Merry Christmas from Hawthorn Bay.

Harvey Hawthorn wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas on behalf of myself & all of Hawthorn Bay.  Some of his baby friends joined him & I was hoping they might be up for a bit of caroling, but so far they've been as quiet as a mouse.

Harvey & some of the Christmas cards I received. 💖

 

 

I bought some Christmas presents for my 3 cats - some toys pictured here, + a new litter tray, a brush, a radiator bed, & a ceramic bowl (Roux & Nemo already had a ceramic bowl for treats, but I got another for Lily so they all have their own).  Nemo seemed more interested in a delivery I received on Christmas Eve though. 

My Maple Cat family arrived from Japan, along with some other small sets.  Every time I tried to touch them Nemo batted my hand away as if she was saying "hey!! these are mine!" ha!!

My Christmas will be quiet, it's just me & the cats again this year.  I'm hoping I can get through the days alone over the holiday period without feeling too low, or struggling too much with my illness (ME/CFS).  I'm going to try & take it easy & keep myself entertained with lots of musicals & animation on TV, & hopefully do a bit of crochet if I feel up to it.

I hope wherever you are you're having a wonderful Christmas, & sending extra love to those who are spending Christmas alone.

Baby shower

I've been taking stock of my families recently, & yesterday gathered up all of my Sylvanian babies for a quick photo.  I found I had 18, which was more than I realised I had.  Eight of them  (Hawthorn mouse, Maple cat, 2 Outback koalas & the 4 Secret Fairy Tree babies) are relatively new arrivals & all arrived earlier this year which I guess is why I lost track of how many I have.

My babys are: 2 Silk cats, 1 Maple cat, 1 Thistlethorn mouse, 1 Hawthorn mouse, 1 Fielding mouse, 2 Snow-Warren rabbits, 1 Wildwood rabbit, 1 Chocolate rabbit, 2 Outback koalas, 1 Dale sheep, 1 Neptune sea otter, 1 Buckley deer, 1 Trunk elephant, 1 Cakebread toy poodle, & 1 Waddlington duck. 

As with the rest of my figures collection, the cats, mice & rabbits make up just over half of them.  The Silk cats, Fielding mouse, Chocolate rabbit & Waddlington duck don't have families & I'm not planning to add those families to my collection/Hawthorn Bay so I'll have to see what families I can fit them into as adopted kids, wards, etc.

Secret Fairy Tree babies (from left to right): Fielding mouse (mushroom), Buckley deer (strawberry), Chocolate Rabbit (ladybird), & Silk cat (butterfly).  Ugh, the cute!

I don't think I'd had any new family arrivals since the Bramble hedgehogs & Cakebread toy poodles in 2016 (not counting the babies & any other small sets with figures), but this April I added the Outback koalas to my famlies.

I've been thinking about getting the Outback koalas for a while now & it was so nice to have a new family + they bought the Maple cat baby with them from Japan & planted the seed for me to get the rest of that family.

I've been trying to think of names for the Outbacks this weekend, & need to take some photos & make a proper introduction soon.  I've had them for months & not even deboxed them yet!

The Hawthorns of Hawthorn Bay.

Hello! It has been quite a long time since my last post.  I can't quite believe it's just over 2 years!

Even though I haven't been posting I've still been thinking of Hawthorn Bay & Sylvanian Families, I just haven't had much time or energy to take photographs & update here.  My health hasn't been so great, I have ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis) & my ME/CFS symptoms have been a lot worse, especially in the last year + we have a new family member (Lily, the grey cat in this post ) who moved in almost a year ago, so now I share a home with 3 cats (as well as lots of small toy ones).

I wanted to update here as I had a very special arrival yesterday.  The Hawthorn/White Mouse family finally came to Hawthorn Bay along with the Ride Along Tram set & I'm so thrilled.  The tram set was a must have because it reminded me of the trams in San Francisco & the Hawthorn mice were always in my head as the original settlers of Hawthorn Bay, so it would make sense that they still have descendants living there.  I haven't opened the tram set yet, but I'm excited to later this weekend.

I already had a Hawthorn mouse baby before the rest of the family arrived.  Someone bought the Hawthorn baby for me from a small toy shop in Brecon in Wales while I was visiting there at the start of this year, & I'm glad the baby has a family to join now.

If you're wondering why there's a Maple cat in the photo too - the Maple cat family is on the way to me, & the baby is eagerly awaiting the rest of their family.

My Hawthorn mice are going to be keeping their original surname, & are named:
Ambrose, father, after author Ambrose Bierce
Isadora, mother, after dancer Isodora Duncan
Dorothea, daughter, after photographer Dorothea Lange
Ansel, son, after photographer Ansel Adams
& Harvey, baby, after politician & gay rights activist Harvey Milk

All are named after people I find interesting who have a connection with San Francisco & either were born, lived or died there.

I haven't had many new families arrive in the last 2 years, but there have been some additions, so I'll try & take some photographs & update more soon.