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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 11, 2015 22:02:30 GMT -5
One the ttte.wikia forum, my favorite game is Dear Diary. Though it is a game, me, and the others who have worked on it, the time and effort that went into such an elaborate story, it has, in essence, become a fan fiction in and of itself. Since the recent game board clean up, I don't want to see the story get lost like the 3WSR we worked so hard on.
Toz76, Diesel 11, TGC, luc, and a couple others, we all worked so hard on the story of Michael Wilson of Sodor, it would be terrible to see it go. So just in case it gets slated for deletion, here is the Diary of a Sudrian, just in case the main game gets deleted (NOTE: no original posting will be made here unless the main thread on the other forum gets deleted. So for now, it will just be copy and paste). Just in case there is a post space limit; I will be posting by month.
And now, without further ado, the diary of Michael Wilson:
January 1st
Dear Diary
Still a bit tired from New Year's Eve, and it doesn't help I live right beside Knapford. Awfully loud and I can't get any rest.
January 2nd,
Dear diary,
I am still getting over what happened last night; I was so terrified. All night near knapford I heard this terrible, screeching noise, like a lion was trying to swallow a car. Been hearing it again recently, this time from the nearby shunting yards. I hope whatever that thing is goes away soon... Maybe the express will scare that... "Thing" off.
January 3rd,
Dear Diary
Apparently that noise was a stray cat. Scared the living daylights out of me. Gotta go now or I'm gonna miss my train.
January 4th
Dear Diary,
Today I heard a giant noise near my house. I thought it was a bomb or something. It turns out it was just Gordon. I really need to stop being so paranoid...
January 5th
Dear Diary,
I've had it, it's far too noisy here in Knapford. I'm looking at housing somewhere on the Skarloey Railway part of the island, I've heard it's far more peaceful there.
January 6th
Dear Diary,
I'm trying to sell my house but the pet shelter wanted me to adopt a dog. He was so adorable, so I had to say yes. Curse my love for pets. It was a really stupid decision because now the dog is barking to go for a walk.
January 7th
Dear Diary,
Apparently that dog did not come from the pet shelter, but rather a criminal gang. They had stolen the dog from Framer McColl. Currently at the police station right now.
January 8th
Dear Diary,
I was forced to go to a dark room for five hours as punishment for taking the dog. Luckily the dog is here with me. He's not evil after all! Then again he just bit off a brick so I don't really know.
January 9th
Dear Diary,
I was wrong, this dog is VERY evil, he just ate Edward and is currently destroying Suddery. This is why I never owned a pet prior. However, I managed to sell my house and find a nice, quiet home in the Skarloey Railway region of the island.
January 10th
Dear Diary,
Life is simple now. The people throw rotten produce because they think I killed Edward. The Fat Guy is trying to fix him, but it's kinda hard when a dog ate metal. It turns out it was that dog from Jurassic Bark of Futurama. I don't even know what that is.
January 11th
Dear Diary,
I watched Jurassic Bark, but it turns out to be an extremely sad episode about Fry's dog getting fossilized. Thankfully, the evil dog was turned good and brought back to my house. Edward turned out to be alive and Suddery is currently being fixed. Life here in the Skarloey Railway is nice, but I met an engine yesterday named Duncan. He's quite a sourpuss.
January 12th
Dear diary,
Finally back home. After a long, "quiet" week, i last realized something: I just gotta find some work. Sure, it's nice to own and run my own business, but no one comes to the ice cream parlor in winter. Perhaps I should start thinking about that bakery I've been wanting to open... Fresh, hot pies in the winter, and cold ice cream in the summer... It's a win-win. In the mean time, gotta find something; need to make ends meet.
January 13th
Dear Diary,
I am now an obsessed Futurama fan. I constantly make memes and I made a fanfiction where that dog and Fry reunite. The dog's right next to me, which creeps me out, because I get the feeling there's a portal between our world and the World of Cartoons. I wrote another fanfiction about it.
January 14th
Dear Diary,
Going on vacation to the mainland, should be fun. Going to visit Ulfstead castle first, and that's also where my train will arrive. When I come back, I'll get to work on that bakery.
January 15th
Dear Diary,
Ulfstead Castle's interesting, even if its restorer is a bit nutty. Millie's nice, and I even got some French out of it. Bon. Yeah, that's about it. Stephen's hilarious, and I even had a sandwich. I baked the bread myself. It tastes awesome, so I'm going to go ask if I can open that bakery.
January 16th-
Dear diary,
Was going to go to the mainland, but then I realized I forgot to pack pants. Can't believe I gotta go all the way home, re pack and head out for a shorter trip. Maybe I'll open the ice cream parlor when I get back, just to see what happens
January 17th,
Dear Diary,
I'm so happy I trained my dog to retrieve pants. Luckily he got the pants, and now I have them. Unfortunately though, he ran through that portal I theorized about. I'd go through too, except I'm worried I'll go to that pony show that the girls at the castle were talking about.
January 18th,
Dear diary,
Waiting for my train to the mainland. Glad to see that people still remember me and the ice cream shop. They agree too; a bakery's a wonderful idea. But right now, I am in vacation mode. The train is pulling into the station now; better get on board.
January 19th
Dear Diary,
The train derailed. I have no idea where I am. I hope help will come soon, I'm going to cancel my vacation.
January 20th,
Dear Diary,
Harold came and rescued me. Unfortunately I am afraid of heights, so... I fainted ten times on the helicopter. I'm still feeling a little queasy right now... I better postpone the bakery idea for a while.
January 21st
8 am- back home after that misadventure of a vacation. Need to find something to calm myself down. I got an idea; I think I'll try it out.
10 pm- just got back. So, I don't know why, but I decided to go to the nearest train station. I wasn't catching a train though. I had this empty bucket, and I put it on my head. So for the next several hours, I didn't really do anything. Just sat there on the bench, with a bucket covering my head. It was surprisingly, quite relaxing. Maybe just the thing I need right now; I'll give it another go tomorrow.
January 22nd
10 AM: I tried the bucket thing again and it worked again, that is until that big orange engine came and snapped me out of it with his whistle.
12 PM: I decided to go for a ride on the Skarloey railway on Peter Sam's train, although the train had open top coaches named Ada, Jane, and Mabel and some kids were throwing rocks at the coaches from 20 feet away from the track, I got a big bruse on my head from that
January 23rd
Dear Diary,
This year can really not get any worse. While I was at the station with the bucket yesterday, a large boulder fell off the mountain near my house and destroyed it. My insurance won't cover it. Thankfully, my brother is letting me stay with him for a while.
January 24th,
Dear diary,
Luckily I haven't sold my house in knapford yet, and I wasn't completely moved in, so I did not lose too much... Just a few small things. My brother understands the situation, and has promised to help however I can.
I really need money though... It's still winter, but I'll open the ice cream parlor anyway; at least the regulars should come.
January 25th
Dear diary,
Sir Topham Hatt visited my ice cream parlor today, and ate everything in the store. I won't have more ingredients until next week. Thankfully, my house in Knapford ended up selling for twice as much as I expected, and I bought a house in Tidmouth. I bought boulder insurance too, just in case.
January 26th
Dear Diary,
This house is really nice, except for this stupid wallpaper. I think a friend of the Sir Topham Hatt lived here, since there's crumbs everywhere. I'm buying more ingredients for the ice cream parlor, and I'm planning to make more complex stuff like sundaes. Should increase business.
January 27th:
Dear diary,
Went to the local hardware store a few shops down from my parlor today. Decided to find a paint that can redecorate the house. Nothing too fancy; a nice white should do the trick. Good thing one of my regulars is a professional home painter... Offered to take down the wallpaper and reprint at a discounted price. His only condition for the discount: add brownie sundaes to the menu. I told him that I was planning on a bakery in the future anyway; but it would have to be one of the stores connected to my parlor for it to work out. (On the street, it's one building divided into ten separate stores; we are all on good terms with one another) Unfortunately, Peter told me he's not planning on selling his clothing shop any time soon, and old Edgar just can't let go of his toy store. This may be harder than I thought. Can't blame him though, he's 86 and the toy shop has been around for 57 years. It would be a shame to see it go.
I really am proud of my little parlor though. Next June marks ten years, and I hope to plan something big. It's a quaint little store with 8 tables, 6 seat 2, 2 seat 4. I am the only employee, and all ice cream is made fresh daily in the basement. Can only make vanilla, chocolate and strawberry since one man can only do so much. Cones, cups, milkshakes and ice cream sodas are all I can offer right now, but with the extra money I got, I can finally add proper sundaes.
I think I've written enough today; time to go to sleep. Wonder what tomorrow will bring.
January 28th
Dear Diary,
I met a new engine today. He says his name is Logan. Others claim there is no such engine. I must be going crazy again
January 29th,
Dear diary,
My brother's birthday is in a couple days. Normally I'd give him some free ice cream, but I'll do something extra special this year. Gotta get to the train station though; what I need can only be found in this one store in Vicarstown.
January 30th,
i saw this homeless kid on the streets and i went to Edgar's toy shop and bought him a wooden railway Thomas. although I met the Logan engine again, and Emily told me about him, weird how the others still say there is no such engine
January 31st
Apparently there's no such thing as a 'Wooden Railway Toy'
I'm checking into the mental hospital...
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 11, 2015 22:11:30 GMT -5
February 1st;
Well, turns out I just haven't been getting enough sleep recently. Guess the stress of finding my brother's special present has been really getting to me... And no, it's not a giant bubble on a flatcar. There's still a few days to go, so I'll get some sleep tonight, then head out tomorrow. Hopefully this trip goes better than the last one. Plus I'll hopefully find something to help the homeless kid; he really is in a desperate situation now.
February 2nd,
I met Emily again and she said there was no such engine as Logan, I also saw a wooden railway toy at Edgar's so I picked one up just to try and make myself not seem as mental, I also have thought of adding both mint chocolate chip and cookie dough ice cream to my menu
February 3rd,
Dear diary,
Decided to finally get to the bottom of this Logan engine. By chance, ran into Sir a Topham Hatt today; he said that there was such an engine on trial here, but he doesn't know if he'll stay yet. Now I can focus on other things. Finally got the fresh ingredients today. I don't know what farmer McColl feeds his cows, but he has some of the best heavy cream and on the island... Strawberries too. The chocolate is coming later, and it's nothing but the best for my customers. I really want to add mint chocolate chip and cookie dough to the menu, at the same time I need to face facts; I'm a one man army here, and can only do so much... Even making enough of the three main flavors is hard. Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces for the last ten years though, it's worth it. I should at least look into finding someone who sells fresh mint... Apparently that's the one thing McColl doesn't have.
February 4th
My brother is deciding to help now, we might even be able to hold another flavor, but which one? We are knocking out the main flavors. Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, Mint, and Cookie Dough. Maybe we can serve sprinkles and other toppings.
February 5th
The Baking is still underway, Apparently theres a big american engine called 'Sam' coming to the island too! Shall have to see if Emily can tell me if this is the case!
February 6th
Dear diary, I am so grateful my brother decided to step in; am able to get so much more done. Between the register, the serving station and making everything downstairs, it was a lot for one person. Naturally, business has been slow since it's winter, but enough regulars come that I can keep it open; the new flavors are a hit. My customers were particularly excited today: I finally have toppings! Grandma finally let me in on her hot fudge sauce recipe, and there's enough heavy cream left over to make whipped cream. No cherries though, farmer McColl says they aren't in season. 2 toppings is a nice start though; and they are going over well. I told everyone my brother and I can offer one more flavor; and wow, do I have a tough call to make. The older customers want french vanilla, the kids want cookies and cream. Farmer McColl also told me he just got a fresh crop of peaches, and he's offering them at a discount... What do I do?
February 7th
Dear diary, My ice cream parlor is holding a contest to decide the new flavour. You write down what flavour you want on a piece of paper and it enters a draw. In a few days, I will pull a piece of paper from the draw, and that will be our new flavour. Also, the Earl apologized for my vacation incident last month, and has offered me free tickets to visit the castle. Me and my brother plan on going tomorrow.
February 8th,
Dear Diary, Turns out my brother was able to get one heck of a birthday present after all: a three day vacation seeing Ulfstead Castle and grounds. Being on the other side of the island, normally we wouldn't be able to do something like this; but the Earl will always have my thanks. It really is awesome to see such an old engine like Stephen still working... rumor has it his brother was the original Stephenson Rocket. John (the brother really should have a name by now) had a great time; we even got a peek at the Earl's latest plans... some sort of Dinosaur thing, but it will be a long time before that happens. And to think, his actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, so this vacation is really just beginning. The bakery has been on my mind again, so after we got to the hotel for the night, I called my neighboring stores again to see if anything was different. I should have known that nothing would change, but it was still worth a shot. Peter said again that his clothing store is not for sale right now, but promised I'd be the first one he'd call if that happened. And Old Edgar, still just can't let go of the toy store. Gotta hand it to him, next month he'll be 87 and is still going. I wonder if I will still have the strength to work at that age.
February 9th
Dear Diary, John's sick so we have to cut our vacation short, but the Earl was kinda enough to let us use our other 2 nights another time. Unfortunately, our train is delayed. Apparently a giant globe fell on the tracks. Odd. I also got a really upsetting phone call prior to leaving the Edgar was really sick too and considering his age he won't have much longer. Poor guy, he's probably the kindest man I've ever met. The shopping area will never be the same.
February 10th
Dear Diary, The Parlor's closed today; with John sick felt it best to let him rest. Thought I'd go next door and check on Edgar; he lives in the apartment above his store. His son and nephew were taking care of the store today, but it seemed awfully empty without Edgar behind the counter. I went upstairs to check in on him. To my surprise Edgar was painting a wagon. Until about 5 years ago Edgar's toy store was famous on Sodor for his hand crafted, personalized children's wagons. He only stopped when his arthritis made it too hard. I asked him what this was about, and after a couple coughs, he explained to me. "My boy, I hate to leave any project unfinished. I realized yesterday that I may not have too much time left. This little girl came into my shop 5 years ago, and since her mother was a gardener she wanted a green wagon with flowers on it. I built the wagon and painted about a third of it, but had to stop since the arthritis. I don't know what happened to the girl after I broke the news to her, but I'm hoping that someone will find her, and let her know her wagon is ready... consider it my last great project." He coughed again, and picked up his brush. I could tell the wagon looked amazing, but he informed me "oh, just a few more finishing touches left." He asked me to leave, and I bid him farewell. But he smiled at me and like he always told his customers "my friend, it is never goodbye; see you soon." As I walked outside, I stared at the sign over the window.
Edgar's Toy Store
Proudly entertaining Sodor's youth for over 50 years
He never closed his store, except for the holidays. I can still remember when I was a youth in his store... then I thought about mine and John's wagons.
February 11th,
i went into the toy shop to check on Edgar but he was lying there not moving, i think he passed. i found this note on him and it said;
Please deliver the wagon for me, consider this a goodbye letter.
i had to deliver the wagon, i went outside with it and then i saw a girl around the age of 10 "here is your wagon" i said, knowing this was the same girl as she had some gardening tools in a bag. "you mean, Edgar finished it?" she said. "yes he did, before passing." i said trying not to cry. i went to my ice cream parlor with her and gave her some free ice cream. Edgar's son and nephew came up and then gave me another note and this one read;
i talked this over with father and he agreed to give his shop to you, for your bakery."
but i said no because they could run it and that it should stay.
February 12th
Dear diary, Edgar's passing has hit the whole town really hard, even All of Sodor perhaps. I think he is one of those few men who was able to find a way to appeal to every generation, young and old. It was hard to believe, but for the first time, I saw Edgar's store closed when it wasn't a holiday. His although his son is 51, Clyde assured me he'd keep it open as long as children still loved "daddy's store." The Funeral is set for the 16th, I wonder just how many people will show? Sir Topham Hatt was also saddened by the news, and offered to help however he can. I know Edgar's 19 year old grandson Kyle always loved the store... I wonder if he'll keep the legacy going in the future? John is feeling better today from the illness, and we agreed that tomorrow we'll open shop; all ice cream will be on the house tomorrow.
February 13th
Dear diary, I asked Kyle about the shop. It seems like maybe it will keep going. He;s not too sure. I heard something the other night between some engines though, that upset me. They said a new engine was arriving. He's huge apparently. Hmm...
February 14th
Dear diary, My girlfriend, whom I haven't seen since she went to visit her parents on the mainland, came home for a Valentines Day surprise. The ice cream parlor is serving cinnamon hearts as a topping today only. Sadly, Edgar's Toy Shop burned down today after Clyde placed his cigarette bud in the green wagon I was supposed to deliver for him, and it caught fire. I felt extremely bad and I can't imagine how Clyde feels. Kyle's taking it really hard. I offered him some free ice cream. Didn't really know what else I could do.
February 15th,
Dear diary, 1 pm- The funeral is tomorrow. I was surprised to see just how many people were coming to town... even from the mainland. It was a good thing at least the fire was detected early... the firemen were able to stop it from spreading to the neighboring stores and his apartment. I thought for one brief moment that perhaps this was the time to ask Clyde... but no; seeing the look on his and Kyle's face, it means too much to them to let it go; better to just let it play out and see what they do. Told my girlfriend I needed to go shopping tonight... can't believe I never needed a suit until today, and for such an occasion. 8 pm- Got my suit. John's staying at my place tonight. We really should be getting to sleep, but we found our wagons in the attic. It got us thinking about a time when everything in the world seemed so simple.
February 16th,
I don't feel like writing but I have to, after the funeral I took a long nap as I couldn't take anything more today, I woke up later and now here I am, writing this, maybe some ice cream will cheer me up a small bit.
February 17th
Dear diary, I really need to get my mind off of Edgar for a while. I hear that there's a big football game going on tomorrow. John and I invested in a freezer truck, and we'll set up shop outside the stadium. Everything is in order with the local government, but we can only bring vanilla and chocolate since the truck isn't that big. Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow; john and I better better get going with the product.
February 18th,
10 AM: I'm here at the game, seems the Skarloey Strikers are winning so far.
8 PM: I decided to use my 2 other days at Ulfstead to keep my mind off Edgar, I met 2 streamliners named Connor and Caitlin. Although they were gone in a flash and my hat blew away.
February 19th
Dear Diary, The Island's high rate of locomotive incidents struck again, as the Sodor Dairy Company, where I get my ice cream, was hit by a diesel named Paxton, whom I've heard is rather clumsy. Thankfully we just got the ingredients, but we will have a shortage of ice cream until next week. Clyde and Kyle seemed a bit happier today, as the insurance company paid off the damages caused by the fire. However, with this shortage of ice cream going on, I guess I have to stop offering free ice cream as condolences
February 20th
Dear Diary, Edgar's will was released today, he left me a small sum of money, enough for advertising the business. It's still hard to believe he's gone, but work should take my mind off things.
February 21st,
Dear diary, With the dairy company closed for now, this means no heavy cream or milk. Fortunately there's two things going for me: John and I stocked up on milk and heavy cream, so we can still make our fresh ice cream daily. And it is still winter, so we aren't making as much as summer. We will be good for a while, we just need to ration. John and I are back from the second day at Ulfstead Castle. The Earl even told me he was planning on getting another engine... Apparently to help with the dinosaur thing. Hope it works out. Now that I'm home, I wonder how my girlfriend is doing... Ever since her dad's accident she's been on the mainland a lot; the bright side though, he's looking better every week.
February 22nd
Dear Diary: My girlfriend came to visit today, so we went up to Glennock for a picnic. I'm thinking about proposing soon. Business is duing well. My brother wants to sell cocoa during winter to make more money, but it's been unseasonably warm and no one would buy it. That's probably the main reason people are buying ice cream in late February, come to think of it.
February 23rd
Ok, maybe not unseasonably warm, a blizzard came last night out of the blue and I heard that it was even windier up on the mountains, also heard that one of the mountain engines rescued some people. My brother's plan to sell cocoa might actually work now. Also I met an engine named Sam, I'll have to see Sir Topham Hatt to see if I'm not mental
February 24th,
Dear diary,
John and I have been up all night working on a hot cocoa recipe... 22 different combinations and still can't get the flavor right. Been thinking about proposing again, but I realized something: would she want to marry an ice cream maker? I'm embarrassed to say this, but I've never told her about my line of work or the parlor... I've only said that I'm in the food business... When we first met 3 years ago I feared she'd laugh at me for being an ice cream man. The cinnamon hearts on valentine's day were John's idea, after all. She really is incredible though, and I really don't want to lose her. Blizzard means everything is closed today; so at least we have time to try out different recipes. Maybe a little less sugar? This may take a while.
February 25th,
I decided to man up and I proposed to her, our wedding is planned to be on march 4th.
February 26th,
Dear diary, Had a really bizarre dream last night; that's the last time I eat sushi.
We've decided to postpone until her father gets better. She went back to the mainland today and I went back to work. Still working on the cocoa recipe, I think that's failed recipe number 77. Why is Cocoa so hard? I still haven't told her about the ice cream parlor, still wondering how I should tell her about my line of work, if she'll take it seriously. Bright side: flavor contest ends in two days... Wonder who will win?
February 27th,
I just got back from a trip on the Skarloey railway, Skarloey's twin, Tallylyn came to the railway as Peter Sam's funnel was broken, I like Tallylyn, just as gentle as Skarloey and the coaches were different, instead of open top they were roofed but there were no doors, just openings, and that didn't really stop the kids from throwing rocks.
February 28th,
The Skarloey railway trip was great... Though what is up with that Duncan, I'll never know Flavor contest ends today, but to make it special I'll postpone the announcement until after john and I make the first batch. On a side note, totally adding Talyllyn railway to my bucket list, it sounds awesome.
February 29th,
Today I will reveal the new Ice Cream Flavor, but it turns out it was a tie between Mint and Cookie Dough. Guess I'll have to add both Mint Chocolate Chip and Cookie Dough. Also that dog returned but was ran over by Mighty Mac. Took another ride and this time there were Light blue coaches with roofs and doors. And this time Duke was pulling the train.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 11, 2015 22:15:07 GMT -5
That's it for now; its getting late and I am getting tired. I'll copy and paste more tomorrow.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 12, 2015 12:31:56 GMT -5
March 1st, Had to inform the customers cookie dough and mint chocolate chip were already on the menu. This meant the next in line was the winner. I was surprised, french vanilla took the vote. Looks like we will serve 6 flavors after all. I've though about a cherry chocolate flavor, but McColl says the cherries still aren't in season. I'll give that a shot once the cherries are in season. Great news: dairy is almost rebuilt, so heavy cream and milk deliveries will resume soon. Bad news: about 137 recipes and we still can't get the cocoa recipe right, but john and I aren't giving up yet. March 2nd, MColl said that cherries just came into season and that they are growing right now, so cherry chocolate is coming soon. I think I got the cocoa recipe right! And it was only 300 tries but I did it! I have the perfect recipe, but it's not as cold anymore. March 3rd, That was a surprise; I already got my first shipment of cherries. Perhaps I can give Cherry Chocolate a shot after all. I heard about this narrow gauge engine, Freddie, apparently he had an accident and now people are saying he looks different after he was repaired. March 4th Dear Diary: Finally found a good cocoa recipe. We'll start selling it on the tenth. I told my fiancee about the ice cream parlor, and she didn't mind. Turns out she has a recipe for ice cream in her family that she's always wanted to sell. It's maddening difficult to make, though, harder than cocoa. March 5th, Cherry Chocolate just came out! Also Freddie looks different, he was repainted red and seems very different, almost as if he isn't Freddie. Also I took a ride but this time I was with Peter Sam and another diesel named Fred, Peter Sam has a square funnel now, he puffs much better, but this Fred seems quite lazy. March 6th: The wedding has been scheduled for May 25th. My brother says i should take the entire month of May off for the wedding, but I'm not sure. Cherry chocolate was a huge flop, my brother wants to discontinue it. Still can't get my fiancee's ice cream right. March 7th, I am putting another vote on whether we should discontinue cherry chocolate or not. I found out the mystery about Freddie, turns out the red engine was an engine named Ivo Hugh and Freddie came back today with the number 10 instead of 7 and Mighty Mac and Bertram also got numbers, Bertram 11 and Mighty Mac 12. March 8th, Dear diary, Sir Topham Hatt himself stopped by the parlor today. Turns out this Sam is a new American engine. He's too big for the branch lines, but Hatt explained he wants to experiment with some of the larger American engines for long-distance freight... He's in the steam works now undergoing modifications to british rail standards. Side note: spring is around the corner, so it will get warmer soon. It's still cold enough that buisness is slow, and John and I are knocking out the six flavors. We probably got the formula wrong, so we'll hold back the cherry chocolate for now until we get it right. We'll keep it at six for now: display case is running out of room, it can only hold 8 ice cream tubs! Bright side: now we can put a cherry on top. We've come quite far this year, one employee (me) to two (John and I) three flavors to six, and no toppings to 3 (whipped cream, hot fudge, cherries). Space is small though, so still only 6 2 person tables, 2 4 person tables. Better get ready for tomorrow: official debut of french vanilla! March 9 Dear Diary: John has found us some new premises at Crovan's Gate. They're bigger, so we can also include that bakery I've always wanted to do. We move there April second. French vanilla was a modest success, the Daily said that "Sudrian Select has done it again". I hope they weren't comparing it to Cherry Chocolate... March 10th, I just got a call from Mcoll saying that those cherries weren't picked at the right time, and that he picked them too quickly, he gave me some new cherries that worked in the cherry chocolate ice cream, but then I got the most stupid order in history, someone asked for cherry chocolate with a cherry on top March 11th, Dear diary, Been thinking about the move. I told John I realized something and I wanted to think about it. After all, June 25th marks 10 years open. This store has been like a second home to me. This move is a huge opportunity, but I'm proud of what I have overcome in just one decade. What should I do? March 12th The move is canceled, the places we wanted to go would be too far from the ice cream shop. The girl who I gave the green wagon came and gave me another display case for ice cream, now we can hold 12 flavors. March 13th, Dear diary, It was a tight fit, but the new display fits snugly next to the old one. At six flavors, it's two tubs each for now. Waiting for another batch of cherries to try the cherry chocolate again; McColl promised he'd personally deliver the batch when it was ready. The girl's parents came in today; i told them I am really grateful for their gift. My girlfriend called... Said her dad was doing better. It's slow progress, but he's getting back to 100% Am realizing that I'll need more help around here should we start making more flavors... And when summer comes. Dad retired a few years ago, but he taught me everything I know about ice cream, and has been looking for something to keep him busy, so I offered him a job. Same thing with Uncle Tim, been looking for something to keep him busy. They said they would start when business picked up. In the mean time, better get ready... Almost time to open shop. March 14th, The girl came with a shelf and a new display case of 12 so I put the shelf above the other displays and now that the cherries came I put cherry chocolate in 2 of the new tubs, later I went to Rheneas station and found some old coaches, might want to buy them and make one into an ice cream coach with 3 flavors, Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. March 15th Dear diary, The one display case of 12 takes up less space than the two old ones... I'll keep them downstairs and use them for spare parts as needed. 7 flavors is a bit of a handful now... Maybe I'll get Uncle Tim and Dad to start sooner. This really is becoming a family business. I was talking to John, had a great idea: I hear that waffles and ice cream are getting popular, so we should invest in a pair of waffle makers. The bad news: the pair I'm looking at are from the US, delivery is expected to take 6 weeks. I hope the wait pays off. March 16th, My GF just decided to help with the ice cream business, she is doing her special ice cream and cherry chocolate, and she got the ice cream perfectly the first try! We are thinking about Neapolitan ice cream, my GF says she knows how to make it without the flavors mixing, we can handle 3 more flavors now, I have created a chart on who does which flavors, Me: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, John: Mint, Cookie Dough, French Vanilla GF: Cherry Chocolate, her ice cream (she doesn't have a name for it), Neapolitan Dad: Tim: Waffles (once the waffle maker arrives) Took a ride on Bertram's train, it was nice, decided to buy the coaches now. March 17th Dear diary, John pointed out the chart forgot to take something into account: after making the ice cream, someone still needs to serve it as cones and cups, and make the sundaes. This also means making the whipped cream and hot fudge. Finally, there's also the milkshakes, ice cream sodas when the waffles come, and someone manning the register. We agreed that we would meet tomorrow and figure out an even better game plan; five people makes this a lot easier. March 18th Dear Diary: We've decoded to open a second branch at Crovan's Gate, instead of moving. The branch will most likely not be open until July. We calculate we need 12 employees between the two locations. Still can't decide on a honeymoon location. My Fiancee wants to tour America, but I want to visit Italy. My father found a business in Skarloey that sells Lingonberries. He thinks they would be good in ice cream. March 19th Dear diary, Turns out the meeting to figure out who will do what will have to wait, Jen (the girlfriend really should have a name now) had to go back to the mainland; apparently her dad had a nasty fall. He's going to live, but it is a couple steps back. Quite a shock this morning: Peter called about selling the clothing store to me. He said he was moving back to the United States; he wouldn't tell me why, just that "he made enough mistakes, and it was time to atone for them." I said I'd talk over the buy with John, Dad and Uncle Tim, looks like the bakery will happen after all. Good thing Uncle Alan is a baker looking for work and my cousin Bill (Alan's son) is looking for a job after finishing culinary school with a focus on baking... Nothing like a bakery and an ice cream parlor to bring the family together, lol. March 20th We tried Lingonberry ice cream and it tasted perfect, Dad has volunteered to put the ice cream in cones and things of the like, now all of us are going to have 1 more flavor added to each of our places on the chart so the new chart is being made, March 21st, Dear diary, The four of us thought about Jen's favor... We know it combined nuts, raisins and m&ms, we thought for a minute, then we all suddenly screamed together "Trail mix!!" Boy, will she have quite a surprise when she gets back. The new chart should come together soon, and we are almost in agreement with Peter's store offer. We did wonder why we didn't offer the three things as toppings, but then we dismissed it; we needed them for the trail mix ice cream after all. March 22nd Dear Diary With the clothing store in Glennock, the coach, the Crovan's Gate premises, and our original location, we are in desperate need of employees. We started hiring today, and we have three promising applicants. Packard Construction Co. Is renovating the Clothing store. I don't know where we'll get the money. Dad's not helping. He thinks we should by a locomotive to transport ingredients between the locations. He's mad! We booked a location for the wedding. The Vicar of Wellsworth owns an apple orchard, so we are getting married under the trees. The Vicar is nice, and so is his tractor, Trevor. March 23rd, Dear diary, Dad admitted his idea was a bit of a long shot, but I will give him points for creativity. Jen is still not back yet, but we agreed to surprise her when she got back with the flavor name. Been thinking about other employees if needed; good thing I have a big family, lol. Right now, the 5 of us here, plus Uncle Alan and cousin Bill in the bakery when it opens is manageable, so for now we can take it slow. It's only spring, and surprisingly still a bit cold. How long will that last? March 24th 10 AM The current Lottery jackpot is at 50 million, so my Dad bought two tickets. He says that if he wins, he'll buy an engine. I told him he had a better chance of being struck by lightning. 8 PM Dad won the lottery. On the drive back from claiming the prize, his car got struck by lightning. March 25th, Dear diary, Talk about luck. Dad assured me the money changes nothing though, he's still here to help. I told him if he wants an engine though, we'd have to wait for it; we should really tackle only one project at a time. Our plan is to make a simple doorway connecting the bakery and parlor; Jacob the landlord really doesn't want us tearing down the wall, but the doorway is fine. The four of us have seen fair business, with the new flavors being a hit. Perhaps the current number of employees is fine right now; uncle Tim says we'll have to wait and see though. March 26th: Dear diary, I'm on the mainland meeting Jen's family today. I had met her parents, but not her sister Stella. She owns an ice cream parlor in a little town called Crampton. She doesn't seem to like me. March 27th: Back in town. Met some guy outside my house. He said an Adventure was beginning, so i had to go buy a DVD about some guys named Glenn, Jerome, and Judy. I didn't. March 28th Dear diary, It doesn't make any sense. Why would Stella not like me? I've never done anything to wrong her, and not once have I spoken bad of her. At any rate, best to just give her some space now... Clearly something is going on that I don't want to get tangled up in. Come to think of it, that was first time leaving Sodor... And I'm going to be 31 years old this year (Jen's 29 this year). I wish I could have stayed, but Jen's dad is still recovering from the injuries. I wonder why trains don't have faces in the mainland? There must be something very special about Sodor. March 29th. Dear Diary: Someone broke in last night. Nothing was taken, but it was alarming. The bakery Opens April 1st. The coach we restored is now pulled by Duncan on his daily route. It's paying off for sure. If the Crovan's Gate location is a success, we will most certainly get that engine. Dad's got his eye on one called "Little Barford". March 30th: The bakery is really coming together nicely. uncle Alan and Cousin Bill are already working on perfecting a brownie recipe for the parlor; we told him no nuts, and make them fudge-like. Everything else is up to them. It's a shame Jen is in the mainland and will miss the grand opening, but I understand her father really needs her now. She can still look forward to getting surprised with the name we came up with: trail mix ice cream. Just a few touches to go and we will be ready to open. My cousin Jim just got laid off from his old job... He said he's willing to be trained to work the coach. Not a bad idea actually. March 31st: (No entry; busy working all day)
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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2015 11:40:25 GMT -5
It's a good thing you are doing this, because we would have to recollect the whole thing if it got deleted
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Sept 14, 2015 11:42:09 GMT -5
Exactly. Do you need any help, Frank?
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 12:29:08 GMT -5
Right now, just going back and copy and pasting everything month by month. I'm up to April now.
Here and there I do have to do I tiny bit of editing, not because I didn't like where the story went, but because in the early months there was this one guy who was just spamming it with nonsense and for some reason he tried to kill Jen off, so some small changes here and there to fix a couple contradictions. but for now, I'm just copy and pasting month by month until everything is saved.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 12:43:31 GMT -5
Here's April:
April 1st
The opening was amazing, I'm sorry that Jen had to miss it. Soon we went to get Little Barford, the new controller of the SKR said that we could have a set of points leading to the Bakery and Parlor, it's a new controller named Seamus
April 2nd
Dear Diary, Bakery was crowed today. People seem to love our muffins. Our lemon bread is also pretty popular. With all this money we're getting, I can probably throw a pretty amazing wedding.
April 3rd, Great news, Jen is able to come back tomorrow; we'll surprise her with the flavor name then. She won't be able to stay long, but at least we get some time together. "trail mix" is selling modestly. The brownie sundaes are a hit; considering the low traffic, of course. I hear Clyde's finally getting around to rebuilding Edgar's shop... Perhaps he has finally made peace. Between the two shops, the six of us are doing fine. I wish the bakery space was bigger, but just like the parlor, there was only enough room for 6 2 person tables and 2 4 person tables. People stood outside over an hour to get in. After today, traffic should lighten a bit; opening days are always like this. Jim's training is almost complete, and soon he'll be taking care of the coach. Can't believe still gotta wait another 4 weeks for the 2 waffle makers... My regulars are excited though.
April fourth
Dearest diary; Money has been pouring in, so i decided to buy a new car, a VW Beetle named Hildegrade. Business is booming, and i gave my Dad the go-ahead to buy Little Barford. We'll need to have him renovated, but he'll be a good investment, all told. Jen loved "Trail Mix", as do our customers. I thought i saw a man in Amber Apricot with an inflated head float over the house. The strain must be getting to me.
April 5th
Dear Diary,
Parlor and bakery are closed today. Jen is back for a couple days before she goes back to the mainland, so we will have our meeting today and get it over with.
Uncle Alan and Bill have the Bakery in good hands, so the five of us are discussing something important: Future flavors
We already have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, french vanilla, cookie dough, mint chocolate chip, cherry chocolate, trail mix, Neapolitan and Lingonberry. We have room for two more flavors, and we need to pick from five: Vanilla Bean, Peach, Cookies and Cream, Pistachio and Peanut butter We need to find a supplier of fresh bananas... about time we add banana splits. We also need to figure out other toppings to add to hot fudge, whipped cream and cherries. Lastly, we need to do something about that whistling noise in the walls of the bathroom... been giving me the creeps since I opened this place. Meeting is about to start... hope all goes well.
April 6th,
I started to deal with the whistling sound, opened the wall and found a lamp, then the lamp lit up and said, Self Fullfilling Prophecy. I was startled so I found this statue and left the lamp there.
Turns out Peach ice cream is one of the new flavors and we are giving it a go, I'll put a vote for the second flavor.
April 7th,
Dear diary,
Well, it turns out we can't get the peanut butter quite right, so it's vanilla bean, cookies and cream or pistachio. Votes are coming in, and it looks like its neck and neck cookies and cream with vanilla bean. I'm still waiting on the waffle makers... Why does 4 weeks seem so long? Jen is back on the mainland; I feel terrible that she has to go away a lot, but her father really needs her now. My luck just doesn't get much better: we tried to work on a caramel topping, but it kept clumping so we had to give up on it. Sodor confectionary Co. Just went bankrupt, so I have no one to order sprinkles from now; and just when I was considering it too. Perhaps the worst of all: just read this morning's paper, the coach isn't doing as well as we thought. We are making sales, but Apparently everyone is saying the ice cream just doesn't taste as fresh as the parlor's made daily ice cream. What should I do?
April 7th:
Dear diary: So far, cookies and cream seems to be winning. We may have space for two new flavors, actually, because lingonberry isn't selling well. A steam shovel named Ned knocked over one of the walls of the new Crovan's Gate location. We need to contract the job of fixing the wall to River Tid Bricklayers, which will set us back one week and a lot of money. The NWR wants to sell some of our ice cream at their concession stands, i meet with the controller tomorrow.
April 8th,
Dear diary, Am meeting with Sir Topham Hatt today. So far, things appear to be ok. I don't want to grow too much too fast, so I could only offer him the following: A small stand at a major station, like Knapford. Just the three basic flavors and hot fudge topping (we still haven't figured out how to store fresh whipped cream longer than a day before it starts to lose its thickness). I told him he would need to wait on it though; I still need to design a cart and figure out how to maintain same level of quality as the store. He said I could have all the time I needed to get it right. This may actually work. Saw Bear today pulling the express... Guess Gordon was busy. Back At the parlor, things are looking good so far: the four of us are handling the spring traffic nicely. Wonder how summer will go?
April 9th
Dear diary, Percy dropped off ingredients for me today. I was curious and asked if engines could taste stuff. Percy said he wasn't sure, so I offered him some ice cream to see if he could. He took a like of vanilla and said he loved it. I wonder how they build these engines. Is there a face shop somewhere on the island? When you walk in do all the faces say Hello? That sounds awfully creepy.
Slow day at the parlor and bakery today, but that's not bad. We got a much needed break after how hectic it was the last few days. I also won tickets to the next Suddery Spartans game from a contest Mr. Jolly's Chocolate was hosting. I knew that bar tasted lucky. I have 2 tickets, but I don't really know who to go with. John doesn't like football and Jen's out of town the day of the game. Maybe I could take Clyde, he's been working really hard on rebuilding the toy shop that he deserves a rest. I saw him wearing a Spartans jersey yesterday, so maybe he's a fan. I'll ask him.
April 10th,
Dear diary,
Turns out Clyde is quite the fan and would love to go. He deserves to go with Kyle though, so I gave him the other ticket... They deserve some father son time, and I'm not really a fan of any team; i am curious though, so maybe another time.. The cart design is coming along; I think I almost got it figured out. I'll show Hatt when it is ready. I have decided to go visit Edgar tomorrow; it's about time I go and pay my respects to him.
April 11th,
9 AM: I went to Edgar and payed my respects and now I'm working on the ice cream cart now that I'm home.
12 PM: The cart is finished and John is holding it down, went for a ride on the Skarloey Railway and an engine named Luke was pulling the train, got off halfway to get on Duke's train to sell ice cream on my special coach, I think the refreshment lady is getting quite competitive about our special coaches, I'm painting mine the color of the tallylin engines with yellow lining, I did see another 3 coaches so I might even make a full train with a bakery coach as well, one Composite Coaches, one Dining Coach, one Ice Cream Coach, and one Bakery + Brake coach. All painted Tallylyn green with Yellow lining, Ice Cream and Bakery Coaches having windows for selling at the stations. Might even have Little Barford always pull this train around the SKR. Cookies and Cream won the new flavor and Lingonberry just got a huge boost in sales so it's staying.
April 12:
Didn't get much sleep last night. I keep seeing things. I could have sworn i saw Jen's sister, but she should be back on the mainland. I also mistook my dad for a clown. He was hysterical. I stopped by Single Nail Curios today to find something for my store. It's an odd place. I did learn how the engine's faces work there, but I'm too tired to explain it today. Maybe tomorrow...
April 13th,
8 am- Jim's feeling better, so he's able to take over the coach again. We launch the knapford pilot program today. The plan is simple: normally we are open from one pm to 8 pm, so John's going to wake up early and make 2 gallons each of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and 3 quarts of hot fudge. We'll stock up on cones and cups, open at knapford same time as the shop, and we'll stay open until we run out of something. My cousin Patrick has been looking to make ends meet, so he'll be working the knapford cart if it works out. He's ready and willing to start. Time to get ready for today... Let's see if knapford station is a good market. Side note: can't explain the faces in writing... They made me swear to secrecy. How did they find me?
April 14:
The Knapford stand was a modest success. We wont be opening another yet, but this one is worth the hassle. It turns out Jen's sister is opening another branch of her ice cream parlor just down the street from our Crovan's Gate location. No wonder she hates me- we're in competition!
April 15th,
Dear diary,
Finally got around to reviewing the security camera footage of the break in a couple weeks ago. (Sure, it's a small store, but Jacob the landlord is paranoid, he made us do it). Nothing was taken, but the strangest thing. After prying open the door with a crowbar, the person went in, just sort of stood there, stared around the store and left. The police said they'd look into it only because this may be a lead towards a burglary ring they've been Trying to bust for some time. I've now rigged the doors and windows: if someone tries to break in, it'll set off a butyric acid trap. The stuff is harmless, but smells absolutely rancid... The burglar will be impossible to hide it. Luckily the stuff it's contained in is containing the odor, and it's disabled when the customers are in, so Jacob is letting this slide. Uncle Tim and Aunt Martha (Tim's wife) live in the apartment upstairs, so they know when those bombs go off to call the cops. In other news: cookies and cream debuts tomorrow. That makes 12 flavors. At last we are at capacity. I wonder how Jen is doing? I do miss her a lot, but understand her Dad needs her now. As for Stella, I am an honorable man, so as long as she doesn't wrong me, I will do no wrong towards her.
April 16
The freezer broke at our main location. We need to fix it ASAP. Fortunately, the waffle makers arrived today. We'll start serving them tomorrow.
Dear Diary (I'm not sure if he's had his birthday yet, so ignore this part if he has) Tomorrow is my birthday, and we're selling Birthday Cake Ice Cream tomorrow in honour of the event, and it's going to be free! Jen's coming back tomorrow so we can celebrate my birthday. I'm planning on taking her to this very nice restaurant STH recommended that's near Knapford Station.
Unfortunately our waffle cones taste bad according to our customers, so we'll work on perfecting them before we sell them again. But we've began serving waffles at the bakery for breakfast, everyone loves 'em
April 18th,
Dear Diary,
ITS MY BIRTHDAY! So since the birthday cake ice cream is free, its no surprise everybody wants it. And i finally found a trick to make the waffle cones, but its a secret. And I'm also thinking of making a new flavor...
April 19th
Store is closed; everything needs a good cleaning and the guy is here to fix the freezer. Jen's here at least, so we can do something together. She said she had a surprise...
Also, can't believe the waffle makers got here so fast... The guy I was talking to said six weeks, but it was here much sooner!
April 20th Jen's surprise was amazing. We are both intrepid mounting climbers, so on May first, we are going to try to climb Sodor's highest peak, Culdee Fell! I have definitely decided to take the month of May off. With the wedding, honeymoon,( we still need to decide where!) and now mountain climbing, i won't have time for the business. Luckily, it's in capable hands. Jen left today, but she'll be back by the thirtieth. We went up to Harwick to go whale watching today.
April 21st,
Dear Diary, Everything is working again, and today was business as usual. Due to logistics restraints, we can only resupply the coach on Mondays and Thursdays, so I regret that we can't get the same level of freshness as the store or cart... the cold truck can only transport so much, after all. Luckily we are only about 20 minutes from Knapford, so resupplying the cart is relatively easier (Should we establish what town this first store is in by now) The Crovan's Gate location is coming along nicely... been going through the family album to see if anyone needs a job. Look's like the Wilson Family just might become the Sodor sweets family, lol. My high school friend Ryan lives near where Stella's Crovan's Gate store will be... he said he's seen no one go near the space the past couple weeks... odd. I hope this doesn't affect Jen's relationship with me, I really mean no ill will towards Stella.
April 22nd
Dear Diary, I can't believe what I heard on the news today! The whole town of Tidmouth got evacuated today due to a train of fuel tankers derailing, and should it explode they don't want anyone hurt. No confirmation on which engine was pulling it, but rumor has it Sam was pulling it, so there was a lot of fuel tankers. I'm going to do some work at the Crovan's Gate location for today, since I haven't actually been there much. From what I've heard, the evacuation will only last a couple days.
April 23rd
I took Hildegarde up to Dryaw. I met an engine I'd never seen before. He said his name was Thomas and there was a popular TV series about him. I didn't believe him. The parlor reopens tomorrow, i hope this doesn't affect business.
April 24th,
Dear diary, Put on my overalls and decided to get a little hands-on work done at Crovan's Gate. The heavy construction is complete, so from here on I can get involved with the work on it. John was right, the location is big enough for both parlor and bakery. We'll make it aesthetically look entirely like the original parlor though, so people will know it's us. Today, going to work on store layout and design... Has to have exact same standards and quality as the other one.
I just can't believe I've lived on this island for 31 years and still haven't met Thomas... How many engines work on Sodor?
April 25th:
Dear Diary: Work is going well on our new location. The store will most likely be ready to open by July 18. With two locations so far from each other, having Little Barford to transport ingredients between the two locations will be a great asset. We will also be able to bring things to the coach. I don't know what we'll do about the stand at Knapford. We're having a meeting tomorrow to discuss it.
April 26th,
Dear Diary,
The meeting made us realize a few things. The Glennock parlor/bakery and the eventual Crovan's Gate location can both receive ingredients and make their own product efficiently, so there will be little issue there. Secondly, thanks to the freezer truck we are doing very well supplying the coach daily. The coach is small, so it can only serve chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, in cones and cups. We can also serve Hot Fudge and whipped cream (enough space in the coach to make and store whipped cream, but not on the cart). As for the cart, Sir Topham Hatt said that there's an empty room under one of Knapford's shops we can use to set up the equipment to make ice cream and hot fudge there. Patrick's brothers Carter and Brian have been having trouble finding jobs recently, so with some training they can handle that end. Everything is slowly coming together. Looks like the cart may just work after all. We are at capacity with flavors. Here's where the menu stands:
Ice cream: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, French Vanilla, Cookie Dough, Mint Chocolate Chip, Cherry Chocolate, Trail Mix, Neapolitan, Lingonberry, Peach, Cookies and Cream Available in cups, cones, sundaes, on a waffle, and as ice cream sodas
Toppings: Hot fudge, whipped cream, cherries (Still no sprinkles; been impossible to find since Sodor Confectionery Co. went bankrupt... and why does that caramel keep clumping every time we try to make it?)
Milkshakes: Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry.
Currently in negotiations with Brendam Fruit Co. for Bananas to get banana splits on the menu... taking a lot longer than anticipated.
When I got home, decided to give Jen a call... she said Dad is doing better, and will definitely make it to the wedding. With everything going on now, I hope there will be one!
April 27
Dear Diary:
We have rats! They are getting into the food and ruining it! I've called the exterminater, but i don't now what our customers will think. We reopen tomorrow. I hope this doesn't ruin our plans to go hiking!
April 28th,
Dear Diary,
Well it turns out the rat infestation originated a few stores down, and we just got in the spread of it. I decided it best to close until the 30th, just to make sure that everything is pristine. I have worked very hard over the last 10 years to be an outstanding member of the community, and I will not have that reputation tarnished. Luckily, with the burglary ring still at large, the news doesn't really care about this kind of thing. The rats are gone now, and right now am checking for termites, cockroaches, mold, etc. Nothing so far, so it all goes well, we will open tomorrow.
April 29th,
We checked the store, and there is no mold, no cockroaches, no termites and everything is clear, we reopen tomorrow. Saw this new engine on the SKR, his name is Smudger, not sure where he came from but he seems to have a similar shape to Rheneas he acts like Duncan and is green like the shade of Luke. Got some bananas for banana splits, I think my paranoid side is coming back as I checked the whole shop again for unusual things and luckily found nothing. Banana splits are on the menu for tomorrow.
April 30th,
Dear Diary,
Jen hasn't come back just yet, and hasn't called this morning, so Culdee Fell is up in the air right now. Banana splits are a modest success... they really are meant for more than one person after all, and most people I'm serving appear to want "their own thing" if you will.
half the younger kids keep asking about sprinkles... I have to keep explaining that Sodor Confectionery Co. went bankrupt to their parents... come to think of it, you can't find sprinkles anywhere on Sodor from what the parents are telling me. I have assured them though, as soon as I find some, I'll make a big event out of it.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 12:56:15 GMT -5
And here is the month of May:
May 1st:
Dear Diary, Jen showed up today, we are leaving for Culdee Fell tomorrow. My family have assured me that the store is in good hands. That Thomas fellow was supposed to deliver some fresh ingredients, but he says he lost them. I can't stand TV stars.
May 2nd:
Dear Diary,
We arrived at the base station at Kirk Machan Today. Boarded a train named Culdee and his Coach Catherine. Interestingly, all trains look the same on this line, versus the various types on the North Western. Wonder why? Jen said something about the line reminded her of the Snowdon Mountain Railway, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Regardless, this is going to be a great vacation together.
May 3rd:
Dear Diary,
Jen found out why she thought of the snowdon mountain railway, she found it when she met Patrick and put together the fact that the engines were cousins. I saw Bulstrode in service at the harbor, he said that he had to carry a whole bunch of sprinkles from the mainland, Sprinkles, here we come! The wedding will attend in 3 Days, I better be getting ready right now.
May 4th,
The culdee fell vacation is fantastic. We've met most of the engines and are getting ready for a trip to the summit. Had a gear time in the towns at the bottom of the line, now we begin the journey up.
May 5th
Dear Diary:
We are halfway to the summit, camped out. With all the work we have to do in the next few weeks, what with the wedding and all, it's nice to just relax and enjoy the scenery. We will head for the summit tomorrow.
May 6th,
Dear diary,
11 am- I had a really bad dream last night about losing Jen in a landslide. Have decided from here we will ride the train to the summit. I'd normally want to complete the climb , but that dream just felt way too real
May 7th,
11 AM, Reached the highest station today, guess I'll have to continue on foot.
5 PM, reached the summit just now, setting up camp for he night, although I think I saw a boulder flying down the mountain, so that's 2 boulders I have seen this year, that's a record!
May 8th,
Dear Diary,
Jen and I had a great time on the mountain top. There must have been a change in the rules, cause apparently the owners don't want us camping up here longer than a day. We'll be spending the last two days of our vacation in the Hotel at the summit. Its certainly a lot warmer, I will concede. Perhaps there was an incident here some years ago?
May 9th,
Another boulder went by, and it crashed into the hotel, seems like the hotel doesn't have boulder insurance on it as it is closing down for repairs. After getting down the mountain I took a ride on the good old SKR that was being pulled by Ivo Hugh, but then Rheneas raced by and another boulder passed as well, that's 4 boulders in one year, I am glad I got boulder insurance.
May 10th,
Man, I really hope that's the last boulder for a while. At least Jen said that she's going to be able to stay here for a while now that her Dad has recovered. Back at the shop now, and I am impressed, Uncle Tim, John and Dad held the fort splendidly. We finally got some sprinkles today as well... the kids are going to be so excited tomorrow. I was going through some of my old stuff from when I was a kid... found a bunch of books by this one fellow, Rev. W Awdry... can't believe I forgot about these... I loved them as a kid.
May 11th,
12 AM,
I'm up reading some of those books Rev. W Awdry made and they seem oddly familiar, it's like I experienced what happened in those books,
2 AM,
still up, and for some reason the Skarloey engines are all red except for Duke, and Rusty is black, the only Skarloey engines that are red are Skarloey, Rheneas, and Ivo Hugh,
2:30 AM,
Found it out, in these books all the engines have the livery of the railway because Peter Sam and Sir Handel were repainted to have the livery, I better get to sleep now.
12 PM,
I certainly slept in, I went to the SKR and expected to see Peter Sam red, but then I remembered about how those were just the books.
5 PM, Reading about the Arlesdale engines in those books, seems interesting, might go there for a ride. I'll just be sure that Mike isn't pulling the train.
May 12th,
Dear diary,
Turns out there's a problem... harbormaster says I can't buy sprinkles directly off of Bulstrode once its unloaded... policy, he says. Going to have to wait till they get distributed across the island to the stores. Why does nobody ever tell me these things. John and I are heading to the clothing store today... going to need a suit for the big event... the other one isn't quite right for this occasion.
May 13th,
I was at the store where I would get sprinkles and the crates of sprinkles came in and I promptly said, "I'll buy them all." And now Sprinkles are on the list! And for some reason, Uncle put up a huge billboard that just said Sprinkles right above the store. So, Sprinkles! Went to the SKR and Little Barford who was just put on the tracks was pulling our coaches. Seems like Peter Sam and Little Barford aren't getting along too well, so now we have a rivalry between me and the refreshment lady, and Peter Sam and Little Barford, what's next, a rivalry between the coaches? Also I gave Little Barford the nickname Barford.
May 14th:
Still deciding on a honeymoon location. We need to decide by tomorrow at the absolute latest. Record turnout today, must have something to do with sprinkles. I bought everything the Mini-Mart had, and we're almost out of them! Maybe we should take down the billboard.
May 15th,
Dear diary,
10 am- I am so embarrassed to say this, but Jen and I still don't have a honeymoon location. We've narrowed it down to the United States or Italy, but we just can't figure out how to decide. The billboard's gotta come down in three days; turns out Jacob the landlord wasn't too happy about us putting it up without his permission. We agreed to pick the destination tomorrow. I wish I could take her to both places, but even with the businesses there's not enough money to do so. This sprinkle situation really needs resolving, but there's also a great deal of planning to do still. Should get started right away!
6 pm- I flipped a coin on it... the United States won. I hope that will work!
May 16th,
12 PM, Barford ended up in an accident with Sir Handel at the level crossing while he was going to get my coaches, luckily Sir Handel was just pulling trucks and not passengers. Hope nobody sues me for the accident. :/
3 PM, Almost finished packing for the honeymoon, have to find a few more things and I'm finished packing.
May 17th,
Dear diary, Turns out the accident was because of a signalman's error, so everything will be all right. So glad the packing is some already... Saves us time after the wedding on the 25th. We've decided the ceremony will be kept simple, so just family and close friends. John's going to be my best man... Can't think of anyone better. Jen's sister Stella still has something against me, so best continuing to keep my distance. As for Jen, she said she's "working on" the dress, but tradition requires it be kept a surprise. Why so much effort over something you'll only wear once?
May 18th:
The wedding is only a week away. I've got everything ready, but i can't help feeling like something's missing. Neither of the engines in the collision were too badly damaged. We expect Barford back by mid-June. The billboard is down, but half the island's sprinkles are already gone. Must stock up in America.
May 19th:
Dear diary,
Good thing sprinkles last a while, it's the one thing I can get away with not making fresh daily. Jen and I agreed to start getting the guest list together; Dad and Uncle Tim said they have a surprise for where we'll go after the ceremony; but I made them promise to tell me tomorrow... Has to be a place both families can enjoy.
May 20th,
5 more days until the wedding! And exactly one month after the wedding is the 10 year anniversary of the parlor, turns out that Peter Sam is volunteering to pull the parlor coaches, oh the refreshment lady won't like that at all. on another track (no pun intended) I saw ANOTHER boulder pass by the coaches. This time it was chasing Rheneas and Skarloey who had a dinosaur skeleton on a flatcar. That's FIVE boulders in One year. Hope that is the last boulder for a long while.
May 21st,
Dear diary,
Been sending out invitations to our families. Jen's father and mother arrived from the mainland today, and are staying at the hotel a few blocks down from the parlor. Oddly, no sign of Stella... Does she hate me that much? Jen's other sister Susan and her brother Miles made it though, and are at the hotel too. It is a bit saddening though.... I was really hoping Edgar would have lived long enough to see this day come.
May 22nd:
Dear diary:
The rehearsal is tomorrow, so we've been busy prepping. Lots more of our relatives showed up. Jen has quite a large family, so there's no way I'll ever learn all those names. Nobody will tell me where we're going after the ceremony, but i heard Gordon tell Sir Handel that some big event was going on at Tidmouth sheds the day of the wedding. Let's hope it's something else.
May 23rd
Dear diary,
I can't believe it, I just can't believe it. In two days it is going to be the big day. Have visited the vicar and his traction engine Trevor,.. Man, it'll be impossible to keep the younger kids away from him! Took one last trip to the parlor and bakery... It'll be the last time I see it for a while. Need to go somewhere quiet and think for a while... I hope Jen doesn't mind if I pay Edgar a visit; he always was a good man to talk to when you felt troubled or nervous.
May 24th:
Packing for the honeymoon. We'll leave the day after the wedding. We are going to visit, in order: Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, Las Vegas, Houston, and Miami. I can't believe the wedding is tomorrow! I still don't know where we're going after the wedding, but i only have one more day to wait!
May 25th:
(A big thing like this, I think we can let the rules slide a little and have multiple posts on the same day)
8 AM- Woken up, and got ready. Wow, that suit really was a great call by John.
9 AM- just a few hours away. At Wellsworth now, but I just can't shake the fact that something is missing. (Note to self: convince Jen to add Philadelphia to list; legendary Ice cream parlor I just gotta check out there)
9:30 AM- 2 and a half hours away. Can't believe the time is coming.
10 AM- Oh no! The vicar can't get Trevor to start... what do we do? I'll have to save the rest of my writing for tonight... I have a feeling today's going to be one hell of a day.
3:30 PM- Thankfully, the Vicar got Trevor to start. We made it just in time. The ceremony was wonderful, although i don't really think it's necessary to read from the Bible for three hours before the vows. I can't believe we are actually married! Driving towards the post-wedding celebration. I hope my family chose well!
3:50 pm- You've got to be kidding me! John and Susan are forcing Jen and I to wear blindfolds!? All right, I'll go along with it, John hasn't let me down before.
May 25th
9:40 PM- Heading home after a splendid day. The celebration was on the beach in Suddery, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Leaving tomorrow for America. Too tired to write about the ceremony now, will do so later.
May 26th,
Dear Diary,
11 am- On the mainland now; getting ready to go to the mainland. I'll be honest, it feels weird leaving Sodor. 31 years only once have I left the island, and just a day too. Going to try and convince Jen to add Philadelphia to our roster... Can't believe I forgot!
Side note- Stella was at the wedding, but kept her distance; that her way of warming up to me?
May 27th:
Flying into Washington D.C. today. Jen has agreed to add Philadelphia to our roster, after Miami. We're landing soon, but we won't be doing much until tomorrow because of jet lag.
May 28th,
Dear diary,
We agreed that with so much to do in every city, we'd spend a couple days covering whatever ground we can in each city. My family is originally from the states, but moved to Sodor before I was born, so always told me about just how diverse the place was. We were amazed with the Washington Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, WWII memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and even got close to the Capitol Hill. Can't see the White House though... Apparently you need to book months in advance... Darn it!! Tomorrow we're going to check out the museum of American History and hopefully get lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl; that place is legendary around here. Maybe that air and space museum is worth a shot too. Let's see what happens.
May 29th:
Today was a resounding success. We went to the air and space museum and the American History museum. The only disappointment was that we couldn't get into Ben's chili bowl, the line was out the door! We're flying into New York tomorrow. It's going to be awesome!
May 30th,
Dear diary,
10 AM- flying into LaGuardia today. We'll be heading into the city afterwards, but there's somewhere I just have to go before we get to Manhattan.
1 pm- heard about this famous little ice cream parlor in Queens, "Eddie's sweet shop" it's called... Going to check it out first.
2:30 great place. Owner's a nice fellow. Taking the train to the city.
4 pm- finally at the hotel. We did a lot of walking today, so we'll probably just rest and go out tomorrow. Doing research on NYC... so much to do here, where do we start?! Got a surprise for her; we both love that Tom hanks movie "Forrest Gump", and there's a Bubba-Gump Shrimp Company restaurant in the city... She'll be so surprised when we go there tomorrow.
May 31st:
Excellent day today. We visited the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, then went out to dinner. She loved the restaurant.
We just have a couple more places to see tomorrow, then we fly to Boston the following day.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 14:35:34 GMT -5
And here is June:
June 1st
Dear diary,
Today we checked out the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History... Some of the locals called us crazy, but we're early risers, so we pulled it off. Naturally, we couldn't leave without trying authentic Brooklyn thin crust pizza... So we headed to this quaint little place called DiFara's... Apparently the guy behind the counter is a local legend. Had to wait an hour for our pizza... But so worth it!!!! I see why this guy has been in business 50 years! If I ever get off Sodor again, I'll be sure to come and visit again... So much in New York, we haven't even scratched the surface. (Note to self: add USS Intrepid to bucket list). We fly into Boston tomorrow... its going to be great.
June 2nd
We went to Fenway park for a ball game, Jen loves baseball. The Red Sox lost unfortunately, but it was still a great game. We did a bit of sight seeing and then went to the hotel. We'll hang out in Boston the next couple days then head to Chicago.
June 3rd,
Dear diary, We checked out the USS Constitution today... Amazing how such an old ship can still be in active service, even if the role is symbolic. we couldn't leave Boston without trying one of their ice cream parlor's. Settled on this one place, toscanini's. Great stuff, but you've got to be kidding me!! They figured out peanut butter ice cream and we couldn't!? Jen is really good at comforting though, so I felt better later that night. Gotta get ready for Flight to Chicago tomorrow; and we need to account for the Jet lag.
June 4th
Dear diary: We flew into Chicago today. We need to catch up on sleep before we go anywhere, the time zone changes keep throwing us off. Saw a freight train passing, and none of the engines had faces! Are faces a Sudrian thing?
June 5th,
Dear diary, We checked out the Willis Tower today, tallest building in Chicago... What a view! Passed by Wrigley Field also; no one was playing though. The locals tells us we can't leave without trying Chicago deep dish, so we found out about this one place, Gino's East; luckily there's a game tomorrow so shouldn't be too crowded. Talk about being like-minded! The Chicago ice cream parlor we settled on was a place called Margie's Candies; freshly made, just like us. Time to go to bed now; wonder what other locations we'll see tomorrow.
June 6th:
Spent the whole day at Grant park, the place is massive! We're flying into Seattle tomorrow, but I'm beginning to realize that 2-3 days per city isn't quite enough to see everything, we may need to do this again someday.
June 7th,
Dear Diary,
Got on the plane at O'Hare today. Once again, the whole "jet lag" thing, so we really won't do anything big until tomorrow.
June 8th:
Dear Diary: We had an excellent day at the Seattle center today. We visited the Space Needle, rode the monorail, and visited the Science center. We haven't found an ice cream parlor yet, but we did find a really good smoothie place called "Emerald City Smoothie", maybe we should add smoothies to our menu back home!
June 9th,
Found an ice cream parlor! Nice place called "Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream." Great stuff, and owners are nice people. The smoothies idea is actually not that bad; perhaps if we ever get more room behind the counter and find someone who makes smoothie machines at a decent price, I'll consider it. Today, we went to the Woodland Park Zoo, and rode the Great Wheel; what a view that was! Tomorrow, we head to San Diego. Thankfully this time we don't have to deal with jet lag
June 10th,
Dear Diary:
Flew into San Diego today. We got an early flight, so we were able to spend the whole day at the San Diego Zoo. The place is so big, it even has it's own bus service! There's nothing like it on Sodor, that's for sure! I just realized, we've been having so much fun here that I haven't sent a postcard home since New York. I hope my folks aren't getting worried...
June 11th,
Dear diary,
Talk about suprises! Jen's been taking the pictures we've been taking this whole trip And emailing them to the family as we go along... Guess it's a good thing she brought her lap top. Today, we went to a great place called Hammond's Gourmet ice cream, so many flavors we're going to have to come back in the future. Today we went to the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum. What a ship! We are going to take a very small detour tomorrow. I was able to get a deal on Disneyland tickets and we're taking a taxi up to Anaheim tomorrow. Then we are going to fly to Vegas. Truth be told, Jen and I are not really the gambling type; but we'll certainly check out as much as we can while we are there.
June 12th:
Spent the morning in Disneyland, it was great fun. We flew into Vegas this afternoon. Looking forward to tomorrow!
June 13th,
Dear diary, It's quite amazing how much more there is to Vegas than casinos. Today, we saw Madame Tussaud's wax museum, amazing how we missed this back in NY! Then we went to check out the Mob Museum... Apparently that's the only "old" building left in the whole city! Naturally, had to find an ice cream parlor... This one place, "Calamity Jane's" was quite nice. In the hotel room now, getting ready for bed. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
June 14th:
Dear Diary: We visited the Neon museum and the Natural history museum today. They were quite fascinating. My dad insisted that we visit at least one casino while we were there, so we checked out the Mirage in the evening. It was actually a lot more interesting than I expected. The artificial volcano in particular appealed to us. We didn't do any gambling, though. I'd rather we not have to take out a second mortgage. One thing that does worry me, apparently Sheila's restaurant is selling Trail Mix ice cream! She's calling it "Mama Breckin's Raisin Cruncher" and is selling it for £1.00 less than us. It is a family recipe, so we can't accuse her of stealing, but she can. I hope this blows over quickly. We fly to Houston tomorrow. I'm excited to see what we find.
June 15th,
Dear Diary,
Arrived in Houston today. Due to the whole "jet lag" thing, we settled on just doing the Houston Zoo today. Incredible how one of their cougars is the University of Houston's mascot!
Anyway, Jen assured me all would be fine; the recipe isn't Stella's; it is Jen and Stella's grandmother's recipe, and Jen had her blessing before she shared the recipe with my family, so all is well for now. She may be selling it for less, but we have something going for us: our reputation, and the fact we are established. Her parlor is just opening, but we have a 10 year reputation in the community. But I am in vacation mode now, and Dad, Uncle Tim and John are handling it just fine. Can't wait to see what we do in Houston tomorrow.
June 16th:
Dear old Diary:
Visited the Johnson space center and the Museum of Fine Arts today. We intend to go to Cape Carnavel to see a spaceship launch during our time in Miami, so the space center was a great opportunity to learn about the American space program. I sent the suggestion about the smoothies to John, he likes the idea but says it will have to wait, they're testing a line of truffles for the bakery. He also had some interesting news: Sudrian Select has been nominated for Sodor's Small Business of the Year award. Although at the rate we're growing, we won't be a small business for much longer!
June 17th,
Dear diary,
Couldn't leave Houston without trying an ice cream parlor! Before our afternoon flight, settled on this great place called Hank's Ice Cream... Small and family owned, just like us. And talk about priveledges! We got along so well, they shared the recipe of their popular "banana pudding" ice cream with us, so long as we credit them for it we can use it at our place. We are at max capacity with 12 flavors right now though, so best to just do a small "trial run" and see how it is received on Sodor. Flying to Miami now.... So much jet lag, why?!
June 18th:
Dear Diary:
We shook off the jet lag in time to go see the launch. It's hard to believe something so big can get off the ground! Jen bought some "Astronaut Ice Cream" from the gift shop. I think we'll stick with ice cream that hasn't been freeze-dried at Sudrian Select.
June 19th,
Dear diary,
Today we went to the Gold Coast Railroad museum... Again, no faces on the trains! Still, cool to see these vintage trains, if only they would run again We also checked out the Miami Museum of science... Apparently they'll be opening a new wing or something in 2016. As for the ice cream parlor, found a great place called Walls Old Fashioned Ice Cream... Their Cookie Monster Sundae was amazing! That reminds me... We'll need to be home by the 22nd... Gotta get ready for Sudrian Selects 10th anniversary on the 25th after all.
June 20th:
We flew into Philadelphia today. We are going to explore the city tomorrow and fly home the following day. John says they've got ten working smoothie flavors: Strawberry, Blueberry, Lingonberry, Strawberry Banana, Lemon, Orange, Raspberry, Apple, Blackberry, and Peach. Unfortunately, we only have room for six flavors in the store, and two in the coach and Knapford stall. Lemon sounds best, but I'm a bit dubious about Lingonberry, because our other Lingonberry products aren't selling well.
June 21st,
Dear diary,
Today we saw independence hall and the liberty bell, and later tried to recreate that famous scene from Rocky at the museum of art steps... Nearly passed out at the end... Jen and I are physically fit, but there were just so many steps!! We concluded our little excursion at the Franklin Fountain... That Mount Vesuvius Sundae was amazing! Jen had the "Franklin mint" she said that was good to. We fly into the mainland tonight... Amazing how we haven't gained any weight from all the ice cream we've had! John called me though... He's got some bad news. The coach he was able to fit a small smoothie machine, but there wasn't any room on the cart. There's room for the smoothie machine at our new store when it opens, but we can't seem to find space in bakery-parlor for it. I promised him as soon as I got back, we'd handle it together. Plus we made a decision; the parlor may have had its "soft opening" on the 25th, but to give us more time to prepare, we'll celebrate on the 28th, when we had our "grand opening." Better start thinking of plans!
June 22:
Dear Diary:
Back on Sodor at last! As fun as America was, it's about time we were back. Stopped in at the shop, business is booming! The new location is currently well underway, it should be ready to open on the 5th. We've eliminated Apple, Blackberry, and Lingonberry smoothies, so we only need to get rid of one more. We intend to unveil the smoothies at the anniversary. Also, we are going to replace the Lingonberry ice cream with the Banana Pudding recipe that day. We've already finished the new locations kitchen, which we will make the smoothies out of for the time being. With the truffles, smoothies, and Banana Pudding, we should be ready for the anniversary. Dad suggested we build a factory to manufacture sprinkles, since they are our most popular topping, and on Sodor sprinkles are currently rarer than hen's teeth! It will be expensive, but the resulting profit will more than make up for it. I'm going to look for a suitable site tomorrow.
June 23rd,
Dear diary,
The local paper wants to run a story on the 25th to drum up publicity for the event, so John and I were outside for a little photo-shoot and interview. They really wanted to show how much the store has grown; after all for nine years it was literally just me, 3 flavors, no toppings, and just sundaes, milkshakes, ice cream sodas, cones and cups. But now there is so much more. The cover photo is quite simple: John and I standing outside the front of the store, you can see the store sign above us. I'm holding a milkshake in one hand, and a brownie sundae in the other, and John's holding a banana split in one hand, and a ice cream soda in the other. Then there was a picture of just me in front of the store, and of just me and John in front of the store. Then the "big picture" is of the six of us who work between the bakery and parlor, with both stores in background. Things went well, but they said they want to shoot some more photos tomorrow; wonder why?
McColl says the raspberries aren't in season right now, so now there are six flavors. We are currently working on reorganizing the counter area to get the smoothie machine in there... We've almost got it figured out. Talk about making a big event! Clyde says Edgar's toy store is ready for reopening, and to benefit the shopping area it will correspond with our anniversary. Maybe we won't have to build a factory for sprinkles after all... The old Sodor Confectionary Co. Plant is still intact and had everything we need; if we can find the old owners maybe we can make a deal. As for the parlor and bakery we're going to need more employees. Fortunately, Uncle David and my cousins (his sons) Don and Rob are interested and want to be in on the action. Jen asked me today why I wasn't hiring any of my female relatives, because it does seem weird. Thankfully she understood when I explained that when I asked around, they were either too young, not interested or already had jobs. Sure, Aunt Martha (uncle Tim's wife) isn't working right now, but with that bad knee she has I really don't want to force it upon her. Better get ready for tomorrow... Still wondering why they want more photos.
June 24th:
Dear Diary,
Been busy prepping the store all day. The photographers never showed, so now I have ice cream all over my new suit. The bakery is really taking off, our most popular items are the Triple Chocolate Creme Puff and the Peach Croissant. One of my regular customers, Velma, a retired lady who live up the hill from our location, was the first to sample our Banana Pudding. She loves it, and thinks it might even outsell Trail Mix. Dad and Uncle Tim say they have a surprise for tomorrow. After the wedding, I'm sure that whatever they come up with will be great, but I hope they don't do all the grandstanding they did then. A blindfold? Really?
June 25th,
Dear diary,
Before we head out for the surprise, decided to check the morning paper. Editor called and said upon review, he realized they had all the photos they needed, so the second shoot was not necessary. Anyway, great article in the paper:
"Happy Anniversary, Sudrian Selects!"
A Sodor Institution turned 10 years old this week, as proprietor Michael Wilson prepares to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his ice cream parlor's opening. And he's planning on making a big occasion of the event. When asked about his feelings, he said "you know it's incredible, for more than nine years things were small and I was just a one man army. So much has changed in the last several months alone, it's extraordinary. But I don't plan on spoiling too much just yet." A big party will be held at the shopping plaza on the 28th to commemorate this event. Expect a good time, and high quality ice cream.
As for dad and uncle Tim's surprise... They got me a spot on a morning news show, where I'll be able to get the word out on TV! Looks like this will become a great occasion for a humble parlor. Sprinkle and smoothie situation still being worked on... Hopefully it'll be resolved before the 28th. As for the show... They don't know if they will have me tomorrow or the 27th, so they'll let me know tomorrow.
June 26th:
Dear Diary:
I'm appearing on the "Greater Sodor Evening news" tonight, probably not going to write about it until tomorrow. Finally, we were able to fit the smoothie machine, although it's a tight fit. I can't wait until the new location opens, the grand opening is on the tenth, although I haven't announced it yet. I looked up the owners of Sodor Confectionary Co. There were three: one's dead, one moved to Italy, but one still lives up in Harwick. I'll have to talk to him soon. Clyde called, he has a friend who makes handmade HO scale models of Sudrian landmarks for model railways, and wanted to add my parlor to the range. I'm not a big modeller, so I'll have to ask uncle Tim, who is.
June 27th,
Dear diary,
The appearance went smoothly. Talked about the history of the parlor the last ten years, how the last several months growth has been exponential, and now the one man operation is a family business.
I told them the story of how I started with just the parlor and me, then my brother John, Dad and Uncle Tim got involved with it. Then, the bakery opened up, and Uncle Alan and his son Bill run it. Now, for between the two locations, we have recently added Uncle David, and cousins Don and Rob. (Note to self: Jen said she loves the parlor, but she needs time to think if it is where she wants to work. Wonder what that means?) Now, there is a second location opening up soon, but we still need to figure out the employee situation there. Furthermore, we have a coach running on the Skarloey Railway, with my cousin Jim running it. And finally, the Knapford cart, which is run by cousins Patrick, Carter and Brian. However, tomorrow everything but the main parlor and bakery will be closed (Crovan's Gate isn't even open yet anyway), so the whole family can get together and we can celebrate together. Best part: Sodor Daily (Newspaper) and Sodor Nightly News (news network) will be covering the event. Everything is almost ready to go... tomorrow is going to be great.
June 28
8:00
The parlor is just about to open. Jim, Bill, Patrick, Carter, and Brian drove to the mainland to pick up a lorry of sprinkles each last night (We're worried it might not be enough) but Bill's not back yet. Uncle Alan's gone to look for him. The rest of us are as ready as we'll ever be, let's get started!
930 am
Good news, Bill is fine; he just had a flat tire. He's getting roadside assistance and should be on his way back soon. Festivities officially start at 12:00 pm, but our loyal customers have already started to arrive. No sight of the news people just yet, but they said they'd be here soon. Clyde's ready for the grand reopening of Edgar's store too, so the whole shopping area will benefit from the event. Can't serve everybody just sweets, so it's a good thing Dad is friends with a local caterer... We've got one heck of a barbecue going along with this. Won't be here for another hour though. Jen's gone to get her parents from the hotel; hope she gets back soon. I wonder how the smoothies will be received? We will soon find out.
12:00 PM
Dear Diary:
The festivities have begun! The barbecue smells delicious, I must say, even though I'm not real big on barbecue. All the regulars have showed up, except Velma, apparently her husband isn't feeling well. Poor chap, Mitch is even older than Edgar was. The smoothies have been pretty well received, Uncle Tim just had to break up an argument between two groups of teens over whether orange or peach was better. The news crew is here, and they are interviewing some of the regulars, right now it looks like Eddie and Lucinda. Why is everyone shouting? Why do I smell smoke? Is there a fire? I'd better go investigate.
12:30 p.m.
Whew, talk about a false alarm. Turns out this local teenager, Justin, is trying to see how fast he can down a smoothie, a banana split, a brownie sundae and a milkshake, and everyone is cheering him on. Hmm, maybe I should make that an official challenge for the parlor. And the smoke, looks like the caterer has started grilling. Maybe if this turns out good, this could be the thing that'll make me like barbecue. Says it'll be a few hours, but "Completely worth the wait." I anticipate that. Jen just arrived with her Mom and dad, and the sprinkles are finally here. I think I'll go check on Clyde; he said he wants to reopen the doors at "the right moment," and still has not done so yet. I did get a peak inside: he went to great lengths to recreate the look before the fire, I wonder what is keeping him?
3:00
Things are going really well, better than I'd hoped. The barbecue is proving popular, and for those that don't like barbecue, there's a Starbucks Coffee and an Ol' Montague Seafood in the building. The other businesses in our building: Leonidas McLean and Co. (Insurance), Daniella's Antiques, and Single Nail Curios are also getting business from the event. And, of course, there is Edgar's Toy Store. Clyde opened the doors at 1:30 or so, and in the model train display he has in his window, he put the prototype model of the parlor. He says he's backordered three weeks for it already. He also has that beautiful clockwork mouse Edgar made in a glass case behind the counter. I can't believe something so intricate actually works! We are running low on sprinkles, I hope we can get through it. I've got a speech prepared, I'm just waiting for a convinient time to give it.
4:00
The children love Edgar's toy store; it's just like it was before the fire. Clyde regrets that he could not find any skilled craftsmen to make wagons again... But they probably couldn't do as good a job. He also has not smoked since that day... Says that's one mistake he never wants to make again. I am almost ready to make my speech... But the news people just showed up and want an interview... I have decided on 7:00 for the speech, since by then most everything I need to do for the festivities will be done and will be free to speak. Better check on John and Uncle Tim and see how the ice cream making is going downstairs.
8:00
I finished the speech just now and I'm getting ready to go home, John and Uncle Tim were working hard when I checked on them, but I'm getting tired so I'm going to go to bed when I get back.
June 29th,
8:00 AM, I went to check on Barford and Barford is pushing the coaches today because everyone was joking he was a mountain engine because of his purple color, we'll be taking the viaduct route today,
10:00 AM, the craziest thing happened by the viaduct, it was falling with Peter Sam on it! But Barford bumped the coaches into Peter Sam which pushed him and the coaches, across the viaduct but Barford fell off the Viaduct, Sad the weird thing is I thought that Barford didn't like Peter Sam, but he sacrificed himself to help Peter Sam, but a big problem is that without Barford, we don't have an engine to pull the parlor coaches, Rusty is coming with the breakdown crane to try and get Barford out, but that will take a while and he will have to get repairs, luckily I know someone who can fix him, and that is Victor, and while he is gone I have heard that Thomas is being in charge of the steamworks, that won't end good I feel.
June 30th,
Dear diary,
Well, little Barford being damaged represents quite the setback. Luckily Jim can work at the parlor/bakery while being repaired. This means that train can't run on the Skarloey line. banana pudding ice cream is selling much better than lingonberry was, quite surprising actually. Everything is back to normal now; but the sprinkle situation is taking forever to resolve. One thing I never understood, why does everyone say an engine is in charge of the steam works, when it is the manager that is? Eh, a Victor does provide a lot of help, maybe it's an honorary title. Decided I'll spend the next few days working on the new location... Gotta make sure everything is right for its grand opening.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 16:00:15 GMT -5
And here is the month of July:
NOTE: In the original run, for some reason we ended up doing Sodor Surprise Day twice. In the interest of length, the two have been spliced together with parts edited out to cover both Sodor Surprise Day and the couple days after.
July 1st,
Good news just came, Peter Sam is going to pull the parlor coaches, I bet the refreshment lady won't like that one bit! Raspberries are finally in season and Mcoll is sending some for ice cream, as for the sprinkle problem, the factory is starting up and producing sprinkles, something funny happened to Mighty today, a kid poured some sprinkles in Mighty's fire and Mighty started sending out rainbow steam, as for the Viaduct and Barford, he was pulled out from the ravine but needs some major repairs. A problem is one of the major routes on the Skarloey Railway is unusable because of the viaduct being down, and even worse is that Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel, and Duncan are all stuck on the other side.
July 2nd,
Dear diary,
The old owner met with me and John today. After the trial run he showed us yesterday, we are pretty much convinced that the old Sodor Confectionery Co. factory's sprinkle making capacity will meet expectations. We just need to negotiate the price. Luckily the old workers will be happy to have jobs again. We have no more space at the old parlor for either raspberry ice cream or smoothies, so what we've decided is that when the new location opens next week, we will do a trial run of both to determine feasibility of the flavor.
Little Barford is being repaired now, but they said it would be a while. Months, even.
Jim was glad to be working in the coach again, and everything is going nicely.
There's only some aesthetic work left to go in the new parlor before we can actually bring stuff in... Here's hoping all goes well!
July 3rd:
Dear Diary:
Well, it turns out the man I was speaking with about the factory doesn't own it, the man who moved away does. I'm told he's not as nice as the first man; instead of helping the employees who lost their jobs, he just packed up and moved away. Justin, the teen who ate all that food at the anniversary, asked my if I had any positions open at the parlor. He wants to go to Oxford and become a surgeon, so he needs money to pay for college. He's a nice chap, and very popular with the locals, so I've agreed to give him a trial. I also realized that Uncle Tim's daughters, Laura and Sierra, are the same age as Justin and both want a job here, so I can't justify saying no anymore. I think it will work well in summer, and when they are in school, we don't have as many customers anyway, so we don't need as many employees.
July 4th (Remember. Sodor is in England, so they don't celebrate the Fourth of July. However, since our writer's family is American, they can get away with having a small party)
We're closing the store today; for our American heritage we'll be celebrating the Fourth of July. Nothing too fancy; just the family, Jen, a barbecue and Patrick is licensed to handle fireworks, so we're fine. We know this public park where we are clears for the fireworks, so all is fine. Tomorrow begins Justin, Laura and Sierra's trials... Let's see how they do. As for the sprinkles... We'll worry about that on a later day, since sprinkles are coming in slowly, but steadily, from the mainland.
July 5th:
Dear diary:
Justin, Laura and Sierra performed well today. I am confident that they will be hired, but we have to test them for a week. There is a photo circulating the internet of a man sitting at Crovan's gate station with a bucket on their head. Nobody's figured out who it is yet, and frankly, I'd rather they never do. The grand opening for the new location is July 11th, the same day the kids finish their trials. I haven't decided what to do yet, we'll have to wait and see. Oh, shoot! Tomorrow is Sodor Surprise Day, the dumbest holiday known to mankind. Why we even need a holiday like this I don't know, but we do, and everyone, especially Dad and Uncle Tim, overdoes it. I'd better give Jen a heads-up, Sodor Surprise Day can be a bit overwhelming to people who are new to it.
July 6th, (SODOR SUPRISE DAY, VERSION ONE)
Dear diary,
8 am- I've never liked Sodor Surprise Day... Quite frankly it sounds like the work of a children's show writer who has no idea what she's even writing about. As owner of this business, I've had no choice but to ban the holiday from the parlor/bakery, on the grounds that it can represent a hazard to the safety of the employees... Plus the last time some tried to pull a "surprise" in my store I was nearly sued!! I made it clear to everyone that if they want to surprise anyone, it must be after hours and off the premises. Sure, dad and Uncle Tim are bummed, but they said they'll "get me back" eventually. At any rate, got to get ready for the 1 - 8 pm hours (that's when the shop is open, Monday to Saturday)... And I warned everyone I can spot prank containers from a mile away. 10 am- John tried to get me with a prank heavy cream container... But I threw it in the trash. Since I said during hours I'm letting him off the hook for now. Back to preparing for the shift.
12 PM,
Justin got me, he instead of giving me a container he swapped the containers. I think I'm going to take today off, it isn't going to a good start and I don't think it can get better.
1 PM, I have a good idea, I found out about this prank water bottle where you fill it all the way up and then poke holes in the bottom, it doesn't leak out until someone opens it, and I'm going to try and do it on the refreshment lady on the Skarloey Railway, she has been trying to get me today but she always gets the pranks wrong, she tried to get me by doing a heavy cream container trick, but she swapped it for the one that Justin used, and I threw it in the trash and then realized it was a different one and I found out it was the refreshment lady after Peter Sam told me when I was on the platform of Crovan's to see how Peter Sam was going while pulling the parlor coaches, but then I told Peter Sam to while pulling the refreshment coaches to "accidentally" go down the wrong line and then stop to correct his "Mistake" and the refreshment lady would go over to the window to see what happened, then I would swap the refreshment lady's water bottle with the prank water bottle, Peter Sam thought about it then agreed, he said that he would do it just because it was Sodor Surprise day, this will be great.
2 PM,
Just pulled the prank, I put a camera on a table to watch it without the refreshment lady ordering me out. I can't stop rewatching it, I'm posting this on YouTube for sure, I think I got why Sodor Surprise day is an actual Holiday, but why not just do April fools day instead of Making a whole new Holliday?
4 pm,
Decided to go back to the parlor and check on how Justin, Laura and Sierra are doing. Boy, did I get back in time! Quite the crowd, and John said they are having trouble with everything. Took a little while, but at last all is in order now.
7 pm- nearly end of shift. Justin apologized for the prank, and given his good performance the last couple days, I've decided to just let him off with a warning. My conscience got the better of me; after telling Dad about it, he was surprised. "Michael, that's not like you at all; you always told me you try to get along with everyone, and this sounds like a step in the wrong direction." I've deleted the video, and called the refreshment lady to apologize; I was just a bit frazzled from what happened that afternoon. She accepted it, and we are on good terms again. As for the refreshment train, it was good to see Jim again... I feel bad that he has to work the coach alone, but it is pretty much a one-man job, so things are fine as they are.
July 7th:
Jen called, apparently our house has been TP'd, egged, egged again, spraypainted, and had rocks thrown at it. You'd think we lived in Hackenback the way these people are acting! I'd better go check on Hildegarde, apparently some teens haven't gotten the message that Sodor Surprise Day is over.
(later)
That's it! I'm installing butyric acid traps on my house as well! I will not have some pranksters damage the house that's been in my family 3 generations! The five teens that did this though, I've got on video from the surveillance I installed, and I told the police when they are caught, I will press charges for trespassing and vandalism. This will take days to clean up; once again the new parlor opening is delayed. As for the parlor, time to get ready for the last two hours of the shift... I am impressed, the Justin, Sierra and Laura handle the pressure well... I'm certain they are exactly what we need here.
July 8th
Sierra and Laura offered to help me clean up my house and I'm glad for that, Jen is doing their work while they help me clean.
(later)
Now that everybody's shifts are over they are helping me clean the house, I'm leaving everyone to do that while I clean Hildegarde, this reminds me of a certain book in that "Railway Series", Percy got the porridge, Wilbert got the Milk, and Hildegarde and my house got the eggs, what's next? Bear bumping into a box of Bacon? Anyways, I'm going to continue cleaning off Hildegarde. Just found a dozen eggs bouncing around the street, must be hard boiled. Then I found 2 teenagers with ping pong rackets hitting the eggs down the other end of the street, and even better those 2 were some of the teenagers who TPed, Egged, Egged again, Spraypainted, and threw rocks at my house, called the police about where they were but they ran off, luckily I know where they were going, I barley heard them on where they were going, that's 2 down, 3 to go. I think I'm going to bed early
July 9th,
Dear diary,
What a day yesterday. The footage I gave the police helped them track down the others; it's up to them what happens now, they'll keep me informed what happens. The help allowed everything to get done faster, so that's a relief. I'm hoping the next few days are quiet... Enough happened yesterday to last all week.
July 10th
Dear Diary: Out of the blue, Jen decided she wants a dog. I told her about the "Futurama" dog, but she said female dogs are better behaved. She's been really helpful and supportive of me, so adopting a dog for her is the least i can do. The new parlor's opening date is now July 21st. I hope things go well.
July 11th,
Dear diary, You've got to be kidding me!! the futurama dog was reported stolen some months ago; had no choice but to turn it over. I told them who sold me the dog, and they appreciated the help... Apparently they've been trying to get this guy for 2 years.
We went to the pet store today. We have it narrowed Down to either the German Shepard, the Golden Retriever or Great Pyrenees. We decided to sleep on it. I'll be honest, I think either way, we'll have a good dog. Hey, maybe it can be our mascot.
July 12th,
8:00 AM,
What do you know! A puppy just came in and it seems to be a Dalmatian, and we have decided to get it.
10 PM,
I spent the day with our new dog. Another thing is that I just found out that Dad has built an ENGINE!!! a standard gauge one too, apparently he got permits to have an engine on the North Western, this is good, we can get more customers by going by Crovan's with both Barford and this new engine to try and take customers from both people who live by the Skarloey, and ones from the North Western, and Stella has her parlor nearby so I can take even more customers from there, another thing is that he is building 2 more engines, one mountain engine and one minimum gauge engine, the mountain engine is going to be a tender engine and the arlesdale one a tank engine. The thing is we have to go to an engine named Lady to get a sentient personality for our new engine, it's a yellow tender engine, around the size of James. The weird thing is that I didn't know that dad knew how to make an engine! Apparently he made it when we denied getting an engine, but then we got Barford, so he just hid the engine, I think we will name him Peter, anyways I think I'm going to bed early.
July 13:
I managed to get Dad to abandon his plan to build two more engines, since we don't have any parlors on either of those lines. However, we will probably need Peter, as we just received two requests for new locations! One is at the Tidmouth Grand Terminal, which has several stores inside security. They want us too add a location there. The other one is at Tidmouth International Airport, same story. I haven't looked at either locating yet, will do so tomorrow. As for bringing engines to life, I think the people at Single Nail Curios may know something, I'll ask tomorrow.
July 14th,
Dear diary,
We'll turns out I didn't need to visit that place after all... This peter engine got his own face this morning, apparently since he is almost complete. I think he'll be good for transporting ingredients between our stores and suppliers; makes things easier. And the last thing we need is a "milkshake muddle" so I've commissioned these folks at Sodor Freight Co. To design bogied, refrigerated boxcars to transport the stuff. Those bogie wheels will minimize shaking, and the last thing we need is all that butter! Jen fell in love with the golden retriever we were looking at the other day... Had no choice but to get it... Hope both dogs get along well. I've told the people at the airport and tidmouth station I will think about it; but next week is the grand opening of Crovan's Gate, and we need to get ready. Since the family runs the original location, going to need to hire locals to run Crovan's Gate. Thankfully, I couldn't have a better man to run the Crocan's Gate parlor/bakery: an old friend of mine, Rick, has been interested in working at the parlor, but the commute is too far for him. He promised the same exacting standards, and will ensure the reputation is just as strong there. Been interviewing some applicants last couple days in my spare time: there's definately potential here. Fresh from culinary school, I've picked these three guys, Ted, Brad and Joey to work the bakery part. For the parlor "front lines" I've hired these brothers, Jack, Steve, and Charles Tanner; very friendly folks, and should preserve some of the "family buisness" atmosphere. For the parlor "behind the scenes" I've hired the dairy buisness veterans, Fred, Claude and Mark. I still have a couple positions open, but you've got to be kidding me... Two weeks of people sending in applications and no females want to work here? I know Jen brought up the issue the other day, but seriously? it doesn't help if I don't have applications coming in. Once I get a couple more people, I will perform a training and "soft opening" to assess how they do. Time to feed the puppies... They're hungry
July 15th:
Dear Diary:
I had all the applicants working at the old location today, and Joey and Mark didn't quite reach standard. I now have to find 4 people in 6 days, which won't be easy. I don't know what I was thinking when I adopted the puppies, they are crazy! Molly (the dalmation) and Sally (the retriever) are a handful! They are cute, but so destructive. With the stress of everything going on right now, I just need to relax, so Jen and I are going hiking up in Great Waterton tomorrow, and will take the puppies. Maybe we'll meet someone who can help at the parlor. I hope Hildegarde is up to the drive- she hasn't been the same since the egging.
July 16th,
Dear Diary,
Hildegarde pepped up a bit with some encouragement, so we were able to get driving up there no problem. The locals are friendly, but I think we'll wait until tomorrow before we start a more thorough search. Got lucky though: met this guy who's also visiting from our town today; he's a dog trainer and offered to help us with the puppies... Unbelievably, he said that he's seen worse cases, and he still "fixed" them. It'll take time, he says, but they are trainable.
July 17th:
Found 10 potential employees, I'll be testing them over the next couple days. I looked at the potential Tidmouth Grand Terminal location, and I think it's a good investment, but what with the Crovan's gate location and all, I'll need to wait on it. My dad is in big trouble, apparently he was contacted by the locomotive affairs division of MI6 because he didn't have a permit to build Peter. He'll probably be fined a large sum of money, they have a zero-tolerance policy, something about "Humane treatment of sentient beings during the developmental stages". There's a hearing tomorrow. I hope i don't have to pay the inevitable fine!
July 18th,
Dear Diary,
Dad says he's "got this handled," so he told me not to worry about it, and to focus on the new trainees. I can't help but be nervous though. So here's the deal: we have 10 trainees. Applying for the following positions:
Parlor, "behind the scenes": Jordan, 21, male Alex, 25, male Kristen, 23, female
Parlor, "front-line": Jason, 32, male Irving, 44, male Isaac, 53, male
Bakery: Jane, 29, female Cathy, 32, female Oscar, 56, male Alan, 24, male
I'll focus on taking notes today, then do a more proper assessment over the next couple days; this way today I can focus strictly on observation. Here's the deal: I'll have then run through a typical 1 pm - 8 pm shift, and see how they fare.
8 pm- Well, Dad says depending on how the second half of the hearing goes tomorrow, there may be a 50,000 pound fine... at least he won the lottery a while back, so there is money to pay it off.
July 19th:
Kristen, Irving, Isaac, and Cathy are the most promising applicants, but all the others are pretty good, and the ones who miss the cut will likely qualify for the Airport and Grand Terminal locations, which I have definitely decided on doing, with a December opening date for the Airport and a February date for the Grand Terminal. Dad says it went well, they talked with Peter and Barford and lowered the fine to £35000 after seeing how happy they were. But they gave him a severe warning, and I think he's learned his lesson. Thank God he didn't attempt the CFR and Arlesdale projects, since that would have made it worse and possibly caused me to have to pay, too, since I knew about it.
July 20th,
Dear diary, The employee arrangements are set, the machinery is installed and tested, and the behind the scene staff is arriving early tomorrow, and we will open at 12 pm, but just this once (currently the hours of operation are Monday-Saturday, 1 pm - 8 pm, closed Sundays). Got the local news covering this... better get ready for tomorrow. There's much preparation to do. Good news here: at this larger location was able to fit 12 4-person tables and 16 2-person tables. Quite the improvement over 2 4-person and 6 2-person tables in the first parlor
July 21st:
The new parlor was a smashing success, and it gives us space to make smoothies, too, but Stella's parlor had a huge one-day sale today, I swear to God she has it in for me. The new employees were stellar, and I have a feeling the new parlor will be a huge hit. We already made up 10% of the cost to build it, and this is day one! I am looking forward to the future.
July 22nd
Dear diary,
I was asking around town to see what the response was to the new parlor. The locals are responding very well, and many are glad to see a Sudrian Selects on this part of Sodor. The local news was reviewing the numbers that day, and what they found was surprising: Despite Stella having a sale at her parlor, the numbers tell an interesting story:
customers to our parlor: 1,187 Satisfied customers: 96%
Customers to Stella's: 273 Satisfied customers: 73% Guess having a 10 year reputation does help; Stella has only had a parlor here for a month (?) or so.
I can't help but feel sorry for her; she's got a location here and on the mainland, so every couple weeks she's got to travel to check on the other one and vice Versa. I've heard from her employees she won't be in on Tuesday, so I will give her parlor a shot then, see how she runs her business. Been thinking about expanding bakery hours... Not many people want ice cream at 9 in the morning, but they do want breakfast pastries then.
(For the sake of simplicity, when I said 1-8 pm, Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday I meant both parlor and bakery. I think at this point we can play around with the numbers a little)
The original location, Crovan's Gate location, Knapford cart and Skarloey coach... Plus 2 future locations. I can't help but wonder how they will be received.
July 23rd:
I decided to visit my grandmother, Mrs. Kyndley, today. She lives in a house up near Elsbridge and is close friends with the engines. I haven't seen her since the wedding, so it was nice to catch up. Tomorrow is Monday, so I'll be back to work. Our business is growing rapidly, and we need all hands on deck.
July 24th,
Dear diary,
Was doing some thinking today; there may be little room in front of the store, but at the original location, behind the store is an empty lot The landlord uses for practically nothing, not even parking. Maybe if I can convince Jacob (the landlord) to use some of the lot for outdoor seating, maybe we can seat more people than just the 20 each in the parlor and bakery... At least, when the weather is nice. It was really nice to see grandma again... Her daughter married my Dad, John Wilson Sr. I've been so busy with everything going on, I really wish there was more time to see her. But that's right! Tomorrow is Tuesday, going to check out Stella's tomorrow. Better be prepared. Here's what I do know: .i asked her employees; they said she's not around 1/2 the time because she needs to divide her time at her mainland location too... Which does make sense, a good owner treats all locations equally. They said that when she is gone, it's for about 2 weeks at a time, so that she can "give each store the attention it deserves." They said she won't be back till next Saturday, so that means she's focusing on the mainland this week. .checked out her store's website: according to their menu, they are just a parlor, so no baked goods. But like us, they have cups, cones (sugar cones by the look of it), milkshakes and ice cream sodas. .they have 10 flavors: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cookie dough, cookies and cream, their version of trail mix (already forgot the name, lol), pistachio, rocky road, butter pecan and banana-strawberry. However, unlike us, they do have soft serve, but only in chocolate, vanilla and both. Site says nothing about smoothies, but in general, looks like their prices are about 15% lower than ours. .the reviews I'm finding online, they score generally lower than us. However, there appears to be about 25-30 people who are daily regulars at her place... So she does have some sort of following. I've done my homework, so now I'm prepared to go in. Let's see what Stella's is like.
July 25th
I visited Stella's parlor today, she actually is pretty good. The ice cream is almost as good as ours! The reason she's not as popular is probably the name. "Mama Breckin's homemade ice cream" sounds a bit weird to me, plus it's too long to easily remember. Back to the grind tomorrow, I seem to be settling into a nice routine.
July 26th,
Dear Diary,
I've decided that the bakery will open at 9:00 am from now on, Monday- Saturday; now we will be able to serve the breakfast crowd too. It works out fine anyway; the bakery staff is always here by 8:00 anyway, and the parlor staff are here by 8:30. Although there is no more room for more flavors at the old parlor, at least we can experiment with other flavors here to potentially serve more at Crovan's Gate. Rick says based on space, we may be able to get anywhere from 24-30 flavors there. Right now, doing experiments with Peanut Butter ice cream... I'm hoping to get it right this time; why does it always settle on the bottom? This is my list of flavors to experiment with right now, in no particular order:
Peanut butter, Butter Pecan (My other Grandma's favorite), Rocky Road and Blueberry. As I do research, I'll try out other flavors I think the public will like.
July 27:
Nothing of note happened today. I was unable to get a workable new flavor, but I've almost perfected mango, just a few more days refinement. The dogs are behaving much better now that they are being trained, but I still caught Sally chewing up Jen's slippers.
July 28:
Dear diary,
Uh oh, seems that Stella caught wind of me giving her parlor a visit; now when she gets back rumor is she'll stop by mine! Better make sure I'm in the back room when that happens. Better news though: mango tastes fine; it's the texture that's giving us problems... It's just not creamy enough.
July 29th:
Justin suggested that adding salt to the mango ice cream would make it creamier. I'm a bit dubious, but he's a bright kid, so I'll give it a try. Peter has been undergoing speed tests, he's got a top speed of about 65 km per hour [Note: 40 miles per hour]. This should allow him to make a round trip in just over two and a half hours. We'll wait until the Tidmouth grand Terminal location opens to put him into service, since Arnold the Ice cream Van can handle the Knapford and airport routes.
July 30th,
Dear diary,
It took some trial and error, but the mango ice cream is finally at a point where I think it is good. I'll tell the staff at Crovan's Gate to make a batch, and see how the public reacts. Decided to look into the Confectionery Co. Factory again. Turns out there's been a recent development: because the company went bankrupt, the old owner ended up having no choice but to sell it to a third party. If we can find the people he dealt with, maybe we can get a deal on the factory going after all. The puppies are getting better with each training session, still mischievous, but not as bad as before. Sodor Freight Co. Called today; they said they have refrigerated boxcar designs ready, but need my review on them to make sure they are what I am looking for. I told them is come by in the next couple days; not sure when. Better get to bed now; it's been a long day.
July 31st
I've been packing today, tomorrow Jen and I are flying to Venice to track down the man the previous owner of the Sodor Confectionary Co. sold it too. Mr. Victor Heaver, one of the previous owners, is going with us. He knows the man who owned the business, so he can help us do the deal. Jen and I plan to stay for a few days after the deal is made, we intend to visit Venice, Rome, and the Italian countryside. Looks like we're getting our Italian honeymoon after all! I'm leaving the shop in good hands. John is overseeing work on the airport location, and Justin is using his technical knowledge to "code" a website for the parlor. I'm no good at computers, aside from Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and Microsoft Office, so it's nice to have someone who knows what they're doing. Justin's proving to be such an asset, I'll be sorry to see him leave for college. Thank God it's not for a couple years yet!
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 16:27:46 GMT -5
Here is August
August 1st:
Dear diary,
We flew into Italy today, and drove to the hotel. We need some sort of plan of action, because we don't know if this guy is a recluse, or if he's right in the center of town. Luckily I took a couple Italian classes in high school, so Hopefully I remember enough to get around. Venice really is an incredible sight: I can't believe people actually make their homes so close to the water; were definitely going to spend a couple days exploring once the business is settled. I should get to sleep now; we are going to need to wake up early tomorrow if we are going to find this guy.
August 2nd,
Dear Diary:
We managed to track down the previous owner. Mr Barry Machan lives in a mansion a few miles out of town, on the river. He's got all the bells and whistles, apparently, so it would be futile to go up to the front door and knock. We'll have to arrange a meeting. Jen's got cabin fever, so we took a walk through Venice, and I rented a gondola. Poor Jen, she's done so much for me and I haven't done much for her.
August 3rd,
Dear diary,
We were able to get in contact with Mr. Machan's "representative" today (I wonder if by that he means attorney). He told us that Mr. Machan is not much of a people person; he never married and the only real relationships he has is with his 2 brothers, his sister, and a priest he visits every Sunday after mass, to his understanding. We explained that this is strictly business, and all we wanted was the information for who he sold the factory too. A quick phone call later, and we had a 2:00 pm appointment set up for a "Mr and Mrs Wilson, and Mr Heaver." Hopefully from here on out things will work in our favor. We had free time after that, so mr Heaver went back to the hotel, and Jen and I checked out St. Mark's basilica, the doge's palace and torre del'orologio. Them all being in the same square made things easier, lol. Better get ready for tomorrow, and I have this feeling it would be in my best interest to wear a suit to this meeting.
August 4th,
Dear diary,
Mr. Machan was a very nice host. He's a lot different from Mr. Heaver's description, he must have changed. He says he sold it to a Japanese entrepreneur. I really don't want to fly all the way to Japan, at least at the moment, so I'll leave it be for now. Jen and I intend to see the sights of Italy these next few days, then return to Sodor afterward.
August 5th,
Dear diary,
It was raining all day today, so we ended up staying at the hotel. Jen and I started talking about Stella; I wish she'd just get over her animosity, because it's doing more harm to her than good. I video chated with John today to get up to speed; he said Peter's trials have gone well, and he is meeting expectations with his strength. He can pull many more freight cars, but for the route we have planned, and based on supply we need, nine of our special refrigerated boxcars and a brakevan will be sufficient. Little Barford's repairs are coming along, but the foreman said it'll be "six weeks at least" until he's running again... Poor guy, that was a nasty accident. John checked out Stella's today, and found out some more interesting information: he said the mood of the place didn't feel quite right, and when he asked the employees behind the counter, they said they didn't have a good relation with Stella... So it seems I am not the only one, at least. They also told him on a given day, they could have from 300-400 customers, but there's always the "loyal 37" as Stella refers to her usual crowd. We have between 1200-1500, it probably helps that there's two locations and we are also a bakery. However, our "regular's club" as we call it, only has 21 members, but that's only because that webpage on our website for registering has long since been "broken"... I wonder if Justin can fix it. And that was really it. Time to go to sleep and tomorrow see the sites of Venice.
August 6th:
Rained out again! If the weather doesn't improve by tomorrow, I'm going home. This is ridiculous!
August 7th:
The weather hasn't changed, but something came up so I have to stay.
August 8th,
Dear diary,
Good news; the weather cleared up today. Jen and I talked it over, and we decided to go check out Rome, then we'd go home; apparently there's a nasty storm system coming in and it would be best for us just to spend a couple days more before we face the worst of it.
Later
We saw more of Venice, this really is an incredible place, but it is time to move on. Apparently it's a six and a half hour drive to Rome, so we are going to have to leave early tomorrow.
August 9th:
Dear diary, There is no time to lose! Something dreadful has come up! I must leave at once!!
August 10th:
Family Emergency! My dad was hit by a car! I'm back on Sodor, about to leave for St. Tibba's.
Later: Dad's okay, but he broke his right arm and both his legs. He'll be in a wheelchair for 6 months. Both the car and the driver are terribly sorry, and since it was an accident, I'll forgive them. I'm glad it wasn't anything worse. I hope the business can hold up without him. I'm going back to work tomorrow, we had to cut our vacation short.
August 11th:
Things are just crazy. I mean my dad got hit by a car! What could be worse?... Just a second, the phone's ringing. Did I ever tell you what type of phone I had? Never mind, I'll just pick it up.
August 12
Dear diary,
Oh dear, I have been having a lot of delusions resulting from a lack if sleep; I still can't believe what happened to Dad... After all mom has been in the hospital several months already, but the doctor was nice enough to put them in the same room at the hospital. I'll just need to calm down; I should back to work at the ice cream parlor and get back into a routine; i have been away from my business long enough
August 13th
You have got to be kidding me! How could a fire start in the bakery?
August 14:
Dear diary,
Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit; someone left some cakes in the oven to long in the bakery at Crovan's Gate and we have some smoke damage, but nothing too serious. It will reopen in a week or so.
The Crovan's Gate employees have been working really hard though; this is a much deserved rest for them. We are holing out fine at the original location, but we need someone to fill in the spot left vacant by Dad. Uncle Jeremy has been looking for something to keep himself busy... I'll give him a call tomorrow.
August 15:
Darn! Now the entire country burned down!! Ugh!
(Later)
Wait, who wrote that? That didn't happen! That's the last time i leave this out on my desk.
August 16:
Jen is expecting! The baby is due in late March. We haven't settled on a name, but if it's a boy, I'd like to name him Edgar. He was always such an inspiration.
(No entries August 17-19; not much happened)
August 20
Dear Diary:
Not much has happened these past few days. Tomorrow I'm going to talk to a psychiatrist about my hallucinations.
August 21
I had another hallucination! The doctor prescribed a medication and wants me to keep track of all future hallucinations. I wonder how long they've been happening. Was the Futurama dog real? What if the vehicles don't have faces and people think I'm crazy for talking to them? Oh no, the psychiatrist shot me!
(later)
Ok, that's the first hallucination noted. Thankfully I was not really shot
August 22:
I have begun taking the medicine... I hope it works.
August 23:
Dear diary,
I can't believe it... I'm going to be a father! Hopefully by then I'll have these hallucinations taken care of. We went to the doctor to get an ultrasound... Biggest shock: TWO fetuses!! Twins! It's too early to tell, but Jen and I are hoping for a boy and a girl. At least the dogs are getting better... Still mischievous, but not as bad as they once were. I should go and visit mom and dad tomorrow; they will be so excited!
August 24:
The medicine makes me feel super sick. I've been throwing up all morning. I called up the people who applied to work at the Crovan's Gate location to see if anyone wants to work at the airport location, but Alan was the only one who did. Better find some more.
August 25th,
Dear diary,
Asked around town for potential applicants. My search only turned up six names though:
George, 48, retired cop, self-taught baker, interested in bakery position Arnold, 39, unemployed, experience as cashier, interested in front of house work Jackson, 22, student, experience as bus boy, but wants to learn the ice cream business; interested in back of house work. Terry, 45, truck driver, out of work, but a long time regular customer; interested in bakery Christian, 31, former dairy manager, back of parlor work. Charles, 37, former restaurant manager, could potentially be who I am looking for to manage airport location.
Seriously, what is it about the ice cream business I can't get females interested in? I know, I'll ask Jen to be my "Public Relations" person... She always was good with people, maybe she can find more potential employees.
August 26th,
Well, I didn't realize that tomorrow the parlor is closed anyway, so I'll tell mom and dad then about the twins then. Jen is doing great as an employment manager (I'll figure out what title to settle on eventually, lol), and she said there will be more applications ready by tomorrow. We spent today with the dogs; we really should make sure to spend plenty of time with them.
August 27th:
I didn't remember if I went to the doctor yet for my hallucinations, so I went again today. Turns out it's absolutely normal, but I need to rest today. So, I just wrote this, and now am going to bed for a while.
August 28th:
Today was Justin's 17th birthday. Everybody celebrated, and he got free Ice Cream all day. I wasn't there, since I'm feeling a little off (those darned side affects!) but I'm sure he had a blast. There's been a lot of sympathy for my illness. All my employees, mine and Jen's families (except Stella) and my regulars. Even Sir Topham Hatt sent a card. If I'm feeling better tomorrow, I'll go into work to see how it goes. I still need to give Justin his present!
August 29th:
I'm still feeling a little woozy, so I'm taking it easy. By the way, Diesel 10 himself came by today and said he hoped I'd feel better. Wow! That was really nice of him; I hope he doesn't have an evil scheme he wants to use me for
August 30th: (Wait, by Jonathan, did you mean Justin? I don't think we've introducted a Jonathan yet)
Dear diary,
In perspective, Diesel 10 won't get too far with me for anything; I am but a humble ice cream parlor/bakery owner, with two locations and two more being constructed. Ice cream wouldn't be of much help to him. I gave Him his present... He always loved The Beatles, so I got him one of the "Yesterday and Today" albums, with the original, controversial cover; cost me a few thousand bucks, but so worth it. Everybody knows about the twins now... We are so excited, but keeping to our jobs for now. I am feeling a lot better, so in addition to the six I already have, I should be able to review the employee applications over the next couple days. Jen has found some good stuff, she assured me; let's see if that is true.
August 31st:
Diesel 10 is mad at me! He sneaked into my house and read my diary! He told my HE loves The Beatles, and would've liked a copy of Yesterday... And Today! Well, now I know what I'm giving him for his birthday. (Grief! With all this spending, I'm gonna go broke!!)
(later)
Ugh, that was one weird delusion.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Sept 14, 2015 16:37:06 GMT -5
I remember that part of D10! I think it was shortly after I started putting in work of my own.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 14, 2015 16:44:26 GMT -5
Yes; I think so too. Its a slow process, but the good news is I am midway through page 17 of 40, so that is nearly the halfway point.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 23, 2015 13:41:04 GMT -5
Month of September:
September 1st:
Dear diary,
I remembered that dad won the 50 million pound lottery some time back, so money is not an issue right now... We still love our jobs however, and are not retiring any time soon. Jen had to get rid of some applicants for various reasons, but it it for the greater good. Justin, Laura and Sierra are leaving the shop in a couple days; they are still in high school and it starts again soon. I am glad they were around these past few months, but their education comes first. I think I'll plan something special for them.
September 2nd:
I called Dad and asked for some cash, but he told me he had a challenge for me; he said to visit him tomorrow and he will tell me the challenge.
...
I was just robbed! I need to call the police!
September 3rd,
Dear diary,
I visited Dad in the hospital, and asked what he was doing with the lottery money. He said for now, most was going in a bank account, and some was going to various charities. He also gave me a challenge: don't use any of the lottery money in the business, see how you do using only made from the parlor/ bakery locations themselves. I've been doing fine for 10 years, so I accepted the challenge.
About yesterday, someone tried to break into out Crovan's gate location! Luckily, the butyric acid traps worked, and they were stopped before they could break in. It's just so sickening though, the idea someone would break into a place I worked so hard to build up. I told the police what happened, and finding the guy won't be to hard; the butyric acid will make him smell extremely rancid, and this will be found easily. Only one thing of note today: started working on a new flavor, but I'm keeping it a surprise.
September 4th:
Well, today has been quite normal and uneventful
September 5:
Sorry about last night, that dog ate my pen. Ugh! (Wait... who am I apologizing to?) Justin sent a thank-you note for the album... I had no idea people still do that!
September 6th,
Dear Diary,
Well, the School Year starts soon, and that means Justin, Laura and Sierra will be taking leave of the shop to go back to school. They've been great employees, but their education must come first. I'm organizing a little something for them tomorrow... they will be so surprised!.
The new flavor is coming along... Justin has been asking about it for a while, so I'm going to surprise him with it tomorrow.
September 7th:
I told Justin about the new flavor, and he went ballistic! He almost shook my hand off, gave me too many hugs, and wouldn't stop saying thank you! When we got the ice cream parlor, I opened the door, and... there was my dog, eaten the new flavor!! Justin almost snapped.
Then Uncle Tim appeared from behind the counter. "That's for not letting me pull a prank on Sodor Surprise Day! Here you Go Justin; your flavor is unharmed." Justin didn't know whether to laugh or be angry... and honestly I didn't either.
September 8th:
Justin starts school tomorrow, so we'll be working with a reduced staff. I hope we can manage...
September 9th:
That's weird; why did no one show up today? Good thing there was a huge event going on in Lakeside; only had 19 customers today.
September 10th
Somehow, people thought I gave them a day off, but I couldn't run the Glennock location by myself! That's coming out of their paychecks!
The people with the Sodor business association are coming tomorrow to inspect the work we do to see if we still qualify for "small business of the year". Everyone needs to be at their best!
September 11th:
We failed it!! OMG!! We failed it!! (Not going into detail, or I might snap!!)
...
Darn these nightmares; why do they always feel so real?
September 12th
Today everything went well and the family actually did fantastic under pressure. The observers said we have a significant chance.
I remembered the recipe... I made a fresh batch of the flavor Justin has been asking for... Rocky road!! He was ecstatic. I didn't notice until now, they way he's been acting whenever she comes near, I think Justin's got a crush on Sierra (remember, Justin is the only non-family member at the parlor) he's a pretty friendly, sociable guy, but he suddenly becomes timid near her.
11:30 pm- got a call from the police... No leads on the break in yet, but they are working on it. It's late, I should get to sleep.
September 13th
There's an awful smell at the bakery. Don't know what it is. I was checking out the Airport location... turns out the employees don't have to go through security to get to the location! I hope the employees keep it secure...
September 14th,
I've had Molly and Sally with the trainer twice a week, they are getting a lot better. Sally is slower, but she's starting to learn who is in charge.
I'm going back to experimenting with other flavors, and I'm keeping the dogs at home for now.
September 15th;
I Really need to clarify: it was the ceiling of the store next to the bakery that collapsed; I'm closing the stores for inspection for the next couple days to be sure.
September 16th:
My mom got a hold of my diary somehow, read it, and then suggested I take a break for a week; I'll think about it
September 17
Dad's been released from the hospital. He's still in a wheelchair, but he's healing. I spent the day at home with the puppies. They are out of control!
September 18th
Dear diary,
The parlor/bakery, and the other 8 stores in the building (remember, it's one building, divided into 10 stores, with one apartment on top of each store, a big basement under each, and a big empty lot behind that isn't even used for parking) are closed per Jacob the landlord's request; it's about time he did a building wide inspection My parlor and bakery, and Edgar's toy store were inspected earlier this year and are clean, but I understand where Jacob is coming from.
Today Jen , dad and I are spending time at the hospital with mom; this week off will be good for all of us.
Our trainer is very patient; slowly the dogs are coming around, but it will take a while
(Took a break from entries until the 25th)
September 25th:
Finally was able to take a week off from doing my diary. I needed that time! Lots of cool things happened. The ice cream parlor has been voted "Best Store On Sodor". Yippee! Also, Sally hasn't been near my diary for the whole week. Whew!
It's time for bed now, and I feel great!
September 26:
The hallucinations are cured! Hallelujah! I'm so happy I could sing!
Hildegarde is complaining about the rain. Spoilsport.
September 27th:
You know how yesterday I was happy the hallucinations were gone? Well, today I wish they'd come back, as there is nothing exciting happening...
Whoa, that was weird. I just heard a voice that said, "Granted, they do, but now you're in mortal anguish." What is this, Corrupted Wishes?! (NOTE: This joke references one of the most popular games on the TTTE Wikia game board, corrupted wishes)
September 28th:
Hildegarde is stuck in the mud. I'm calling a tow truck. Good thing I'm not busy!
September 29th:
I got Hildegard out of the mud, but... I forgot who Hildegard is!! Just kidding; I know she's my car.
September 30th,
Dear diary,
Hildegarde is getting repaired now; it's back to work for now. Now that fewer customers are coming in, I've got more time to work on other flavors... I swear by the end of this year I'll figure out peanut butter ice cream!
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 23, 2015 15:12:31 GMT -5
Month of October:
October 1st:
Actually, I figured out peanut butter ice cream today!! Yay!! Got to keep mum, though, because you never know when someone finds your diary!
October 2
You wouldn't believe the rude email Stella sent Jen. She called her a traitor to their family and all sorts of other mean things. I swear, if she pulls another stunt like that... I guess I should focus on the positives. The main location has been reopened, so we are back to work.
October 3rd,
Dear diary,
Jen's parents, and Her other siblings Susan and Miles were also appalled by the email Stella sent; Jen's dad says if Stella tries anything, he's going to cut Stella off; to be honest that might be a bit to far. Again, best I keep my distance from Stella for now.
Justin called... He wants to know how to talk to Sierra... Hmm... Are my suspicions true?
October 4th:
OK, so Stella was mean again. I don't know what's gonna happen next.
October 5th,
Interesting; three of Stella's employees came to my Crovan's Gate store and asked for employment; apparently they are tired of Stella; half the time she's not around and when she is there, "she's nuts." I told them I have other applicants right now; but I gave them application forms and said if they stand out, they will get in. Justin been stopping by the Parlor often... I'm guessing since Aunt Martha, Uncle Tim, Laura and Sierra live in the apartment above the parlor, it's a way for him to see Sierra more. Poor guy, he still can't get two words out around her.
October 6th:
Nothing interesting today. I'm going to bed.
October 7th:
Alan, Daphne (one of Stella's ex-employees) and a lady named Rebecca have been selected to work the airport location. We expect it to open by Halloween. Sierra likes birdwatching, so Justin is learning all he can about birds. It's almost funny.
October 8th,
Dear diary,
Well, it seems that these three have much potential; coupled with the six I already found, tomorrow I'll give them a trial at Crovan's Gate, see how they do. George, Arnold, Terry, Christian, Charles and Jackson will join them, and run through a day just like how it would work at the parlor. Nine potential employees are here, and I am looking for 14 spots.. here's hoping for the best.
October 9th:
The three I chose are going to work the airport for sure, they work well together. Terry is definitely hired for the Tidmouth grand Terminal location, but I'll need to retest the others. Dad's settling in at home, he's rented a soft-sided lorry named Madge to help out. There are a lot of protesters now. They are saying that Sodor's living vehicles are being treated as slaves. I'll have to ask Hildegarde, Barford, and Peter their opinions.
October 10th,
The vehicles say they love their jobs, and would not have it any other way; so I guess all I can say is I don't understand these protests.
Peter is doing good with our special boxcars; this will make supplying the Knapford cart, Crovan's Gate store and original location so much easier.
I need to make a tough decision though; the Skarloey railway coach Jim runs, I've checked the reviews. Although many are positive, they don't rate as high as the stores or cart. The stores and cart I can supply and make everything fresh daily, but our limited logistics meant I could only resupply the coach on Monday and Thursday. A lot of the reviews essentially say "its good, but it doesn't taste quite right... I should know, I've been to the original/Crovan's Gate parlor! (or both) I accept nothing but the best quality possible so... should I close the coach and bring Jim to the original location? At least, he can fill the spot left open by Dad.
Off to the hospital again to see Mom... I hope she gets out soon... she's been in there so long.
October 11th:
That's it, I am never allowing the dogs to come to work with us again! They nearly broke Edgar's clockwork mouse! That thing is irreplaceable! Now Clyde wants to ban all dogs from the premises, so I can't say I blame them. The protesters think I should start paying my vehicles. They are threatening to boycott any company that doesn't pay their talking vehicles, and they're gaining support. Even Sierra (and now Justin...!) agrees. What do I do?
October 12th,
It would seem that the protests have lost a lot of traction; the vehicles themselves argued that they have no need for money, and that the fact that they are being used, maintained, taken care of instead of rusting away in the scrapyard is what makes them happy. "We love being really useful, and having jobs to do; otherwise we would be rotting away in the scrapyard" Peter and Little Barford have stated earlier. However, I am not looking for trouble, so if there is a system that makes sense, I will listen to it.
The trainer has explained that the dogs are acting up because I do not give them enough attention, and they want to see me more; after all this was the first incident in a while. I'll take tomorrow off and spend more time with them... see what happens.
(Takes October 13th off)
October 14th:
Well, I did take yesterday off... And it was terrible!!!
October 15th,
Well, here's the deal... the dogs and I may have gotten off to a rough start, but now, I think we are getting somewhere. Sally, being a Golden retriver, is living up to her breed's affectionate reputation, and once you give her some attention, she's really sweet. Molly the Dalmatian is still a handful, but the training is paying off. Something I couldn't help but notice... I know we call them puppies, but they are really over a year old each... perhaps it was the places they came from? I know that my neighbor Roland has a Golden Retriever too, a male one named Jack. Our dogs do get along well, and often spend time together in the backyards.
I couldn't help but notice though... last couple of weeks Sally's belly has been getting bigger. Can it be? Nah, I'm probably imagining things; I should get to bed now; tomorrow I launch peanut butter ice cream at Crovan's Gate.
October 16th:
Something's happening, and I don't know what. I wish they'd tell me!
October 17th,
Peanut butter was a success; so much so we ran out three hours before closing!
These protests keep going on, but things like this, my dad always said best to "keep your head down, and let it blow over." Plus, I'm going to need to think about this rationally... If I were to start paying my vehicles, how would I do that, and what would they do with it.
I'll sleep on it; right now I want to go to sleep.
October 18th:
I couldn't sleep last night; this weird banging noise kept me awake. I checked to see what it was, but found nothing. I figured it was a badger or something, but it could've been anything. My mother always said anything was possible. Who knows? Maybe Sodor isn't real and this is all some vision created by a reverend and was then launched on TV. Heh heh... Hold on, my dog wants me. I'll try and see what caused that noise last night.
October 19th:
Found out what was causing that banging noise. Molly found a stick and was banging it against the house. Why, I don't know. I've noticed something interesting. We get a lot of tourists on our railway, including some teens. The teens either know more about our railways than most native Sudrians, or hardly care. I wonder why. Mom's out of the hospital. They said she's doing better than average for recovering cancer patients. I wonder if I should have my parents move in... they might have trouble on their own.
October 20th,
I discussed it with Jen; she thought back to when her father needed help, and decided that Mom and Dad should live with us; after all this is the house they raised me in. So we will move them back in over the next couple days. The house has plenty of room; it feels like only yesterday when I was growing up in it. It is two floors, plus an attic and basement. The first floor has all the rooms you would expect of a house; living room, kitchen, bathroom, some closets and 2 "spare rooms" if you will. The second floor has the 4 bedrooms, 2 more bathrooms (one of them strictly for the master bathroom)and 1 spare room; dad used it as a study, and I haven't had the heart to change it. I still remember growing up in here; I haven't talked about it much, but I am actually one of six. I only really see John today, but I do often think of growing up in this house; The four brothers, me and John, plus our younger, twin brothers Robert and William (Bobby and Billy to us) were in one room, our sisters Carrie and Wendy were in another room, mom and dad always told us "don't ever go in the guest room" and we didn't. (Btw, the order of birth In the family is as follows: Michael (our diary writer), John, Wendy, Robert and William, then Carrie). Robert and William joined the navy a while back, and haven't seen them since, but i do get the occasional video chat. Carrie and Wendy moved to the mainland, but I do often think of them. Well, I must stop this stroll down memory lane for now; better start getting one of the rooms ready for mom and dad.
October 21:
I've been redoing the guest room for Mom and Dad all day, it's nearly done. I'll finish up tomorrow evening, since I'll be at the airport all day tomorrow, we open on the 29th! Speak of the devil: Robert and William were able to get two months leave, so they'll arrive on the seventh and stay until New Years. They'll probably want their old room back too!
October 22nd,
Been getting everything organized at the airport parlor; nice amount of room here; so far been able to fit 10 4 person tables and 10 2 person tables, but along the wall there are 10 4 person booths left over from the last restaurant; need to make a choice on those. I've got great news, the employee arrangements are almost complete. I was looking at Mary and Ivan, the other two employees from Stella's that quit, and I just found out something interesting: Mary was actually the general manager there, and is exactly what I am looking for to manage the place. I'll train her over the next couple days at the original location to get her up to speed. And Ivan has some of the fastest service I've ever seen, so as long as he maintains the quality, he'll do fine here. Three more spots to fill. I need to do the following before the 31st: . 3 more employees . Perfect pumpkin ice cream (Halloween after all) . Order black and orange sprinkles. Almost ready with the room... Mom and dad will love it
October 23rd:
Since Halloween is getting closer (and closer!), I've been listening to a lot of Helloween, you know, the German metal band. Man, you just want to bang your head to that. I want out! To live my life and be free! I want... Oh, sorry. Just in the mood! Mom and Dad move in in a few days. And now, goodnight!
October 24th,
Mom and dad are moving in soon; only this time it is Jen and I in the master bedroom. He had a special lift installed next to the staircase; dad won't have too many problems getting to the bedrooms now. I was thinking about the basement; 1/4 of it is storage space, 1/4 of it is a game area (complete with pool table, tv and various game counsels), 1/4 of it an exercise space, but the other quarter has been empty as long as I can remember... What should we do with it?
Anyway, been reviewing applications for the airport location, and it's a harder choice than I thought; but I still need three applicants. Pumpkin is coming along, but it is difficult. I think I'll devote time to working on that; with Halloween around the corner I want to get it ready for Crovan's gate and the airport by then (still only room for 12 flavors at original parlor... Darn it!) Better get back to work... So much to do before the 29th!
October 25th:
I keep hearing this voice that says, "Halloween, Halloween!! Your end... Halloween!!" What?!
Maybe it's because I went to the movies today to see Halloween (you know, with Michael Myers), and it creeped me out.
...But who knows...
October 26th:
Considering the size of the airport location means that for the time being, Ivan, Mary, Alan, Daphne and Rebecca should be sufficient. The three of them work well together, so they should be fine. Pumpkin ice cream is ready, but it might be too late. Mom and Dad move in tomorrow. Uncle Tim will look after their house.
October 27th:
Halloween is getting nearer!! But I need to go; Mom and Dad need help moving in.
October 28th:
Last night while I was writing, Mom and Dad arrived. They are settling in nicely. Grand opening tomorrow! I'm so excited!
October 29th:
No time to write; will be busy all day.
October 30th;
Success!! So busy all day yesterday forgot to write about the opening. Most everybody showed up for it. (I'm presuming by the small space it's just a parlor, no bakery). After a brief speech, the opening went off without a hitch. Alan Daphne and Rebecca handle the pressure well, and having Mary as the General Manager leaves the place in good hands. Ivan and Terry work the back making the ice cream, so this system should do fine Surprisingly, Stella did show up... She kept her distance though, just staring at all the activity; when I started to approach, she just turned around and ran out; I swear I heard her crying. Tomorrow's Halloween; I never was into "horror" Halloween, and quite frankly after the "pineapple incident" last year (still give me shudders when I think about it) I think I'll probably treat tomorrow like a normal day.
October 31st
Good news... No sign of pineapples... Maybe those teens will leave me alone this year
Justin stopped by... He's a scientist this year for Halloween. I'm guessing he wants to see Sierra again... Nearly a month and still can't get two words out around her... Poor guy.
Pumpkin ice cream is selling well... But I think it'll be a seasonal thing.
(Before bed)
It's almost midnight, and I've got to get up early tomorrow, but I only now been able to get to bed. Something terrible happened... *YAWN* but I'm tired, so I'll tell you tomorrow. Goodnight, and goodbye, October. See you next year!
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 25, 2015 21:45:56 GMT -5
Month of November: (NOTE: Again, I sincerely apologize, but some sections had to be edited because there were a lot of inside jokes that made sense at the time that won't make sense to the new readers here.)
November 1st;
Well "terrible" may not be the best word, but some tried to break into our Crovan's Gate location!
Luckily, the butyric acid traps went off, so the would be burglar failed. Stuff smells absolutely nasty, but it's harmless. The police noted that's the second time this year, and advised me to install a camera outside the store.
Really excited about Robert and William's return next week; it's been a long time. Better go now; time for a video chat
November 2nd:
The burglar tried to break in again last night, and I saw on the camera today the person seemed to resemble Stella!!
Again, the butyric acid traps prevented any break ins.
November 3rd
I installed an alarm in my bedroom that goes off when someone is coming over to the parlor at night last night, and when it went off I called Uncle Tim. He says he caught Stella near the Glennock parlor and asked me to run over there after he caught her. He reported her to the police and they closed her parlor at Crovan's down so that's a thing, I'll probably get more customers there now.
November 4th,
The police are conducting their investigation now; Stella insists it can't be her, and surprisingly I agree with her; why would she try to break into the same place three nights in a row, especially with the butyric acid traps going off every time? Plus, when I confronted her after Uncle Tim caught her, she did not have a foul odor. I know, I know, I'll let the police figure this out. I know she never really liked me, but still, I can't help but wonder what's going on here.
Am getting Robert and William's room ready for their arrival... Good thing there is plenty of room at my house, and they both love dogs.
November 5th:
Well, Stella is now in police custody. I wonder how that'll go.
November 6th
12:00 PM
Barford is back in working order! The coaches are happy to see him again, but then there is another thing, I have 2 rivalries as you know, one with Stella and another with the refreshment lady, and it turns out that the refreshment lady is trying to get Peter Sam back on her side, but it isn't working, he is stationed with me, we'll that sounds weird, doesn't it?
5 PM, Just got word that Stella will have a trial in a week.
November 7th,
Great news, Robert and William are back! It was one heck of a family reunion, if you will. I only wish Wendy and Carrie were able to come from the mainland, but they weren't able to make it.
Been thinking about what happened this past year, and I've decided that I need to make some important decisions. I've never meant any ill will towards Stella, and I want her to know that. Considering that she did not actually steal anything from me, I have asked for the charges against her to be dropped; she is just trying to make a living, after all. I understand why the refreshment lady has had some feelings against me for some time now, so it is time I make my peace with her; again, I have no ill will towards her, and I want her to know that. I am not interested in competition; only in serving people quality ice cream.
Besides, I have been thinking about Jim and the coach, and all things considered (recap: our writer checked the reviews, and the coach is not being rated as well as the parlor/bakery locations. Plus he can only reapply on Monday and Thursday, so product cannot be made fresh daily), with dad being unable to work for the next few months, and lower customer traffic now that it's getting colder, I thing the best call is to suspend the coach for now and have Jim work at the parlor with the rest of the family.
Better get going; I have some phone calls to make
Later: Jim said he's been having fewer customers the past few weeks, but he's fine with whichever decision I make. Talked it over with Everybody at the business; they think I am doing the right thing with Stella and the refreshment lady.
November 8th:
I really need some sleep. I'm starting to get hallucinations again.
November 9th,
Called the doctor; he said I was fine; but I really should get more than 5 hours of sleep at night. I've just been so excited for my brothers' return, haven't had much sleep the past few days. Today the parlors are closed for maintenance; the ice cream machines can't fix themselves! I think I'll go for a walk; been a long time since I had one.
November 10th,
Tomorrow is Veteran's day... Or rather, Remembrance Day as it is called here. Free ice cream to all veterans at our three parlors; I can't thank them enough, but at least I can serve them quality ice cream.
November 11th:
Guess it's good that Robert and William were able to make it back in time for Remembrance Day. We first attended a service today, near one of the old war memorials. As soon as it was over the staff of all three parlors got ready... We open at 1:00 sharp, and must have everything ready in time.
(Later) Army, navy, Air Force, USA, UK, Ireland, WWII, or modern, there's a nice mix of veterans here today. Had to break the news to Robert and William about Edgar's death... They were still at sea when he died. They took the news well, but I swear it looked like they were fighting back tears
November 12,
Been reviewing the numbers with Jim about the coach. Jim said last few days before stopping have seen the fewest customers, and we are just breaking even. Since it's getting colder, I've decided to suspend the coach and have him work with the family at our original parlor until Dad can work again. The coach has been great, but i need to face facts: once it gets cold ice cream demand goes down. I was visited by some of the people pertaining to Stella's case; they asked me if I was sure I wanted to drop the charges against her. I said yes; they were surprised, but understood when I explained.
Jen said Stella loves carrot cake... I'm having Uncle Alan bake her one in a few days; maybe now she'll at least start to warm up to me.
November 13:
I finally asked Justin if he liked Sierra. He looked at me strangely and blurted out, "Of course not! Stella's the one I like! I can't stand Sierra!" And he walked away.
I was left there thinking, "What the heck?!?!?!?!?!?"
November 14th,
I talked to Justin's parents about his "incident" in my store. They confirmed my suspicions; he's got a crush on Sierra, but he's very shy about it. Other than the one time he asked me about how to talk to Sierra, he never really talks about it. I understand what he's going through right now; best to not get involved unless he wants me to. Back to flavor experimentation... My next project is butter pecan.
November 15th,
Meeting with the thin controller today; going to see if little Barford can be of use to him while the coach is suspended.
Jim is handling the parlor very well; says it is nice to be able to work with the family for a change.
Better get going; I really don't want Barford to just sit in the shed all winter
November 16th:
Say, when is Thanksgiving this year? I'm going to have to check the calendar
November 17th,
Still in negotiations for Little Barford to work on the Skarloey railway; the controller thinks it's a good idea but we still have things to figure out.
The coach has been given a special shed, and will be ready to come out again when the weather warms up.
Been thinking; the parlor is only open from 1 pm to 8 pm, but should we expand the hours? I'll ask around and see what people think.
November 18th:
Sodor actually doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but giving thanks to God for all that he's provided is actually a good idea, so I'm going to start working on some pumpkin pie ice cream. Hope it works.
November 19th:
Dear Diary:
Today has been an utter disaster! Alan and Daphne were caught attempting to smuggle a bomb through airport security. The person who they were going to give it to got away. Now MI6 suspects the entire company of involvement. How will I fix this one?
November 20th,
A couple representatives from MI6 came to me today. I assured them I had no knowledge of this; in fact, I make it a policy to hire no one with criminal records; I swear everything seemed legit to me! Well, they did a background check on me, and found nothing out of the ordinary; just an ice cream parlor owner. They advised me to double check my employees and asked for everything I had on the two: I gave them everything I could find. I assured them no one else in this company was involved, and I will call a press conference in a couple days to straigten this whole thing out. They gave me a number to call if anything were to happen.
(Later)
Thankfully, all family members, Justin, and Rick at Crovan's Gate are clean. I will be checking on all employees as the week goes on. I've spent 10 years building a reputation, and I swear i will keep it!
November 21st:
Daphne claims that Stella was the one who hired them to attempt a bombing, to make Sudrian Select look bad. I know she hates me, but does she hate me that much?
November 22nd:
What with all that's been happening over the last couple of days, I completely forgot about the pumpkin pie ice cream, so I tried it today. It was great, so I'm putting it out for tomorrow.
November 23rd,
Well, so much for thanksgiving. With everything going on I'll be answering phone calls till December! The pumpkin pie ice cream has different flavorings and consistency than the pumpkin ice cream I made for Halloween, so hopefully the customers will be able to tell the difference. Called the press conference today, here's basically what happened: "Good afternoon everyone, this is Michael Wilson of Sudrian Selects. I know there has been a lot of controversy recently, and I am here today to help answer any questions you have. First question please."
"Mr. Wilson, did the company have any involvement in this plot?"
"Absolutely not. Sudrian selects is a family owned and operated business. After this little stunt, I have decided that, despite having received about a dozen offers, we will NOT franchise; we have a reputation to protect and if quality can't be guaranteed, regretfully I cannot franchise. All future locations will be directly owned by the Wilson family, like these three right now. Furthermore, I have completed my background checks on my employees, and I assure you, it is only these two who have had anything to do with it."
"What is to become of the airport parlor?"
"Until I find responsible, hard working employees to fill the open spots, we will have to close the airport location until further notice. However, Crovan's Gate and Glennock will remain open."
"What will become of Alan and Daphne?"
"I have terminated their employments and cut all ties with them; whatever happens now is strictly up to what turns up in the investigation."
"I understand you recently had a problem with your sister-in-law, can you talk about that?"
"Only briefly, I'm afraid. Long story short, there was an incident where she was suspected of trying to break into my Crovan Gate location three nights in a row. However, an extreme lack of evidence forces the charges to be dropped. Plus when I confronted her, she did not smell?"
"Why say that?"
"Our parlors are protected by butyric acid traps."
"What is butyric acid?"
"For security reasons I cannot elaborate on the traps themselves. I can tell you though, the stuff smells absolutely nasty, but it is harmless. You ever keep butter to long and it starts to have that terrible odor? That's butyric acid. I can assure you though, these traps were designed to not go off accidentally; so you can still approach the parlor without fear of m setting them off."
"So basically, you are convinced she didn't do it?"
"She didn't stink, so she couldn't have. Plus, after the first go why try again if you know what'll happen?"
(Reporters laugh)
"Last question mr Wilson; why do you serve more flavors at Crovan's Gate than Glennock
"Space; only got room for 12 tubs in the Glennock parlor, but the freezer at Crocan's Gate can hold 36."
I then made a closing remark: "Thank you all for coming. I hope this answers most of your questions, and if necessary I will gladly perform Another press conference in the next week to answer any further questions."
The reporters were respectful, and said that they were glad Sudrian Selects is just an innocent scapegoat.
I'd better get some rest; I'm going to be answering phone calls all day tomorrow! So much for thanksgiving...
November 24th:
I started today answering phone calls. After 2 hours though, Jen insisted I take the rest of the day off. Jen and I had a nice, restful Thanksgiving... then she asked me to drive to the Glennock Parlor. Its closed today, but ok.
We got out of the car, and next thing I knew, these guys in all black came and kidnapped her!
"Are you kidding me!?" Was the first thing I said when I got around back. This whole kidnapping thing was a prank orchestrated by Carter and Patrick; they lead me straight to the lot behind the store, and low and behold, everyone's here, and got a proper thanksgiving feast going. A nice break indeed, but heaven knows how many messages are on my answering machine and how many calls I need to return, tomorrow is going to be a long day!
November 25th;
Been answering phone calls all day; the press conference did a lot of good, but people still have questions. On the bright side, the dogs are behaving better, and at the end of the day it's nice to have affectionate pets to come home to. Jen has been worried about me, but I assured her I would make sure everything is all right... With twins on the way, she's got enough to worry about.
November 26th:
You wouldn't believe it. I was listening to the radio, and they announced that the countries of Europe are against each other, and battles are starting. They said that England declared that World War III was starting!!! What the heck?!?!?!?!?
November 27th,
What?! Apparently that was a movie trailer for the latest Michael Bay Movie, "A World Divided." Knowing him, it'll be all explosions and no substance, but people will still go to see it anyway.
Been trying to figure out if I should suspend my plans for the tidmouth grand terminal location... After this stunt I need to be more careful about who I hire.
Caught the news earlier, it seems that Stella's reputation has taken a huge hit. Seems that word has spread she may be behind this incident, and the press is eating her up. She called her own press conference, and as soon as she started pointing at me, They accused her of "pushing things to far" and were appaled by "her lack of respect or care for her own brother in law, while he cares very much about you. You're not in jail for the break in you were accused of because he asked the charges against you be dropped!" That made her completely break down, all the while repeating simply "I'm innocent... I'm innocent"
Those investigators who talked to me a while back said "we'll watch her for 10 days... If she we find anything that directly links her to the bomb thing, we will take her in." I wonder what will happen... All I know is that after today, she's probably not leaving her apartment any time soon.
November 28th,
Stella's parlor has been closed for some time now. I'm seeing some of her regulars come here, but others seem to be standing by Stella.
Heard a rumor she's going to slip quietly back to the mainland, probably to focus on her parlor there. But for now, looks like she's laying low in her Sodor apartment.
Our customers remain loyal thankfully, but it is starting to get cold again... Heard about this one place in New York that does "frozen hot chocolate" if you'll believe that. Maybe I should look into it.
But that's for another day; going to sleep now.
November 29th:
This morning, Stella was nowhere to be found. No one knows where she is.
I tried the frozen hot chocolate today, and my customers (I gave 'em free samples) loved it!
November 30th,
Talk about being on the same page, John had already thought about the frozen hot chocolate ahead of time and worked on a recipe that works. Man, I still think back to when it took us 300 tries to perfect the regular hot chocolate recipe. Anyway, this saves me a lot of trouble, and we can start serving it at Crovan's Gate very soon... But we can still do samples at Glennock.
Anyway, turns out Stella is still in her apartment... Jen called her earlier. I decided to visit and see what was happening. Before I could knock on the door, I could hear a conversation between Stella and her/Jen's grandmother. It wasn't very pleasant sounding. Here's what I made out:
"You have been acting very immature recently Stella; first you try to break into his parlor and now this? You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Grandma, it's Jen that has betrayed us! Her good for nothing husband..."
"Is your brother in law and cares about you, even if you don't see it. Plus, he has shown to be far more competent in this business than you ever were; I trusted you because when I retired, you were my only grandchild interested in continuing my business; even after your siblings and all of my children and their spouses showed no interest in it."
"But grandma, please, he's using our recipe!"
"Because I gave him my blessing and he takes great care in making it. Trail mix is also easier to say than mama brekin's raisin cruncher. Your behavior has left me no other options: as of today, you can no longer use my recipe, Michael and Jen are who I will have inherit it now."
"But you can't..."
"I already have. You are forbidden from using my recipe until you repair your relationship with Michael (our diary writer). Until then, my mind is made up."
I quickly ran back to the car; as it happens I had forgot something so as I was going back, I ran into her.
"Ah, Michael, so nice to see you. Are you going to see Stella? We were just talking about you."
"Not really; I'm working on some new flavors right now; I'm just dropping something off and going."
"Good idea; she's got a lot to think about now."
So I left her package on the door, rang the bell and left. Finally got around to bring her that carrot cake.
(Later)
Jen just talked to Stella on the phone; she said she received a carrot cake with a card "heard you could use some cheering up; have some cake." Stella said it was the best carrot cake she ever had. When Jen told her it was from my bakery and I had delivered it myself, apparently all Stella did was say "what?" And then said she had to go, and hung up.
Back to bed now; tomorrow I finally get to work on butter pecan; my goal is to have it done by the end of the week.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 25, 2015 22:16:05 GMT -5
Month of December:
December 1st:
The holiday season is finally here! Time to make some holiday flavors! I'm thinking fruitcake ice cream!
December 2nd;
Putting ice cream on hold for a bit; I realize that I have not spent too much time with my younger brothers, twins William and Robert. They are still in the Navy, and their leave ends on January 5th. So the three of us and John will be spending some time together while we can.
(Later)
Our plans are ready, and tomorrow the four of us are going to have a great time
December 3rd,
The four of us are going to the place we loved growing up; it's an indoor (heated) water park, arcade, hotel and much, much more all in one place. We'll spend a couple days hanging out here, then back to work. Uncle Alan says he is working on a fruitcake recipe right now, and will have me try it when I get back.
(Later)
Show off!! Lol, just kidding. William just swam the entire length and back of one of the bigger pools here in less than 2 minutes... Guess that navy training really pays off.
December 4th;
What a fantastic day!
It turns out one of the machines in the arcade, we couldn't believe it... Our high score from 11 years ago is still intact! It's one of those 4-person games, and we decided to see if we could top it... We did, and the manager could not believe what he just saw happen.
Anyway, better get going... Tonight for dinner the restaurant is doing a pizza buffet, and we are definitely not going to miss it!
(No entries December 5th or 6th)
December 7th,
Well, it has been fun, but now it's back to work.
Working on some Christmas ice cream flavors. The fruitcake ice cream idea isn't popular with everyone else; so now we are tossing around these ideas: Gingerbread Christmas cookie Apple pie Peppermint (I.e. Candy cane) Figgy pudding (Uncle Tim's idea)
We will experiment and make a decision over the next couple days.
December 8th:
I was talking with Justin today, and he said to "scrap the rest of the flavors you have already and ONLY do Christmas flavors." I think it's an interesting idea, but I should ask the customers.
(Later)
Hmmm... seems the customers do not agree... some still want to have the regular flavors available. Plenty of room at Crovan's Gate, but we can only do 12 flavors at Glennock. Our flavors right now are Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, French Vanilla, Cookie Dough, Mint Chocolate Chip, Cherry Chocolate, Trail Mix, Neapolitan, Banana Pudding, Peach, Cookies and Cream
I think we can take cherry chocolate, peach and Neapolitan out for now, and put three flavors in; but which ones? I'll have the customers vote on it and the top three we will do.
December 9th:
They decided that they needed 5 Christmas flavors: Gingerbread, fruitcake (surprisingly, they did vote for it), figgy pudding, candy cane, and Christmas cookie. They decided that we should take out cherry chocolate, peach, Neapolitan, mint chocolate chip, and trail mix.
December 10th,
Uh oh, we got a problem. Uncle Alan and cousin Bill, the guys who run the bakery, they can't make enough fruitcake to satisfy both the ice cream batches and regular fruitcake loafs... After all they are a two man army and can only do so much... So we will just make fruitcake for now. I know Uncle Stanley is not working right now, but he is still a baker by trade... Maybe if I can convince him to put on his apron again, we can get more done? I'll think it over. Just finished the batch of candy cane... Everyone found the peppermint flavor too strong, so we will have to cut this for now. On one hand, we lost two flavors. On the other, the popular trail mix (Jen's family recipe) and mint chocolate chip get to stay for now. About to try figgy pudding... Let's see what people think. (Later) Today is not my day... Not one person liked it! How can I have three busts in one day? I've never had this many problems with flavor experimentation. I think I'll just serve regular figgy pudding in the bakery, at least that was good. On the bright side, gingerbread and Christmas cookie were a hit in the taste test, and we will debut them officially tomorrow.
December 11th:
Alan and Daphne's trials are tomorrow. I have to be there, since they were my employees. I wonder if Stella will be there... Christmas flavors were a huge hit, so far as it goes. We don't get much business in winter. Despite the airport scandal, or perhaps because of it, Sudrian Select is in the top two for "Small Business of the Year". The other business is Bennett and Co. Lumber.
December 12th,
Arrived at the courthouse today... I did not realize just how much press attention this was getting. I must have been stopped by the press half a dozen times! They were asking essentially the same questions over and over again.
No, Sudrian Selects had nothing to do with this. Alan and Daphne are no longer affiliated with Sudrian Selects. Yes, at this point I am not accepting franchise requests; however I will still honor the request for a Tidmouth grand terminal location. At this point, I will not need to testify; the only reason I would be called to testify is to assure the innocence of my business in this matter; right now, it does not appear that will be necessary. Do I believe Stella is involved in all this? Right now, I don't have a reason to believe that.
I was still thinking about what has recently transpired... first three employees quit her buiness and come to mine, then her parlor in Crovan's Gate was shuttered because the news that she may have been behind an attempted break in spread so quickly it practically ruined her. Next, her Grandmother forbade her from making trail mix until she repaired her relationship with me, and now rumor is she will slip quietly back to the mainland, and focus on her parlor there. I haven't seen her yet, so she must be gone now... i think?
Better get inside the courthouse now... curious to see what unfolds. I'll be taking notes as this day unfolds.
Alan's lawyer wants to call me up to testify. Apparently, the angle he is going for is that he was forced to do it by either Daphne, Rebecca, or me. Oddly, Daphne's lawyer is not working with Alan's; they seem to be trying to throw the other one to the dogs to save their own skin. Is that the prosecutor asking Stella to go up to testify? Oh my!
Prosecution will be presenting its case first; but Alan's defense attorney seems really intent on getting me on the stand. Luckily the prosecutor got to me first and asked for my testimony to discredit the theory that this is a Sudrian Selects conspiracy.
Well, my testimony certainly achieved... Interesting results. Before going up I told the prosecution I was innocent in all this, and that they should use me to show that they acted on their own, trying to frame my business. Must've done something right, because after the prosecutor finished his questions, the defense said they had none for me... That's a relief.
I did talk to Stella for a bit before hand. Literally our conversation went like this:
"I heard you dropped the charges against me for the attempted break-in. Why?"
"I'm not convinced you did it... You did not stink with butyric acid when I confronted you. I hold nothing against you."
"You brought me a carrot cake the other day?"
"Yes; uncle Alan and I made it ourselves."
"......thanks."
And that was it... Hold on, her testimony is about to start.
Stella gave her testimony. It was interesting, to say the least. She admitted to the break-ins, saying she knew where the butryic acid traps were and avoided them thanks to her agility from her high school and college years as a gymnast. She fired Daphne for stealing money from the company, but was otherwise not involved in the attempted bombing. And- the shocking part- she says Uncle Tim was the third co-conspirator. She knows he and Daphne were friends, and now I think of it, he seemed very keen that we hire Alan...
The court adjourned for lunch. I just can't believe the accusations made against Uncle Tim... he, Dad and John have supported me since the beginning! Unorthodox, I knew, but I went straight to his apartment above the parlor. Uncle Tim, Aunt Martha, Laura, and Sierra were having lunch. Pretty much what happened is like this:
"Uncle Tim! Uncle Tim! We've got a problem!"
"Michael, what's wrong?"
"It's Stella... she's accusing you of being involved with the conspiracy, since you were so close to Daphne and Alan!"
"What!? Michael, I've wanted you to succeed since the beginning, why would I want to tear you down!"
"I don't know, but you gotta get to the court house and clear this whole thing up!"
"Darn right! hang on, I'll get my suit."
So we got in the car a few minutes later, and then something occurred to him
"Oh my god... how could I have forgotten..."
"What Uncle Tim?"
"Back when I was in the service, there was an incident. I was a medic, and one day a transport plane had crashed. There were seven critically injured men, and I scrambled to save all of them. I nearly succeeded, except for two. Darren and Morris, I never forgave myself for that. When I was discharged I vowed to watch over their kids for them, on their behalf... and their kids were Alan and Daphne! I was happy when you hired Alan... he's been having so much bad luck recently."
"what happened?"
"A few days ago, they found out what happened... they called me a murderer and broke off with me. They must be trying to get revenge on me for their Dads!"
With no time to lose, we parked, and told the prosecutor what we believe is happening.
When the court reconvened, the prosecution spoke:
"The people call Timothy Wilson to the stand."
And so, his testimony started
No updates with the trial just yet, but I can hear Alan and his lawyer talking:
"This is not good; We can't frame it as a Sudrian Selects conspiracy; that has been discredited!"
"Darn it; if I am going down, I want to bring him with me; he let my father die!"
"We gotta think of something; is there another angle we can take?"
"I don't know... Maybe we should work with Daphne after all."
"No! That'll just be a sign of weakness!"
Just how deep is the conspiracy going on here? And why did Alan and Daphne do it? And who is the third party? We gotta find out!
Still no updates, but I'm getting a little stressed. I mean, could this trial affect my reputation? What will happen to Alan and Daphne?
Uh oh, that's not good. The power blew out at the courthouse. The court will adjourn until the generator is repaired and power is restored. Going to the parlor with the family right now... I think everybody could use some ice cream right now.
Uncle Tim looks nervous though... he was only able to tell part of the story before the power blew, meaning he will be back on the stand when the trial resumes. Guess we have a day or so to think things over.
December 13th:
The power is almost fixed (there was a small problem) and they trial will continue tomorrow.
Today, the judge walked in for some ice cream. We had some small talk, and he told me that this Uncle Tim thing is on his mind. Neither of us really want to think about the trial.
Oh, no... Alan's lawyer saw the judge visiting the parlor, he says he is biased. He demands we restart the trial with a new judge. Now the jury suspects us! Merry Christmas to me, I guess?
I assured the jury that all that happened was the judge buying ice cream; after all we are bound by law to not speak of the trial outside the courtroom until the trial is over! Besides, I saw Alan's lawyer in my parlor the other day too. The judge said no to the request, and the trial resumes tomorrow... However he is declaring that uncle Tim must start from the beginning; just to make sure he doesn't confuse himself. Poor Laura and Sierra; aunt Martha too. What is going through their minds now?
December 14th:
Dear me, Diary:
Apparently last night the old judge fell ill, and the new judge is quite strict, I hope this goes well. Fortunately, I am innocent, but the judge doesn't think so. Here comes Stella. Ever since she confessed to the break-ins, people keep cross-examining her. Let's see where this goes.
Stella is for the most part saying everything that she said in the last trial; I actually am not picking up on anything at this moment, but if anything occurs to me, I will note it later on.
I got up to testify, and I guess old Edgar is watching out for me upstairs; again, I gave my testimony, testifying to every fact I could that discredits the theory on a conspiracy by Sudrian Selects to do this, and the defense had no questions. Uncle Tim is getting ready to go, but it looks like the prosecution wants to get other witnesses up first, so I assured him to keep calm, and just tell the story when it is his turn. I can tell in his eyes, he still feels guilt over Alan and Daphne's dads.
December 15th:
The trial has been adjourned until after new years, since the court takes Christmas-time off.
December 16th:
Our fruitcakes have been selling well; but we can't make a lot of fruitcake ice cream due to lack of manpower. I think I will call Uncle Stanley in a few days after all.
Gotta get some sleep now; last few days have been very stressful.
December 17th:
(No entry; busy working all day)
December 18th;
Finally, decorating the house for the holidays. The training is really paying off on the dogs; they haven't destroyed any Christmas decorations.
Me, John, William and Robert were decorating the tree, just like when we were kids; if only Wendy and Carrie were here; it would be perfect, just like old times.
Oh, need to discuss something with Jen, hold on.
Later:
Ok, maybe I'm not crazy; Jen has been noticing that Sally's (our golden retriever) belly is getting bigger, and she does play a lot with the male golden retriever next door. Is it possible? Nah, I think we are just a little tired. Should really go to bed now.
December 19th:
I invited my sisters over, haven't seen them since they got married. Sudrian Select will be closed until January for a "Winter Break" if you will. It will let me spend time with family.
December 20th;
Carrie and Wendy are staying at the hotel a few blocks away from the house; close enough they can walk here though. We've been decorating the house all day, the six of us and Jen, and spending time with mom and dad. Carrie and Wendy love the dogs... they had to leave theirs at home.
Oh, got to go; still plenty to do.
December 21st:
With all the Christmas prepping going on, I nearly forgot about presents! What am I going to get everyone? Other than the twins, I bought them their present as soon as they arrived.
December 22nd:
I think I'm going crazy. I still haven't bought everyone a present yet!!
December 23rd,
Today was quite uneventful. Peter our goods engine has been doing good, although he seems like he is a bit confused, I'm going to talk to him, to help him clear his mind.
December 24th:
Ah, Christmas eve... the night before the greatest holiday of the year. Got everything all decorated, and the whole family is here... granted, Carrie and Wendy are in the hotel down the road, but still the whole family, and Jen get to spend Christmas together, just like the old days.
Oh, better get to sleep... knowing tradition, Dad's going to want to do his special thing this year... his recovery has been good, so I think he can pull it off.
December 25th:
4:30 AM: yes I got up at 4:30 AM, but come on I couldn't help it! But this gives me some time to get to Grandma's house and put her a new wedding gown under the tree, as the old one is starting to get worn out.
5:30 a.m. - good thing I had that spare key. Had to go in real quietly, but I did it. Grandma is going to be so surprised!
6:30 a.m.- back home, I think I will get a little more sleep.
8 am- something woke me up. Went downstairs to check. (To clarify: Molly and Sally may have been called puppies, but they are both over a year old each; Sally's nearly 2 years old). Heard barking, but it didn't sound like either of them. Molly the dalmatian was sitting nearby, and on the rug in the middle of the living room was Sally the golden retriever and... Puppies?!?! We weren't crazy after all! Boy, everyone is going to be in for a shock when they wake up at 9:00. What a Christmas surprise. I think I'll get started on breakfast. Got to cook for me, Jen, mom, dad, William, Robert, and John, Carrie and Wendy are coming over later. Boy, got to do all that on my own.
9:00 AM Jen just woke up and in pure surprise when she saw the puppies she woke everyone else up by mistake. I finished making breakfast and I'll be back once we are finished.
10:30 - had to get the new family in a more comfortable space, but once that was set up we had our breakfast, and opened our presents. Dad couldn't do his thing after all... still sore from the accident. But regardless, what a day this turned out to be.
11 a.m. - good thing Wendy is studying to be a vet. Says the puppies are fine, we got nine of them: six girls and three boys. Can't think of names at the moment, so we're just calling them one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine for now.
Time to head out... going to go see Grandma and grandpa, after all.
12:30:
We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house five minutes ago. I tell you, that's the last time I agree to take eleven dogs with me and Jen in Hildegarde. She's been moaning about her ruined upholstery. We may have to put some of the puppies up for adoption. Uh-oh, I smell Grandma's Applewood-smoked Pork. Better go!
1:30 pm:
Grandma and grandpa were so surprised when we came to the door with a box full of puppies; but since they are only a few hours old, it was best to keep them with us to keep an eye on them. Luckily these guys won't really start to move around until they are a couple weeks old. Wendy says they need to stay with their mother for at least 10 weeks, so we will adopt most of them out starting March 15th.
So we left Sally with her puppies in a side room. The puppies are mostly rotating between sleeping and nursing, so things should be fine.
Time to give grandma and grandpa their presents
2:00 PM:
Grandma and Grandpa love model railroading, so we bought that model of the parlor Edgar's friends made. They are already trying to figure out where to put it. They also took two of the girls and one of the boys: 5, 6, and 7, off our hands (or will when they're old enough). Now they are Lily, Sasha, and Louie respectively. Now we're unwrapping presents, and then we're driving to Elsbridge and caroling (Hackenback isn't the friendliest community).
2:30 pm- since dad is still recovering from those injuries I suggested that he, the dogs and I go home for now; we could get dinner started, since that ham takes hours. Dad joked that This would probably do the family a favor... Since neither of us can hold a note. Ugh, I mean sure I'm not the best, but I can sing decently! Can't I?
5:00
The others are back from caroling. We're about to sit down to dinner. Hildegarde is not in a Christmas spirit, though. When I asked how well I sing, she compared me to a "dead sick cow". Poor thing, sitting out there in the snow, I think she deserves a treat. What was that!? Someone dropped the ham? Oh no!
6:00 PM
Turns out "Dropped the ham" is some sort of expression, because 4 had made his way out of the side room while Sally was concentrating on the other 8. 4 is back but is still trying to escape, he'll be a ton of trouble in later years I think.
7:30 pm: well, it's quite remarkable that the little guy got so far when he's so little. But I don't think he'll be too big a problem for at least another two weeks or so. That's when the puppies legs will really start to develop.
Dinner was fantastic; now it's time to watch some Christmas movies! Though with nine puppies to look after, something tells me Sally is going to have her paws full for a while.
10:30 PM
Back home at last, finally got the puppies to sleep. Molly is feeling lonely. I got some vouchers for the car wash, so tomorrow I'm going to pamper Hildegarde. I'm also going to see about getting her upholstery replaced, Molly really tore it up.
December 26th:
Brought Hildegarde to the car wash. Got her all nice and clean, then bought her to the mechanic for some upholstery fixing. She needs a tune up anyway, so this really worked out. Unfortunately, it turns out a few important parts need replacing, so regretfully I must leave her there for a couple days... But she'll fell fantastic when it's over.
(Later) Took a cab home; thought about the puppies; sure they don't have teeth yet, but they still have little nails that can scratch. Looks like I will have to plan more carefully when I have to take then to the vet when they are 6 weeks old.
When I got home, I sure had quite the surprise; remember the male golden retriever I mentioned that lives next door? Well, we share a backyard as I also mentioned, and you won't believe what happened. Seems that mom left the back door open, just enough that he was able to get in the house! When I got home, I went to check on the puppies, and wouldn't you know, dad was there, snuggling up to his new family. Looks like he's a proud dad. My neighbor was also surprised; says when they grow up he'll want one too.
Between the parlor and the dogs, this is going to be an eventful 10 weeks.
December 27th:
I tried to spend a quiet day watching TV with Jen, but wouldn't you know it, the puppies started barking! Ten weeks can't come quickly enough...
December 28th
I do love puppies and dogs, but boy, when those nine bark, they bark. They do sleep a lot right now, but tomorrow Jen and I got to get to the pet store; once they are 2-3 weeks old they will have a lot more energy and will be playing a lot more. So we gotta get them toys. Right now, we are trying to think of names for the remaining 2 boys and four girls; Jen says she doesn't like the fact that I just "numbered" them, if you will. We will discuss options the next few days
December 29:
We thought of a few names: 4 and 8 are Bonnie and Clyde (They're regular little gangsters!), but 1, 2, 3, and 9 are not named yet. Justin said he'd take Bonnie and Clyde off our hands. He doesn't know what he's getting into... Speaking of Justin, he says he intends to ask Sierra to junior prom. Best of luck to him.
December 30th;
Going to spend today with my brothers; it's our last chance to do something together before Robert and William have to go back into the navy; their shore leave is almost up. Ah well, at least we had a couple months together. Jan 5th they go back
Daddy came to see his kids again; and I don't believe it! Only five days old and already one is opening it's eyes! (Yes Jen, I'll get to work on names)
Id better call the courthouse later... Gotta know when the trial resumes. Sure I already testified but I need to be there for Uncle Tim.
December 31st:
8:00
What a year it has been! Although January was hectic, the rest of the year more than made up for it (even if Italy was a bust). Now I'm happily married, have 11 (!) Dogs, and my business has expanded. If it weren't for the airport scandal, this would have been a perfect year. Got to go to Tidmouth, they're announcing Small Business of the Year at Town Hall.
10:00
Jen's off to the hospital to get an Ultrasound; check the status on the babies. She'll let me know what's going on as soon as possible. All she knows at this point is that it is a boy and a girl, and they are healthy. She'll let me know the finer points when the procedure is over.
Showed up to the award ceremony... I was wondering if Stella would be there, but she was no where in sight. Asked around, and twenty people said the same thing:
"Didn't you hear? Rumor has it her reputation on Sodor was so badly damaged, she's gone back to the mainland and her parlor there." I know she attempted to break into my parlor a couple times, but I still can't help but feel bad for her.
Ceremony is starting... they won't be announcing my award category for a while though; first is the tribute to Sodor Confectionery Co., the "Shipping Company of the Year" award and the "Stephen Thomson Dairy Supply plant excellence Award." Ok, time to watch the ceremony
4:30 PM
I don't believe it! We've won! That's an excellent way to end the year! Going home now, I'm not the "stay up 'till midnight type.
And that wraps up year one.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 26, 2015 21:56:42 GMT -5
All right, here is January of year 2
January 1st, year 2
Phew! I am tired from last night! It was quite the adventure, and guess what? The bucket is still there! I checked Knapford and it's still there! After a whole year it's still there!
January 2nd:
Well, it's back to work at the parlor again. Robert and William were amazed to see how much it has grown, and came over today. I think tomorrow I will show them the Knapford cart run by Patrick, Carter and Brian; they have seen both locations now, and I showed them the coach (remember, it's in storage now due to it being winter, and Jim is covering for a Dad while dad is healing), tomorrow i will show them the cart; then on the fourth we will have a celebration with the whole family at Glennock parlor/bakery, our chance to bid them farewell before they go back into the navy on the fifth. I wish they could stay, but they have a responsibility, and it was great while it lasted.
January 3rd:
Visited the Knapford cart today. It's quite a busy station, and we've more than made up for the coach's dismal sales. The Grand Terminal has been cancelled, but I'm looking to reopen the airport as soon as I can find some new employees.
January 4th:
Normal business at the parlor today, from 1 pm to 8 pm, and at the bakery, from 8 am to 8 pm, but once business hours ended, the whole family got together to bid William and Robert farewell. Tomorrow, they return to the Navy, as their shore leave time has ended. We took pictures, told stories, gave speeches, ate ice cream, brownies and cakes, and had a great time. But the twins still have 3 years left in the navy before they are discharged... still, it was nice to see them again.
Been thinking about the employee situation again. I thought the airport over, and here's what I know:
It's just a parlor, no bakery, so I do not need as many employees.
Mary and Ivan, Stella's other two employees fired at the same time as Stella, still want to stick around as General manager and ice cream maker, respectively, so at least that is settled. Given the size of the space, I estimate we will need 4 front-line workers and 3 ice cream makers behind the scenes.
I want to preserve the "family business" feel, and I think I got lucky: These three brothers, Peter, Percy and Parker, plus their father Pierre applied for the positions, and are probably what I am looking for... and the fact that their names all begin with P makes it better, lol.
I wonder if they have any sisters or if their mother is interested? Eh, I'll sleep on it; tomorrow I need to bid my brothers farewell when they leave.
January 5th, year 2
Turns out that the sister and mother, Pat and Pam respectively are willing to join as well, now I have to go and say goodbye to William and Robert ):
Later: said goodbye, I think I'm going to see how the Skarloey railway engines are doing to cheer myself up.
January 6th, Year 2:
Back to the grind today. Not much to report.
I do have one problem worth mentioning, though. Since the Airport Location is closed and it doesn't take much to restock the Knapford cart, Peter has had nothing to do. Perhaps the NWR could use a 2-8-2?
January 7th, year two:
Peter is still useful for restocking at Glennock and Crovan's gate, and we can always dedicate a single boxcar of the ten to Knapford, so I think we are fine for now... But I really should negotiate with Hatt about if he can use peter from time to time; realistically I only use him about 4 hours a day.
The trial resumes in "a week or so" when I called the courthouse earlier, so that does leave time for uncle Tim to prepare. As for the airport; with that family, plus Ivan and Mary, the employee arrangements are good to go now. I'll postpone reopening till February 5th though; by then the case should be settled and quietly forgotten... I hope.
January 8th, year 2:
I have an idea that should help make use of Peter. Barford will load up at the Glennock location, and then take his train to Bluebell Valley station (named for some mainland railway) and load the coach. Bluebell Valley also has a link with the NWR, so we can load the boxcars there, and he can take the supplies to Crovan's Gate, Knapford, and Tidmouth. For moving things directly from Crovan's Gate to Glennock, our ice cream van will serve. I'll try it out tomorrow and see if it works.
January 9th, year two:
The system worked out brilliantly. Its a good thing the coach was brought out just for today, at the request of a loyal customer who's birthday is today. Though until Dad is recovered, it is probably best to put the coach back in the shed for now and have Jim work at the parlor like the past few weeks, but I will think about it. It occurs to me; why is Hildegrade sentient, but my freezer truck is not? Maybe the answer will come to me in a dream tonight. I have great news also: Finally named the remaining puppies: In addition to Lily, Sasha and Louie, who Grandma and Grandpa will take, and Bonnie and Clyde, who Justin will take, the remaining three girls are April, May and June, and the last boy is Curtis. Curtis is very calm, and is quite affectionate... I think we will keep him.
The puppies are nearly two weeks old now; they are playing more, but they still nurse and thankfully, they do sleep through the night. Thank goodness mom and dad are around during the day to keep an eye on things; I can still work at the parlor during the necessary hours without worrying about them.
January 10th, year 2
Went to our new shed by Crovan's gate which because it is by the Skarloey holds Barford and Peter and right next to it is our rolling stock shed which has the parlor coaches and Ice Cream Vans, which now have faces! Other than that nothing big happened.
January 11th, Year Two:
I cannot believe it! Some people broke in, and stole all our recipes! They fled in two groups, one south, one north (There's only one road in and out of Glennock, see the HiT map). The people who went south were traced as far as Ballahoo, but the trail went cold, I didn't know Buytric acid could be overwhelmed by car exhaust! They're probably on the mainland by now... The people who went north, though, were "smelt" in Lakeside. The police have roadblocks at the Hawin Ab bridge, Droghan-y-Claghan, and Mountain Village. It's a good thing we have our most popular recipes on the computer, but some of our ice cream recipes are lost.
January 12th;
(10 am) the people in the north group were arrested, and the stolen recipes they had were recovered. Sure, John and I have memorized the recipes by now, but we need them on paper in case a mistake is made and it needs to be corrected. They made a deal to aid tracking down the other group in exchange for not being sent to prison for the burglary... They'd better be telling the truth
2 pm- what a world!! Social media is exploding with #helpsudrianselects and #recovertherecipes; what started as a simple burglary is now top trending on Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram!
3 pm- pledges are being made by ice cream parlors all over the country, they won't buy recipes from anyone claiming to have "the recipes of Sudrian selects." Guess they see this as too messed up to even capitalize on
5 pm- 4 of the seven in the other group have been arrested! Apparently they couldn't figure out how to wash away the butyric acid smell and were caught in a hotel room in Vicarstown. The remaining three boarded a train and were able to slip away by boarding a coach that was empty.
7 pm- 2 more caught; these at Barrow-in-Furness, at the station. But the mastermind got away.
11 pm- we took a head count on the recipes; except for cherry chocolate and rocky road, all recipes were recovered. Sure, we have copies, but thanks to the captured henchmen, the mastermind's picture will be all over the news tomorrow, thanks to pictures on a few of the gang's smartphones, he/she will not be able to hide anywhere.
Time to go to bed; this has been one of the most anxiety inducing days I've ever had. But what will that mastermind do with the cherry chocolate and rocky road recipes?
January 13th:
Jen's Grandmother, the inventor of Trail Mix Ice Cream, died in her sleep last night. She was definitely getting on in age, but I didn't know she was close to death! I took the day off to be with Jen's family.
The thief has not been caught. Apparently he flew to Japan, and he is lying low. Now Sudrian Selects is getting sympathetic tweets from Japan, too. (I think they're sympathetic- I can't read Japanese...
January 14th,
Both sides of the family are taking the death pretty hard. Even Stella isn't being her "usual self" because she is so upset. Least I can do is be there for everyone now.
I got a language professor at the university to translate a sample if the Japanese tweets; he assured me they were supportive, but there were "trolls" here and there. Jeez, can't those people get a life?
January 15th:
Attended Jen's Grandmother's funeral today. It was quite a somber affair, with one exception...During the funeral, Stella went into hysterics. She said that her Grandma had not returned her blessing to make the ice cream, so her business would go broke (It was her most popular flavor). I wonder... since I have the rights to it now, should I give her my blessing? Or use it as revenge for her breaking in? Why must life be so complicated?
January 16th; year 2
I've made a decision: I will will give her my "conditional blessing." I have sent her a letter, and expect her reply within the week. Here is what I wrote:
Stella, We have not had the smoothest relationship these past several months. You and I are both aware that despite my numerous attempts to connect and gestures of kindness, you have failed to recuperate and have held me in I'll will. But even so, I kept forgiving you, because I am a patient man. The most recent attempts though, have gone too far. I shouldn't even be talking to you right now. We both know about grandma not giving back her blessing before she passed, and the rights to the recipe have been passed to me. so this is my offer to you: I am willing to forgive you one more time, and let you make the recipe again, but the conditions are not negotiable. . You will never again attempt to break into any of my parlors, bakeries or my home . You will not commit any acts that with ruin, sabotage or deface my business. . You will keep to your parlor, and in exchange I will keep to mine . You will publicly apologize for the break in attempts you commuted, and only those you have committed. In exchange, i will not do anything to harm or ruin your business. . You must apologize to your family for the email where you called Jen a traitor. In exchange, I will not speak ill of you to the press . You will repair your relationship with me and Jen; as your grandmother wanted
Once all conditions have been met, you will be permitted to sell the recipe again, and as Mama Breckin's raisin cruncher. We will still call it trail mix, but both will acknowledge your grandmother as the creator of this recipe. However, should you do anything to harm me, my family or my business again, I will retract my permission and cut all ties with you; Jen, Susan, Miles and your parents have all discussed this matter with me and concur with this decision.
What happens now is up to you; I hope we can be a family again.
-Michael
I don't know when she'll reply, but after 10 days I will follow up if she fails to reply. Better go to bed now; tomorrow I go back to work again.
January 17th:
The NWR's lightning-fast post train strikes again, I've already gotten a reply. I'll read it this evening.
Later:
This was the reply. Quite interesting...
Michael:
I sincerely apologize for all the break-ins, past and present. Rest assured these terms will be met within the next couple weeks.
~Stella R. Breckin
P.S.: Could I please have a puppy?
P.P.S.: I think you should have these back. Sorry.
Paperclipped to the letter were the stolen recipes!
January 18th,
I don't know how she found these, but all that matters are that they are back. I've sent Stella another letter:
Stella:
I don't know how you found these, but thank you, it is good to know that these are back.
You are lucky to contact me when you did; six of the nine puppies are already claimed. However, three of the girls, April, May and June, are still available for adoption. You are welcome to come over any time Jen and I are home; the puppies behave their best when we are both home. You are free to pick from them when you get here, and can have the one you selected when they are 10 weeks old.
See you then, Michael PS- I never told you, but Jen is expecting twins and will have them by March 28th; congratulations, you are going to be an aunt!
That reminds me, got to go; Jen's going to call soon about our boy and girl, she is having an ultrasound today.
January 19th, year 2:
Dear Diary:
The ultrasound results were positive, and I'm looking forward to when the babies are born. Then again, we already have nine puppies to contend with... Oy! Bonnie's chewing on my shoe! No reply from Stella, but there was an article on page ten of the Crovan's Gate Crier where she admitted to and apologized for the break-ins... Including the one a few days ago! That explains where she got the recipes, but now I'm feeling a bit guilty for asking her to apologize, the people who were so sympathetic towards Sudrian Select may turn on her...
January 20th;
After some phone called, I've made a decision: I'm going to appear on the nightly news tomorrow (with Stella if she decides to); going to make sure that everyone knows that I have forgiven her, and there is no reason to turn on her. She has taken responsibility for her actions, and that is something we can accept. I will also apologize for forcing her to do it... perhaps I did go too far on that one. Regardless, no charges will be filed; after losing her Sodor Parlor, her grandmother and her reputation in Crovan's Gate, I think she has been through enough.
January 21st:
3:30 P.M.
Stella and I will be speaking together tonight. I think I might bring the puppies, so she can pick one out- killing two birds with one stone. Not much else of note today, although "Sodor Celebs" magazine called me up for an interview. I hate gossip magazines, and I said as much. I'm probably next month's cover story now...
January 22nd;
Things didn't quite work out as planned, so Stella is here at home now to see the puppies. I showed here which ones are April, May and June. Wonder which one she will choose?
January 23rd:
Stella still can't decide! Maybe I should let her have all three. Anyway, I'd say our relationship is repaired.
January 24th:
Trial resumed today, at last. Uncle Tim gave his testimony and the prosecutor told us "At this point, I think we are done with your family." So I guess nothing left to do accept let the trial run its course.
Other news: My neighbor next door, that owns the daddy golden retriever, decided he wants to take June when she's old enough. Now Stella has an easier choice to make, what a relief!
Read the morning paper: Stella is doing well after reintroducing the raisin cruncher to her parlor. I'm glad things are finally settled between us.
I'd love to write more, but I'm going to do something special tonight with Jen; when the babies come we probably won't have one of those for a long time.
January 25, year two:
Last night was fun, but back to the grind today. The parlor is thriving, and I'm thinking about trying out the coach again.
Stella chose April. Now we just need a home for May. Perhaps Mom and Dad want her? January 26th;
I've made a decision: indeed the weather warms up, and dad is able to work again, Jim can work the coach again and then I will put it out. Which reminds me: better ask how dad is doing.
(Later) (NOTE: The next couple paragraphs are references to the main Three word story revolution game)
That's weird; had these four men come into my parlor today. They were wearing these solid color jumpsuits: one was blue, another silver, one more gold and the last white. Eh, it's probably nothing. Wait is that a man in a green jumpsuit on stilts? Maybe I should take a break and get some fresh air.
January 27th:
I could have sworn I saw a Bronze Class 08... are my hallucinations returning? Anyway, the trial is coming to a close, they are expected to reach a verdict by tomorrow.
January 28th;
It was on the news; Alan and Daphne were found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. I know I try to get along with everybody, but good riddance to them; they reap what they sow.
Got a good nights sleep last night; I think I am back to normal now. But tomorrow I need to head out the shed; little Barford hasn't been out in months and I need to make sure he is still mechanically fine.
January 29th:
Barford is excellent, he's a little stiff but a few good runs should fix that. I'll be putting him to work soon. I intend to visit Ulfstead Castle tomorrow, I've still got one day left, and Jen's never been.
January 30th,
We are at the station now, preparing to go. Huh, there a man sitting on that bench with a bucket on his head; better not disturb him. Train is here, about to get on. This is going to be great!
January 31st, year II,
Dear old Diary:
The Earl's estate was fun, but it's back to work today. I'm thinking about the sprinkle factory idea again. Maybe I should head to Japan and ask the current owner.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Oct 2, 2015 20:34:01 GMT -5
Month of February:
February 1st:
Maybe I don't have to go to Japan just yet. I found the businessman on Skype and made an arrangement for a Skype chat tonight. I don't know if we will make a deal, but we can certainly discuss the matter, and try to explain why we need the factory. Sprinkles have been so hard to find for seven months! Good thing he knows English, but we will have translators on hand, just in case.
February 2nd:
Well, Mr. Akihiro Shizuko was quite a nice chap. He says he'd be more than happy to sell me the sprinkle factory, but I need to be there when he signs off the deed. Why, I don't know. I don't know when I'll be able to go, but it had better be soon; once the baby comes I won't have any spare time at all!
February 3rd;
With Jen pregnant and dad still healing, I have no other option but to take John with me; closest person to a business partner I have.
Ok, I'll postpone reopening the parlor at the airport for now. Made arrangements for the 16th to go. This way I won't miss valentine's day. I'll skype mr. Shizuko tonight and see if he is good with this arrangement. Here's hoping for the best! February 4th:
He agrees. Now I can concentrate on the existing locations.
Hey... where's the paper I wrote Akihiro's number on? And what's Bonnie chewing on?
February 5th,
At least I still have the number on my phone, but that Bonnie, she can be a handful.
Sweetest thing today though; Sally, the dog dad and even Molly were all playing with the puppies today. I may have to start letting them play in the backyard soon. It's big, but it is fenced in, so it should be safe.
February 6th:
Sodor Day (April 1st) is approaching, and Sudrian Select is planning a celebration of sorts. We'll be planning the event at tomorrow's meeting. I let the puppies out in the yard for the first time today. So far, they've terrorized Glennock's entire squirrel population, and don't even get me started on the birds. I've locked my car keys in Hildegarde, and I'm currently waiting for the locksmith. Hildegarde is laughing hysterically. I doubt I'll ever hear the end of it.
February 7th;
So far, the best idea we have is cakes shaped like the Island, engines, and various landmarks around Sodor. But we aren't really sure what to do on the parlor end. Maybe train-shaped sprinkles will do the trick... no wait, factory still closed.
Still, it has become a "thing" around here; our lack of sprinkles has become a popular meme on the internet... maybe we can capitalize on that?
February 8th:
Still working on the Sodor day bit. It's proving harder than I thought. I have been thinking about May. She's the only puppy without a home, but I want to find someone who will take good care of her. Perhaps one of our regulars will take her?
February 9th;
Great news; Uncle David called me; he says the family has been wanting a dog for a while, and they are lucky to have called when he did. (Recap: uncle David, and his sons Don and Rob work at the Glennock parlor/bakery location. His wife, Aunt Donna, is yet to be seen in our story.) May, like Curtis, is calm but affectionate; she's going to be fine. Great thing about golden retrievers, they are not aggressive in nature; they are more likely to attack you with kisses than bites... We really did pick the right breed here. But Bonnie and Clyde... They're naughty, but at least, not aggressive.
But I have got to say... When these nine bark, THEY BARK!!
January 10th, Year 2
Dear me, Diary:
I can't think of anything to get Jen for Valentine's Day? What should I do? Maybe John has a suggestion.
February 11th;
About to talk to John; man am I stumped. We both were never really into clothes or Jewelry (I mean Michael and Jen), I don't know any local florists, and I work in an Ice Cream Parlor so would the box of chocolates be a good idea?
Maybe if John doesn't know, Susan and Miles (Jen's other siblings) will know? I'd ask Stella, but Jen told me today she caught a bad case of Laryngitis... oh boy.
February 12th:
Spoke to Jonathan, turns out he has the same problem. We've only got two more days... what can we do?
February 13th,
Think I got something... The Earl is throwing a special celebration at Ulfstead Castle for Valentines Day, and I was able to get a couple tickets. I hope this is something Jen can look forward too... after tonight she probably won't be doing too much traveling for a while
February 14th:
Today was fun but tiring. I don't have time to write about it, maybe tomorrow...
February 15th,
Yesterday was fantastic, It will be one of the best memories I've ever had.
Jen needs to slow things down a little though; carrying twins must be a lot for her. Better Get packing though; tomorrow I head to Japan.
February 16th:
Waiting for my plane at the Sodor Airport.
Akihiro Shizuko is willing to sell it for £50,000, but he'll lower the price to £35,000 if I agree to allow his son, Ahumi, to stay with me next year as a foreign exchange student. He says Ahumi is a troublesome child, but after Bonnie and Clyde, I bet I can handle it. Tough choice, though, better ask Jen.
February 17th;
The time zone thing forced me to wait to call her, but finally we talked about it. John's with me, so at least I have my right hand man with me. Jen said it would be a nice idea... But between helping mom and dad with recovery and the twins being due next month, she does not believe it would be practical. And John lives in a one bedroom apartment, so there's no way John can take him in. It's a steeper price, but unless a miracle happens tomorrow, it just is not practical. I hope he does not take this the wrong way, but I will have to explain this to Mr. Shizuko tomorrow. But he is a businessman, so perhaps he will want the higher sum anyway? Lee will talk about it tomorrow.
February 18:
I spoke to Akihiro today. He said he doesn't need Ahumi to move in until September, so we may be able to get it to work. He also said something cryptic... he said I should sell my shares in the NWR. I wonder... does this have anything to do with his maglev obsession?
February 19th
The deal has Been arranged, and the old Sodor Confectionery Co. Factory is now ours. I've spent the last several weeks talking with the old management, and everyone's more than happy to have their jobs back. The local area was devastated by the closure of the factory, so this should help with the local economy.
Though Last week I had just ordered a couple hundred t-shirts to capitalize on the "no sprinkles" memes on the Internet that have been popping up about us. They say on them:
ice cream, check whipped cream, check hot fudge, check sprinkles, ?
What am I supposed to do with them now?
February 20th
Flying back to Sodor today. John is still in Japan, I don't know why.
I realized that since it will take time to get the sprinkle factory up and running, we can still sell the shirts- and a polo shirt version just became the company uniform...
February 20th,
John is back... What he told me was he wanted to see Tokyo Disneyland. I wonder if that is all he did? Oh, John brought back Japanese candy. Couldn't read the label, but we tried it anyway.
(Later)
Soap?! It was soap! Who puts soap in a vending machine?!
I'm embarrassed to say this, but the polo shirts haven't come in yet, so we're stuck with our current uniforms for now. Deliver company says we can expect them within the next 72 hours though, so that's good. Personally though, I've been wearing the white shirt and apron since the place opened though, so I'm ok with it for now, lol. And since no one has complained, that's good, right?
...
Been thinking about John a lot recently. (For those just starting to read this, John is our writer's 27 year old younger brother; our writer Michael will turn 32 this year). He's been talking to me a lot recently; I know he's a sweet guy, but he's just too shy to go out and "look for someone" if you will. He said to me he's reaching an age where "he feels too old to be this lonely" and this past Valentine's Day only made it worse for him.
Poor guy; I wish I knew how to help him.
February 21st:
The company polo shirts have arrived, let's see what happens.
Oh dear, Stella posted a picture of our polo shirts on her company Facebook page. Kind of a funny caption, though... now John is trying to think of a comeback.
February 22nd,
Great comeback, great, great comeback John. I can't even attempt to write it down, I can't stop laughing
(Later)
Ok, under control now. Since we don't have the space to put up tshirt racks, we are going to put up a poster advertising them, and people will order them at the counter. There is only 200 though; let's see how fast they sell.
February 23rd:
And... they're gone.
Stella has been mentioning Sudrian Selects in lots of her posts for her parlor. I don't know why, but she has been pretty nice about it, so I won't worry.
February 24th:
Turns out People on the internet are getting suspicious of Stella for mentioning Sudrian Selects so often, I sometimes wonder if the people on the internet have brains and if they do if they are inside their heads.
February 25th;
Stella hasn't done anything bad since she came clean, so I don't think I need to worry for now.
Today I'm working on a blueberry flavor; I'm noticing a lack of fruit flavors a in my roster so I'm trying to develop more.
Came home, the nine puppies jumped me! Sure, they don't claw or bite and they really just licked me to death, but man I didn't realize how much nine puppies weigh.
In a few more weeks they go to their forever homes... But I'm still keeping Curtis, as I mentioned before.
February 26th, year 2
Turns out the Blueberry flavor is coming along quite well, it's coming out today, I'm just making a bunch of it,
Later: nothing to special happened today, tomorrow the Blueberry flavor comes out.
February 27th,
After the trial run yesterday, blueberry officially debuted at Crovan's gate. It is winter still though, so a modest success.
Decided to go pay Edgar a visit; I can't believe it's been nearly a year since his passing.
February 28,
It was an overwhelming day today. Not sure how to go about writing about it.
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