Del Sol Valley Index |

Starting Family Members:

EA’s description of this family: “Judith Ward is a legend in the acting community. She has starred in everything from comedies to dramas. You name it Judith has played the role. That is not to say she is an easy person to befriend. Judith has burned her fair share of bridges along the way. Her mentality is to get rich at all costs. She will be the first to throw you under the bus to advance her career. She has been married several times, but all of her partners have only slowed her down. She prefers to live fast and does not settle for mediocrity.”

Judith Ward

Age: Adult (22 days)
Traits: Snob, Mean, Materialistic
Aspiration: Mansion Baron
Career: Level 8 Actress
Fame: Global Superstar
Reputation: Awful

This family is starting out as EA made it.

Del Sol Valley Index |

Del Sol Valley Index |

Starting Family Members:

EA’s description of this family: “Octavia Moon and Thorne Bailey are the power couple of the century. Octavia is the lyrical genius behind all of Thorne’s greatest hits. Due to Thorne’s most recent misshap on social media his public image has started to falter. His fans are starting to realize that Octavia is the real talent. Orange is their good natured son but due to his entire life of wanting-for-nothing, he is also a bit naive.”

Octavia Moon

Age: Young Adult (21 days)
Traits: Good, Family-Oriented, Creative
Aspiration: Bestselling Author
Career: Level 6 Author
Reputation: Good
Fame: B-Lister

Thorne Bailey

Age: Young Adult (22 days)
Traits: Self-Assured, Music Lover, Active (Dastardly)
Aspiration: Musical Genius
Career: Level 6 Musician
Reputation: Bad
Fame: Proper Celebrity

Orange Bailey-Moon

Age: Child (13 days)
Traits: Outgoing
Aspiration: Social Butterfly
Career: Grade School C Student
Reputation: Good
Fame: Rising Star

This family is starting out as EA made it.

Del Sol Valley Index |

Del Sol Valley Index |

Starting Family Members:

Founders: Vanessa Jeong and Charlie Francis. EA’s description of this family: “Venessa Jeong just moved to Del Sol Valley from her quaint country town. She is looking to make it big as a rising actress. She has stared in a few low level commercials, but her agent always tells her she has what it takes she just needs to find that breakthrough role.” Charlie was part of Get to Work’s “Malpractice” family: “Download the doctors featured in “Malpractice”, one of The Sims 4 Get to Work video shorts. #GetToWork #Malpractice”

Venessa Jeong

Age: Young Adult (22 days)
Traits: Cheerful, Ambitious, Neat
Aspiration: World-Famous Celebrity
Career: Level 3 Actress
Fame: Notable Newcomer

Charlie Francis

Age: Young Adult (23 days)
Traits: Foodie, Cheerful
Aspiration: Master Chef
Career: Currently Unemployed

Charlie will get a culinary job.

Del Sol Valley Index |

Back to Chapter 1 | On to Chapter 3

Morning dawned gloomy, like it always does here. I started off my day with some yogurt and gardening, then headed down to catch some fish for lunch and dinner.

It was a peaceful fishing trip, and I caught the fish I needed fairly quickly, and headed back home, thinking of the paintings I might paint next. I was deep in my own thoughts when I was brought up short by a blonde man in a button down shirt and dress pants. He looked out of place out here in the wild, as it were, and I thought to say something about it, but he interrupted me.

Turns out his name is Geoffrey Landgraab.. and although the name sounded familiar, it took him jogging my memory by reminding me that it was his company I’d bought my mother’s ancestral lands back from. He was, apparently, concerned that someone appeared to be “squatting” on the land, and complained about the unsightly tent. I quickly told him it was me that was living there, and that I would begin building a home as soon as I worked up the money. He looked dubious about my prospects, seeing as I was in ripped jeans and was probably covered in dirt from my fishing trip, but I assured him the easel set up on the property was being put to good use. I heard him mutter something about “no-good artists” as he stalked away from the conversation, but I was fairly sure there wasn’t anything he could do. The land deal was final.. and it was mine to do what I wanted with. My “unsightly” tent was here to stay…. at least until I could afford to build.

I started off home again, hoping I wouldn’t see that unpleasant man again.. and was never so glad to see my little homestead undisturbed as I was just then. For a moment there, I had worried he might have done something to it while I was gone.

I spent the rest of the day – after a nice lunch of stick-fried fish – painting, and had made a tidy sum by the end of the day .. although I tried not to count chickens before hatching as I packed things up for the mail man tomorrow. Or whatever that saying is. Chuckling to myself, I checked on my garden again, then sat down to cook my fish for dinner.

I had hardly begun cooking when some sparks jumped out of the fire pit and lit the grass on fire. Luckily, I didn’t have any chairs or anything near the fire to burn, but it still singed a good portion of the grass, and left me worried for the safety of my tent. After a moment of panic, I was happy to realize that the wind was going the other way.. and without a fire extinguisher, I was left waiting for the fire to go out. It did… but by that time, the fish was inedible, and I was left with some cold granola from my cooler. Not the best way to spend an evening.

Apparently, my fire attracted attention, though, and Nobuya Sasaki reappeared, with his eyes glowing more than they had last time. He appeared more interested in me than the fire, however, and I felt increasingly uncomfortable around him. Finally, I managed to end the conversation and get him to leave… and I uneasily retired for the night.

By the morning, I was convinced there was something with these strange people with the glowy eyes, and I made my way to the Windenburg Library to do some research.

The librarian’s name was Mariko Watanabe. And she immediately pointed me towards the computer to look up information on Vampires. Which explained their obsession with watching my neck. I wondered for a short while about meeting two people named Mariko in as many weeks, but I soon forgot the coincidence and buried myself in my research.

Several hours later… I had come to two conclusions. Vampires existed.. and my town was full of them. I was going to have to be more careful.

Curiously, I asked Mariko whether she knew anything about Forgotten Hollow and it’s Vampires.. and that conversation turned into a discussion on the rich local history of both towns. Before I knew it, Mariko and I were fast friends, and, to celebrate our new friendship, I invited her out for a coffee at the cafe. I even had enough money saved by now that I didn’t feel bad about spending some of it on a friend.

We talked and talked, about everything we could think of.. and it was really nice to find someone who I got along with so well. She was a Bookworm, Neat, and an Art Lover, so a good portion of the conversation was about my budding art career.

While we were talking, however, I couldn’t help but notice that Alex had arrived for her evening shift. I watched her surreptitiously while talking with Mariko, hoping my new friend wouldn’t notice my distraction, but I’m afraid she did.

I had just about made up my mind to go and talk to Alex some more, but just then a local Celebrity walked in with the paparazzi in tow, and Alex was suddenly caught up in a rush of orders and chaos. It gave me an excuse to continue my conversation with Mariko, but certainly didn’t offer me any openings to remind Alex that I existed.

Once the celebrity left, I used the excuse of needing more coffee and approached Alex. Mariko followed close behind, though, and I once again missed my chance.

By this time, we had been at the cafe long enough to start attracting attention. Not the Vampire kind of attention, luckily, but the looks didn’t seem to be friendly. Finally, tired of being stared at, I concluded my evening with Mariko and left to do some shopping on my way back out of town. I bought myself a book on Vampires, all the things I needed to start keeping my own bees, and a desperately needed re-stock on my art supplies.

It was late by the time I got home, and I just had time to set up my new Bee Box before the light failed and I had dinner and retired for the night.

Back to Chapter 1 | On to Chapter 3

Back to 2.3 < | > On to 2.5

Welcome back! I’ve taken a short break, but I’m back to simming now… and these guys were top of my list. So here’s where we are on points:

Current Points: 115
-25 Passing out
-10 Fire!
-5 Wetting self
+25 Aspiration milestones completed
+30 Births
+30 Grades
+30 NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E)
+20 Positive Traits Earned by NTHs
+10 Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation
+10 Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation

And now we’re ready to get back in game!

And here we are. Feeding the toddlers. And ourself, apparently.

Ashley playing with one toddler while the other one screams about being dirty.. and Alan is busy cleaning up dishes.

One clean toddler coming up!

Aww. Brittney playing with Calico.

… Apparently she got bored.

They love gathering here.

Or here. If I can’t find anyone, I look one of those two places and I’ll find the sim I’m missing.

Becca chatting with Calico while parents take a nap.

… I just cleaned in there!!

At least someone still plays the guitar.

Oh, thanks, Alan. I pushed him too hard. And it wasn’t until he passed out that I remembered it would lose me points.

Well, at least she’s using the right card for the locale?

Funny place to do homework, but Alan helps nonetheless.

Stinky toddler dancing. It’s the newest thing!

Branden’s hot-headed trait raises it’s head, and he ends up beating up poor Calico.

It’s Alan’s adult birthday. Time just flies in this challenge.

Absolutely adorable toddler socializing. The two of them sat there until both were in the red with hunger, and I had to interrupt them to make them go eat.

Branden meets mom when she gets home from work.

The monkey bars actually gets some use for a change.

Becca… what are you doing?

It’s Winterfest, and I get everyone involved decorating. Except the toddlers, of course.

Working on some Mental skill for schoolwork.

Becca’s having a great time, but I’m not sure Alan looks like he’s having just as much fun here.

Father Winter shows up.. and gives us an expensive stove. And that’s a playful alien … still not sure how the kinds didn’t turn out to be funny colors, but it worked out.

Branden gets a surprise hug from Becca.

Hey Dominic.. that’s there for the toddlers! Bad ghost.

Happy Birthday for the toddlers…

Great. Another hot-head in the house.

Next…. (Alan looks like he’s enjoying life a little better with the last toddler aging up.)

Becca gets Geek. Yay! We didn’t get all three hot-heads, which I was starting to worry about.

Here’s their room makeover. I have to say, it’s kind of nice not to have to build a lot in this particular challenge. I’ve been building so much that it’s nice to have a change.

Now that the toddlers are all grown up, Alan gets back to work. This is another house call.

And 2 of three surgeries he needs for his promotion.

Homework party. And Ashley found the lump of clay that they got for Winterfest.

Maeve haunts for a change. and breaks most of our plumbing.

The last night, New Year’s Eve, and Alan wishes for a promotion. Which is definitely going to happen the next week. He’s got the checkmark, just needs that last surgery.

Brittney playing in the rain…

.. then helping out by mopping. I guess I never noticed how big the mop is compared to the kids. It’s kinda funny.

Family time.

Brittney’s been working so hard she forgot to take a shower.

Everyone watching New Year’s TV except Brittney.. who finally found a shower.

But at the end.. nobody’s watching. Too funny.

Dominic helps out by cleaning that mess outside.

Someone ends this episode with a bear costume. I don’t remember who, and it’s impossible to tell. See you next time!

Our points. Lost five for Alan’s faceplant, but we’re still doing okay.

Current Points: 110
-30 Passing out
-10 Fire!
-5 Wetting self
+25 Aspiration milestones completed
+30 Births
+30 Grades
+30 NTH sims reaching the top of a career (Teen and YA/A/E)
+20 Positive Traits Earned by NTHs
+10 Randomizing every trait and aspiration for an entire generation
+10 Not using spares' Satisfaction Reward points for an entire generation

Back to 2.3 < | > On to 2.5

House 009 Chapter 3 < | > House 009 Chapter 5

Checking on our goals:

House 009 Building Goals:
Build a disguised underground lair with no ground floor walls
House 009 Generational Goals:
Level 10 Diamond Agent branch of the Secret Agent career on The Drifter
Level 11 of the Villain branch of the Secret Agent Career on The Secondary Sim
At Level 4 Field Agent, add a Gym to Burners and Builders in Oasis Springs
Raise the heir to Young Adult age (must take Vegetarian trait)

Welcome back! It’s time for the heir… or at least we’ll see them in this post.

We start out with Eva gardening.. as usual.

But at least now she’s completed gardening.

Karson working on his logic skill.

… It;s that time. Hoping for an heir. Spoiler: it fails.

So let’s try again!

Baby on the way!!

After the usual initial grumbling, Karson decides it might be a good idea after all.

Bills paid. I don’t think money is going to be an issue in this house.

Jack?? What on earth is wrong with you…?

So Jack goes to the vet.

HAHAHA! Never seen that one before. We’re not exactly rolling in money, though, so we opt for the basic treatment. Sorry about the cone, buddy.

Cones apparently don’t get in the way of ball time!

Or training.

Just because this house wasn’t exciting enough.. I adopted another dog. Another Aggressive dog (and Hairy, and a Troublemaker). This is Hazley, a Doberman Pincher. Maybe we can get puppies!

Jack wonders why mommy is working so hard.

“Well.. Hi, there! Wanna play?”

Jack keeping watching while Hazley gets into trouble.

Hardly looks like she’s pregnant from the front. I assure you, she still is!

Playtime!

Puppies? .. Spoiler: Nope.

See? Told you she’s pregnant. And taking a sleep replacer. She needed one. Badly.

The dogs having trouble routing to attack the local vampire reminds me I need to spend some money and upgrade the home… So I do.

No more metal floors and walls.

And yes, I added a room for the upcoming baby.

Labor pains….

Welcome to a little baby girl, Cassidy!

Karson giving pie to his Harvestfest gnome.

Eva seems surprised that her future cube worked.

Give. Me. Puppies….!

Yay!!

The last gnome refused to give seeds.. and broke most of the bathroom in the process.

Happy birthday, Eva!

Welcome to Cole! What an adorable bundle of fluff. Eva is cleaning up puppy poo behind them, which I thought was funny.

Hazley chasing off the neighbors.

Spooky fest trick-or-treat.

Hazley is running away… *sad face* Don’t worry, she comes back pretty quick.

Cassidy grows up to be a blonde Charmer. Aww..

See? I told you Hazley comes back. Cassidy loves her puppies.

While Cole looks on longingly.

Cole.. don’t you think that bed is a little big for you?

Jack listening very carefully to whatever Cassidy is saying.

The whole family.

Oh, Sorry Karson. Too much work, huh? On that note.. this week is over, and we finally have an heir. Eva is at level 7 in her career, and Karson is at 6. I hope that means both will finish out their career, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

House 009 Chapter 3 < | > House 009 Chapter 5

Back to Chapter 2.1 Part 1 | On to Chapter 2.2

Welcome back! Part two.. I just split the post in two, so here’s the second half.

Watching TV, while Heidi keeps Angelina company in the background.

They clearly like this particular room.

Still working on Brock’s excellent recipes. This one looks particularly tasty, though.

Run! It’s a thunderstorm!

Everyone is tense from the storm, so they’re watching TV.

Awww.. You can see the storm outside in the background. I’m glad all my sims are inside.

Working on her school project, finally.

…. There’s TONS of food in the fridge.. WHY are you outside in the storm making burgers??

Robot. Done. Please. Sell. Me.

The maid… without her uniform. What have you been up to?

Oh, no…

Not Heidi, too!! (Bills are expensive, and her income is really nice at this point…)

Picture #1 of Aiden wandering around the house with his digital sketchpad.

See? he is definitely on the move with it. Just sit down and paint already!

Angelina.. what are you doing??

That’s better.

The maid is slacking off again.

So she changes her clothes and cleans up a non-existent puddle…

Then gets paid and goes swimming again.. What the heck.

Everyone in the studio. They like this room.

Oh, no. You couldn’t even finish your painting?!?

Another pleading fail. Sigh. Guess she’s really gone, then.

Poor Angelina. She’s an orphan now. Guess it’s good that she’s a loner.

Maren and Aiden head off to the Museum to work on aspirations on their day off. Maren is looking at paintings.

Aiden is meeting people.

Maren then goes home, while Aiden goes off to another few lots to meet more people.

Love that Polite Introduction.

Happy Birthday Ashlie!

Here’s her Young Adult aging pic… Interesting mix of traits.. and an Astronaut? Hm.. ok.

She seems as sure as I am about her career choice. Which is not at all.

And Ashlie moves out.. with the rest of the house pretty sad.

Practicing Mixology for promotions.

Upgrading for handiness skill.

Trying out the playground.

Mabel working on her painting.

And Aiden’s down for the count again. I’m really pushing him too hard.

Here’s Brock’s list so far.

Brock’s List: Cooking Recipes:

Fridge/Oven Recipes:

• Garden Salad (Fridge Only)
• Grilled Cheese
• White Cake
• Chocolate Cake
• Scrambled Eggs
• Mac and Cheese
• Eggs and Toast
• Chips and Salsa
• BLT
• Fish Tacos
• High Energy Protein Plate – (Requires “Energized” Emotion)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pancakes
• Pan Fried Tilapia
• Silly Gummy Bear Pancakes – (Requires “Playful” Emotion)
• Flirty Heart Cookies – (Requires “Flirty” Emotion)
• Spaghetti
• Strawberry Cake
• Angry Flaming Spaghetti – (Requires “Angry” Emotion)
• French Toast
• Fish and Chips
• (Sim’s Name) Signature Cake– (Requires Level 6 in the Culinary Career – Culinary Branch)
• Chili
• Blue Confetti Cake
• Blackened Bass
• Omelet
• Apple Pie
• Cioppino
• Chicken Stir Fry
• Tuna Casserole
• Roast Chicken

Outdoor Grill Recipes:

• Hamburgers
• Hot Dogs
• Tofu Dogs
• Veggie Burger
• Chicken Sandwich
• Steak

Gourmet Cooking Recipes:

Fridge/Oven Recipes:

• Garlic Noodles
• Black and White Cake
• Pasta Primavera
• Fruit and Yogurt Parfait – (Fridge Only)
• Caprese Salad – (Fridge Only)
• Butternut Gnocchi
• Chicken Saltimbocca
• Herb-Crusted Salmon
• Spinach Fritatta
• Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
• Tiered Cake
• SimCity Cheesecake
• Rack of Lamb
• Lobster Tortellini
• Lobster Thermidor
• Monte Cristo Sandwich
• Trout Meuniere
• Baked Alaska
• Ambrosia – (Requires Angelfish, Death Flower, and Young Again Potion)

See you in the next post!

Back to Chapter 2.1 Part 1 | On to Chapter 2.2

Back to Chapter 1.6 | On to Chapter 2.1 Part 2

Welcome back! This is the first post of a new generation, so I started everything out with moving them out of the city into their own mansion. I waffled a bit about choosing and upgrading an EA house, but in the end, I decided to grab one of the shells I’ve got built and start decorating. It’s FAR from done, but I’ll show off some pictures of it currently as soon as we establish our goal sets.

… Our new goal list…

Set #46 – Stylist - Aiden Ireland (heir)
Get to level 10 of the Style Influencer career (Stylist)
Make over 15 sims

Now since the rules state any adults working on goal sets (other than the heir) need to be sims created by me, so off I went into CAS. I spent a lot of time dithering over whether Aiden is straight or not. His clothing choices when I ran through CAS just pointed to not. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to go the whole gay/adoption thing. In the end, however, I did make a guy for Aiden. Meet Brock Savage.

Foodie, Creative, and Family oriented.

Set #21 – Chef - Brock Savage (spouse to be)
Get to Level 10 of the Culinary Career (Chef)
Master the Cooking Skill
Master the Gourmet Cooking Skill
Complete the Master Chef Aspiration
Cook All Base Game Recipes in Excellent Quality

Just to give myself something else to do/challenge myself, I also made an extra sim, Maren Brink, who rolled for a set of her own. She will basically be a roommate, and live in the basement apartment.

Art Lover, Perfectionist, Neat

Set #4 – Master of the Real - Maren Brink (roommate)
Get to Level 10 in the Painting Career (Master of the Real)
Master the Painting Skill
Master the Photography Skill
Take and display 25 Perfect Quality Photos

Here’s some pictures of me attempting to edit Umbrage Manor for them… as I said earlier.. I gave up.

I was going to move the two left hand bedrooms over, add another bedroom upstairs, and make a bigger living room/study on the bottom floor, but I just didn’t like the way it was turning out. So, I spent a while going through some of my bigger builds (especially the ones that are still just shells and haven’t been uploaded) trying to pick the perfect house. I picked one that is HUGE so I can have fun continuing to decorate as the challenge goes.

And here’s the house: (It’s in Willow Creek where Umbrage Manor used to be. I got so mad at the house I just bulldozed it. Luckily, this house fit where it was! Barely, but it did fit…)

Indoor starting out picture spam: (As you can tell, there’s really only the bare minimum in furnishings… I have a LOT of work to do.)

The kids rooms With separate bathrooms.

The Master bedroom suite. Behind the bed will be a walk in closet, to the left of that will be a nursery.

Teenager’s room, and the “mother-in-law” suite, added in instead of an upstairs rec room just so Heidi has a place of her own.

The most decorated rooms in the house so far.. Dining room and Kitchen. The bottom area of the kitchen will be a seating area in front of the fireplace.

The current collections wall. These are the ones I have complete from last generation. Also, partial shot of the living room.

Studio and bar area. The bar and the study (next pic) are the only things I had furnished when I placed this house, hence the Journalism desk that’s in the study.

The above-mentioned study. There will be a desk in the lower left for programming, but it’s blank there at the moment because I moved the Journalism desk to the “inspiration” room/studio.

The basement. The rooms to the top right are the downstairs apartment for Maren, it’s just not really furnished yet. There will be a bowling alley by the pool windows, and there’s a storage area just to the bottom of the picture that’s off-camera. Note that I have the workout area and sauna already placed. Priorities.

Aiden gets his first job. Stylist career here we go!

Sibling love. I will be moving Aiden’s sisters out as soon as they come “of age” so they can explore the world on their own (also, because I can’t use them for adult goal sets per the rules.)

Oh, I forgot already:

Here’s the starting funds and household.

The starting house value…

And I’m going to re-roll lot traits for every generation, so this is Generation 2’s lot traits. Interesting mix.

And now.. back to the last two things I need to do to get set up.

Maren gets her job as a Painter…

Brock gets his job in the Culinary track. And with that, we’re set to go. Finally.

Angelina is making herself right at home already.

Brock starts his day out by working to start filling the fridge for everyone.

Maren gets started on her aspiration with some inspired painting.

By the time I think to send Ashlie out collecting for her aspiration.. she’d already found the sauna. LOL.

It feels weird collecting when the house is this big, but she wants to be a collector.. so off we go.

Heidi playing with Angelina for the aspiration. I’m not pushing to get Angelina’s aspirations done, because I have enough on my plate with the three adults I have working on their goal sets, but when I get a chance, I do at least some of the stuff she needs done.

Being that I have to make the recipes on the outdoor grill with Brock as well as in the kitchen, I elect to decorate the patio/pool/playground area. … and then it promptly starts storming. *facepalm* Oh well, it’ll be there later.

Getting to know each other after some skilling.

This is when I knew I made the right choice for Aiden. He’s super into Brock already.

Awww… <3

Boyfriends!

Heidi tucking her youngest in for their first night at the new place. And yes, I remembered monster lights. Barely.

Least I know they’ll eat in the kitchen, right?

Ashlie decides to set the table.. thanks?

I buy Aiden a handiness table. He’ll need it if he wants to finish that TV/radio channel achievement.

Ashlie comes home in a mood again.

School project time.

I need three skills for the next Stylist promotion? .. Weird.

They use the dining room, too. Which is always nice.

Angelina watching TV.

Heidi painting on her own again.

Strange place for homework.. but okay..

Aww.. sorry Aiden. Pushed too hard for skills, I guess.

This post was too long.. so I split it… See you in the next post!

Back to Chapter 1.6 | On to Chapter 2.1 Part 2

Prologue < | > Chapter Two

I woke up bright and early the next morning, and peeked out of my tent. I had a little bowl of cereal sitting on my cooler, and watched the world wake up around me. The gloom of the area was growing on me. I loved the mist wafting through the trees. There were a few people milling around the “town square” I could see from my front yard, but I wasn’t feeling particularly sociable this morning. My mind was full of doubts and worries, but I knew I had no choice but to push on now. There was no going back to where I’d come from. I was doing this for Mother.

So.. I shoved those misgivings aside, stood up, and grabbed my old fishing pole and tackle box, and followed the faint path towards where I could hear the sounds of water. Perhaps I could catch something and have something better than cereal for lunch. Then I could feel like I’d at least accomplished something today.

I hadn’t been fishing since I was a boy, and I wasn’t sure the skill would come back to me. It felt like I was starting completely over. Maybe, though, in a way, I was. This place was haunting in it’s beauty.. and the hours I spent trying to not get tangled in my line while still trying to cast gave me a lot of time to think.

I was still at a complete loss as to what I could do to make money, but I knew I would need to come up with an idea soon. My very limited amount of funds wasn’t going to feed me forever.. and what would I do when the weather really started acting up? A tent isn’t anyone’s idea of a safe and secure home if a bit thunderstorms roll in.

My fishing “skill” leaves a lot to be desired, it turns out. I was getting really good at catching weeds. Oh, and a couple of small minnows and goldfish. Why were there goldfish in a pond? .. Who knows. I certainly don’t.

It may have taken all day, but I managed to catch a couple good size Walleye, and find a nice long green stick to fry them on. Fried fish tasted wonderful, though, and my new campfire was completely worth it. Of course, it also meant I had less money… but when needs must…

While cooking, I noticed someone hanging around the edges of my property, seeming to just be watching me.. so after eating my fish, I decided I ought to go say hello. They were probably just curious who had bought the land in their little town.

I noticed some peculiar things about her right away. Why wear sunglasses at night? She also seemed to have a habit of staring at my neck, which made me feel rather awkward. Did I have something there? Dirt from fishing, perhaps?

I tried not to notice, and eventually, I found out her name was Roxanne Church. She was a Vegetarian and Clumsy – so maybe she was embarrassed about a black eye and needed the shades. I supposed I shouldn’t judge her, and she eagerly looked at a picture I had of my mother, but she swore she didn’t remember her. Maybe she just wasn’t old enough. We said good bye for the night, and I headed back to my tent, still feeling a little weirded out by her, but determined to push it out of my mind and get some good sleep.

Breakfast consisted of more cereal, and a rather grumpy me. I hadn’t slept well, and dreams of people with strange glowy eyes kept plaguing me. I wondered if it had anything to do with the woman I’d met and her strange sunglasses.. but then I reminded myself that I’d never even SEEN her eyes, so how could it be about her?

After my dismal breakfast, I decided to do some more exploring in the area around town. This time, I found some wild, harvest-able plants, and took advantage of them. The garlic would be a nice addition to my fish… although I couldn’t fathom what the other plants were.

There was a weird purple tree with purple fruit that seemed to glow. And some venus-fly-trap-like plants… *shrug* maybe I could grow them and sell the produce? So, I picked what seemed to be ripe and headed back to my camp, again having wasted most of the day between gathering plants and some more time fishing.

On the way home, I was stopped by an old man with – get this – strangely glowing eyes. Was this becoming a trend?

He introduced himself as Vladislaus Straud and he seemed very much a Loner. He said something about having known my family, and how it was “good to have us back in town”.. but I felt thoroughly creeped out by him, and excused myself as quickly as possible. I practically ran home, hoping he wouldn’t follow. I didn’t think I wanted to get to know him better, even if he did say he knew some of my family history. There was just something about him that didn’t sit right with me.

Before I could even get home, someone else stopped me. Again with strange eyes. I tried to hide my growing panic as I made small talk and introduced myself, but for some reason, I thought he could tell.

His name was Nobuya Sasaki, and he lived in the area. He mentioned remembering the fire that sent my mother away after her family perished, but I didn’t press for details. So, I gestured to my fishing creel, and said I needed to make my dinner before it got any later… and excused myself from yet another awkward conversation.

The fish was wonderful. Again. Granted, it was also the only decent sized one I’d caught today, but it filled my belly nicely. Sighing.. I used a nearby bush again, wishing for any sort of plumbing. Especially a shower. After two days of wandering the countryside, even I could smell myself.

But that was definitely not to be… and I remembered my plants.. so before bed, I planted the seeds from the fruit, the garlic bulbs, and the seeds from the weird plant trap things. A little bit of water, and they looked cozy in their new home. Perhaps they would even grow.

Morning dawned bright and early. And it was snowing. Wishing I had warmer clothes, I hurried through some yogurt for breakfast, and went to check on my plants.

Amazingly, most of them had sprouted overnight.

So.. I watered them.. and then plopped on my cooler to think some more. I really needed a shower. I remembered the little town I’d passed right before getting to Forgotten Hollow, and I was pretty sure I could navigate back there. Perhaps meeting people there would go over better, and I could find a place to wash up.. and finally feel human again.

My mind made up, I made the journey back to what I found out was Windenburg. I found a gym, and plunked down some of the rest of my cash for a membership so at the very least I could use their facilities for a shower. I’m telling you, a shower has never felt better.. and I swore to myself I wasn’t going to let myself go that long between them again!

There were plenty of people around, so, once I was clean, I made some rounds, introducing myself.

Mariko Yoshida was gorgeous, but clearly not interested in me. I’m not sure, but with her dislike of Flirting, and penchant for stealing things (not that I had anything to steal!), perhaps maybe she wasn’t interested in anyone. I moved on.

After a while, I found myself in a park-like area, with easels set up at random places.. obviously put there for public use. I needed a rest, anyway, so I sat on a bench close by, and contemplated them. I used to be good at art in school… or, at least, my teacher had seemed impressed, but painting for money had never occurred to me. It was certainly on my mind now, though, and with the scant money I had left, I stopped in at a local art supply store that happened to still be open, and purchased some paints, brushes, and canvasses. I also made a point of asking if there was someplace that would buy original artwork in the area, and the clerk excitedly pointed out that the gallery next door was always looking for new talent. She mentioned that they were closed now, but that they’d be there in the morning if I wanted to check with them in person.

So.. with big ideas, I headed back to the public easels.. picking one right by the water. I can’t say my first attempt was great… but neither was the second or the third. I thought I could see improvement, though.. and perhaps someone would be interested in the crude paintings. Meanwhile, I was exhausted. I found a nearby bench, stashed my stuff under a bush nearby, and settled in for a long, hard, cold, nap.

Morning came, like it always does.. and before getting up the guts to go show my paintings at the gallery, I ducked into a local cafe for some real breakfast. I was immediately struck by the beauty behind the counter, and, in one of the moments she wasn’t too busy dishing out breakfast pastries and coffee, I introduced myself.

Her name is Alex Moyer. She’s a Glutton, Lazy, and Materialistic – but I didn’t think I could hold any of that against her. I stayed in the cafe long enough to catch her on a couple breaks, and we quickly were becoming friends. She encouraged me to go out on a limb and try to sell my paintings, but she had to work, so she couldn’t go with me, which was too bad… because I was terribly nervous about it.

Upon entering the gallery, I was almost immediately “pounced on” by one of the sales representatives, and once she found out why I was there, she hurried me into the back to take a closer look at my work. She muttered to herself for a while, then excused herself to get a colleague.. but eventually we settled on a modest price. I had actually just made money. Not much, mind you, but some. My spirits were higher than they’d been in months. I returned to the art supply store, bought some more canvasses, and checked on the price of a cheap easel I could take back to my homestead. No way could I afford it yet, but maybe with a few more paintings…

While I was dreaming big, I also checked the prices on a camp shower at another local store.. and I finally told myself I wasn’t leaving town without both items. So.. there was nothing left to do.. but find another bench.. and get some rest for a marathon of painting.

The next day was bright and clear, a perfect day for painting.. and I set to work.

One after another, I painted until my hands hurt. And then, I painted some more. Mid day I visited that cafe again, but Alex wasn’t working, so I didn’t stay long after my croissant and coffee.

The gallery was pleased with what I’d done, and bought all of today’s pieces without any hesitation. Counting up my funds, I still didn’t have enough.. so I resigned myself to another cold night on the bench.

Between a breakfast from a food stall, and more time painting, I was more than ready for a break when Alex unexpectedly called and invited me to the local city’s Spice festival.

It was a lovely drive there, and both of us had a blast wandering through the food stalls and Farmer’s faire of veggies and fruit. We splurged on some ethnic food, and laughed at each other when neither of us were very good wielding chopsticks. All in all, it was a wonderful day. I didn’t attempt to flirt or anything.. not yet. I wanted to take things slow, and get to know each other a bit better first – but we were sure hitting it off well.

After another day in Windenburg, painting my heart out, I managed to buy an easel and that camp shower. I also negotiated a way I could send my paintings to the gallery through the mail and they would mail back my checks. Finally. I had a way to make money. It was going to be slow going at first, but it was a way.

My next few days consisted of painting, fishing, and more painting. I ignored the people with the strange eyes, and tried very hard to mind my own business. One day, on the way home from fishing, it started pouring, and I was forced to knock on my next door neighbor’s front door to get out of the storm for a few. To my surprise, she was an older lady who gave me no creepy vibes at all. Her house was full of cat furniture, but I hadn’t seen any cats… and we ended up talking for hours. She remembered my mother, and turned out to be a great listener.

Her name is Sonia Broster and I can just tell she’s good at heart. I ended up pouring out my whole tale to her, and she nodded and listened intently. By the time the rain passed, we were fast friends, and it turned out I had an open invitation at her house if I ever needed to get out of another storm.

On Monday, my first check.. and my first bills.. both arrived. I was able to square everything away, though, and “bank” a tidy sum, too. Painting was really starting to pay off. Literally. And for that matter, my garden wasn’t doing too bad, either. I planted some of the produce I’d gotten at the spice festival to expand the garden, and stood back to survey my handiwork. I was making a home here. Mom would be so proud.. I hoped. Things seemed to be looking up for a change… and that night, I went to bed with hopes higher than usual.

Mom had always said hard work and determination paid off.. and I was finally starting to understand, or at least, I thought so. I drifted off to sleep with pleasant dreams of my childhood overlaid with images of a murky, but positive future ahead of me.

Prologue < | > Chapter Two

Back to Chapter 1.5 | On to Chapter 2.1 Pt 1

Welcome back!

… Our goal list…

Set #1 - Author - Brayden
Get to Level 10 in the Writer career (Author)
Master the Writing Skill
Complete the Bestselling Author Aspiration
Write at least 2 Excellent Books in Every Genre
Write 5 Books of Life and Bind Them to Sims

Set #19 - Art Critic - Heidi
Get to level 10 of the Critic career (Art Critic)
Complete and Display the Snow Globes and City Posters Collections
Perform as a statue for at least two hours
Complete the City Native aspiration
Win a Karaoke Contest
Have level 10 Singing skill
Travel to all festivals at least once

It’s done. Literally. I have everything done that I can possibly think of doing. With the exception of maxing Ashlie’s drama club, but I haven’t really been working on it, so I don’t know if that will happen. So.. this is a filler week. Mostly just me watching my sims do.. whatever they feel like doing.

She’s gorgeous. Even if she is just taking out the trash.

The whole family.

I catch dad playing with Angelina.

That reminds me. I need to fill the fridge with Vegetarian dishes for Ashlie.

Brayden being helpful…

… Nooooo! Already?? I should have taken pictures of his stats at this point, but I never got around to it.

Heidi… your toddler is eating next to a pile of trash.. and you’re painting. Priorities.

Time for a Birthday!

Angelina just looks confused.

What a cute picture. “Mommy, I can FLY!”

Watching TV with Dad.

More Daddy time.

Ashlie comes home in a mood.

… And so does Aiden.

This would be when I try to start doing the TV and radio channels achievement. (Spoiler: I don’t get it, because the TV and stereo aren’t upgraded and by the time I figure this out, the sim with handiness passes away…)

Yep, it’s that time again.

I’m not sure this counts as “Mommy time” .. LOL.

Watching TV while eating. As you do.

I get Brayden in on helping Ashlie.

Done! … Not very well.. but it’s done..

Ugh. Neighbors. I relate.

Heidi finally getting around to filling the fridge with vegetarian food.

Angelina gets into trouble while Mom cleans up after her.

Hey… the vegetarian food is supposed to be for your sister, Aiden…

More neighbor drama. At this point, the entire household hates Salim.

Playing with that clay. Again.

Listening to radio stations…

Ohh… noo. *sad face* (While Angelina makes a mess…)

Heidi tries pleading with Grim for just another day or two.

Spoiler: pleading failed. (So Heidi turns on the TV?) .. While everyone else is sad. I think Ashlie is at Drama club.

Nope. There she is, cheering up her baby sister. 🙂

Grim, watching Sitcoms in his down time.

.. Man I love these tables. Hint: if you buy everything off the table, they will usually spawn more stuff for you to buy in a couple hours.

Another collection complete!! .. I elect to leave it in Aiden’s inventory for the time being since it’s almost time to move houses anyway. (I plan to move them when the next generation starts.)

Homework time. Outside? .. Okay, Aiden.

Oh, cool! She gets an award from it, and I send everyone but the toddler to see it.

Aiden working on his Handiness skill. I’ve resolved to get him to max next generation so I can finish out his channels achievement.

… And yep.. I forgot to get a picture of her aging.

.. But she’s beautiful.

Oh, no, Heidi. I’m so sorry. I was busy trying to get her to see her last of two performances before this person stopped playing, and poor Heidi paid the price.

Guess Ashlie isn’t quite up to curry .. yet.

The clay.. making it’s rounds. Still.

Is this far enough away for your mood swing, there, Aiden? … Nope. Still tense.

It’s pouring.. so painting aliens on a rainy day is what Heidi decides to do. Spoiler: that’s a 5000 simoleon masterpiece when she’s done…!

Preparing for tomorrow’s birthday.

The clay.. it’s back in the living room, now.

I take the whole family out to dinner to celebrate the end of a generation.

Everyone gets something different. And I make sure they all take pictures… to start that collection.

Angelina gets bored and draws on her placemat.

… Heidi ends up with food poisoning. Poor gal.

And that’s it! I made it through the generation successfully. See you in the next post, where we’ll get everything going for the next generation!

Back to Chapter 1.5 | On to Chapter 2.1 Pt 1