60 Million Bells

The fishing tourney was held today, and it was a pond smelt-only tournament. Unfortunately, the event had already ended by the time I played. But Chip informed me that Tom was the winner with a 6.3-inch pond smelt.

Chip: Ah! Oh, this is a shame. The pond smelt fishing tourney ends at 6 p.m.! Yep! All done here.

Grizzly told me he was thinking about leaving town, but I convinced him to stick around. I’ve realized that for the most part, I like the collection of villagers I have right now. Even if I don’t have any of my very top favorites like Bob, Lolly, or Rolf, I do have several from my next tier, including Tom, Mint, Egbert, and Antonio. And most importantly, there’s no one that I hate right now. Forest has come a long way since the eight-cranky days of late 2022/early 2023.

At the Roost, K.K. Slider performed K.K. Ballad for me. Good song.

K.K.: Here's a jam that'll shine the blues clean off your shoes... It's called K.K. Ballad.

When I put some money into my bank account at town hall, my balance reached a new milestone: 60 million bells!

Your current balance is 60,000,000 bells.

Just 40 million to go until earn my first feather! 😆 Interestingly (to me, at least) is that it only took me 20 months to go from 50 million to 60 million. But that span did cover two lucrative summer bug seasons, and I’ve also participated in more of the holiday events recently, including Halloween and Christmas Eve. I earned a lot of bells doing those.

Have a great day, everyone! And Never Stop Crossing!

Seeking Burglars

Last weekend, I received Queenie’s goodbye letter in the mail.

Dear jeff, The day has come for me to leave Forest. Thank you for making life here SO wonderful. I'll always remember you! -From: Queenie

Up in the sky, I saw the northern lights for the first time this season (and this year). I still think City Folk has the best-looking auroras.

The northern lights shine above town hall in Forest (ACCF).

Tonight, Roscoe asked me to play a game of Cat Burglar and Private Eye. He clarified that he would be the burglar, and I’d be the detective.

Roscoe: I'll be a burglar, of course, so it'll be your job to play the hard-boiled, tough-talking detective.
Of course, of course.

Of course, he was talking about a game of hide-and-seek. He gave me 15 minutes to find him, Antonio, and Grizzly. Since that is typically plenty of time, I didn’t rush. I went ahead and made my rounds. I first found Antonio hiding behind Roscoe’s house, and later, I spotted Grizzly trying to fit behind a palm tree.

Grizzly tries to hide behind a palm tree during a game of hide and seek in Animal Crossing: City Folk on Wii.

And with 4:56 remaining on the timer, I found Roscoe behind a tree near Mint’s house to win the game. Roscoe reluctantly gave me a tall buzzoid as my prize.

Roscoe: Way to, um, seek, Giddyup! I gotta be straight with you, I didn't think you had a chance.
Now I’ll throw you in jail, you criminal.

Up on the cliff, near the dead end, I found a new house. Astrid the kangaroo has returned.

Astrid: How much is it? ...What?! You're not here to sell newspaper subscriptions, my pet?
No more than you’re here to tell me my horoscope.

She lived in Forest pretty recently (from November 2020 until March 2021). During her stay, she did grow on me a bit…mainly because she helped me get rid of Kitty. 😆 However, I must admit that I’m not exactly thrilled about having her back so soon. I feel like there should be a 5-year ban on returning villagers. I’m getting a bit tired of semi-recent villagers returning lately.

Anyway, have a good weekend, everyone! See you again soon. 🙂

New Year’s Shirt 2024

2024 has arrived, and many of my villagers sent me New Year’s greetings in the mail. Thanks, guys!

Jeff, Happy New Year! You've been a good kid to have around this last year. I'm looking forward to more fun with you in 2024! -Tom

I also received a New Year’s letter from Mom (she sent me 1,000 bells) and a thank-you letter from Nana (she sent me a weeping fig for giving her medicine last week).

Mayor Tortimer was standing outside of town hall, as is his tradition on New Year’s Day.

Tortimer: Happy New Year! It's time to celebrate, Jeff!

He gave me the latest New Year’s shirt for 2024. It has a dragon on the front (since 2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac), and “2024” on the back.

The New Year's shirt for 2024 in Animal Crossing: City Folk.

I saw a big fish shadow in the ocean, and I fished out a lobster. Nana immediately pinged me to ask for it. 🙄

Nana: Well, Dr. J! Do my eyes deceive me, or is that a lobster you have there?
It’s not a lobster, it’s… a rock.

She didn’t offer me anything in return, either! Granted, she probably would have given me something, but I didn’t want to chance it without knowing what I was getting back. Sorry, monkey!

I later saw a big fish in the river too, and I caught a stringfish! Fortunately, no one begged me for that one. 😛

All of my villagers wished me a happy new year, and Antonio even said it in a loud font size. 😉

Antonio, loudly: Happy New Year!

Gabi said that she’ll be even more powerful in 2024, like a robot. 🤖

Gabi: The me of 2024 is a new, more POWERFUL me! Like a robot! But without all the gears and stuff.

And Tom performed his Dance of the Lonely Succotash for me. 😛

Tom: Anyway, this is called the Dance of the Lonely Succotash! Enjoy!

But my day in Forest wasn’t completely cheery. I found out that Queenie was moving out, without warning.

Queenie: I just HAVE to spread my wings, so to speak. But I'm glad I saw you before I left, let's fly! Take care!

Queenie has grown on me during her stay in Forest, so it’s a bit sad to say goodbye. But Forest life goes on, and I’ll see who her replacement is next time.

Happy New Year, everyone! If you haven’t yet seen this, take a look back at my 2023 in Animal Crossing: