale in the local Supermarket, and other local restaurants and food businesses also use their produce.  

Inevitably though, there is always some beautiful fresh produce left over, and it was Olivia's idea that it would be a good idea to run a fruit stand outside their house on the weekends.  Her father agreed to build it, but decided a wagon would be a better design, so that it could be moved around easily if they ever wanted to sell at a local fair or similar.

Last weekend, the Fruit Wagon opened for business.  Olivia was very excited.  She hoped to be in charge of this little weekend business eventually, but her father felt he should be in charge this first time.  

"When you have learned enough to be in charge, you and Hugh can run the stand yourselves, and keep the profits from it," he said.  "But first you will need to learn the ropes.  You will have to learn to weigh the fruit, work out the prices, and deal carefully with the money.  But most importantly, you will need to learn to look after your customers."

Hugh was also quite interested in the fruit stand idea (mostly as he liked the idea of having more pocket money), and he cheerfully did his part to help set up.  He had always been less enthusiastic about farm work than his sister though, and Olivia noticed he had brought a book outside with him.  She wondered how much help he would be in the long term.  She had to admit that he had done a lovely job of the sign, although she did wonder why he had drawn bananas.  

"We don't grow bananas," she pointed out.

"Yes, but I am good at drawing bananas," Hugh answered.  "Anyway, does it matter?"

"I suppose not."  Olivia rolled her eyes and gave up.  The sign did look nice.

They had just finished getting everything in place, when Olivia spotted some potential customers.  Elinor Fletcher was out for a walk with her daughter Merida and the little twins.  Olivia waved.   Mrs Fletcher looked interested and trotted over.

Soon Corrie Dale arrived too, and had questions about about some pears.

"Are they very sweet?"  she wondered.

"Oh yes Mrs Dale, and they are perfectly ripe.  Just picked this morning," Olivia replied. 

"Well, I shall have some then," smiled Corrie, hoping the pears might satisfy her daughter's sweet tooth.

Meanwhile, Mr Grunt was explaining about corn to Mrs Fletcher.

"You must eat it while it is very fresh," he said.  "Then it is the tastiest vegetable you could wish for."

Merida Fletcher wasn't particularly interested in corn, and had instead concentrated on choosing herself a snack.

"Mum, can I have an orange please?"

All in all, it was a successful day.  The Grunts had many customers on their very first day, and Olivia just knew it was going to be a success.  Suddenly, she wondered where her brother had got to...

It appears the lure of his favourite book had proved too much for Hugh, and during a quiet spell he had snuck off to have a bit of a read...

Olivia hoped he would be more help in future.  Otherwise, she thought, they might have to rethink how the profits were shared out...

Family Updates

Hello there!  I have a few ideas for posts that I would like to share soon (some of them inspired by creative challenges on the forum), but for now, I would like to draw your attention to a number of updates I have made to our Meet The Families page in the last month or so.

I am pleased to introduce the Dale family of sheep, the Fletcher family of border collies, the Pennypress family of red pandas, and Mrs Roxy Renard.

If you have not yet read their bios, and would like to, they can all be found on our Meet The Families - Macadamia Grove page, as they are all residents of the village (you will need to scoll down to find them - the families are listed alphabetically by surname).

I have also added a picture of my Slydale fox family, with their names, but I have not yet included their bios - they will come soon!

I am also looking forward to adding some other new additions to the Town page, but it is always the same old problem, isn't it? - so many projects, and so little time...  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading about these families., and that you are having some time to work on your own pet projects, whatever they may be!

GreyRabbit's Christmas Presents

Hello to all our Sylvanian friends!  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

I was very happy to find some Sylvanians in my presents this year - it's quite a modest collection compared with last year's Sylvanian-fest, but that's because I received lovely non-Sylvanian gifts this year, too (thank you, family!)

I was especially excited to see the Border Collie family!  They are one of the families released for Sylvanian Families' 35th anniversary year, and they are very lovely.  They have very friendly faces.  I hope to introduce them to you properly soon (complete with names etc).

Also my Grunt pig family is waiting impatiently to receive this Fruit Wagon - they will now be able to sell some of the produce they grow straight from the farm.

Rounding things off is some bathroom gear which will come in very handy, and the makings of a takeaway pizza shop which will be based in Town (I wouldn't like to step on Caitlyn's Fielding family's toes by opening another pizza place in Macadamia Grove!).  Not sure who will run the new pizza shop yet;  I shall have to think about it.

Finally, one last special present:  a gorgeous little Christmas dress, made for me by Caitlyn Hazelnut!  Here it is being modelled by Isla Slydale:

She is going to get to keep it, too (much to Priscilla Thistlethorn's disappointment.  Priscilla needs to learn though that not all new dresses are automatically for her!)  

I hope everyone was able to have a lovely Christmas (even though it may have looked a bit different than usual for some people).  I'd love to hear about any Sylvanian gifts you may have received!

Pippa's Big Idea

When the Patches family moved to Macadamia Grove, Pippa Patches was a little surprised to find that the village did not have a library.  An avid reader herself, she thought it a pity that the villagers did not have the opportunity to borrow books.

As time passed, and the family settled in, the thought came to Pippa that perhaps she could do something about it herself.  After talking the matter over with her husband, her mind was made up.  The next day, on the pretext of collecting Zac from school, she stopped to chat to the headmaster, Mr Buckley.  He was a member of the Village Council, and invited her to put her idea to the Council at their next meeting.

When the day came, Pippa was quite nervous, but she was greeted courteously by the members of the Council (most of whom she knew by now anyway), and took the seat that the chairman, Edward Babblebrook, offered her.

Pippa spoke intelligently about the importance of reading, and about how a library could be a valuable part of the community, and the Council members listened carefully.

"Well I for one agree that it would be a lovely idea," said Amber Hazelnut, "but where would the library be?  And who would run it?"

"Somewhere central would be best," Mr Buckley put in.  "From my point of view, it would be excellent if it was close to the school.  We do have a number of books that the students can take home to read, but a wider selection would be great for them - and for their learning."

"I may have a suggestion," said Brooke Rivertail.  "If we are to go ahead with this idea, there is still a building in the village square that noone has opened a shop in as yet.  The Council could claim it, and employ someone to run it.  It's only small, but it might do."

"As for who is to run the library, I for one would be very happy to volunteer some of my time," said Pippa.  "I think some of the other villagers might, too.  My husband and I have also collected some encyclopedias and other books that we would be pleased to donate, if you like."

In the end, it was settled.  The Council voted unanimously to forge ahead with the library plan.  The Council would own the building, and agreed to finance the purchase of books for the library.  The day-to-day running was to be done by a team of volunteers, headed by Pippa herself.

After that, things moved quickly.  Brooke Rivertail had asked her husband to supply shelves for the library.  He arrived early one morning with Hawthorne Prickles, and began installing them.

"Phew, this is heavy work!"

Next, the books began to arrive.  First, the encyclopedias and books from other lands that the Patches had donated, then the books ordered by the Council, which came in several deliveries by post.  Pippa took charge of them all, and was soon happily stocking the shelves.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and someone poked their head in.  Pippa was thrilled to see who had stopped by - it was Ariane Woolly!

Ariane was something of a local celebrity, as she was a very popular children's author.  Pippa's daughter Sarah, like many Sylvanian children, had spent many happy hours reading her books.  Pippa hadn't met Ariane properly yet, and felt a little star-struck!

"Hello," said Ariane.  "It's Pippa, isn't it?  I do hope I'm not interrupting, but I heard about the library, and I think it is a wonderful idea.  I wanted to stop by and donate some of my books.  Just a couple today I'm afraid, as I had a few extras of this one already, but I have asked my publisher to send copies of all of them to you, and one of my husband's book too.  I do hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me!" she added, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh no, it's wonderful!  Thank you so much!" cried Pippa.  "The Council has been very generous, and have ordered what books they could, but we can always do with more.  It's very sweet of you."

"No problem at all," Ariane smiled.  "Now I must rush off I'm afraid - I've left the twins with Angel, and I'm really a bit concerned that they might be a bit much for him to deal with if I'm away for too long!"

Pippa was pleased to find that there was great enthusiasm among the other villagers for the library too, and several had put their hands up to help her run it.  Willow Thistlethorn was one of the first to volunteer, and her eldest daughter, Celeste, insisted on joining her to help set things up.

"Look Mum, it's Goodnight Honeybee!  This was Ash's favourite when he was little!"

After the Thistlethorns had left, and Pippa was just about to head home for the day, Edward Babblebrook stopped by to check on progress.

"I must say it's all starting to look good, Pippa!" he said cheerfully.  "There's quite a few empty shelves though," he added, looking around.  "I'm sorry we couldn't buy more just now, but books are quite expensive, as you know, and it's all the Council could spare at the moment."

"Oh that's quite alright," Pippa said with a smile.  "This is a very nice start, and the Woollys have offered some of their books too.  It will probably take people a little while to get into the swing of borrowing from the library anyway.  Perhaps we might have a fundraiser or two later on, to pay for some new books?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Edward agreed.  "Have you found anyone to help you run things as yet?  Isabella has a knack for ferreting out volunteers, if you need her to help."

Pippa laughed.  "Oh, that's quite alright.  A few people have volunteered already - I have made up a list for you - and I shall put a sign up on opening day if we still need more.  Really though, everyone has been very kind already - it has all happened more quickly than I expected!"

"Yes, the people here are generally pretty helpful, aren't they?  That's good to hear," Edward said, pleased.  He was very proud of Macadamia Grove, and relieved that even as the little village had grown larger and busier, still it had not lost any of its friendliness, and sense of community.  Not for the first time, he found himself reflecting that he wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

Introducing Dr Murdoch

Hello there!  Today I am introducing Dr Tobias Murdoch, a very well respected bear in Town.  I have also added him to our Town "Meet The Families" page.

I was lucky enough to find Dr Murdoch and his lovely Cottage Hospital at a very reasonable price, quite some time ago now, but he did not come in his original clothes.  In fact, all the good doctor was wearing was this aqua-coloured shirt.  I planned to keep him in the shirt, and make some pants to match, but I never seemed to get around to it...

Recently, one of the craft challenge prompts on the Sylvanian Families forum was "Healthcare", in recognition of all the healthcare workers doing such an amazing job all over the world right now.  So I decided this was an excellent opportunity to get around to sorting the hospital out, and making the long-awaited pants!  Hopefully they combine with Tobias' shirt to look a bit like hospital scrubs!  I also made him a surgical mask, for when he is operating.

The Cottage Hospital is a lovely building - this one came with some, but not all, of its original accessories.  I have added a few things, including making new bedding, some extra posters, and a shelf above the desk for some of the larger medical supplies and bulk medicines, as these items did not fit in the beautiful cupboard.  This is the layout I have decided on:

Caitlyn's Maple cat town girl, Miranda Maple, has been employed at the hospital as a receptionist.  She is friendly and efficient, and makes a very good first impression on arriving patients.

"Oh, good morning Mrs Caramel.  Do take a seat, the doctor will be with you shortly."

Some of the posters made Mrs Caramel feel a bit hungry...

While she is waiting, perhaps we will take a peep into Dr Murdoch's office...

He seems to be catching up on a little paperwork.

Luckily, he never makes his patients wait too long.

"Well, hello there.  How can I help you today?"

Christmas Presents!... and Changes...

Hello all - GreyRabbit here!  As 2019 comes to an end, there are a couple of things I would like to say...

Firstly, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

As far as presents are concerned, I was very spoiled this year - and my family certainly enthusiastically embraced the idea of buying me toys for Christmas!  Would you like to see what I got?

I am very excited to have received a Field View Mill - it is such a pretty building!  Also a Log Cabin, and not one but TWO Cedar Terraces!  This is fantastic as now all my Sylvanians have somewhere to live - even the new ones!

Speaking of which, I also received the Periwinkle rabbit family and Spotter meerkat family - both second hand, but in lovely condition - as well as a lovely selection of furniture.  Here is a more detailed picture of the smaller items:

The dress on the right was made by my lovely daughter Caitlyn, and is intended for Joy Woolly.  Here she is modelling it:

Joy is very pleased with her new dress!

But wait - there's more!  My husband also had an extra special present for Caitlyn and myself to share - a beautiful House on the Hill!  This is our favourite house, and we never thought we would get it.  It's retired now, and due to its size, the shipping cost on second hand ones usually puts them well out of our price range...

The cute cushion in this picture is from my mum (it is a shared present too), and the table they are both sitting on is another of my presents from Caitlyn and Husband - it will form a new part of Macadamia Grove.

The second thing I wanted to mention is that a bit of a change has occurred here at Sylvanian Sunshine - you may have already noticed.  My daughter, known as Caitlyn Hazelnut here and on the SF Forum, has decided not to continue her own separate blog, but to share mine instead.  This makes sense, as all our critters share the same neighbourhoods, so it seems sensible to keep all their stories together too!  So a big "Welcome!" to Caitlyn as a new author on OUR blog!  :o)

Speaking of which...

Hi, I'm Caitlyn Hazelnut, GreyRabbit's daughter. I am excited to become part of Sylvanian Sunshine, and would like to share with you the Christmas presents that I got this year:

This year I received the Fielding mouse and Cottontail rabbit families, the Baby Tree House, two baby blind bags (baby band series), a second-hand Li'l Woodzeez bakery and quite a lot of furniture. I also received the Farthing dogs and and lovely Mcburrows mole (second-hand). 

I feel very lucky to have gotten so many lovely Sylvanians this year!