Dear friend,
Once, I was in a constant rush and made all sorts of things as soon as possible. But when Fairyland found me, and I remembered my magic, everything slowed down. At first, I was simply too tired to accomplish anything. Then, I slowly started to build The Merry Fairy, guided by my tree friends, the forest, the garden, and so many little seeds and flowers. They are all teaching me patience, and the restful, powerful magic that comes with softly slowing down. What wants to bloom will bloom without a need to rush, without deadlines, and without stress. This is me now, and this is my cottage, The Merry Fairy. The focus of this small update is my recreated ASAP ritual, which often slows my pace as I walk in the forest, and grants me the serenity I need to let my creativity flow. May this ritual guide you, too!
New decorations in build 69
(and a tiny little Redo feature)
Numbers are something I seldom think about, but since I have recently been made aware that The Merry Fairy has limited profile features on Steam, I felt compelled to make more calculations. This is why I somehow ended up knowing precisely just how many decorations are coming with this new update, as well as how many decorations are currently available in general at my cottage. So far, I have added 958 decorations that you can use at my desk, and precisely 30 of them are brand new with this update, specifically:
7 flowers
3 birch tree frames
1 flowery background
1 flowery arrangement
1 title decoration in art deco style
17 so-called text stickers
9 new pictures of Fairyland in spring
This may well be the last time I make this calculation, too, unless I face some other problems, such as limitations in space. But I did notice that it has become rather cumbersome to reach the new decorations I am adding, which is why I will be focusing on making it a little easier to sort and organize everything I am leaving around my desk, for you to enjoy.
For now, however, thanks to a wonderful report I received via the Ladybug delivery, I also added a tiny new feature that allows you to redo what you have undone. Once more, thank you for visiting my enchanted cottage and for reaching out with your beautiful journal spreads and your very useful feedback!
As always, this update comes with a 30% discount starting today, 7 pm CET, and valid for one week.
Preparing for birthday celebrations
(soon, I am turning 45 years old, and The Merry Fairy is turning one!)
I find it quite curious to contemplate the fact that it has been almost a year since I celebrated the Grand Opening of The Merry Fairy! It seems both a long and a very short time, and I find myself balancing between not having done enough and feeling overwhelmed by how much I did do, having released 14 updates in one year.
More than anything, I feel incredibly grateful for having met and welcomed you at my cottage, dear magical creatures! I built The Merry Fairy as a video game on Steam because I wished for new friends and for more magic to inspire me, and I have gotten everything I hoped for and so much more!
Therefore, I feel I have so much to celebrate this birthday! It almost feels like a greater celebration than last year. So I am currently preparing a few shiny new things, clumsily balancing between softness and feeling overwhelmed. This is why I do not want to promise anything, except this:
The Merry Fairy will be discounted by 90% for my birthday, bringing the celebratory price to USD/ EUR 0.99
Since the summer sales will end on my birthday, the 90% discount will be active throughout the entire summer sales (so for about two weeks prior to my birthday)
But the Birthday Update will come on July 9th (well, maybe 8th, depending on what Fairyland may prepare for me)
Meanwhile in Fairyland
It has been a beautiful, but rather cold spring in Fairyland, with frosty nights that did not welcome any plants in the garden just yet. But today, as I write this, the sun is promising the coming of summer, and the earth is warm enough to welcome my seedlings. Every year, I try to plant less in the hopes of caring for the garden better, and every year I somehow exceed all plans ever made before - you see, seeds and blooms and leaves make me feel very excited and happy! So this year, I am growing the classical tomatoes, cucumbers, salad, potatoes, herbs, squash, and pumpkins, and I also added corn, beans, onions, garlic, luffa, Jerusalem artichokes, sunflowers, and violets (did you know you can eat them?!).
The joyful garden preparations are shadowed by Skuggan's absence. I have lost almost all hope of ever seeing him again. I choose to imagine him deeply in love, blissfully running among some foreign fields and distant gardens, and I know he knows just how much he is loved.
I do not feel like I failed Skuggan, like I could have taken away his freedom to control the length of his life. I never felt like I took care of Skuggan; if anything, he took care of us, and gave us the wonderful privilege of hosting him and feeding him and holding him in our laps as he purred. Skuggan has been a wonderful protector of Fairyland, a wise, magical creature, and a joyful, loving companion in my long forest walks. What an honor to be chosen as a friend by such a strong, wise, and independent cat as Skuggan!
