Sweet Mama Bear

On February 6th, I found a lost item (a bag) on the ground. I returned it to Boots, and he said it was a bag of sand!

Boots: But...it seems a little lighter than it was before. I had a bunch of sand in it for weight training.

He said it felt lighter than it was before, so he wonders if someone grabbed a handful of sand and ran off! Why would anyone do that? We have a whole beach full of sand in walking distance from anywhere in town.

Boots: Do you think someone could have grabbed a handful and run off?

But he still thanked me for returning the bag, and he rewarded me with a lotus tee.

In the mail, I found a letter from Nintendo with a Flower Fairy dress attached. It was a reward for playing Animal Crossing Puzzle League last month. I must’ve met some goal or other criteria without realizing it.

Last Friday (February 14th), Jeremiah told me that he was going to leave town on the 16th! I made him change his mind, but that was another close call!

Jeremiah: I'm leaving on the 16th of this month!
Not this time, you’re not.

Since it was Valentine’s Day, I went to the Roost to get a special cup of hot chocolate from Brewster. Such a sweet treat!

This must be...hot chocolate!

I also had some Valentine’s Day letters in the mail. Isabelle sent me a chocolate cake, Lolly sent me a chocolate heart, and Mom sent me a comfy sweater. Of those three, the sweater tasted the worst.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I found a lost glove on the ground near my eastern ramp. I later returned it to its owner, Rolf. It’s such a big glove that I should’ve known it was his! 😉

...I wonder if someone dropped this. Maybe I should look for the owner and return it?

He thanked me for returning it, and he rewarded me with his Mama bear.

Rolf: As a token of my thanks, here. Take my Mama bear with you! On Toy Day!

I later rolled up two snowballs to make my first Snowmam of the winter.

Snowmam: Oh my! I wonder who made this perfectly sculpted figure of mine!

She was perfect, so she only needed three snowflakes for an item. I had two in my pockets already, so I quickly caught a third one. She gave me an ice floor for the trio of snowflakes, and I promptly sold it at Re-Tail for 8,888 bells.

Hornsby surprised me by telling me he’s been looking for a sweet Mama bear. I’m almost afraid to ask what that means! 😉 But he offered me 400 bells for it, and I agreed to the exchange.

Hornsby: You might not know this, but I've been on the hunt for a sweet Mama bear.
Don’t worry about buying her dinner. She’s already stuffed.

Today, I shot down a balloon present and found an IV drip inside! I guess my blood pressure was sky high, but then it dropped like a rock. But I don’t need the IV drip, so I just sold it…for the cash flow. 😉 Sorry about the puns, but don’t worry: I don’t have any more up my sleeve. 😉

I saw a very large fish shadow in the river, and I fished out a stringfish!

Jeff, holding a stringfish: OH MY GOSH!

The funny thing is, Mira actually asked me for a stringfish earlier in the day, but I told her no. I thought the odds of me catching one today were slim. You don’t think Mira knew I’d catch one, do you? Maybe she saw it in her magic mirror! “Mira, Mira, on the wall…😆 But it’s okay, I’d rather sell it anyway.

I listened in on a conversation between Jeremiah and Hornsby, and they were talking about food. (It seems that Inkwell was also listening in.) 😆

Jeremiah: One thing that keeps me up at night is thinking about all the delicious foods I've never even heard of.

Hornsby said that skyscraper windows are made of jelly, and Jeremiah knew it was true because he heard it on TV.

Hornsby: I heard that skyscraper windows are actually made of jelly. That's why they bend without breaking.

They also said that horchata runs through city pipes, and streetlights are made of lemon drops.

Jeremiah: That show also said the streetlights are made of lemon drops!

I don’t know what TV show they were watching, but I’m pretty sure they were sugar-coating the truth.

I caught a few more snowflakes tonight, and I exchanged three of them for an ice dresser. But fortunately, winter is finally winding down! The snow will be gone by next Tuesday, and I’ll be back at some point next week with another entry. Hope to see you then!

Penguin Birthdays

On January 9th, Lolly watched intently as I caught a big stringfish. Sorry kitty, but I can’t let you have this. 😆

Jeff, holding a stringfish as Lolly looks on: OH MY GOSH!

On Sunday (January 26th), Inkwell told me that he recently let a pill bug get away, and he was still mad about it.

Inkwell: I let another one get away, and I'm still steamed about it! Pill bug!

How the heck did a pill bug manage to outrun him? They’re one of the slowest bugs in the game. 😆 He asked me to catch one for him, and I did just that. He rewarded me with a heart tee.

Inkwell: Ha ha! A heart tee!
I feel like he’s laughing at me and my never-ending quest to earn his photo. I’m reading his “Ha ha” in Nelson Muntz’s voice.

Monday was Aurora’s birthday, so I headed over to her house for her party. It was just so dark in there, even though it wasn’t very late yet!

Aurora's birthday party, with Inkwell and Jeff in attendance.

I gave her a juicy-apple clock for a birthday gift, and she seemed to enjoy it.

Aurora: Ooh, a juicy-apple clock. How thoughtful of you. Thanks!

Inkwell was also at the party, and he said he just did a triple axel off a chair before I got there. Suuuuure you did, Inkwell. 😛

Inkwell: You totally missed my awesome birthday dance! I did a triple axel off a chair!

I was having an unlucky day, so I fell a few times when I was running. Unfortunately, I didn’t time any photos perfectly enough, but here you can see me starting to get back up after falling. It still looks pretty odd, though! Almost like I’m a zombie with my arms hanging to the ground. 😆

Me standing up after a fall.

At the museum, I had an intimidating encounter with Boots! Of course, his greeting and catchphrase made things sound worse than they really were.

Boots: I'll eat you!! Fancy meetin' you here, bud! In a swamp!

I’m happy to report he did not eat me.

Today, another villager had a birthday: Cube! I headed over to his party, where I also found Aurora. It’s another penguin party! I gave Cube a Fire Bar that I got from a fortune cookie at the Emporium.

Cube: A Fire Bar?! Whoa! I did NOT expect this.
This should heat things up. 🔥

Of course, I’m just now realizing that flaming balls of fire are probably not the best thing to give a penguin. Well, at least he doesn’t live in an igloo. 😛

Today (January 29th) is National Puzzle Day, so I went home and played a few games of Animal Crossing Puzzle League to celebrate. 🧩

It's a New Nintendo 3DS! Do you want to play some Animal Crossing Puzzle League?
I sure do!
Animal Crossing Puzzle League

I’ll see you next time! Never Stop Crossing!

Zodiac Collection Complete

When I played after Christmas, I received Jingle’s pic in the mail. It was my reward for correctly delivering all the presents on Toy Day.

I decided to install a new public works project (PWP) before the year ended, and I ultimately chose an illuminated arch. I put it near the train station, just north of my fountain. I paid it off, and it officially opened on Monday, December 30th.

Isabelle: Welcome to the grand completion ceremony for Forest's vital illuminated arch project!

Here’s a look at it once it was all lit up for nighttime:

My new illuminated arch.

And here’s how that whole area looks, including my fountain, metal bench, and illuminated tree:

My park area in the north part of town.

It looks really pretty! It was just making me a bit sad that most likely, no visitors will ever see it in person. But I’ll still enjoy it, and hopefully you’ll all enjoy the pictures of it here.

Last night was New Year’s Eve, and I showed up close to midnight. Isabelle was worried that I was going to miss the countdown. 😆

Isabelle: Oh, Mayor Jeff! You came for the event! I was getting worried because it's already so late!

Redd and Rolf were also there, and Isabelle gave me some sparkling cider.

Isabelle, Jeff, Rolf, and Redd on New Year's Eve.

At midnight, 2025 began. Happy New Year, everyone! 🥳

Happy New Year! I hope this year is filled with fun and friendship for you all!

Of course, I took a few moments to enjoy the fireworks…especially the 2025 ones.

The 2025 fireworks in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
Enjoying the 2025 fireworks in ACNL.

I played again this afternoon, and my villagers wished me a happy new year, of course. Some also talked about their plans for 2025.

Boots, This year, I'll polish my guns until I can lift you up with one arm!

Lolly asked me to dig up her time capsule, so I gladly helped out. She found her school jacket, and that was my reward for helping with the time capsule.

Lolly: Oh, right! Let me thank you with a gift. Please accept my school jacket!

But she also told me that she was planning on moving away on January 3rd! I talked her out of it, of course, but that was a really close call! If I hadn’t played today (or tomorrow), she would’ve been gone! Even though it’s been years since I’ve lost someone accidentally, it still is a very real possibility and it’s bound to happen at some point.

At the plaza, Isabelle was handing out the New Year’s item. She was talking about how snakes have such a hard life. (2025 is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac.)

Isabelle: I mean, they have to slither wherever they go! That must be really hard!

She then gave me the zodiac snake for 2025.

The zodiac snake for 2025 in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

Seeing as this is the 12th New Year’s Day since the game’s US/Europe release, this now completes the collection of zodiac animals! I put them all on display in the left room of my house.

The 12 zodiac animals.

If you had the Japanese version of the game (or, you know, time traveled), you may have already completed the collection. But it’s pretty cool to have all of them now. And perhaps playing on New Year’s Day won’t be so urgent for me in the future, since the gifts will just repeat going forward.

Happy New Year, everyone! 🎉