Welcome to a new family blogpost ❤️

Between the almost daily building sessions in Cats Hollow, where I am currently indulging my newfound love for everything wedding-related, we actually managed to spend some quality time together as a family.

The Strawberry Festival is only around for a few more days, so all five of us headed over to enjoy it one last time before it disappears and makes way for pumpkins waiting just around the corner. It still takes a little getting used to that autumn arrives in Second Life literally overnight on September 1st. It doesn’t matter if we’re still melting in late summer temperatures in real life – in SL, the pumpkins come out of storage, the leaves and everything else turn orange, and suddenly everything feels like fall.

Our first stop, of course, was the free strawberry balloon. Liv absolutely refused to let go of it. Rumour has it she even took it into the bathtub and to bed. The little market stalls offering strawberry-themed bargains were incredibly popular, and Villie happily spent her pocket money on a cuddly strawberry of her own. I stocked up on plenty of fresh strawberries, the last ones of the season, and couldn’t resist buying a few jars of Chef Hamish’s famous end-of-season strawberry preserves for the pantry. He presents them as an exclusive delicacy, and I’m quite sure they’re delicious, but let’s be honest—strawberry season is coming to an end, and every good cook knows not to let perfectly good fruit go to waste.

Mike, naturally, had to take a picture of his girls. That’s practically a family tradition by now, and I have to admit we look rather adorable together.

After the parents enjoyed a well-deserved coffee, we wandered over to the fairground and the bumper cars, where these photos were taken. And no, before anyone asks, we obviously didn’t drive around exactly like we posed in the pictures. We’d rather not have one of our virtual children flying out of the car. For a family photo, though, it works surprisingly well.

The teacup ride was a completely different story. Everyone was allowed on, and then again… and one more time after that. I think they genuinely had the time of their lives. Even little Henry was happily giggling away from the safety of his dad’s arms.

After paying a visit to Lady Millie Whiskerblow, our collective enthusiasm slowly began to fade, but one final ride on the Strawberry Carousel simply had to happen. I have a soft spot for that carousel because I built so much of it myself—and somehow, despite all expectations, it actually works. Happy and completely exhausted, we made the short walk back home.

Which brings me to this week’s room tour: the kitchen. Center of a family house.

Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin. Our kitchen was one of the very first major investments I ever made in Second Life 3 years ago. The funny thing is, it almost never actually fit into any of our houses. More often than not I rebuilt entire homes just to accommodate it. Later, once I started learning how linksets worked and began creating things myself, I took the whole kitchen apart piece by piece and rebuilt it so it would fit the available space while still behaving like an actual kitchen. Getting every cupboard door to open individually without rotating half the room ninety degrees was… an educational experience.

Long story short: I absolutely love this kitchen. We’ve been through a lot together.

That made it all the more wonderful when I simply rezzed it inside our beautiful new home—and it fit. Perfectly. I decided to take that as a good omen. To be fair, the house made it easy for me. I moved a couple of walls, relocated one window, added another, and suddenly everything fell into place.

With a few lovely family animations added here and there, it has become one of my favourite spots in the entire house. Between the kitchen and the living room we’ve created a large, cosy play area with a soft rug, toys and plenty of cushions, so the children are always part of whatever we’re doing. Naturally, each of the girls also has her own little play kitchen. More often than not, all of us end up sitting together on the fluffy round rug—playing, reading stories, teasing Finn the cat, and every now and then I even manage to fall asleep right there myself.

The photos show some of the changes in detail. The kitchen that originally came with the house wasn’t bad at all, but in the end my old kitchen won.

Speaking of kitchens, cooking and eating…

For a while now, Cats Hollow has had a lovely family restaurant, and last week we finally took the opportunity to have dinner there together with Lottie and Arthur. Naturally, Liv and her beloved balloon came along, as did Villie and Henry.

I have to say, the restaurant is an absolute gem if you enjoy roleplaying family life. You can rez highchairs for the little ones, there are children’s meals on the menu, and everything is animated with an incredible amount of love and attention to detail. My sister Ava joined us spontaneously, and together we enjoyed wonderful food from the extensive menu, friendly service, and, most importantly, the company of family and friends.

Those are exactly the moments that make Second Life feel special to me. I hope you have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you back here next Sunday.

PS.: Those of you who know us—or follow us on social media—may already have noticed a small… or perhaps not so small change across a few of our profiles: my family and I are no longer using the name Forager.
Almost three years ago, I became part of the Forager family, and it was a truly wonderful experience. It gave me many lovely memories, and I will always be grateful for that chapter of our lives. Since then, though, life has moved on. Our family has grown, we welcomed two Kids, Liv and Henry, several sisters joined us, and at some point it simply felt like the right time to take the next step and redefine who we are. We remain on warm and friendly terms with the Foragers, and there are no hard feelings whatsoever. We also don’t have a new family name just yet. We’re quietly hoping that another round of official Second Life family names will be released someday, and that one of them will feel like the perfect fit.

For now, we five sisters proudly call ourselves The Cats Hollow Sisterhood, and we’ll continue standing by one another. Likewise, our family of two parents and three children will keep writing its own story—whatever name it may eventually carry. I’m excited to see where this new chapter will lead us, and I’m looking forward to everything that’s still to come.

with love,
Annie ❤️