Better late than never

Uggh. I haven't had time to post so I need to catch up.
Obviously, the first Bug-Off of the summer was on Saturday.

I was up early (shock!) and got out the front door just in time for the beginning of it. I'd never met Nat before and he turned out to be quite the character.

And (no shock here), he was hungry.


Who lets these creeps in? Posing as "tourney" officials, all they want to do is eat your catches. We need better security, I think.
The day started with Marcel in the lead with his tiger butterflies. Yes, I say butterfliES because he toppled my record TWICE with his stupid tiger butterflies. Even though there seemed to be an influx of flying creatures in town, for some reason I couldn't get past the 'lil bugger. (Yeeessss, pun intended)

Of course there aren't any bugs with all these nets around.
As is usual in Alleria, the competition heated up as the day wore on. We traded records back and forth and tempers started to flare.

Personally, I keep a cool head. I knew I would end up winning so I decided to help out others. I took the time to teach Avery how to properly catch a bug.

Even with my helpful ways, I just couldn't help the eternally helpless.

What I really like about these tournaments is that it gives me an excuse to play for an extended amount of time. That means I can hunt for those few elusive bugs and fish I haven't yet caught.

Because I dislike having stumps in town (Save the trees!), I sacrificed one tree (which I plan on re-planting now that I have the beetle) so I could catch that violin beetle. It took forever but I finally found the little guy hanging out on the top of the stump. I also caught quite a few birdwing and agrias butterflies. I swore I had donated them already but they became new additions to the museum and I saved a birdwing for the upcoming Flea Market.
Pretty much the only thing I have left for this month is the tarantula and the goliath beetle. I can't find those two for the life of me! I have plenty of palm trees, I don't know what is keeping them from attracting the beetles. I've seen only one and I scared him away before I realized he was there. Darn!

After a long day of bug-hunting and grass-trampling, I pulled out the win.

Luckily I didn't have to use birdwings. Not worth it when I can sell them!

In other news, I finally (FINALLY) paid off my mortgage.

I am ridiculously slow when it comes to making money so this has been a long process for me. Up next I'll start on the Alleria Town Fund. I hear a lot of rumbles for a new bridge...I wonder what ridiculous spot we will place it in?
Tom Nook didn't seem all that upset that he wouldn't be regularly getting large chunks of money from me. After all, he knows I'll stop by Nook 'n Go everyday!

What a weird thing to laugh about, Tom Nook.
Psh, I'm so cheap I don't even buy paper to write letters from him. I always nab it from the lost and found or use the annoying Redd Invitation he so graciously hands out. Unfortunately, Static was too smart and realized I used the Redd paper:

Good to know.

Yesterday, that worthless lump of camel stopped by.

Go away.
My neighbors were very gracious in their carpet-giving this time around. I think I ended up with 7 carpets or so.

EXTREEEEEME!!!
Needless to say, I ended up with ZERO Saharah-exclusives.


Bam. Random cool photo.

The only other thing of note that happened is Antonio and I shot our album cover for our future C.D. No, we aren't in a band or anything but if we ever are, we have the perfect pictures to use. Check it out.


summer rain
a red umbrella opens
between them

I found that haiku randomly on Google. Awesome.

Here we go...

Alright, I know it's been too long since I last updated but I haven't had much time to. Hopefully I can stay on top of this because now I'm feeling overwhelmed with how much I have to do in this post.
So let's get started:
We left off with the last fishing tourney. A couple days later I went into the city only to realize it was an Allerian alumni reunion.

Miranda seemed to be doing well and has adjusted to her new home. I apologized for her being forced out as a casualty in the Alleria Duck Hunt but she seems to be happy with her new life. Good for her.

Don't worry Moe! I remember you!
Our first resident to leave, good old Moe, is still as sweet as ever. I miss him.

For some reason, Winnie seemed a tad bitter. She doesn't seem to have as fond a memory of her former hometown as others. That's okay, nobody remembers her anyway.
As soon as I got back into town, Marcel dropped the bomb on me.

Noooo! Not our innocent, sweet, fun-loving, friend Marcel! Marcel is such an integral part to the breezy laid back atmosphere of our town. What would we do without him?
After that, we headed down the path to the late Spring picnic. Yes, us Allerians have picnics in the evening. The cool Spring air keeps our macaroni salad at the optimal temperature.

I spilled the beans to Static and Deena about Marcels' plan to move. They were shocked! We each took turns explaining to Marcel why he should stay. Deena made a good point. Why move when all your friends live all so close together in the same town? I think Marcel got the point.

Yay! Marcel is sticking around!

Awwww. That gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside. What a happy ending.
The day after the picnic, Deena approached with her own decision. Apparently our Marcel intervention made her think twice about her life in Alleria.

Well, who am I to stop her? After all, it's still Duck Season in Alleria. See ya, Deena!

All this moving drama exhausted me. I decided it was time to go visit Gracie at GracieGrace and see if I couldn't get a good style evaluation from him. I came prepared with my pink zap outfit and a fresh pair of shoes from Kicks.

Woooooot! Finally, Gracie gave me his approval! In celebration I decided to splurge. Why not honor Gracie himself and get the full Gracie outfit?!

Awwww, yeah. Look at me, I'm hot shi---....oh. Oh geezus. This is one gaudy look. But....I feel so posh. I finally fit in with the elite.

And look! I can wine and dine with the best of them. I can appreciate fine art!

I feel right at home in the swank HRA model room of Kashi from Kashton! Woooo....

I even turn heads arriving back in town! What wonders a gaudy new outfit can do! Aw yeah.

I even got the approval of Snake.
Yes, your eyes are NOT deceiving you. Snake wore a dress for a day, before switching back to his unexplainable favorite Alleria shirt.
Hey, we don't judge here in Alleria. We embrace. Snake is Snake. And that makes him awesome.

Speaking of my pal Snake...
Remember how much of a sore loser he was during the last fishing tourney? How his unbridled passion for competition masked his complete failure at actually catching any fish? Well, I decided to give to charity (Chump Charity, that is) and send my extra silver trophy to the guy.

Awww, how sweet, right? Well, last weekend on Flea Market Day I paid a visit to Snake to check out his goods. And look!

How nice! He had the trophy proudly displayed in his residence.
But he was quick to try to sell it to me.

You've got to be kidding me! Pshaw. That's Snake for ya. I still love him.

MY flea market went well.

That dark dank room turned out to be a profitable dark dank room.
Welcome to Sarah's Fish Emporium!
Boasting a tuna, a coelacanth, and many fish I picked up the night before, I ended up making just under 100,000 bells. That's a lot of money to me! Many people may scoff at that but I was excited. When I told Blaire, she wasn't that impressed and let me in on a little secret:

Pssh. Well, some of us don't like the wheelin' and dealin' of the stalk market. So Flea Market Day is one of the only opportunities to make big bells with little effort.
I was a little worried with how the economy is in the crapper right now. Would my fellow Allerians shell out the big bells to buy some fish?

Aw yeah! I'm 100,000 bells closer to paying off my mortgage. Then I can start working on the town improvements. I know the town has been wanting a fourth bridge (we already have three because of the uninhabited island) but the only person willing to fund it is me. But not until my house is completely paid off!

Static has been lobbying Rob for a new sports stadium. Slow down, buddy. Maybe move to Portland where the mayor is eager to build stadiums the city doesn't want. (OOOHH, ZING! Yay for local politics references!)

We've had our share of visitors lately. Yesterday, Wendell showed up hungry as ever but I didn't fork any food over. I didn't have time to find room for another pattern.
Pascal dropped by earlier and I finally remembered to give him a scallop!

Of course he gave me an item I already had cataloged. But I always like following his path down to the ocean.


Mostly because it's fun to throw rocks at him.
Pete dropped by and continued telling about his creepy love affair with Phyllis.

I smell a restraining order in the future.
And Saharah stopped by with her carpet scam. Damn her! I was able to mooch 3 old floorings off my neighbors. Three! Most times I can't even get one! And what does she give me? Two mosaic tiles and a shanty mat. I'm not kidding. Screw her. She's not welcome back to Alleria.

And true to her word, Deena packed up and left.

That leaves Alleria with one duck. Back to a safe level. Even if it's the terrible Mallary.
Deena's good-bye letter left me feeling a little guilty that she was another casuality of the Alleria Duck Hunt.

Gah! Why must these always be so sad?! Farewell Deena. I hope to see you again too. As long as you aren't living here.
And even before the dirt had settled, I was already looking to recruit somebody to fill the open spot. And look who I spotted wandering the city!

EEEEEEEEE! It's Chevre!
Oh, what I would give to be graced with her presence in Alleria. *Sigh* She's so darling. (Can you tell? I love Chevre!)

Phew. Looks like everything is caught up. Before I wrap this up, I'll leave you with my favorite thing. Some of my favorite recent quotes from neighbors.

Um, what?

Yeah. Being stanky makes you irresistible, Mallary. Sure.

Deena and Rhonda in the War of Who's News Was More Boring And Unimportant. Maybe that's why Deena left. She was kind of boring and unimportant....

Hahahahahahaha. Yeah Teddy. It probably is the sweatpants.

No silly dialouge here. I just like the picture. Looks like I'm about to fall in.