Back to the fairy tree

I haven’t been to check on the fairy tree for a while, so yesterday I suggested we take Ember for a walk further from home.

There have been additions!

A Buddha.

A seashell and a little mouse.

Checking round the back of the tree (just in case) I find two painted stones.

And, down near the roots, almost buried by leaves and encrusted with mud, I find two little cyclists. Obviously they need rescuing and repositioning.

Last October, when I was scrambling to find a flight to get to England for my cousin Lauren’s funeral, it turned out (as it often has in the past) that KLM (Vancouver/Amsterdam/London) was considerably cheaper than direct flights with either BA or Air Canada, so I booked with them. When I was on my way to Vancouver to catch my flight, I got an email from KLM offering me an upgrade to business class for several hundred dollars. Cheap for business class, yes, but still a lot of money. I went for it anyway, so I’d arrive in London at least a little rested. At some point during the flight, an attendant came around and offered me a choice of little Delft houses filled with Bols gin. I was about to decline, but looked at the little houses again and said yes. Just the right size to go with the Amsterdam salt and pepper shakers I’d already placed on the tree.

And the KLM Bols house was duly added. Which makes this photo, taken yesterday, my favourite of them all.

The Delft house I added last October is the one on the right. At some point since then, someone else who’s flown KLM business class has walked past the tree and thought, ‘I have one of those little Dutch houses. I should add it to the Dutch section of the fairy tree.’

I love it.