The Garlic Tree celebrates Winter

Here's a nice post for you, as I give a guided tour of the newest sections added to my restaurant, The Garlic Tree.

With us in the middle of Winter there's a cold theme to proceedings, even if my first themed area is based indoors.

Ice skate hire section of The Garlic Tree

This is an ice skate hire, with Hanbok Phoebe overseeing the Cash Register. She's in charge of making sure everyone has the right footwear for their excursions, whether that means Red Mounted Skis, Green Mounted Skis or Hanging Ice Skates. I bought all three of these prior to their removal in the early months of 2015, even though I had no use for them at the time. This is something I always tend to do with coin content which is pulled as you just never know when it could come in handy.

There's also a Winter Couple present in this section, with their many layers of clothing indicating that it is not as warm as the homely Log Cabin wallpaper and Sandy Brick flooring suggests. They are not only drinking hot cocoa prepared at the Kitchen Hutch, but are also eyeing the glittering Silver Skates which are in a glass box on a wooden plinth. Those are the skates which Gran-Gran won three Winter Olympic gold medals with back in the day, but she's quite modest so doesn't like to mention it!

But why would you want to hire ice skates at my place? Well, because of the ice rink of course!

Winter section of The Garlic Tree

My outdoor zone has been given a Winter makeover, with a large stretch of Frozen ice at the centre of it. The general idea here is for everyone to skate around the Snowy Fountain, but only the Ice Skating Girl seems to be abiding by this rule. The Snow Angels are capering on the ice (that or they've all fallen over!) and the kids on the Frozen Pond are too young to be on the proper ice (think of this as the kids' pool at a hotel!) Then there's the Lake Dog who has somehow made a hole in the ice and plucked a fresh fish from its depths.

 Want to visit The Garlic Tree?

 Invite the Storm8 ID 'lorettasapron' and visit the wall

Those who are less keen to skate can instead cross the Whitewash bridge with the Railroad Railings and enjoy a treat from the Winter buffet. I've made use of the Frosty Feast from the Christmas goals and the Winter Spread from the latest Winter goals, with both working really nicely as a pair. The former doesn't have much of a festive outlook, with only the girl in the Santa outfit really giving a clue as to its true theme. The Parisian Waitress matches the Winter Spread perfectly with her plate of goodies, and I'll let you decide if she's restocking the table or sneakily helping herself to some sweetness.

If it's the latter then I urge the Parisian Waitress to make an appointment at The Garlic Tree's gym in the near future!

Gym section of The Garlic Tree

A themed section I came up with only when I started redecorating, this is a first for my diner. There's a French Cafe Bike which the Life Coach is about to mount as well as dance classes on the Swing Dance Floor being run by the Referee Waitress. You'll notice that Gran's Dancing Shoes are hanging on the wall - these are from when Gran-Gran was an internationally recognised dancing champion. Again she's quite humble so doesn't like to discuss this blast from her past!

All taking place on a stretch of Gym Floor Tiles, this area is likely to be popular at this time of year as everyone comes to terms with the amount of food they stuffed down over the Christmas period. Although not everyone is fully motivated - the Jock is looking grumpy, but that may be more to do with the fact that he has been matched up with the Mexican Dancer for the treadmill challenge.

 The Garlic Tree celebrates...

 25/12/15 Christmas 2015
 20/11/15 Thanksgiving 2015
 01/11/15 Halloween 2015
 05/10/15 Autumn 2015
 08/09/15 Summer 2015

Controlled by Steampunk Arcades which have been reprogrammed, my treadmills will put the challengers through the mill. The Black tile acts as the conveyor belt, and the Train Conductor looks like he's about to blow his whistle to start the contest. The Scoreboard will keep us up-to-date with whose run furthest - my money is firmly on the Mexican Dancer!

So that's the latest from The Garlic Tree. I'm almost ready to revamp again with Valentine's Day being on the horizon, and will be sure to not only offer a glimpse of the results in a post, but also to present the next edition of the showcase, with five of my neighbours given the full treatment. Until then, get back on the treadmill, and stop eyeballing the Leaning Tower of Pizza next door!