This year has not been kind to me. Health-wise things have been going well for a change, except for a little accident that landed me on my back for a little while - yes, yes... I took a tumble and landed on the ground very unceremoniously and totally un-flatteringly! But things have not been so good on the Sylvanian front lately. Since 2015, I have been trying to save a little and go slow on my Sylvanian purchases. The things that I did buy, were very dear to me or where pieces that I have wanted for a very long while to get. Then came the Christmas season and I found an auction that I was just DYING for... My first Solitaire kitties!!!
I had a dear friend help me out, since the seller would absolutely not ship to SA and we won them for a reasonable price! (Yay!) The kitties were in fair condition, fully clothed (except for brother's shorts - which I had a spare set for, so this auction was obviously fate, right!?) and just as lovely as any Solitaire kitty could ever be. Said dear friend even included some handmade dresses that I was not even aware of until now. (More on that later, I am bemoaning my loss here...)
But then the SA post office got their hands on my parcel and lost it in the most spectacular fashion ever. This parcel is so lost, that my poor little Solitaires might as well be lost at sea, starving and alone on some island... At the same time, I purchased another lot for me and a friend from one of my favorite Ebay sellers... And guess what? That one got lost as well! Now, before you place the blame on the senders, they are totally innocent in this, as both of them are as well known in the Sylvanian community as can be. This was totally a post office blunder.
So, I lost a few parcels and a little bit of my will to live along with them. The big thing though, is that I really wanted these figures. I was looking forward to having them and I really had great ideas for them to feature in the story that I had just written the day that we managed to win them off Ebay!
Then it started - my collecting friends started disappearing. First the local ones, then the ones over the seas and finally I started feeling very alone. All of the knowledge of my little hobby, all of the friendships that I have cultivated. All started vanishing one by one.
I must admit that this year has really been one of my collecting lows. But I have recently had the courage to get back on my high horse and charge forth. I have got a trade going, two trades pending and just placed some bids on Ebay. (I even won the first one!) But that is not what got me out of the deep dark hole, they are merely the result.
Depression is a very difficult thing to deal with. It is a monster of our own making that lives in the deepest, darkest depths of our minds. It lives in the closet and loves to come out and find you when you feel vulnerable, when the little things get you down or when you just take some time to be alone with your thoughts. But it is a monster that can be conquered, kept at bay and put back into the closet where it lives. It is a monster that I know well, because I met him when I was in High-school. We have been rivals ever since and periodically we have epic battles. She wins, I win, She loses, I lose myself... And so it goes on. The ever-waging battle. This time, she was too much and I was the one who ended up in the closet. For the longest time.
So I started colouring - heck, I am an adult who plays with toys, I might as well start colouring as well, right! I pulled out the books that I have had for months and never quite found the right mood to start on. I dusted off my pencils. And I coloured. I coloured my heart out. This went on for days, weeks! Sometimes the colours were bright and cheery, other times dark and dreary, but I kept at it until I finished my first picture. And the next and the next... Until I finally saved up enough money to buy myself a half-decent set of pencils - they were 50% off. It was fate! I hated it, I loved it! And finally I started coming back to myself, started venturing out of the closet and found a way to shove my monster back in her place.
Now, this is where this post should have ended, but hold on for a bit. (You managed to read my bleating this far, you might as well continue!) A few surprises have been in store for me lately - they each deserve their own post, so I will hold off on the details until I have the time to show them off properly over the weekend. Once again my Sylvanian friends came to my rescue - I don't always know how you know when I need you, but you do. And I am thankful for you. Each and every one of you!
I will start with the lovely crochet dresses that were made just for me - even though I did not have the chance to see them in person, the thoughtfulness of your gift has given me something to remember my lost kitties by. And that gave me a little bit of closure on their loss.
Aren't they stunning!? And in my favorite colour too!
So perhaps my Solitaires have rather found another happy home and were not really meant to come home to me. Perhaps they brought joy to someone else's life and did not end up in a dead letters/parcels bin. I like to think so.
We will never know. But what I do know is that I have a network of faithful friends who mean the world to me! And I love you all dearly!!!
