The Puddlefords: A new beginning

Dear Readers,

Do you remember The Puddleford Duck Family from Sugarbush Valley?

The Puddlefords in front of their cottage in Sugarbush Valley.

Picture taken from Eaton´s blog (Sugarbush Valley)

Some of you probably still remember that the Puddlefords left Sugarbush Valley more than a year ago and moved to Sweet Berry Valley.

You must be  wondering how Nelson and his family are doing in their new village.

Moving house is not and easy task but moving to a new place especially if you have three young kids to look after is even harder.

Nelson Paddleford and his family know first-hand how stressful moving can be.

When they arrived at Sweet Berry Valley the bus driver, Oliver Stan, suggested Nelson get off the bus at the Village Square but Nelson strongly rejected the idea and instead he asked Stan to drop them off at Village Green. Nelson is not a very sociable person that´s why he couldn´t face the idea of getting off at the main square of a new place and have lots of strangers  staring at him.

"I´m loaded like a pack-mule" Nelson complained carrying a large amount of luggage.

" Yes! We are both loaded like pack-mules but YOU are as stubborn as a ONE! Beth exclaimed  quite annoyed.We should have stopped at the village square and here we are in the middle of nowhere. Who is going to give us a hand to find a place to stay? The children must be so tired... Beth added about to cry.

They were arguing about the best place to get off the bus when they met a villager.The children found the stranger a bit scary and they hid behind his father.

"Hi! I´m Taylor Timbertop.It looks like you took everything but the kitchen sink! He said. Are you moving to Sweet Berry Valley?"
In other circumstances Nelson would have just greeted with a plain "hello" or "that´s none of your business" but this time he made a big effort to be more sociable. Deep inside he knew his wife was right and he just hoped this big bear could be of some help.

"Yes, Mr. Timbertop. We are moving here!Nice meeting you. My name is Nelson Paddleford and this is my wife Beth and my three children. We came all the way from the south of Sylvania, from Sugarbush Valley".

"Please, let me help you. You must be exhausted and you need a place to stay.  My wife and I run a bed and breakfast in our home so you´ll  be our guests.

Let´s go, follow me" Taylor said cheerfully.

Nelson was relieved to get rid of some of his luggage but he turned his head back to his wife and whispered  " Beth, should we trust him?Imagine he is a thief and he means to steal our belongings!"

"Come on ,Nelson! This is Sylvania. Mr. Timbertop is like our fairy godmother. We´ve been very lucky to meet him" Beth whispered back feeling much happier.
Nelson didn´t believe in fairy tales but he decided to follow Taylor and hoped for the best.

The first thing Taylor did  when they arrived  at the bed and breakfast was to ask his wife Rose if there were any rooms available.

The Timbertops´ B&B has four rooms. Rose room Birch room, Ivy room and Daisy room.

Rose room is named after Taylor´s wife and the other three are name after some of their children.

"We have four guests rooms. Birch, Ivy and Daisy rooms are taken but Rose room is still available so you can stay here." Rose explained.

Nelson felt dizzy when he looked around the room."It is SO pink. It hurts my eyes,even the tissues are pink!" He said aloud. No wonder it´s available. He thought to himself.

Rose just laughed at Nelson´s comment.

"I know Mr. Puddleford but each room is decorated according to the names and what could you expect of a room named Rose?"

"It´s perfect, Mrs. Timbertop. Thank you so much for your hospitality! Beth tried to make up for her husband´s innapropriate comment.

Beth, however, had noticed the vase of fresh flowers, the delicate scent of rose, the bowl of sweets and of course the good quality of the bed cover. This last detail couldn´t be overlooked by someone who is an expert in making bedding.

That evening, The Timbertops insisted The Paddlefords to have dinner with them.Surprinsingly, Nelson felt comfortable, even though he was surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces. There is something about The Timbertops that make people feel at ease.

After a comforting dinner, The Paddlefords went back to their pink floral-print room.
Taylor had brought up their luggage there and Rose had put three small cradles for the triplets.
This time, Nelson looked at the room through a different lens.He was actually a bit overwhelmed by  the Timbetops´friendly warm hospitality and generosity.
"Beth, I think we are going to be fine in this village" Nelson said. He actually sounded convinced.
Beth couldn´t believe what she was hearing. "That´s not my Nelson" she thought herself but she was glad to hear her husband´s  positive remark.
"I´m sure we will, Nel" She just said and they  all went to bed. It had been a very long day and they needed a good night sleep.

The next morning, Rose got up early to have freshly-baked bread ready for breakfast.

Taylor stocked the breakfast trolley. 

The Puddlefords also had an ealy start that morning. Nelson didn´t want to have breakfast with the rest of the guests.
"Did you have a good night´s sleep?" Taylor asked.
"We did! The bed was very comfortable" Nelson remarked.
Rose invited them to sit at the table.

The Puddlefords sat at the kitchen table ready to enjoy a good breakfast.

"Tea or coffee,Nelson?"
"Coffee, please!"

 "Beth, I´ll mind the kids while you have breakfast. Rose offered. "I love children more than anything else". She added.

After breakfast, Nelson went to the living room and sat comfortably with the local paper in his hands. 

He was looking for the ads of houses for sale or rent when Taylor got into the room.
"Nelson, is there anything I can do for you today?" Taylor asked. Nelson never expected so much hospitality and generosity from a stranger,even though the truth is that he was starting to consider Taylor as a friend.

"I´d like to visit the real state office. We need to find a place to live." Nelson said.
Taylor explained there wasn´t a real state office in Sweet Berry Valley but he offered to help Nelson find a house.
"What type of house are you looking for?" Taylor asked.
"A small cottage. We used to live in a small place in Sugarbush. We even had a small shop at home" Nelson felt a bit homesick all of a sudden.
"A small cottage? I think I have the right place for you,Nelson! Taylor sounded all excited and happy to be of some help.
"Come with me and I´ll show you". He added.

On the way to the cottage Rose told Beth about it 
"Our first daughter,Ivy, was born in that cottage, Beth ,that´s why we call it"Ivy Cottage". We lived happyly there but when our family grew up we had to look for a bigger house. We have so many nice memories from our first home that we´ve always been reluctant to sell it."

Beth loved the cottage as soon as she saw it.
"Nelson! It looks like our little cottage!" Beth exclaimed.
"Something similar but this one is set in the middle of the JUNGLE!" Nelson said looking around . He couldn´t help smiling at his own comment and that was a good sign.

"I should have cleaned up the house before showing it to you." Taylor apologized when he saw Nelson trying to get rid of a cobweb.

"I know the cottage doesn´t feel very warm and cozy right now but Rose and I can give you a hand to refurbish and renovate it, if you are interested" Taylor said looking at the neglected back garden.

The top floor wasn´t very welcoming either. Just an empty cold bed and cobwebs all over the place.Nelson and Beth didn´t make any comments about the cottage. Taylor felt a bit embarrased about the condition of the house and kept apologizing again and again.
"Taylor" Nelson interrumpted him "Would you mind leaving us alone for a while?"
"Of course! I´ll be downstairs" Taylor said. 

"What do you think, Beth? Would  you like to live here?" Nelson asked his wife. 
"It doesn´t feel very homey but if we work hard we can turn it into our home. It reminds me of the cottage we had in Sugarbush Valley and I like it, Nelson" Beth answered.

Meanwhile, downstairs Rose and Taylor took care of the Paddleford´s kids and remembered the day they moved into their first home after getting married. Going back to "Ivy Cottage" broght them back happy memories of the years they lived there.

After a short while, Beth and Nelson went downstairs.
"Rose,Taylor, first of all Beth and I would like to thank you for being so kind to us.
 You have treated us like part of your own family and we feel overwhelmed but very grateful for being so generous to us...
Nelson kept on with his "speech". It was the first time in his life that he said so many nice things about someone.
"And finally I just want to say that it would be a pleasure to live in "Ivy Cottage" after we get rid of all the dust and cobwebs, of course" 

Rose and Taylor were delighted with the news and offered Beth and Nelson their help to turn "Ivy Cottage" into a welcoming and comfortable home.
That´s how the Puddlefords found a new home in Sweet Berry Valley.

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I would like to show my gratitude to Eaton Blackberry for choosing my village as the new home for the Puddlefords. Thank you SO much Eaton! It is such a great honour to welcome one of your families in Sweet Berry Valley! 
I discovered Eaton´s blog when I started my SF collection and she sparkled my interest in these lovely little families and their world.
I will always be grateful for that.


Thank you my dear Readers for following my blog and for giving me the chance to share my stories and love for Sylvanians with you all.