Gnome & Garden

Spring makes me long for a flitter through some Fairy Gardens

Monday, April 15th – Real World

A day that strikes fear & anxiety in the procrastination prone

On the ides of April, when all are filing extensions or scrambling for receipts, wouldn’t it be fun if we could somehow arrange a Home & Garden Club in Pixie Hollow?  I know some of you have fabulous fairy hidey holes, secret nooks & magical oasis places just sitting in Pixie Hollow like little jewels.  Mine is my getaway from the Real World.  I love seeing what other fairies are doing with their places.

It is, after all, so much easier to move furniture around in the Hollow.  Not to mention, changing the color of virtually anything.  Chair doesn’t fit?  Resize it!  Kinda spoils you though ... especially when getting back to “Reality”.

As for the gardens ... everything from rainbow installations to skating rinks in warm weather.  And the GNOMES.  I haven’t been part of the game long enough to win, buy or befriend a Gnome.  So I have, admittedly, Gnome Envy.  (Gnomeo, Gnomeo, wherefore art thou?)

Don’t get me started on the camping gear:)

So, if you have any ideas of how we could co-ordinate a Home & Garden Club, leave a comment.  Surely, your friends list is longer than mine.  Pass the word on to them, too!  Have them visit Wish Upon a Hollow and talk to us.

Your Hermit in Residence ~
Lily Sylvana

Fairies are Real!

Fairies are Real!

They want you to know it, so I’m doing the typing for them ...
(as told by Lily Sylvana - Former Fairy Skeptic)

Sunday, March 3rd – Anytown, Anywhere

I know, too good to be true ~

I’ve seen them.  Even held one in my hand.  A few years ago, I would not have believed it and would have thought that anyone talking about it was 1) pulling my leg, 2) cracked, and/or 3) in need of meds adjustment.

They get through to us in very curious ways ~

I thought I was researching a book.  I was researching Angels for a character who had been trying to write herself.  The first book I got from the library was from the right author, Doreen Virtue, - but it was entitled Healing with the Fairies.  What?  How did that get in there?  It arrived by itself with no Angel books with it.

Fairies are irresistible! I couldn’t resist looking at the book.  My inner child (who’s only 3 and will remain that way forever) was thrilled.  I read that you could ask the fairies to give you an undeniable sign that they exist.  I asked them to give me a sign and here’s what happened.

Things are popping up all over ~
The next day on my porch in a container that held a succulent plant (that I had pruned down to the sticks) there appeared three full-grown mushrooms.  Upon closer inspection I saw that these mushrooms had a bluish cast.  Honestly, kind of Disney-esque.  Hmmmm.  In my mind, mushrooms are toadstools that fairies sit on.  Always have been, always will be.  OK.  Something is chipping away at my skepticism.  (My inner child was going berserk, clapping her hands, jumping up and down, and chortling “I DO believe in fairies.”)  To this day, when I sit in my Treehouse (funky, second story studio apartment in Anytown, USA) and look out toward some beautiful aloe plants and various greenery and say, “Fairies, I want to see you.” there will be some amazing activity.  Within seconds, birds, butterflies, dragonflies of various shapes and sizes begin zooming through the air.  I can only surmise that the fairies are riding their backs.  

Just a thought before I go ...

Doreen Virtue says that fairies are angels of the natural realm.  They take care of animals and plants (like Beck!!)  She says, “...fairies are here to improve and extend the lives of all beings, including us humans.”  So, I suggest that, for today - Suspend Disbelief.  See what happens.  Pay attention to the small details.  Keep your eyes wide open.  Do not chalk anything up to coincidence.  Your feedback would be delightful.

Oh, yeah!
18 months later I wanted to check out the Healing with the Fairies book again.  After searching and searching for it in the library system, it couldn’t be found.  Had I dreamed the whole thing?  They say fairies can be mischievous.  I think they were just trying to make a point.  Pint sized point taken, Fairies.  

Happy happy Birthday..ahem..Arrival day to YOU!

 

 

 

Happy Happy Birthday to YOU!

Happy Happy Arrival day to YOU!

Happy, happy Arrive-day dear Lily....

Faith & Lavender LOVE YOU!!

 

 

 

 

Lemme hear ya...

I DO! I DO! I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES! I DO! I DO!

A Very Fairy Interview

Liri Lightshadow -                                                                        Interviewing Lily Sylvana - Mainlander and Pixie Hollow Wish Upon a Hollow Reporter & Pixie Hollow Fairy            player, as well as Liri’s maker

Lily, what made you go online & check out Pixie Hollow? I mean, aren’t you kinda
old for that kind of stuff on the Mainland?
I am considered “kinda old for that stuff” on the Mainland. Thank you, Liri, for being a great reporter and cutting to the core of the issue. But, finding things that can reduce stress for me is very important. I watch the Disney Channel when I just want to feel happy and laugh. It was there that I heard about Pixie Hollow. I got very curious and checked it out. It was so fun and helped me forget about “Mainland Troubles” that I kept playing. I encouraged Lavender to join and then we gotFaith to join. It became The Fairies Three after that.

Was it what you expected?
I actually had no preconceptions as I had never played an online game before. (I know, I’m way behind the times. Practically a Luddite).  So I just bumbled along, learning as I went.

What surprised you?
I should not have been surprised that Disney would have such an international following. I was blown away at how busy the site can get. Because I don’t frequent social sites (Facebook, etc) (you’re not surprised here, are you?) I don’t have the experi- ence of dipping your toe into something online and, within seconds, having several responses from all over the place.

I initially felt really weird knowing that I was an adult in a place where there were, potentially, a lot of children. When they would ask to Friend me, I would turn them down. I wasn’t sure of what was expected. Lavender, being much more contemporary in her communications, set me straight. Some of the fairies in Pixie Hollow collect “friends” like kids used to collect stickers. These friendships didn’t (and couldn’t) require much of you. Disney has a very safe site. You can’t get someone’s phone number or use any conceivable word that could lure a child in. (Don’t get me wrong here - I’ve not tried to, but as you would chat with Lavender & Faith there were certain words that you just can’t type. It limits your communications to very general terms. It keeps it very light.) So, obviously, a lot about Pixie Hollow surprised me. And delights me.  I, actually, feel very childlike in that regard. And THAT reduces stress right there!

It sounds like the Mainland sucks (a word I can’t use in Pixie Hollow, by the way).
Don’t you always want to be in Pixie Hollow?
Gawd, yes! Sometimes I’ll be at work and something crazy will be happening and I’ll just think ... I wish I was at Copper’s building that new tinker table for Liri. But, by the same token, sometimes at work I’ll think how would the fairies do this? What kind of attitude would they come into this situation with? Or if that was Vidia sitting there and being grumpy what would her fairy friends do ... often times that works REALLY well. Just goes to show you, we’re mostly kids at heart and those kids want their inner fairy brought out to play more often.

What’s your pet Pixie peeve?
Fairies that get cranky when they are waiting for a visit from Tink or one of the Ministers of Seasons. It feels like com- plaint mob psychology taking over.  You start trying to lighten things up by playing games with them or diverting their attention by eating silly sweets.

What would you change if you could regarding Pixie Hollow?
I would expand to more meadows, more places to investigate. Maybe invent some lands that are dark that you have to use a light or a firefly to illuminate where you are going.

I would allow the fairies to add on a workshop to their homes. (I’ve had to put my Tinker Studio in my garden. I AM a Tinker Talent, after all. ) I need room for projects. Speaking of that - wouldn’t it be fun if we could win, purchase, or tinker tools, baskets and other cool storage items that we see in the shops. I would love that.

What would you change if you could regarding MY appearance?
We can change a lot, can’t we? The hair. I have a lot of fun with that. All the clothes & accessories. I would change the color of your skin to the milkiest white (think vampire) or to cafe au lait. I modeled it after myself though, so ... you are the color you are. I would love to see your feet someday. Somehow, I imagined seeing fairies barefoot a lot more often.

What would you change regarding other fairies?
Well, I would love to see more kindness and more fun. More imagination, not needing to be entertained. We see the fun and cooperation when there are contests, but sometimes at parties other fairies can be snarky and cranky. I am the least social fairy of Fairies Three, so if I go to a party and the fairies are acting out I usually hide out in the quiet meadows and in the games for awhile before trying again.

What have been some direct changes or results you’ve seen from your participation in
Pixie Hollow?
From doing Harvest Hustle & Gem Juggle I have been able to focus my eyes better & find items on a long list I have to refer to at work. It just seems that my eyes find it and my mind focuses on the information so much faster. My creativity has gone through the roof. There are so many ways to express yourself in this game - from hair & fashion to decorating your home & garden. That has translated to my Mainland home. I did go through a phase where all I wanted to eat was sweets. That trend cost a few pants sizes! But I’m on track again by trying to get a vicarious thrill by setting a plate of acorn pancakes in front of YOU.

Would you suggest that parents get their children involved & why?
Absolutely, I think that Pixie Hollow teaches a lot of really good lessons - determination and stick-to-it-iveness (completion of quests), earning something that you want, creativity, and social interaction. Even for hermits like me!

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